Gästebuch » All that before Crosby got involved

HOCKEYCHICAGO (AP) Emergency goaltender Scott Foster played the final 14 minutes after Chicago lost Anton Forsberg and Collin Delia to injuries http://www.sabresshoponline.com/authentic-jack-eichel-jersey , closing out the Blackhawks’ 6-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets.It was Foster’s first competitive action since 20 minutes in relief with Western Michigan University in the 2005-06 season.Forsberg was expected to start, but he was scratched after the team said he got hurt during warmups. Delia, who was just recalled from the minors Wednesday, then stopped 25 of 27 shots in his NHL debut before he was helped off the ice in the third period due to a lower-body injury.Enter Foster, a 36-year-old accountant. After a short warmup, the game resumed and Foster got a big cheer from the crowd of 21,839 when he denied Tyler Myers for his first save about a minute after he came in.Backed by chants of ”Foster! Foster!” and more loud ovations down the stretch, he finished with seven stops against the playoff-bound Jets, winners of six in a row.BASEBALLNEW YORK (AP) – The average major league salary on opening day dropped slightly following an offseason of slashed contracts for many free agents and the decisions to start three highly paid players in the minor leagues, according to study by The Associated Press.The $4.41 million average Thursday fell 0.9 percent from last year’s starting figure of $4.45 million, according to the AP’s calculations. It was only the second drop since the end of the 1994-95 strike, after a 2.7 decrease in 2004.Two late-signing free agent pitchers were optioned to farm teams just ahead of Thursday’s openers to get more preparation time: Philadelphia’s Jake Arrieta and Baltimore’s Alex Cobb. If they had remained in the majors, the average would have been down just $1 Youth Jake McCabe Jersey ,380. And if Arizona outfielder Yasmany Tomas had also remained in the big leagues, the average would have been up 0.2 percent to $4.46 million.Boston had a $224 million payroll and topped the major leagues for the first time since at least the 1980s. San Francisco was next at $207 million, followed by the Chicago Cubs ($182 million), Washington ($181 million), the NL champion Los Angeles Dodgers ($179 million), the Los Angeles Angels ($170 million) and the New York Yankees in seventh at $167 million. The Yankees have their lowest payroll since 2003 and their lowest ranking since 1992.PRO BASKETBALLPHILADELPHIA (AP) – Philadelphia 76ers All-Star center Joel Embiid will need surgery on an orbital fracture of his left eye and he has a concussion.There was no timetable Thursday on how long Embiid would be sidelined. The 76ers are set to play Friday in Atlanta and Sunday in Charlotte.Embiid posted a photo on Instagram of him on the court and grabbing his face with the caption, ”I guess I gotta trust `The Process’ that I’ve been preaching… Unfortunate freak accident but I’ll be more than fine.”Markelle Fultz was driving toward the basket Wednesday against the Knicks when he appeared to accidentally head-butt Embiid. The 7-footer immediately went to the floor. He remained on the floor for several minutes before he was assisted by Philadelphia’s trainer. Embiid sat up once before lying back down on the court. Eventually, he was helped off the court.Fultz was not injured on the play. He posted a hands-clasped prayer emoji on Embiid’s photo.EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) – Los Angeles Lakers guard Isaiah Thomas will need four months to recover from arthroscopic surgery on his right hip.The Lakers announced Thomas’ prognosis after the surgery Thursday.Thomas will be a free agent by the time he recovers from the procedure, but he has expressed interest in staying with the Lakers.The two-time All-Star guard averaged 15.6 points and 5.0 assists in 17 games with Los Angeles, which acquired him from Cleveland in February.OLYMPICSTOKYO (AP) – The man who organized the most popular Winter Olympics 24 years ago in the Norwegian ski resort of Lillehammer says it’s too soon to return in 2026.But watch for Lillehammer in 2030.Gerhard Heiberg tells The Associated Press he’s ”a little sad” that Norway can’t join the chase for 2026.He adds ”I think 2026 would have been best for us” but acknowledges organizers and politicians had too little time to work out details.Bidders have until Saturday to let the International Olympic Committee know of their interest. In October, the IOC will trim the field to serious contenders and pick the host next year.At least four serious bids are likely to be on the table: Calgary, Canada; Stockholm Jason Pominville Jersey Kids , Sweden; Sapporo, Japan; Sion, Switzerland. Interest might also come for Austria, Italy and Turkey. PITTSBURGH (AP) The sluggish opening three months. The so-so finish. The only occasional attention to detail on defense. None of it matters anymore.The playoffs are here. The champs are, too.Sidney Crosby and the Penguins provided proof in Pittsburgh’s 7-0 dismantling of the Philadelphia Flyers in the opening game of their first-round series Wednesday night.Crosby performed more stick wizardry on his way to his third postseason hat trick, Evgeni Malkin added a highlight-reel goal of his own and the Penguins overwhelmed their seemingly overmatched cross-state rivals to begin their quest for a third straight Stanley Cup with a blowout that seemed to indicate the grudge match could be a mismatch.Not that Pittsburgh’s captain wanted to buy into any sort of message sending, even after the Penguins became only the fifth team in NHL history to win a series opener by at least seven goals.”I mean, it’s one game,” Crosby said. ”Whether it’s 7-0 or 1-0 or double overtime, it’s one game. A big part in the playoffs is to get better every game and to adjust, and that’s the way we have to look at it.”That might be a frightening proposition for the rest of the NHL. It certainly is for the Flyers, who have lost all five meetings with Pittsburgh this season, giving up at least five goals each time. Nothing that happened during the regular season http://www.sabresshoponline.com/authentic-johan-larsson-jersey , however, compared to Wednesday night. The Penguins pumped five goals in the first 29:01 to chase goalie Brian Elliott, and the Flyers simply could not keep pace.”It was one of the worst games I’ve been a part of,” Flyers forward Claude Giroux said.Philadelphia coach Dave Hakstol mercifully pulled Elliott after Crosby swatted Brian Dumoulin’s point shot out of the air and knocked it by a stunned Elliott to put the Penguins up 5-0 just before the game’s midway point. Elliott stopped 14 of 19 shots before being replaced by Petr Mrazek. Mrazek made 12 saves, but Hakstol indicated he’s likely to go with Elliott again in Friday’s Game 2.Whoever is in net for the Flyers, it won’t matter if the play in front of them isn’t better. Philadelphia’s power play went 0 for 4 and didn’t even generate a shot.”They beat us from pretty much every aspect tonight, starting from the net out,” Elliott said. ”Everybody just has to be better.”Jake Guentzel had a goal and three assists for Pittsburgh. Bryan Rust and Carl Hagelin also scored. Matt Murray stopped 24 shots for his third straight playoff shutout.The Flyers stressed the need to stay out of the penalty box and put together three disciplined, competitive periods if they wanted to put an abrupt halt to Pittsburgh’s run at history. It didn’t happen. Not even close.The Penguins jumped on Philadelphia early. Elliott stopped Kris Letang’s slap shot with his blocker only to see the long rebound go right to Rust, who ripped it over Elliott’s right shoulder to give the Penguins the lead 2:38 into the game.Philadelphia’s best chance at staying in it came minutes later, but Scott Laughton whiffed on his first attempt from the doorstep and Murray made a sprawling glove save on Laughton’s second try to preserve Pittsburgh’s lead.”If that goes in, it’s 1-1 and maybe we’re talking about a different result,” Crosby said.Moments later Authentic Justin Bailey Jersey , Hagelin expertly redirected Patric Hornqvist’s shot past Elliott 10:07 into the game. Malkin drew a hooking penalty to negate a Pittsburgh power play, and when he emerged from the penalty box, he whizzed past three Flyers in one sequence, darting by Jakub Voracek, slipping past Giroux and then fending off Shayne Gostisbehere before flicking a backhand past Elliott to put the Penguins up 3-0 before the series was 15 minutes old.All that before Crosby got involved.The two-time MVP has a knack for scoring in unorthodox ways. He beat Montreal’s Carey Price with an intentional double-deflection and smacked a rebound out of air in overtime to top New Jersey within a span of eight days last month.His first of the playoffs was just as impressive and provided the exclamation point on a night Pittsburgh looked every bit the threat to become the first team since the New York Islanders of the early 1980s to capture three straight Cups.NOTES: Crosby’s hat trick tied Pittsburgh owner and Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux for the most postseason hat tricks in franchise history. … Murray hasn’t allowed a goal since Game 4 of the 2017 Stanley Cup finals, a span of 206:26. … The Penguins, who had the league’s top-ranked power play during the regular season, went 1 for 4 with the man advantage. … Pittsburgh C Derick Brassard, who missed time late in the regular season with a lower-body injury, had an assist in 13:44. … Injured Steelers LB Ryan Shazier, who is recovering from spine stabilization surgery and has already been ruled out for the 2018 season, stood up and led the sell-out crowd in a pre-game cheer.—