The post-Olympic NHL is buzzing with rumors of trade talk between the New York
Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning involving some significant pieces – Ranger
captain Ryan Callahan and Lightning captain Marty St.
Mike Webster Steelers Jersey . Louis. To
which I would say two things: 1. Where there is smoke, there is or perhaps has
been a little fire. Or, in other words, the two teams would appear to have at
least spoken. And spoken is defined as one calling the other to inquire, no
more, no less.2. The real question, though, is what is the latest and greatest
information. Or, in other words, is this a story that is a couple of weeks old,
just now finally coming to light and perhaps outdated? If its the latter, and
either Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman doesnt intend to trade St. Louis
or St. Louis doesnt want to be traded (he has a full No Move Clause), one or
both of them may want to put the kaibosh on this story real fast now that theyre
back from Sochi. Thats their call, but the Lighting are an Eastern Conference
contender and letting this take on a life of its own is going to make for an
unsettled week to 10 days leading up to the March 5 trade deadline. Ultimately,
the larger issue is where is St. Louiss mindset at right now? Does he want to
remain captain of the Lightning? There is reason to believe in the immediate
aftermath of his Jan. 7 snub from the Canadian Olympic team, in some form or
another, St. Louis indicated to the Bolts he may look favorably on a move out of
Tampa. We have to be careful here not to get too hung up on semantics. Was it a
trade demand? A trade request? A conversation? Was it St. Louis speaking
directly to Yzerman or was it some form of communication between St. Louiss
agent Lewis Gross and the organization? While none of the principals were
confirming or denying anything in those days and weeks after the initial snub,
talk in the NHL community was rife that St. Louis wanted out. There was even
talk – again, nothing with an absolute confirmation -- that the only place St.
Louis would waive his No Move Clause for was the New York Rangers. His
off-season home is just outside NYC, in Connecticut. If the NYR or bust account
is accurate, it would certainly explain the St. Louis rumors coming out of NYC
the last few days and the talk of Callahan for St. Louis. But heres the problem
on that front. Tampa, especially now that Steven Stamkos is closer to returning,
is a potential Eastern contender. St. Louis is a huge part of the Lightning
attack and if you take a primary offensive catalyst out of the Bolts lineup now,
its difficult to believe it could be accomplished with Ranger captain Callahan
coming the other way on an expiring contract. Yzerman would want and need more
from the Rangers than that. And as long as we presume the Lightning want to
remain a contender in the East this season, trading St. Louis for future
considerations or younger, unproven players presents its own set of unique
problems in the short term. As for the Rangers, theyre not about to start giving
up draft picks, prospects or young players for a 38-year-old. So the Tampa-NYR
fit doesnt appear to be there. Even if there were a fit, when its all said and
done, nothing happens if St. Louis doesnt want it to happen. His NMC guarantees
that. If he feels more strongly about staying in Tampa now that hes played for
Team Canada in the Olympics than he may have in the aftermath of the Jan. 7
snub, then the trade stories out of NYC are old news recycled as new. But if St.
Louis would look favorably on a move now, even if its only to NYC, then the ball
is back squarely in the Lightnings court to decide if theres any desire to
oblige him and whether theres even a deal to be made. The way I see it, Yzerman
isnt making any move in the short term unless it totally suits his purposes and
IF he is contemplating trading St. Louis, it may make as much or more sense to
do it in the summer as now. Or maybe St. Louis and the Lightning are going to
live happily ever after. If thats the case, theyll no doubt let us know. Or not.
In the meantime, well just sit tight to see how this one plays out but it sure
seems as though it has way too many moving parts.
Jack Lambert Jersey . Atletico Madrid took
advantage of Barcelonas latest slip by winning 2-0 at Celta Vigo courtesy of
David Villas two goals in a three-minute span to move ahead of Barcelona and
level on points with Real Madrid at the top of the standings. Once the league
pacesetter, Barcelona has won just two of its last seven away league games and
trails its title rivals by one point before Madrid hosts Levante on Sunday.
Authentic Troy Polamalu Jersey . The Ottawa
Senators recalled the 20-year-old from Binghamton of the American Hockey League
Tuesday and he knows he has a lot to prove if he intends on staying in Ottawa.
VANCOUVER -- The man nicknamed after a cartoon character put in another
superhero-like performance. Demetrious (Mighty Mouse) Johnson dominated Ali
(Puncher) Bagautinov from start to finish Saturday to win a unanimous decision
and retain his flyweight title at UFC 174. Johnson showed his pedigree against a
challenger who took a beating and was never really a threat at Rogers Arena. "It
was a great performance," said Johnson. "Ali Bagauntinov, hes a tough guy. I hit
him with a lot of shots with my knees to his face ... my knees are hurting
pretty bad. "Usually when I hit people with those shots in the gym they go
down." The bout marked the first time the flyweight division has headlined a UFC
pay-per view card and was scored 50-45 by all three judges. "(Bagauntinov) likes
to back up a lot and draw his opponents in and then go underneath them for a
shot," said Johnson. "We knew that he was going to try to wrestle me to slow me
down." In the co-main event, Canadian welterweight Rory (Ares) MacDonald
defeated Tyron (The Chosen One) Woodley in an impressive unanimous decision in
the most exciting bout of the night. Johnson almost connected with a spinning
kick with under a minute to go in the fifth and final round, but Bagautinov was
able to avoid the blow to send the bout to the scorecards. The five-foot-three
Johnson (20-2-1, 8-1-1) won the UFCs inaugural flyweight title back in 2012 and
has now successfully defended the 125-pound belt four times. The 27-year-old who
fights out of Parkland, Wash., said this week that the five-foot-four Bagautinov
(13-3, 3-1) would pose a unique challenge because the 29-year-old Russian
specializes in Sambo fighting, a form of mixed martial arts that he has never
faced. But in the end, Baugatinov was overmatched and at times just seemed happy
to be in the ring with Johnson, even hugging his opponent before the start of
the fifth round. MacDonald, who came into his fight as the No. 2 contender in
the 170-division, controlled Woodley from the middle of the first round on,
using his superior reach to keep the two-time All-American wrestler at bay,
while also connecting with both kicks and punches. All three judges scored the
fight 30-27 for MacDonald. The 24-year-old MacDonald (17-2, 8-2) took Woodley
down two minutes into the third and final round and relentlessly pounded the No.
3-ranked welterweight until the bell sounded. MacDonalds team rushed into the
octagon to congratulate their fighter as the crowd of 13,506 roared in approval.
"I trained very hard," he said. "I wanted this fight to be the best performance
of my career." Born in Quesnel, B.C., but now fighting out of Montreals Tristar
Gym, MacDonald was mentored by Georges St-Pierre before the former champion
stepped away from the sport late last year. The soft-spoken MacDonald lost to
Robbie Lawler in a split decision at Novembers UFC 167, but rebounded to take a
unanimous decision against Demian Maia at UFC 170 in February. "I feel like Im
falling into a groove," said MacDonald. "Somethings clicking." The 32-year-old
Woodley (13-3, 3-2), who scored a technical knockout of Carlos Condit at UFC 171
in March, said bbefore the fight he expected the crowd to be split, but he was
sorely mistaken as the Canadian support found its way firmly behind MacDonald
from the start, including chants of "Lets go Rory" throughout the tilt.
Jack Lambert Steelers Jersey. MacDonald lost
to Condit at UFC 115 in Vancouver back in June 2010 and he admitted this week
that the moment got to him four years ago -- something that didnt happen
Saturday. "Ive grown a lot since then," he said. "It was nice being in
Vancouver. The response was great." Saturday marked the UFCs first foray into
Vancouver since UFC 131 back in June 2011. There were large pockets of empty
seats in the arenas upper level on this night and the crowd didnt really get
into the action until MacDonald and Woodley entered the octagon. Earlier
Saturday night, light heavyweight Ryan (Darth) Bader defeated Rafael (Feijao)
Cavalcante by unanimous decision in a fight that had fans getting a little
restless due to a lack of action. Bader (18-4, 10-4) was the more ambitious
fighter in the first two rounds, and perhaps sensing a need to score a knockout
to win the bout, Cavalcante (12-5, 2-2) came out swinging in the third, but the
Brazilian was unable to land any decisive blows. In the heavyweight division,
former champion Andrei (The Pit Bull) Arlovski defeated Brendan (The Hybrid)
Schaub by a split decision in his return to UFC after more than six years away
from the company. Arlovski (22-10 with one no contest) looked tentative early
and spent the majority of the last round on his back, but did enough to earn the
victory on two of the judges three scorecards to improve his UFC record to 11-4.
A bloodied Schaub (11-4, 6-4) raised his arms at the end of the fight thinking
that he had done enough to win, and seemed surprised by the decision. Meanwhile,
light heavyweight Ovince Saint Preux won by submission after breaking the left
arm of Ryan (The Big Deal) Jimmo at 2:10 of the second round. Jimmo (19-4, 3-3)
-- who is from Saint John, N.B., but now fights out of Edmonton -- was bloodied
in the first round and nearly had his arm ripped out of its socket before the
referee stopped the fight to keep Saint Preux (16-6, 4-0) perfect in the UFC. In
the preliminary fights: welterweight Kiichi (Strasser) Kunimoto defeated Daniel
Sarafian by submission at 2:52 of the first round; womens bantamweight Valerie
(Trouble) Letourneau of Montreal defeated Elizabeth Phillips in a brutal
slugfest by a split decision; bantamweight Yves (Tiger) Jabouin scored a
unanimous decision over Mike (The Hulk) Easton; lightweight Tae Hyun
(Supernatural) Bang knocked out (Ragin) Kajan Johnson of Burns Lake, B.C., at
2:01 of the third round; bantamweight Roland Delorme of Winnipeg dropped a
unanimous decision to Michinori Tanaka; and lightweight Jason Saggo of Toronto
defeated Josh Shockley by technical knockout at 4:57 of the first round. Notes:
The gate brought in US$1.14 million. ... Bang got fight of the night honours, as
well as performance of the night. Kunimoto was also awarded for performance of
the night. ... Former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow was in attendance. The
crowd booed the former NFLer when he was shown on the big screens perched around
Rogers Arena.
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