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my head I was more than willing to strap on the vest
Topic Started: Apr 15 2014, 02:52 AM (13 Views)
jinpan1234
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GRANADA, Spain -- Karim Benzema scored to give Real Madrid a 1-0 win at Granada in the Spanish league Monday amid growing speculation the club is close to a blockbuster deal to sign Wales winger Gareth Bale. Madrid started brightly thanks to the playmaking of Angel Di Maria which led to Benzemas goal in the 10th minute, but left Granada with the chance to snatch the draw late. Madrid joined defending champion Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Athletic Bilbao and Villarreal as the only teams to win the first two rounds of the season. Madrids offer to English club Tottenham for Bale is reportedly similar to the record 80 million pounds (then $131 million) it paid for Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009. And while it appeared the transfer was close to being done over the weekend, Bale remained a Tottenham player and is expected back with his team after a two-day break to rest a hurt foot he used to visit the southern Spanish resort town of Marbella. If Bales possible arrival wasnt enough to distract from the action on the pitch at Los Carmenes Stadium, there was also the sight of Spain and Madrid captain Iker Casillas sitting on the bench for a second consecutive match under coach Carlo Ancelotti. Despite a week of pressure by Spanish media to see Casillas returned to Madrids goal, Ancelotti stuck with Lopez in goal and maintained former coach Jose Mourinhos decision from last season to reduce Casillas to the role of backup. Ancelotti said his decision was because "Diegos playing well right now. Theres nothing else to say." Madrid defender Alvaro Arbeloa called on Madrids fans to unite behind the team and let rest the debate over the goalkeeper. "I support them both, Lopez and Iker, just like my teammates do, and I think it would be interesting if the public did the same," he said. Even though Madrid has two wins in as many games, it has struggled to take the first six points of the season after needing a late goal to edge Real Betis in Ancelottis debut. "We are in the second round, with a new coach and new players," said Arbeloa. "Its normal that we are not at our top level. We are trying to do it the best we can, but it takes time." Bale might be tagged to be Madrids next big threat up front, but in the meantime Di Maria put on an all-around attacking display against the overmatched Granada in the first half hour. Di Maria had already tested the keeper and set up Benzema before Granada left the Argentina international with enough time to pick out Ronaldos run from the left flank. The Portugal forwards first touch to control the ball wasnt good, but Benzema was there to drive the ball home as the defence looked on. Madrid seemed ready to romp as Mesut Ozil was denied from close by Granada goalie Roberto Fernandez and Di Maria again crossed for Ronaldo, only for Ronaldo to uncharacteristically whiff when trying to slot in the dangerous pass. Madrid almost doubled its lead in the 62nd through Francisco "Isco" Alarcon who wrong-footed his marker before forcing Fernandez to push his shot onto the post. Ronaldo came alive as the rest faded and drew several saves from Fernandez, but he was still left without a goal this season. Granada surged forward in the final minutes and managed to trap Madrid in its area, but it couldnt do better than pepper the box with crosses that never turned into shots on goal. NBA . Campbell earned the offensive award after completing 23-of-35 passes for 262 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions in a 24-18 win over Baltimore. He became the first Browns quarterback to throw at least three TD passes without an interception since Brady Quinn in 2009 and helped Cleveland snap an 11-game losing streak to Baltimore. NFL . Caporusso signed a two-year entry level contract, while Silfverberg signed a three-year entry level deal. Caporusso, from Toronto, was a member of the University of Michigan Wolverines team that reached the NCAA championship game this April. http://www.ourjerseysonline.com/. Brooks and Harrison, along with tackle Walter Jones and coach Tony Dungy, were the first-year eligible candidates to make the cut from 126 to 25. Brooks won a Super Bowl with Tampa Bay, while Harrison and Dungy were champions with Indianapolis. MLB . Fasth, 31, is in the first year of a two-year, $5.8 million contract signed after a strong 2012-13 season. Fasth has played just five games this year for the Ducks, recording a .885 save percentage and 2.95 goals against average. Fasth sports a career .915 save percentage and 2.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca! Hi Kerry, In Wednesday nights game between Toronto and Calgary, referee Paul Devorski got one to the head by an errant clearing attempt. He had to leave the game for repairs and luckily he came back. My question is this - it looked like he was skating up the ice in front of the defencemen, so he did not see the puck coming. In the numerous replays that TSN showed I could not tell if he was the back or front referee, but shouldnt he have been trailing the play or skating behind the Leafs defence? That way things like this cant happen! Whats an officials mindset during the game in terms of how he positions himself? Thanks,Scott Martin Scott: Devo, what were you thinking when you blasted out of the corner with your back turned away from the play and with Cody Fransons best option being to pound the puck up the wall and down the ice on the PK? I wasnt sure if you thought you were back at training camp doing a timed goal line to goal line sprint test or decided to join the Leafs end zone breakout play since they were a man short. Im really sorry about your injury, but I think youll probably agree that for the most part it was avoidable and somewhat self-inflicted. On the up-side you demonstrated excellent foot speed - youve still got it pal! Scott, Kerry Fraser Referee Positioning 101 is based on the premise that you want to gain a position on the ice that provides the best and safest sightline (unobstructed view) to render a decision. "Safest" is out of traffic areas and most often when trailing the play. At the very least a Ref wants to keep players in front of him whenever possible. Players are coached to attack the puck; first player hard on the puck with a secondary teammate providing support. Wherever the puck is located on the ice a battle for possession will quickly result. While players attack the puck, I have always taught the opposite is true for an Official; Refs must retreat from the puck. To facilitate this objective the Official needs to read the play in advance (anticipate) and move or vacate an area that players will soon occupy or battle for the puck in. One other cardinal rule I practiced was to never turn my back on the puck carrier or shooter. If I was forced to retreat or pushed up the wall I always squared to the puck and faced the shooter. When this situation presented itself I retreated as quickly as possible to create space (distance) and time to defend if the puck came at me. Once an Official turns his back to the play he has NO chance of seeing the puck or defending by blocking with an elbow pad or by simply moving aside. As a result of the battle behind the Leafs goal by Paul Ranger and Joe Colborne of the Flames, the puck was forced toward the corner where Referee Devorski stood. The read by the Ref at this point should have been that uncontested puck possession would be gained by defenceman Cody Franson given a lack of potential pursuit by any Flame players in the area. With the puck travelling toward the corner, which ultimately comes to rest near or against the sidewall at tthe goal line, the Ref would correctly determine the lane along the wall and deep into the corner was not available to him.ddddddddddddHad Devorski taken this route he would have converged on the puck about the same time Cody Franson did. Devos decision here was the correct one. The first best angle of retreat from the puck by Referee Devorski would have been by skating parallel to Cody Franson in the opposite direction and reposition himself along the goal line half way between the corner and the net. (I termed this location "half-piston" when I designed the positioning philosophy implemented by the C.H.A. in the mid-1980s) From this safe location acquired by the Ref, Cody Franson could gain puck possession and make his play. Additionally from the half-piston location there was no potential for the Ref to obstruct pursuit by the nearest Flame player. The second worst angle of retreat was ultimately taken by the referee up the wall past the hash marks toward the blue line. By taking this route the Ref clearly placed himself in a shooting or passing lane (anticipation?). Once Devo committed to this exit strategy he should have been skating backwards as fast as possible (distance/time) facing Cody Franson with his hands up near his face to deflect or defend against a potential errant puck. An Official should always face the puck squarely and be ready to defend just like a Ninja! I was once asked to wear a new protective flak vest designed by a manufacturer in Strathroy, Ontario. He assured me I could take a puck right in the chest and the vest would disperse the force of impact leaving nothing more than a small bruise. This was before I was forced to wear a helmet and while I wasnt concerned about protecting my head I was more than willing to strap on the vest for added body armor. I was up for the challenge in Boston one night. With the Bruins on the power-play I was the lead Referee on the play in the two-man system and skating backwards just over the attacking blue line in advance of the rush. Bs defenceman, Sean ODonnell pounded a slapper into the zone on a hard-around from the cross-ice red line. It was probably about a 90 mile-an-hour shot, four feet off the ice and travelling straight at me. I foolishly decided this would be a good test for the flak vest so I squared up to the puck and puffed out my chest ready to take the best ODonnell offered on this one. My laser-like focus on the puck revealed the vulcanized missile starting to rise at an alarming rate and travelling faster than I originally anticipated. I bailed and hit the deck face-first at the very last second and felt the wind from the puck on my Paul Mitchell Freeze & Shine; a narrow miss! Bruins play-by-play man Jack Edwards without taking a breath and in his very best Howard Cosell impersonation commented, "And Down Goes Fraser" to which color analyst Gord Kluzak immediately chimed in, "And Not A Hair Out of Place!" While it was a close call, by squarely facing the shooter and puck I was able to defend myself. For the next week or so, when the War Room buzzes down to Referee Paul Devorski hell be taking the call in his other ear. Happy Halloween everyone. ' ' '
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