Thomas Godoj Thread » though he was voted Rookie of the Year, he

NEW YORK – A pall loomed over the tight quarters of the New York Rangers dressing room Tuesday afternoon, mere hours after their hopes of capturing Lord Stanleys mug dimmed to the very faintest light. A third straight loss has them staring dead in the eye of elimination and try as they might, belief of some valiant comeback was difficult to summon on this day. The faces were long, sour and glum ahead of Game 4 at MSG on Wednesday night, to be expected in light of a gaping 3-0 series hole. "Im not going to lie to you, its a tough day today," said a particularly downcast Brad Richards, the 34-year-olds dreams of a second Cup fading dramatically after a 3-0 loss in Game 3. "I mean, the goal is to get through today and [Wednesday] will be a Stanley Cup playoff game-day and Im sure everybody will be in a lot better mood, a lot better outlook to try to get in and win a game." "Belief is everything," Martin St. Louis said, his beard speckled with grey in the final days of the postseason. "Right now, its a big mountain to climb but once you get into battle … first shift you get into battle, get into the game, win a game and now its 3-1 and you go from there. You cant look at trying to win four. Youre trying to win one." Despite the appearance of a one-sided series, the Rangers know full well that this Cup Final has been anything but; two overtime games that couldve gone either way followed by Jonathan Quicks brilliance in a Game 3 during which they controlled puck possession. But as Rangers coach Alain Vigneault put it – his mood predictably sour – none of that matters now. One game is all that counts. One more loss and hope of adding the first Cup in New York in 20 years dies a quiet death. "Whatever talk you might use, at the end of the day for us right now, its about one game," Vigneault said. "Thats as simple and logical and realistic as I can put it for you. We have to focus on one game and thats what were going to do." Though it matters little at this point, as stressed by Vigneault, the even nature of the series does offer the slightest bit of belief for the Rangers. Heavy underdogs coming into the series, theyve stood toe-to-toe with the Kings, felled by their opponents will under duress, unmatched depth and an unfortunate bounce or two. "Its not like weve been outplayed here – thats not been the case," said Henrik Lundqvist, appearing most at ease amongst a tense New York group. "Theyve been good, but I think weve been playing pretty good, as well. It comes down to a couple plays here and there. Thats been the difference in these games. But it starts with your belief and it starts with how you approach this game and the games after that. But they know its possible and we know its possible." Only four teams have ever rallied from a 3-0 series deficit, including L.A. in the opening round against San Jose. New York dug out from a 3-1 deficit itself in the second round against the Penguins, winning Game 7 on the road in Pittsburgh. This task, however, opposite maybe the most complete and mentally-tested team in the league, is almost beyond comprehension. Felled by Quicks 32 saves in Game 3, adjustments for the next one are simple for the head coach. "Score," said Vigneault, hopeful that the 28-year-old Kings goaltender wasnt locked in again on Wednesday night. A power play goal for a group thats managed one in 14 opportunities might be of help as well. "You keep repeating the process," added Richards, the Rangers centre held without a point through three games, "firing more on net, and youd expect eventually something is going to go in. For sure, you can always will words and battle and all that, you can talk about it, be better. The third period of Game 1, the ice was tilted, but overall the ice hasnt felt that tilted in this series. Theyre a calm, cool, collected team that doesnt get rattled and it just seems that theyre scoring at the right times and getting big saves at the right times." At their darkest point, the sky notably cloudy in midtown Manhattan, the Rangers were simply trying to summon some kind of light. "Its the waiting and thinking thats the tough part," Richards said. "Weve gotta get back in the battle and see where it goes." Air Max 270 China .C. -- When Michael Jordan speaks, people still listen. Wholesale Nike Shoes China .Mack, a reserve guard who came in averaging 3.8 points, made all six of his 3-pointers as the Hawks went 16 for 28 from behind the arc.Trailing 50-38 midway through the second quarter, Atlanta outscored Cleveland 89-48 the rest of the way and sent the Cavaliers to their largest loss of the season. http://www.airmax270discount.com/. A steady downpour and low temperatures were predicted for much of the night. No makeup date was immediately announced, although it was determined that the game will not be part of a doubleheader on Wednesday. Discount Air Max 270 . Canada will host the second stop on the circuit, the 2014 Skate Canada International in Kelowna, British Columbia from October 31 - November 2, 2014 at Prospera Place. Cheap Air Max .Y. - Alex Rodriguez paid $305,000 for evidence that could be used in the case involving the Biogenesis of America drug clinic, the Daily News reported Saturday.October 1st of 1980 wasnt a particularly special day in Blue Jays history. It was the final home game of the regular season at old Exhibition Stadium. The Jays were days away from wrapping up a 67-95 season. On this day, there were but 12,426 fans in the stands to watch the culmination of a fifth straight losing season. The fans on hand probably didnt even realize they were witnessing something special, something unique. Not the final score. Detroit out slugged the Blue Jays 11-7. So what was it about this game? Well it was the final start of the incredible, yet semi tragic career of Mark Fidrych. On this day the man-child they called the "Bird" went five innings giving up five runs, four of those earned. The Jays effectively ended his day by scoring four runs in the fifth. Ernie Whitt keying the rally with a three run homer, the last "Round Tripper" Fidrych would ever surrender. Fidrych gutted it out through that fifth inning and managed to get the win, to finish his season at (2-3). The starter for the Blue Jays that day was a 23-year-old Dave Stieb. He got torched for seven hits and six earned runs in just 2 1/3 innings and took the loss to fall to (12-15). Greatness was yet to come for Stieb who was in just his second season in the Majors, his first full campaign. For Fidrych, we were just left with memories and the lingering question of how great he might have been. Flash back to May 15th of 1976. The Tigers were home to Cleveland. Their scheduled starter that day had the flu. The manager, Ralph Houk "the Major" of Yankees fame, handed the ball to a 21-year-old long lanky right hander, who reminded a minor league coach of his at Lakeland of the legendary Sesame Street character "Big Bird". All Fidrych did was pitch a complete game two-hitter as he out-dueled Clevelands Pat Dobson in a 2-1 Tigers victory. There were 14,583 people on hand for the game. Remember that number. There were some great Blue Jays and Canadian baseball connections in that game. Rusty Staub was in right field for Detroit. Alan Ashby, a Blue Jay a year later was catching for Cleveland and the two DHs - the Tigers Willie Horton and the Indians Rico Carty - played with the Jays as well. For Fidrych this was only the beginning of one of most magical seasons in baseball history. After losing his next start at Fenway in yet another complete game, 2-0 to the great Luis Tiant, Fidrych would go on to reel off seven straight victories He was more than just a pitcher though, he was a fun loving unassuming kid who just loved playing the game. He would talk to the ball and carefully groom the mound before every inning. He caught the baseball world by sttorm.dddddddddddd. Fidrych appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated twice and was the first athlete ever to appear on the cover of "Rolling Stone" Magazine. In his first 13 starts, Fidrych worked an unbelievable 120 1/3 innings. If you do the math, thats over nine innings per start. How is that possible? Well three times over that span Houk let him go 11 innings. On June the 28th, he was featured in a Monday Night baseball national telecast, Fidrych beat the Yankees 5-1 in just an hour and 51 minutes. Fidrych would go on to start the All-Star game for the American League in his 12th Major League start. He would go on to finish the season at (19-9) for Detroit with a 2.34 ERA. But it was some of his other numbers that were truly astounding. Fidrych made 29 starts from mid-May till the end of the season. He pitched 24 complete games including four shutouts and pitched 250 1/3 innings. Pitchers today are proud just to hit 200 innings. On May 31st, he pitched a game that lasted one hour and 48 minutes. Then in his next start, he bested that taking just one hour and 46 minutes. Another unusual thing about Fidrych was he had his own personal catcher. He was 24- year-old Bruce Kimm, a rookie who played his first game with the Tigers just two weeks before Fidrych made his first start. They worked so well together in that first start Houk kept them as a battery all season. I dont know if that would ever happen today. As great as he was for Detroit that season, the Tigers still finished up the track at 74-87. Somehow, though he was voted Rookie of the Year, he didnt win the Cy Young too. That honour went to the Orioles Jim Palmer. But Fidrychs success on the diamond would be short lived. He injured his knee in the spring of 1977, and later in that season damaged his shoulder. Times being what they were, and medical advances in the treatment of arm injuries were still in their infancy, it wasnt discovered till 1985 that the "Bird" had a damaged rotator cuff. He finished his career with a (29-19) record and 3.10 ERA and 34 complete games in just 58 starts. This is the really incredible number. When Roger Clemens, one of the All-time greats pitched for the Blue Jays in 1997 and 1998, attendance barely increased on days he was on the mound at Rogers Centre. Yet in 1976, a year in which the Tigers drew 1,467,020 fans, more than half of that number showed up for the 18 games Fidrych pitched in. That is incredible. So if you were one of the few who were at Exhibition Stadium on Oct. 1, 1980 consider yourself lucky. You saw the final appearance of one of the most unique talents and colourful characters the baseball world has ever seen. ' ' '