least five other NHL teams, while backup goaltender

Nick Saban, head coach of the University of Alabama Crimson Tide said in a recent interview "success is not a continuum". So true. It is one thing to create a winning football team, and another to keep it winning. Each and every week it changes. The NFL creates a unique interest of not who is "the best", but much more who is "the best this week". I cant believe the Dallas Cowboys gave up 40 first downs and 625 yards of offence to the Saints. I didnt think they would win and logic says the Saints would move the ball. But 40 first downs? At first I didnt believe what I thought I was hearing and when I saw it in print I figured it was a misprint. But it is the truth - 40 first downs allowed which is 10 per quarter. Are there reasons for what has to be classified as a major breakdown? Yes and they are genuine. Just like last year the Cowboys cant stay healthy. Of the 12 starters that were to be every-play players, only four now remain. On offence your absolute key component is the quarterback and on defence if you lose one particular player, its not as easy to define as it affects everything. When Dallas lost Sean Lee at the middle linebacker position they fell apart. It truly shows the value of Lee in that you dont know what you have until its gone. I honestly believe that in modern football it is not the best team that wins as much as its the team that can stay the healthiest the longest or get healthy at the right time that wins. When Dallas started the season their defensive line was DeMarcus Ware, Jay Ratliff, Jason Hatcher and Anthony Spencer. All that remains is Ware who is not 100 per cent. With 6 games left Dallas has a winnable schedule but confidence through this bye week must be low. 40 first downs, an NFL record is an amazing accomplishment for the Saints and an amazing concern for the Dallas Cowboys. On Incognito So Richie Incognito spoke and I dont buy it and wish it would go away. I was fortunate to play five years of Division I football against excellent competition. 12 years of pro football in both leagues and Im finishing my 15th year following football as closely as I can for TSN. I have never heard any player say what Incognito said to Martin in a private message. I have heard plenty of moments involving threats, race and every possible subject. But they were in the heat of the game or more often practice and they were very short bursts and completely within the reality of the intensity of the game. I dont buy it. I do feel, as many others so, that the analogy of this was a domestic situation gone public but for those who may think this is the norm, it is not. The locker room can be a rough place but it also is an intelligent place. Both extremes can exist at any given moment. Jonathan Martin should not have left the Dolphins and I sense he has had enough of football and thats okay. But the source is Incognito, and the reality is his values and personality are abrasive. That is putting it mildly. Roaring Lions In Detroit the Lions are in control of the NFC North. Green Bay has to wait for Aaron Rodgers, Chicago has lost twice to Detroit this season already and the Vikings are re-building. And there is a discussion that Calvin Johnson should be the NFL MVP in 2013. I have no problem with that. Sometimes in football its very easy to define why you win or lose. On offence if you can keep both safeties off the line of scrimmage because you have a receiver so good that you must play deep coverage you are going to move the ball with a good or even average running back. Detroit has that with Johnson and now Reggie Bush. Many talk about the physical gifts of Calvin Johnson, but theres not enough talk about the fact he is a very good receiver. Pattern runner. Catches everything. Blocks effectively. His value to Detroit is that he influences even the best NFL defences which does make him a viable MVP candidate. More Than Their Record I was watching the Monday Night Football game and thinking that that was a pretty good 1-8 Tampa Bay Buccaneer team. I often talk about opportunity in football. Recognizing it is Step 1 and taking advantage of it is Step 2. Often it is about players that dont but when it comes to Bucs quarterback Mike Glennon, you know that he is. Jon Gruden had the perfect comparison when he connected him to Joe Flacco but Glennon at this point may have a better arc. His throws are, well, pretty. They look good. Fast, hard, accurate and parallel to the ground when needed. Glennon is going to put on a bit more weight, continue to lead and establish himself this year as the present and the future of the Bucs. Carl Nicks is one of the best guards in football. When he played beside Donald Penn the Bucs had the best left side in football but now Penn is injured and you cant see it happen. I know many have said fire head coach Greg Schiano and it is an easy argument. But now I say wait and play the season out. Heart of the Eagles In Philadelphia the future is Nick Foles. Sixteen touchdown passes and one interception for a quarterback in his second year is not luck. It is understanding offences and directing everyone. Understanding defences and reacting correctly to all of them. Philadelphia has exceptional speed and this is without Jeremy Maclin so with that speed you must have a good deep ball thrower with time. Foles is an excellent deep ball thrower and left tackle Jason Peters and No. 1 pick Lane Johnson will provide the time. The NFC is a wide open division. Both the Redskins and Giants at 3-6 have to win all seven of their remaining games to get to 10. The Cowboys and Eagles are 5-5 and need to win five of six to get to 10. The NFC East easily could be represented by an 8-8 team or may I say a team with a losing record. All that aside, the Philadelphia Eagles have the inside lane in the race for the NFC East crown. The Real Deal And finally the Carolina Panthers are for real. There are two key games in their future. The first is Dec. 8 at New Orleans and the other is Dec. 22 when they host New Orleans. The unknown was after four wins over weaker teams like Minnesota, Tampa Bay, St. Louis and Atlanta, how would they play in San Francisco with the 49ers coming off the bye? A 10-9 road victory over Colin Kaepernick and company proves that Carolina is indeed for real. Adidas NMD Human Race China . The midfielder had an operation on Saturday, and is set to miss seven Premier League games, the third round of the FA Cup and the semifinals of the League Cup. Wholesale NMD . Lack made 20 saves for his third shutout of the season as the Canucks blanked the St. Louis Blues 1-0 in the first post-Olympic game for both teams night. http://www.cheapnmdonline.com/authentic-...ack-unisex.html. Icardi is living with the ex-wife of former teammate Maxi Lopez, and the Sampdoria forward refused to shake Icardis hand before kickoff. Walter Samuel and Rodrigo Palacio also scored for Inter while Lopez had a penalty saved. Adidas NMD R2 Sale . Everton Preview West Ham manager Sam Allardyce has been around the game long enough to not get too high when things are going well and not get too low when they arent. Adidas NMD R1 Wholesale . PETERSBURG, Fla.PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The Pittsburgh Penguins and captain Sidney Crosby hope that a recent bout with the mumps is a thing of the past.Blake Comeau scored 2:24 into overtime to give the Penguins a 1-0 victory against the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night.Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 29 shots, registering his career-best sixth shutout of the season just hours after the Penguins thought their starting goaltender had the mumps.It wasnt the mumps, Fleury said. Everybody goes through life with a cold here and there. Its no big deal. I felt good.Fleury, who recorded the 34th shutout of his career, was tested after missing Wednesdays practice with an illness, but the results came back negative and he was cleared for Thursdays game.Crosby did have the mumps and the Penguins captain returned Thursday after missing three games. The Penguins, who managed two wins and five of a possible six points without their captain, now have six wins in their last nine games.I think, as a hockey player, you crave that routine and competing, Crosby said. Its much better talking about hockey than that other stuff.Comeaus goal was his 11th of the season. He tapped his third game-winner of the year past goaltender Calvin Pickard after Evgeni Malkin deflected Rob Scuderis shot from the point in front. Malkin has points in six straight games.There are going to be times when goals are tough to come by, Comeau said. (Malkin) did a good job of tipping (the shot), it popped out to me and I was at the right spot at the right time.Pickard stopped 47 shots for the Avalanche, who lost for the sixth time in seven games and have one win in December.He played a really strong game for us and allowed us to be in that game, Avalanche coach Patrick Roy said. Obviously, he was our star player.Both teams were scoreless through two periods and Pickard, a rookie recalled from Lake Erie earlier this month, kept it that way with Pittsburgh pressing for the go-ahead goal. Pickard started the last four games and seven of the last 10 with Semyon Varlamov nursing a groin injury.dddddddddddde got pucks to the crease and we had guys in the crease looking for second-shot opportunities, Penguins coach Mike Johnston said. We scored the last one, but we probably had six or seven opportunities around the net where there was a loose puck in the crease and we just missed.The Penguins spent most of the third in the Colorado zone, registering 19 of the first 24 shots of the period.Crosby returned to practice Wednesday, skating for the first time since his diagnosis. Though Crosby missed a practice last week because of illness, the Penguins believed their captain wasnt at risk for the mumps after he received a booster shot prior to travelling to Russia for the Winter Olympics in February.But the Penguins announced Sunday that Crosby had contracted the mumps — two days after pronounced swelling in his face forced him to sit out last Fridays home game against Calgary.It took a period to get used to the speed, but once youre in the game you start feeling more comfortable, said Crosby, who logged 20:19 of ice time. I might be a little more tired than typically, but thats to be expected. You just kind of monitor it as you go along.Forward Beau Bennett also was diagnosed with mumps, which has affected at least five other NHL teams, while backup goaltender Thomas Greiss and defencemen Robert Bortuzzo and Olli Maatta — both sidelined because of injury —are all being tested.NOTES: Penguins D Christian Ehrhoff left after the first period with an undisclosed injury. Avalanche D Brad Stuart became the 293rd player in league history and 100th defenceman to appear in 1,000 career games.Penguins D Scott Harrington made his NHL debut on Thursday. The Penguins, for the fifth time, wore their third jersey -- a throwback to the black and yellow-gold colour scheme from when they won their first two Stanley Cups.Colorado continues a three-game road trip Saturday at Buffalo, while Pittsburgh hosts Florida. ' ' '