Off Topic » pretty darn good. Felix Doubront

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. - Ever so steadily, Jarome Iginla is getting up to speed with the Colorado Avalanche.Not easy, either, given all their speed.At 37, Iginla is simply trying to keep up with these kids flying up and down the ice. He picked this place in free agency because they have all the ingredients: A goal-scoring phenom in rookie of the year Nathan MacKinnon, a top-notch goaltender in Semyon Varlamov and an unorthodox coach in Patrick Roy who has a knack for pushing all the right buttons.Given his age, Iginla doesnt have much time left to hoist a Stanley Cup.Given their youth, the Avs sure could use another leader like him.Theres going to be some fun nights because of the things they can do a€” the skill level to go with the speed, said Iginla, who scored 30 goals for Boston last season. Very impressed with the tempo and the creativity.Iginla has been enthralled by the Avs for quite some time, too, watching from afar last season as the Avalanche tied a franchise record with 52 wins in Roys first season behind the bench. It was difficult not to pay attention with Colorado catching the hockey world by surprise and returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2010.What happened next, though, has haunted Roy all off-season a€” an overtime goal by the Minnesota Wild in Game 7 to end their season.We still think about that goal, Roy said.Thats why Roy and his former teammate turned executive Joe Sakic infused some grizzled veterans into their youthful squad, just to give them more leadership when times turned tough. They traded for Daniel Briere and Brad Stuart. And then, when Paul Stastny bolted for St. Louis, they brought in Iginla.The more leaders you have in the dressing room the better off youre going to be, Sakic said.Now comes the real challenge a€” winning when all eyes are upon them.Sure, theres a little more pressure, Briere said. But Id rather be a team that everybody is expecting to win, because that means you should be winning if you do your job right. I like the makeup of this team. What they did last year was tremendous.So far, Colorado has looked rather sluggish in the preseason, but Roy hardly gives it a second thought. Hes tinkering with different line combinations, trying to decide the best pairings between Matt Duchene, Ryan OReilly, captain Gabe Landeskog, Alex Tanguay, Iginla and MacKinnon.Here are some things to watch as the Avalanche prepare to open at Minnesota on Oct. 9:EVEN FASTER: Believe it or not, the already lightning quick MacKinnon may have found another gear this off-season working out with Duchene and Penguins standout Sidney Crosby. MacKinnon is coming off a season in which he scored 24 goals on his way to rookie of the year honours. I do have more jump in my step, MacKinnon said.FEELING HIP: Tanguay dealt with nagging knee and hip injuries all last season before finally electing to have hip surgery in February after playing in just 16 games. Healthy again, hes using this preseason to gain trust in that hip. He could again be paired with Iginla. The two were once teammates in Calgary.ANY ROLE WILL DO: When he arrived in Denver, Briere wasnt informed of his role by Roy but given some advice. Told me to come in and have fun, to relax, said Briere. He played a limited role most of last year for Montreal, which advanced to the Eastern Conference Final. Personally, a frustrating season as far as responsibilities went on the ice, Briere said. So that was (Roys) words of advice, just to come in here and have fun and good things will happen.VARLY, VARLY: Colorado will keep leaning heavily on Varlamov, who broke Roys team record for most wins (41) in a single season. He showed the world last year that he was a No. 1 goalie and Im sure Varlys going to continue to do that, Roy said. Varlamovs backup will be Reto Berra after Jean-Sebastien Giguere retired.LATE KNACK: Roy was revered last season for taking chances, like pulling the goaltender with plenty of time left in the third period, just to give his team more of a chance to score the equalizer. Hes one of the best in-game tactical coaches that Ive had, defenceman Erik Johnson said. Yeezy Boost 350 v2 Cheap . Dwyane Wade followed a few days later. Under Armour Shoes Cheap . A night later, he was back to help lead a rout of the Detroit Pistons. John Wall had 20 points and 11 assists, and Beal scored 10 of his 15 points during the second quarter as Washington pulled away for a 106-82 victory on Saturday. http://www.cheapairmaxchinawholesale.com...max-outlet.html. "I could have been equipment manager but nooooo" from Lisa on Ice. Season 6, Episode 8. Vapormax Plus Cheap . Setting United on its way to a 2-0 victory, Rooney sent the ball high from inside the halfway line over goalkeeper Adrian after just seven minutes. "Its just instinct, Ive turned and had a quick look and seen the goalkeeper off his line," Rooney said. Vans Shoes Discount . Although taking two of three from the Baltimore Orioles wasnt nearly as uplifting as winning the World Series, it still felt pretty darn good. Felix Doubront and four relievers combined kept Baltimores potent lineup in check, and David Ortiz had three of Bostons 12 hits off Wei-Yin Chen in a 4-3 victory Thursday night.OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Golden State Warriors say an MRI on point guard Stephen Currys left ankle shows a bone bruise and his status is officially day to day. Curry was injured in the third quarter of Golden States 106-93 victory at the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night. He said after the game he will "probably" play at San Antonio on Friday night when the Warriors visit the Spurs in a rematch of last seasons second-round playoff series.dddddddddddd Curry had just five points on 2-for-8 shooting with seven assists in 24 minutes against Minnesota. He walked gingerly after getting tangled up with Ricky Rubio and did not play in the fourth quarter. Curry had repeated problems with his left ankle during the playoffs. He has had two surgeries on his right ankle. ' ' '