Neues » then all of a sudden we wake up

TORONTO – High above the ice, while practice took place on Thursday afternoon in Toronto, stood Maple Leafs general manager Dave Nonis. Wholesale Arizona State Jerseys . He watched his team work through various drills, hash out lingering points of confusion and prepare for the latest biggest game of the year - a Friday clash with the Philadelphia Flyers. Nonis can do nothing, however, to affect the fortunes of his skidding team at this very late stage in the season, one tumbling precariously close to another late-season collapse. "Eight games left," said Phil Kessel, shortly before departure to Philadelphia. "Weve got to win some games and get in the playoffs here." "This is desperation time," Nazem Kadri added. "Were playing for our lives, so weve got to go start acting like it." It was exactly two years ago that the 18-wheeler of 2012 officially crashed for good. Losing for a stunning 19th time in 24 games against the Carolina Hurricanes on a late March night, the Leafs were eliminated from the postseason, the culmination of an epic unraveling that would cost Ron Wilson his job. Can they avoid a similar and yet perhaps more stinging fate this time around? The thought would have been almost unthinkable only two weeks earlier, but with six straight losses - all in regulation - and not a single point gained, the Leafs are indeed facing that reality. With a blink or two of the eye, theyve been passed by seven teams, now trailing the Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets for the final two wild card positions, and are in danger of fumbling away a second-straight trip to the postseason. Aspirations of capturing second spot in the Atlantic Division and home-ice advantage in the first round have been replaced by simply making it outright. The shift has been stunning. "I know right now it seems like were at a low point, but we will come through it," said captain Dion Phaneuf, speaking after a near 90-minute practice in Toronto, his performance and subsequent absence afterward a point of much consternation just a couple days earlier. "Im not going to stand here and say that weve played well. We havent. We havent won games, but theres been stretches that weve done some good things, we just havent found a way to win a game and were going to have to do that Friday." The pressure to do so has never been higher. At some point, the pit of despair becomes just too deep to dig out of, the snowball too large to stop from rolling. That was the case for the club in 2012. Four straight early February losses rapidly morphed into nine of 10, a souring fan-base and the sudden dismissal of Wilson. Things would get no better in the early days of Carlyles tenure with 10 more losses in the next 14 games, including the aforementioned knockout blow on March 27. "Theres pressure in any situation like this," said Kessel, "[but] weve just got to bounce back. If we can get a couple wins here, it would be positive for our group. Weve just got to keep going then." Fear of it all slipping away has seemingly seeped in. Head coach Randy Carlyle observed "tenseness" in the early stages of Tuesdays loss to St. Louis, pushing his club to be more assertive against Philadelphia, currently third in the Metropolitan Division - three points ahead of Toronto. "If youre going to stand there and youre in a street fight and youre not going to move, youre going to allow somebody to swing away, youre going to get hit," said Carlyle. "But if you move and try to avoid the hit and do what you do youre not going to get hit as many times, simple as that." Starts have become the most obvious foe to success during the two-week slide, early and often deep deficits too much to overcome. "So we have to move ourselves," said Carlyle. "We have to move our feet, we have to continue to move the puck effectively, we have to skate … Those are the things that we have to correct and we have to correct it for [Friday] night." "Were starting the games terrible," Kessel said. "Were getting down a couple goals. Theyre out-playing us the first half of the game and then all of a sudden we wake up and we come [back] and its just too late." The same could be said of their playoff fortunes. A collapse under these circumstances might pale in comparison to 2012, given their comfortable state with just weeks to go - they were up three points on the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning as recently as two weeks ago, now trailing both by a wide margin - and the heightened expectations of a club seemingly on the rise. Its a sting they wont want to experience again. "It snowballed on us," Phaneuf said after that season-sealing loss to Carolina two years ago. "We lost a lot of tight games and we just could not recover or find a way out of it as a group." Will they this time around time around? The answer will come soon enough. Stitched Arizona State Jerseys . -- The Vancouver Whitecaps remained unbeaten with a scoreless draw at the New England Revolution on Saturday. Pat Tillman College Jersey . He did one better Sunday by holing out a pitching wedge from 142 yards for eagle, capping a remarkable 28 on the back nine to win The Championship at Laguna National. http://www.cheaparizonastatejerseys.com/ . Trailing 4-1 in the final set, Sharapova steadied her erratic service game and took command again to beat the 56th-ranked American 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 on clay at the Magic Box tennis centre. The ninth-ranked Russian looked to be cruising before McHale broke late in the second set to tie the match and then took her commanding lead in the final set after breaking Sharapova.CFL free agency is a few months down the road and theres an impressive list of players that will be free to shop in the open market if their respected teams dont sign them. Free agency starts on Feb. 15 and the league released its list for available names on Thursday. Toronto Argonauts Backup quarterback Zach Collaros impressed many this season when Ricky Ray went down with a shoulder injury and missed a good portion of the season. Appearing in 14 games, Collaros threw for 2,316 yards and 14 touchdowns. The Ottawa Redblacks might be interested in taking the Cincinnati product if Toronto decides to protect Ray from the expansion draft. Wide receiver Dontrelle Inman could be on his way out as well. The 23-year-old, second year player was third on the Argos in receiving, racking up 739 yards and six touchdowns. Defensive back Patrick Watkins was solid for Toronto with 43 tackles and five interceptions. He will hit the open market as well if the Argonauts dont lock him up. Other possible free agents include slot back Mike Bradwell, kicker Swayze Waters and offensive lineman Andrew Jones. Montreal Alouettes After a disappointing year that saw quarterback Anthony Calvillo miss most of the season, the Alouettes go into the off-season with a few question marks on their offensive line. Starters Josh Bourke, Michael Ola and Luc Brodeur-Jourdain are slated to become free agents in February. Brodeur-Jourdain and Bourke are Canadian. Veteran linebacker Kyries Helbert was second on Montreal with 68 tackles and will become a free agent if not signed. Others include defensive back Billy Parker and Canadian linebacker Marc-Olivier Brouillette. Hamilton Tiger-Cats Hamilton will have to re-sign a big name behind centre if they want a reasonable shot at getting back to the Grey Cup in B.C. Quarterback Henry Burris will become a free agent if not signed, but all things point to the 38-year-old returning in black and gold colours next year. Burris has publically stated that he wants to stay in the Steel City. Burris threw for 4,925 with 25 touchdowns and 19 picks in 2013. Linebackers Jamall Johnson and Simoni Lawrence were cornerstones on the Ti-Cats defence this year, leading the team in tackles and interceptions respectively. Theyll be on the open market come February if not signed. Kiicker Luca Congis contract will be also expire. Cheap Arizona State Gear. Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Bombers finished dead last in 2013 with a 3-15 record. And they stand to lose some of their better players this off-season. Running back William Ford led the team in rushing with 594 yards and two touchdowns. On the defensive side of the ball, third-year linebacker Henoc Muamba led the team and was second in the CFL in tackles with 106. Both will have the chance to hit the open market. Saskatchewan Roughriders The 101st Grey Cup champions will want their core back in 2014 if theyre looking for a repeat. Their biggest possible loss is running back Kory Sheets. The Grey Cup MVP was second in the CFL in rushing with 1,598 and had 23 touchdowns on the ground. Wide receivers Taj Smith and Weston Dressler each had over 1,000 yards receiving and each can become free agents this off-season. Linebacker Craig Butler led the Riders in tackles with 60 and was second in interceptions with four. Calgary Stampeders Much of Calgarys core is locked up for 2014, but theres a few names they might hope to retain. Corner back Jamar Wall and defensive back Chris Randle were tied for first in interceptions on the Stamps with four. Wide receiver Maurice Price had a nice season, racking up 788 yards receiving and catching seven touchdowns. Linebacker Juwan Simpson could also be leaving Calgary this off-season. B.C. Lions The Lions have only five free agents to worry about over the winter. The big one is wide receiver Nick Moore, who was third in the league with 1,105 receiving yards. The 27-year-old also had six touchdown receptions. Moore will work out with the Minnistota Vikings next Monday (Dec. 2). Defensive lineman Keron Williams was tied for fourth on the team with four sacks and could hit the open market. Edmonton Eskimos Edmonton finished this season with just four wins, leading to the firing of their head coach Kavis Reed. One of the first tasks for new coach Chris Jones will be to take a look at his teams upcoming free agents. Linebacker Damaso Munoz was second on the team in tackles with 88 and defensive back Joe Burnett was fourth with 57. The Eskimos stand to lose Orrin Thompson and Scott Mitchell from the offensive line if theyre not signed before Feb. 15. 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