7) Which NHL team should benefit most from the All-Star break? (Lets go ahead and say Buffalo. Fake Shoes Black Friday . The Sabres have gone their separate ways already and dont play again until January 27 in Calgary. Sabres coach Ted Nolan told his players to take advantage of the extended time off and "enjoy life". Until January 27, I guess.)8) Does it follow, then, that Buffalo will visit Edmonton on that trip? (Sure enough, two nights later, in the game that will captivate those who, like a certain Buffalo radio personality, think the race in reverse to 30th place is "the best race in sports".)9) If an NHL team wanted to copy Detroits success, what would it do? (Invest, almost exclusively, in the draft. The 20-man Detroit lineup for Sunday nights 6-4 win over Buffalo included one NHL free agent (Stephen Weiss), one NHL player claimed on waivers (Drew Miller), two college free agents (Danny DeKeyser and Luke Glendening), and 16 players drafted by the Red Wings, none of them drafted in the top 20. Truly remarkable.)10) The Seattle-Green Bay NFC championship game was so good, it should have lasted longer. And, with a more sensible overtime rule, it would have. How and why? (The NFL changed its rules to admit that the result of the overtime coin toss should not be as important as it was when a first-possession field goal could end the game, but for some reason, its okay to win the toss, march for a touchdown and celebrate a win. Its only right that if both teams snap the ball in one case, it should be that way in any case.)11) Any other rules the NFL should change? (Plenty of them, if fairness and logic and common sense are applied. Two of the best head-coaching prospects will be busy at the Super Bowl, so Seattle defensive co-ordinator Dan Quinn and New England offensive co-ordinator Josh McDaniels have not been allowed to receive or accept offers from other teams. It should be that way for their peers. If some, and arguably the best assistant coaches are prevented from taking jobs until after the Super Bowl, others should have to wait, too.)12) Would the Seahawks amazing comeback have happened if the game had been played in Green Bay? (Surely not, as the momentum from Seattles "12th man" had a lot to do with it. Of interest is the fact that the game would have been played in Green Bay if not for the Packers Week 15 loss in Buffalo, a game that saw Aaron Rodgers complete only 17 of 42 passes, with two interceptions. The legacy of Doug Marrone and Kyle Orton, if you will.)13) What is likely to happen with DeflateGate? (Lets guess that officials felt the need to weigh a football and found it to be under-inflated, thereby creating the need for further attention. Given the Patriots history of trickery and rule-bending, an investigation was warranted, and it will be concluded that no tampering was done to any footballs, even one or more that might have needed a bit of air. On the other hand, if New England is found guilty of tampering with Sundays game balls, the league will be forced to get lot tougher than the Pats actions might warrant. Because...enough is enough.)14) Some early Super Bowl betting odds picked the Patriots by a point, and others the Seahawks by one. Has there ever been a Super Bowl without a favourite? (No, there has never been a "pick em" Super Bowl.)15) What do you think the Denver Broncos were saying as they watched the AFC Championship? ("We had a running attack and we had Peyton Manning - how did we lose to the Indianapolis Colts?")16) How badly do the Broncos want Manning as their quarterback for another season, or two? (That can be debated now that theyve hired Gary Kubiak as their new head coach. It has been suggested that Kubiaks offence calls for a quarterback more mobile than Manning, and that Kubiak was less than interested in Mannings services for that reason when he coached in Houston. But Kubiak wasnt hired by John Elway without committing to Manning if Manning commits to him, the Broncos and at least one more NFL season.)17) Does it make sense that the Washington Nationals would trade Stephen Strasburg after signing Max Scherzer? (Eventually, perhaps, because when Strasburg becomes a free agent following the 2016 season, the Nats will find him too rich for their books after giving Scherzer his 200-plus million-dollar deal. But for the coming season, at least, wouldnt they be tempted to trot out a rotation of Scherzer, Strasburg, Jordan Zimmerman, Gio Gonzalez and Doug Fister?)18) Is there anyone else to criticize after criticizing Daniel Carcillo for cross-checking Mathieu Perreault, and the NHL for suspending Carcillo for only six games? (How about the Chicago Blackhawks? Do they really need Daniel Carcillo?)19) Whats the definition of a bad NBA game? (This from Monday in Oakland - the Golden State Warriors beat the Denver Nuggets by 43 points. Thirteen members of the Warriors played at least 10 minutes each, and all 13 scored points. It could only have been worse if the game had been played in Denver.)20) Finally, would I dare to call the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings "losers"? (No, but I so dislike the NHLs three-point game and the point it donates to the "loser" that I must point out the 12 "loser points" received this season by the Kings. LA has won only 20 times. The Leafs have 22 wins.) Shoes Black Friday Deals 2020 . A 23-year-old rookie, Stroman is 4-2 with a 3.44 earned run average in 12 games this season, the past seven of those being starts. He logged the first scoreless outing of his career on Friday versus Oakland in a no-decision. Cheap Shoes Black Friday .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. https://www.cheapshoesblackfriday.com/ . -- Derek Jeter says the New York Yankees have no choice but to move forward now that Alex Rodriguez has accepted his suspension for the 2014 season.It was a day of disbelief at the World Cup. A day where thousands sat in stunned silence. A day when a minnow deservedly beat a European powerhouse; when a former European powerhouse awoke from years of discontent and immaturity to put it all together on the biggest stage of all. Italy 0-1 Costa Rica D4. It stood right there on the board. It was the World Cup draw and every country was represented. D4, where hopes and dreams would have to go through not one, not two but three extremely hot Northern locations in group play. Manuas, Recife and then Natal. Three matches, including two at 1pm local time. Once the draw was made D4 got even worse, becoming the position where two non-European seeded teams came together. Two former winners. Englands entourage at the draw may have made headlines for the famous cut-throat gesture when handed their three opponents but this was far from what Italy wanted. Yet, still they remained in their base, at the seaside resort of Mangaratiba, over a thousand miles away from all three locations. The Italians put aside any worries about slow starts with a master class against England in their opener and arrived in Recife hoping to book their place in the next round against the groups apparent whipping boys, Costa Rica. For 30 minutes it was going to plan. Daniele De Rossi sat deep, allowed the full backs to motor on and Andrea Pirlo pulled the strings for the others to dance to. Mario Balotelli should have scored at least once and Claudio Marchisio, a misplaced backpass aside, was outstanding. Then the heavyweights hit the deck. Hard. Giorgio Chiellini misplaced a back pass, allowed Joel Campbell to blow by him before fouling in the box. Penalty. Except the referee missed it. Of course he did, look where he was? Apparently the counter-attacking World Cup isnt as easy to ref as people would hope. Italy got away with a standing count but a minute later they were floored again, this time for real. Their narrow 4-3-3 can be very successful with the ball but the wide members of their attack do tuck in and when Junior Diaz motored down the left wing the hapless Ignazio Abate had no help. Diaz whipped in a wonderful cross and Bryan Ruiz completed a miserable two minutes for the ball-watching Chiellini by heading in at the back post. Italy were down and apparently out; a wounded heavyweight with no energy or quality to help them back up. The biggest surprise was not them losing a competitive first half 1-0, it was their pathetic display in the second. Once again, just like Spain, we saw a European powerhouse labor through a game in South America devoid of ideas in the unfamiliar scenario of being behind. Cesare Prandelli, one of the games great flexible coaches, played three cards with his subs and they were all wrong. Instead of looking like a complete side, knowing what each others roles can be, against England, Italy were clueless against a magnificently organized Costa Rican back five. The image of Antonio Cassano rather than Ciro Immobile, for example, trying to get them back in the game was as sad as seeing the likes of Iker Casillas, Xavi and Steven Gerrard underperform at this World Cup. The game is changing in front of our very eyes and if Italy dont get back to what makes them special theyll soon be flying home just like Spain and England. Despite mistakes on Friday, their back seven - Buffon, back four, De Rossi and Pirlo - is good enough to win a World Cup. Who plays with them, and how they play, will ensure just when this teams tournament will end. France 5-2 Switzerland If you read any previews heading into this World Cup you probably had them tell you how difficult Switzerland are to break down and how mentally fragile France are. Welcome to the 2014 World Cup where stereotypes and form guides are being broken down as quickly as the Maracana security.&nnbsp; Switzerland had a nightmare from start to finish. Wholesale Shoes Black Friday. Everything went wrong for them, from a key early injury to massive errors by usually reliable players it was simply a game they just need to forget immediately. Win their last match against Honduras and they should qualify. If you cant beat them then they dont deserve to advance. France was magnificent. It was the best performance they have produced post- Zinedine Zidane and it wasnt even close. When France got to the final in 2006 they never produced back-to-back halves as good as this one. They scored five, missed a penalty and scored another fine goal less than a second after the final whistle blew. It was only fitting this game ended with the ball in the back of the net. In three matches in Salvador this World Cup has now produced SEVENTEEN goals. Or, the same amount of goals Norwich City scored at home all of last season. Suddenly, France looks like a legitimate, serious contender for this World Cup. Hated by their own people back in October after losing the opening leg against Ukraine, Les Bleus have gone from a bunch of arrogant, unlikeable underachievers to a formidable power with tremendous depth, full of players with Champions League experience who fear no one. Even their key nemesis in recent years, Spain, cant get in their way now. Guaranteed winners of a comfortable group, the tournament opens up for them now and Germany in the quarterfinals looks like a real possibility. Just dont call them dark horses. They were always too talented for that. The moment the draw was made, these so-called dark horses left the stable as a shiny white horse more than capable of easily jumping the first fence at the World Cup. Now that star striker Karim Benzema is finally playing as good as he does for Real Madrid this once lazy, uninterested horse is trotting hard towards the last week of this tournament. Ecuador 2-1 Honduras This was another great game at the World Cup. Honduras took the lead through Carlo Costly and it was then that we saw what Ecuador could do. Enner Valencia, their new goal scoring hero, grabbed a brace with a combination of good finishing and poor defending. Honduras will be furious with how they conceded, particularly the winning goal, which was another header from another good cross at this World Cup. Man of the Day Nominees Bryan Ruiz - No matter what this proud country do at this World Cup from here on in, they have their moment and their hero. Giancarlo Gonzalez - The Columbus Crew defender was absolutely marvelous against the Italians, leading a very high line and spending much of the game with Mario Balotelli in his pocket. Jorge Luis Pinto - The Costa Rica boss has got his tactics spot on in back-to-back games. Olivier Giroud - It proved to be a masterstroke inserting the Arsenal man into the lineup by Didier Deschamps. A superb header opened the floodgates but his buildup and attacking run - allowing Mathieu Valbuena to be onside - for the third goal was just as good. Enner Valencia - Every World Cup has a player from a smaller nation who some target in their pool heading in. The Ecuadorian hitman is no Lucas Barrios from 2010 thats for sure. The Winner… Jose Luis Pinto - Games are won and lost by players but Pinto, a veteran coach of 19 teams in 30 years, has outcoached Oscar Tabarez and Cesare Prandelli inside a week. A phenomenal achievement. What comes next? Argentina vs Iran (12pm/9am), Germany vs Ghana (3pm/Noon), Bosnia-Herzegovina vs Nigeria (6pm/3pm). Burning question for tomorrow Will Iran be the perfect opponent for Lionel Messi to score some more goals at a World Cup and quiet those who only think he plays well when he scores? Key stat of Day 9 Honduran goal scorer Carlo Costly was not even born the last time his country scored at the World Cup (1982). ' ' '