Allgemeines » I try to live my life to the bes

The National Hockey Leagues regular season is upon us, and with it, so many compelling storylines. Heres whats top of mind as the puck gets set to drop on Wednesday:Cut the captain some slackOn Oct. 5,?Connor McDavid was named captain of the Edmonton Oilers, making him the youngest NHL captain ever. I have no problem with the assignment. McDavid is a rare talent, to be sure. But I also seem to be in the minority in believing that its a little over the top to suggest that McDavid, who is only 19 and just 45 games into his NHL career, is already poised to challenge for a scoring title.I didnt see him as that kind of player before he was named captain, and I dont see it now. Even if McDavid is a point-a-game guy this season -- and finishes with say, 82-85 points, assuming he stays healthy -- it will somehow be disappointing given the preseason prognostications. And that is just wrong. Good on him if hes a 95- to 100-point player. Hes bound to get there sooner or later. But having to answer for the sins of the NHLs worst franchise on a nightly basis will add a kind of burden that cant help but impact his on-ice performance, at least at the beginning. How about we cut the kid some slack?Time to double down on disciplineThe league has once again embarrassed itself with its handling of supplemental discipline, and we havent even had a meaningful puck drop yet. But were not going to batter the NHL Department of Player Safety, even though it is laughable that -- until Radko Gudas was suspended for the first six games of the NHL regular season for his late, high hit on Bruins prospect Austin Czarnik in a preseason game -- the dangerous, reckless play of Gudas,?Niklas Hjalmarsson, Tanner Pearson and Andrew Shaw somehow managed to net a total of just three regular-season games in suspensions.?Watch them in sequence and ask yourself if they are the kinds of hits that make the game better. Better yet, why arent NHL GMs watching those games and breaking into a cold sweat? They allege, as a group, to be the caretakers of the game. So take care of it. Demand at the fall meeting that the Department of Player Safety stop making the league the subject of regular ridicule for its flaccid approach to supplemental discipline for on-ice infractions. Start with a five-game ban for a first offense on a dangerous hit to the head or boarding from behind and go from there.Oh, and by the way, where is the NHL Players Association on this? It should be in lockstep with the GMs on this, demanding greater suspensions so players can play the game the way it should be played without worrying about morons like Shaw (who is fast becoming the least likable player in the league, especially after his suspension last season for being caught uttering a homophobic slur) potentially ending their career. Not that were holding our breath on that one.Will the Islanders bolt Brooklyn?Speaking of embarrassing, the NHL has to hope that the festering situation in Brooklyn comes to some sort of resolution -- and sooner rather than later. The?New York Islanders?first season at Barclays Center was, to put it charitably, an up-and-down one. On the ice, the Isles won a playoff round for the first time since 1993, but the experience for fans was subpar, as transit to the arena often stunk, sight lines were marred and the ice was the worst in the NHL for most of the season.And, in spite of platitudes uttered from both sides, it appears that the Barclays brass and Islanders ownership dont really get along. Maybe its leverage on the part of the Islanders, who are trying to squeeze Barclays to do a better job of making this a hockey-friendly home, but the repeated reports that the team is looking for a new home somewhere in the New York area must be hard for fans and the league to take after all the hoopla of a year ago amid the move off Long Island.Maybe it will all get worked out, Barclays and the Islanders will become best buds, and the Islanders will settle in for a long, successful run in Brooklyn. It doesnt look likely, though, and the longer the threat of moving somewhere else goes on, the bigger the embarrassment for the league ... which had hoped to leave all that nonsense on Long Island.The Jets knew he was Trouba when he walked inThis is crunch time for the Winnipeg Jets?and?GM Kevin Cheveldayoff.?Defenseman Jacob Trouba wants out (or apparently, at the very least, wants to stay on the right side of the Jets defense). Boohoo for the Rochester, Michigan, native. But like Steve Yzerman in Tampa -- who last season had to deal with the trade demands of an unproven youngster in Jonathan Drouin?-- Cheveldayoff is in the spotlight.Yzermans decision to send Drouin home and wait out the situation before ultimately welcoming Drouin back into the fold late last season was easier because the Lightning were a good team that didnt really need the young player. The Jets arent that good and are fast becoming the Atlanta Thrashers without the humidity. This will be the teams fifth season in Winnipeg after relocating from downtown Atlanta. The Jets have won exactly the same number of playoff games that the Thrashers did: zero. They have the same number of playoff appearances too: one.Are the Jets a playoff team with Trouba? Maybe. Are they one without him or without a player of similar age and skill set? Even less likely. It hard enough to get players to come to Winnipeg, but if Cheveldayoff knuckles and doesnt get market value for a disgruntled 22-year-old whose development has been only so-so, the Jets are doomed.Will Boudreau bring winning ways to Wild??It will be interesting to monitor several coaching performances as the season moves along. I love the fit of Bruce Boudreau with the?Minnesota Wild.?Never mind his playoff record (38-35), Boudreau gets great value out of his teams during the regular season and thatll be a welcome tonic for Wild fans, who have suffered through regular-season upheaval the past three or four seasons.Were also going to find out if the?Colorado Avalanche?just stink or whether it was their coach -- Hall of Famer Patrick Roy, who up and quit in late summer -- who stunk. Either way, its a pretty important season for rookie bench boss Jared Bednar. Dont be fooled by the Avs glossy preseason record. Theres lots of work to do in Denver.Sabres on edge this seasonIts a big season for the?Buffalo Sabres,?who made significant strides last season after their tank-a-thon netted them Jack Eichel with the second overall pick in the 2015 draft. Adding Kyle Okposo was a huge get for GM Tim Murray and were going to find out whether?Robin Lehner?can be the guy in net. But the biggest question mark is Evander Kane,?who has found himself at the center of a series of off-ice legal problems. Its difficult to assess from afar, but there doesnt seem to be all that much in the way of contrition from the former fourth overall pick. He has the potential to be a big piece of the solution in hockey-mad Buffalo. Right now hes simply the problem.Vesey has plenty to proveI have to admit that the whole Jimmy Vesey drama -- and the collective hand-wringing over where the collegiate star would end up -- left me a little cold. But Vesey and his people used the system to their benefit and now hes a member of the?New York Rangers.?If hes as good as his press clippings, no one will remember the celebrity endorsements and the hurt feelings of teams like the Sabres, Bruins,?Nashville Predators and Toronto Maple Leafs? But if Vesey struggles -- and if those struggles can be attributed to playing under a spotlight that might not otherwise have shone as bright and hot -- there will be some real soul-searching about how this all went down.End the Olympic gamesmanshipAnd finally, with word that the NHL and presumably the NHLPA will be visiting PyeongChang, South Korea, for a site inspection ahead of the mid-January deadline to confirm NHL participation in the 2018 Olympics, heres hoping someone finds a way to keep the NHL/Olympic train rolling. As we saw at the World Cup of Hockey, nothing else quite compares to the Olympics, and to see NHL participation in the Games go away would be a grand shame. And lets not even abide any talk about opting out of 2018 and returning to China four years later. Shame on the NHL if it starts cherry-picking Olympic Games that suit its needs. Harrison Butker Youth Jersey Derrick Thomas Jersey . In taking its goal tally to 99 in all competitions already this season, City delivered another demonstration of its lethal firepower at Etihad Stadium to set up a fourth-round match at home to another second-tier team -- Watford. http://www.prochiefsauthentic.com/Youth-Travis-Kelce-Elite-Jersey/ . Luis Suarezs double powered Liverpool to a 4-0 victory over Fulham, and Southampton easily overcame Hull 4-1 to continue the south coast clubs impressive start to the season. Liverpool and Southampton sent Chelsea down to fourth place as the west London club was held to 2-2 at home. Juan Thornhill Womens Jersey . Detroit and Boston are deadlocked, 1-1, and Tigers manager Jim Leyland could be forgiven if he was caught rationalizing instead of dissecting how his club could blow a 5-1 lead late in Game 2. Len Dawson Jersey . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. ESPN.com caught up with Jamaican track star and nine-time Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt, who visited the ESPN campus in Bristol, Connecticut, on Friday. Here are some snippets from the conversation:Question from ESPN.com: Youve mentioned many times over the past few months that the Rio Olympics will be your last Olympics. So, still the same? No Tokyo?Answer from Usain Bolt: No, definitely not. Rio would be my last Olympics.Q: Will the IAAF 2017 World Championships in London be your last hurrah?A: Thats what I keep saying, but my coach keeps telling me not to say that because he wants me to continue [to compete] because he thinks I can do more if I want. He says, Wait until the end of the season to decide, but I really want to retire after [the season].Q: What do you want to do after you retire?A: I have a lot of things in the pipeline right now. One of the main things is to do as much around track and field as possible, because I think the sport needs the help to continue to motivate athletes. Also, in Jamaica, through my foundation, I want to develop a clinic for the younger kids so, when they get injured, it can be cheaper [to get treatment], and help them get off to a better start to go to the professional level.Q: How much have the recent doping scandals, with the recent developments in Russia leading into Rio and track overall, affected the accomplishments of elite athletes?A: I think its rough for sports in general. I always say, you have to get to the worst to get better, and I think the IAAF [International Association of Athletics Federations] and WADA [World Anti-Doping Agency] are doing a good job now in cleaning up the sport. This is why it is so bad at this point, but now, because they are so aggressive with what they are doing ... Yes, its bad, but its a good thing they are actually doing this so the sport can get into a better light in the near future.Q: What role do you play in that process?A: I will try to stay as close to the sport [as I can], because Ive already proved you can do it clean. If I can stay [involved] with the sport, we can find different ways to motivate people and preach to them and explaiin to them that all they need is dedication to the sport.dddddddddddd.Q: What is your take on the conversation that is happening right now in this country around Colin Kaepernick and the recent protests?A: Everyone has the right to their own opinion. If you feel strongly about something and you want to voice your opinion, I feel its your right, so, thats how I look at it because thats how life is.Q: Is that something you will get involved in, before or after retirement?A: No, for me, I stay as far away from politics as possible, or any controversy. I try to live my life to the best, but I just always preach that you should just work hard and do your best ... I try to stay as far away from that as possible.Q: Who is the next Usain Bolt?A: Its hard to say, but I hope its going to be a Jamaican. Yohan Blake has proven himself that he can be great, so I hope he can be that person. ... Andre De Grasse is going to be a great contender, but like I said, I hope its going to be a Jamaican [smiles]. But De Grasse is going to be a great athlete.Q: Who is the best Olympian of all time?A: I would love to go with me [laughs]. Theres a lot of great Olympians, but for me, I try to prove myself as one of the best -- and thats the key thing. I want to be one of the greatest athletes ever to live, not only in track and field, but in all of general sport.Q: Would you trade in all of your Olympic gold medals for a chance to play for Manchester United in a Premier League match?A: No, no, I couldnt do that. ... Its a lot of hard work to get nine Olympic [gold] medals! I couldnt do that. No. Its tempting, but no.Q: Favorite meal? And not necessarily an in-training meal.A: My favorite thing is always wings. That is my guilty pleasure.Q: How many wings did you eat after the Olympics were over?A: I actually had nuggets and mostly Asian food when I was at the Olympics [laughs]. But as soon as I got back to Jamaica, or when I was in London, I had a lot of wings. That was the first thing I asked for -- Hey, get me some wings. ' ' '