Hilfestellungen » make sure you go there with confidence and

TORONTO -- Imagine being Rob Blake over the past 24 hours.As part of Team Canadas management team, he was fully invested in a major win over rival Team USA at the World Cup of Hockey. No better feeling for a former Team Canada star player now turned executive.On the flip side, its not fun seeing his Los Angeles Kings GM Dean Lombardi getting raked over the coals for his decision-making in putting together Team USA.Its a tough position, Blake, assistant GM for the Kings, told ESPN.com Wednesday. I think they all know they have to go through Canada at the end of the day. They talk about it a lot and they probably use it as a way to get the guys motivated and that. But then when it doesnt go that way, theres going to be fallout. Itll be tough on him because he doesnt make any of those decisions without doing a ton of work in the background. That I know for sure, I see him in the office every day doing that. You know, its not like hes throwing a team on a piece of paper and says, Here we go. He put a lot of work into the background and everything.Blake, as of Wednesday afternoon, hadnt reached out yet to Lombardi. He wanted to give him some time, but he was going to give him a call soon enough, as theres also some Kings business to go over together.The narrative now in the wake of Team USAs ultra-disappointing performance here is that USA Hockey needs to rethink its ways. I mentioned to Blake that it was reminiscent to what happened here with Hockey Canada after Canadas semifinal loss to the Czech Republic in the NHLs first foray in the Olympics at Nagano in 1998. That came two years after losing to Team USA in the World Cup finals, Blake part of both of those Canadian squads. Hockeys birth country had a total meltdown after Nagano, and it actually led to a major summit in Toronto assembling some of the games smartest coaches and executives in an effort to rethink how players were developed in Canada.Part of the legacy of that summit was that Hockey Canada did indeed change many of its ways, spawning an impactful generation of players that has since dominated best-on-best hockey with Olympic wins at Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014. I think the intriguing thing for both countries right now is the young stars, the North American team, Blake said of the 23-and-under squad featuring Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews and Johnny Gaudreau. Theres a lot of talent on that team for both those countries that are up and coming.But yeah, its no different when we lost in Japan [in 1998], it was like they had to redo everything, Blake said. But I think you want that pressure because youre expected to win these tournaments. Im sure from knowing Dean and their management side on the U.S., they had the same expectations, they were expecting to win. Its no different from the guys in Canada. The expectations are always to win.And when you dont, you accept the fallout that comes with it.Fake Shoes Black Friday . Then the Pacers gave Oladipo and his Orlando teammates the cold shoulder. Paul Georges buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter spurred a 21-4 run, finally sending Indiana past the Magic 97-87 in a tougher-than-expected opening night matchup. Cheap Shoes Black Friday . LUCIE, Fla. https://www.cheapshoesblackfriday.com/ . But when it comes to determining if Raymond will find a place on the Leafs roster when training camp concludes in a week, well, that decision will ultimately fall to the head coach. Buy Shoes Black Friday .ca NBA Power Rankings, ahead of the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs. Wholesale Shoes Black Friday . -- Running backs Darren McFadden and Rashad Jennings were back at practice for the Oakland Raiders on Wednesday despite being hampered by hamstring injuries.Its been seemingly one distraction after another for West Ham United, who will once more try to find some consistency at their new home Saturday against an in-form Stoke City side seeking their fourth win on the bounce in Premier League play.The Hammers (3-1-6) are barely above the drop in 17th place courtesy their start in which they dropped five of their first six matches. The London side was denied a fourth consecutive win in all competitions last weekend with a 2-0 loss at Everton in which they conceded second-half goals to Romelu Lukaku and Ross Barkley.The inconsistencies have left West Ham looking nothing like the team that surprised many to a sixth-place finish last season and a Europa League playoff spot. And the team is once again dealing with off-field distractions on two fronts, one the scary incident in which injured striker Andy Carroll appeared to be the target of armed motorcyclists and led them on a high-speed chase back to the teams training grounds. The other, the on-going problems of fan violence at Olympic Stadium following the teams 2-1 victory over Chelsea in the League Cup.It was scary what happened, but he is OK, manager Slaven Bilic said of Carroll. What can I say? I will treat it as a one-off accident that happened. He was probably targeted. I dont think it was a coincidence. It was like a chase for 15 or 20 minutes and it was probably planned.He was very brave to do what he did, and he came back to the training ground and it stopped. He is good and OK, though, and he acted like a really brave man.The fan violence has forced West Ham to alter their segregated seating plans for visiting Stoke supporters. Seven people were arrested following the Chelsea match, and the disturbances have flared up for three matches running.It might help, but thats the only thing we can do; the club has done everything, Bilic said when asked about the alterations. There was enough, obvious segregation between our fans and the Chelsea fans. The club is going to make an even bigger gap and thats all the club can do.On the pitch, Bilics concern is trying to ignite an offence that has accounted for just 10 goals in league play and scored more than one gooal on just two occasions thus far.ddddddddddddWe are not scoring many goals and we are creating chances. But I would rather have us creating chances and waiting for a moment to convert them than not create them at all, he said.Stoke City (3-3-4), meanwhile, have fought to the middle of the table on the strength of their current surge and are unbeaten in their last five (3-2-0) following a four-match losing streak. The Potters swept aside Swansea City 3-1 on Monday as Wilfried Bony bagged a brace on either side of halftime.Having Bony open his account came at an opportune time for the Potters since Marko Arnautovic will serve a one-match ban for yellow card accumulation. But even without the Austria international, manager Mark Hughes is confident his team can find a way to notch a positive result in London.Weve had a run now of five games where we have been in a position where we feel our capabilities should be and we will be looking to maintain that, he told Stokes official website. It wont be easy, West Ham at home have sorted their act out a little bit, they struggled initially but have had a couple of good results there themselves.If youre going to go to difficult places, which this is a little bit of an unknown clearly with their new stadium, then you have to make sure you go there with confidence and thats what we are at the moment.Bilic is wary of containing midfielder Joe Allen, who leads the Potters with four goals and will be part of Wales squad for World Cup qualifying next week.He is playing really good, scoring and creating goals, Bilic noted. He scored for Wales against Austria and a few for Stoke and he is the link between the midfield and attack … he is one of their main players, especially now that Arnautovic is suspended and he is maybe their best player.Stoke City are unbeaten in their last six top-flight matches (3-3-0) versus West Ham, and the teams played to a scoreless draw at Upton Park in last seasons corresponding fixture. The Hammers are winless in their last four at home (0-3-1) against the Potters. ' ' '