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Geregistreerd op: 25 Jun 2018
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 Geplaatst: 27-06-2018 02:57:03 Onderwerp: Tippett expects him to be OK to play in the quarter- |
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| Graham DeLaet starts his first tournament of 2014 this week in San Diego, teeing it up at the Farmers Insurance Open. Mark Andrews Ravens Jersey . While hell be dialed in to that tournament on a course he loves, you can forgive him if his eyes glance down the calendar just a bit, towards April. While every stop is important for the Canadian golfer, he is more than just a little excited about his first opportunity to play the Masters. "When I look at the schedule, thats the one thing that stands out," he said just prior to heading out to San Diego. "I feel like I know the course so well already, the breaks on the green and where to hit it. Its my highlight sporting event of the year to watch." DeLaet earned his spot in the field through his stellar 2013 season making it to the Tour Championship as well as finishing inside the top 50 on the Official World Golf Ranking. He even Tweeted out a picture of the official invitation, which now sits framed on a shelf in his living room. DeLaet is planning to head up to Augusta early to get a look at the course and hell have a pretty good tour guide with him. While playing the Shark Shootout in December with Mike Weir, the two Canadians made a plan for a side trip, likely on the Monday of one of the Florida stops. "It wont be hard to make time for that," he said. "Ive been told by a lot of people that my game suits the course, so Im excited to get up there and see it." There are a few stops prior to Augusta of course and DeLaet is hoping he can continue to play as he did for much of 2013, a year that saw him break out and become a bona fide world-class player. It was also a year that left him out of gas at the end, running on fumes as he hit the Christmas break. "It was a good off season," he stated. "I was really burned at the end of last year but now my battery has been recharged and Im ready to get going." The recharging included he and his wife Ruby moving to Phoenix, Ariz., although hell maintain a residence in Boise where hes lived since his school days. He also took in the Winter Classic hockey game in Ann Arbor, Mi., which he described as crazy (he was one of the few fans in attendance at the Leafs-Red Wings game wearing a Calgary Flames sweater). And, as he got closer to returning to play, there was also a lot of practice, trying to find the feel of his almost-pure swing that statistically has him as one of the games best ball-strikers. The off-season was also busy from a sponsorship standpoint as most of his deals expired. He signed a new clothing contract with Puma that will see him don some bright hues, including a regular red and white outfit every Sunday. He followed that by inking a deal with Canadian communications company Shaw, whose logo will appear on his hat and bag. And, despite some very lucrative offers - one reportedly with seven figures before the decimal point - he stayed with Titleist clubs and ball. "He was one of the hottest commodities out there. Everyone wanted him," said one equipment company executive. That, of course, is because they - like just about every Canadian golf fan, sees the great potential in DeLaet. He sees it too and is hoping this will be the year he notches his first victory along with a few other goals. "Im excited," stated the Weyburn, Sask., produce who turns 32 on Wednesday. "I want to try and put myself in that position to get the first win. The Presidents Cup again, staying inside the top 50 in the world and even moving up. Those are all outcome goals. I know that they come with how I play. Ive been working hard, putting in the proper practice and using the Monday, Tuesday Wednesday to take care of what I need to take care of so Im ready on Thursday." His tremendous play, perhaps highlighted by his Presidents Cup appearance, has meant other changes as well. First off, his schedule will be different in 2014. In fact, it already is. He skipped the SONY Open in Hawaii, and event in which hes performed well in the past and loves to attend. And there will be other tournaments that have been on his itinerary that will be squeezed out to make room for all four majors as well as the lucrative no-cut World Golf Championship events. There is a stretch starting with the British Open where hell play eight out of nine weeks, an exhausting but unavoidable itinerary. With the great play has also come a crushing demand on his time. More autograph requests. More sponsor requests. And more media requests. "It comes with the territory," DeLaet said. "As I rise up the rankings, I get more attention. You try to limit it as much as you can but at the same time you know its part of the job and you know that its important to talk to certain people." This week marks the start of what could be a very big year for DeLaet. Hes pumped and ready for it. So is most of Canada. Kenny Young Jersey . Anderson shook off some unusually poor shooting and hit two clutch 3-pointers in overtime that carried the New Orleans Pelicans to a 111-106 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night. Hayden Hurst Jersey . - Christophe Lalancette scored a third-period goal and added the shootout winner to lead the Drummondville Voltigeurs to a 5-4 win over the Quebec Remparts in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League play on Sunday. http://www.footballravensstore.us/ . - Chris Davis hit a two-run double, scoring Nelson Cruz in his Orioles debut in Baltimores 9-7 win over to the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday.MINSK, Belarus -- Before Mark Scheifele got injured in early March, the Winnipeg Jets sat one point out of a playoff spot. A sprained right knee derailed any hope of making a run. Now Scheifele is healthy, and Team Canada heads into the playoff round at the world hockey championship with legitimate medal aspirations thanks in part to his progression. "Every game hes got better and better," coach Dave Tippett said. "Hes been good in the faceoff dot, puck control. ... Were going to need everybody to be a good team in the quarter-final, and Scheif, his game has improved every game we played." Scheifele assisted on Ryan Elliss overtime winner against Sweden, scored against Norway and is making use of his increased ice time. Along with the Toronto Maple Leafs Morgan Rielly and Nazem Kadri and the Calgary Flames Sean Monahan, the 21-year-old Jets centre is making big strides in Minsk. "You just gain experience," Scheifele said. "You play against different kinds of hockey. Its just kind of a matter of learning how to adapt to who youre playing against, what kind of competition youre coming against. Obviously just playing with and against the best players in the world helps." Each game is a new test for the young Canadian team, but Scheifeles journey to the world championships showed Paul Maurice something. Maurice, his coach in Winnipeg and an assistant to Tippett at this tournament, was impressed by how hard Scheifele worked to recover from a sprained MCL to be ready. At first, the coaching staff saw a player who hadnt experienced game action in more than two months. Then Maurice saw the player who was so vital to the Jets when healthy. "Hes responded like Mark does: He just got better," Maurice said. "He didnt play a lot in the (first) few games and kept working hard in practice and hed get his handful of shifts one night and show you something in each shift. Dave Tippett is really strong at recognizing that in players during games, so hes gotten more and more opportunity." Scheifele, who is expected to again centre the fourth line in Thursdays quarter-final game against Finland, had a leg up on Monahan going in because he had a little more experience. But he wasnt quite himself. That made Scheifele the 13th forward and his ice time dropped. The Kitchener, Ont., native played just 2:20 in the second game against Slovakia and then 2:34 the next one against the Czech Republic. A leg injury to Alex Burrows -- who practised Wednesday and is set to return against Finland after a two-game absence -- gave Scheifele another chance. His patience set up arguably Canadas biggest goal of the tournament, and he scored another to help ensure first place in the group. "I think every game I kind of get a little more ice, a little more comfortable," Scheifele said. "Every game, just getting my legs under me, and thats the biggest thing. I feel more comfortable every game, and I just got to continue that." The tests are just beginning for the world championship rookies, including 20-year-old Flames prospect Johnny Gaudreau, whose U.S. team faces the Czech Republic on Thursday for the righht to face the winner of Canada-Finland. Jaleel Scott Jersey. "Playing with NHL players and playing against NHL players obviously will help me in my game and help me develop as a player," Gaudreau said. "Playing college the last three years I felt this would be the best opportunity to help me become a better pro." Olli Jokinen, a teammate of Scheifeles with the Jets and captain of Finland, agrees wholeheartedly. "Everybodys goal is to make the playoffs and have a long run. At the same time with the younger players coming here, I think for them understanding the games like this. Its like a Game 7 in the playoffs," Jokinen said. "Having experience like that, its going to help you to get even better. And at the same time, for the younger guys, its an eye-opener, probably, too, how tough this tournament actually is." Tippett likes that his younger players get an opportunity to play in "real competitive, playoff-style games." Rielly considers it beneficial to work with three different coaches he didnt know before and thinks that itll help him learn quicker in the future. "You get a chance to kind of learn new breakouts, new power-play things," the 20-year-old Leafs defenceman said. "I think if youre trying to keep learning like that, thats always helpful. I think Ill be able to carry that back to Toronto with me." Scheifele and Maurice will be able to carry something back to Winnipeg, as well. The tournament is just another chance for the coach who signed a four-year deal and the Jets franchise forward to get better accustomed to each other after just half a season together. Maurice said hes still learning about Scheifele, but he has a lot to be proud of over the past couple of months. "What I really like is how hes handled the adversity of the injury," Maurice said. "When something doesnt go his way, he doesnt quit. He digs in and works harder and competes and then I also recognize that this is a learning experience for him. Over the course of his career hes going to have some adversity. "The question is how do you learn to handle it, and hes learned to handle it here with some pretty high-level hockey where he wasnt handed ice time and he fought his way through it and became a real important part of the team here." According to Jokinen, Scheifele followed the same path in his first full NHL season as he has at the world championships. As a result, he has a chance to be a major contributor for Canada now that every game is an elimination game. "It took him a little bit of time to get used to it," Jokinen said. "But once he started feeling comfortable, he was really good for us. Hes a highly skilled player, he can be the difference-maker every time when he steps on the ice." NOTES -- Tippett would not reveal which goaltender, Ben Scrivens or James Reimer, would start Thursday against Finland, which has no such dilemma thanks to the presence of a healthy Pekka Rinne. ... Defenceman Tyler Myers missed Wednesdays practice because of the flu bug thats going around the team. Tippett expects him to be OK to play in the quarter-finals. Discount Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Online Jerseys NFL China Wholesale Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Womens Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping China Jerseys Cheap ' ' ' |
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