Information » its single elimination thats how it goes sometimes unfor

SAN FRANCISCO - Jonathan Martin has had Jim Harbaughs support all along, from his early college days at Stanford to the offensive tackles tumultuous year in which he accused a Dolphins teammate of bullying, and even in a formal NFL investigation into the situation in Miami. Now, Harbaugh is giving Martin a football fresh start. In a safe environment around former Stanford coaches who consider him a friend. Martin was traded from Miami to the San Francisco 49ers on Tuesday night to play once more for Harbaugh, who publicly expressed his support of Martin last year and called him a "personal friend." The Dolphins announced the move late on the first day of NFL free agency. San Francisco then confirmed the trade, saying only that it would send an undisclosed draft choice to Miami and that Martin still must pass a physical to complete the deal. "Big news.... Beyond Blessed ... Opportunities are few in the NFL... Cant wait to get to work #9erEmpire," Martin posted on Twitter. The 24-year-old Martins move should be a simple one considering hes already in town — back on the Stanford campus taking classes. "This is great for him to get back on the field and hes in Palo Alto right now. It couldnt be much better," his agent, Ken Zuckerman, said in a phone interview. "I just think everyone wanted this to happen. Harbaugh knows Jonathan, I think the Dolphins were compensated and Jonathan wants to get back on the field. Its a good day." An investigation for the NFL determined last month that Dolphins guard Richie Incognito and two other offensive linemen engaged in persistent harassment of Martin, another offensive lineman and an assistant trainer. "As far as that situation, theres only one thing I can intelligently comment on and thats knowing Jonathan Martin," Harbaugh said in November. "I know him to be a fine person and his family. ... (He) epitomizes the student-athlete model and a personal friend. I support Jonathan." The trade capped a busy first day for the 49ers, who lost to the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks in the NFC championship game. Martin left the Dolphins in late October, underwent counselling for emotional issues and alleged he was harassed by teammates. Incognito was then suspended for the final eight games. "We feel that this move is in the best interests of all parties involved," Dolphins general manager Dennis Hickey said. "We wish Jonathan well." After a report on the investigation was released last month, the Dolphins fired offensive line coach Jim Turner and longtime trainer Kevin ONeill. Incognito and guard John Jerry, who was also implicated in the report, became free agents Tuesday and arent expected to play for the Dolphins again. Incognito has recently received treatment in the wake of the scandal. He sent tweets in recent weeks that varied dramatically in tone, including a rant blasting Martin that quickly went viral. Martins departure from the Dolphins had been expected. Owner Stephen Ross said in January that he didnt expect Martin to play for the team again. The investigation for the NFL found a pattern of harassment on the Dolphins, with Martin the primary target of vicious taunts and racist insults that occurred almost daily. The report said teammates threatened to rape Martins sister, called him a long list of slurs and bullied him for not being "black enough." Martin is black and Incognito is white. The troubled relationship between Martin and Incognito drew national scrutiny and stirred a debate about bullying. Martin said he tried to be friends with Incognito despite their diverse backgrounds. Martin was a classics major at Stanford, while Incognito, 30, was kicked off his team at Nebraska and went on to develop a reputation as one of the NFLs dirtiest players. Martin, who protected Andrew Lucks blind side at Stanford, was a second-round draft pick by Miami in 2012. He became a starter as a rookie but struggled at times while being shuffled between right and left tackle. Last year he was part of a line that allowed a franchise-record 58 sacks. The Dolphins began revamping their line Tuesday by agreeing to terms with Pro Bowl left tackle Braden Albert. Martin has two years remaining on his contract and has a base salary of $824,933 this year. Pro Bowl centre Mike Pouncey is the only offensive lineman involved in the bullying scandal still on Miamis roster. AP Sports Writer Steven Wine in Miami contributed to this report. Nike Air Jordan Uk Sale . - Defensive end-linebacker Mike Neal apparently is returning to the Packers. Cheap Air Jordan Uk .The result meant Juventus will spend the winter break three points clear of Roma after the league leader beat Cagliari 3-1 on Thursday.Milan remained seventh ahead of the rest of the weekends fixtures, but was provisionally two points behind third-place Napoli in their duel for the final Champions League spot. http://www.ukairjordan.com/ . Liriano pitched in and out of trouble in his duel with Josh Beckett, and Ike Davis homered to help the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1 Friday night. Discount Jordan Shoes Wholesale .com) - The Dallas Mavericks had a five-game winning streak snapped last time out, but theyll try to get back into the winners circle Sunday evening when the Milwaukee Bucks pay a visit to American Airlines Center. Cheap Discount Jordan Shoes . Rajon Rondo had 18 of Bostons season-high 38 assists and the Celtics committed just seven turnovers in a 118-111 win over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night.UNIONDALE, N.Y. – Randy Carlyle could handle and might even expect some rustiness for 20 minutes or so after an 18-day Olympic break, but not for the entirety of what proved a dud for the Maple Leafs on Thursday in Long Island. "We gave them three goals," said Carlyle, still steaming after a 5-4 overtime loss to the Islanders. "You cant win in the NHL giving three goals. Gifts. Total gifts." This was not the way Carlyle imagined his team starting the final lap of a long race to the playoffs – a blistering stretch featuring 21 more games in a hectic 44 days – but thats what he got, a sloppy, uninspired performance opposite a team that had lost seven of its previous eight games and was without its best player, John Tavares. Lacking the zip of their pre-Olympic pace – which included wins in 11 of 14 games – the Leafs managed to give away two shorthanded goals in a span of 48 seconds on the same two-minute power play before dropping a pair of third period leads. They lost the undeserved extra point in overtime when James van Riemsdyk could not corral a bouncing puck in the slot, essentially handing it to incoming Islander defender Lubomir Visnovsky, who snuck one through Jonathan Bernier. "I think mentally we looked like we were going to out-skill the hockey club we played against and they had a different attitude. They tried to grind it with us," said Carlyle afterward. "We tried to out-skill a hockey club tonight." Rust was to be expected after the two-plus week Olympic break, but not to the degree that it lingered on this night against a vastly inferior opponent. Two times in the third period did the Leafs vault in front – on goals from Dion Phaneuf and Joffrey Lupul – only to be jilted twice for that lead by Anders Lee, who scored twice in his first NHL game. Lee tapped in his first on a New York power-play, evading Phaneuf and Bernier on the fourth and final game-tying goal late in regulation. "You can expect it for a period," Carlyle said of rust, "but I think when you get down to the third period and youre up in a hockey game youd expect to be able to grind it out, tighten it up and finish the team off. "We were lucky to get a point." Perhaps the effort will offer an early warning to a club itching for a second consecutive spring of playoff hockey. While still comfortable as the first wild card in the East with 71 points that comfort has the potential – however unlikely at this point – to disappear if the Leafs were to catch a fever of bad hockey down the stretch. And with rivals in Montreal and Tampa Bay still there to be caught and Detroit just a smidge behind, heavy incentive remains to lay the foot on the pedal with just over a month left to play. "We know that we left a point here," said Phaneuf. "Thats something we have to recognize and learn from." Five Points 1. Stretch Drive Mentality It was a race to the 2008-09 postseason and Tim Gleason and the Carolina Hurricanes were in a desperate hunt to claim one of the final spots in the East. Winning 13 of their final 18 games they snuck in, landed the sixth seed and proceeded to march all the way to the conference finals. "Thinking back I think thats what it was," Gleason told the Leaf Report. "You play as hard as you can because you needed those two points every night." Though his current team sits firm in a playoff position at the moment, Gleason hopes they latch onto his former clubs sense of nightly desperation. Thursday was in no way, shape or form a good start. "Its like a new season, a new beginning and you know youve got to come and play and get the wins when you can," said the 31-year-old. "...youve got to push when everyone else is pushing and you have to push harder than everybody else." The Olympic break could not have come at more inopportune time for the Leafs, who entered the stoppage on a scorching run that saw them emerge with points in 12 of 14 games (11-2-1). Gleason too was settling into a groove in Toronto after eight seasons in Carolina. "Its interesting because everybody is anxious for the break because its good to have a break, but you think in the back of your mind you dont want it to end because it was going in the right direction," he said. "Now I think its just more of a mental thing, knowing where we left off and what we have to do to keep the pace and pick up points when we can." 2. Lacking Defence In winning 11 of those 14 games before the break, the Leafs scored and scored quite a bit – averaging 3.64 goals per game, a number that would easily lead the league if somehow sustained. And yet in that same stretch, Toronto also gave up nearly three goals perr game itself and still ranks as one of the NHLs worst defensive clubs (all of this with terrific goaltending from Bernier).dddddddddddd Team defence remains a sore spot for the Leafs and a worrying concern ahead of the playoffs when the hockey tends to tighten with goals ever the harder to come by. "Weve talked so much about defence and we havent really applied ourselves as a team in that area," said Carlyle on Thursday morning, "and thats one of the things that weve stated from the beginning of the season that we wanted to be stingier on the defensive side of it." No team allows more shots nightly than do the Leafs and only five teams have yielded more goals, none of them currently in a playoff position. The Islanders managed five on this night, playing without their top centre, Tavares, and their second-best centre, Frans Nielsen. "Weve talked about it so many times about our goaltenders having to be taxed in too many situations," Carlyle said. "Wed like to be able to say that its a new season for us, were starting over. The defensive aspect of it has to be part of it. But it takes goals to score in the league too. We just dont want to give up too many of the quality scoring chances..." 3. Bernier Workload Only one goaltender in the NHL has faced more shots this season than Bernier and thats Mike Smith of the Phoenix Coyotes. Of course, Smith has also started 10 more games than the 25-year-old, who made his 39th start of the season at Nassau Coliseum on Thursday. Bernier faced 35 shots and allowed five goals, ending a run of 12 consecutive starts yielding three or fewer. "I thought my rebound control wasnt great tonight and Ive got to make more saves," he said afterward. "Five goals, its not a good night, but at the same time we got a point and weve got to move on." Shining in his first go-around as an NHL no. 1, the stretch drive will prove an interesting testing ground for Bernier. He has not played this many games in a season since 2009-10 when he was still in the American League with Manchester. 4. No Olympic Letdown? Back in 2010 and then the bench boss in Anaheim, Carlyle had a slew of players return from the Olympics in Vancouver emotionally spent and missing the gas required to carry the Ducks as per usual. But on Thursday morning, Carlyle raised the belief that Sochi Olympians Phil Kessel, James van Riemsdyk and Nik Kulemin could actually have a leg up on their teammates having played the past few weeks. And he turned out to be fairly prescient, at least for a game. van Riemsdyk had a hand in three of the four Toronto goals, matching a career-high with three assists, while Kessel chipped in with his 32nd goal of the year, also adding a helper to what has been a scorching 2014. The 26-year-old is now tied for second in league scoring with 67 points, 30 of which have come in the New Year. "Its not too hard to get back into it," van Riemsdyk said prior to the game. "Obviously we know whats at stake. All my attention is here on the Maple Leafs. The Olympics is done and over with. Its all about the rest of the season here and what we have to accomplish here." 5. Olympic Experience An Olympian with the American squad for the first time, the 24-year-old van Riemsdyk said the experience was memorable despite a disappointing finish which saw the U.S. bounced by Canada in the semifinals and then trounced in the bronze medal game by Finland. "Obviously the ending wasnt necessarily how we wanted it go which is unfortunate, but in a tournament like that where its single elimination thats how it goes sometimes unfortunately. As far as the whole Olympic experience I thought it was pretty cool. It almost reminded me of being back in college again as far as just even the dorms and being at the cafeteria with all the other athletes." Stats-Pack 1479 – Shots faced by Jonathan Bernier this season, second most in the NHL. 67 – Points this season for Phil Kessel, now tied for second in league scoring. 29 – Points for Kessel in the past 16 games. 12 – Goals for Kessel in that same 16-game stretch. 2 – Shorthanded goals scored by the Islanders in 48 seconds of the same Toronto power-play on Thursday. 3.67 – Goals per game for the Leafs since Jan. 12. 3 – Goals against per game for the Leafs this season. 3 – Assists by James van Riemsdyk against New York, matching a career-high. Special Teams Capsule PP: 0-4Season: 21.8 per cent (4th) PK: 3-4Season: 77.9 per cent (29th) Quote of the Night "Gifts. Ive got no other word to describe the goals that we gave up." -Randy Carlyle, following the overtime loss to the Islanders. Up Next The Leafs head to Montreal for a Saturday showdown with the Canadiens. ' ' '