Spielberichte 2. Mannschaft Landesliga » preseason opener

Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. This week, they discuss the American support of the World Cup, the passivity of NHL GMs, the clubhouse issues of Bryce Harper, and the career of the retired Alex Kovalev. Bruce Arthur, Toronto Star: My thumb is up to American soccer fans, who have been much maligned over the years. Americans dont like soccer, people say - the same people, of course, year after year. Too little scoring, too much diving, too many ties, blah blah blah. Americans, the laziest critics have said for years, are too good for soccer. That typically mindless braying resurfaced during this World Cup, but a funny thing happened: it was overwhelmed by a tidal wave of support, of enjoyment, of commitment to a U.S. team that didnt have the most talent, but that rewarded its fans with everything it had. TV ratings? Through the roof. Online support? Inescapable. Americans embraced soccer, and it was so much fun. If they cant accept the metric system, they can at least love this. Steve Simmons, Sun Media: My thumb is down to the passivity of NHL general managers, who are sometimes too polite for their own good. The GMs missed out on the opportunity to make an offer to restricted free agent PK Subban and now that Subban has filed for arbitration, his rights are protected by Montreal for the coming season. But if Im a GM, I would have made a monstrous offer to Subban, more than $10 million a year, and not just because he was the only game changing player available. I look at this two ways. If I throw huge money at Subban, I have a shot to get him - albeit its a long shot. And if Montreal matches, which is usually the way these things go, then Im messing up their payroll. Either way, I have nothing to lose. Even if the GMs dont agree. Michael Farber, Sports Illustrated: My thumb is down to Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper, for more unwelcome Washington punditry. After missing 57 games following thumb surgery, the uber-talented 21-year-old returned this week full of enthusiasm and suggestions. He critiqued the batting order - he was hitting sixth - and, more tellingly, the personnel. Harper was in left field, not his preferred position of centre, implying that Denard Span, the Nats centre fielder, should have been on the bench. Great for clubhouse chemistry. In publicly slagging first-year manager Matt Williams lineup, the prodigy wasnt breaking one of baseballs murky unwritten rules. He was violating basic workplace etiquette. Everyone has bosses and co-workers, even Harper, the young and the restless. Dave Hodge, TSN: And my thumb is sideways - thats right sideways - to the hockey career of Alex Kovalev, who announced his retirement this week at age 41 after playing last season in Switzerland. Why is my thumb sideways? Well, because like a lot of people, I cant decide whether Kovalev had a great career or is one of the great underachievers in the sport of hockey. The term enigma is thrown around too loosely in sports, especially at Russian hockey players. But how else to describe a player would could appear to be the most talented of any in one game, and then invisible the next, a pattern that existed throughout his career. Fans and even Kovalevs teammates used to debate how hard he was trying on any given night. Which, more than anything he accomplished on the ice … seems destined to be what we remember about him most. Custom Australia Soccer Jerseys . -- John Senden never imagined it would take more than seven years to win again. Custom Pittsburgh Pirates Jerseys . Miikka Kiprusoff had just announced his retirement after a decade-long run in Calgary and it would be up to Berra and Ramo to fill the void. https://www.cheapcustomjerseysonline.com...soccer-jerseys/. Lineup news, Fantasy and more in Scott Cullen’s Statistically Speaking. HEROES St. Louis Blues – After rolling the San Jose Sharks for seven goals, for the second time in a week, the Blues have a bunch of players on hot streaks. Custom Manchester City Jerseys .com) - On a night the Bulls played without Derrick Rose, it was time for Pau Gasol to take charge. Custom Bayern Munich Jerseys . - Rookie Tesho Akindele scored three goals and Fabian Castillo added two in FC Dallas 5-0 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday night. NEW YORK -- Michael Vick has watched Geno Smith every day for nearly two weeks. Every snap and every throw. Sure, Vick would like to be the New York Jets starting quarterback. But, from what he has seen, theyre already in pretty good hands with Smith. "Hes going to be great," Vick declared. "Hes going to be 10 times better than where he was last year and Im looking forward to it." Thats quite an endorsement from a guy who still believes he can be a star in the NFL. As it stands, Vick is a big-name, veteran backup who can step in if needed and push Smith to be better in his second season. Some fans and media wonder when -- not if -- Vick will replace Smith under centre. The doubters arent sold on Smith being able to improve that dramatically from a rookie year in which he threw 21 interceptions and just 12 touchdowns. Smith gets a chance to show everyone where he stands Thursday when the Jets -- with newcomers Eric Decker and Chris Johnson -- play their preseason opener at home against Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts. "Execution. Its always about execution," Smith said. "Its always about us doing the right things on the field. We want to execute to the best of our ability. Go out there and be sharp mentally, be sharp physically, be accurate, be sharp with the reads, and get good plays in." Sounds simple, huh? Smith found out last year that the leap from college to the pros isnt always without some stumbles. He has used the off-season and training camp to try to make the game slow down a bit. "I felt it coming at the end of last season," he said. "Its still a work in progress. Im still getting better. Im still fine-tuning a lot of things. Still need to focus on the mental aspect of it and all the small things that will make me better." As far as Rex Ryan is concerned, having Vick around can only help Smith -- which, in turn, will help the Jets determine if theeyve got their quarterback of the future.dddddddddddd. "I think that if you have Mike Vick come in here, you better be on top of your game, and obviously Geno is," Ryan said. "Whether he needed Mike Vick to be here or not, Im not sure. But probably not because I know Geno wants it in the worst way to be a great quarterback and the preparation that he did in the off-season, the things he did. "But certainly, with Mike Vick in there, that does push him." Ryan expects the starters to play into the second quarter Thursday night, with Smith opening the game and Vick perhaps getting the final series before backups come in. Chuck Pagano was unsure how much Luck and the Colts starters will play. Wide receiver Reggie Wayne, still recovering from a torn ACL in his right knee, will not suit up but is expected to be ready for the season opener at Denver. "Youd love to see in a perfect world, them go out there and have a six-, seven-, eight-play drive, score a touchdown, kick a PAT, and make a decision there, get them out of the game and whatnot," Pagano said. That wont be in the game plan for Ryans defence, which expects to be among the leagues best this season. "As luck would have it," a grinning Ryan said, with a pause punctuating his attempt at humour, "we play a heck of a quarterback. ... I think its going to be a good test for our defence and a good test for them, too." Whether its one series or a handful, Luck has a few goals of his own set for the preseason opener. "Take care of the football, convert third downs and score touchdowns," he said. "Positive, positive plays." Thats exactly what Ryan and Smith expect. "Im excited about it just like, shoot, no different than our fans," Ryan said. "Lets see where this team is at. Lets see how Decker fits in, lets see how this defence looks. So, Im excited to watch us play against somebody else." ' ' '