Allg. Anregungen & Kritik » lled 60 yards up the field before finally

CHICAGO -- On Friday night, the Los Angeles Kings were in Anaheim for Game 7 of their second-round series against the top-seeded Ducks. On Saturday, they travelled 1,700 miles to Chicago on the eve of Game 1 of the Western Conference finals. Not much rest for Los Angeles, but certainly better than the alternative. Watch Game 1 on TSN and TSN GO, today at 3pm et/Noon pt. The Kings will take on the Blackhawks on Sunday afternoon in a short turnaround from their series-clinching 6-2 victory over Anaheim. It is a rematch of last years Western Conference finals, when the Blackhawks won in five games on the way to their second Stanley Cup title in four seasons. "Im not sure about the energy part of it," Kings coach Darryl Sutter said Saturday, "but I know how we handle losses and how we handle wins and how we handle travel, so you know theyre going to be honest in their preparation. You can trust that part of it. "Itll be certainly about putting forth their best effort, I know that." Los Angeles is making its third consecutive appearance in the Western Conference finals after the Kings rallied past San Jose and Anaheim in the first two series. The Sharks had a 3-0 lead in the first round, and the Ducks led 3-2 in their series against the Kings. Chicago has been waiting for its next opponent since it beat Minnesota 2-1 in overtime in Game 6 on Tuesday night. The Blackhawks had a similar break after they eliminated St. Louis in the first round. "I think the days off helps every team this time of year, get some rest, allows you to prepare for your opponent," Blackhawks forward Patrick Sharp said. "At the end of the day, once that puck drops, I think both teams are going to be ready to play." The break also provided more time for Chicago forward Andrew Shaw to get healthy. The tenacious centre missed the final five games of the Wild series with an apparent right leg injury, but he skated before the Blackhawks practiced on Saturday and could return after Game 1 against the Kings. Los Angeles is hoping for the return of injured defencemen Robyn Regehr and Willie Mitchell. Mitchell has missed eight games, but is skating again. Sutter said he could return against Chicago. "You have a muscle injury that was related to a knee injury," Sutter said after practice at the teams facility in El Segundo, California. "Cant (be) one of those deals where you get a guy for five minutes. You need to know that you get him for the whole game." The status of Shaw, Regehr and Mitchell could be a factor in a matchup of the NHLs second-highest scoring team in Chicago and the stingiest team in the league in Los Angeles. "Theyre obviously defending champs, and we want to take that back," Kings forward Jarret Stoll said. "We know what it takes to win and weve tasted that and it tastes pretty good. So we want to get it back from them." Los Angeles was the defending champion when it took on Chicago in the playoffs last year. But the banged-up Kings were unable to keep up with the high-flying Blackhawks, who got a hat trick from Patrick Kane in the clinching double-overtime victory in Game 5. Chicago is 9-2 against Los Angeles over the past two years, outscoring the Kings 35-24. "Theyre playing really well right now so weve got to be focused on what theyve been doing the last couple series," Blackhawks defenceman Brent Seabrook said. "Theyre never out of a game or a series. If we get up, we have to step on their throats. If were down, we have to work like hell to get back. "But at the end of the day we have to play our game and focus on what weve been doing well throughout the playoffs, get better at that and be the team that we can be." Nike Zoom Uk .Former NBA forward Morris Peterson has been added to TSNs Toronto Raptors broadcast team. Wholesale Nike Zoom . Bjoerndalen, who had failed to win any major race for two years before Sochi, writes in a Facebook entry that he is "full of energy and inspiration" after winning the 10-kilometre sprint and mixed relay at last months Olympics. http://www.cheapnikezoomuk.com/. - While he appreciates suggestions from Packers fans of remedies for his sore left calf, Aaron Rodgers is not necessarily going to listen to the advice. Nike Zoom Sale .A caravan greeted the former Boston Red Sox pitcher at the airport and took him to a public park in Santo Domingo, where a crowd lined a 19-mile stretch of highway to catch a glimpse of him.Once at the park, Martinez went on stage accompanied by players David Ortiz and Robinson Cano as merengue music played and fireworks lit up the sky. Nike Zoom Cheap Sale . -- Isaiah Pead took a stutter step forward, then raced to the left sideline and travelled 60 yards up the field before finally getting tripped up by a leg tackle.MINNEAPOLIS -- After three straight 100-loss seasons, the Houston Astros lineup is suddenly filled with sluggers who can change a game with one swing. Chris Carter and Jon Singleton hit their first career grand slams to power Houston to a 14-5 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Sunday. Carters slam in the seventh inning sailed over the limestone overhang in right field and gave Houston a 9-3 lead. Singleton lined a fastball off Glen Perkins over the right-field wall that made it 14-5 in the ninth. Dexter Fowler and George Springer also homered for the Astros. Houston has now hit 69 homers this season, well on pace to surpass last seasons total of 148, third-worst in the American League. "It puts more strain on the opposing pitchers," Astros manager Bo Porter said. "They feel like, I cant make a mistake here, I cant make a mistake here. That can drain on a staff." The only other time two Astros players hit grand slams in the same game was July 30, 1969, at New York when Denis Menke and Jimmy Wynn both hit slams in an 11-run ninth inning against the Mets. Houston players are also sensing a different vibe now that the lineup is filled with more power. "Its been fun. We like playing off of each other," Singleton said. "Thats definitely a bonus. When one person does well, it carries over and its contagious." Darin Downs (1-0) got the last eight outs as the third reliever to follow starter Colin McHugh, who fanned six and allowed one run over 4 1/3 innings. He walked five and was removed after throwing 101 pitches. Trevor Plouffe and Josh Willingham hit RBI singles as Minnesota made it 5-3 in the fifth, but couldnt get any closer before Carter and Singleton powered the game away. Houston batted around in the fourth inning, scoring three runs after Samuel Deduno (2-4) loaded the bases with nobody out by walking two batters and hitting another. The Astros have won seven of eight on the road and 11 of their last 15 overall as they try to snap a three-year streak of losing 100 games. It was the third time in club history Minnesota allowed two grand slams in the same game. The last time it happened was April 22, 1988, in Cleveland. "They got us today," Perkins said. "I think they swing hard in case they hit it, and they hit them today.dddddddddddd Theyre not as bad as people think they are. Gotta give credit to them the way they swing the bat and pitch the ball pretty well." The Twins also officially signed free-agent designated hitter/first-baseman Kendrys Morales on Sunday to bolster their inconsistent offence. But if Minnesota -- now three games under .500 -- wants to remain in the playoff race, its going to need better starting pitching. Deduno walked four and hit two while allowing five runs in three innings on Sunday, raising his ERA to 4.45. As a group, Minnesotas starters are 19-25 with a 4.97 ERA. "Not a good day pitching today. Used a lot of innings out there," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "We still have three games to go (before the next off day), so well get through it. Thats the way it is. They killed it at the end." McHugh struck out four batters in a row during one stretch and extended his scoreless innings streak to a career-high 16 2/3 before Eduardo Nunez homered in the fourth. Springer, named American League rookie of the month after hitting 10 home runs in May, led off the eighth by hitting his second homer in three games. "Its nice to have other guys in the lineup who do the same thing and have more protection where guys cant just pitch around me or pitch around another guy," said Carter, who led Houston with 29 homers last season. "Theres another guy behind him always. Its good for all of us." NOTES: To make room on the roster for Morales, Minnesota released Jason Kubel, who appeared in 798 games over parts of eight seasons with the Twins, but was hitting .224 this year and just .158 since April. ... The Astros recalled LHP Rudy Owens to pitch out of the bullpen and sent Paul Clemens back to Triple-A Oklahoma City for the sixth time this season. ... The Twins unveiled a new bronze statue on the Target Plaza before the game: team mascot T.C. Bear. ... Jonathan Villar singled three times for Houston. ... Ricky Nolasco (4-5, 5.65 ERA) starts for the Twins against Torontos R.A. Dickey (6-4, 4.25 ERA) on Monday. ... Houstons Jarred Cosart (4-5, 4.16 ERA) faces Josh Collmenter (4-2, 3.63 ERA) to kick off a two-game series in Arizona on Monday. ' ' '