SOCHI, Russia – Jeff Carter has played alongside the likes of Peter Forsberg, Claude Giroux, Rick Nash, Daniel Briere, and Anze Kopitar, but not one of them stacks up to Drew Doughty in one key department. Fake Soccer Jerseys . "Hes probably the most skilled guy Ive ever played with and Ive played with some pretty good players," Carter said after a close 2-1 overtime win against Finland. "When his confidence is going [and] hes feeling good about himself he can do anything out there. Its pretty amazing to watch." Doughty scored both Canadian goals – including the upset-preventing overtime winner – late Sunday evening, lifting his country to top spot in Group-B and a berth in the quarterfinals. On a grand Olympic stage that features the highest caliber of talent this game has to offer, the 24-year-old from London, Ontario stands out as one of the very best. "I forget about everything thats going on around me and Im just focused in on that game and having fun," he said. Third in tournament scoring after the preliminary round, Doughty leads Canada with four goals – including one in each of the three games – and five points, totaling nearly 20 minutes of ice-time against the Finns. No apparent fear or uncertainty seems to exist on his part, no matter the venue. Doughty is willing to force the action and assert himself on centre-stage, if and when the moment presents itself. This was clear again in overtime at Bolshoy Ice Dome when he deposited a Carter feed beyond the pads of the nearly-unbeatable Tuukka Rask. It was perhaps most emphatic during the 2010 Olympics when he proved a revelation as a 20-year-old for the gold-medal winning Canadian squad. "Confidence," said Carter in a word. "When you put all his skill with that confidence its pretty amazing." And maybe his personality has something to do with that no-fear persona on the biggest stages, which also included a Stanley Cup with the Los Angeles Kings in 2012. Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Doughtys defence partner here in Sochi, describes him as "pretty loose" and "funny". A teammate for two-plus seasons with the Kings, Carter agrees, calling him "one of a kind for sure", always with "a smile on his face, bouncing around, laughing, having a good time." Those easy-going qualities seem to translate to the ice. "He plays loose out there," Carter said. "Hes not scared to try and make plays too and I think thats what make him such a dynamic player." Doughty carries a cool about him on the ice that makes every one of his movements seem controlled and purposeful, almost as if nothing else out there matters in the scheme of what he has to offer the game. His passes are crisp and on the tape. His daring rushes look as though they were designed beforehand, each stride, angle and movement carefully calculated. His instincts with the puck make it seem as if he is just a step ahead of what lies next. "Thats what Drew does," said Carter of Doughty, the No. 2 overall pick from the 2008 draft, who is logging 26 minutes per game for the Kings this season. "He does it all year for us [in Los Angeles] and probably doesnt get as much recognition as he should because of the time zone and what not." Doughty doesnt look nor appear nervous on this stage, but says he was four years ago in Vancouver during that first Olympic stint. But the nerves that bubbled there were not for the reasons one might think. It had nothing to do with the pressure of bidding for gold on home soil, but was more about his youthful place on a veteran roster that featured aging stars and future Hall-of-Famers like Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger. "I was just a little young guy there, had so many older guys around me that I didnt know whatsoever," he said. "I was nervous mostly because of that, not because of the fans and the pressure and the country and all that, it was just meeting all these All-Star players." If not leaning on Niedermayer and Pronger for wisdom, Doughty made sure to stash other hints for success. "Just watching them thats all I had to do," he said. "And I learned so many things just watching those guys play and it helped me out for this one for sure." Doughty looks like hes just having fun, like the intensity of all that lays around him has no bearing. Facing a large horde of media after his overtime winner he stepped toward a microphone and began to speak only to be reminded that he needed to actually speak into the microphone. Cool and jovial, he responded with a sarcastic crack, "I actually gotta talk into the microphone?" Wholesale Soccer Jerseys China . Each day, TSN.ca provides the latest rumours, reports and speculation from around the NHL beat. Duck Calling With several marquee centres available via trade and expected to be available via free agency, the Anaheim Ducks could be primed to be big players in the coming days. Soccer Jerseys Outlet . -- Jerel Worthy and his Michigan State teammates charged across the field, holding four fingers in the air while celebrating another sweet victory over their biggest rival.MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- Juan Pablo Montoya is turning Indianapolis into his own triple play. Roger Penskes team announced Wednesday that the Colombian driver will add two NASCAR races -- Indianapolis and Michigan -- to his full-time IndyCar schedule. Montoya already is scheduled to compete in the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis on May 10. One week later, he will attempt to qualify for the Indianapolis 500. Now hell return to Indy for the Brickyard 400 in July, too, and if he qualifies for each one, Montoya would be the first driver to start three feature races at Indy in the same season. "Three chances gives me a better chance of winning one of them now," said Montoya, who will drive the No. 12 Ford Fusion for Penskes team at Indy and Michigan. No driver has won even two of the biggest feature races at the track -- the 500, the Brickyard, the U.S. Grand Prix or the MotoGP race. Montoya wants to be the first to have it on his already unique resume. The 38-year-old was dominant in his 2000 Indy win, becoming the first rookie winner in 34 years. He completed another first Wednesday -- becoming the first driver to experience every racing configuration at the historic Brickyard. In addition to competing on the 2.5-mile oval in IndyCars and Cup cars, he also has competed on the original road course in Formula One, did a two-seater ride on the MotoGP course and was one of about two dozen drivers testing Indys new road course Wednesday. This years return to open-wheel cars could help him prepare for the June 15 and July 27 Cup races. He has competed in that series for the previous eight years. "I think running Michigan and here are two tracks where running open-wheel helps you, especially Michigan, which is a lot like an open-wheel car because you dont slow down much and use momentum and lot of high speed," Montoya said. "Coming here to the Brickyard, its one of those places where I feel like I got robbed a few times. To be able to come here and be able to close that deal will be really, really nice."" Montoya has two wiins, 24 top-five finishes and nine pole awards in his Cup career. Soccer Jerseys China. . He has one top-10 finish in three IndyCar races this year. He will join Penskes full-time Cup drivers, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano, both of whom have already visited Victory Lane in 2014. Ryan Blaney will drive the same No. 12 car for NASCAR races in Kansas and Talladega. SKF will sponsor all the races except Indianapolis. Until moving back this season, Montoya hadnt driven IndyCars since 2000 when he was competing with Chip Ganassis team, Penkses biggest rival. Montoya won seven races in CART and the 500 in his two open-wheel seasons with Ganassi. Their run together also included the 1999 CART championship. He then moved to Formula One, where he spent six seasons before abruptly quitting to return to the United States to compete in NASCAR. He reunited with Ganassi, but the results never came. His last win in NASCAR was in 2010, a year after he made the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship and finished a career-best eighth in the standings. Montoya was in serious contention to win at least two Brickyard 400s, but both chances slipped away in the waning laps. Montoya led 116 laps in 2009 until a speeding penalty on his final pit stop cost him the win. He was also leading in 2010 with 20 laps to go before a late caution sent him to pit road, where he got four tires while everyone else took two. Stuck deep in traffic with little time to make up the ground, Montoya crashed and finished 32nd. Penskes team is willing to give him another chance. "It (the Brickyard) is one of the biggest races of the year and to go there with somebody that could have won the race a few of times already is something that were looking forward to," Team Penske President Tim Cindric said. "To just run the Brickyard would be a pretty big ask of our team and of Juan, without having spent much time in our cars or having been out in a Cup car for a while, so we felt like we needed to give him another shot at it prior to the Brickyard so he could get ready for us." ' ' '
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nov. 15
KANSAS CITY, Mo. Joe Crede Jersey . -- The Royals shook up their coaching staff Thursday in an attempt to jumpstart their failing offence, making Dale Sveum the hitting coach and Mike Jirschele their third base coach. Pedro Grifol, who took over as hitting coach last season, will now instruct catchers. The moves were announced after the Royals finished off a disastrous homestand that included a sweep at the hands of Houston, and before they opened a four-game series in Toronto. Sveum said the Royals havent done a good enough job this season of hitting pitches in the upper half of the strike zone. "The bottom line is weve struggled with elevation and weve swung at pitches down in the zone probably way too much," he said. "From thigh high to the top of the strike zone, were not doing enough damage." The Royals began the day last in the majors with 21 homers, putting them on pace to match the 1976 club for the fewest in franchise history for a non-strike-shortened season. Theyre also last in the American League in runs and slugging percentage. "There is not one man in the lineup thats hitting the ball well," Royals designated hitter Billy Butler said Wednesday. "Were just cold." Yost said "a different voice can make a difference," to struggling batters, but the Royals have heard plenty of voices about hitting: Sveum is Kansas Citys fifth hitting coach in less than three seasons. The Royals let go of Kevin Seitzer two years ago in the hope that somebody else would help the club generate more power. Seitzer was eventually hired by the Blue Jays, who currently lead the majors with 76 homers -- more than Kansas City is on pace for all season. Jack Maloof and Andre David were hired before last season, but they only made it a couple of months before they were reassigned within the franchise. It was at that point that the Royals hired Grifol and Hall of Famer George Brett on an interim basis. The Royals showed signs of life once that duo was in charge, slowly climbing into playoff contention. Grifol was given the job on a full-time basis after Brett stepped down in July, but lasted less than a year in the role. "Hes the one that pulled us out of our trouble last year," Yost said of Grifol Thursday. "A year later, we find ourselves in the exact same spot." Sveum, a former Brewers and Cubs manager, had been serving as the Royals third base coach. But he also has plenty of experience as a hitting coach, helping Milwaukee finish in the top three of the National League in homers in each of his three seasons. "Hes got experience, he studies hitting," Yost said. "Hes got a lot of knowledge. He helped Prince Fielder get, in my opinion, to the next level as an offensive performer." Ross Detwiler White Sox Jersey . The goals took Liverpools tally in the Premier League this season to 70, overtaking Manchester City as the top scorers, and left the fourth-place team just four points behind league leader Chelsea. Hugh Duffy Jersey . The thinking at the time was Clowney could have already been promised he would be selected first overall by the Houston Texans, therefore negating any need to meet with any other teams. The plot took another twist this week.Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Steve Delabar is going back to the minors. The righty was sent back down to Triple-A Buffalo for the second time this week in order to make room for Liam Hendriks who will get the start Friday night against the Cincinnati Reds. Delabar waas sent down Tuesday but was called back up for Thursdays game against the New York Yankees when Brett Cecil went to the disabled list. Jack Mcdowell White Sox Jersey . The 30-year-old has appeared in 30 games this season, recording a 4.91 earned run average and a 3-0 record. ' ' '