Forum allgemein » play in the NHL. a€?I know I can still play in this le

RIO DE JANEIRO - Rafael Nadal showed no problem with his tender back in his second match since returning from the injury, defeating fellow Spaniard Albert Montanes 6-1, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals of the Rio Open on Thursday. Spencer Dinwiddie Nets Jersey . The No. 1-ranked Nadal tweaked his back warming up for the Australian Open final, which he lost almost four weeks ago in a major upset against Stanislas Wawrinka. His first stop after the layoff is the clay in Rio as he tests the back and tries to stay healthy for the French Open in three months. A year ago he used the Latin American swing to test his recovery from an injured left knee. Nadal seemed to move freely against Montanes and wore a large, blue elastic bandage on his lower back as a precaution. "The back, well, its bothering me a little," Nadal said. "Right now its not hurting my game, but Im serving a little more gently than Im used to doing." Nadal said he pushed his recovery "a little bit" to play in Rio, after pulling out of the tournament the week before in Buenos Aires. "I am here and very happy being here," he said. "When you get an injury in the final of a Grand Slam, and you stop (playing/practicing) for 2 1/2 weeks, the comeback is not easy." Asked if nagging injuries might force an early retirement, the 27-year-old joked a bit before getting serious. "I cant predict the future, but my intention is to play many years," he said. In the other key mens match, third-seeded Fabio Fognini reached the last eight beating Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-3. Second-seeded David Ferrer advanced on Wednesday. Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine advanced to his second quarterfinals of the year, beating Facundo Bagnis of Argentina 6-7 (4), 6-2, 7-6 (4). Dolgopolov said he hadnt considered leaving the tournament to return to his Kyiv birthplace, where more than 100 people have died in anti-government protests this week. Government snipers killed at least 70 on Thursday. "Its sad. I cant do much, but just support," he said. "Whoever is right doesnt matter now when people are dying." Dolgopolov, who lives in the wealthy European enclave of Monte Carlo, said he was lucky to have the chance to make money playing tennis. "Obviously I would like the people in the (Ukraine) to feel better. If I could, I would change that," he said. On the womens side of the combined ATP-WTA event, fifth-seeded Kurumi Nara of Japan and Lourdes Dominguez Lino of Spain set up a quarterfinal matchup after second-round wins. Nara defeated Anna-Lena Friedsam of Germany 6-0, 7-6 (3), and was in sight of her first WTA semifinals. Dominguez Lino beat Chanelle Scheepers of South Africa 2-6, 7-6 (7), 6-1. Nara said she likes the hot weather in Rio and is getting used to the clay. "Now I like the clay court," she said. "Last year, I didnt like it." Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania also made the last eight, as did Brazils Teliana Pereira. She is the first Brazilian woman in 23 years to crack the WTAs top 100. The last was Andrea Vieira. Brazils most famous womens player is Maria Bueno, who won seven Grand Slams singles titles, the last at the US Open in 1966. Henry Ellenson Jersey . Toronto has lost six of its last eight games but is coming off Thursdays 7-3 victory at Kansas City. Juan Francisco and Colby Rasmus both went deep for the Blue Jays, who are second in the American League with 34 home runs on the season. Spencer Dinwiddie Jersey .And although FIFAs investigators are preparing to release the findings of a World Cup corruption probe, Hassan Al Thawadi dismissed any chance of Qatar losing the showpiece event. https://www.netsrookiesshop.com/Theo-Pinson-City-Edition-Jersey/ .S. Basketball Writers Association. McDermott, who finished his career at Creighton as college basketballs fifth-leading scorer, accepted the honour from Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson at AT&T Stadium, site of the Final Four.BUFFALO a€“ It was more than a dozen years ago, but Henrik Tallinder a€“ now pushing toward the creakier age of 36 a€“ remembers just about every detail. He remembers the score (3-1). He remembers the opponent (Washington). He remembers the matchup with one of the gamea€?s greatest players (Jagr). He remembers how very anxious he was that day in mid-April when he made his NHL debut in this very building a€“ then named HSBC Arena. a€?Youa€?re a rookie,a€? he said of the experience, a€?youa€?re nervous, and you dona€?t really know what to expect.a€? Tallinder is again auditioning for a spot in the NHL, only this time with 678 career games under his belt a€“ his chances damaged in his preseason return to Buffalo on Friday night. Hea€?s too old to change now, he says. His game is what it is. His experience, which includes an Olympic silver medal, speaks for itself. He is jostling for a job in Toronto with the same type of young, hopeful defender he once was. That bid, which appeared strong at the outset of training camp, is suddenly in major doubt. Tallinder was driven into the end boards by former teammate Mike Weber midway through the middle frame of Fridaya€?s game. His left shoulder took the brunt of the impact and afterward it was diagnosed as dislocated. His NHL career is suddenly in jeopardy in the same place that it all began. Back in the fall of 2002 when that career was just beginning, he was an untried, unheralded 22-year-old Sabres second-round pick simply trying to make his start in the league. Grinding away in Rochester during his first dance through North America, Tallinder, a Stockholm native, was given two NHL games at the conclusion of the 2001-02 campaign. He spent the summer that followed back in Sweden and it was the offseason of his life in many ways. He knew he had to get bigger and stronger to play in the league and spent the warmer months of that year endeavouring to do so. a€?I dona€?t think Ia€?ve ever worked so hard my whole life that summer to be able to get a spot in Buffalo,a€? he said, recalling 10 painstaking workouts each week. a€?It was such a big difference between the American Hockey League and NHL.a€? He was a different defenceman then; quicker, spryer, more energetic, but less nuanced in the game the way he would become over 11 seasons. He had more jump in his body then, a certain and ever-present excitement to join the rush wherever and whenever possiblee. Dzanan Musa Nets Jersey. All that evolved with age and games logged, most of them here in Buffalo with the Sabres. a€?Ia€?m not maybe as fast as I used to be,a€? Tallinder said, a€?but you compensate with experience.a€? a€?You learn where to be on the ice,a€? he continued. a€?Thata€?s something you dona€?t get to start with. Thata€?s experience. Thata€?s learning.a€? And that will be the choice in some ways for the Leafs in the coming days, (a choice that gets a lot easier if his injury is as serious as it appears) whether to lean with an experienced defender like Tallinder, who might not have much left, or opt for untested youth, the kind in Korbinian Holzer, Stuart Percy and Petter Granberg, that Tallinder once was 12 years earlier. Having a veteran depth defender around a€“ Stephane Robidasa€?s status for the start of the regular season notwithstanding a€“ may be attractive for a team fortunate enough to skate through last season without any serious injuries to its defence. a€?Ia€?m just going out with my business, trying to do what I can do, trying to get better and trying to prove that I can play on this team,a€? says Tallinder, who played more than 500 games as a Sabre. a€?Ia€?m too old now to change anything that Ia€?m doing. Ia€?m going to play my kind of game that Ia€?ve been successful with. Nothing has really changed for me.a€? That game, according to Leafs head coach Randy Carlyle, includes a€?lots of moxiea€? and a cool kind of poise that comes with experience. a€?There is a possibility that he could make our hockey club and play against some top lines,a€? Carlyle observed early in camp. a€?He was a steady defenceman and a really good teammate,a€? former Devils teammate, David Clarkson, says of Tallinder. a€?He brings that stuff, but he also poises you at the back-end. Hea€?s not a guy to make very many mistakes. Hea€?ll get the puck and move it quick. a€?I think therea€?s a lot of things he can do for this team and this organization.a€? Carlyle couldna€?t say how long Tallinder might be sidelined (he missed about a month with a right shoulder injury in 2009), but in any case, whatever hopes he had are now dangling precariously with Holzer, Granberg and Percy pushing for the same job. It would be an unfortunate end for a player who still believes in his ability to play in the NHL. a€?I know I can still play in this league,a€? he said before the game, a€?so ita€?s not that.a€? ' ' '