Erschienene Romane » into the goal before Rask could slide to the other

MINNEAPOLIS -- Mike Matheny had quite the choice for the National Leagues All-Star starter. There was his own Adam Wainwright, the St. Louis Cardinals ace with a 12-4 record and a 1.83 ERA. And there was the Los Angeles Dodgers Clayton Kershaw, 11-2 with a 1.78 ERA and fresh off a 41-inning scoreless streak that ended last week. He chose Wainwright, who will start Tuesday night at Target Field against the Seattle Mariners Felix Hernandez. "Its going to be great catching them," said Milwaukees Jonathan Lucroy, the NL starter behind the plate. "A lot more fun than facing them." When baseballs elite met at Citi Field last year, NL batters managed just three hits in a 3-0 loss. A year earlier in Kansas City, the AL had just six hits in an 8-0 defeat. Never before had consecutive All-Star games ended in shutouts. "Guys are throwing harder. Guys have more pitches," said Philadelphia second baseman Chase Utley, making his sixth All-Star appearance and first since 2010. The big league batting average is at a 42-year low. Strikeouts are at an all-time high. Wainwright and Kershaw are on track to become the first pair of qualifying pitchers in one league with a sub-2.00 ERA since the Mets Dwight Gooden and the Cardinals John Tudor in 1985 -- the last time Minnesota hosted the All-Stars. "Aside from having the ability to win two World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals, I think this has to be one of the highlights of my baseball career to this point," Wainwright said. "One of the coolest things I can say I did is to start a big league All-Star game." Kershaw understood Mathenys decision. "If Im him, Im probably going to pick Adam, too. Its his guy and he had the best half," Kershaw said. Hernandez, the first Venezuela pitcher to start for the All-Stars, also has sterling credentials: an 11-2 record with a 2.12 ERA. He described his task pretty simply: "Just throw zeroes out there and get my team to win. Thats all I got to do," he said. Back in the great pitching era of the 1960s, the game was different. Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Bob Gibson and Juan Marichal expected to finish what they started. Now, flame-throwers come out of the bullpen in the middle of games. "Youre not getting three, four at-bats off of the starter unless youre in trouble and youre losing the game," said Baltimores Matt Wieters, elected as a starting catcher but sidelined following elbow surgery. "I think for a while it was trying to get the starter out of the game so you can get to that fifth, sixth, seventh-inning guy. And now those fifth, sixth, seventh-inning guys are throwing upper 90s with a good breaking ball." In addition to pitchers, the spotlight will be on New York Yankees captain Derek Jeter. The shortstop, who turned 40 last month, is playing his final season and was selected for his 14th All-Star game. Yankees closer Mariano Rivera got an emotional sendoff last year, the All-Stars giving him a solo bow. When Rivera entered in the eighth inning all other players left him the field to himself. Cal Ripken Jr. was given a tribute at the start of the 2001 game at Seattles Safeco Field when Alex Rodriguez told Ripken just before the first pitch to switch positions and move from third base to shortstop, where the Baltimore star spent most of his career. The 40-year-old Ripken then homered in the third inning. And two years ago, Atlantas Chipper Jones was feted with a standing ovation at Kauffman Stadium when he pinch hit in the sixth inning and singled. What will Jeters All-Star finale be like? "I dont go into things with expectations," he said. "Im looking forward to playing the game. Ive pretty much stopped it right there." The game is being played in Minneapolis for the third time, following the NLs 6-5 win at Metropolitan Stadium in 1965 and a dull 6-1 NL victory indoors at the Metrodome in 1985. Oakland, a big league-best 59-36 at the break, has seven All-Stars for the first time since 1975. It got another win on Monday night when Yoenis Cespedes beat Cincinnatis Todd Frazier 9-1 in the final round to become the first repeat champion of the Home Run Derby since Ken Griffey Jr. in 1998 and 99. The Athletics have some incentive for an AL victory in the All-Star game; since 2003, the winners league gets to start the World Series at home, and 23 of the last 28 titles were won by teams scheduled to host four of a possible seven games. "I dont think you can ever underestimate the home-field advantage in a post-season," said AL manager John Farrell, who led Boston to a six-game win over St. Louis last year. "To have that final game potentially in your home ballpark, that goes a long way to affecting the outcome." Wholesale Nike Shox . -- Steven Stamkos scored his first goal since returning from a major injury, Ryan Callahan had his first goal with Tampa Bay, and the Lightning beat the Florida Panthers 5-4 on Thursday night. Nike Shox Clearance .J. -- The New Jersey Devils are so bad in shootouts, coach Pete DeBoer doesnt mind seeing his team take chances in the five-minute overtime. http://www.cheapnikeshox.net/ . -- The Florida Gators are first yet again this season. Nike Shox Cheap Mens . Ryan Callahan trade talks caught a lot of people off guard. Details are now emerging about why the Rangers would consider such a move. Darren Dreger: He wants a lot of money. Its been widely reported that Callahan is looking for a seven-year term around $6 million per year. That is not accurate. Im told that it is more than $6. Nike Shox For Sale . -- The Chicago Bears say they have agreed to a one-year contract with centre Roberto Garza. BOSTON -- Carey Price offered the tiniest hint of a smile after sending the Boston Bruins home for the summer. "Im ecstatic," said the Canadiens goalie in the wake of backstopping Montreal to the Eastern Conference final against the New York Rangers. Considering it normally takes the Hubble Telescope to spot a change in Prices emotions, Wednesday was a night to remember. The Canadiens, who finished eight places and 17 points back of the league-leading Boston during the regular season, made it so by dispatching the big bad Bruins 3-1 in Game 7. Price, as he has been through the series, was all-world -- even reportedly addressing his teammates prior to the third period. Dale Weise, Max Pacioretty and Daniel Briere provided the offence as Montreal rose to the occasion of Game 7 better than the Bruins. Now the Habs must reload and refocus on the Rangers, a team coming off an emotional series win over Pittsburgh. "Its not over. Were only halfway there," cautioned Price. For the Canadiens, the win over Boston was all about respect. They were tired of being written off as also-ran Smurfs and fed up with what they saw as Bostons macho posturing. "Beating those guys, it just feels that much sweeter," said Weise, who as a former Vancouver Canuck has no love for Boston. "They just disrespected us in every single way and I didnt think they had any respect for us as a team," he added. "Well leave it at that." Said defenceman P.K. Subban: "A lot of people were saying Dont poke the bear. Well I thought they gave us many reasons to keep competing throughout the whole series ... Against a bigger, stronger, more experienced team, we pulled out a victory. Thats a character win for us. Thats a character series win for us." The chip on Montreals shoulder was the size of Mount Rushmore. Weise did not spare the media, turning his attention to TSNs hockey panel as one of its members stood on his right shoulder. "We were very comfortable playing that team," Weise said of Boston. "I think everyone else doubted us. I heard someone on the TSN panel actually say they were the perfect hockey club. I dont know what that says about us now." Said Subban: "It come down to respect. Weve done a lot of great things in this league since Ive been here, our teams done a lot but we failed to get the respect that I think we deserved. And I think we earned that." While there were the traditional handshakes after the game, there was also bad blood. "Milan Lucic had a few things to say to a couple of guys," said Weise, who declined to go into specifics. Lucic was unrepentant: "Its said on the ice so itll stay on the ice. If he (Weise) wants to be a baby about it -- he can make it public." Montreal coach Michel Therrien was cagey when asked about the disrespect issue. "Im not going to talk about the other team," said Therrien. "I never talk about the other team. One thing I could tell you we were a group that was really really motivated to win this series." He made the comment in both French and English just so the message got across. He too clearly felt his club won more than a playoff round. "Respect, youve got to earn it and I think tonight those guys earned it," said Therrien. Boston coach Claude Julien had his own take on the series, which came complete with chest-pounding, muscle-flexing and crest-pointing. "I dont think we disrespected them," he said. "Theres a rivalry here. We dont like each other, because its a rivalry. "At the same time, the pounding of the chest, people who have been here have seen us do that all year. Because its related to Boston Strong. Our guys take some pride in whats happened in Boston Strong and unfortunately everything we did seemed to be seen as disrespect in Montreal. "We heard a lot of that whining throughout the series but it had nothing to do with disrespect." Julien called it gamesmanship, the kind seen in every playoff round. "Its too bad that it gets blown out of proportion. But you know what, they won the series fair and square. They were the better team tonight and you have to respect that." The Canadiens showed character in the series, staving off elimination with a masterful performance in Game 6 in Montreal. They also showed lots of savvy. Montreal targeted Bruins captain Zdeno Chara, making the 37-year-old look slow and laboured. They also pressured Bostons young defenders, denying them avenues to advance the puck out of their end. The series was like rolling a boulder uphill for the Bruins, who rarely got their game going. Boston was touted as the team with all the depth but it was Montreal that got prroduction from different quarters while the Bruins sputtered.dddddddddddd Julien had said Game 7s deserved your best. The Bruins failed to deliver for much of the night despite outshooting Montreal 30-18. "Carey Price was outstanding," said Julien. "He gave them a chance to win every night." The Canadiens started fast and then stymied the Bruins, winners of the Presidents Trophy for the best regular-season record, to move deeper in the playoffs. Jarome Iginlas goal, which cut the Canadiens lead to 2-1 with 2:08 remaining in the second, set the scene for a dramatic third period. Iginla, pouncing on a rare Price rebound, hit the post early on. Boston pressed but the Canadiens held fast and Price, improving his record in elimination games in 2014 to 5-0 including the Olympics, was rock-solid with a disciplined team defending in front of him. The late Boston surge was not helped by a Johnny Boychuk penalty for interference with 4:31 remaining. Montreal scored on the ensuing power play when Brieres centring pass bounced in off Zdeno Charas skate at 18:07 to pad the lead to 3-1. Montreal killed off a late interference penalty to Andrei Markov -- and a 6-on-4 Boston opportunity -- to seal the win. The game drew two sellouts: 17,565 at TD Garden and some 21,000 at the Bell Centre, where fans paid $10 to watch the game on the video scoreboard with proceeds going to charity. They saw a contest in which both teams seemed at times weighed down by the occasion early on, knowing there could be an entire off-season to ponder a costly mistake. "Its disappointing," said Julien. "I cant stand here and say its not disappointing. In my mind, we were going to move forward. We were going to win this game and thats what I prepared myself for." The series has been a roller-coaster ride with no shortage of subplots, most of which involved Subban whose star continues to grow. When he wasnt firing bullets from the blue-line or skating circles, the flamboyant Canadiens defenceman was dodging water aimed his way from the Boston bench and dealing with racism on social media. Subban embraced the attention and found himself in the spotlight again ahead of Game 7 when he pointed to the crowd, noise and energy in Bostons TD Garden before saying: "I cant wait to take that all away from them." Subban focused on the task at hand Wednesday, forgoing the flash. In a series where the team scoring the first goal had won all six previous outings, a fast start was mandatory. Especially when teams scoring first in Game 7s were 112-40 (.737). Advantage Montreal as the visitors went ahead on their first shot, thanks to the fourth line, at 2:18 after Tuukka Rask kicked out what looked like an innocent long shoot-in. But Brandon Prust retrieved the puck and found Briere who sent a pass through Matt Bartkowski and Daniel Paille in front. Weise swept it in from Rasks doorstep. Boychuk and Gregory Campbell both tried to hit Prust on the play, opening space for others. The second period started poorly for Boston with Marchand sent to the penalty box for unsportsmanlike conduct for a snow shower aimed at Price. That call prompted garbage thrown from the stands. Boston dug itself out of that hole and looked to fight back. But it was the Canadiens who scored at 10:22 after Boston failed to clear its zone. A diving Brandon Gallagher somehow found five-foot-seven David Desharnais, who emerged with the puck after Loui Eriksson, Soderberg and Bergeron failed to deal with it. Desharnais headed towards goal but rather than shooting, sent a no-look pass to Pacioretty to his right. The Montreal sniper rifled a shot into the goal before Rask could slide to the other side of the crease. Desharnais, under fire for his sub-par performance for much of the series, had a whale of game. Boston finally beat Price on the power play on an Iginla tip of a Torey Krug shot at 17:58. The goal, which came with seven seconds left in a Pacioretty penalty, ended Prices shutout streak of 103 minutes 46 seconds. The series was the 34th between the Bruins and Canadiens and marked the ninth time -- a record in North American pro sports -- that a Game 7 was required. Montreal now holds a 6-3 advantage. The Bruins had the last laugh last time out, with Nathan Horton scoring at 5:43 of overtime to give Boston a 4-3 victory in the 2011 Eastern Conference quarter-finals. Boston went on to win the Stanley Cup. Montreal upped its advantage to 25-9 in the playoff meetings between the two Original Six rivals. Its the first Conference final for the Habs since 2010 when they fell to the Flyers in a five-game series. And only their second since 1993 when they won their last Stanley Cup. ' ' '