Ideen & Fragen » uttered the sort of platitude that certainly

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Raffi Torres is making progress but its still unclear whether hell play for the San Jose Sharks in their playoff opener Thursday night against the Los Angeles Kings. Torres missed all but five games during the regular season after undergoing surgery on Sept. 26 to repair a torn ligament in his right knee. The Sharks forward missed the first 59 regular-season games and returned to play the next five of six before sitting out the final 17. Torres said he probably wont know until game day whether hell be in the lineup for the Sharks when the first-round series opens in San Jose. "Today was a better day," Torres said after practice Tuesday. "I feel like were getting on the right track. So I feel good about that. It will probably be Thursday when we make a decision, but today was a better day for sure." Sharks coach Todd McLellan said Torres "looked really good." "He looked fresh and alert and looked like he was Raff, the way hes supposed to look," McLellan said. Torres was injured on Sept. 20 in a collision with Anaheim Ducks forward Emerson Etem during an exhibition game. He underwent surgery six days later. After the NHLs break for the Sochi Olympics, Torres made his season debut on Feb. 28 against the Philadelphia Flyers and scored two goals in a 7-3 victory. He took the next game off then played four straight games, scoring a goal and recording two assists during that stretch as the Sharks beat New Jersey, lost to Carolina then beat Pittsburgh and Montreal. Torres appeared to have made a successful recovery from knee surgery, but that Montreal game on March 8 turned out to be his last regular-season appearance. "I got a few bounces to go my way," Torres said. "At the end of the day I just go by how I feel. Sometimes I feel terrible out there and score a couple goals, kind of how I did in Philly. I know physically I could be a lot better there. It was nice to contribute for five games, for sure, dont get me wrong. I just want to be able to feel good at the end of the game." Last season Torres played in only the first game of the Sharks second-round series against Los Angeles, which they lost in seven games. He was suspended for the rest of that series for a hit to the head of Kings forward Jarret Stoll. That marked the fourth career suspension for Torres. If he does play against Los Angeles, Torres plans to play his typical aggressive, hard-hitting game, but he knows theres a line he cant cross. "I understand that Ive got a little bit more of a target on my back," said Torres, who signed a three-year, $6 million contract extension in June. "Ill have to be careful out there, for sure." Losing Torres after Game 1 against the Kings last season was a huge blow to the Sharks, who had swept Vancouver in the first round. Getting Torres back to face the Kings this year would provide a big boost, Sharks centre Logan Couture said. "I dont know if he is going to (play), but hed bring energy," Couture said. "His style of game, hes hard on the forecheck. He creates momentum for our team. The crowd enjoys when hes on the ice. Hopefully, well get him back." Blue Cowboys Jerseys .com) - Eric Fehrs goal 42 seconds into overtime lifted the Washington Capitals to a 5-4 come-from-behind victory over Columbus, halting the Blue Jackets seven-game win streak. Youth Cowboys Jerseys . Louis Cardinals a hard-fought victory. The Colorado Rockies intentionally walked Yadier Molina with one out and runners on first and third to load the bases for Kozma. http://www.officialcowboysnflauthenticshop.com/. - The Detroit Lions have 13 takeaways this season — three less than all of last season — and the defence isnt the only unit pleased with the performance. Tony Pollard Gear . We wonder if the price of a Roberts rookie card has at least gone up a few cents? Tribute Tweets #Padres Tony Gwynn had 287 career plate appearances against #Braves trio of Maddux, Glavine, & Smoltz, he hit . Pink Cowboys Jerseys . - All-Pro quarterback Aaron Rodgers looked spry enough in pregame warmups Sunday for Green Bays divisional playoff game against Dallas.Discussing his Green Bay Packers victory over the Atlanta Falcons on a snowy night at Lambeau Field this week, coach Mike McCarthy uttered the sort of platitude that certainly sounds true.Winning in December is important, McCarthy said, and winning in December is difficult.Actually, a look at recent history shows the first part is not necessarily the case — especially if the ultimate goal is the Super Bowl. The idea that a strong regular-season finish is a prerequisite for an NFL championship turns out to be one of the myths and misconceptions about the last month of the year.Only once in the last nine years has a team with a better post-Dec. 1 regular-season record than its Super Bowl opponent won the title. And three times in that span, a team with a losing record down the stretch wound up taking home the trophy: Baltimore was 1-4 after Dec. 1, 2012; New Orleans was 2-3 heading into the playoffs three years earlier; Indianapolis was 2-3 three years before that. Each of those champs beat a Super Bowl foe that had a winning record over its final five regular-season games.Theres also a deep assumption that cold-weather teams dominate in the late season and playoffs.The weather definitely plays a part in football games late in the year, Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon said. I dont think theres a player alive that loves to play in cold weather, but you can get used to it.The Vikings chose the north sideline at TFC Bank Stadium — their temporary home while a dome is being built — because they thought it would help during colder games. With the angle of the sun on December afternoons, the south sideline where the visitors stand is usually completely shaded; if the sun is out, the Vikings sideline gets all of it.Coach Mike Zimmer said on-field readings from Minnesotas home game against Carolina on Nov. 30 showed a 20-degree difference between the sunny and the shaded sideline.The players thanked me for being on that side a couple of times, Zimmer said.While players — or their fans — in spots such as Buffalo or Pittsburgh might hope for an edge down the stretch in this seasons tight AFC playoff race, data compiled by STATS also shows that not all teams based in cold-weather cities thrive this time of year.ddddddddddddSure, over the past 10 seasons, New England is a league-best 42-7 in December, and 14-4 when its 32 degrees or colder at kickoff (oddly enough, only Houston, at 3-0, has a higher winning percentage).But Denver is only 8-9 at 32-or-below at kickoff, a .471 winning percentage thats a significant drop from its .609 in all other games over the decade. Another example: The Cleveland Browns havent been particularly good in any weather the past 10 years, but their winning percentage drops from .349 at 33 degrees or above to .238 when the mercury drops.Sometimes if you take a cold-weather team into warm weather late in the year, that can affect them just as much as it does when you take a warm-weather team and put them in cold weather. Now youve been practicing in colder weather and you have to go out and play in warmer weather — and youre not used to that, either, said Moon, who played for the CFLs Edmonton Eskimos before moving to the NFL. Fatigue sets in. Guys can get a little more tired or dehydrated.At the other end of the spectrum, there are teams from warm-weather sites that do just fine in the cold, such as the Miami Dolphins, who in admittedly small sample size have gone 4-3 at 32-or-below since 2004, a .571 winning percentage that dwarfs their 33-and-above mark of .416.If guys excel in cold weather, it has to be something theyve been coached on or theyve been taught to block it out and say, Were going to play better, Redskins receiver Santana Moss said. When coach (Joe) Gibbs was here, he always taught us that Redskins weather was bad weather — wet, soggy, gloomy, cold. And we actually won games that time of year. We had the same team that didnt even go to the playoffs, but we won games in December.___AP Pro Football Writer Dave Campbell in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, contributed to this report.___Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich Cheap Nike Celtics Jerseys Cheap Nike Nets Jerseys Cheap New York Knicks Jerseys Cheap Philadelphia 76ers Jerseys China Raptors Jerseys Wholesale Chicago Bulls Jerseys Wholesale Cleveland Cavaliers Jerseys China Pistons Jerseys Wholesale Indiana Pacers Jerseys Cheap Milwaukee Bucks Jerseys Atlanta Hawks Jerseys Online Cheap Nike Hornets Jerseys China Heat Jerseys Cheap Nike Magic Jerseys China Wizards Jerseys Cheap Nike Nuggets Jerseys China Timberwolves Jerseys China Thunder Jerseys China Blazers Jerseys Cheap Utah Jazz Jerseys China Warriors Jerseys Cheap Nike Clippers Jerseys Discount Lakers Jerseys Phoenix Suns Jerseys Online Cheap Sacramento Kings Jerseys Dallas Mavericks Jerseys Online Wholesale Houston Rockets Jerseys Wholesale Memphis Grizzlies Jerseys New Orleans Pelicans Jerseys Online Discount Spurs Jerseys ' ' '