My thumb is up to Max Pacioretty of the Montreal Canadiens, who scored the first goal of the NHL season on Wednesday. He did that at the 4:42 mark of the first period against the Leafs at the Air Canada Centre, and at that precise moment, Pacioretty was, or should have been, the envy of every other NHL forward. At that moment, Pacioretty was the only one who did not have to worry about scoring his first goal, and did not have to wonder when it would come. Scoring slumps happen, and the only way to deal with them is to know that they will end. But theres something about a slump that occurs at the beginning of a season and has a zero attached to it, thats the slump that players dread and often try too hard to break. Pacioretty was the first to sigh with the relief that comes with knowing that the first goal has already been scored. If he wants to fuss about the second goal, well, thats another, much smaller matter. But if he aims to do one better than last season, when he scored 39 goals to lead all players on Canadian-based teams, he now needs only 39 more. No sooner had the Buffalo Sabres lost their first game of the season than the tank talk began. So Ill use both thumbs here, one thumb is down to anyone who asks to be taken seriously as an NHL observer while suggesting that the Sabres, or any other team for that matter (Carolina?), should aim for a 30th-place finish. The other thumb is down to the NHL for refusing to deal with the issue by maintaining a draft lottery system that offers an incentive to do so. It is true that a last-place finish does not guarantee a number-one draft selection, but as long as a last-place finish brings with it the best odds of picking first, 30th will be preferable to 29th. The easy and right solution is to give all 14 non-playoff teams an equal shot at winning the draft lottery. The word tank need never be mentioned again. The injection of real drama into the draw and the increased audience it would generate automatically puts to shame the event in its current form. And dont tell me that the worst team needs to get the best player, because theres no guarantee of that now. If the NHL wants that, it should scrap the lottery and trust that no one will cheat. If it wants to keep the lottery because somebody might remove a skate from the pedal, fix the lottery by making it wide open. Oh yes, and Buffalo plays at Carolina on Tuesday, October 14. As you read this, stories that say the loser will be the winner are being prepared. Braves Luiz Gohara Jersey . The triple gold medallist from the 2010 Paralympics tweeted on Tuesday: "Woke up with a virus yesterday. Timing couldnt be much worse. Not the ideal prep for the . Braves Bryse Wilson Jersey .com) - Novak Djokovic easily took care of Andy Murray to reach the final at the $2. http://www.cheapbravesjerseysauthentic. ... jersey.com) - Mike Conley scored 20 points with five assists to help the Memphis Grizzlies remain unbeaten with a 91-89 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday. Braves Babe Ruth Jersey . And rest hardly led to rust for the two-time defending NBA champions. Braves Dansby Swanson Jersey . Rinehart joins safety Darrell Stuckey and linebacker Donald Butler as potential unrestricted free agents who are remaining with the team.NEW ORLEANS -- The Eastern Conference finally stopped Kevin Durant and Blake Griffin -- then stopped its losing streak at the NBA All-Star game. Kyrie Irving had 31 points and 14 assists and was voted the games MVP, Carmelo Anthony made an All-Star record eight 3-pointers and scored 30 points, and the East rallied for a 163-155 victory over the West on Sunday night. "Its a great honour," Irving said. "We had a few MVPs. Everyone out here today is an MVP." Durant and Griffin each finished with 38 points, four shy of Wilt Chamberlains All-Star game record. But the East scored the final 10 points to pull out a game it trailed by 18. Irving scored 15 points in the fourth quarter as the East ended a three-game losing streak. LeBron James had 22 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. "The superstars of our league were just telling us to compete on every play," Irving said. "Trying to play as much defence as possible. You know, sticking to our game plan. We had a game plan going in and we executed." Griffin shot 19 of 23, while Durant finished with 10 rebounds and six assists. But the West was shut out after Durants 3-pointer gave it a 155-153 lead with 1:59 left. Indianas Paul George made three free throws, Anthony nailed his final 3-pointer, and James scored to make it 161-155. George closed it out with two more free throws and finished with 18 points. The game that usually doesnt get tight until the final minutes was close throughout the fourth quarter, neither team leading by more than four until the final minute. Chris Paul had 11 points and 13 assists, and first-time All-Star Stephen Curry had 12 points and 11 assists for the West. But the best point guard on the floor was Irving, who shot 14 of 17 and helped the East ring up 87 points in the second half after it surrendered a record 89 in the first. In a colorful tribute to New Orleans, players wore sneakers and socks that ranged from green and blue to orange and purple, making the game look like a Mardi Gras parade. The parade was one of layups and dunks for the West, which scored 44 points in the first quarter and 45 in the second.dddddddddddd. Griffin had 18 points in the first quarter and Durant had 22 at halftime, both two shy of records set by Glen Rice in 1997. And there was plenty of music, the rosters and starting lineups introduced around a concert by Pharrell Williams, who was joined by his own All-Stars in Nelly, Busta Rhymes, Sean "Diddy" Combs and Snoop Dogg. Magic Johnson led a band, too, encouraging the All-Stars to join him in singing "Happy Birthday" after the first quarter to Hall of Famer Bill Russell, the NBAs greatest champion who was celebrating his 80th. The All-Stars played better than they sang. The East finished with 61 per cent shooting, needing all sorts of offence after it simply couldnt defend Durant and Griffin. Durant made 6 3-pointers and easily blew past the 28.8 points he had been averaging in All-Star games, which was an NBA record. Outside of the ugly sleeved jerseys, it was a good look for the NBAs midseason showcase, bouncing back strongly from an even All-Star Saturday night. The new format of the slam dunk contest Saturday wasnt a hit, but every night is a dunk contest when Griffin is involved. The guy who once jumped over a car to win a slam dunk contest had eight slams in the first 11 minutes, the backboard often barely finished shaking from the last one when he threw down the next. The West began to open a gap in the second quarter behind a hometown star and a former one -- Anthony Davis of the Pelicans for former New Orleans guard Paul. Durant made a 3-pointer with 26 seconds left to make it 89-76 at the break, one point better than he and the West had two years ago in Orlando. Durant and Griffin each had 30 points by the end of the third quarter, but the East trimmed what was a West 18-point lead to 126-123 after three. DeMar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors made his first All-Star game appearance, and had eight points in his 15 minutes of playing time for the East. Jerseys NFL China Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys From China Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale China Jerseys NFL Jerseys China Discount Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys China China NCAA Jerseys Cheap Cheap Nike Dolphins Jerseys Cheap Nike Patriots Jerseys Cheap Nike Jets Jerseys Cheap Nike Bengals Jerseys Cheap Nike Browns Jerseys Cheap Nike Steelers Jerseys Cheap Nike Texans Jerseys Cheap Nike Colts Jerseys Cheap Nike Jaguars Jerseys Cheap Nike Titans Jerseys Cheap Nike Broncos Jerseys ' ' '