Bears Packers

Bears Packers, What sticks with you is the bear nearly beat the Packers in Week 17 at Lambeau Field in a game that was everything for the home team and nothing for the visitors. The Packers jumped since it is difficult to assess what a victory over Seahawks 10-loss team means.
Two of the last three NFC championship games have required overtime and it could be headed there. The teams are even, the issues that historically high. Ultimately, a game may get off at the last possession might depend on the health of veteran safety Chris Harris.
Against all odds, the Bears managed to win so unlikely this season. Can they withdraw their greatest triumph in decades? Field position, turnovers, kicking game – the Bears will win every mini-battles to survive a team with more playmakers on offense. The Bears will need every ounce of home field advantage.

This game could very well come down to one or two plays – which means it is completely winning. But it is hard to bet against Aaron Rodgers, who played a quarter about as well as anyone can play.

This Sunday, when the Bears and Packers meet for the 182nd, they will play for the championship trophy Halas NFC. From there, the winner goes to the Super Bowl trophy named to hunt for the legendary coach Vince Lombardi Packers.

“When I think of Green Bay and Chicago, I think the football at its best,” said former linebacker Mike Singletary Bears, now an assistant coach with the Vikings.

“I think that’s what it is. I think the rivalry, the tradition, George Halas, Lombardi, Butkus; I mean all the names and the greatness of Fame. It’s a story there. So it will be very interesting. ”

Halas and Lambeau Bear Packers made it a point not to shake hands after games; competitive rage already in these early years, laying the animated series that has not diminished over the decades.

A season, as the former star running back Paul Hornung Packers he said, Halas knocked Green Bay locker room, asking to speak to and then telling the Lombardi Packers coach who built a dynasty in the 1960s that the Bears were about to whip his behind, a psychological ploy if ever there was one.

Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/ct-spt-0123-staff-predictions-bears-p20110121,0,6800847.story

Evgeni Nabokov

Evgeni Nabokov, (AFP) – Russian goaltender Evgeni Nabokov has signed with the NHL Detroit contender, but rather a resident joined the NHL cellar on Saturday after being claimed off waivers by the New York Islanders.

The keeper 35 has signed a one-year contract with the Red Wings on Thursday after playing for SKA St. Petersburg of Russia’s Kontinental League Hockey.

But before you join an NHL team, league rules require that players from other professional leagues ballot, in which all the other teams in the league has the right to claim for the same financial conditions.

With veteran goalie Rick DiPietro Islanders and injured Dwayne Roloson traded to Tampa Bay earlier this month, New York has been using a pair of rookie goaltenders and happy to pull Nabokov when the opportunity arose.

With only 15 wins in 46 games, the Islanders’ third worst in the 30-team NHL with 37 points, which does Edmonton and New Jersey.

The St. Louis Blues have suffered similar setbacks in trying to land talent KHL earlier this month, losing center Kyle Wellwood to San Jose and Marek Svatos right in Nashville.

Nabokov has won 44 of 70 games last season with San Jose, who reached the NHL playoffs in the semifinals before losing to eventual champion Chicago.

After spending parts of 10 seasons with the Sharks, Nabokov signed a four-year contract with St. Petersburg and won eight of 21 games with an 88.8 percent save ratio and 3.02 goals against average before being released last month.

The Red Wings, whose 29 wins in 47 games are the same for the second in the NHL with 64 points in third place overall, need help with Jimmy Howard netminding harassed by a knee injury and Chris Osgood hernia surgery during the last week.

“The Islanders are terrible and I’m not sure why they did that,” said Osgood.

Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved

(AP) – Evgeni Nabokov left Russia for the chance to play with the Detroit Red Wings. Instead of landing in Hockeytown, the veteran goalkeeper will take an unexpected detour on Long Island – perhaps.

Nabokov lost his chance to join the Red Wings on Saturday, when the New York Islanders claimed him off waivers.

While it would have dreamed of making a long playoff with Detroit as a foil, Nabokov will now play the strings with New York, which entered Saturday with the third-fewest points in the NHL.

“It was a good opportunity for a quality keeper with a proven track record,” the Chief Islanders Garth Snow told The Associated Press.

However, several reports surface on Saturday that Nabokov would not report to the Islanders, but Snow said he had not been told.

“That’s good news for me,” said Snow, who added that he expected a call back from Nabokov. “We have a player that has a standard player contract and we look forward to having join our organization “.

A message left by Nabokov’s agent, Don Meehan, was not immediately returned.

Islanders Nabokov caught two days after the goalkeeper from 35-year-old signed a one-year contract with the Red Wings. He spent this season with SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL and the Russian Federation had not yet played for Detroit. NHL collective bargaining agreement provides that any person who plays in a professional league before signing an NHL contract must clearly exceptions.

Snow said the Islanders have a ticket to fly from Nabokov Oakland, California, New York on Sunday, when the Islanders face the Buffalo Sabres in a match in the afternoon.

Nabokov’s new agreement contains a non-displacement.

“When I put my request, I did not intend to claim for him to pass by any means, Snow said.

This is the third time in recent weeks that the player back to the NHL from the KHL was snatched off waivers. The St. Louis Blues have been assaulted twice by the process they lost the right wing Marek Svatos to the Nashville Predators and center Kyle Wellwood to San Jose.

The Islanders (15-24-7) struggled in goal because of the absence of injured Rick DiPietro and trade Dwayne Roloson to Tampa Bay this month. New York was under way with rookies Kevin Poulin and Nathan Lawson in place of DiPietro, who missed several games recently because of persistent knee problems and a case of the flu.

Lawson was forced to win in Buffalo Friday night, after a sprained knee. The 20-year, Poulin played the last two periods and got the win. DiPietro is in the fifth season of a landmark agreement 15 years with the Islanders.

Nabokov was 8-8-5 with a 3.02 GAA and a percentage of 0, 888 in 22 games with St. Petersburg. He became a free agent in December after being released by the KHL club in the first season of a four-year contract.

Last season with San Jose, Nabokov was 44-16-10 with a 2.43 GAA and helped the Sharks reach the Western Conference finals against eventual Stanley Cup Champion Chicago.

After being selected in the ninth round of the NHL draft in 1994, Nabokov moved to a 293-178-29-37 mark with an average of 2.39 and a percentage of 0 .912 in parts of 10 seasons with the Sharks. He was 40-38 with a 2.29 GAA and a percentage of 0, 913 in 80 playoff career.

Detroit has been looking for help because the backup goalie Chris Osgood has hernia surgery last week and should be until March. A bruised right knee has bothered No. 1 goaltender Jimmy Howard. Howard returned to the lineup Thursday night in St. Louis after missing two games and made 26 saves in the victory of the Red Wings 4-3 in overtime.

Only the Edmonton Oilers and New Jersey have fewer points than New York.

“I have not thought much about, but the Islanders are terrible and I’m not sure why they did that,” said Osgood, a former goalkeeper for New York.

The Islanders were burned by the waiver rule in January 2009 when they tried to put the goalie Wade Dubielewicz in the organization after playing for Kazan Ak-Bars of the KHL. After signing an agreement with New York, Dubielewicz was claimed by the Columbus Blue Jackets.

AP Sports Writer Larry Lage in Detroit contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Soldier Field

Soldier Field, Teams are very different from those who gathered at week 6 in a 23-20 victory in Seattle “Soldier Field.”The biggest change is that the Seahawks see in film studies is the offense Bears, who became much more balanced since attempting 45 assists and 14 points in the first game. Chicago offensive coordinator Mike Martz has been patient with the ground game, and it has borne fruit in terms of pass protection for QB Jay Cutler. But Martz is a man of the game, and it will take a lot of restraint not to revolt against the pass against a defense that gave up 397 meters last weekend at the New Orleans Saints. During this time, the bears will see a Seattle offense that has mixed things of the past two weeks and did a good job of breaking patterns while finally making progress on the ground. QB Matt Hasselbeck is coming off an excellent game in which he received great protection, receivers expected to be released and was very specific. But a fast start is crucial, because it tends to turn the ball over in pieces when they are forced to play from behind and tries to make course too.
It was a scary moment on Sunday when Chicago Solider Field Seahawks TE John Carlson was carted off with an apparent head injury. But it seems Carlson could have avoided a very serious injury.

Carlson was injured midway through the first quarter when he went down head first on the bench after being catapulted into the air at the end of a 14-yard reception. Carlson lay motionless on the ground for several minutes as medical personnel rushed to his side. He was immobilized and attached to a panel before it was loaded onto a cart and taken off the field.

The Seahawks announced Carlson had feeling in his extremities and was carried by a precautionary measure. It is a positive sign that clearly Carlson spoke with the medical staff as they loaded on the truck. Carlson will not return to the game

Antti Niemi

Antti Niemi, After Antti Niemi was granted and 2.75 million in arbitration over the weekend, the Chicago Blackhawks have decided to depart from the sentence, which allows the netminder 26-year-old to become an unrestricted free agent in accordance Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune.

Instead, the team has signed veteran goalie Marty Turco (pictured right) for a one-year contract, and reportedly worth between 1 million and 1.5 million, helping to complete the salary cap random induced list Place has been all offseason in the wake of the team’s Stanley Cup win since 1961. Niemi joins Andrew Ladd, Dustin Byfuglien, Kris Versteeg, Brent Sopel, John Madden and Ben anxious as the players will not help the team defend its title. The Blackhawks had no choice but to shed the salary of this summer, coming into the season and well above the ceiling of 59.4 million salary cap.
There is also a strong possibility that the team will eat the contract of veteran goalie Cristobal Huet – who is still owed to 5.6 million per season over the next two years – since the team still only has 18 players under contract for next season, and is located right in the ceiling of the cap, even after changing Niemi Turco.

Turco is coming off a rebound season rate – at least compared to the previous two seasons – the Dallas Stars, the publication of a .913 save percentage in 53 games. His game has decreased a lot in the last two years, but he will join a Chicago team that is still very strong in the Blueline with Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Brian Campbell (good player, bad contract).

Niemi

Niemi, CHICAGO – The Chicago Blackhawks have reached an agreement for another year with Marty Turco on Monday, settling into a senior goalkeeper to replace Antti Niemi Stanley Cup hero.

The general manager Stan Bowman said the team expects “immediate” contributions of the 34-year-old Turk, played nine seasons with Dallas. He is a three-time All-Star Game.

Terms were not disclosed.

The 26-year-old Niemi helped the Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup last season after earning and 826 875 as a rookie. He was given a salary and 2.75 million next season by an arbitrator last week, putting the Blackhawks in a difficult situation.

Bowman declined to say whether the team could have squeezed Niemi award under the NHL salary cap, and set at 59.4 million next season.

“The salary cap has been talked about much,” said Bowman.

Bowman said he made several attempts to sign Niemi to a multiyear contract before the case went to arbitration goalkeeper.

“We have exhausted all options to do this job,” Bowman said. “This is the direction that makes more sense. You must have the flexibility within your list and this was the best way to defend the Cup.”

Niemi, a Finn who signed with the Blackhawks in May 2008, becomes an unrestricted free agent. He played all but one period of the Blackhawks post-season run to the championship, going 16-6 with a 2.63 goals against average, .910 save percentage and two shutouts.

Niemi is the eighth player to leave the Blackhawks since the team won its first Stanley Cup in 49 years, joining Andrew Ladd Ben Eager, Dustin Byfuglien, Brent Sopel, Burisch ‘s Adam Colin Fraser and Kris Versteeg.

Bowman said he had been watching for some time Turkish and trying to coordinate the timing of signing for another NHL team would not.

“We discussed it and Marty is the man who clearly had an interest in a long time here,” Bowman said via conference call. “We are fortunate that there was a little patience with us, which speaks to the type of person he is and wants to be here.

“We’ve been working on parallel tracks for a while.”

In his NHL career, Turco is 262-154-63 in 509 regular season games with a 2.31 goals-against and shutouts half 40. Last season, was 22-20-11 with a 2.72 GAA, .913 save percentage and four shutouts.

The native 5-foot-11 Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, who turns 35 this month, is 21-26 with a 2.17 goals against average in 47 playoff games.

The stars, however, have missed the playoffs for two consecutive years.

“I have not lost my confidence, but recent years have been tough mentally because we have not reached the playoffs,” said Turco. “Part of the reason for going there (Chicago) is now you’re on a computer that has a chance to win every night and won a Stanley Cup last year.”

Turco said he has never been “better physically and it was a” dream come true “to play a team from the original six NHL once had Tony Esposito, a native of Sault Ste-Marie, on the network.

“I had offers from other teams and covers several years, but I had the opportunity to be part of this great organization,” said Turco. “Waiting, especially given that as of today, does not seem so difficult.”

With the addition of Turco, Bowman said his team list is almost set for 2010-11.

“We need to add a defense, but we will not make wholesale changes right now,” he said. “We are pleased with what we have.”

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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