Werbung » shake his boyhood idols hand Tuesday night

BUFFALO, N.Y. - Peter Mrazek idolized Dominik Hasek while he was growing up in the Czech Republic.Mrazek made sure to shake his boyhood idols hand Tuesday night, then pocketed a puck commemorating the Hall of Fame goaltender after he made 25 saves in the Detroit Red Wings 3-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres.Its something special for me to remember the rest of my life, said Mrazek, who started in place of injured goaltender Jimmy Howard. Its nice to meet the legend and the goalie who did so much stuff for our country and for himself.Darren Helm, Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar scored for the Red Wings, who won three of four. Kyle Quincey had two assists.Mike Weber scored for the Sabres, who have lost eight straight. Michal Neuvirth had 27 saves.The Sabres honoured Hasek by retiring his No. 39 in a pregame ceremony. Hasek starred for Buffalo from 1992-01, winning six Vezina Trophies and consecutive Hart Memorial Trophies in 1997 and 1998, before being traded to Detroit, where he won Stanley Cups in 2002 and 2008.Haseks number was painted behind both nets, and the goaltender matchup between Mrazek and Neuvirth featured two natives of the Czech Republic. Hasek led the Czech Republic to a gold medal at the Nagano Winter Games in 1998 and last year had his No. 9 retired in his Czech Republic hometown of Pardubice.It was a great honour for Dom and for us to be here was a special, special thing, Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said.Babcock encouraged Mrazek to greet Hasek coming off the ice following the pregame ceremony.Dom has had a significant impact on the game, especially in his country, so I thought it would be a real thrill for Pete to make that happen, Babcock said.The Red Wings played for the first time since Howard injured his groin early in Saturdays loss at Washington. Howard is the Red Wings second injured goalie. Jonas Gustavsson was placed on injured reserve Nov. 6 with a separated shoulder.We cant be happier with the way (Mrazek) is playing, Quincey said. Were confident going forward that he can play well for us.Detroit scored first after giving up the opening goal in its seven previous games. Helms wrist shot from the right circle gave the Red Wings their first short-handed goal of the season and a 1-0 lead midway through the first period.That was important for us to get a good start, get the first one, and definitely after that ceremony, get the legs going, Quincey said.The Sabres have given up a league-high seven short-handed goals this season, one of the reasons they have fallen into last place in the Eastern Conference.The power play should give you some momentum, Sabres coach Ted Nolan said. Unfortunately, the way we are, its taking momentum away.The Red Wings scored their second goal in a power play 8 minutes into the second period when Nyquist backhanded a rebound past Neuvirth.The special teams was the difference tonight, Neuvirth said.Buffalo got on the board later in the period when Drew Stafford fed Weber in front of the net for his first goal of the season.Detroit went up 3-1 less than 2 minutes later when Tatar knocked in a rebound.NOTES: Red Wings GM Ken Holland said Howard is expected to miss two to four weeks after an ultrasound confirmed an MRIs finding that Howard has a slightly torn groin muscle. ... Buffalo recalled F Matt Ellis from Rochester on Tuesday to replace Chris Stewart, who is out with the flu. ... Detroit called up G Tom McCollum from Grand Rapids to back up Mrazek. ... Sabres F Torrey Mitchell (foot) returned after missing 12 games. ... New Buffalo Bills coach Rex Ryan attended the game. Air Max 720 Blanche Sortie . Darren Collison and Blake Griffin scored 23 points apiece and the Clippers beat the Suns 112-108 Wednesday night, their fourth win in a row and 17th in the last 19 games. Air Max 270 Destockage .com) - The Dallas Mavericks had a five-game winning streak snapped last time out, but theyll try to get back into the winners circle Sunday evening when the Milwaukee Bucks pay a visit to American Airlines Center. http://www.nike720pascher.fr/air-max-720-sunset.html . -- LaMarcus Aldridge returned to the Trail Blazers lineup, happy to know that things didnt go awry without him. Vapormax Flyknit 2.0 Pas Cher . - The Chicago Bears have agreed to a one-year contract with free-agent centre Brian de la Puente. Air Max 720 Homme Pas Cher .The Dallas Cowboys released Sam from the practice squad Tuesday, dropping the rush end as they prepare for several potential reinforcements to return to the defensive line.TORONTO – Chad Jenkins is living the life of the 25th man. On his fourth recall this season, hes been on charter planes and stayed in five-star hotels. Hes ridden buses along freeways and turnpikes and stayed in not so five-star hotels, which is the routine of minor league life. Sometimes, most of the time in fact, hes been a reliever. During his last stint in Buffalo, with the Triple-A Bisons, he was a starter. There was that time, shortly into the season, his recall was announced and then retracted because he hadnt spent the first 10 days on option to the minor leagues. Its been a whirlwind, to say the least. "Its funny, I think after the second send down this year a teammate of mine in Buffalo goes, I dont know how you do it. Id be so mentally wrecked I wouldnt know which way I was going," Jenkins told TSN.ca. "Its funny. I laugh, you know, there are times when it really gets to me and I have like a rough day and Im down and out." There are other days, too, like when he was traveling with Buffalo in Louisville, Kentucky. His parents had come to visit from their Atlanta-area home. Jenkins was in a bad mood, moping and struggling to accept the up and down nature of his role. The Bisons had a game that night and not long before first pitch, something clicked. "At the end of the day I realized that I get to play a sport for a living and no matter where I am Im healthy, my familys healthy and thats all that really matters," said Jenkins. He feels a part of this team this time round. Jenkins is pitching. He threw a clean inning on June 4 in Detroit, using his patented sinkerball to induce three groundball outs. The next day he left an out from his first career big league save, hurling two-and-a-third scoreless innings in relief of J.A. Happ. Fast forward five days, to Tuesday night, when Jenkins put up another three-and-a-third scoreless frames in relief of Happ. The Jays lost but Jenkins, as is the demand of the long reliever, stopped the bleeding and gave his team a chance to win. Thanks to his three outings since the last recall, his ERA has dropped from 9.00 to 2.79. "Im not a big stat rat but I dont like seeing my ERA in the nines and I had to sit on that for two weeks," said Jenkins. "Every opportunity I get, in the end, is to the help the team win but at the same time its like, a little pride in myself. I dont like seeing such a high number beside my name." Jenkins had made four starts for Buffalo prior to rejoining the Jays. Thrust into the bullpen, he was forced to rearrange his routine. "Whats tough is when I start, I pitch, day off, side, two days off and pitch again," said Jenkins. "Your body gets into a routine. You run long distance. I lift heavy weights because thats just how I like to work out. I get back here, I switch my lifting. I lift every other day, every two days, just trying to get my body going. I stretch a lot more." Hes doing his best to "preserve bullets," as pitchers will say. Jenkins has incorporated a number of mobility exercises, including the use of the foam roller to loosen up his core muscles. He doesnt need to throw morre.ddddddddddddHes been doing plenty of that. "Im getting hot it feels like every night," said Jenkins. "I know since the second day in Detroit Ive had one day when I havent thrown off a mound. Arms holding up great, I cant complain there and hopefully I can keep it going." Manager John Gibbons has been a vocal supporter of Jenkins. The 26-year-old former first round pick often is the odd man out because the Jays can send him to the minor leagues without first exposing him to irrevocable waivers. Jenkins doesnt have a hard fastball and isnt a strikeout pitcher. Despite being selected 20th overall in the 2009 draft, hes come to believe the cautionary tale he heard from a minor league teammate shortly after turning pro: its hard to make it to the big leagues; its even harder to remain in the big leagues. "I didnt really heed that warning," said Jenkins. "Now that Ive been racking up a lot of miles I know for a fact its hard to stay." Pillar optioned to Buffalo The Blue Jays sent down Kevin Pillar before Wednesday afternoons series finale with the Twins. The move seemed strange, although the purpose was two-fold. First, the club needs relief help with its two long men, Todd Redmond and Chad Jenkins, unavailable on Wednesday due to their recent workloads. Reliever Bobby Korecky fills the need and its likely only for one day. "The thinking was, weve been talking about it the last couple of days anyway, we havent faced many lefties lately and for this next, pretty much this whole road trip, even when we get back, we dont face a lefty starter," said manager John Gibbons. "Send him down and get him some at-bats instead of sitting out there rotting." Toronto embarks on a three-city, 10-game road trip, which starts in Baltimore on Thursday. The Orioles will throw four right-handers at the Jays. Based on the pitching matchups the Jays believe they will see, the Yankees and Reds will each throw three right-handers. When the Jays return home on June 23 to play New York, the Yankees will throw three right-handers. The Jays arent scheduled to see a left-hander until their home series against the White Sox, which begins on June 26. In the absence of Colby Rasmus, Pillar has been part of a platoon with Anthony Gose in centerfield. In 38 plate appearances this season, Pillar is hitting .243/.237/.324. Three of his nine hits have been doubles. Jays make hay Despite the Jays recent slide, four losses in five games, the club has wrapped up a stretch in which it played 16 of 19 games at home. Toronto went 13-6 in that span. The Jays have 29 games remaining before the All-Star Break, 20 of which will be played on the road. After the trip to Baltimore (four games), New York and Cincinnati (three each), the Jays will return home to play the Yankees (three games), the Chicago White Sox (four games) and the Milwaukee Brewers (two games). The pre-All-Star Break road trip will be a demanding one and will rack up the frequent flyer points. The Jays will go to Oakland for four games, to Anaheim for three games and then head east to play the Rays three times in Tampa Bay. ' ' '