Klassenforum » ns. We just have to continue to improve

Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. This week, they discuss Martin Brodeur, Erik Cordier, Johnny Manziel and the end of the Moore-Bertuzzi saga. Bruce Arthur, Toronto Star: My thumb is down to the inevitabilities of time, which brings us to Martin Brodeur. He has been a great goalie. He has had a marvellous career and right now, with training camp coming, hes 42, hes unemployed, his name isnt on any front burners and he been one of the worst goaltenders in the NHL over the past four seasons. Hes never allowed himself to believe that, though, even as New Jersey moved on. So here he is. Its a little sad, sure, but its his choice. Brodeur wont retire for some of the same reasons he was great: his deep need to play, to matter, to believe in himself. The reasons Marty Brodeur was great are the reasons hes waiting and wondering if this game has finally passed him by. Steve Simmons, Sun Media: My thumb is up to Erik Cordier, a career nobody, who made his major league debut this week with the San Francisco Giants and left those of us who saw it, gasping. After almost 10 years of kicking around the minors with four different organizations, Cordier entered the seventh inning of a loss to Colorado and began to throw. Hard. His first big league pitch came in at 100 miles per hour. He followed that up with 100, 101, 101, 100 and a strikeout of Drew Stubbs. Before he finished his hitless inning, Cordier had thrown 16 pitches clocked at 100 or more. To put his debut into some kind of perspective, consider this: 22 big league teams, including the Blue Jays, have not thrown a single pitch that fast this season. Michael Farber, Sports Illustrated: My thumb is down to Johnny Manziel, a.k.a. Johnny Football, a.k.a. JFF, and now a.k.a. Johnny Cleveland. Manziels company has filed for its 10th trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office, this time for the aforementioned Johnny Cleveland, which, if you think about it, is more flattering than, say, Johnny Clipboard. Now Shaquille ONeal had a slew of nicknames - the Big Aristotle, Shaq Fu - but these were mostly about a basketball player doing it for giggles, not a quarterback trying to laugh all the way to the bank. In his determined effort to expand his brand, the Browns rookie back-up might as well add another name to his burgeoning list: Johnny Trademark. Dave Hodge, TSN: My thumb is up to the settlement, finally made official this week, in the "so-called Moore-Bertuzzi" lawsuit. I know a trial would have been fascinating. It would have been a reporters dream. It might have changed the NHL in some way. It would have brought a verdict and a so-called "winner", though, hardly but particularly for the parties directly involved, it would have been an excruciating experience and no matter where your sentiments lie, we should all agree there has been too much suffering. What a settlement tells us is that both sides saw the need to minimize that suffering, notice I didnt say they could end it. No matter how much money was gained or saved in a settlement, less suffering and the absence of a trial made it the right ending to a sad story that everyone wishes had never happened. New York Giants Jerseys . As each game passes (each has played close with the exception of last night) it becomes clearer just how evenly matched these two teams are and how one mistake, or one bad inning, is likely to sway the result. Jonathan Stewart Jersey . -- Aaron Rodgers looked fine on the practice field Thursday. http://www.nygiantsfanatic.com/c-88-gian...rsey.aspx."; Also, defencemen "were found to be at a higher risk of suffering a concussion than other players, perhaps due to turning their back to retrieve pucks along the boards, which leaves them vulnerable. Patrick Omameh Jersey . The Wild, playing their first game since leading scorer Mikko Koivu broke his ankle Saturday at Washington, have won three straight for the first time since Nov. 1-5. Koivu underwent surgery on Monday and is expected to miss at least four weeks. Custom New York Giants Jerseys . -- The Chicago Bears say they have agreed to a one-year contract with centre Roberto Garza.Toronto, ON (SportsNetwork.com) - DeMar DeRozan registered 25 points with six rebounds to lead the Toronto Raptors in a 114-110 win over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night. Jonas Valanciunas went for 20 points and 11 rebounds in the win, while Amir Johnson added 17 points for the Raptors. D.J. Augustins career night was all for naught as he made the start for the injured Brandon Jennings. Detroit announced earlier in the day that Jennings would miss the remainder of the season with a ruptured left Achilles tendon that he suffered during Saturdays game against Milwaukee. Augustin set a career high with 35 points and also dished out eight assists for the Pistons, who have lost three straight on the road. Greg Monroe finished with 21 points and 16 rebounds in the loss. Our defense is terrible, Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said. It really is, its terrible. Toronto led by five in the latter stages of the third when it went on a 10-2 run that Valanciunas capped with a layup from Kyle Lowry for an 85-72 lead. Detroit managed to close within 10 entering the final quarter, and it cut the deficit to 89-83 with the first four points of the fourth. The Pistons hung around later in the quarter and did not allow Toronto to run away with the game. Kentavious Caldwell-Popes dunk with just over two minutes left cut Detroits deficit to 103-99. DeRozan kept the Raptors in front, however, converting a pair oof free throws prior to making a jumper that made it an eight-point game with 1:23 left.dddddddddddd. Detroit continued its persistency as Caldwell-Pope buried a 3 before Augustin went to the line for two free throws. Johnson responded with a pair of free throws to keep the hosts ahead 109-104 with 38.7 seconds left. Lowry committed a boneheaded foul on Caldwell-Pope with 15.1 seconds left. Caldwell-Pope knocked down an open 3, Lowry fouled him from behind and the former hit a free throw to complete the four-point play to make it a two- point game. Following a pair of makes at the line from Terrence Ross, Caldwell-Pope missed two 3-pointers at the other end and the Raptors held on. I was really pleased with our offensive production, Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. Were having our ups and downs. We just have to continue to improve in a lot of areas. Augustin scored seven points during an 11-2 run that tied the game at 20-20 late in the first quarter. The Raptors led 26-25 after 12 minutes. The game remained close until Lowry nailed a 3-pointer that kicked off a 9-3 burst over the final 2;19 of the second and helped Toronto to a 58-53 lead at halftime. Game Notes Caldwell-Pope had 16 points in the loss ... Toronto made 53 percent of its shots ... There were 11 lead changes and seven ties ... Each team scored 56 points in the paint. 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