The Original Game » more ways to win. And shes on a roll.PRED

ST. Cheap Adidas Shoes Wholesale . PAUL, Minn. -- With the new franchises prospects on the ice in front of them at the teams first rookie camp, Minnesota Wild general manager Doug Risebrough sat down next to director of hockey operations Tom Lynn and asked for an initial assessment.The good news was veteran coach Jacques Lemaire looked energized in his return to the NHL bench for the 2000-01 season.The bad?Well, hes got the best shot out there, Lynn quipped to Risebrough.Such was the state of a first-year team, pieced together with experienced players the rest of the league didnt need and newbies with largely unfulfilled potential. The Wild that season had plenty of Casey Stengel moments, Lynns label in reference to the manager of the 1962 New York Mets. They lost 120 games in their Major League Baseball debut.The Wilds first edition wasnt that bad, but they finished 14th out of 15 teams in the Western Conference. That was one spot behind the Columbus Blue Jackets, who with the Wild were the last clubs to enter the league until the recent award of a franchise to Las Vegas.Next year, that yet-unnamed team will build a roster from scratch, just like the Wild and Blue Jackets did 17 years before them. Not only will Las Vegas be the first addition to the NHL in 17 years, but it will become only the third new club since then in any of the countrys four most prominent professional sports leagues. Houston joined the NFL in 2002, and the NBA added Charlotte in 2004.Las Vegas will have some advantages over Columbus and Minnesota, which followed Nashville (1998) and Atlanta (1999) in the previous wave. The salary cap floor, for one, has risen to $54 million. Columbus general manager Doug MacLean had a $17 million payroll to work with on his first roster in the pre-cap era.The advent of analytics has given front offices more tools with which to evaluate players. Theres a higher caliber of prospects reaching the league now, too, fueled by elite skills camps and national development programs.Youre not going to have someone slip through the cracks where youre going to be rolling your eyes and going, `Oh, howd he end up in camp? said Lynn, who was promoted to assistant general manager after two seasons with the Wild and held that role for nearly seven years. Hes now a player agent. Rather than avoiding potholes, your fight will be to avoid mediocrity.The Blue Jackets and Wild also had to fight with each other. With two teams starting simultaneously, the expansion draft pool was further diluted.There were very few players you really wanted, MacLean said, adding: It was a fun process to go through, but at the end of the day you get your list and you say, `Oh, this is it? This is it for $80 million?Thats what the fee was for those teams to join the league. The price tag for Las Vegas is $500 million. Thus, MacLean said, its only fair that the new franchise will start with a stronger talent base.Columbus grabbed left wing Geoff Sanderson, a 30-goal scorer that first season, but netted little else from the expansion draft. In a nontraditional hockey market like Columbus, Blue Jackets brass felt pressure to win faster. They didnt make the playoffs until their eighth season, though, and have only qualified twice.Minnesota, fueled by a states rich history of high school and college programs and pickup games on frozen ponds, took a different tack. Patience was expected from a passionate fan base that lost the North Stars to Dallas in 1993. Complementing top draft picks Marian Gaborik and Nick Schultz, Risebrough focused on hard workers who would respond to Lemaires stern, wise leadership.Having good character players was of the highest importance, Lynn recalled, more important than their physical skills.Darby Hendrickson, a native of Minnesota, had finished his sixth NHL season with Vancouver when he found out the Wild picked him. Fishing by himself at his lake home up north, he had some initial hesitations. The pressure of playing at home was one. The rather dim outlook was another.You dont know with expansion if youre going to be, like, losing every game, said Hendrickson, whos now an assistant coach for the Wild.Hendrickson, fellow center Jim Dowd and defenseman Filip Kuba were among the players fetched in that expansion draft. By year three, they were part of a resilient team that reached the Western Conference finals.Even in that uphill first season, highlights werent hard to come by. The Wild beat Dallas 6-0 in their first matchup against the states old team. The first exhibition game brought a goosebump-inducing standing ovation that still resonates with Hendrickson.I was just like, `Here we go, Hendrickson said, and you knew that the state was going to be behind hockey being back.---AP Sports Writer Stephen Whyno in Washington contributed to this report. Wholesale Shoes China . 10 Texas A&Ms offence dominated as usual against SMU. Cheap Adidas Superstar China Wholesale . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. http://www.wholesalefashionsuperstar.com/ . Hargreaves began his career in 2008 with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and has played with the Edmonton Eskimos and last season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler goes for his third title defense against Tyron Woodley at UFC 201 on Saturday in Atlanta.The pay-per-view fight is flying a little under the radar, which is to be expected given its sandwiched between the landmark event that was UFC 200 and the Conors Revenge! storyline of UFC 202.That said, this is still a Robbie Lawler fight were talking about here. Theyre always worth the price of admission.Lets take a closer look at the upcoming 170-pound championship bout. Dont agree with these picks? Let MMA analyst Brett Okamoto know on Twitter: @bokamotoESPN.Main eventRobbie Lawler (27-10) vs. Tyron Woodley (15-3) Welterweight championship Odds: Lawler -175; Woodley +155Discussing when a fighters chin will deteriorate ranks right at the top in terms of worst topics ever. Who wants to talk about an athlete losing the ability to take a punch? Not me.Unfortunately, in a matchup like this one, it cant be ignored. According to Fightmetric, Lawler has absorbed 642 strikes since the start of 2014. Hes gone five hellacious rounds, back-to-back-to-back. When do these wars catch up? Lawler is 34 in human years -- and probably something like 112 in fighter years.Against Carlos Condit in January, Lawlers corner was in a panic going into the fifth round. For all they knew, Lawler needed a knockout to retain the title. He came out firing on Condit, hurt him with a big shot and ultimately took the round and a narrow split decision. It took everything Lawler had to win that fight. How many times can he refill the tank?If Lawlers odometer isnt a factor, I like him stylistically in this fight. The depth of Lawlers striking exceeds that of Woodleys. As dangerous as Woodley is, he mostly relies on his (albeit?incredible) right hand. Hell throw a few tree trunk inside leg kicks as well, but when push comes to shove: If you shut down the right hand, yyou shut down Woodley. Wholesale Adidas Superstar. Of course, Woodley is a very powerful wrestler as well, and his top game can be devastating, but it just seems unlikely hell choose to burn energy trying to take Lawler down. Its very hard to hurt Lawler on the floor even when you have him there, and although I think criticism of Woodleys gas tank is sometimes a little overblown, hes going to pace himself.My guess is Woodley will be fine with letting Lawler come to him. Hang back, circle, conserve energy and look for any opportunity to land that lightning right hand. If you want to go on the attack against Lawler, you have to be extremely busy, and that doesnt really play to Woodleys strengths. Lawler has become more disciplined in the latter half of his career, but Woodley could still catch him reaching here and there, and he trusts he has the speed and power to make it count when he does.PREDICTION: If it goes wrong for Lawler, I think it will go wrong big (as in, KO) -- but Ill go with the champ. Lawler via TKO, fourth round.Rest of cardRose Namajunas (5-2) vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz (9-0)Kowalkiewicz is definitely being overlooked here, but Namajunas appears to be the better athlete with more ways to win. And shes on a roll.PREDICTION: Namajunas decision, 30-27Matt Brown (20-14) vs. Jake Ellenberger (30-11)This is kind of a weird fight, but it actually makes sense given Browns recent skid. Theres pressure on both; Brown is expected to roll while Ellenberger is barely hanging on to employment.PREDICTION: Brown, first round TKOFrancisco Rivera (11-6) vs. Erik Perez (15-6)A one-time hot prospect, Perez is still only 26, but hes been limited to four fights in three years. Pretty even matchup for him here against Rivera.PREDICTION: Perez via decision. ' ' '