Meister der Farbe » h for: As Stamkos goes, so goes

INDIANAPOLIS -- Indianapolis Colts general manager Ryan Grigson said during a radio interview this week that the team has had a difficult time improving its defense because it gave quarterback Andrew Luck a new $140 million contract during the offseason.We have a defense that is work in progress, Grigson said on Fox Sports Radio. When you pay Andrew what we did, its going to take some time to build on the other side of the ball.The Colts have finished 20th or worse in defense in three of the four seasons Grigson, who was hired in 2012, has been general manager. All four of those years were while Luck was under his rookie contract.During that stretch, the Colts signed free agents like safety LaRon Landry, cornerback Greg Toler and defensive lineman Arthur Jones -- all starters who havent worked out for the team. The Colts also have released starting linebackers Nate Irving and Sio Moore since the end of August.Grigsons 2012 draft was his best class because it featured Luck, receiver T.Y. Hilton and tight ends Dwayne Allen and Coby Fleener. The problem Grigson has is that the Colts have no players remaining from their 2013 draft. They also waived cornerback DJoun Smith, the teams third-round pick in 2015, last month.We have missed on picks, thats for sure, we have, Grigson said on Fox Sports Radio. I have to do better in that respect.Despite the misses in the draft, the Colts advanced a step further in the playoffs, including reaching the AFC Championship Game in 2014, in each of their first three seasons. They didnt have Luck for nine games and missed the playoffs last season.The Colts are currently 1-3 heading into a game Sunday against the Chicago Bears.Grigson has improved his drafts in recent years. Fourteen players, including six on defense, from the 2014-16 draft class are currently starters or key rotational players for Indianapolis.Weve got young players like (safety) Clayton Geathers, (safety) T.J. Green, (defensive lineman) Henry Anderson has played some really good (football) for us, Grigson said. We have a lot of players on that side of the ball on the come. Nothing is ever perfect.Air Jordan Outlet . -- Edmontons Val Sweeting is two wins away from a trip to Winnipeg to play in Canadas Road of the Rings in December. Fake Jordan . 8 Iowa State on Saturday, sending the Cyclones to their third consecutive loss. The Longhorns (14-4, 3-2) got their biggest win of the season with their third in the row in the Big 12. https://www.jordanchina.us/ . Terms of the deal were not immediately available. The 26-year-old finished last season with Clevelands Triple-A affiliate in Columbus after signing with the Indians in August. Air Jordan China . -- Ryan Blaney provided more evidence that Penske Racings No. Cheap Jordan From China . Capitals head coach Adam Oates said Ovechkin was injured in the first period against the Vancouver Canucks on Monday and clarified it was not a head injury.The rest of the hockey world began narrowing the gap a long time ago. But make no mistake, Canada remains the team to beat in these tournaments, having won four of the past five best-on-best events dating back to the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, and then adding victories at the last World Cup in 2004, the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver and of course the most recent test, the 2014 Games in Sochi. Overall, going back to the inaugural Canada Cup (later renamed World Cup) in 1976, Canada has won eight of the 12 best-on-best events staged in the history of the sport. So of course the road to victory in this years World Cup goes through the host team. But that is not to say Canada is unbeatable, however. Far from it.How Team Canada could winWhere to start? The back-to-back Olympic champs are loaded up front, led by?Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews, John Tavares, Steven Stamkos, Joe Thornton and Claude Giroux. Team Canada is?once again a whos who of superstars up and down its four forward lines.A big key was that head coach Mike Babcock identified early in training camp the two wingers who will play with Crosby -- ?Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron?--?potentially solving a riddle, finding a line fit for his best player, that had perplexed him throughout the past two Olympics. That trio showed immediate chemistry during the first day of camp.In goal, the 1-2-3 punch of Carey Price, Braden Holtby and Corey Crawford is matched perhaps only by Team USAs netminders in terms of quality and depth, although most observers agree that Price is the best goalie in the world when hes back in form. The coaching staff, led by Babcock, has star- and brain-power. It features Joel Quenneville, Claude Julien, Barry Trotz and up-and-comer Bill Peters. This team will be expertly prepared.Price was steady in Sochi when tested, but never had to steal a game, as Canadas keep-away, puck-possession strategy on the bigger ice delivered a surgical, undefeated Olympic performance. Now that Team Canada is back on NHL-sized ice, the system has been tweaked. But the stars both on the ice and behind the bench are aiming for a similar result -- and desire to own the puck.How Team Canada could loseDuncan Keiths?absence because of innjury is potentially devastating.dddddddddddd. If this team has any soft underbelly, its on the left side of its defense. Marc-Edouard Vlasic has proven to be up to the task, elevating his game both in Sochi and in the NHL the past few years to become one of the leagues top defensemen, but he doesnt have the offensive talent that Keith does, and the drop-off to an aging Jay Bouwmeester and Team Canada newcomer Jake Muzzin is real. It has led to right-handed Alex Pietrangelo beginning camp playing on the left side, which is something Babcock would rather avoid but clearly feels has no choice but to do.If Canada falters, critics will wonder why a guy like Kris Letang?or P.K. Subban,?though both right-handed, werent named after their outstanding seasons. The right-left defense debate will rage on in hockey-mad Canada if the host team loses.Another wild card for Canada is Prices form. The goalie missed most of last season with a knee injury. Its been nine months since he has played a real game. Can he shake off the rust in time to lead Canada to a World Cup title? Would Babcock consider pulling him for Holtby or Crawford midway through the tourney -- like he did Martin Brodeur for Roberto Luongo at the 2010 Games -- if he feels Price hasnt found his A-game? Its something to monitor, to be sure.What to watch for: As Stamkos goes, so goes CanadaStamkos has waited for this chance for a long time. A broken leg robbed him of a trip to Sochi in 2014 in what would have been his first Olympics. Hes champing at the bit to make his mark at this stage for his native country. He also happens to be the best pure goal scorer on this ridiculously talented team. He has spent most of camp and pretournament on a line with Logan Couture and Toews, a very responsible, two-way unit that obviously still has offensive firepower. Stamkos observed during camp that Toews was underrated offensively, that he is always on the right side of the puck, which creates opportunities for a shooter like Stamkos. If Canada does win again, look for the Tampa Bay Lightning captain to be a central figure. ' ' '