My thumb is up to the Sunday afternoon game between Carolina and Washington, because it happens to be the last exhibition game prior to Wednesdays start of the regular season. Cheap NFL Jerseys China . Lets face it, the real reason pre-season games are played is that they are money makers. The other stated reasons are concocted simply to avoid the real reason. Coaches dont need to look at their teams seven or eight times to determine who should earn roster spots; they just prefer to spend as much time as they can avoiding decisions. Players dont need games to skate themselves into shape. Fans dont need to watch meaningless games, and they certainly shouldnt want to pay for them. However necessary the NHL might suggest the warmup games are, theres no case to be made that their number cant be reduced. And when no exhibition games were played prior to the 2012-13 season, what was the harm? Eliminating exhibition games can be done because it has been done. So it should be done. My thumb is down to the Arizona Coyotes, for the simple reason that they are no longer the Phoenix Coyotes. Hockey announcers who aspire to the achievement of the perfect broadcast have no chance when they must refer to the Coyotes. This season, in the early part at least, the troubled team in the desert will inevitably be the Phoe-rizona Coyotes. Okay, theyre not actually located in Phoenix, and Glendale Coyotes doesnt work, so why not call them the Arizona Coyotes? Because theyve been the Phoenix Coyotes since they were no longer the Winnipeg Jets in 1996, and if they think any reference to Phoenix brings back bad memories of a franchise struggling to stay put, they should realize that any reference to Coyotes does that, too. Arizona Deficits, anyone? For me, theyll be the Phoenix Coyotes until theyre the Seattle Needles or the Quebec Nordiques. Id check with the owners to see if thats okay, but their names keep changing as well. Cheap Jerseys From China . And all things considered, the first 40 games have offered a little bit of everything from a hockey club that faced many questions in its first year under new management, with a new head coach and with a number of new faces in the lineup. However, with a recent dip in scoring, it seems some of the same old questions persist and several new ones have been raised after a somewhat troubling homestand. Wholesale Jerseys . Today, well look at five frontcourt players today, here from the Bay Area. 1. AMIR JOHNSON (Raptors): I cant figure out what the issue or problem is, but based upon what Im seeing, hes not right. http://www.cheapjerseysapp.com/ .com) - Graeme McDowell opened up with a first- round, 5-under 67 on Thursday and he holds a 2-shot lead at the WGC - HSBC Champions.TORONTO -- Before Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil were born and when they werent yet old enough to hold tennis rackets, a generation of Swedes led by Stefan Edberg, Bjorn Borg and Mats Wilander swept the tennis world. Now it might be Raonic and Pospisils turn to do the same as Canadians. "I think theres a chance now with the guys in Canada here that they can do the same journey," Edberg said. "It should be a very exciting time for Canadian tennis going forward now." Considering Raonic beating Pospisil on Sunday in the Citi Open was the first all-Canadian final in the history of the mens tour, this journey is just getting started. What the match also illustrated is that Pospisil has a ways to go to catch up with Raonic, even though hes showing evidence of following him up the rankings. Pospisil, who will face Richard Gasquet in the first round of the Rogers Cup on Tuesday, is ranked 27th in the world after reaching his first ATP final. Raonic is back up to his career high of sixth after winning his sixth title. "For me, just seeing him, growing up with him and beating him when we were younger just motivated me a little bit and feeling I could do it, too," Pospisil said Monday. "I have a lot of areas of my game that I need to work on and fully develop to reach the top 10." Raonic is still the standard for Pospisil and this new generation of Canadian mens tennis players, but the Vancouver native is making strides, especially recently. A back injury contributed to a streak of eight consecutive losses from February through the French Open, and it took some time before Pospisil was 100 per cent again. "I got healthy for the first time this year the week before Wimbledon, and then I built a pretty good momentum," he said. "I felt every week I have been improving, and I feel like Ive got a good groove now." Pospisil got his groove back during doubles play at Wimbledon when he and American partner Jack Sock won it all. Raonic said that doubles run mightve given Pospisil "a perspective and a confidence to really be able to be playing this well that quickly." It has been what Pospisil has called a "pretty amazing couple of years" since being ranked in the 100s. The 24-year-old has improved so much in that period of time that Raonic and others cant help but take notice. "I think hes just constantly getting better, and most importantly you see hes playing consistently a lot of weeks making quarters and hes beating the guys he should be," said Raonic, who is set to play Wednesday night at Rexall Centre. "Thats the first steps you need to make. Thats how you can see that somebody is making progress in a developmental stage." Coming off a tiring week in Washington, Pospisil faces an immediate challenge at the Rogers Cup in the 12th-seeded Gasquet, whom he beat in the Citi Open semifinals. Pospisil used Monday to catch his breath becaause playing Tuesday is a difficult, quick turnaround. NFL Jerseys China. "Im a little bit tired but I wont be tomorrow, just today," Pospisil said. "I didnt get much sleep last night or the night before. So right now Im not feeling great, but I know tomorrow Ill be fit." A third Canadian got into the winning act Monday night as wild card Peter Polansky beat 2013 Wimbledon semifinalist Jerzy Janowicz 7-6(5), 6-4. Polansky, who advances to face second-seeded Roger Federer on Tuesday night, didnt watch the Raonic-Pospisil match in Washington but credits their success as a bit of inspiration. "When youre around your peers and your peers start doing well, I think it pushes everyone and it gives everyone a little extra confidence saying, Im training with this guy, maybe Im beating him a little bit in practice and look where hes ranked," Polansky said. "I think for sure it gives us all a little confidence." Polansky grew up nearby but hadnt won a match at Rexall Centre since 2010. Even though Pospisil has just one victory in four career matches in Toronto, he flashed a wide smile Monday when the topic of playing back home in Canada was brought up. Flash bulbs went off before he explained that excitement about the Rogers Cup served as inspiration over the past couple of weeks. Pospisils lack of success here in the past is much more an indication of where he has been, not where he is as a player right now. Still, hes admittedly a work in progress. "Its an ongoing process over the course of the last 18 months and probably will be the same for years to come, just becoming a complete player all around and being aggressive and thats the key," Pospisil said. "I think thats where I made my biggest jump was when I started being less passive on the court and especially in big moments, and you have to kind of play aggressive and go for it, as all these guys do." With his big, intimidating serve, Raonic is at the point where hes measuring himself against the likes of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Federer. Asked about his best matches of 2014, Raonic pointed to a loss to Djokovic as one of them. Its unlikely Pospisil will look back at Sundays 6-1, 6-4 drubbing at the hands of Raonic in the same way. No matter the opponent, his first final represented an early career milestone. "I would have liked to have been on the winning end of that, obviously, but yeah, its another special moment for me because it was my first final," Pospisil said. "The fact that I was playing another Canadian, Milos, made it more special for sure, I think especially for tennis fans in Canada. But, yeah, I think its more icing on the cake, I guess, for all the good results that we have been having these past few years in Canada." But the match did show a glimpse of what would be the best-case scenario for Pospisil and Raonic: more finals played between the budding rivals. 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