ekansekans's blog: "df"

Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. Julio Jones Youth Jersey . This week, they discuss the courage of Olympian Suzy Favor Hamilton, the honesty of Buffalo Bills centre Eric Wood, the judgment of Evander Kane and the health of Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano. Bruce Arthur, National Post: My thumb is up to Suzy Favor Hamilton: three-time Olympian, motivational speaker, real estate brokerage owner, married mother of one, Disney half marathon spokeswoman and, it was revealed this week, a $600-per-hour call girl for a Las Vegas escort company in her spare time. This is not a thumbs up to her podium-worthy work in the bedroom decathlon, where she was apparently the third-ranked such provider in Vegas. No, whats good is how she took responsibility for her mistakes, and pledged to do better. Favor Hamiltons motivational speeches are about her struggles with depression, which was a factor in this. Many are still afraid to talk about depression; more people need to. Well, Suzy Favor Hamilton may have done the impossible: she may have made talking about depression sexy. Dave Naylor, TSN: My thumb is up to Buffalo Bills centre Eric Wood who said this week what oh, 50 or so other players had to be thinking - that the Bills in Toronto series is a joke. Of course, its not just the players in Buffalo who hate this concept, so do the Buffalo fans - you know, the ones who are about to fork over $95 million in public funds as part of a new lease agreement that will keep the Bills in Buffalo for at least six more seasons. But the real reason Wood is right about this series being a joke is the other group of people who dont seem to care for the Bills coming to the Rogers Centre - those would be the sports fans of Toronto. And theyre extending this series... why? Michael Farber, Sports Illustrated: My thumb is down to Evander Kane because what happens in Vegas doesnt stay in Vegas, not when you post it on twitter. The Winnipeg Jets star tweeted a picture of himself on a Las Vegas rooftop talking into a stack of bills, an apparently humorous effort to contact Floyd Mayweather. This was the dumbest telephone moment since Maxwell Smart spoke into his shoe. Its great to be young, handsome and wealthy. But in the context of the NHL lockout, with players demanding their fair share, and the holiday season, when not everyone has wads of cash, Kanes little joke was ill-timed at best and insensitive at worst. Poor optics. Lousy judgment. Dave Hodge, TSN: Just another story about money in Las Vegas. And I think we should close this particular show on December 23 with a story that deals with different values. The medical clearance to return to work received this week by Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano is timely in several ways. There is no greater gift for Pagano or the Colts and the team is in a position to welcome him back with a playoff berth that could be clinched Sunday at Kansas City. We often hear stories of inspiration - every time the Colts played in Paganos absence this season, we saw one. And the season only gets better with Paganos expected return on Sunday, a week ahead of schedule, a day before Christmas. Michael Turner Jersey .com reported Friday. Tebow, whose unorthodox throwing motion has been often criticized, spent this week with House at the University of Southern California. Roddy White Camo Jersey . -- Lee Nguyen has undergone shoulder surgery after being the only member of the New England Revolution to play in all 30 games this season. http://www.fansfalconsroom.com/roddy-white-jerseys . The ace left-hander was set to come off the disabled list Tuesday night to pitch against Toronto, his first start since June 24. Matt Ryan Red Jersey . Matt Frattin will miss the AHL championship series against the Norfolk Admirals, which starts Friday, after learning he needs surgery to repair a damaged knee. Roddy White Black Jersey . Each team scored a goal in the second period, then skated up and down the ice for the next 83 minutes before Marian Gaborik gave the Rangers a 2-1 victory at 14:41 of the third overtime to end the 20th longest game in the history of the Stanley Cup playoffs, a tense matchup that began on Wednesday night and spilled into Thursday.TAMPA, Fla. - Guy Boucher obviously enjoys Steven Stamkos offensive skills. The Tampa Bay coach is also impressed with the high-scoring centres improving defensive play. Stamkos had his second hat trick this season and fifth overall to lift the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 5-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday. "His back-checking ... four or five times he was just a jet out there," Boucher said. "You know what? Hes part of the team." Stamkos scored his third goal of the game and 26th of the season from the left circle on a power-play 43 seconds into the third. Just 22 seconds later Tampa Bay went up 4-2 on a goal by Teddy Purcell. "Hes pretty hot," Lightning right wing Martin St. Louis said of Stamkos. "Hes flying." The Lightning have won three in a row and five of seven. "That was icing on the cake," Stamkos said of his hat trick. Carolina, 1-7-2 in Southeast Division games this season, got goals from Justin Faulk and Jay Harrison. "Tampa was ready in the third and we werent, and they outplayed us," Hurricanes coach Kirk Muller said. Hurricanes captain Eric Staal had two assists, giving him three assists and five points in his last two games. St. Louis, who finished with three assists, recorded his 500th career assist on Stamkos third goal. "Im proud of that," St. Louis said. "Its an honour to play this game." The Lightning record for goals in a game is four, set by Chris Kontos in the teams first game on Oct. 7, 1992 against Chicago. Steve Downie scored a thirrd-period goal at 6:51 and also had two assists for the Lightning. Roddy White Elite Jersey. Mathieu Garon made 24 saves. Carolinas Cam Ward stopped 27 shots. After Harrison scored a power-play goal 4:29 into the second, Stamkos got Tampa Bay even at two from the slot at 8:17. Stamkos put the Lightning up 1-0 off a pass through the crease by St. Louis during a 2-on-1 at 3:22 of the first. Stamkos has 10 goals and three assists over his last eight games. "Hes a world-class player," Muller said. "When you give him opportunities like that, hes going to capitalize. He plays at a high tempo. Hes a natural goal scorer, and he makes players better around him." St. Louis has seven assists and one goal during a five-game point streak Faulk tied it at one on a rebound power-play goal from the low left circle with 3:48 remaining in the first. The Hurricanes entered play with the NHLs third-worst power play. "I think once they got that third goal, our play broke down there," Faulk said. "Weve got to learn to play 60-minute games." NOTES: Tampa Bay GM Steve Yzerman said D Victor Hedman, hurt in Tuesday nights game against Philadelphia, has a concussion and will be sidelined indefinitely. ... Staal played in his 600th NHL game. Teammate, C Tuomo Ruutu, appeared in his 500th NHL game. ... Tampa Bay C Nate Thompson (lower body) will be re-evaluated Monday, while Lightning RW Ryan Shannon (knee) is two to three weeks from returning. ... Faulk and Harrison both stopped personal eight-game goal droughts. ... Harrison was minus-4 for the game. ' ' '