Ottawa, ON (SportsNetwork.
Cheap Jordan Shoes Australia .com) - Longtime Senators star Daniel Alfredsson returned to Ottawa on Thursday to officially announce his retirement. Alfredsson played his first 17 NHL seasons with the Senators before spending the 2013-14 campaign with Detroit. He would likely have played another season with the Red Wings, but back problems forced him to call it a career. Last year my body began to complain once more, said Alfredsson at a Thursday news conference. The old injuries and hard work to recover began again. I worked hard to play another year, (but) three weeks ago I decided to retire. Alfredsson signed a one-day contract with the Senators and will skate with the team Thursday night in warmups before the scheduled game against the New York Islanders. I am very happy to have the opportunity to retire as a Senator, Alfredsson added. The more I thought about it, the more I thought it was the right thing to do. The native of Sweden, who will turn 42 years old next week, joined the Senators for the 1995-96 season and became the face of the franchise. He was named the clubs captain in October 1999 and served in that role until he departed for Detroit as a free agent in July 2013. Alfredsson was the Calder Trophy winner as the leagues top rookie in 1996 and helped the Senators to 14 playoff appearances during his tenure, including a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals in the spring of 2007. The Eastern Conference championship and the five-game loss to Anaheim in the Cup Finals, Alfredsson said, were among the many highlights in his career. When we went to the Finals (was special), said Alfredsson. The way the whole city came behind the team. Alfredsson is the Senators all-time leader with 1,178 games played, 426 goals, 682 assists and 1,108 points. He added 51 goals and 100 points in 121 playoff games for the franchise. Senators owner Eugene Melnyk indicated that the club will likely retire Alfredssons No. 11 jersey. Without question, Daniel has been the greatest player that this city has ever seen, Melnyk said. Last year in Detroit, Alfredsson scored 18 goals and added 31 assists for 49 points in 68 games. He will finish his career ranked 60th in NHL history with 444 goals and 51st all-time with 1,157 points. Its going to be tough to find another job that is as rewarding and fun as it is to play in the NHL, Alfredsson said Thursday. Alfredsson was a six-time participant in the NHL All-Star Game and was a Second-Team NHL All-Star in 2006. He represented Sweden in the Olympics five times, winning gold in 2006 and silver in 2014.
Cheap Jordans Shoes Wholesale . Kelli Stack and Alex Carpenter also scored for the Americans, who avoided a repeat of Finlands upset at the Four Nations Cup in Lake Placid, N.Y., in November. Finnish goalie Noora Raty made 58 saves in that one, but the three-time Olympian could stop just 40 of 43 U.
Jordan Shoes Australia Online .com) - Real Madrid claimed its 16th consecutive victory across all competitions on Saturday after earning a 2-1 win over Malaga at the Estadio La Rosaleda. SAN ANTONIO -- "Beat the Heat!" had a whole new meaning in a sweltering start to the NBA Finals. The San Antonio Spurs handled the conditions, and the team, and it sure helped when a suffering LeBron James couldnt make it to the finish. Tim Duncan had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and the Spurs beat the Heat 110-95 on Thursday night in Game 1 at steamy AT&T Center. With an air conditioning failure making it feel like a sauna and causing James to battle cramps that knocked him out of the decisive stretch, the Spurs pulled away to win the opener of the first finals rematch since 1998. "After I came out of the game, they kind of took off," James said. "And it was frustrating sitting out and not be able to help our team." Manu Ginobili had 16 points and 11 assists, Tony Parker added 19 points and eight assists and the Spurs -- 6 for 6 in NBA Finals Game 1s -- shot 59 per cent. "Just very proud of my team," Parker said. "We kept believing, kept pushing. We know its not easy." They host Game 2 on Sunday -- likely in cooler conditions. James finished with 25 points but played only 33 minutes, and Miami was outscored 36-17 in the fourth quarter. "It sucks not being out there for your team, especially at this point in the season," James said. Dwyane Wade had 19 points and Chris Bosh added 18, but the Heat wilted in temperatures that soared to 90 degrees in the second half. "It was tough on both teams," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "They were pretty dead. We tried to get guys in and out. ... It was really hot out there." James, who had cramping issues two years ago in the finals, had to ask for a break in the fourth quarter and was getting treatment during a 15-4 Spurs run that turned around the game. James came back in and made a basket that cut it to two points with about 4 minutes left, but couldnt even run back on defence, promptly putting his hand up and lingering at the baseline until help arrived to take him off for good. "I think it felt like a punch in the gut when you see your leader limping like that back to the bench," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. Danny Green followed with 3-pointer to trigger what became a 16-3 run to end the game. "You could see the heat was getting to a lot of guys. If I played as many minutes as he did, Id probably be cramping up, too," said Green, who scored 11 of his 13 points in the final quarter. The ccrowd chanted "Beat the Heat! Beat the Heat!" late in the game, which was just what the fans themselves were trying to do.
Jordan Shoes Australia. The Spurs said an electrical failure for the power that runs the air conditioning system had occurred. They apologized for the inconvenience but also seemed to poke fun of it, playing songs with "hot" in the lyrics over the sound system. Fans were trying to cool themselves on the hot night, a reminder of what it was like in the old Boston Garden when the Celtics and Lakers got together. The Heat are the first team since those Celtics of 1984-87 to get to four straight finals. They are well-rested after a relatively easy roll through the Eastern Conference playoffs, a key to keeping Wade healthy entering the finals. James was the MVP of the series last year when the Heat rallied from five points down in the final half-minute of regulation to win Game 6 in overtime, then won a Game 7 that was close the whole way for their second straight championship. A rematch was widely anticipated and was close almost throughout. The Heat led 86-79 after Boshs four-point play with 9:38 remaining in the game, but it was all San Antonio from there, and Wade said there were problems even beyond James absence. "Obviously, tonight we wouldve loved to have him in there to finish the game, but weve got to finish the game better," Wade said. The Spurs ended up extending their NBA-record streak to eight straight home playoff wins by 15 or more points. Their roster is filled with international players, such as Parker and Ginobili, who both said they were used to playing without air conditioning overseas. Bosh, scoreless in Game 7 last year, scored Miamis first five points in the Heats 7-2 start. But Ginobili came off the bench firing, making consecutive 3-pointers for an 18-13 lead. Wade and James combined for six straight points before Ginobili made another 3, and Patty Mills added one to close the first-quarter scoring and give the Spurs a 26-20 advantage. The Spurs committed nine turnovers while managing only 20 points in the third quarter, and Miami led 78-74 heading to the fourth. Notes: James joined Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant as the only players with 4,000 points and 1,000 assists in the post-season. ... Ray Allen moved past Bryant and Derek Fisher into second place on the career list with 49 3-pointers in the NBA Finals. Robert Horry, a former Spurs forward, is the leader with 56. ' ' '