said when asked about the issue. Not as long as Robert Kraft and G

(SportsNetwork.com) - The Colorado Avalanche will try to rebound on Saturday night with a fourth straight home victory over the Dallas Stars as the two Central Division rivals clash at Pepsi Center. Saturday marks the first of five meetings this season between the clubs and the Avalanche went 4-1-0 in the 2013-14 series. Colorado netted nine goals in the two meetings in Denver and have won 10 of the last 14 versus Dallas at home. The Avalanche were denied a third straight victory overall with a 3-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday. Ryan OReilly and Max Talbot scored in defeat as the Hawks netted the game-winning goal with 5:17 to play. Calvin Pickard stopped 42 shots in his second career NHL start as Colorado went 0-for-2 on the power play, while Chicago scored twice on six chances up a man. It was a great effort tonight, but it would have been nice if we had more power plays, said Avalanche forward Alex Tanguay, who returned to the lineup after missing two games with a facial fracture. When we were 5-on-5, we played them even. Defenseman Erik Johnson was unable to play on Wednesday because of an upper- body injury, but could return for this game. Center John Mitchell, meanwhile, could suit up for the first time in four games because of a leg ailment. Pickard is expected to start again tonight over Reto Berra as No. 1 goaltender Semyon Varlamov remains out with a groin issue. Varlamov could return to the active roster next week. Pickard, though, is making a case to stay as the backup, going 2-3-0 with a 2.24 goals against average and .933 save percentage in five games with two starts this season. Dallas had a three-game winning streak snapped Friday by visiting Minnesota, but head coach Lindy Ruff was pleased with the way his team rallied for a point in the 5-4 overtime loss. The Wild led 3-0 after Mikael Granlunds goal at 11:47 of the second period, but Dallas scored four unanswered to take the lead. Tyler Seguin recorded his league-leading 18th goal of the season during the comeback, which also featured markers from Alex Goligoski, Erik Cole and Ales Hemsky. Thomas Vanek, however, would get the equalizer for Minnesota with just 1:52 remaining in regulation and Marco Scandella tallied the winner 2:04 into the extra session. Seguin also added an assist in the loss, while Kari Lehtonen stopped 29-of-34 shots. We battled for a point, which is awesome, Ruff said. The Stars are opening a three-game road trip tonight and are 5-4-0 as the guest this season. Dallas also will visit Toronto and Detroit on the swing. Kenny Golladay Womens Jersey . -- After a year spent travelling the world, Brooks Koepka suddenly is in a position to play a lot more golf at home. Will Harris Womens Jersey .com) - A top-10 showdown is on tap in at the McKale Center on Saturday, as the 10th-ranked Arizona Wildcats play host to the eighth-ranked Utah Utes in a key Pac-12 matchup. http://www.shopdetroitlionsnfl.com/lions...n-black-jersey/. According to MMAFighting.com, MacDonald needs an x-ray on his right ankle and doctors clearance to fight or he will be subject to a mandatory medical suspension that will end on August 22, 2014. Kenny Golladay Lions Jersey . You can listen to the game live on TSN Radio 690 in Montreal or on TSN.ca/Montreal. Also, TSN.ca features live streaming of the post-game news conferences from the Bell Centre. The Rangers grabbed a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference Final after Sundays 3-2 overtime victory against the visiting Habs. Calvin Johnson Womens Jersey . They showered him with "MVP! MVP!" chants. In many ways, it seemed like hed never been gone.(SportsNetwork.com) - Perception is a big problem for the NFL. Or to be more accurate, the fact that important people in the league dont understand the simple concept that perception is often greater than reality for the casual audience they crave is troubling. How else can you explain the NFLs vice president of officiating, Dean Blandino, getting caught stumbling out of Jerry Jones party bus or Mr. Credibility himself, commissioner Roger Goodell, feeling its OK to have dinner with his BFF, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, the day before the AFC Championship Game? Conspiracy theorists only need one innocent slip-up to build their narrative around, which is why public figures in positions that demand trust are always told to avoid the appearance of impropriety at all costs. Incompetence didnt equal conspiracy in North Texas earlier this month when referee Pete Morelli picked up the flag on what should have been a pass interference penalty against the Dallas Cowboys in their wild-card round win against the Detroit Lions, but the 9/11-truthers had the Blandino picture to bolster their spin. The fact that the same guy was instrumental in overturning Dez Bryants awe- inspiring catch a week later in Green Bay due to a bad rule that could have been easily ignored is just a pesky footnote in a short-attention-span- culture. Kraft was breaking bread with the commish before the NFL unleashed a sting operation, likely fueled by the green eye of John Harbaugh, to try to find out if the Patriots were indeed deflating football purposefully to give Tom Brady some kind of perceived edge. Will they be punished? Probably not, Seahawks star cornerback Richard Sherman said when asked about the issue. Not as long as Robert Kraft and Goodell are still taking pictures at their respective homes. I think he was just at Krafts house last week for the AFC Championship. Talk about conflict of interest. You know, as long as that happens, it wont affect them at all. Nothing will. Common sense says if Goodell was so intent of protecting his buddy, he might have tipped him off between courses so the evil Kraft could have alerted his rogue equipment people to stop messing with Tom Terrifics balls (you can insert Family Guy-like joke here). Instead Goodell shut his mouth, polished off his sorbet and caught the Patriots in the act with 11 of 12 deflated footballs, which more than likely meant next to nothing in their 45-7 rout of the Indiaanapolis Colts.dddddddddddd. The perception, though, is dwarfing that common sense. I think the perception is the reality, Sherman said. It is what it is. Their resume speaks for itself. You talk about getting close to the line ... I dont really have a comment about that, but their past is what their past is, their present is what their present is. Its the world we live in. Its the league we play in. Ensuing Bill Belichick and Tom Brady press conferences, which attempted to explain the deflated footballs, have already launched 1,000 different comedy careers and made Science Guy Bill Nye and Mona Lisa Vito from My Cousin Vinny relevant in the world of professional football. Kraft, meanwhile, seems upset that his favorite employee didnt tip him off, even asking for an apology when the Patriots are cleared of any wrongdoing. I believe unconditionally that the New England Patriots have done nothing wrong, Kraft said before adding that if the NFL-backed investigation into the scandal finds nothing wrong, I would hope the NFL would apologize. If the (Ted} Wells investigation is not able to definitively determine that our organization tampered with the air pressure in the footballs, I would expect and hope that the league would apologize to our entire team and in particular Coach Belichick and Tom Brady for what they have had to endure this past week, he said. A prepared statement, of course, prohibited any follow-up questions regarding the FOXSports report that the league has identified a locker-room attendant as a person of interest in Deflategate or as many others like to call him, the sacrifice at the altar of Belichick and Brady. Whatever the outcome or the truth for that matter, though, its never going to be good enough for a portion of the public following this nonsense. And its a systemic problem. By any measure that doesnt rely on EBITDA, Goodell has had a disastrous year as NFL commissioner. But, even if he made no missteps regarding Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson or everything else that has crossed his desk, ultimately hes beholden to the people who employ him -- the owners. And the last time I looked, the puppet is never the one pulling the stings. Im disappointed in the way this entire matter has been handled, a defiant Kraft ominously said. We expect hard facts as opposed to circumstantial leaked evidence to drive the conclusion of this investigation. Translation? Know your role, friend. ' ' '