a hitting coach for three years in St. Louis, spent the ne

If NHL coaches want to provide goalies quality downtime during a constricted schedule, Martin Biron believes he has an ideal backup plan.Rather than split starts as teams often do when playing on consecutive days, the former netminder suggests it might be more beneficial to have the starter play both and then sit out the next game.If your goalie is going to play Friday, have Saturday off and play the Tuesday game, theres never a time to check out in that time off, said Biron, who spent 16 NHL seasons as a starter and backup. Im of the school that thinks its almost better to play your starter on Friday-Saturday and then not play him until next Friday, and then he has six days of preparation and rest.Its not as if goalies arent accustomed to playing twice in two days.Most of the guys that are young played three (games) in three (days) in the American League. They can handle that, Biron said. I cant speak for (skaters), but as a goalie, once you get your mindset into a game, if you have to extend it for another 24 hours thats fine.The goalie balancing act is never simple.And how much increased playing time backups get will be a pressing issue for a league squeezing in an 82-game schedule in a shortened calendar. The season began a week later than usual because of the World Cup of Hockey and the schedule, for the first time, features each team enjoying a five-day bye week.Capitals goalie Braden Holtby tends to agree with Biron, saying theres too much concern placed on goalies playing on consecutive nights when, in actuality, the entire team is tired.Historically, teams arent as good on back to backs in general, and goalies go hand in hand, Holtby said. Goalie stats are a lot to do with how your team performs. Thats just the way it is. Its a little bit harder, but its a little harder for everyone.And, Holtby added, its also hard on a backup goalie being thrust into action with negligible on-ice time because teams dont normally practice the morning before playing their second game.Holtbys production bears him out.Over the previous two seasons, Holtby is 12-5-2 when playing both nights, including a 6-2-1 mark on Day 2. Hes given up a combined 23 goals on each night.Kings goalie Jonathan Quicks record is even more impressive. In the 14 times hes played back to backs over the past two years, Quick has allowed 20 goals the first game and just 12 the next with a 5-1-1 record.The only straggler of the 10 goalies records analyzed by The Associated Press is Tuukka Rask. The Boston starter is 7-1-3 (plus one no decision) and allowed 18 goals in the first game. He is 2-8-2 with 29 goals allowed the following night.Whats never been up for debate is how critical the backups role is during a busy stretch or when the starter is sidelined.Last year, the Montreal Canadiens unraveled once Carey Price went down with a season-ending knee injury in late November. After opening 19-4-3, Montreal finished 38-38-6. The Canadiens addressed their backup spot this offseason by signing veteran Al Montoya in free agency.The move has already paid off. The eighth-year player is 2-0-2 after Price opened the season sidelined by the flu.On the other hand, minor leaguer Matt Murray led the Penguins to a Stanley Cup championship after being called up in March once starter Marc-Andre Fleury was sidelined by a concussion.This year, the Los Angeles Kings are banged-up in net with Quick and backup Jeff Zatkoff both sidelined by groin injuries. Theyre now leaning on 11-year journeyman Peter Budaj, who won his first two starts.Biron said its not uncommon for minor league call-ups to find their groove because theyre already accustomed to a starters workload as opposed to the primary backup whos had less game action.BY THE NUMBERSLast season, 85 goalies appeared in at least one game. There have already been 60 goalies who have made an appearance through the first 92 games this year.Since 2006, only two goalies have led their team to win a Stanley Cup when playing 60 or more regular-season games.Quick played 69 times when the Kings won title in 2012, and Fleury played 62 for the 2009 Cup-champion Penguins. On the low-end of the scale, Murray played only 13 regular-season games for Pittsburgh last year. Cam Ward played just 28 during his rookie year in leading the Carolina Hurricanes to the championship in `06.Of the 10 netminders who played 60 or more games last year, two missed the playoffs: Rask and Ottawas Craig Anderson. And only two reached the conference finals: Tampa Bays Ben Bishop and Martin Jones, whose Sharks lost the Cup Final to Pittsburgh.SLUMPINGThe Chicago Blackhawks penalty killers. In allowing two goals on five power-play chances in a 3-2 shootout loss to Calgary on Monday, Chicago has allowed 14 power-play goals on 24 opportunities.STREAKINGA year after opening 9-0, the Canadiens are 5-0-1 and the NHLs only team yet to lose in regulation.LEADERSGoals, Auston Matthews (Toronto) and Richard Panik (Chicago), 6; Points, Matthews, 10; Time on ice, Dustin Byfuglien (Winnipeg), 29:30; Wins, Cam Talbot (Edmonton), 5.GAME OF THE WEEKA showdown of the past two No. 1 draft picks takes place at Toronto on Tuesday, when Edmontons Connor McDavid faces Maple Leafs rookie Auston Matthews.---AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno in Arlington, Virginia, contributed to this report.Steve McNair Jersey . Rob Manfred, baseballs chief operating officer, testified last week during the grievance filed by the players union to overturn Rodriguezs 211-game suspension. A person familiar with the hearing, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press on Saturday that Manfred testified the sport wasnt concerned whether Bosch distributed performance-enhancing drugs to minors because MLBs interest was his relationship with players under investigation. Kevin Byard Jersey . LOUIS -- Heading into the final stretch of the season, the issues for the Chicago Bears banged-up defence only seem to be getting worse. http://www.authentictitanspro.com/Jurrell-casey-titans-jersey/ . Badenhop was 2-3 with a 3.47 ERA in 63 relief appearances for Milwaukee this season. He is 18-20 in his career with three saves and a 3. Eddie George Youth Jersey . Those lessons were more than enough to overwhelm the Utah Jazz. Lou Williams scored 25 points and the Hawks continued their offensive upswing as they rolled to an easy 118-85 victory over the Jazz on Friday night, winning their third straight and for the fourth time in five games. Ryan Tannehill Youth Jersey .com) - The game was all punts and field goals before Kodi Whitfields catch.In Miami, Barry Bonds leans against the batting cage every afternoon, working his hitting-coach magic. In San Diego, Mark McGwire has climbed the coaching ladder all the way to bench coach.In Chicago, Manny Ramirez is an official Cubs hitting consultant. In Houston, Roger Clemens is a special assistant and occasional Astros pitching instructor. In Colorado, Jason Giambi got a long look when the Rockies were searching for a manager four years ago.And then, well, theres A-Rod, the most cherished Yankees special adviser and instructor of them all. (Or something like that.)Once, people called them pariahs. Now its beginning to occur to us that not too far down the road, we may be calling them something else:Managers.Wait. Could that really happen?Heck, yeah. Of course it could. If those fabled members of the PED gang are so radioactive, how did they get hired to do these jobs? So what makes anyone think there would be some sort of stigma preventing them from getting a managing job?I think were past that, said an official of one American League club. Weve let them in as coaches, right?Uh, right. So I did another one of my famous surveys of 14 executives across baseball last week and asked them whether they foresaw any of the six men above managing in the big leagues. Just three of them said no way. So while the writers continue to work to keep these men out of Cooperstown, the folks who run baseball arent even keeping them out of the clubhouse.Rightly or wrongly, said a longtime National League executive, the stigma of steroid use is fading.Were a very forgiving society, said another.If these guys want to manage, said a third, the only thing that would stop them is not PEDs. It would be other factors.Other factors? Oh yeah. Them. We heard a lot of talk about those other factors. And lets start with this factor. As yet another longtime exec put it, managing is really hard.Egotistically, these guys might want to do it, he went on. But once they see what the job really is, I dont know that theyd want to.Know what? Hes onto something. That little matter of what the job really is has kept players of their stature -- even ones with no PED ties -- from taking this plunge for years. With research help from ESPN Stats & Informations Sarah Langs, we can tell you all about that:? Four of these six men are in the 500-homer club. They might want to know that only four members of that club have ever managed, none of the four won a World Series, and the most recent (Frank Robinson) retired from playing 40 years ago.? Clemens, of course, is in the 300-win club. Although five 300-game winners have managed, just one of them (Walter Johnson) threw a pitch in the past 100 seasons. None of those five won a World Series either, by the way.? Four of these players on our list are also former MVPs. And at least theres precedent for that. Seven MVPs in the past half-century went on to manage. But the only MVP since 1949 to win a World Series as a manager was Joe Torre. And we should mention that Torre was in his 16th year of managing (and with his fourth team) when he finally won.So thats my question, said one of the execs quoted above. Is someone on your list going to be patient enough to manage three or four different teams for 20 years? I dont think so.And thats not all. Managing in the 21st century means talking to the media twice a day every day for more than seven months. It means handling nonstop second-guessing. It means taking orders from the front office on all sorts of stuff. It means often having no control over the makeup of your roster. And it means constantly dealing with one issue after another.Even the guys who have coached, said the same exec, have it easier than the manager. They dont have to deal with: This guy is late. This guy is ticked. This guys not playing hard. And on and on. As a coach, you dont have to deal with any of that. So who would want to do this? Think about it. Its not like youre asking to be president of the United States. But when youve had the career these guys have had, why would you want to do this?Its an excellent question. And if none of these men ever manage, thats probably the biggest reason. They dont need the aggravation. But lets just say its theoretically possible. Who is most likely, and who is least likely, to manage some day? After conducting this survey, Id rank them this way (from most likely to least):1. Jason GiambiHis former manager in Cleveland, Terry Francona, called him a manager in waiting. And of the execs I spoke with who know him, they were unanimous that he has the personality, people skills, media skills and love of the daily grind to do it.dddddddddddd One exec also spoke of his humility, which comes in handy in this line of work. And if managing the human beings in the local clubhouse is a priority for the next team that interviews him, Giambi just might get hired.Remember, said one exec, Cleveland kept him on their team all year a few years ago even though he couldnt play -- just so that he could impact their clubhouse.2. Mark McGwireBig Mac has spent more seasons as a big league coach (seven) than everyone else on this list combined. He was a hitting coach for three years in St. Louis, spent the next three years as the hitting coach in Los Angeles, and now serves as San Diego Padres manager Andy Greens bench coach. For what its worth, Green has been ejected twice this season, so McGwire can say he has 12 action-packed innings of big league managing experience. The one thing people who know him worry about is that he might be too quiet by nature to handle all the media and leadership demands. But he has put in the time. Hes extremely likable. And he has taken ownership of his PED past.Unlike all the others, said one exec who voted for him for this ranking, he has admitted his use and accepted the consequences.3. Barry BondsOK, weve now moved into the portion of these rankings where theres about as likely a chance of a Kardashian sister managing in the big leagues as there is of these next four guys managing. But humor us, all right? Why did I rank Bonds third? Because at least he has coached in the big leagues -- hes in the midst of his first season as the Marlins hitting coach. And one thing he has proved is that hes a really bright man who can teach hitting and command any room he wants to command. But if you asked me if hell even decide he wants to be the hitting coach again in Miami next year, Id say no. And if you asked me to imagine him chatting amiably with the media for 200 hours a season, which is a job requirement of modern managing, Id say hell no.Barry could manage, said one exec. But is he going to want to manage and do everything he has to do to manage? Im amazed hes still the batting coach there, to be honest.4. Alex RodriguezAs recently as this spring, Yankees manager Joe Girardi predicted his man A-Rod would manage someday because I think he likes all the strategy of the game. And you have to admit this guy proved in his postseason TV gig that he has thought a lot about the game and can talk the language of baseball. But ... can he manage a major league baseball team? Wow. Didnt sense a lot of enthusiasm for that idea. Would an owner and GM trust him to say the right thing before and after every game for six months? Would his insecurities bubble over and flood the clubhouse the first time he got second-guessed for some bullpen move that went amiss? And above all, could he deal with all those strong personalities as a manager that he had so much trouble connecting with as a player?I think hed be very good with the young players, said one AL exec. But veteran players have always had a hard time relating to him. Maybe in four or five years, when that whole generation is pretty much out of the game, I could see it. But would he even want to? I have my doubts.5. Roger ClemensIm not sure exactly how I decided to rank the Rocket over Manny. Work ethic, maybe? At least I got a vote from one exec that Clemens would be an outstanding pitching coach. Is there any doubt about his thorough understanding of the art of pitching? Pretty much none. But beyond that? Who would hire him to manage a major league baseball team?Hes the only one on your list, said one AL exec, that I would definitively say wont [manage].6. Manny RamirezWould he remember to show up for work every day? Would he remember to write out the lineup card? Would he run spring training drills that taught his corner outfielders how to make diving cutoffs of throws by their center fielder? Would he teach his base stealers how to lead off second base and then steal first? Would he make it through an entire season without talking to the media? All of which is another way of saying Manny Pacquiao would be a better choice to manage your team than this Manny. But Ill say this: That has nothing to do with PEDs. Hed avoid this job strictly on merit. ' ' '