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SUNRISE, Fla. -- The Florida Panthers cooled off Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals. Tomas Kopecky scored the winning goal in the 10th round of a shootout in the Panthers 3-2 victory over the Capitals on Friday night. Kopeckys goal went high over Philipp Grubauer and into the net. It came after the Panthers missed five previous chances to win the game during the shootout. The shootout matched the second-longest in Panthers history. The longest was 11 rounds against the Capitals on Nov. 28, 2007, a 2-1 Florida victory. "Obviously, it feels good, especially to win the game and get that extra point," Kopecky said. "We need every point right now." The Panthers won for the fourth time in five games and snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Capitals. The Caps lost for the first time in four games. Ovechkin was held without a point. He scored in each of the last seven games against the Panthers, and had four goals Tuesday night in a 6-5 overtime victory over Tampa Bay. "Hes one of the hottest players in the league and we know he can turn a game real fast," Panthers coach Peter Horachek said. "As a team we tried to pay attention to him. I think the guys did a really good job." Jonathan Huberdeau, Brad Boyes, and Nick Bjugstad also scored in the tiebreaker for Florida. Aleksander Barkov and Dylan Olsen had regulation goals, and Scott Clemmensen made 23 saves. Clemmensen has had plenty of experience facing Ovechkin and the Capitals. "Hes a Panther killer, has been ever since Ive been here and this is my fifth year," Clemmensen said. "So youre always aware when hes out there." Eric Fehr, Nicklas Backstrom, and Mikhail Grabovski scored shootout goals for Washington. Joel Ward and Backstrom scored in regulation, and Grubauer stopped 39 shots. Washington had only seven shots in the first period, and didnt get its eighth until 9:37 of the second. That changed quickly after Erik Gudbransons blow to Fehrs head at 16:16 of the second. Troy Brouwer then dropped the gloves with Gudbranson, drawing a fighting penalty. Gudbranson got a match penalty. Fehr returned in the third period. Both teams scored during the resulting 4-on-4 play, and Washington added another goal on the power play. "The guys on our team responded to that," Brouwer said. "I didnt get to see much after that but scoring two goals put us in a good position going into the third period to try to win the hockey game." The Capitals tied it at 1 when Backstrom scored 18 seconds into the 4-on-4 on a wrist shot from the slot. The Panthers answered when Barkov stole the puck near the blue line, brought it to the right circle, and wristed it past Grubauer on the stick side at 17:56. Ward added a power-play goal with 30 seconds left in the second. Originally ruled no-goal during a scrum in front of the net, the officials used a video review to determine the puck crossed the goal line. "I tried to plant myself to get ready for a shot and I saw it kind of leak through the goalie," Ward said. "There was no whistle called so I tried to follow it up and whack at it." Olsens goal started the scoring in the second. His bad-angle shot from low in the left circle got past Grubauer 2:13 into the period for his third goal in his past nine games. "You just see an opening and you throw it on net," Olsen said. "Its been fortunate to go in." The Capitals had a goal disallowed in the opening minute when it was ruled Martin Erat nudged Clemmensen out of the goal and interference was called. NOTES: Backstrom has 10 points in his last six games. ... Florida G Tim Thomas missed the game because of a lower-body injury. He was hurt in practice Thursday. ... Former Panthers goalie John Vanbiesbrouck was honoured with a bobblehead doll. http://www.magliettaitaliacalcio.it/nazionale-ital...signe.h tml . Miller finished in two minutes, 6.09 seconds, one day before the first medal race on the Alpine schedule. The 36-year-old American also turned in the top time in Thursdays opening training session. http://www.magliettaitaliacalcio.it/nazionale-ital...rmian.h tml . Aaron Harrison scored a 22 points for Kentucky (6-1), which has won four in a row following a Nov. 12 loss to current No. 1 Michigan State. Julius Randle overcame a scoreless first half and added his sixth double-double in as many games with 14 points and 10 rebounds. http://www.magliettaitaliacalcio.it/nazionale-ital...obile.h tml .5 million, one-year contract on Friday. Hawkins, who turns 41 in December, will compete with Rex Brothers for the closers role at spring training. Maglia Alessandro Florenzi . Coach Mike Munchak says Fokou stretched ligaments in his left knee Oct. 13 against Seattle, which could keep out up to five weeks even though the linebacker didnt need surgery. http://www.magliettaitaliacalcio.it/nazionale-ital...-eder.h tml . Ivanovic was leading 7-5, 1-0 when Hantuchova withdrew after falling 0-40 behind in the second game. The match started slowly for Ivanovic, who surrendered her first two serves as Hantuchova took a 5-3 lead.This could have been a column on why Cristiano Ronaldo should win the Ballon DOr. But it isnt. That has been done, many times, including by myself in January. For similar reasons I had a year ago, I believe Ronaldo should win it this year, but a year is a long time in sport and, although my opinion on who should win it hasnt changed, my opinion on the award certainly has. I no longer care one bit. I should point out that I have never been a big fan of individual awards in team sports. For me, important accolades, awards and trophies are won within the sporting arena and anything else is precisely what most sports are not - arbitrary; placed in the hands of a democracy who may or may not be informed enough to reach the correct decision. On the face of it, the task of finding the best player of the year should be a relatively simple one. In fact, it is so simple some inside the sport of baseball are wondering if they should have such an award, instead of their Most Valuable Player honour. In that sport, the best player in the game, Mike Trout, an outfielder for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, has finished runner-up in the American League the last two years in the MVP race, simply because his team didnt make the playoffs and were not as good as the Detroit Tigers, the team, Miguel Cabrera, the winner, played for. If a Ballon DOr existed in baseball, Trout, who has an astounding 20.4 WAR the past two seasons, would already be a two-time winner. So is it time to change their sports main individual award? ESPNs Buster Olney and Tim Kurkjian, two of the baseballs finest journalists, debated this very topic on a podcast recently: Olney said: "A really smart executive in baseball said to me, you know it would be a real shame if the best player in baseball for the first five years of his career didnt win (the MVP) because he had bad teammates and I hope, although I dont think it will happen, that the (voters) baseball writers would define MVP and just pick the best player." Kurkjian disagreed: "I like it the way it is because it creates the debates. The word valuable is a very subjective term and its up to the voters to determine who the best player is based on the word valuable." Make no mistake, Cabrera is a marvellous hitter, but Trout, a superior overall player, has been even better the past two years but lost out on the award simply because of the word "valuable," with many voters believing Cabrera played in more valuable games than Trout because the Detroit Tigers were in a playoff position in September. As a lover of baseball, I have sat back the past two Septembers and watched/listened ad nauseam to networks debate who is more deserving, rather than talk about the actual baseball games taking place at an incredibly exciting time of their season. The debates might be good for media shows and the sport which wants as many people talking about it as possible, but the truth is when the decision is finally made, it doesnt make knowledgeable baseball fans think any differently about Cabrera, with two MVPs, or Trout, with none. And that is exactly the same with the Ballon DOr. From 1956 to 2009, it was an award with history that meant (a small) something, but it still had major flaws. It was only given to European players until 1995, meaning all-time greats like Pele and Diego Maradona didnt win a Ballon DOr. Zinedine Zidane did win one, as well as three FIFA World Player of the Year awards, but is that what you think of when you think of Zidane? Of course, not. Ninety-nine per cent of the games biggest fans couldnt tell you exactly how many awards he won, but they could tell you about his brilliant performance in the 1998 World Cup final and the breathtaking goal he scored in the 2002 Champions League final. And that is how it should be. As we view sporting events that take place in our time, we are trusted, as the guardians of that current footage, to ensure that history will tell the story it should. After Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi retire and your kids or grandchildren ask you about them, you should not tell them how many Ballon DOrs they won. However, with column inches to fill and shows to accommodate, the worlds media have spent the best part of this international window talking about this award, rather than the games being played. Even when Ronaldo produced one of the finest individual performances, guiding Portugal to the World Cup, much of the talk was still on whether or not he should win the Ballon DOr. His performances on the field, which ultimately define him as a player, is what people need to focus on and not because it should decide whether or not he wins an award at a glamorous FIFA ceremony in January. Since 2010, when FIFA got their grubby hands on the award and merged it with the World Player of the Year honour, the award has lost its lustre while gaining more and more media attention.dddddddddddd Previously open to the worlds finest media members to vote, FIFA extended the Ballon DOr voting process to captains and coaches of the national teams around the world. Each voter is asked to come up with a top three from a 23-man shortlist. With 2010 a World Cup year, many eyes were on the tournament in South Africa, leaving the likes of Wesley Sneijder, Andres Iniesta and Xavi as real threats to Ronaldo and Messi at the top of the game. The last three years, however, there has been no reason for anybody to believe a player has been better than Ronaldo, let alone, Messi. And that includes Franck Ribery. Ribery was thought to be among one of the favourites to win the award in January because he was the best player on the best team, Bayern Munich, this year. This, however, is just another example of people over thinking the award. Ballon DOr does not go to the games best player, it goes to the games best player of that year, but even that should rule out Ribery. Yet, just this very week, a very respected Spanish writer suggested Ribery would be a worthy winner because Messi hadnt won anything in 2013. This is a man who covers the game extremely well and is paid to watch two of the greatest players the game has ever seen, each week, yet he would have no problem with Ribery winning the award? A man who plays in the German Bundesliga for a team the writer has probably watched fewer than a dozen times in 2013? That writer, like you and me, will not have seen enough of Ribery to know if he is on Messi and Ronaldos leve,l but if he believes the Frenchman could be, what chance does that leave footballers who see far fewer matches than media members? The result? Just a bunch of voters guessing or picking their own personal favourites or friends. Now, you have likely never heard of Jaffar Khan. He is the captain of the Pakistan national team. In 2011, Khan voted for Thomas Muller to win the Ballon DOr with Andres Iniesta second and Bastian Schweinsteiger third. No Messi or Ronaldo. In 2012, Khan voted for Iker Casillas to win the Ballon DOr with Andres Iniesta second and Xavi third. No Messi or Ronaldo. Khan is a goalkeeper. He is also a man who should never be allowed to vote ever again. This is not about personal opinion, folks. It is not like looking for a political party that matches your values. For the past three years, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been hands down better than any footballer on the planet. Yet, Khan wasnt alone in leaving them off his ballot in 2012. Many other examples were revealing, including Austrias Christian Fuchs naming Mario Balotelli (who would finish 23rd of 23 nominees) third and ahead of Ronaldo and Messi and Tomas Danilevicius of Lithuania selecting Wayne Rooney ahead of the duo. If you are looking for names more recognizable in the game when searching for questionable votes, they are scattered all over the revealed ballots. Dutch skipper Sneijders choice? Dutchman Robin van Persie. Spanish skipper Casillas? He chose Real Madrid and Spanish teammate Sergio Ramos, placing club teammate Ronaldo second and Messi outside of the top three. Chinese coach Jose Camacho, who managed his native Spain in the 2002 World Cup, picked three of his countrymen on his ballot - Iniesta, Xavi and Casillas. German boss Joachim Low? Germans Mesut Ozil first and Manuel Neuer second. Spanish boss Vicente Del Bosque? All three players from Spain. It is not fair to hammer the likes of Del Bosque and Low, after all they know the mental state of their players and if they think it can give them an edge by picking them on their ballot, then they are just doing their job. The point is the voting process is a farce and this week it become even more farcical. On Tuesday, FIFA decided to re-open this years voting process for Ballon DOr nominees following rightful criticism it received in originally enforcing a deadline of November 15th on its voters before key World Cup qualifiers had been played. This means Ronaldo will likely win in January, as he should. However, the timing of the announcement - just hours after Portugals win over Sweden - brought the attention once again back on FIFA and their award. In an era where peoples attention spans are lesser than ever, the great thing about this game is just how much you need to watch it to make judgments. There isnt a baseball box score or a fantasy football ticker available to show you who had a good game. It is down to your eyes and your insight and it is on those that you will rely when you look back at the great careers Messi and Ronaldo have. Dont let FIFA and their annual Mickey Mouse parade every January alter that. Cheap China Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China China NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China ' ' '
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