suffered long-term damage runs into the tens of thousands. T

Patrice Bergeron started earning acclaim for his defensive game four seasons ago when he was a legitimate Selke Trophy candidate for the first time. It has taken longer for Bergeron to be appreciated as one of the best all-around players in the NHL. Maybe it started during the Boston Bruins 2011 Stanley Cup run or last years trip to the final, but after playing a major role in Team Canadas gold-medal performance at the Sochi Olympics, the 28-year-old is surely considered among hockeys elite centres. "I think what hes done is he opened a lot of peoples eyes," Boston coach Claude Julien said. "I know at his first Olympics he didnt have, whether it was the opportunity, to do what he did. The last one I think people realized how good he is." Statistically, Bergeron had just two assists in six games, but the Quebec City native shifted from a fourth-line centre role to right-wing alongside Sidney Crosby and never missed a beat. His nearly flawless play wasnt a revelation as much as it underscored his growth from the 2010 Games in Vancouver, where he was the 13th forward. In that tournament, as defenceman Chris Pronger told CBC Sports recently, Bergeron had a smaller role that was "probably a little unfair to him." "Patrice would sit on the bench for long periods of time and then wed get a penalty and turn to him and say, OK, go out and kill it," Pronger told CBC. "Thats a pretty tough, but important, job." Its also an important job to play with Crosby, whose unique talent level and menatal acuity are often difficult to match. Bergeron said during the Olympics that the challenge is to be at his best when on Crosbys wing. "Its about trying to find him when hes open but also its getting open for yourself, not just trying to feed him," Bergeron said of Crosby. "You give him the puck in your zone and he does his thing." Bergeron said playing with not just Crosby but everyone on that deep, talented Team Canada made him better. "I think it helped me with the confidence being there, and the pace and the level of the game down there, it definitely helped me coming back here," Bergeron said last week in Detroit before the Bruins finished off the Red Wings to set up a showdown with the Montreal Canadiens that begins Thursday. Sochi gave Bergeron an international showcase to show his stuff, but he has been a key cog for the Bruins for a number of years. He has played 70-plus games in eight of nine full NHL seasons since entering the league in 2003 and had 20 points in 23 games when Boston won the Cup in 2011. This season, though, he was downright dominant at times. With 62 points in 80 games, a league-best plus-38 rating and a 58.6 per cent success rate in the faceoff circle, Bergeron was the Bruins most important forward as they won the Presidents Trophy. "I didnt think a guy thats already played eight or nine years can get better each and every year, but he is," winger Brad Marchand said in Toronto late in the regular season. "Hes the reason why weve won this many games this year and why we won the Cup. Hes a phenomenal player, a great leader, and every night hes on the ice hes a guy you want to follow." At one time Bergeron was the player doing the following. Even though he was taught defensive responsibility while growing up in hockey, Bergeron looked to Ted Donato and others who were winning faceoffs and playing in their own end. Now a veteran on the verge of beginning his US$52-million, eight-year contract signed last summer, Bergeron is now in the position of instilling those principles in younger teammates. "I mean its how I play so Im always trying to talk about that, talk about making sure we come back on the backcheck and we do the right thing defensively to create some offence," Bergeron said. Bergeron doesnt just help Bruins players. Red Wings centre Riley Sheahan, who was a key piece of their run to the playoffs, said he studies Bergerons game to improve his own. Even players at other positions appreciate what Bergeron brings to the ice. Detroit defenceman Brendan Smith has noticed Bergerons game even more now that brother Reilly is his teammate in Boston. "He reminds me of (Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg) because hes so good defensively, hes so good offensively," Smith said. "Hes above the play. He makes good decisions. Hes a second quick. Hes strong on the puck. He makes good reads. You go through the list about a player like Bergeron." Brendan Smith said Reilly has picked up plenty of tidbits from Bergeron, and according to Julien hes far from the only one who can say that. "Anybody that plays with him and sees his work ethic doesnt have a choice but to follow this guy," Julien said. "That just makes those players better. If we see a player that has skill and some potential, we know playing with Bergie that the other parts of his game will improve. That certainly is something weve always looked at." Forget about younger players. Even as Bergeron is a well-established pro, hes trying to tweak elements of his game that arent quite perfect. "Youre always trying to work on things," Bergeron said. "Coaches are doing a great job of showing me some videos with my stick in the right position on the PK or whatnot. So I think you definitely improve every time you put some work into it." Custom Nike St. Louis Cardinals Jerseys . - While a fast-paced offence has become more of a fixture in recent years, the San Antonio Spurs can still grind out games when needed. Wholesale Custom Nike Baseball Jerseys . Even if he is shooting 38 per cent from the field overall this season, the Utah Jazz rookie always feels like his final shot is going in. https://www.customnikebaseballjerseys.com/171n-custom-nike-washington-nationals-jerseys-baseball.html . Sijsling, ranked 74th in the world, was leading 6-0, 4-1 when his Italian opponent called it quits after just 39 minutes on court. In a match pitting together two qualifiers, Michal Przysiezny of Poland defeated local favourite Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (4) for only his second Tour win of the season. Cheap Custom Nike Baseball Jerseys Free Shipping . The same cant be said of last Saturdays 2-2 draw at Olympic Stadium against a very weakened New York Red Bulls side and one which had three stalwarts in Henry, Cahill and Olave back home in Harrison, NJ. Custom Nike Baseball Jerseys China . -- The Windsor Spitfires were left with just one goaltender Tuesday after having their starter walk out on them midway through Game 3 of their Ontario Hockey League playoff matchup with the London Knights.CHICAGO -- The NCAA agreed on Tuesday to help athletes with head injuries in a proposed settlement of a class-action lawsuit that college sports governing body touted as a major step forward but that critics say doesnt go nearly far enough. The deal, filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, calls for the NCAA to toughen return-to-play rules for players who receive head blows and create a $70 million fund to pay for thousands of current and former athletes to undergo testing to determine whether they suffered brain trauma while playing football and other contact sports. A lead attorney for the plaintiffs who spearheaded nearly a year of talks culminating in the agreement said the provisions would ultimately improve players safety and leave open the possibility of damage payments later. "I wouldnt say these changes solve the safety problems, but they do reduce the risks," Chicago attorney Joseph Siprut said. "Its changed college sports forever." Others strongly disagreed. Unlike a proposed settlement in a similar lawsuit against the NFL, this deal does not set aside any money to pay players who suffered brain trauma. Instead, athletes can sue individually for damages; the NCAA-funded tests that would gauge the extent of neurological injuries could establish grounds for doing just that. One plaintiffs attorney not involved in the negotiations called it a "terrible deal" that lets the NCAA off the hook far too easily. Jay Edelson called the agreement "window dressing," saying the NCAA will be able to settle one-off suits for several thousand each. He estimated that single, class-action damages settlement could have been worth $2 billion to players. "Instead," he said, "its worthless." The settlement is primarily directed at men and women who participated in basketball, football, ice hockey, soccer, wrestling, field hockey and lacrosse. There is no cutoff date for when athletes must have played a designated sport at one of the more than 1,000 NCAA member schools to qualify for the medical exams. That means all athletes currently playing and those who participated decades ago could undergo the tests and potentially follow up with damage claims. Tuesdays filing serves as notice to the judge overseeing the case that the parties struck a deal. At a status hearing later in the day, U.S. District Judge John Lee said he wanted more time to consider whether to give the deal preliminary approval. If he does, affected athletes will have a chance to weigh in before Lee decides about granting a final OK. The NCAA, which admits no wrongdoing in the settlement and has denied understating the dangers of concussions, hailed the deal. "This agreements proactive measures will ensure student-athletes have access to high quality medical care by physicians with experience in the diagnosis, treatment and management of concussions," NCAAs chief medical officer Brian Haiinline said.dddddddddddd Siprut added that stricter rules and oversight should help ensure the viability of football by allaying fears of parents now inclined to not let their kids play. "Absent these kinds of changes, the sport will die," he said. To keep the NCAA from having to hold unwieldy talks with multiple plaintiffs, 10 lawsuits filed nationwide were consolidated into the one case in Chicago, where the first lawsuit was filed in 2011. The lead plaintiff is Adrian Arrington, a former safety at Eastern Illinois. He said he endured five concussions while playing, some so severe he has said he couldnt recognize his parents afterward. Another named plaintiff is former Central Arkansas wide receiver Derek K. Owens. His symptoms became so severe he dropped out of school in 2011, telling his mother: "I feel like a 22-year-old with Alzheimers." Among other settlement terms, all athletes will take baseline neurological tests to start each year to help doctors determine the severity of any concussion during the season; concussion education will be mandated for coaches and athletes; and a new, independent Medical Science Committee will oversee the medical testing. Robert Cantu, a Boston-based clinical professor of neurosurgery and a longtime critic of the NCAA, said the deal is a huge shift by the organization. "Itll make collision sports much safer," said Cantu, who was one of the plaintiffs experts. But former UCLA linebacker Ramogi Huma said its all for show. "It takes some of the things many of us have been advocating for and pretends to address it," Huma, president of the College Athletes Players Association, said. Plaintiffs filings say the number of athletes who may require testing to learn if they suffered long-term damage runs into the tens of thousands. They cite NCAA figures that from 2004 to 2009 alone, 29,225 athletes suffered concussions. Internal emails unsealed in the lawsuit illustrate how pressure mounted on the NCAA over the issue. In a Feb. 23, 2010, email, the NCAAs director of government relations, Abe Frank, wondered whether debates about new safeguards for young children playing contact sports would crank up the pressure on the NCAA to do more. David Klossner, NCAAs then-director of health and safety, responded bluntly a few hours later: "Well since we dont currently require anything all steps are higher than ours." Later that year, the NCAA established a head-injury policy that states that athletes should be kept from play for at least a day after a concussion. It also requires each school to have a concussion management plan on hand. But plaintiffs blamed a tendency of some teams to hurry concussed players back into games, in part, on the NCAAs lax enforcement of the policy. In a 2012 deposition, asked if any schools had been disciplined for having subpar concussion plans, Klossner said, "Not to my knowledge." ' ' '