Talk » Nigeria squad were held up in Atlanta

WINNIPEG -- Expect a little bit of bad blood when the Dallas Stars meet the Winnipeg Jets at the MTS Centre on Thursday night.Its not that theres any particular score to be settled but when teams play back-to-back games, the hits tend to a little harder, the whacks a little louder and the back checking a little more rigorous.The Stars drew first the first cut Tuesday night at the American Airlines Center with a 3-2 victory, despite playing without a half-dozen regulars.I like the back-to-back, Stars coach Lindy Ruff told the Winnipeg Free Press. It builds a little bit of emotion inside games. Theres usually something that will carry over from game to game. I think in this league sometimes you only play one team in January for the first time.Jets coach Paul Maurice agreed.I like (back-to-back games) an awful lot. I think you get a little more room to work on adjustments that youd make instead of bouncing around a lot. You can work on themes with the team and I think the rivalries get built a little stronger as well, he said to the Free Press.The Jets are spending a fair amount of time working on their power play, which sits at an anemic 10 percent -- two goals in 20 chances -- which is 25th in the league. As incredulous as it may sound, thats actually a relative improvement as the Jets were last in the league last year with the man advantage. The penalty-killing is even worse, sitting at 29th with a success ratio of 68.8 per cent.If they can find something -- anything -- that works, the Jets just might be able to avoid pulling the goalie, something they have done in all six of their games this year. (They have managed to score three goals with the net empty, ultimately pulling off a pair of wins.) The Jets sit at 2-4-0 for four points and are last in the Central Division. Dallas sits in third in the same division with a record of 3-2-1 and seven points.The Jets will play a whopping 15 games over the next 27 days, including nine on the road. The Stars, meanwhile, are starting a three-game road trip.The Stars come to Winnipeg with a number of their highest-profile players in sick bay, including forwards Jason Spezza (lower body), Jiri Hudler (illness) and Patrick Sharp (concussion). Captain Jamie Benn didnt skate Wednesday as hes dealing with soreness related to abdominal surgery in the summer. The Jets havent been immune from the injury bug either as forwards Bryan Little (lower body) and Drew Stafford (upper body) are out indefinitely.There are precious few connections between the two teams but one player, defenseman Johnny Oduya, enjoys coming back to Winnipeg. He played most of the teams first season after relocating to Winnipeg from Atlanta in 2011-12 before being dealt to Chicago at the trade deadline. Air Max Shop Online Italia . PAUL, Minn. Scarpe Lebron James 2019 .7 million, one-year contract, a raise of $2.2 million. Wieters had asked for $8.75 million and the Orioles had offered $6. http://www.airmaxshoponlineitalia.it/scontate-max-95-outlet.html . Emery skated the length of the ice and fought an unwilling Holtby during the third period of the Flyers 7-0 loss Friday night in Philadelphia. He was given 29 penalty minutes, including a game misconduct. But Emery did not face even a disciplinary hearing with NHL senior vice president of player safety Brendan Shanahan because rules 46. Vapormax Scarpe In Offerta . It was the kind of score that might make everyone else wonder which course he was playing. Except that Graeme McDowell saw the whole thing. Crouched behind the 10th green at Sheshan International, McDowell looked over at the powerful American and said, "Ive probably seen 18 of the best drives Ive seen all year in the last two days. Nike Tn Offerte . - Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie never doubted he would bring back coach Dennis Allen for a third year despite back-to-back 4-12 records. A benefactor will give $200,000 to Nigerias Olympic soccer team, in addition to a $30,000 bonus to each player, if they win gold in Rio de Janeiro.The Super Eagles face Germany in the semifinals on Wednesday, with Brazil taking on Honduras in the other match. Nigeria is chasing a second Olympic title, having emerged victorious in 1996.Japanese plastic surgeon Katsuya Takasu told BBC Sport that he wants to reward the team after hearing about their financial problems, promising to pay out $20,000 to each player for winning silver and $10,000 for claiming bronze.Before arriving in Rio, the Nigeria squad were held up in Atlanta, United States, because of a problem with the payment for their flight. The landed?in Brazil just hours before their opening game against Japan, which they won 5-4. They boycotted a training session in a dispute over pay ahead of their 2-0 quarterfinal victory over DenmarkI read about the financial problems affecting the team and I felt the need to make a big contribution, Takasu told BBC Sport. Ive made previous donations to a Japaneese hockey team and other notable causes in the past but this right now with Nigeria is incredibly passionate for me.dddddddddddd.I am deeply determined to motivate this indomitable and strong Nigerian team. I dont want to distract them but to push them further to their target -- the gold in Brazil. I hope to see them win gold. Theyve sacrificed a lot to get to Brazil and reach the semifinals. Humans with such a strong spirit should be encouraged to perform beyond their own imagination.The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) says it is flattered by Takasus offer, but that the team must first focus on securing gold.I have been in direct contact with Mr. Takasu and am impressed by his gesture, NFF vice president Seyi Akinwunmi told BBC Sport. But we need not get carried away because the integrity of the country is at stake. First we must check about this. Significantly, the team has an important game and we need to focus on that. ' ' '