Talk » and players as something they are not.

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Pekka Rinne and Mike Smith have followed each others careers since they broke into the league in 2005 and 2006, respectively.They watched each other become elite goaltenders when given the opportunity to play consistently. They squared off in the 2012 Western Conference semifinals and they went through dry spells in their careers that had analysts wondering if they were done.They were not. Both 34-year-olds are among the leagues top 20 in save percentage this season -- Rinne is 17th at .922; Smith is 13th at .926. Both are facing an inordinate amount of shots and both have been key reasons for any success their teams have had -- in Smiths case, perhaps the only reason.Now back at the top of their profession, Smith and Rinne expressed mutual admiration for each other as they prepared to face each other for the first time this season on Saturday at Gila River Arena.We played in the minor leagues together so weve gotten to know each other and we have a mutual friend in Nashville, Smith said. Hes a battler. Hes obviously a big guy that covers a lot of net, but the one thing about Peks is he never gives up on a puck and youve got to respect the guy for that -- a guy that big that can move that well.Rinne said its still hard to believe that he and Smith have been in the league a decade-plus.For years and years I still considered myself a young guy and all of the sudden youve played a lot of years in this league and youre looked at as one of the older guys, Rinne said, laughing. Were the same age so Im really happy to see Smitty still doing well.It is still business as usual when you play against each other because its all about the two points, but for sure, you always try to be better than your counterpart and when you know the guy it creates a little more of a battle. You always want to play well against the guys youve played a lot.The Predators were hot at the tail end of November, winning four of five games, but they have dropped three of four (1-2-1) in December.Were still trying to find that consistency, Rinne said.Arizona is trying to find any kind of winning combination. The Coyotes lost a season-high six games (0-3-3) and they are tied for the fewest points in the NHL with Colorado at 21. Smith thought Thursdays 2-1 overtime loss to Calgary was a step in the right direction.We talked about having to be more engaged in games and the compete level had to come up, he said. But now we have to sustain that and we have to generate more out of it. We cant just be satisfied with just being a team that works hard.The Coyotes made a trade to shore up their center position on Friday by sending a conditional sixth-round pick to Toronto in exchange for 25-year-old Peter Holland. Arizona GM John Chayka hopes that Holland can help replace Brad Richardson, who suffered a broken tibia and fibula and is out indefinitely.Hes been somewhat productive in limited opportunities at times and hes been a good stabilizing force in any position hes used in, Chayka said. Hes coming into a group where weve got a lot of injuries and just underperformance. Hes a guy that will certainly get opportunity.Coyotes left wing Max Demi left Thursdays game with a cut under his eye and was seeing doctors on Friday for reasons the Coyotes would not identify. His status for Saturday is uncertain and will be updated at Saturdays morning skate.Nashville defensemen Ryan Ellis (upper-body), Anthony Bitetto (upper body) and forwards Colton Sissons (upper-body) and Miikka Salomaki (hand) are on injured reserve, but both Ellis and Sissons practiced Friday and are nearing returns.Lawrence Taylor Giants Jersey . Its the second straight game Bell has scored in extra time for Kelowna, which beat the Brandon Wheat Kings 6-5 on Friday, and he now has four game-winning goals on the season. Mark Bavaro Giants Jersey .C. at the helm of the top team in the Eastern Conference. His tenure as the GM in Vancouver was all too brief. Though he led the Canucks to what was then a franchise record-shattering campaign in just his second season, Nonis was gone and replaced one year later. http://www.authenticnygiantspro.com/Odell-beckham-jr-giants-jersey/ . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. Mark Bavaro Womens Jersey . With Parker having a quiet game for once, Nicolas Batum and Boris Diaw provided the scoring as France won its first major basketball title by beating Lithuania 80-66 on Sunday. It was a victory that ended a decade of frustration for Parker and a talented French generation, which lost the final against Spain two years ago and took bronze in 2005. Dexter Lawrence Giants Jersey . - Connor McDavid scored 53 seconds into overtime as the Erie Otters came from behind to defeat the visiting Guelph Storm 4-3 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action.It was billed as "The Rematch". True vitriol is a rarity in womens soccer. The hard feelings between Canada and the United States are about as heated as it gets. Canada hosting their rivals was an opportunity for some closure after the injustice of the controversial loss to the Americans in the semi-final match at the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games. This time out, the Canadian Womens National Soccer team hardly lived up to their lofty billing, coming out flat and unable to keep the ball in a 3-0 loss to the US. Canada was taught a lesson in build-up play and ball possession. There is work to be done ahead of the FIFA World Cup in 2015. The result in a stand-alone friendly hardly matters. Sure, a win would have played well with the patriotic home crowd. But bigger picture, the importance the match was treated with and corresponding electric vibe made clear Canada against the United States in womens soccer is a marquee event. The most prestigious of all Canada versus US in womens competition used to come on the ice. With a lack of genuine other competition in womens hockey, Canada/US is basically all there is. The budding soccer rivalry between cross border nations is now the most compelling in Canadian womens team competition, and worthy of the special feel the spectacle had on the Lakeshore in Toronto. The true sporting rivalry got spicier when Canadian-born American player, Sydney Leroux scored in stoppage time and promptly mocked the crowd and paid homage to the American badge on her jersey. An act as such is an absolute no-no in soccer. You dont pay homage to the badge against your former team, let alone the country of your birth. The Leroux storyline line will further galvanize support of our women and what it means to be a Canadian National team player. It was an incredible scene at BMO Field, otherwise known as our National Soccer Stadium. Kids, families, Canadian soccer supporters and the curious lot captivated by Canadas run in London formed a sea of red and white, engaged from start to finish in 90 plus minutes of football. The match was played in front of 22,453, the most ever to take in a game at BMO Field. And despite a disappointing 3-0 loss, the team did a lap of honour as adoring Canadian fans showed their affection for their soccer heroes. Its a true injustice Toronto is not a host city for the 2015 FIFA Womens World Cup. How the City of Toronto can let arguably the worlds biggest event for womens team sport not come to Canadas biggest and most prominent city is beyond me. Spending taxpayers dollars on the largely irrelevant Pan Am Games instead of the moneymaker of hosting World Cup matches will never make sense. That story has been told, and still upsets me to this day. And on a wonderful afternoon as Sunday, it digs a little deeper. The brimming cultural attachment to Canadas finest womens players makes Torontos decision to not host that much more exasperating. Womens soccer holds a special place among Canadians. It came to the forefront in the build up to the 2003 FIFA Womens World Cup, culminating in an unexpected 4th place finish. It was an unlikely run by a group who were either at the end or the beginning of their international career. With growing television and media exposure, the Canadian women captured the hearts of soccer families coast-to-coast, giving young girls playing the game something bigger to aspire to. Since that time, Canadian womens soccer has matured and mattered. But its never mattered as much as now. The 2012 Summer Olympic Games was a defining moment. Through adversity came a new developed culture; a culture where results matter. Strangely enough, the womens game in this country is where the mens game wants to be: culturally relevant and taken seriously. Its both quite spectacular and equally sad the womens national team has become more popular than the Canadian mens team. No other womens team sport I can think of is more popular than their male counterparts in any other country. Mens natiional teams, not womens, define footballing nations.dddddddddddd Thats not the case in Canada. Christine Sinclair is the most recognizable player, man or woman. While the womens team is praised and revered, the mens team is mocked. Its a remarkable achievement by our womens players and also an indictment on our mens program. Success has something to do with it. But its inaccurate to say thats the only reason. No offence, but Cyprus Cup and Olympic qualifying victories are resume builders, not widely celebrated accomplishments. Some may not acknowledge as much, but preferential treatment towards the womens game started years ago at the club level. Its much more difficult to produce top-level Canadian mens players than womens. The global mens game is incredibly competitive at all levels and Canada continues to play catch-up. Creating a clear path for mens players to become true professionals is a difficult one to make. The emerging professional club structure in Canada is hoping to bridge the gap. But theres a ways to go. The womens game is still growing and Canada has been progressive in providing opportunity. The goal for most soccer clubs has been traditionally to put their players in a position to get scholarships to American universities. Its proven to be much easier to promise your young girl a legit shot at a scholarship than to assure your young boy the same. Sheer numbers dictate that. It became lucrative for clubs across the country to back the emerging womens game where Canada could be leaders, rather than minnows. Well-regarded club coaches switched from coaching boys to girls. Not only could coaches avoid the never-ending politics of boys soccer, but also it sure looks good on a resume helping so many young girls get free education at American schools. College coaches and scouts were regularly brought across the border to scout Canadian girls players and clubs did a good business. Many boys players were forced to fend for themselves, leaving their local clubs where the womens game was priority in search of another. Scholarships were still the goal, unless your boy was fortunate enough to have a proper visa to allow the player to pursue a spot at a European based soccer academy where professional ambition could be met. The scholarship route is still the preferred road to International success in the womens game. Conversely, very few Canadian players coming out of the University system are deemed good enough for the Mens National team. But because girls soccer remains profitable at a micro level, clubs continue to feed the system and the womens game continues to benefit. The fact remains from a National team perspective, the potential monies to be made in the mens game trumps the women by a significant margin. The mens team qualifying for a World Cup would make the Canadian Soccer Association more money than ever can be made in the womens game. The purpose of this commentary isnt meant to create a mens versus womens game argument. Both programs can thrive. And truthfully, Canadas womens team finding success benefits the men, and vice-versa. Its more a testament to how the positive narrative surrounding Canadas womens program has come through grassroots development. The program hasnt been built through some elaborate marketing campaign, selling the team and players as something they are not. The players are likeable and the team is relatable. They are fun to cheer for, and likewise enjoyable seeing the passion the players have for the game. They are real. Its not contrived. They wear the Maple Leaf with pride. They play for each other and country. They represent what sport at its finest and purest level is all about. The build towards 2015 is going to be a whole lot of fun. If Sunday is any indication, the team is nowhere near ready. But judging by the crowd and atmosphere, Canadian soccer fans certainly are. You can reach Gareth at gareth.wheeler@bellmedia.ca or follow him on Twitter, @WheelerTSN ' ' '