Das Feller-Forum » in a victory Sunday as an antsy Ja

TORONTO – Tim Gleason and his wife, Candice, woke up on the first day of 2014 and made a life-altering decision that would send the 30-year-old and his family to the city of Toronto. Gleason, who had spent eight seasons in the Carolina Hurricanes organization, decided to waive his no-trade clause and switch teams for the first time since 2006. "We contemplated it for a week or a couple weeks on and off and we just looked at each other and said enough is enough," Gleason explained, "because its an everyday thing of handling whether they want you there or they want you out, if it was better for my career to move on. We woke up and just said weve got to do it and so thats what we did." Gleason was sent to the Maple Leafs in exchange for John-Michael Liles and defensive prospect, Dennis Robertson. He had been a member of the Hurricanes since the fall of 2006 when he was flipped from the L.A. Kings, alongside Eric Belanger, in a deal for now-Columbus defender Jack Johnson and Oleg Tverdovsky. His state of being was considerably different back then. He wasnt married for one and didnt have three young kids, two girls and a boy, to think about. Nor did he own the no-trade clause which allowed him to determine where he wanted to continue his career – there were a handful of teams that he was considering. "Theres a lot more that has to do with [it] than just picking up yourself and going," said Gleason, who averaged 16 minutes this season, down from nearly 20 per game last season. "You want to go to a place where theres an opportunity, obviously and a place where you can fit properly." That fit had evidently run its course with Kirk Muller and the Hurricanes, the end seemingly beginning during a Sept. 21 preseason game in Montreal. Gleason squared off that night with Jarred Tinordi and suffered a concussion from the scrap. His role, upon return from the injury, dwindled with rookie Brett Bellemore assuming increased opportunity from the Carolina coaching staff. A fiery presence, who better fits the Randy Carlyle mold than Liles, Gleason is hoping to reignite his career in Toronto. "Its kind of a laid-back situation there," said Gleason of Raleigh, North Carolina, "easy-living, good weather, beautiful place to play. But hockey career-wise, it was a decision that had to be made. This is the hockey place where you want to play." With an injury to Carl Gunnarsson (elbow) and the embarrassment of a 7-1 loss to the Rangers on Saturday evening, a door has opened into the Leafs lineup for the Michigan native. He is likely to step right onto the teams top pairing with Dion Phaneuf. "Were asking Tim Gleason to play the way hes accustomed to playing," Carlyle said of the former Windsor Spitfire last week. "Hes etched out an NHL career being a strong, physical defensive defenceman. We think that he has something to offer to our group." Carlyle was suitably displeased with the performance of his group in its most recent lopsided defeat and singled out the lack of compete as a trait to be improved upon heading into Tuesdays game against the Islanders. "Were not going to have success unless were prepared to go in and win our share of battles in those areas and quite frankly, we didnt do enough of it in the last game," said Carlyle, who is considering a juggling of the entire defence for the game against New York. Described by Leafs general manager Dave Nonis as "very competitive" on the day of the trade, Gleason should, at the very least, be of some help in that regard. It remains to be seen how much aid he can offer to a club thats struggled badly to defend all year and especially of late. The Leafs have allowed 40 shots or more in four of the past five games, including 50 against the Rangers on Saturday. Colorado Rockies Pro Shop . Both sides came closest to scoring in the first half, when Roma had a goal from Mattia Destro waved off for offside and Inters Rodrigo Palacio headed high. "A draw was a fair result. Neither squad had many chances," Roma midfielder Miralem Pjanic said. Colorado Rockies Gear . Johns IceCaps erased an early two-goal deficit to come from behind and defeat the host Portland Pirates 5-4 on Saturday in American Hockey League action. https://www.cheaprockiesjerseys.us/ . The punch happened in the fourth quarter of Milwaukees 116-102 loss to the Kings on Wednesday when the two players became entangled while battling for rebounding position. Rockies Jerseys China .5 million. The 25-year-old Varlamov is thriving under first-year coach and Hall of Fame goaltender Patrick Roy, posting a 26-9-5 record with a 2. Fake Rockies Jerseys . Fellow Argentina forward Gonzalo Higuain also had a brace for Napoli. And Samuel Etoo scored for his fourth different team. On a night of standout individual performances Wednesday, Schalke goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand had a game hell want to forget. MIAMI -- LeBron James says his new protective mask is hot, uncomfortable and prone to fogging up. Plus, as teammate Dwyane Wade pointed out, it looks weird. So James is in the market for design suggestions. "Ive been talking to Marvel Comics for the last couple of days, and DC Comics, to try to come up with one of the greatest masks of all time," James said with a chuckle Wednesday. "So well see what happens." James spoke after trying out his new mask for the first time in practice. He plans to use it Thursday when the Miami Heat play the New York Knicks. The game will be the first for James since he broke his nose last Thursday in a victory at Oklahoma City. He and his mask took part in contact drills Wednesday, and coach Erik Spoelstra was encouraged by James progress. "Hell give it a shot Thursday," Spoelstra said. "He was able to go through today without any hiccups. But he also didnt take a hit today." Given James aggressive style of play, hes bound to receive an inadvertent blow to the face sooner or later. Thus the mask. "It lessens the impact," said James, who wore a mask 10 years ago to protect a broken cheek. "You can still feel it, because the nose is still tender. But it definitely lessens the pain." James had removed his clear mask by the time media were admitted to the gym for the end of practice, but teammates provided a description. "He looked like every other player in a mask -- it looks weird," Wade said. "He looks like the LeBron that wore a mask the first time, only about 30 pounds heavier, a little more muscular, a little less hair." Said Shane Battier with a grin: "As long as No. 6 is in uniform, he looks all right to me." James was on a roll when hurt. On Thursday hell try for his fifth consecutive 30-point game, which would be the second-longest such streak in Heat history. The Heat have won five consecutive games and trail Easterrn Conference leader Indiana by one game.dddddddddddd But theyve been prone to stumble against weak opponents, and their next three games are at home against team with losing records -- the Knicks, Magic and Bobcats. Nine of the Heats 14 defeats, including one against the Knicks, have come versus teams that are below .500. "You dont want to lose to the good teams. And you dont want to lose to the teams that arent as good," Wade said. "So then you would be 82-0. Youve got to lose to somebody. You cant play your A game for 82 games, so you have some of those moments. It happens to every team. Were no different." Lately the two-time defending NBA champions have been consistently on their A game, in part because of stout defence. They held Oklahoma City to 81 points, which tied the Thunders season low, then held Chicago to 79 in a victory Sunday as an antsy James watched from the bench. The injury-plagued Knicks have lost their past three games, and in their season of upheaval, the latest jarring development came Tuesday. Point guard Raymond Felton was arraigned on two felony weapons possession charges following an early-morning arrest. After going 54-28 last season, the Knicks are 21-36. "They havent forgotten how to play," Spoelstra said. "Theyve been injury-riddled all year long, and thats tough to deal with. That adversity coming into our game is irrelevant. Im sure theyll be ready." The Knicks split two games earlier this season against Miami, and theyre one of the few teams with a player who can match James basket for basket. Carmelo Anthony has scored more than 40 points in three of the past four games. James said hes sorry to see his friend endure such a difficult season in the standings. "I want him to win, and I want him to succeed," James said. "Obviously he has been playing great basketball, but I definitely dont like seeing him lose the way theyve been losing." ' ' '