ill take the submission anyway he can. I expect that Mir will find and explo

CHICAGO -- A night after giving up seven goals, the Chicago Blackhawks rebounded with an improved defensive effort. Jack Mayfield Astros Jersey . Patrick Sharp scored two goals, including one on a third-period penalty shot, and Kris Versteeg had a goal and an assist to lead Chicago to a 5-1 win over San Jose in a matchup of two of the Western Conferences top teams on Sunday night. Jonathan Toews and rookie Brandon Pirri also scored for the Blackhawks, who lost 7-2 in Nashville on Saturday, their most lopsided this season. "Tonight was back-and-forth, trading chances, but at the same time, theres a lot of individual battles that we were on top of," Sharp said. Chicago limited road-weary San Jose to a handful of prime scoring opportunities before pulling away with three goals in the third period. "We werent happy with the last game, obviously," said Chicago goalie Corey Crawford, who finished with 23 saves. "Tonight was one of our better efforts all around, defensively, from everyone in this room. "(San Jose) came out strong, but throughout the game, we had a little bit more legs than them. We opened up the game at the end there." Versteeg scored his first goal with the Blackhawks in his first home game since being reacquired in trade from Florida on Thursday. A member of Chicagos 2010 Stanley Cup-winning team, he joined the Blackhawks Saturday in Nashville. "It was emotional, obviously, coming back," Versteeg said. "Last night wasnt definitely the way I saw coming back in my head, but tonight was very exciting. The guys put in a big effort." Crawford and San Joses Antti Niemi, the goalies who backstopped the Blackhawks to their two recent Stanley Cup titles, opposed each other. Crawford, in nets for Chicagos Cup run last season, allowed only a second-period goal to San Joses Joe Pavelski on a shot he caught, but then misplayed. Niemi, who helped lead the 2010 Blackhawks to the championship, stopped 22 as he faced his former team for the 12th time. Niemi is 5-6-1 against the Blackhawks. The Sharks havent won in Chicago since Dec. 3, 2010, Niemis first game against his old club. Theyre 0-5-1 at the United Center since then. And Niemi didnt get a lot of help in this one, as the Blackhawks created chances and pounced on San Jose turnovers. "We lacked a lot of energy that was needed to play in this game," San Jose coach Todd McLellan said. "When you dont have energy, you better be sharp mentally and we may have been poorer in that area. "There are a lot of teams that play against the Blackhawks and Im sure the coaches are telling them the same thing: That turnovers kill you," McLellan added. "Their counter-punch is incredible and we learned that lesson again. The Sharks played the final contest of a five-game road trip, finishing at 3-1-1 on a zigzagging swing with four contests in Western Canada and a finale in Chicago. The Blackhawks, meanwhile, embark on a seven-game "circus trip" Tuesday at Colorado. They dont return to the United Center until Dec. 3 against Dallas. Chicago started its solid send-off in the first period when Pirri scored the only goal of a crisply played frame with 3:26 left. Pirri, who led the AHL in points last year with 75 points, has goals in three straight games and four in his past six. Patrick Kane went down the right wing into the San Jose zone, backing in Sharks defenceman Scott Hannan to the circle. Kanes shot deflected off Hannan and across the crease to the left side of the net, where Pirri buried the loose puck. Pavelski tied it at 8:16 of the second on a 30-foot shot from the slot. Crawford picked Pavelskis shot out of the air with his glove, but when he lowered it to his side, the puck rolled out and trickled across the goal line. Sharp put Chicago back ahead at 2-1 just under 4 minutes later on a one-time shot from the left circle. He ripped the puck past Niemi after taking a pinpoint cross-ice feed from Marcus Kruger. Toews extended it to 3-1 at 3:39 of the third with his team-leading 10th goal by converting a rebound of his own shot. Niemi stopped Toews first attempt after the Chicago captain skated out of the right corner, but the rebound dropped inches from the goal line. Toews skated around a scrum at the edge of the crease and tucked in the loose puck. With Niemi down on the ice and out of the net, Versteeg converted a rebound of Brandons Saad shot with 4:50 left in the third to make it 4-1. Sharp was awarded the penalty shot with 1:11 left after being pulled down by Marc-Edouard Vlasic on a breakaway. He fired high over Niemi score on a penalty shot for the first time in five chances with Chicago NOTES: The Blackhawks placed G Nikolai Khabibulin on injured reserve with a lower-body injury suffered in Saturdays 7-2 loss in Nashville. Chicago called up rookie Antti Raanta from Rockford of the AHL to back up Crawford. Raanta was signed as a free agent from Finland last summer and was 7-5-0 with a 2.83 goals-against average in 14 games with Rockford. ... Chicago RW Marian Hossa missed his second game with a lower-body injury. Coach Joel Quenneville hopes Hossa will be able to play Tuesday in Colorado. J. R. Richard Jersey . -- All-Pro tight end Jimmy Graham and the New Orleans Saints met Tuesday for arbitration on his contract. Cionel Perez Astros Jersey . The Mavericks avoided a season sweep by the Nuggets, who ran away with a win in Denver two weeks ago to hand Dallas its longest losing streak at three games. Dallas (42-28) got a boost in the playoff race when Miami rallied from seven down in the last 3 1/2 minutes to beat Memphis 91-86 Friday night. https://www.cheapastros.com/2933o-yuli-gurriel-jersey-astros.html . With the suspension, Nigeria is unable to take part in any kind of international fixtures. FIFA had issued a warning to the NFF last week after the federation was served with court proceedings from the government that prevented the NFFs president from running the NFFs day-to-day affairs.In its latest installment, UFC 169 will take place in Newark, New Jersey with two titles on the line. This is a shot at redemption for Urijah Faber, his chance to win a title fight. Its also a massive proving ground for Jose Aldo, not that he needs it. If Aldo can pick up the victory, he will be at nearly a decade without defeat. He isnt even 27; his talent will only increase over the next few years. There is also a bout in the heavyweight division with Alistair Overeem facing Frank Mir. On paper it sounds like a great matchup but will need a dramatic ending or tense action packed rounds in order for people to be talking about it the next day. Here are the UFC 169 picks from the team at TSN 1290s the “Weigh In”. Jordan Cieciwa, Big Marv and Toby… thats right, just Toby. Catch us on air every Saturday at 11:30am ct/12:30pm et. Renan Barao (31-1-0) vs. Urijah Faber (30-6-0) Jordan Cieciwa Who doesnt love a big title fight? Well if you are Uriah Faber, history says you actually may not. His only losses came at the hands of champions. There are few people in the game as talented as him, especially when it comes to wrestling and the use of unorthodox strikes. Hes shown unbelievable skill with elbows off the cage and spinning back fists. His ability to target is second to none. Thats only gotten better with the addition of Duane ‘Bang Ludwig. Across the cage from him is the very dangerous Renan Barao. Barao came out of obscurity to start dismantling his competition in both the WEC and UFC. He is on nearly a decade long win streak. Ask anyone, except Eddie Wineland, and theyll say he is a submission specialist. He beat Wineland very quickly and with an amazing back kick to start the process. His talent is unquestioned now, and his ability to push the pace will make him hard to beat. So much so that I dont think “The California Kid” can do it. Barao via fourth round submission Big Marv You could make the argument that Urijah Faber was the fighter of the year in 2013. He went 4-0 last year, with only one of his fights going the distance. Even that fight, against Yuri Alcantara, was a dominant decision for Faber. In fact the last time Faber lost was to Renan Barao in 2012. Since then, the California Kid has been more determined than ever. With an incredible improvement in striking thanks to Alpha Males new coach Duane “Bang” Ludwig. However, lets not sleep on the champ. Renan Barao took that interim title with his win over Faber and has staked his claimed as not only the 135lb king, but also in the top five pound-for-pound fighters in the world. It is so hard to pick a winner here. Will Faber choke again in a championship fight situation? I say not this time. Urijah Faber via unanimous decision Toby This one should be an amazing fight! Faber had an outstanding 2013 and will look to finally become a UFC Champion, all that stands in his way is Renan Barao, who has the longest current unbeaten streak in active MMA today (33). This has fight of the night potential and as much as Id like to see “The California Kid” becoming the UFC champ I believe Renan Barao will have his hand raised in this one. Renan Barao via decision Jose Aldo (23-1-0) vs. Ricardo Lamas (13-2-0) JC What were you doing when you were 18? If you were an 18-year-old Jose Aldo, you were suffering your last MMA loss. At 27, Aldo has been on a nearly nine-year win streak. Most of those wins are while holding the UFC featherweight title. He is perhaps one of the sharpest fighters in the game. Fortunately, he isnt talked about all that often because it seems to have kept him hungry. Aldo willl probably keep this fight standing and use some amazing leg kicks to slow his opponent down. Cionel Perez Jersey. Though let it be known that Ricardo Lamas is no slouch either. Lamas is on a four-fight win streak of his own and looked great stopping Cub Swanson with a triangle choke and Erik Koch with elbows. The good news for fans, both these athletes stop fights including Aldo who has a 30% decision rate. That to me is fantastic. I think that, in combination with his skill level, will have this fight ending sometime in the fourth round. We will be treated to a lot of leg kicks and some great movement and skill on display. Jose Aldo via fourth round TKO Toby After watching Jose Aldo fight for the past couple of years Ive learned two things, he is without a doubt one of the best pound for pound fighters in MMA and its hard to bet against him. Ricardo Lamas is a real threat but I see Aldo getting his hand raised and us fans being one step closer to an Aldo vs. Pettis super fight. Jose Aldo via TKO BM Jose Aldo is one of those champions that just seems infallible. His striking is fast and vicious, his ground and pound is relentless, he has slick jiu jitsu and is almost impossible to take down. All of that adds up to him being one of the best in the world pound-for-pound. However, his opponent Ricardo Lamas has this crazy habit of winning fights he shouldnt. Sorry Toby, weve got to put the Aldo vs. Pettis super fight on hold, Lamas is taking this one. Ricardo Lamas via TKO round 4. Frank Mir (16-8-0) vs. Alistair Overeem (36-13-0) JC This is one of those fights that really means very little in the heavyweight division, but will be interesting to watch. I have a very bad feeling it will end in the first round with a toe hold, but who knows, Mir might try to show off his “highly average” boxing skills. Lets face it, Alistair Overeem comes into this fight with a bad rap for using drugs (very deserved), and being a one sided fighter. Overeem has no business being in the cage with a jujitsu whiz like Frank Mir. Mir is also not afraid to end a fight with an “uncool” submission. He grabbed Brock Lesnars toe and threatened to break it. The loser of this fight probably wont have much longer in the UFC, and I dont know that its a bad thing. The winner probably wont ever contend for a title, but at least they dont have to retire or go find work somewhere else. Its a simple case of a very impressive K-1 specialist in Overeem, meeting up with a jujitsu guy that will take the submission anyway he can. I expect that Mir will find and exploit the very large weakness that is Overeems ground game. Mir via second round submission. BM Both these guys are desperate for a win. With Overeem, he beat up Bigfoot for two rounds before his cockiness got the best of him. Against Travis Browne, he almost finished him, but Brown proved too tough and Overeem got caught. In Frank Mirs last fight, he was slow and Barnet destroyed him quickly. Against Cormier, he was slow and lost by decision. The difference between the two, Overeem still has it, while it looks like Mir does not. Plus, Mir wont be able to weather the early storm like Silva or Browne. Its going to be an early night for both men. Alistair Overeem via KO round 1 Toby This is a possible “Loser leaves town” fight, with both fighters coming off consecutive losses Mir (3) Overeem (2). Overeem has lost some weight which will help his cardio, I love watching both of these guys fight but in this case I believe Overeems stand-up will be the difference on Saturday. Alistair Overeem via TKO ' ' '