nd that I have so much to be thankful for in my life. I guess you can call

LONDON -- Jose Mourinho is perhaps the only manager who can complete a season at Chelsea without a trophy and not face any calls for his sacking or a fans revolt. Fake Basketball Jerseys Free Shipping . What a difference to the way Rafa Benitez was treated -- and the many managers before him. The Spaniard led Chelsea to the Europa League title last year -- a competition sneered at in England but still a leading honour -- and yet jeering supporters were still counting down the days until Mourinho would return to replace him. Yet it is Benitez, not his nemesis, ending this campaign with a trophy, having won the Italian Cup at Napoli. It seems that little, though, can diminish Chelseas infatuation with Mourinho, however dull the football has been at times this season, however antagonistic he has been toward referees, however much he has scolded his players in public. Mourinho knows he can get away with it, for now, without facing backlash from owner Roman Abramovich and the fans who spent so long calling for the return of the self-styled "Special One," who won all three domestic trophies at least once during his 2004-07 reign. Despite an acrimonious exit from Real Madrid after finishing last season without silverware, Mourinho points out how he rebuffed other employment opportunities to rekindle the Chelsea love affair. "I had lots of chances to have easy fairytales, I decided not to have it," Mourinho said after Chelseas realistic hopes of winning the Premier League ended on Sunday. "If I want to win leagues easily, I would choose another league. I would choose another club with another moment that in this moment Chelsea does not have. ... I chose with my heart every aspect the club I want, the club I love, a competition I like very much to play, a city where I like very much to live." Mourinhos missive: Be grateful I returned. Having exhausted so much energy during Mourinhos absence pleading "We want our Chelsea back," the fans can hardly complain that there will be no parade down Kings Road this year. Abramovich, who acceded to the crowds demands, has put away his axe after going through seven managers in the six years between Mourinhos reigns, and is giving the Portuguese the time to forge a new squad without instant silverware. "Chelsea had a fantastic decade but that team, step by step, is disappearing," Mourinho told the BBC. "I came in a moment when there is a transitional moment of the big players of the last decade. Some are not here (anymore) and some are at a certain age, and the younger players are at the beginning of a process." Captain John Terry, left back Ashley Cole, and midfielder Frank Lampard, whose contracts are expiring, were deeply emotional as the stalwarts left the pitch after Sundays final home game of the season, a drab 0-0 draw with Norwich. Chelsea would need Manchester City and Liverpool to lose their two remaining games while winning its own season-ender at Cardiff to win the title. Theres little chance of that happening, so the focus is on the summer transfer window when Mourinho has to bring in a goal-scorer -- Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa is the top target -- to ensure Chelsea doesnt endure another campaign of malaise up front. Samuel Etoo has 14 goals, Fernando Torres 10, and Demba Ba eight. Thats just 32 goals between them. Luis Suarez has netted 30 alone for Liverpool despite missing the start of the season while completing a biting ban and not having European matches to augment his tally. "We dont have the kind of striker able to, in a short space, to make an action, to score a goal, to open the gate," Mourinho said in his latest public criticism of his players. Mourinho demands an attacking player with a "killer instinct". The caveat -- "respecting obviously that we have good strikers" -- seems half-hearted, but he has to extract good money for them to fund the squad rebuilding while working within UEFAs Financial Fair Play rules. Mourinho could test the limits of his bond with fans if he offloads winger Eden Hazard, who was crowned the leagues young player of the year but then rebuked for his performance in last weeks Champions League elimination against Atletico Madrid. In January, though, he sold Juan Mata, the clubs player of the year for the previous two seasons, to Manchester United, jettisoning a creative force from the squad. Have they missed Mata? Chelseas problem hasnt been beating title rivals, completing the double over Liverpool, crushing Arsenal 6-0 at home and drawing away, and winning at Manchester City. What has proved so costly is dropping points while unable to break down weaker teams. The stalemate against relegation-threatened Norwich followed draws in 2014 against West Ham and West Bromwich Albion. Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Sunderland have also managed to beat the 2005, 2006 and 2010 league champions. "We had some limitations in terms of scoring enough goals to win all these kinds of matches against the teams with a more defensive approach," Mourinho acknowledged. "We know that we need a different kind of quality." It was said without a hint of irony, given the ultra-defensive tactics Mourinho employed in an attempt to exploit rivals on the counterattack. Next year, Mourinho will be expected to deliver more expansive football to thrill the crowds -- and a trophy. If he doesnt, perhaps even Chelsea fans will run out of patience with the "Special One." Basketball Jerseys China . Mats Zuccarello and Derek Stepan scored shootout goals, and backup goalie Cam Talbot earned his second win in two nights as the Rangers shook off a late tying tally and beat the Maple Leafs 2-1 Monday night. Cheap Basketball 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. https://www.fakebasketballjerseys.com/ . Many of those eyes are in the United States of America, a country that the sport has wanted on its side for some time. On Sunday the football Gods delivered once again, only this time it was time for good old USA to experience as much heartache as joy.TSN Baseball Insider Steve Phillips answers several questions each week. This week topics include the surging Blue Jays, falling MLB giants, domestic violence in pro sports and remembering September 11. 1. With the Toronto Blue Jays having won 9 of their last 11 games, is it safe to say the team is back in the race for the final American League Wild Card spot or, with 17 games left in the season, is a 3.5-game deficit simply too big to overcome? The Jays have shown real character this season. They have dealt with adversity, injuries and disappointment. There was a point when I and others thought they were dead and that they would fade away. Give the players and John Gibbons and his staff a ton of credit. A 3.5 game deficit doesnt sound that overwhelming, especially when the Jays trail the second wild card team, the Tigers, by just three games in the loss column. The Seattle Mariners stand between the Jays and Tigers for that last wild card spot. They are three games ahead of Toronto in the loss column as well. The challenge for the Jays is that there are only 17 games left to make up ground. The Tigers have a winning percentage of .548. That means in their final 16 games if they play like they have all season long they would go 9-7 and finish with 89 wins. If they Jays get to 89 wins it will be because they go 13-4 in their final 17 games. Obviously to get to 90 wins they would have to go 14-3. That means the Jays will finish the season on a 23-5 run. Is it possible? Absolutely Is it probable? Absolutely not. Now the good news is that the Tigers are not playing at a .548 clip in the recent games. In fact, they are just 27-28 after the All Star game. So maybe this will allow the Jays more margin for error. The other good news is that the Oakland As are in freefall right now. They are 15-23 since Aug. 1 so it may actually open up another wild card spot. The Jays cant worry about anyone but themselves. They cant focus on winning 13 games or even one game. Their focus should be on winning on this pitch in this inning in this game. Then refocus for the next pitch and the next pitch. The Jays are in it. Just barely, but they are in it. Wouldnt it make for an amazing October if they shock the world? 2. The Oakland Athletics are 15-23 since acquiring Jon Lester from the Boston Red Sox. David Price is 2-3 in seven starts with the Detroit Tigers and has an ERA almost a full run higher than what he had as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays earlier this season. Is this a case of a pair of contending teams unable to cope with changed expectations? Baseball is an amazing game. Just when we think we have it figured out we are made fools. We all had the American League figured out. After the trade deadline the As and Tigers were going to square off against each other for the AL pennant. We were comparing the depth and quality of their starting rotations. We wondered aloud if they could be among the best ever. What were we thinking? The game is not played on paper. The game is not played by stats; it is played by people. And as much as I think I know how people are going to act or perform I have been proven wrong over and over. People have feelings and emotions and thoughts all affect how they react and perform. The As certainly improved their pitching staff with the John Lester deal. They did it at the expense of their offence. Billy Beane, As GM, made a calculation that he could give up Yeonis Cespedes production and still score enough runs to improve support the improved pitching staff. I get why he made that evaluation since at the time of the deal he had the highest scoring offence in baseball. Unfortunately what he didnt count on was how the other hitters in the lineup would be affected mentally and emotionally. Josh Reddick and Brandon Moss couldnt handle the pressure of having to deliver more in Cespedes absence. Beane couldnt have predicted that Josh Donaldson and CoCo Crisp would suffer injuries and miss time. As the As started losing games because they were scoring less it put more pressure on the hitters to produce because everyone was talking about the lack of offence. With the obvious lack of offence the pitchers started trying to be perfect and this led them to their own struggles. One fed the other. Somehow they need to start to believe in themselves offensively again and it will improve the pitching. The Tigers struggles were a bit different. Offensively they have been Jekyl and Hyde for a couple of years. They seem to go hot and cold from inning to inning and game to game. When they added David Price everyone starting talking about the unhittable staff that they had. The players started looking at each other and saying, "Ok, go out there and be Davis Price. Be Max Scherzer. Be Justin Verlander." The players subconsciously expected perfection from their pitchers so they just effectively stood and watched. They played poor defence and their offence became even more inconsistent. Throw in health struggles by Miguel Cabrera and it really compounded the problem. The Tigers seem to be rebounding a bit while the As are still struggling. The irony is now that we could have John Lester vs David Price in the Wild Card game instead of in Game 7 of the ALCS. Not what we expected but it could still be a great matchup. 3. In light of the perceived mishandling of the Ray Rice affair by the NFL and its commissioner, Roger Goodell, are you confident that a similar scenario would be dealt with in a more expedient matter in Major League Baseball or do you see an inability to deal with domestic violence as a systemic issue with professional sports on the whole? What a week it has been. The Ray Rice story has dominated the football landscape in what should have been a celebration of the start of the 2014 season. It has taken over in a baseball-like fashion. It seemed like baseball controversies always seemed to pop up at the most inopportune time. It must be contagious. The NFL clearly has behavior problems. Thirty-one players/executives have been arrested since the Super Bowl in February. Basketball Jerseys For Sale. Thats right thirty-one. There have been 56 domestic violence arrests in Roger Goodells tenure as commissioner and those players have served a total of only 13 games in suspensions. Football is a game in which the players are driven to perform by their anger. History shows that at times the players cant turn that anger off. This is not a problem exclusive to football. It exists in every other sport, business and class of society. A number of years back Bret Meyers of the Phillies was arrested in Boston for a physical altercation with his wife on a street corner. Charges were dropped and the case was not pursued. Hall of Fame manager Bobby Cox was arrested back in 1995 for simple battery in a domestic dispute with his wife. There have been a number of other baseball related domestic violence cases over the years. Baseballs track record of punishing offenders is not strong either. When I was minor league director for the Mets, I chose to educate our players about domestic violence. We talked about anger and relationships and the need to get help if they couldnt control themselves. I hope it helped but I really dont know. It is so hard to predict what people would do if they faced similar circumstances today. I would like to believe that baseball would handle it better than football. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell botched this right from the start. He is in hot water now about either not having pursued the in-elevator video of Rice and his then fiancé aggressively enough or of lying about having attained it. His credibility has been severely damaged. One thing I do know is that baseball would have pursued the video and gotten it before TMZ did. If the Biogenesis story proved anything it showed that major league baseball will vigorously pursue evidence from any and all sources to get to the truth. Roger Goodell said he would only pursue evidence from credible reputable sources, namely, law enforcement. Heck even the police make deals with scumbags to get information. Why does the NFL have to be so particular? The criminal justice system certainly seemed to fail in New Jersey. How is it possible that the punch in the face that Ray Rice gave his fiancé is only worthy of participation in an intervention program? My initial inclination was that Rice was given preferential treatment. But it appears he was treated like most first time offenders. That being said I dont think that the NFL or any other professional league needs to be bound to how the judicial system rules. Roger Goodell and any commissioner in sports should hand down penalties that they believe are appropriate. They dont need to compare it to what the prosecutors do in a case. They dont have to worry about preceding penalties for other infractions. If a player does something wrong then give him the punishment he deserves. Who cares if the Unions appeal the ruling? I would have loved to hear the NFLPA argue that Ray Rice knocking his fiancé out in the elevator really wasnt so bad. Roger Goodell struck out. I would hope that every other league will not only learn from this but will institute clear and concise policies regarding domestic violence. I also hope that education is increased jointly between the leagues and players associations. Where there is a crisis there is an opportunity. I hope we all are more aware now than we were previously and demand more from professional sports leagues to better protect women from abuse. By the way October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. 4. It is September 11. I was the general manger of the Mets on that fateful day in 2001. I was on my way into the stadium when the planes crashed into the World Trade Center. I saw the smoke from the burning towers as I drove over the Whitestone Bridge heading from the Bronx to Queens. I was in my office at Shea Stadium when the towers collapsed. I was so scared as it became clear that it was a terrorist attack. I wondered what could happen next. I sent everyone home from the offices and raced back to Connecticut to get my kids out of school. I just wanted to hold them. On the ride home I learned of the plane crashing into the Pentagon and another crashed in a field in Shanksville, PA. I was so afraid. In the days and months after the attack people around the country rallied around New Yorkers. When sports teams from the Big Apple traveled they were met with cheers and not the normal boos. Fans believed the best way to share their appreciation for those souls lost and the police and firemen who so bravely rushed into the towers and not away, was to celebrate those of us who represented New York. It was an amazing feeling that despite the fear, a sense of community and connection prevailed. On every September 11, I am reminded of the emotions of that day and the aftermath. I can picture the way the sun was shining that morning. I can remember the cool air on the field at Shea Stadium when firemen from Tennessee were out taking batting practice after a shift at Ground Zero. I remember the looks on peoples faces walking the streets of New York as they glanced to the sky every so often. I remember the funeral that I attended for a husband and father of a friend in my town. I remember the first game back in New York. Mostly, I remember how much I was grateful for and the connection I felt with neighbors that I didnt even know. As time has gone by and we have moved further away from the horrific pain of that time so much has changed. I guess you could say things have returned to normal. I just wish that "normal" was different. I want to hold on to that feeling of gratitude everyday. I want to think good feelings about the people around me. I want the frustrations of day-to-day life to always be in perspective as they were then. So every September 11th it brings me back. I for one am making a commitment to be more grateful. I commit to being a better citizen and neighbor. I want to understand that today is a great day and that I have so much to be thankful for in my life. I guess you can call it my September 11 Resolutions. ' ' '