and its defensive core stifled Russias dangerous attack. Sweden s

If Round 8 was crazy, then Round 9 was pure carnage. The ups and downs of the ladder and trying to figure out playoff spots would baffle even the great Stephen Hawking.Four out of six road sides took home the chocolates during Round 9 and somehow glued to the bottom of the ladder are the two sides who met during the 2015/16 NBL Grand Final.The MVP race could go to a number of players; Casper Wares arrival has been untouchable, Rotnei Clarke has finally regained his form and looks unstoppable, whilst Casey Prather and Jerome Randle continue to do all that they can for their sides.Fans couldnt ask for any more than what this season has thrown up and with 10 rounds still remaining, things can only get crazier.So who and what stood out the most during Round 9?Were going streakingIts an infamous movie line from Old School. Frank The Tank Ricard urges an entire party to go streaking through the quad and up to the gymnasium, unfortunately for Frank; nobody joins in.No-one is interested in streaking along with Frank; its not a great look.For Perth and New Zealand, they find themselves in a very similar situation. Currently riding 4-game losing streaks theyre all on their own, running down a dark road trying to find their way. Can they turn things around and climb back up the ladder or are they destined to continue streaking down that dark road?Lock Down MentalityOnly two rounds ago the Adelaide 36ers were a struggling desperate side, with a season record of 3-6 things were looking dire.During the 36ers 3-game losing streak, they gave up an average score of 103.75. They knew what they were lacking and where their focus needed to lie. When teams go through losing slumps players emotions can overcome them and we saw this happen during a 36ers training session.Luckily for 36ers fans, things have turned around. Currently riding a 4-game winning streak, the 36ers look committed and focused on the defensive end; giving up an average of 84.3 points per game.Cant stop the RotCoaches, at times, have to make tough decisions for the good of the team, Rob Beveridge was tasked with that after a 15 point loss to the New Zealand Breakers in Round 7. His star player and former MVP Rotnei Clarke wasnt performing to the standard he could achieve.So Coach Beveridge made the bold move to bring Clarke off the bench instead of starting games.With Clarke starting, Illawarra went 4-6. Since coming off the bench, Illawarra are 3-1. The move lit a flame under the former MVP and Illawarra have looked like a new side.Still seeing a tick under 28 minutes per game, Clarke is averaging 23.2 points since the change whilst shooting a flaming hot 54.8% from deep.Tame CatsThe fortress that usually is Perth Arena has major cracks appearing as the Wildcats have now lost their last two games at home.Over the last three seasons, the Wildcats have played 50 games at home and 47 on the road. Their winning percentages during those games are 78% at home and 46.8% on the road.They rely heavily on winning their games in-front of their home crowd to ensure they can secure a playoff berth. With their home now not looking as secure as it was in years gone past, are the Wildcats on the verge of missing the playoffs for the first time since 1986?Not Safe at HomeIn this crazy season that were enthralled in, home court advantage doesnt seem to be a factor. With six games taking place during Round 9, only two sides who held home court walked away with the victory.One of those sides was the 36ers who have the worst home court record of any team and the other was Melbourne United who now, after the win, own a better home record.Gone are the days of feeling safe within your own surrounds, teams are walking into opposing stadiums with a renewed confidence and making things all the more interesting. Nike Air Max Aanbieding . Having already announced that the race will start May 9 with three stages in Northern Ireland and Ireland and finish in Trieste on June 1, the rest of the route was unveiled Monday. Nike Air Max 270 Dames Nederland . While hell be dialed in to that tournament on a course he loves, you can forgive him if his eyes glance down the calendar just a bit, towards April. http://www.airmaxkopennederland.com/uitverkoop-air-max-97.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. Nike Air Max 270 Goedkoop . Boucher previously coached the Tampa Bay Lightning and had a 97-78-20 record over two-plus seasons. He was dismissed by the team last March after the Lightning struggled in the lockout-shortened season with a 13-18-1 record. Nike Air Max 270 Aanbieding . The team says the Spain international has a muscle pull in his right leg. Barcelona hosts third-division side Cartagena in the return leg of their round-of-32 tie after winning their first meeting 4-1. Canada versus Team USA, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN)United States: It is painfully simple for Team USA: Win, and its hope of advancing in the World Cup of Hockey lives for another day or two. Lose in any fashion to powerful Canada, and Thursdays preliminary-round game against the Czech Republic will be meaningless, a painful reminder of the failure of this team to come together in any fashion when it mattered most. Derek Stepan of the New York Rangers likened the situation to a Game 7 in the Stanley Cup playoffs.For some of these players the faceoff against their historic rivals to the north may be the last chance internationally to establish a meaningful legacy in the face of a new generation of talented young American players -- several of whom are playing in this tournament for Team North America. Already dogged by skepticism about the makeup of their team, the U.S. players must now confront a Canadian squad that has won the past two Olympic gold medals and is a heavy favorite to win this tournament for a second consecutive time, dating back to 2004. Although the Americans did split two pre-tournament games with Canada, they will have to exponentially ramp up their intensity after a curiously dispassionate 3-0 loss to Team Europe on Saturday, but they must do so without losing their cool, which may be difficult given the stakes.Its a great spot for the Americans to be in, that type of situation, in that type of atmosphere, Team USA head coach John Tortorella insisted. If you cant get motivated to do your best in this type of situation, with the environment thats going to be there Tuesday night, theres something the matter with you. Then weve got the wrong guy. But I dont think weve got the wrong guys.One game into this highly anticipated tournament, the evidence suggests otherwise. But thats the beauty of what awaits this American team: a chance, in the space of 60 minutes on Tuesday night, to rewrite the story of this tournament and maybe their own legacy.?-- Scott BurnsideCanada:?His teams 6-0 opening win over the Czech Republic was pretty darn impressive, but not perfect, said Canada head coach Mike Babcock on Monday. He knows that his players can still pick things up a notch. For sure another level, he said. They had five looks at our net in the first six minutes. Four of them were on specialty teams, and one was on the line change. So weve got to fix that up, for sure. Other than that, I thought we played well; we played with some pace. We didnt have pace early in the exhibition, but were starting to get a little more comfortable.The question is whether Team Canada can manufacture the same kind of desperation level that Team USA will naturally have on Tuesday in a do-or-die situation. The natural rivalry that exists between both teams, on display in two meaningless-yet-feisty pre-tournament games, should ensure Canadas emotional investment. After all, you know that the Canadians would relish that chance to inflict the knockout punch to their rivals, even if they insist thats not their focus.[Were] just playing our game, veteran center Ryan Getzlaf?said.dddddddddddd Were trying to build something here. I think we have to make this whole focus about us and not really buy into the whole do-or-die thing for them. Its a matter of us just going out and playing our game and continuing to get better throughout this tournament.Look for Team Canada to try to create turnovers in the U.S. zone with an aggressive forecheck, as tight, five-man units give Team USAs blueliners little room for transition. Its what worked so well against the Czechs in the opener. There were no lineup changes for Canada at practice on Tuesday, which likely means that?Philadelphia Flyers captain Claude Giroux will sit out again. The forward lines and defense pairings were also the same, meaning the U.S. has to brace for that Brad Marchand-Sidney Crosby-Patrice Bergeron unit, which brought the Czechs to their knees in the opener. -- Pierre LeBrunFinland versus Sweden, 3 p.m. ET (ESPN)Finland: North America, the team loaded with talented players 23-and-younger, completely dismantled Finland 4-1 in its first World Cup game on Sunday. Meanwhile, Sweden defeated Russia 2-1. Finland needs to muster a major response against the Swedes on Tuesday. Both teams practiced on Monday, but the Finns worked on every aspect of their game in an attempts to figure out why theyre playing so poorly. The biggest issue for Finland to fix is its compete level. It was not there against the kids on Sunday, and now that its biggest rival is on deck, Finland needs to play a 200-foot game. Defensively, the Finns were brutal in front of their own net, so that was a point of emphasis during practice. Finlands defensive-zone coverage needs to improve, especially against a potent Swedish offense.Sweden: For the Swedes, its much of the same. Their depth was key against Russia. Sweden has the ability to roll all four lines, and its defensive core stifled Russias dangerous attack. Sweden was able to exploit Russias weak defense. In order to have success against Finland, it has to follow the same game plan.Line watch:?This game wont be won by one single line or power-play unit. It will come down to goaltending. Both teams were in a bit of a pickle after Mondays practices because of their respective goaltending situations. Swedens Henrik Lundqvist missed Sundays game with the flu. He participated in the teams full practice and showed no ill effects on Monday. While Lundqvist was optimistic after practice about his chances to play against Finland, it was a bit strange when he reiterated numerous times that it would be a coachs decision. Its possible that this could be Lundqvists final tournament for Swedens national team, so if hes healthy I cant imagine a scenario in which he wouldnt play against Finland. At the other end of the ice, its unclear whether Finland will stick with?Pekka Rinne?or switch and go with Tuukka Rask. During practice, it appeared Rask would be the starter. --?Joe McDonald ' ' '