News » nsportation, events and ceremonies and communit

It was just before the 2008 World Championships in Halifax and Team USA was holding a pre-tournament camp in Portland, Maine. Jeff Halpern, serving as the American captain, was informing and inviting teammates to a fishing trip off the coast of Maine, in a gulf of the Atlantic Ocean. He wondered if Phil Kessel, then a 20-year-old playing for the Boston Bruins, wanted to come along. I get seasick in the bathtub, Kessel said, according to a later recounting by his future boss in Toronto, Brian Burke. I guess thats a no, Halpern responded. No, Kessel said, if the guys are going Im going. So he went, puked his guts out, but did it because was a team function, Burke beamed proudly on the day Kessel was officially traded to the Maple Leafs, defending the character of his newest asset, one that came with a high price ultimately. More than six long years later, Burke long since deposed as the teams president and general manager, and many of those same questions still surround Kessel, now 27-years-old and the highest-paid player in Toronto. Can the Leafs win a Cup with Kessel at the forefront? And if not, which seems to be case, then what should Brendan Shanahan and a revamped management group do about it? What can they do about it? Kessel remains under contract until 2022 at an annual cap hit of $8 million or more than 11 percent of the current cap. Is a player with that contract and those attributes tradable? And if so, then how tradable? What kind of market would exist for such a unique talent and personality? What kind of return would a player like Kessel net in a climate thats become increasingly wise to the functions of team success? Do the negatives of Kessels game outweigh the positives? Are the Leafs better in the long-term by trading by far their most talented player? Does that put them on the right path toward chasing a Cup? These are only some of the questions facing Shanahan as it pertains to the face of Torontos franchise, a player whos scored more goals than anyone but Alexander Ovechkin and Steven Stamkos since the start of the 2011-12 season, more points than anyone but Claude Giroux and Evgeni Malkin. I just want to help the team win here, Kessel said on the day he was first introduced as a Leaf. Thats the main goal here. Its not individual goals, its me coming in here doing whatever I can to help the organization and the team win hockey games. What wasnt in doubt then or now is the quality of those offensive gifts. Kessel remains one of the most dangerous and feared players in the league with a shot that may be unequaled in terms of the quickness with which it launches off the stick. Kessel, who has had a blasé kind of year, still sits around the top-10 in league scoring and remains on pace to either match or set new career-highs in a slew of offensive categories. Hes had several great years, Burkes replacement, Dave Nonis, said after re-signing Kessel for eight years and $64 million on the eve of last season. If you look at his point totals and his goal totals over the last two and three seasons hes up there with some pretty elite players. But for all the mesmerizing things Kessel can do on the ice, he detracts just about as much. Hes prone to bits of laziness – both on and off the ice – lacks noticeable effort in his own zone and often ends up costing his team more goals than he scores. Kessel and his two regular linemates, James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak, have been the Leafs worst possession trio this season. They are consistently and unnervingly hemmed in the defensive zone for extended periods. Its not a new issue either, its one that dates back to the days of Ron Wilson, Kessels first coach in Toronto. Phils problem, said Wilson during an interview with TSN Radio on Tuesday, hes two weeks on and two weeks off and you just hope that you can get him playing his best hockey for as long as possible. You cant rely on Phil. Its just the way it is. You have to know that Phil is going to give you everything hes got for two or three weeks and then for the next two or three weeks everything seems to go wrong for Phil. Thats just the way it is. The Leafs signed Kessel for the long haul under the premise, seemingly, that his potent production would be impossible to replace. But that assumes that the good outweighs the bad and that may not be the case, especially if Kessel assumes the role of the teams best and highest-paid player. It also ignores the grander question of whether Kessel can help a team achieve the ultimate goal of winning a Cup. Boston, facing cap troubles in the fall of 2009, decided not. They pulled the trigger to move Kessel after he scored 36 goals as a 21-year-old. They won their Cup two years later. Claude Julien, Ron Wilson, Randy Carlyle, they all tried to change Kessel into something he was not, to mold him into a piece of a winning product. They could not. Whats to suggest then that something will change under the next head coach in Toronto? You never change a leopards spots, Wilson said. I think you paint over some of those spots, but theyll eventually shine through the paint and thats just too bad. Kessel is an incredibly capable and gifted player and he could probably be a piece on a winning team, just not the piece. Could he play the Patrick Kane role on a deeper team? Perhaps and perhaps thats the type of team willing to spring for his talents. Beyond just the burdensome decision of even trading Kessel is the potential return. What kind of value does Kessel have in a trade with the amount of money hes owed and the questions surrounding his performance and personality? How many teams would even be interested? And for a team like Toronto, one thats not contending for a Cup anytime soon, what kind of risk is there in hanging on to Kessel as he nears and then surpasses age 30, when the gifts that make him such a special talent start to wither if even a little? Kessel is the biggest piece of a web that needs to be untangled. The Leafs have too many flawed players locked up for too long, a core thats proven barely good enough to qualify for the playoffs, let alone win a Cup. Kessel is not the only problem – far from it – and on a different team he may not be a problem at all, but he also may not be part of the solution either, especially as the leading act. Is it worth sacrificing his tremendous gifts, though, for the betterment of the team in the long-term? These are really difficult questions. Moving on from Kessel is not a simple decision. Not many players, simply put, can do what he does. The Leafs would be worse, far worse really, without Kessel in the short-term. But theyve also been a badly flawed team with him at the forefront and that seems unlikely to change anytime soon. Kessel, ultimately, is the elephant in the room that Shanahan and the teams front office will have to confront one day, if they havent already. Moving on from the player, personality, and contract is a decision they probably should make given the bleak history of his time in Toronto as the front man, but its certainly no easy choice. This whole job is a high-wire act without a net, said Burke, Shanahans predecessor as team president, on the day Kessel was introduced. Every deal we make were betting on a human being, were betting on Phil, taking a chance. Thats how it works. I dont think were taking much of a chance. Custom Nike Chicago Cubs Jerseys . LOUIS -- The St. Custom Nike Baseball Jerseys Store . JOHNS, N. https://www.customnikebaseballjerseys.com/111n-custom-nike-new-york-yankees-jerseys-baseball.html . Hes recovered from a scary injury and cleared to play. Mingo, who was hospitalized with a bruised lung he sustained in an Aug. Cheap Custom Nike Baseball Jerseys . Needing to bulk up on both sides of the line, the Falcons agreed to terms with guard Jon Asamoah, defensive end Tyson Jackson and defensive tackle Paul Soliai. Asamoah and Jackson played last season with Kansas City, where Asamoah lost his starting job. Custom Nike Washington Nationals Jerseys . Dancevic won his singles match on Friday, defeating Go Soeda 6-4, 7-6 (2), 6-1, to even the best-of-five series at a game apiece. World No. 18 Kei Nishikori defeated Peter Polansky in the opening match, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.TORONTO -- Construction of six venues for the Toronto 2015 Pan Am and Parapan Games is running behind schedule, including a new Hamilton stadium, a key venue thats now expected to be finished in September. The $145.7-million Tim Hortons Field was slated to open this month, a year before it was to host all 32 mens and womens soccer competitions. The delay has forced the Hamilton Tiger-Cats football team to use a smaller facility for the first two home games of the season. "I havent heard from the Tiger-Cats about the Tiger-Cats making an announcement. At the end of the day its the same sort of thing like here," said CFL commissioner Mark Cohon from Ottawa prior to the Redblacks home opener. "Look at whats going to be here at the end of the day. Look at whats going to be in Hamilton at the end of the day: A world-class facility thats going to be not just for the next generation of fans but the next generation after that. People are going to be blown away by that facility when its ready as well. Its taking a little bit of time but people are going to be really happy with it when its done." Completion dates for the Toronto track and field centre, a facility in Markham, the equestrian park in Caledon and the shooting centre in Cookstown have all been pushed back by a month or two. The ballpark in Ajax was supposed to be completed by July, but phase two of the project is now expected to be finished in November. However, all the venues are expected to be ready well before the Games begin next July. "We had a significantly difficult winter this past go-around, and I think you would understand the ball park being a challenge when youre trying to put a playing field in when youve got frozen ground," Murray Noble, TO2015s senior vice-president of infrastructure, said Friday. "So some of those projects were truly to do with the weather." The final phase of the Caledon equestrian park was pushed back from December 2014 to February 2015 to make it easier for the right contractors to bid on it, he added. "All of our projects continue to be tracking very well for completion before the end of the year here, and certainly well within the time frames before the Games," he said. Noble said he couldnt provide an exact date for the completion of the Hamilton stadium, saying the question should be directed to Infrastructure Ontario. Infrastructure Ontario says it aims to hold a meeting at the end of the month to evaluate the status of stadium construction, which is currently more than 85 per cent complete. Ontarios governing Liberals have been under fire for the stadium setback, but say taxpayers wont be on the hook for any cost overruns. But the Ticats are taking a financial hit for every game they cant play in the new stadium, said New Democrat Paul Miller, who represents a Hamilton riding. The team will have to use Ron Joyce Stadium at McMaster University, which has 6,000 permanent seats and temporary seating for another 6,000. Tim Hortons Field would have 22,500 permanent seats and a potential capacity of 40,000 through temporary seating. The province gave Hamilton $22.5 million for the stadium, which isnt part of the Pan Am budget. "Whos going to cover that cost?" said Miller. "The citty of Hamilton? Infrastructure Ontario? The Pan Am committee?" TO2015 CEO Saad Rafi said questions about whether there would be any compensation for the Ticats would best be answered by Infrastructure Ontario.ddddddddddddThe Crown corporation wasnt immediately available for comment. "Somebodys going to have to compensate them and at the end of the day, I think we all know that its going to be the taxpayers that are on the hook for this," said Progressive Conservative Todd Smith. Bad weather should be factored into such big projects, he said. The government should just admit publicly that preparations for the Games wont be finished on time or on budget. But TO2015 said that the overall capital building program for the Games is still in line with their budget. It spent $92.8 million in the quarter ending March 31, including $66 million on venue construction during the three months ending March 31, the organizing committee said Friday in its fourth-quarter financial report. Venue construction spending is $387 million so far, about 53 per cent of the total original capital budget of $730 million, it said. It includes $83.5 million for the Hamilton stadium, $148.4 million for an aquatics and field house and $24.8 million on an athletics stadium in Toronto and $53.9 million for the Markham centre, which will host badminton, table tennis and water polo competitions. Operating expenses during the quarter were $26.8 million, mostly spent in the areas of corporate, technology, transportation, events and ceremonies and community and cultural affairs, it said. Corporations have also put in an "incremental $43 million in value" worth of in-kind sponsorships for delivery of the Games, the committee said. TO2015 said it has spent $126.9 million to date, about 15.7 per cent of its total operations budget of $810 million. It reported $4,159 in travel and hospitality expenses for the quarter, bringing the total since last July to $23,136. Rafi said the Games are expected to create 26,000 job and 84 per cent of the funding spent to procure goods and services has gone to Canadian companies. The Games will take place at 34 different competition venues across the Golden Horseshoe, from Niagara in the south to Orillia in the north, running from July 7 to 26, followed by the Parapan Am Games Aug. 7 to 15. The Liberals have also been criticized for the cost of security for the Games, admitting that the original $113 million built into the Pan Am budget was just a best guess and it may climb above the latest estimate of $239 million. TO2015 said it couldnt provide the latest figures, saying it was in the hands of the Pan/Parapan Am Games Integrated Security Unit. The report glosses over the construction delays, inflates the number of jobs that will be created and doesnt mention the amount of money that will be spent on security or transportation, Miller said. "Every time (the Liberals) talk about it, they talk about the positive side of it," Miller said. "And thats fine, but they dont talk about the hidden negative side and they dont want the public to know that." The total budget for the Games, including security, transportation and the athletes village is currently estimated at $2.5 billion. ' ' '