and formalizing a working relationship

NEW YORK -- Dan Bylsma was in a restaurant at a hockey rink when Sidney Crosby scored the golden goal at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. His sons game over, he settled in to watch the Canada-U.S. final. "When the puck spun off the boards and Sidney broke from the (faceoff) dot to the net, I got up from my chair," the Pittsburgh Penguins head coach recalled. "I had a pretty good notion that he was going to put that (puck) home for the win." "Mixed emotions, thats for sure," he added. On Saturday, Bylsma was introduced as coach of the U.S. hockey team at the Sochi Olympics, giving him 220 days to scheme against his Penguins captain, not to mention Russian superstar Evgeni Malkin. The participation of NHL players at the 2014 Winter Games has yet to be confirmed. But NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is slated to meet Monday with the NHL Players Association, International Olympic Committee and International Ice Hockey Federation to finalize a deal. Other candidates for the Sochi Team USA coaching job were reportedly John Tortorella of the Vancouver Canucks and Peter Laviolette of the Philadelphia Flyers. Ron Wilson coached the Americans in 2010 at Vancouver. On Friday, USA Hockey named Nashville Predators president and GM David Poile as general manager of the American team. Pittsburgh GM Ray Shero will serve as associate general manager and Anaheim Ducks consultant Brian Burke will be director of player personnel. Bylsma did not hide his lack of international coaching experience. When a reporter referred to him as not having "much experience coaching internationally," Bylsma was quick to correct him. "I dont have any experience," he said. "So very littles wrong." But he said he has already started educating himself and plans to continue consulting others to gain more experience. Bylsma will no doubt be surrounded by experienced assistant coaches and USA Hockey has already made some recommendations. "Its a little bit in Dans court right now to filter through that and well be back together in a few days to see where that takes us," said Poile. The 42-year-old Bylsma noted he was following in the footsteps of 17 U.S. Olympic head coaches. "And what an honour and privilege that is. And a responsibility. I feel the legacy even that runs through Pittsburgh in (Badger) Bob Johnson in 76 and Herb Brooks in 1980," he said. Poile said the U.S. pool of talent may have caught people by surprise in 2010. But while that group will be even more talented in 2014, the Americans will have to face the challenge of playing on bigger ice in Russia. "Weve got to tune up our thinking a little bit and the type of players were going to choose," he said. And while veterans of the 2010 silver-medal squad will form the core of the Sochi roster, Poile said expect "some new and some different type of players on that team." The U.S. team plans an orientation camp for Aug. 25-29 in Washington, D.C. "Hockey in our country has come to a point where winning gold medals is not a miracle, its an expectation," said Ron DeGregorio, president of USA Hockey. Bylsma also referenced the 1980 Miracle on Ice, when an unheralded U.S. team won Olympic gold in Lake Placid. "I think I dreamt about winning an Olympic gold medal longer than Ive dreamed about winning the Stanley Cup," said Bylsma, who won the Cup in 2009 with Pittsburgh. "It dates back to that 1980 team." Asked about the film "Miracle," which tells the story of that 1980 Olympic squad, Bylsma confessed he had watched part of it a few days ago with his son and his sons cousin at the family cottage in Michigan. He knew he was going to be named coach, but had been sworn to secrecy at the time so only his wife knew in the family. "The scene where Herbs in the kitchen and hes having kind of a conversation with his wife, Im like Thats me and thats Mary Beth," he said with a laugh. "I watched half of that movie, just really freshly knowing I was going to be head coach of the team, it was kind of a surreal little moment." Bylsma, winner of the 2011 Jack Adams Award as the NHLs Most Outstanding Coach, as a career NHL coaching record of 201-93-25. As a forward, he played 429 career games from 1995 to 2004 with Los Angeles and Anaheim. "A guy that any player would want to play for, any parent would want their kid playing for," said Flyers right-winger Mike Knuble, who comes from the same area in Michigan and was a workout partner when Bylsma was a player. "Hes an up-and-coming guy. Hes proven that he can win. He coaches in a high-profile city with high-profile players and has shown that he can handle them and handle some of the egos. "When you get those teams together in the Olympics, there are a ton of them. You get 20 different egos going. Guys are used to being the man, so its how youre going to handle that. And I seem to think that he has a good grasp on how to handle egos and keep everyone pulling in the same direction." Shero called Bylsma "a great leader of athletes and players." Bylsma said while he understands the responsibility of his Olympic role, he doesnt see it as taking on the weight of a nation. "I wouldnt use the word weight but it does feel completely different," he said. USA Hockey has once again assembled an impressive braintrust for its national team, with an advisory committee featuring GMs Stan Bowman of Chicago, Paul Holmgren of Philadelphia, Dean Lombardi of Los Angeles, and Dale Tallon of Florida, as well as Pittsburgh scout Don Waddell, a former GM. The group has more than 150 years of NHL GM experience and six Stanley Cups, according to USA Hockey.Yeezy Φθηνα Ελλαδα . -- Edmontons Val Sweeting is two wins away from a trip to Winnipeg to play in Canadas Road of the Rings in December. Yeezys Ελλαδα . -- About a third of the way through the regular season, the Washington Wizards are at . http://www.yeezygreece.com/stan-smith-greece.html . On Mar. 16, coming off a "fight of the year" performance at UFC 154 the previous November, St-Pierre faced Nick Diaz at UFC 158 in what would be his eighth defence of the welterweight title. Using his superior athleticism, St-Pierre cruised to a five round, unanimous decision victory setting up a much-anticipated title defence against number one contender Johny Hendricks. Παπουτσια Adidas Stan Smith Φθηνα . The phone hearing is scheduled for 4:30pm et/1:30pm pt. Winchester, who was not penalized for the hit, appeared to make contact with Kellys head early in the first period of Thursdays game in Boston. Παπουτσια Yeezy Ανδρικα . From filmmaker Nanette Burstein (On the Ropes), The Price of Gold revisits the saga that rocked the figure skating world ahead of the 1994 Lillehammer Olympic Winter Games: the assault on Nancy Kerrigan, and the plot that led its way back to her rival Tonya Harding.NORTON, Mass. -- The bad news for Rory McIlroy happened Friday, as he played his first three holes of the Deutsche Bank Championship opening round in 4-over par. The good news is that hes bounced back in a big way, playing the next 51 holes in 13 under, including a third-round 5-under 66 on Sunday that moved him into contention for his first PGA Tour win of the season.The way Im looking at it is, how good a tournament would this be to win, being 4 over through three, said McIlroy, who is tied for seventh, 6 shots behind leader Paul Casey. Its a great opportunity to do something that Ive never done before. Ive never started a tournament like that and went on to win it, so its a great opportunity to try and overcome a little bit of adversity to start with and then get into it.McIlroy has overcome his share of adversity already during this tournament. In addition to five bogeys, he has carded a double-bogey and a triple-bogey. Those have been counteracted by an impressive 17 birdies and an eagle that was nearly a double-eagle.After backing off his second shot on the par-5 18th hole multiple times due to sudden wind gusts, McIlroy hit a 4-iron shot that bounced on the front of the green, rolled directly at the hole and lipped out.It was worth the wait, he laughed. I had to back off the shot twice because the wind was gustiing and I didnt know if I had enough club in the end.ddddddddddddI hit a 4 iron as good as I could and buttoned it. It looked good for a while.As to whether it wouldve been an albatross or a double-eagle, McIlroy remained firm: Definitely albatross. Im still European. I play for the blue team.Speaking of playing for the blue team, McIlroy should have European Ryder Cup fans breathing easier with his putting display so far this week.One week after switching to a Scotty Cameron putter and formalizing a working relationship with short-game guru Phil Kenyon, McIlroy is more than 4 strokes better on the greens than the field, according to the strokes gained putting statistic.I think Im No. 1 on tour strokes gained off the tee, No. 2 strokes gained tee to green, so that stuff has been there all year, he explained. Even the approach shots havent been up to the standard I would like them to be, but even around the green Ive been OK.Its just been the putting thats really let me down. Im really happy with that; Im happy with how Ive held on. Im happy with how I converted a few of the chances I had yesterday and today, and feel like if I can just keep that going, and build on the momentum that I have. ' ' '