Minecraft Disskusion » the team that finished first overall

HALLE, Germany -- Its nearly mid-June and Roger Federer is still without a title in 2013. Back on grass in one of his favourite tournaments, Federer is confident his best is yet to come. Federer is top-seeded in Halle, one of the grass-court build-up tournaments for Wimbledon, where he has won seven titles and where he will be the defending champion. Four of those Wimbledon titles came after Federer had also won the warm-up event in Halle. "Halle is one of my favourite places on the tour, and being successful there makes it even more likable," said Federer, who will be seeking his sixth title in the cozy event, where players step on court practically from their hotel rooms. Federer is coming off a quarterfinal loss to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the French Open last week. "Paris has little to do with Halle or Wimbledon, but looking back I am really disappointed with my match against Tsonga," Federer said. "There are days like that but fortunately there havent been so many in my career and I hope there wont be that many to come." Federer reached 10 straight Grand Slam finals from 2005-07, winning eight titles. He also appeared in eight major finals from 2008-10, winning four. But since that run ended, Federer has played in two of the last 13 Slam title matches, winning one at Wimbledon last year. At 31, the winner of a record 17 Grand Slam titles could be slowing down as shown by his run without a title through the first half of the year, which also saw him nurse a back injury. "I didnt really expect to necessarily win a lot of titles, and I thought I played well in Rome and Paris, until the match with Tsonga," Federer said Monday at the start of the Halle tournament. He lost the Rome final in two quick sets to Rafael Nadal, who pulled out of the Halle event to rest after his eighth French Open title. "I now feel that the best time for me is still to come in the second half of the year. Its a very important phase of the year, leading to Wimbledon and the North American swing with the U.S. Open," the last Grand Slam of the year, Federer said. "To win here (in Halle) would be a good build-up for Wimbledon," he said. Federer will also play doubles, teaming up with German veteran Tommy Haas, who beat him in last years Halle final. Federer hasnt played doubles for two years. But since arriving in Halle from Paris on Friday and practicing for three days, Federer felt he could get in some doubles matches as well, since he wont be scheduled to play singles before Wednesday. "Ive seldom played doubles on the tour, there is always that threat of injury, it just wasnt as much fun. But now I am in the mood to play some doubles, change it up a little. Hopefully, it may even help me in the singles," Federer said. Federer leads the field, which also includes second-seeded Richard Gasquet, third-seeded Haas and No. 4 Kei Nishikori. In the opening singles Monday, qualifier Jan Hernych defeated Daniel Brands 6-4, 6-2, Mikhail Youzhny beat Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6-1, 6-2 and eighth-seeded Florian Mayer swept past qualifier Martin Fischer 6-2, 6-2. Jim Lee Hunt Jersey . Third-seeded Murray had the easiest path to victory on New Years Eve, barely breaking a sweat during his 6-0, 6-0 win over 2,129th-ranked Qatari wildcard recipient Mousa Shanan Zayed. Stanley Morgan Jersey .ca NHL Power Rankings for the second straight week, ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Avalanche. http://www.custompatriotsjersey.com/custom-norm-snead-jersey-large-1361f.html . Ronaldo produced a spectacular individual performance on Tuesday, scoring all three goals and guiding Portugal into the next years World Cup in Brazil with a 3-2 victory in Sweden. The Real Madrid forward has scored 66 goals in 2013, but the last three may be the boost he needs to upstage Messi after FIFA unexpectedly extended the voting period for the Ballon dOr to Nov. Tim Rattay Jersey . The 43-year-old closer, in his 19th and final big league season, has said hed like to play the outfield. Yankees manager Joe Girardi says hes thinking about allowing Rivera to do it this weekend, when the Yankees finish their season with a three-game series at the Houston Astros. Johnny Strzykalski Jersey . Just not the game. Kyle Palmieri scored two straight goals in the third period to rally the Anaheim Ducks past the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 on Tuesday night.EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Kings have been in all types of jams during the past two postseasons. Just a few weeks ago, they even escaped the same 0-2 deficit theyre now facing in the Western Conference finals. "Weve been here, what, three weeks ago?" forward Justin Williams asked, referring to the Kings great escape in the first round against St. Louis. "Obviously its not do-or-die (in Game 3), but it is." Yet the defending Stanley Cup champions arent sure theyve tangled with an opponent that could match the depth and versatility of the Chicago Blackhawks, who might even be the team to end Los Angeles 2 1/2 months of perfection at home. After back-to-back losses in Chicago, the Kings are hoping they can stay perfect at Staples Center in a crucial Game 3 on Tuesday night. The Kings have won 14 straight at home since March, and theyve won seven straight home playoff games dating to last seasons Stanley Cup clincher. The Kings have no idea why theyve been unbeatable at Staples Center, but they realize their repeat hopes depend on it. "Home ice is something weve been able to rely on, and have in our back pocket," Williams said Monday after the Kings team meeting at their training complex. "Im (also) not sure why we went 10-1 on the road last year (in the playoffs). Certainly our confidence is high for us coming back home. Theres been a lot of success there. Weve won every which way there, and its going to have to continue." Even two solid efforts in Chicago by coach Darryl Sutters estimation werent enough to turn back the Presidents Trophy winners, who have won five straight post-season games after falling into a 1-3 hole against Detroit in the second round. The Blackhawks won both games of the conference finals in persuasive fashion, overcoming the Kings greatest strengths along the way. Chicago even chased Jonathan Quick out of Game 2 by scoring four goals against the Conn Smythe Trophy-winning goalie -- something nobody had done in 34 straight playoff games over the past three years. Sutter acknowledged he pulled Quick partly to give him a brief rest for the remaining playoff grind. The Blackhawks were reminded of the tenuous nature of any playoff lead in the second round, so they werent brimming with overconfidence when they arrived on the West Coast. "You look back at the St. Louis series, (and) they were up 2-0 coming to L.A.," Blackhawks defenceman Brent Seabrook said Monday. "Weve got to continue to focus on the game (Tuesday) night. Theyre a great team, L.A. Quick is a great goaltender. We understand hes going to come back with a better game than he did last night. We have to continue to get pucks to him and make it tough on him." The Kings have lost at home in regulation just four times in this entire lockout-shortened season, but the Blackhawks were responsible for arguably the biggest defeat of them all. Chicago ruined the Kings Stanley Cup banner-raising ceremony in the season opener in January, and the Blackhawks 5-2 victory catapulted them to the start that led them to the NHLs best regular-season record. "Its been a long time since we played here, and it was a special day when we began the season here for them," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. "Theres some buildings in this league that can get real loud, get the crowd into it, and the team feeds off of that. I think theres more success this year on the home teams side in the playoffs. HHopefully we can get off to a great start and quiet it as best you can.dddddddddddd Its tough on visiting teams trying to do that this year." After the long flight Monday, the Blackhawks arrived at their Beverly Hills hotel for a night of relaxation before their attempt to break through at Staples Center. As usual, the Blackhawks set up a large players lounge at their hotel, filling it with an eye-catching buffet and multiple televisions and video game consoles -- all to promote team bonding. "The Hawks do a good job of making it easy on us," forward Patrick Sharp said. "Its a fun atmosphere to go down there and hang around with your teammates. You dont see enough of each other in Chicago with the families, people doing their own thing. Its always been fun to be on the road, be together, thinking hockey all the time." Although Quick blames himself for the Kings road struggles, he isnt the real problem for the Kings, who have won a series after trailing 0-2 just twice in franchise history. Williams realizes the Kings arent sustaining any offensive pressure on the Blackhawks, whose forechecking has kept the Kings pinned in their end for long stretches. Los Angeles scoring struggles are getting ugly, with just 29 goals in 15 playoff games -- easily the lowest scoring average for any team that won a playoff round. Its not nearly enough to hang with the Blackhawks, whose talented lineup generates goals from all four lines and its defence. The Kings have never been an offensive dynamo on the level of Chicago or Pittsburgh, but they didnt founder like this in the regular season. Their top scorers in last seasons playoffs also are struggling mightily this year: Star centre Anze Kopitar has just two goals in 15 games after enduring a lengthy goal-scoring slump to end the regular season, while captain Dustin Brown has a mere four points in the playoffs. "Its pretty fair to say as a line, were collectively in a slump," Brown said of his partnership with Kopitar and Williams. "We know what we need to do better. Getting into their offensive zone, our spacing is pretty significant. Its hard to play (without it), especially against a team like Chicago. When you dont have the spacing right, one guy eliminates the other guy." Center Mike Richards missed Game 2 with symptoms from an apparent head injury, and the Kings wont say whether hell play in Game 3. Richards, who hadnt missed a game all season, is Los Angeles leading post-season scorer with 10 points. At least Tyler Toffoli is an intriguing addition to the lineup in Richards absence. The big rookie picked up a goal in Game 2 while playing alongside top goal-scorer Jeff Carter, who moved over to centre without Richards alongside him. "Going back six games in the season, weve had trouble scoring," Sutter said. "Its not a home-road disparity at all. You know what? Were a good hockey club. Were not surprising anybody. Theres no upsets now. Were trying to surprise the team that finished first overall." The Kings championship poise might be their greatest asset in the next two games. With the confidence of last seasons 16-4 run through the playoffs still fresh in most players minds, Sutters club doesnt really get rattled -- even after winning just twice in its last seven playoff games. "You can draw on the fact weve been in this situation before," Brown said. "The series is long from over in our mindset." ' ' '