ed to 10 men in the 86th minute when Caldwell was

TORONTO – Standing comfortably by his dressing room stall, David Clarkson refuses to dodge questions about a goal drought thats lingered 10 games into the start of his Maple Leafs career. Cheap Air Max 97 Uk . Hes willing answer queries for as long as needed. "Ask whatever you want," he says. And he understands the questions. But he also knows why he was brought into the fold in Toronto and why Dave Nonis and company chose to pony up seven years at $36.75 million. "I wasnt brought here to score 50 goals," Clarskon said earnestly after practice on Monday morning. "I was brought here for that full game that I bring, competing every night." Nonis made that point clear on the day he signed the Mimico native last July. The considerable size and weight of the deal aside – not to mention the 30 goals he scored two seasons ago – internal expectations for the 29-year-old did not hinge strictly on offence but instead on the range of tools and experience he could contribute to a group prospectively on the rise. And though he hasnt scored, with bad luck in a mostly defensive role primarily to blame, Clarkson has generally played that part with the Leafs, admittedly still adjusting to the new confines of life in Toronto. "He hasnt really let it affect anything about him," James van Riemsdyk said of Clarksons goal drought during a conversation with the Leaf Report. "I think hes come in and filled his role; [hes] played hard, finished checks, stuck up for his teammates and had a couple tough bounces as far as goal-scoring [goes]..." Predictably pesky and a willing physical combatant, Clarkson has actually been at his best as a puck-controlling, forechecking burden deep in the offensive zone – something the group at large has struggled with until spurts recently. Effective in that regard mostly alongside Mason Raymond, Clarkson leads the team in puck possession (CORSI,) despite starting many of his shifts in the defensive zone. "Thats something Ive always brought," said Clarkson, who has three assists, including a pair in the past two games. "In my career, Ive always been known to be a guy that down low is hard to play against, thats always in the blue paint, winning battles down low, finishing checks and driving the other team crazy." An admitted adjustment early on, Clarkson has been employed in a primarily defensive role so far, matched up against opposing top lines more often than not. Hes held his own in such duties – on the ice for just four goals against. Never was his effectiveness in this capacity more pronounced than his second game of the year. Playing alongside Raymond and Dave Bolland, Clarkson helped keep Sidney Crosby off the scoresheet for just the second time all season (to that point.) "The whole game, I was trying to hit Sid or trying to hit Malkin every shift because, if those guys are a little bit hesitant that you might do something, all of sudden maybe theyre looking over their shoulder and not as effective," he said. "I always try to play that same way." A Cup finalist with the Devils in 2012, Clarksons veteran credentials have also held sway among his more youthful teammates – all but a handful are younger than his 29 years. Nearly toppling the veteran Bruins in the playoffs last May, the Leafs looked to Clarkson and Bolland for aid in the leadership department this past summer. "Hes one of those guys you can look at to be a constant out there," James Reimer told the Leaf Report. "Hes just a good leader and hes a good pro. And a young team, thats what a lot of the time we need. You need those people that you can look up to." Reimer points the manner in which Clarkson has handled the early string of misfires offensively. "Hes not getting rattled, not breaking his stick, not swearing up and down," said the 25-year-old netminder. "He just comes to work every day." Several factors have worked to hold Clarkson in check offensively, luck and role most prominently among them. A sign of his unluckiness to date: the Leafs boast an even-strength shooting percentage of a paltry 2.6 per cent when Clarksons been on the ice this season, lowest on the team (with a minimum of 10 games played.) The several opportunities he has had, including a jam play opposite Jhonas Enroth on Saturday and a squeaker through the five-hole of Cory Schneider a week earlier, have fallen just shy of crossing the line. In addition to bad luck, Clarksons role has also changed from where it left off with the Devils. A first unit power-play contributor in Jersey, he is, at best, a second unit option in Toronto – stuck behind the skillful likes of van Riemsdyk, Raymond, Phil Kessel, Joffrey Lupul, Nazem Kadri, and Tyler Bozak when healthy. Clarkson, who totaled 14 power-play goals and 24 power-play points the past two seasons, has averaged 1:50 per game on the man advantage thus far, down from the nightly 3:33 he garnered with the Devils last season. Not helping his cause offensively either is the limited amount of even-strength shifts hes started in the offensive zone – slightly above 17 per cent, lowest on the team – nor the amount hes shot the puck to date; just two per game, down considerably from the past two seasons. "We think that David Clarkson has got a lot to offer to our hockey club and hes had his fair share of chances," said coach Randy Carlyle. "Hes a little bit snake-bitten, but if he continues to go to the net the way hes been going and we continue to drive that middle lane and get pucks directed around him hell score some goals for us. We believe that." With career-highs of 30 goals and 46 points, the production is unlikely to ever match the annual $5.2 million pay grade, but rightly or wrongly, thats not why the Leafs signed Clarkson in the first place. "If David Clarkson doesnt score 30 goals in a Leaf uniform, but provides all the other things that we know hes going to provide were pretty comfortable were a better team," Nonis said on July 5. Clarkson says the early drought may have bothered him as a younger player, what with the now daily barrage of questions and pressure to contribute offensively, but with age, experience and a family, he appears neither frustrated nor agitated. He knows his poor luck is bound to change, also understanding the manner in which he can affect the game otherwise. "Theres so much that he brings to this team," Reimer said. “When he starts scoring, honestly itll just be a bonus." Cheap Air Max 200 Uk .com) - Former New York Mets general manager Omar Minaya is joining the Major League Baseball Players Association staff as a senior advisor to executive director Tony Clark. Buy Nike Tn Trainers Uk . PETERSBURG, Fla. http://www.fakeairmaxukoutlet.com/ . Just ask last seasons Supporters Shield winners, the New York Red Bulls, who were resoundingly defeated last weekend by a rampant Vancouver Whitecaps in a match which produced two contenders for MLS Goal of the Week from Sebastian Fernandez and Pedro Morales.TORONTO -- If the sloppy conditions and sparse crowd werent bad enough, Toronto FC dropped a 2-1 decision to Sporting Kansas City on Saturday in a game Ryan Nelsen largely blamed on the officiating. And a bad game ended on a worse note when the Toronto head coach and his assistant Fran OLeary were ejected in the final minute for words said from the sideline. "The referee (Allen Chapman) has a tough time but I think hell reflect and look back and probably (realize) Toronto FC were on the wrong end of the equation on literally all of the critical calls," said Nelsen, who was calm just minutes after his ejection. C.J. Sapong scored both goals for the visitors, while Darel Russell recorded the lone goal for Toronto in a rain-drenched affair at BMO Field, the gloomy, grey weather matching the mood around the Major League Soccer club. The loss stretched Torontos winless streak to eight consecutive games, while the victory for Kansas City propelled it into a tie with New York atop the Eastern Conference standings. Nelsen was frustrated about what he thought was a hand ball in Kansas Citys box, and a tackle on Justin Braun in the dying minutes. "The problems that we did cause (for Sporting KC), an oppositions hand got in the way, or I think it was a little bit of the Ultimate Fighting that is going on tonight (at Torontos Air Canada Centre) was done on Justin Braun at the end," Nelsen said. "I should be up here (talking about) two penalties, two blatant penalties, two stonecold penalties, and weve won the game." A week after Toronto (4-14-12) was mathematically eliminated from the playoffs for the seventh straight year, and with four games to go on the season, a sparse crowd -- announced at a season-low 12,627, but appearing much smaller -- braved the inclement weather. The previous season-low attendance was 15,217, two weeks earlier versus Chicago. Toronto hasnt won since Aug. 4 at New England, and despite which way the referees calls went, a couple of defensive miscues led to what Nelsen called "soft goals" for the visitors. Sapong opened the scoring for Kansas City (14-9-6) in the 18th minute when Graham Zusi found the head of Dominic Dwyer with a long cross. Dwyer headed the ball to a wide-open Sapong who launched a header past Toronto keeper Joe Bendik. "It wasnt going to be a performance game, atrocious conditions, you probably cant see it from the sideline but when youre out in the middle the water is horrible," Nelsen said. "It was going to be a mistake game, whoever turns it over and whoever makes mistakes is probably going to lose the game." Sapong, whod only scored twice previously this season, doubled his season output in the 53rd minute when he headed in a long cross from Chance Meyers. Defender Mark Bloom, in his second appearance for Toronto, seemed to lose sight of Sapong as he was tracking him back towaard the net. Cheap Nike Tn Trainers Uk. "Soft goals for us to lose," said Toronto defender Steven Caldwell. "It was a not very nice day to play in or watch it was a battle at end, it was difficult to keep your footing, play with any kind of quality." Russell scored in the 38th minute to make it 1-1 on a bad clearance by Kansas City defender Aurelien Collin. Sporting KC goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen passed the ball to Collin, who misplayed it leaving Alvaro Rey to swoop in and pass to Russell, who slotted it past Nielsen. The loss came a day after Toronto introduced Tim Bezbatchenko as its new general manager. Despite all the frustrations from Saturdays match, Nelsen was emphatic in his support for the recent turn of events in the front office. "When I first took this job and I saw what happened to where I sit now, oh my goodness, trust me on this one, I am so much happier, its absolutely night and day," Nelsen said. "Certain contracts with certain salary cap restrictions. . . ," he said, when asked to expand. "Everything was handcuffed and weve taken the handcuffs off and now we can move forward. "When I first took the job I thought it would be two or three years before Toronto could get out of the situation they were in, it was that bad." Saturdays game was a winnable one for Toronto, which had several near-misses on the afternoon. Rey went down on the edge of the 18-yard box in the first half after taking what looked like an elbow to the face. The referee awarded Toronto a free kick outside the box, which Caldwell nearly scored on. Toronto had another excellent scoring chance at the 45-minute mark when a header by Bright Dike -- who was strong in his first start for the home team --was cleared off Kansas Citys goal line. Toronto was reduced to 10 men in the 86th minute when Caldwell was shown a red card for a studs-up tackle on Josh Gardner. "No intent or anything malicious about it, its just the way the game was, and the type of conditions it was, sometimes you go in for challenges that arent ideal and I felt we both went in with our studs," said Caldwell. He chalked up the calls to a "lack of experience from the referee, and a lack of empathy for the conditions." Toronto was missing several key players including midfielder Jonathan Osorio, who was serving the first of a two-game suspension for kicking the ball at an opponents head in Torontos 2-0 loss at New York last week. Osorio booted the ball directly to the side of the head of Red Bulls defender Kosuke Kimura, who had fallen to the ground. Kimura was not injured on the play. Striker Robert Earnshaw missed the game with a hamstring injury. Danny Koevermans, whos struggling in his recovery from last seasons ACL surgery, didnt dress, nor did Matias Laba, whos out a month after fracturing his big toe. Toronto hosts D.C. United next Saturday. ' ' '

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