?This could be a story about redemption.Or it could be a story about time running out on a generation of hockey players looking to shoulder their way into a discussion of the greatest American players of all time.Or both.But stripped down to its very core, this is a story about the very essence of what it means to become a team.Will Team USA coalesce into that rarest of things, something that is greater than the sum of its very disparate, rugged parts and emerge in a month as not necessarily the best players in the world but the best team in the world?History tells us that such things are possible.It was so in 1980, when a bunch of no-name American players beat the Russians en route to a gold medal. And it was so in 1996, when a brash group of American NHLers beat some of the greatest players in the history of the game to win the first-ever World Cup of Hockey.But history also tells us such transformations are difficult to achieve, and many teams fall in vain while waiting for that alchemy to take place.How will history judge the U.S. entry at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, which kicks off Sept. 17 in Toronto? Well, thats whats going to make the next month or so such compelling theater. Because there is something that tells us this is going to be one of two things: a face-smashing, bone-jarring success -- or a very ugly trip into chaos.Not a lot of people are going to be picking us to win many games against teams with these high-skilled players, so were going to have to really outwork and really earn every victory, New York Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh?said.McDonagh is one of 14 Team USA players who also went to the Sochi Olympics in 2014 with high hopes, only to crumble late, failing to score a single goal in tournament-ending losses to Canada in the semifinals and to Finland in the bronze-medal game.What was to have been a steppingstone to greatness after the Americans earned a silver in Vancouver four years earlier, after losing in overtime in the gold-medal game to host Canada, ended with more than a little finger pointing and acrimony in Russia.I think the feeling in the locker room was we were all pretty embarrassed and upset about the result, McDonagh said. I dont think Ive heard anybody talk about that [bronze-medal] game, but you bring it up, you ask me, but I can remember that feeling, and if you asked anybody else, if they can remember that feeling, we definitely dont want to repeat that.McDonagh said he doesnt think what transpired in Sochi needs to be dredged up as motivation for this version of Team USA. But what happened there, the failure of the team to rally itself, to truly forge an identity that could carry it through the crucial moments of a tournament that was theirs for the taking, is a strong backstory to this World Cup team.I dont have a ton of regrets in my career, but to not have that group take advantage of that opportunity really still stings, and you want that back, Boston Bruins center David Backes?said. Backes was part of the silver-medal effort in Vancouver and was part of the leadership core in Sochi. Losing 1-0 to Canada in one of the fastest games youll ever see wasnt necessarily the defining moment for the 14 team, but not bouncing back was especially galling.To still have a chance against Finland to win a medal and to squander that, I think that really stings as well, Backes said.And so GM Dean Lombardi and his management team went off script to build the 16 version of Team USA.In all, nine players played on the 2010 silver-medal team, including Jack Johnson, Erik Johnson and Brandon Dubinsky, who werent in Sochi. The plan was simple: Bring in players who can bond immediately and who thrive in the dirty areas of the ice, who can win a street brawl in the tighter quarters of an NHL rink like the Air Canada Centre, and who will accept their roles without hesitation, without question.Zach Parise, the captain of the American team in Sochi, acknowledged there are lots of questions about the roster of the current U.S. squad.Im sure everyones got their opinions, Parise said recently. But I think its going to be a team thats hard to play against, and playing on an NHL rink with that style of team, I think that they did a lot research into that. I think you have guys that are very hard to play against. I think its going to be a good team.Throw into the equation the uncertainty over the future of NHL participation in the Olympics, and you add another layer of urgency for much of this team. Defenseman and two-time Olympian Ryan Suter is 31. His pal and Minnesota Wild teammate Parise is 32. Backes is 32, and?Ryan Kesler will turn 32 a couple of days before training camp starts.If the NHL does not return to the Olympics, the World Cup represents the only best-on-best tournament available to the worlds best players. And given the International Olympic Committees stance that they will no longer pay for professional athletes travel, insurance and other expenses as they have since the NHL first started playing in the Olympics in 1998, a return to the Winter Olympics seems doubtful.Given the emergence of a plethora of top-end young American talent in Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel, Brandon Saad and Johnny Gaudreau, all of whom will play on Team North America in the World Cup and would seem to be locks for a U.S. team down the road, its easy to suggest this is the last, best chance for this group of American players to lay claim to being the best in the world.The World Cups not going to erase what happened in Russia by any means, but at the same time it would be a better way to go out, Parise said. Not that were all riding off into the sunset right now.The topic of urgency and taking advantage of opportunities like the World Cup was a recurring theme for Team USA players, especially those who spent the offseason in Minnesota.You only get so many opportunities like this to make a name for yourself and make yourself on top of the world, so to speak, McDonagh said. And I think our group is really trying to take that to heart and understand that its a fine line between winning. But if you can get everybody on the same page and really pushing for one another and not worrying whos in certain situations and just go out there and play hard against your opponent and play hard for your country and that jersey, I think weve got the group to do it and do whatever we want to accomplish.Backes put it more succinctly.I think the way USA Hockey is trending, theres a lot of great players that are coming up, and you never know when someones going to kick you out of your spot, he said.This last-chance mentality is something management is counting on while helping this team focus on the here and now to come together in rapid fashion.I think if you look that far in advance, youre short-sighting what you have in front of you, and thats at the forefront for me, Backes said. Make each opportunity, make the most of it, and we wont have regrets and look in the mirror and say, I wish I would have, like perhaps what were doing with Sochi and the opportunities that we had there. Thats the way Im looking at it. Im grateful and humbled by another experience to represent my country at an elite level, and I take great pride in having that opportunity.In some ways, the story of the building of this U.S. team has been the story of who wasnt asked to take part. Former Olympians Justin Faulk, Kevin Shattenkirk, Phil Kessel and Paul Martin werent invited. Neither was dynamic young Tampa Bay Lightning center Tyler Johnson. Or Kyle Okposo.They may be difficult to play against, but they may be lacking some speed and finish, one scout said of the roster. In a short tournament like this, goaltending will be key.And if the team flounders, the recriminations will be swift and strong. But not everyone is pessimistic about how things might unfold in Toronto.I think its a heck of a team, said longtime NHLer and national broadcast analyst Darren Pang.He noted that GM Lombardi has built two Stanley Cup winners for the Los Angeles Kings. He knows the types of players who will rise to the occasion in big games, in difficult times, and he knows players who will shrink away from those challenges, Pang said.You ever watch Dubinsky play in hard games, big games? asked Pang, who will provide analysis for ESPN during the tournament. Hes ferocious.He noted Justin Abdelkaders hard-nosed play at the World Championships a couple of years back.Theres some meat and potatoes in this group, Pang added.Hall of Famer Brett Hull, a member of the seminal 1996 U.S. World Cup of Hockey team, has a different take.Hull, who also is providing analysis for ESPN during the tournament, said recently, They put people in charge, and its their team. It really doesnt matter what I think or what anybody else thinks, its what they think, and they obviously think theyve picked a real strong team.If thats what theyre looking for and thats the style theyre going to play, then they probably picked the right guys.And so the journey begins for this group of players with so much to prove. And I wonder, when it ends, will we call them a team or something else? Cheap Vapormax Shoes . LOUIS -- Mike Smith is used to facing plenty of shots, so this was nothing new. Cheap Vapormax China . On Saturday night, the normally free throw-challenged centre did just that. Howard scored 18 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, including 13 of 19 free throws in a 2 1/2-minute stretch, and the Houston Rockets beat the Denver Nuggets 122-111. http://www.vapormaxcheap.us/ . After Mondays hard-fought loss, the wait seemed longer than usual. Getting set to go their separate ways for a short Christmas break, the Raptors coach credited his team for their effort on a seemingly impossible three-game road trip, urging them to build on that success when they get back to work at the end of the week. Wholesale Air Max . -- There were so many positives from the Orlando Magics first victory of the season that it was hard for coach Jacque Vaughn to stop praising his players. Cheap Nike Shoes China .C. -- Chris Thorburn thinks one of the reasons the Winnipeg Jets have been successful under new coach Paul Maurice is that theyre playing together as a team. The oddest thing about the first half of the 2016 college football season is that so little odd happened at the top. Alabama? Ohio State? Clemson? Michigan? All predicted to be at the top before the season, all still undefeated. Washington, everyones favorite preseason dark horse, has more than fulfilled the faith of the smart guys. There remains room for surprise at the top of several division races. At this point, whoever wins the Pac-12 South, the SEC East or the ACC Coastal will be a surprise. And as dominant as the five programs mentioned above have been, history tells us that the Ohio State-Michigan loser wont be the only one to stumble.1. Quarterbacks are arriving onto college campuses more prepared to play than ever, and the top 10 is full of teams with quarterbacks in their first or second year. Two of the top contenders in the Heisman race are sophomores Lamar Jackson of Louisville and Jake Browning of Washington. Redshirt freshman Alex Hornibrook provided a spark for Wisconsin, and Deondre Francois has played well for Florida State. The biggest surprise has been the ease with which freshman Jalen Hurts has taken over the Alabama offense. He has a presence, and Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin has put Hurts in position to succeed.2. Coaching candidates for the College Football Hall of Fame must have a career winning percentage of .600 over at least 10 years. It is the essence of the Bill Parcells axiom that you are what your record says you are. Purdues decision Sunday to fire Darrell Hazell, who went 9-33 in three-plus seasons, made me think again about Joe Tiller, the only coach to win even a share of the Big Ten at Purdue since 1967. Tiller went 126-92-1 (.578) at Wyoming (1991-96) and at Purdue (1997-2008). He went 87-62 (.584), an average of 7-5, at Purdue. Anywhere else, meh. With the Boilermakers, very good. Tiller is a good example of why the Hall of Fame should grade candidates on a curve.3. Ohio State won its 20th consecutive road game by beating Wisconsin on the same day that Kansas lost its 38th consecutive road game, an FBS record. But lets talk about the Buckeyes remarkable streak. It includes only three games against nonleague opponents (bowl games not included): California in 2013, Virginia Tech in 2015 and Oklahoma this year. It might be harder to maintain a road winning streak against conference foes that know your tendencies. And Ohio State is more willing to go on the road than most SEC teams. But it would be even more impressive if the Buckeyes streak included more nonleague road games. Home-and-home deals among the Power 5 are becoming an artifact.4. If this isnt a first, it hasnt happened in a long time. Stanfford senior field goal kicker Conrad Ukropina has made 7-of-10 field goal attempts this season, and all three misses have hit the left upright.dddddddddddd The 45-yarder that Ukropina missed on the Cardinals opening drive at Notre Dame on Saturday night bounced off the top of the upright, a good reminder that the ball must sail inside the uprights and the imaginary lines that extend upward from them. Ukropina made 18-of-20 field goal attempts last season, including the buzzer-beater that beat Notre Dame, 38-36. On an offense that scored only on a fumble recovery in the end zone against the Irish, Ukropina is critical to Stanfords hope of salvaging this season.5. The ever-conspiratorial fans of the SEC believe its no accident that the member which is closest geographically to the league office in Birmingham is the University of Alabama. And Crimson Tide fans are just as sure to bet that the league is biased against their team in the way it schedules games. The fans might have a greater case. As our Stats & Info data miners say, Texas A&M is the 28th opponent in Nick Sabans 10 seasons in Tuscaloosa to have an idle week before playing the Tide. No other SEC team in that period has had more than 16.6. Two weeks from the College Football Playoff Selection Committees first ratings, the last two unbeaten Group of 5 teams, the Boise State Broncos of the Mountain West and the Western Michigan Broncos of the MAC, look like dual Cinderellas. Both teams have two Power 5 victories, Washington State and Oregon State for the former; Northwestern and Illinois for the latter. Boise State (6-0), which never trailed this year until Colorado State went up 3-0 on Saturday, will have an edge in schedule strength once it plays BYU on Thursday night. WMUs (7-0) efficiency will appeal to the committees veteran coaches. The eastern Broncos didnt commit their first turnover until Saturday.7. Every year there is a coordinator or two demoted or fired at midseason. Two coaches this season are showing those setbacks are not permanent. Dino Babers, who had the offense taken from him at Texas A&M in 2001, is the first-year head coach at Syracuse, which knocked Virginia Tech out of the top 25, 31-17, Saturday. Manny Diaz, fired as defensive coordinator at Texas in mid-2013, has the same job this season under Mark Richt at Miami, which is giving up only 14 points per game. It took Babers eight years to become a coordinator again; Diaz went from Texas to Louisiana Tech. Both men understood that everyone in coaching gets knocked down. The trick is getting back up. ' ' '