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Maple Leafs in Campbell or bust mode as he faces former team and mentor

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TORONTO –Jack Campbell is a heart-on-his-sleeve guy under the most routine circumstances.

If you saw him give the mailman a high-five or feed his Red Lobster leftovers to a stray dog, would you be surprised?

So we can only imagine the emotions he’ll feel Monday night on Sportsnet staring down 200 feet at his mentor, friend and former teammate, Jonathan Quick.

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“That guy means the world to me,” Campbell said Sunday. “I used to watch video of him in Dallas, just studying his game, and I went to Connecticut one summer to train just because he was out there. That was before I ever met him.

“Just the ultimate teammate, ultimate guy to look up to. And we still are boys. We text each other a lot, and I can’t say enough good things about Quickie. He’s a legend, and it’d be pretty awesome to play him.”

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Well, it’s confirmed: Luke Skywalker gets a crack at Obi-Wan Kenobi at Scotiabank Arena, in a duel between two squads riding win streaks of at least four games.

Quick will be in the pipes for L.A. for the Kings’ first Toronto visit since Campbell (plus rental forward Kyle Clifford) was traded here for Trevor Moore and two third-round picks in February 2020.

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Of course, Campbell — set to make a league-leading 11th appearance — gets the start for the Leafs.

He’s the only healthy bona fide NHL goaltender they have available.

Petr Mrazek reinjured his groin and has been set back four weeks.

The pressure all falls on Campbell (6-2-1, .938 save percentage) to not only make big saves but keep healthy for what is setting up to be a hectic November.

This is not going according to plan.

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Trust in third-stringer Michael Hutchinson is wearing thin, and neither prospect Joseph Woll nor Swedish import Erik Källgren has played a single minute in an NHL crease.

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“We like the idea of having the tandem and guys that can work together and we can share that workload a little bit better,” Sheldon Keefe conceded.

“But at the same time, Jack’s in a groove right now. He’s rolling. It’s a positive for him that he can just keep at it and knows he’ll be playing every day.”

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When there is only one option, you have no choice but to spin positive.

Because Campbell is now set to assume a Frederik Andersen-like share of the starts (i.e., everything except back-to-backs), the affable workaholic has been skipping practices with the understanding that breaks can be more important than fine-tuning.

“I’ve learned that, as I’ve gotten older, you got to rest when it’s time,” Campbell explained. “Coach has done a great job of balancing that workload for me. I appreciate everyone looking out for myself and my body.”

And his mind.

Notoriously hard on himself, Campbell never allows blame to rebounds off his pads. He swallows it every time.

The goalie has sought advice of peak performance coach Greg Harden to improve his mental approach to arguably the most intense position in team sports.

Campbell says he’s been kinder to himself, and he’s eased up on the public self-flagellation in his post-game chats with the media.

“Has he to you guys?” Jake Muzzin, another former L.A. King, smiled Monday. “Because every goal that goes in is his fault, apparently — [when he speaks] to us.

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“He’s a tough critic on himself, but we’re there to remind him that he’s not alone. There’s a lot of guys in front of him. Mistakes are made. He’s been playing great — and we’re going to need him to continue playing great.”

That would be an understatement.

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With approximately 14 games to play until Mrazek’s return, it’s imperative Campbell goes easy on himself — because the schedule will not.

“It’s a good quality in that he judges his game harshly and expects a lot out of himself, but as teammates, you remind him it’s a team game,” Jason Spezza said.

“He’s handled it all in stride and found a good routine. It’s demanding. You don’t see a lot of guys carry the workload the way he’s been carrying it now in the league. It speaks to his dedication to get himself ready day in and day out.”

One-Timers: Riding a five-game win streak, the Maple Leafs will roll the same lineup that defeat Boston Saturday. This means Justin Holl will be healthy-scratched for a fifth consecutive game as Timothy Liljegren continues to impress…. Toronto recalled forwards Joey Anderson and Kirill Semyonov from the Marlies. Acquired in a 2020 trade with the Devils that sent Andreas Johnsson the other way, Anderson has played just one game for the Leafs. The undrafted Semyonov, a 27-year-old KHL import, impressed in camp and has nine points through his first nine AHL games…. Woll will back up Campbell and is getting NHL pay this week. That said, we’d be surprised if he gets the start in this weekend’s back-to-back over Michael Hutchinson and Källgren.





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49ers Teammate Has Bold Prediction About Christian McCaffrey’s Season

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(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

 

The San Francisco 49ers remain undefeated after the first month of the regular season.

And while their team is obviously stacked on both sides of the field, star RB Christian McCaffrey has been their best offensive player by a significant margin.

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That’s why OT Trent Williams believes he has a legitimate shot to become the first non-quarterback to win MVP honors since Adrian Peterson did it in 2012, via Around The NFL.

“Hey, all them streaks come to an end eventually, right?” Williams said, via ESPN. “This might be the year. I can see it.”

Peterson needed to rush for more than 2,000 yards to get the nod, and CMC will have plenty of competition, including his own teammate, Brock Purdy, who’s still undefeated as a starter.

It’s hard to ignore McCaffrey’s video-game-like production.

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He had 106 yards on 20 carries and three rush touchdowns, all while hauling in seven passes for 71 receiving yards and another score.

That performance put him right by Jerry Rice as the only player with 150+ scrimmage yards and four+ TD in a game in franchise history.

It was also a career-best performance from a touchdown perspective, and the second-most scrimmage touchdowns in team history.

On top of that, the former Carolina Panther is now the seventh player to score at least one touchdown in 13+ straight games — including playoff — passing Rice for team history.

As of now, he just trails a plethora of legends and Hall of Famers, such as Emmitt Smith (14), O.J. Simpson, John Riggins, and Lenny Moore (15 each).

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As of now, he has the most rushing yards (459) in the league and is tied for most rushing touchdowns as well (six), and has a grand total of 600 scrimmage yards through four games, which is also the highest number in the league.

The post 49ers Teammate Has Bold Prediction About Christian McCaffrey’s Season appeared first on The Cold Wire.





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Disgruntled Harden no-show at 76ers’ media day, training camp status unclear

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CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) — James Harden skipped the Philadelphia 76ers’ media day and his status for training camp this week in Colorado is unclear because the franchise has yet to meet the disgruntled guard’s demand for a trade.

“He’s not here today,” team president Daryl Morey said Monday. “He continues to seek a trade and we’re working with his representation to resolve that in the best way for the 76ers and hopefully all parties.”

Morey said Harden was being treated like any other player on the roster and was expected to attend training camp.

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The 34-year-old Harden’s relationship with the Sixers has been obliterated following an off-season in which he was fined $10,000 for publicly calling Morey a liar. Harden did picked up his $35.6 million contract option this season in June with the expectation the team would try to trade him. When no deal materialized for the seven-time All-NBA player, he blasted Morey at a promotional event in China.

“Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of,” Harden said at the event. “Let me say that again: Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of.”

Harden has been one of the league’s top players for the past decade, having won three scoring titles and the 2018 league MVP award. He led the league in assists last season.

‘He’s on the roster. We’re excited for him to help him if he chooses that,” Morey said.

Harden is a 10-time All-Star but essentially forced his way with trades out of Houston and Brooklyn and now seems intent on adding the Sixers to the list. It appears playing as the second option behind NBA MVP Joel Embiid and chasing a championship in Philly is no longer seriously on the table.

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“We’ll either move James for a player of a calibre that helps our championship contention or for draft picks that will let us go in short order go get a player like that,” Morey said.

Morey said Embiid remained committed to winning a championship in Philadelphia.

“We have to show all the time that we’re putting the team in a great position to win,” Morey said.

The Sixers are set to open camp under new coach Nick Nurse, who was hired to replace Doc Rivers, who never led the Sixers past the second round of the playoffs. Harden’s play last season was a pivotal reason why the Sixers’ championship run stalled.

Harden, acquired at the 2022 trade deadline from Brooklyn for Ben Simmons, scored 45 points in Game 1 and 42 in Game 4 victories against the Boston Celtics. Harden was 0 for 6 on 3s in Game 2 and Game 6 losses. He scored only nine points in Game 7, and he went scoreless in the second half.

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Without Harden, or an able replacement, the Sixers are suddenly well behind in the Eastern Conference after the Milwaukee Bucks added seven-time All-Star Damian Lillard and the Boston Celtics on Sunday pulled off a deal for All-Star guard Jrue Holiday.

The Sixers were set to leave Monday for camp at Colorado State.

“We have a lot of questions,” Morey said. “Obviously, James is the big one.”

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Zach Wilson Took The Blame After Loss To Chiefs

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The New York Jets shockingly had a chance to beat the Kansas City Chiefs in what might’ve been the team’s best performance this season.

Granted that the bar wasn’t that high, but even struggling QB Zach Wilson had perhaps the best game of his young career.

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The Jets rallied back from a 17-0 deficit to a 20-20 tie in the third quarter.

Then, the BYU product fumbled a snap halfway through the final period, which gave the Chiefs a chance to recover the football, score a field goal, and win the game.

That’s why Wilson didn’t hesitate to take full blame and responsibility for the loss, stating that he just cannot make that kind of mistake in such a critical situation, per ProFootballTalk.

“It’s on me,” Wilson said. “Critical situation, I can’t have a play like that. I cannot drop the ball. This team is sacrificing a lot. Guys were making plays, defense was making plays, o-line was protecting, receivers were making plays. To be driving right there, to drop a snap — I cannot do that. I lost us that game and I cannot do that. I was making it clear to those guys that I need to be better. I need to be better on the little things, the details. Can’t happen.”

Wilson vowed to be better and praised his teammates for making plays to keep them in the game.

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Notably, that’s far from what he said last season when asked whether he was letting their defense down, a statement that reportedly granted him some detractors within the locker room.

Clearly, Wilson is now a more mature player and is looking to get better.

Wilson went toe-to-toe with Patrick Mahomes and even had a better game than him, at least statistically speaking.

Of course, moral victories are pretty much usless in the league, but given how things have fared for Robert Saleh’s team this season, they have to feel good about themselves, even despite the loss.

Now, they’ll look to get their second win of the season when they visit the Denver Broncos at Mile High.

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The post Zach Wilson Took The Blame After Loss To Chiefs appeared first on The Cold Wire.





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