Begrüßung » o Team USA. Are the Canucks and Sedins getting any

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The NFL says it is still investigating how the New England Patriots used underinflated balls in their last game but has no conclusions yet and no timetable for resolving the cheating accusations with the Super Bowl nine days away.The league said Friday that evidence shows the Patriots used underinflated footballs during the first half of the AFC championship game Sunday night against the Indianapolis Colts.It issued a statement that the Patriots have pledged full co-operation and have given the league information it requested and made personnel available upon request. Quarterback Tom Brady said Thursday afternoon he had not been contacted at that point.The NFL said it began its investigation Sunday night and expects full co-operation from other clubs. It has hired an investigatory company to help in reviewing electronic and video information.The league said when it is able to come to conclusions, they will be shared publicly.Over the past several days, nearly 40 interviews have been conducted, including of Patriots personnel, game officials, and third parties with relevant information and expertise, the statement said.We have obtained and are continuing to obtain additional information, including video and other electronic information and physical evidence, the statement said.The NFL requires game balls to be inflated to between 12 1/2 and 13 1/2 pounds per square inch.It wants to find out why footballs were underinflated during the first half and whether deliberate action caused it.We have not made any judgments on these points and will not do so until we have concluded our investigation and considered all of the relevant evidence, the league said.The balls were properly inflated for the second half and remained properly inflated after the game, the statement said.The Patriots are preparing to meet the defending champion Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl on Feb. 1 in Glendale, Arizona.Brady and coach Bill Belichick said Thursday they had no explanations for how the footballs were underinflated.I didnt alter the ball in any way, said Brady, who said he likes footballs pumped to the lower limit of 12 1/2 pounds per square inch. I have no knowledge of anything, any wrongdoing.Belichick said that before this week, he didnt give air pressure in footballs much thought.Ive learned a lot more about this process in the last three days than I knew or have talked about it in the last 40 years that Ive coached in this league, he said.Softer balls are generally considered easier to throw and catch, and quarterbacks, specialists and equipment managers are known to have very individualized preferences in how footballs are readied for games. Belichick said he was unaware of the process for game balls until the accusations were raised.Under league rules, each team provides balls for use on offence. Referees approve the balls more than 2 hours before game time, then keep the balls until theyre turned over to ball handlers provided by home teams just before kickoff.The playing rules are intended to protect the fairness and integrity of our games, the NFL said. We take seriously claims that those rules have been violated and will fully investigate this matter without compromise or delay.NFL Executive Vice-President Jeff Pash and Ted Wells of the law firm of Paul Weiss are leading the probe.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL Cheap Sabres Jerseys Authentic .com) - The Toronto Raptors set their sights on a second straight victory with the Oklahoma City Thunder visiting the Air Canada Centre tonight riding a two game streak of their own. Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys . Serves hit by her surgically repaired shoulder often missed the mark, resulting in 12 double-faults. http://www.cheapsabresjerseys.com/. As a follow-up, TSN.ca offers you the opportunity to chime in on all the big issues with our insiders. Read up on all the questions and answers, and put in your own two cents on our popular Your Call feature. Cheap Sabres Jerseys . PETERSBURG, Fla. Cheap Buffalo Sabres Jerseys . Bjoerndalen broke the record he shared with cross-country skiing great Bjoern Daehlie, also matching his fellow Norwegians record of eight gold medals. Bjoerndalen earlier won gold in Sochi in the mens sprint biathlon.TSN Hockey Insiders Bob McKenzie, Pierre LeBrun and Darren Dreger gathered for the latest installment of Insider Trading and the topics discussed were Tim Thomass professional tryout with the Panthers, the status of contract extension talks between the Canucks and the Sedin twins, the Rangers negotiations with Henrik Lundqvist on an extension and restricted free agent Derek Stepan on a new deal, the chances of free agent Brenden Morrow signing with a new team, as well the NHLs new rule that sees a minor penalty given to a player who removes his helmet prior to a fight. Why are the Florida Panthers taking a chance on a 39-year-old Tim Thomas who hasnt played in 17 months? Pierre LeBrun: For Dale Tallon, hes got a young goalie in Jakob Markstrom that struggled at times last season when given the No. 1 mantle. Dale Tallon wants Tim Thomas to come in and be a mentor for Jakob Markstrom just as he was for Tuukka Rask in Boston. Now, hes 39. He hasnt played in a year-and-a-half. All indications are that hes in pretty good shape and hes going to hit the ice for the first time on Tuesday, but its a tryout. If this doesnt work out, there are no strings attached. In the end, this is about Markstrom so that he isnt overwhelmed at being No. 1. Bob McKenzie: This is also about Tim Thomas knowing that theres an Olympics this year. People realize that this is a long shot and he hasnt played in over a year, but just for the record the Team USA had added him to their long list. That didnt just happen today in light of what happened with the Florida Panthers. It was actually done in the summer. David Poile and Team USA are not taking any chances. Tim Thomas is on the long list of players eligible to be named to Team USA. Are the Canucks and Sedins getting any closer on dollar figure and what kind of term that were talking about? What about the Rangers and Henrik Lundqvist? Darren Dreger: Yes, because theyre talking about it on almost a daily basis, so they are inching towards it. J.P. Barry, who represents Daniel and Henrik Sedin, met with Canucks management on Thursday. They talked again on Friday and it was quiet over the weekend. Claes Elefalk, who represents the twins out of Sweden, has made his way over to Canada, so the expectation is that negotiations will continue this week, perhaps, midweek. The tricky part is going to be the term. You know what the dollars are going to be. Certainly, theyre going to get a raise better than their current $6.1 mill. per year, but is it a three-year term, four-year term, five-year term? The Canucks will likely want a lower end term and the players are going to want a four or five-year term. Bob McKenzie: And thats also the thorny issue there could be with Henrik Lundqvist and the New York Rangers. When Henrik Lundqvists current deal expires and hes on an extension, heell be 33-years-old on the first year of that extension.dddddddddddd Do you want to give a 33-year-old goaltender, as good as Henrik Lundqvist is and as much as he means to the New York Rangers, a long term deal or do you want it shorter? Don Meehan, the agent for Henrik Lundqvist, was in Manhattan last week talking with Glen Sather from the New York Rangers. Nobodys sounding any alarm bells, but there is that issue of term. Everybody knows that Lundqvist is going to get north of the $7 mill. a year that Pekka Rinne and Tuukka Rask get, the highest-paid goaltenders in the NHL, but the question is how long is it going to be and how much more than $7 mill.? What about a contract for Derek Stepan while were with the Rangers? Bob McKenzie: Still no word on the restricted free agent. The word out of New York is that not only is he looking for Matt Duchene money, which is a bridge deal of two years and $3.5 mill. per year, the word out of New York is that hes actually looking for somewhere north of $3.5 mill. a year. The Rangers sound like theyre prepared to pay $3 mill. or $3 mill. and change, but right now, there is still a significant distance. With the cap down to $64.3 mill., there are a lot of unrestricted free agents who have been frozen out of this, does Brenden Morrow get a contract? Pierre LeBrun: Ive never been asked on Twitter more about what “PTO” met than whats happening here over the last month. Brenden Morrow doesnt want a PTO. He wants to sign an honest-to-goodness NHL contract, so hes sitting at home, working out and waiting for that. Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are among the contenders that are keeping an eye on Brenden Morrow, but they dont have any cap room to sign him right now, so theyre just waiting to see what transpires. Carolina Hurricanes, with the Kirk Muller-Dallas connection, they also value Brenden Morrow, but again, right now nothing imminent on that front. Theyre going to have to wait and be patient. New rule this year - you cant talk your helmet off for a fight or its an extra two-minute penalty. We saw David Broll and Doug Clarkson get penalized for that, but is there concern that its a meaningless rule? Darren Dreger: A bit toothless, yes, because it makes sense that, if one player removes his helmet, then the other player, who is a willing combatant in this fight, takes his helmet off as well, each player gets a five-minute fighting major and a two-minute minor for removing the helmet and, effectively, its a wash. There are some in the league who wanted it to be an automatic game misconduct or, perhaps, be cumulative, but the players association was