TORONTO – Phil Kessel didnt quite know how to react when John Scott, a man looming eight inches higher with 60 pounds of extra weight, whispered the words of challenge as the two lined up at centre ice. “He said he was going to jump me,” said Kessel, still befuddled by the surprise attack afterward. “Hes a big boy so if hes coming after me what am I going to do?” The attack on Kessel lit the fuse of a costly exhibition melee between the Leafs and Sabres that was both bizarre and shocking for the events that littered its record, including an impending 10-game suspension to David Clarkson and possible discipline for Kessel. “Obviously were not proud or happy of what went on, thats for sure,” Randy Carlyle observed shortly after the simmering had ceased. The story begins with a goal. A third round selection of the Sabres in 2007, Corey Tropp had redirected an effort from the point by Jamie McBain, one that beat Jonathan Bernier and cut the Toronto lead to one midway through the third period. Lining up at centre ice seconds after his first marker of the preseason, Tropp takes a tug at the sweater of Jamie Devane, a player looming high above weight class. The pair exchange a series of awkward fisticuffs, capped by Tropp losing his bucket, his head landing square on the ice with an alarming thud. Derek Nansen, the linesman on scene, senses danger and waves his right hand immediately for help. Tropp is then aided off the ice by teammates and trainers. Standing in the home penalty box is Devane, his glove tapping repeatedly against the glass in deference to his defeated counterpart. Blood is chipped off the ice during the television timeout and order is seemingly restored. Lingering near the Toronto bench though at left wing for Buffalo is Scott, he of 63 career fights, the 30-year-old with plans on redeeming his fallen teammate. “He has his reasons obviously,” Carlyle bemoaned of Scotts decision to jump Kessel. “He didnt explain them to me.” Hoping to diffuse the potentially meddlesome situation before it began, Carlyle keeps 6-foot-5 Troy Bodie on the bench, opting instead for the trio of Tyler Bozak, Carter Ashton, and Kessel. Its a choice hed like to have back. “Obviously I was wrong,” he said in hindsight of the decision. Madness ensues. Thrusting his hands up at the instant of Scotts throttling, Kessel retreats while furiously swinging his stick at the shins of his attacker. “Well I got to back up right,” Kessel noted afterward. “What is he? 6-7? 6-8?” Hurtling in to their stars rescue are Ashton and T.J. Brennan, the pair using all their might to restrain the Buffalo giant. “Weve got 20 guys that are going to back Phil up,” Ashton claimed. “When we see someone go after him were going to do our best to get in as quick as we can.” Distracted by the sheer lunacy of the moment, Carlyle fails to notice Clarkson, the clubs prized offseason acquisition, leaping off the bench and into the craziness. Its yet another decision that will prove haunting. “What happened is everybody was glued on the Scott attack on Phil Kessel,” Carlyle said, “everyones attention was drawn to that and next thing you know all mayhem broke out.” For his actions Clarkson will receive an automatic 10-game suspension, the outset of his Toronto thrust into a cloud while depleting the Leafs lineup for a stretch of three weeks. “I think David Clarkson made a mistake,” Carlyle said, “and now we pay for it.” With Clarkson wrestling with Scott, Kessel has, in the meantime, tangled with Brian Flynn and bloodied him. His linemate, Bozak, has engaged with Chad Ruhwedel, thrust around with little control. Their rookie teammate and potential dark horse on the blue line, Andrew MacWilliam, has knotted with longtime Marlie Mike Zigomanis, now a member of the Buffalo organization. Twirling around the ice as the chaos clears, Kessel receives a round of cheers from his teammates on the bench. He takes a further jab at the midsection of Scott, enraging the St. Catharines native as linesman Tim Nowak attempts to restrain him. “We didnt dress anybody that can match up against him,” Carlyle said of Scott, though Bodie would have proved his best option with Colton Orr and Frazer McLaren injured and out of the lineup. “If they want to use that as their criteria then maybe Scott shouldnt get on the ice at all because I dont know if theres anybody in the league thats that big.” Amped by the proceedings, Bernier decides its his turn to wade into the action. Gliding past centre-ice, he engages the Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller, a curious decision considering the risk for injury in this, the exhibition season. “I saw everyone on the ice so I just felt that I wanted to step up for my teammates,” Bernier said. “I asked him if he wanted to go. I dont think he actually wanted to go, but thats the way it goes. Thats the hockey game. You get hyper and energy and I wanted to defend my teammates.” For their efforts, the Leafs are handed 107 minutes of penalties, including five fighting majors, four 10-minute misconducts, a game misconduct, 10 minutes to Clarkson for leaving the bench and a match penalty to Kessel for his attempts to injure Scott. All told the night will prove quite damaging to the Leafs. Clarkson wont be eligible to make his Leafs debut until Oct. 25 when his team visits the Columbus Blue Jackets. Kessel too, could face additional discipline. According to the NHL rulebook, a player handed a match penalty “shall be automatically suspended from further competition until the Commissioner has ruled on the issue”. Without Clarkson in their top-six for most of October, the need for an offensive flair would seem to increase, Mason Raymond – on a professional tryout – perhaps valued even further with the regular season nearly a week away. Additional opportunity would now seem likely for a player like Ashton, who made an impression over the weekend against Buffalo, adding two assists to his resume on Sunday. Clarksons contract also continues to count against the cap, squeezing the Leafs further and perhaps even damaging their chances to sign Cody Franson before the season begins. Its adversity before the puck has even dropped. “Were a team and thats the basis of what a team is made out of,” Carlyle said of moving forward without Clarkson. “When you lose an individual, somebody else gets an opportunity to get in line and pull on that rope and thats what were going to look for.” Nike Free 5.0 Womens Cheap . Pena, who turns 32 in January, has played for the Braves, Royals and Tigers during his nine-year career. He joins Ryan Hanigan and Devin Mesoraco on the roster, taking the place of catcher Corky Miller. ... Roshe Run Flyknit Nz . The Flyers enter todays action with a three-point lead over Pittsburgh atop the Atlantic Division with three games remaining for both teams. Philadelphia can secure its first division title since 2004 if it beats the Senators and the Penguins are dealt a loss of any kind tonight against visiting New Jersey. http://... . Clevelands talented catcher signed a five-year, $21 million contract with the Indians, who locked up another "cornerstone" player they believe is only beginning to tap into his potential. [url=http://www.nzfreecheapshoes.com/nike-free/nike-free-3-0-flyknit.html]Nike Free 3.0 Flyknit 2015 . On his first trip back to Lucas Oil Stadium, he and his teammates had an off night. Nike Roshe Run Cheap Nz . Cowen struck Girgensons in the head late in the third period of Ottawas game in Buffalo on Tuesday night. No penalty was called on the play. NASHVILLE -- Dion Dixon and the Cincinnati Bearcats are making it an Ohio party in the NCAA tournament, giving the Buckeye State four teams in the final 16. Next up, the sixth-seeded Bearcats play Ohio State for only the second time since beating the Buckeyes in 1961 and 1962 for back-to-back national championships. Dixon stole the ball and dunked to put Cincinnati ahead for good with 1:32 left, and the Bearcats edged No. 3 seed Florida State 62-56 Sunday night to reach their first regional semifinal in the NCAA tournament since 2001. Cincinnati (26-10) will play No. 2 seed Ohio State in Boston on Thursday night in the East Regional, joining Xavier and Ohio in the second weekend. The Bearcats and Ohio State last played on Dec. 16, 2006, when Ohio State won 72-50 in Indianapolis in the Wooden Tradition. That was the only time the former state rivals have played since Cincinnatis championship game wins. "Its an accomplishment for us considering everything weve been through all year," Dixon said. "To make it to the Sweet 16 is just unreal." Its a game few could have pictured for Cincinnati back in December after trash talking and a brawl capped a 76-53 loss to Xavier that led to suspensions. The Bearcats now have won five of six, reaching their first Big East tournament championship game as well. "We were so far from the NCAA tournament we couldnt see it with binoculars," Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin said. "These guys, theyre prepared to play must-win games because weve been playing them since Dec. 13 at Wright State." Sean Kilpatrick scored 18 points and Dixon finished with 15. Yancy Gates had 10 and JaQuon Parker grabbed 11 rebounds. Florida State (25-10) had its six-game winning streak snapped. The Seminoles won their first Atlantic Coast Conference tournament title this season are heading home short of the NCAA regional semifinal they reached a year ago. "As physical as it was, it got to the point where I mean, I think the refs had to not call a lot of things," Florida State senior Bernard James said. "I dont think we handled that too well, me in particular. I shot a much lower percentage than I normally shoot, especially point-blank jump hooks and layups." Luke Loucks led the Seminoles with 14 points. James and Michael Snaer both scored 11. "They did the little things that gave them the edge to give them the opportunity to win this game," coach Leonard Hamilton said. This game featured 19 lead changes and 11 ties, and neither team led by more than three in the second half until the Bearcats scored seven straight points. Kilpatrick hit a free throw to tie it at 50, then Dixon stole the ball on a careless pass from Loucks in front of the Cincinnati bbench as Florida State tried to bring the ball up court.dddddddddddd Dixon took off and slammed down a dunk to give Cincinnati the lead. "I got a steal, it was just me and the basket," Dixon said. "I saw nobody else, and I went up and dunked it. It kind of sparked us a little bit." Cronin called that the play of the game, with the Bearcats needing every steal possible to combat Florida States size in the paint. "That was a tremendous play on his part, reading the pass and tremendous anticipation," Cronin said. Cashmere Wright hit a jumper, and Gates added two free throws for a 56-50 lead with 35.3 seconds left. The Bearcats sealed it by hitting all eight free throws in the final 35.3 seconds. "After Dion got that dunk, we knew the game would come down to making free throws, so our focus got onto defence and free throws. So I think that enabled us to step up to the line and knock them down," Gates said. The Seminoles led 29-28 at halftime and were up by five in the first half. But a Florida State team that came into the NCAA tournament sixth in Division I holding opponents to 38.1 per cent shooting couldnt stop Cincinnati in the second half. The Bearcats hit 11 of 21 (52.4 per cent) overall and 12 of 13 at the free throw line. Cincinnati had a big edge at the line (19 of 23) overall compared to Florida State (12 of 15). Florida State had trouble holding onto the ball, too, with 13 of its 17 turnovers coming on steals by Cincinnati. The Bearcats turned those into 19 points. Snaer said it was shocking how much the Seminoles struggled to hang onto the ball because the coaches warned them about how Cincinnati likes to pressure and go for steals. They just werent ready for what they encountered on the court. "Some guys didnt know how to handle it, and they got away with some strips," Snaer said. "We just werent concentrating and protecting the ball the way we should have." Cincinnati said before the game that Florida State would fit right in the Big East with its stingy defence, and this game looked just like a conference battle. Florida State last led 50-49 on a pair of free throws by Loucks with 2:09 left after Gates fourth personal foul of the game. Thats when the Bearcats took over. The first half gave a glimpse of what the final 20 minutes would be. Snaer hit back-to-back 3s within the first 3 minutes after the Seminoles leading scorer was shut out in their opening win over St. Bonaventure. Snaer missed on a couple of airballs, but he still had nine points by halftime. Florida State led 26-25 at the break largely thanks to a quick six points keyed by senior Deividas Dulkys. The guard from Lithuania hit a 3-pointer, then had a pair of steals. cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys cheap jerseys cheap jerseys wholesale jerseys Ra... Ramos Jersey ' ' '