Broken Wings » Shannon Scott had 13 and Amir Williams chipped

When you grew up in Ottawa, back in the days before the Sens, you really had just two choices when it came to NHL teams to cheer for: the Habs and the Leafs. If I could afford a therapist, I imagine the good doctor would tell be that my affection for the Leafs was part of an ongoing and pathological need to be alone and unhappy. Though, quite simply, its more likely that its because thats what was on local TV in Ottawa. I admit I could be wrong. I dont have a PhD. Thats right. I was a Leafs fan. I had a Leafs sweater that I slept in, that my dad bought me after some endless whining in the aisles of a Canadian Tire. An Allan Bester poster hung above my bed. I wore number 9 in Little League because of Russ Courtnall, and I may have cried when he was traded to the dreaded Habs for John Kordic. My parents werent sports fans, but they let me bring an old black and white TV into my room to watch Hockey Night in Canada, to fall asleep to the third period charms of Bob Cole and Harry Neale. I cant often remember my postal code, or where I lived in 2009, or the name of that girl, but I easily recall the names of Dale Degray, Peter Ing, Brad Smith, Ken Yaremchuk, and Dan Daoust, forgettable Leafs from a forgettable era.The arrival of the Ottawa Senators coincided with the arrival of my first love. Well, the first reciprocated love. Fittingly I used this sea change to shift my affections to the Sens, whose losing was familiar but who provided a new hope, a virginal slate upon which to build a new love. The Sens got better, but love did not. Like it tends to, it left, mostly my doing, as I had found affections for all sorts of other things one does as they enter their 20s.The Sens and I remained true to each other, even though I carried the relationship. I lived in Vancouver for a few years, but never felt any connection to the Canucks, nor for any West coast girl. Well, there was one girl, but she left me for my best friend. In that manner, she was not unlike the Sens. All kinds of promise, ending in sure disappointment; the better looking, more mature Leafs beating the Sens in the playoffs year after year.With both the Sens and the Leafs the pain was the same: expectations were crushed by reality. No matter what I did, season after season they hurt me. They left me alone in June, as other teams and their fans moved on to full playoff beards, Cup parades, and what I can only assume is happiness.Years passed. I moved back to Ottawa. I watched hockey less. I dated seldom. I grew a playoff beard in January. My mother worried. She had nightmares that I was floating through life without RRSPs, without a mortgage, without a wife, and without kids. My dad seemed to understand, even though he wasnt much for hockey. I moved to Costa Rica. My beard got longer. My tan was superb. Televised hockey was difficult to find. Beer was cheap. There was no fear of commitment, because everyone was transient, moving on, moving forward, or at least sideways.But the rains came and I returned to Canada, but this time to Montreal, a city that truly appreciates the loveless. A city where the bars are open late, and life exists only in the present. And I found myself watching hockey again, with people who didnt know about my past, about the Leafs and the Sens, who didnt know of my failings in my mothers eyes. And I found myself cheering for the Montreal Canadiens, the longtime enemy of both the Leafs and the Sens. Outwardly I was a fan, but inside I was in turmoil. I felt like I was cheating on myself, as if I was committing hockey adultery, even though I was single and every team I ever loved sucked.And then came 2010. And a magical run through to the Conference Finals. And Halak signs. And PK Subban. And overtime wins. And there was a girl. A girl I loved. And for a brief moment I thought about breeding, about ceremony, pageantry, making my mum happy, a parade down Ste. Catherine, about my dad in a tuxedo, about rings.But, as hockey and love have taught me, all good things end in horrible, crushing, debilitating disappointment sometime in June. The Habs lost to the Flyers, and someone else won the Cup, and Halak was traded, and the girl left because I was afraid she might not, and summer arrived with condolence beers and late nights on terrasses and waiting for next year. Always next year. My mum didnt say anything, but I could see her deleting imaginary grandchildren in her mind, and transferring familial hope to my sister and her young family.And life went on. Seasons changed, both on the calendar and the NHL schedule. I still rocked a playoff beard, out of both laziness and hope, so Id be prepared in case of victory. The Habs sunk back to middle-of-the-pack mediocrity. The Leafs and the Sens lived in that same ether. My mum would send me promotional materials for post-graduate programs and ask how my married friends were doing. My dads tuxedo remained in the back of his closet, dry-cleaned and at the ready. I still watched Habs games, but my interest has waned, my commitment faltered.Then, two weekends ago, I was having a few adult beverages and watching the Sens and Habs battling each other in an important late-season game. It was like watching the past fight for your affections. With just under four minutes left, it looked like the Sens had the game won. But the Habs scored once, twice, and a third time with only .3 seconds left to tie it, before winning it in overtime.So buoyed by the victory, and spirited by the spirits, I headed out to the local to meet a friend and celebrate the victory. And in the back of the bar, a bar cheered by the win and the hour, was the girl from 2010. And we talked for a bit. And she asked about my folks. And we smiled when youre supposed to smile. And we spoke longingly about spring coming. And after a silence, and a pause, she had to leave, and as she did she looked back and said, "Maybe Ill see you soon." Maybe. And maybe the Habs will make a run, and my mum will stop worrying about matrimony, and my dads tuxedo will be content in its stasis, and maybe I will see her soon. That wouldnt be so bad. Better than being a Leafs fan. Leonard Fournette Jersey . 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. Marqise Lee Youth Jersey . -- Two-time AL Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana agreed Tuesday to a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles as he tries to come back from the second major operation on his left shoulder. http://www.officialjacksonvillejaguarspro.com/Telvin-smith-jaguars-jersey/ . Or take a relaxing vacation somewhere warm. Brayden Schenn and Scott Hartnell scored, Ray Emery stopped 32 shots and the Flyers beat the Calgary Flames 2-1 on Saturday for their fourth straight victory. Josh Allen Jaguars Jersey . Paul, MN (SportsNetwork. Gardner Minshew II Youth Jersey . It was the most lopsided loss in Lakers history. Darren Collison had a team-high 24 points while starting at shooting guard for the injured Jamal Crawford. Chris Paul added 13 points and 11 assists for the Clippers, who apparently are trying to make up for decades of humiliation at the hands of the Lakers all in one season; theyve won the last two meetings by a combined 84 points.COLUMBUS, Ohio -- It was the substitutes turn to step into the spotlight for No. 3 Ohio State. Amedeo Della Valle had 15 points, Marc Loving scored a career-high 13 and the bench provided 38 points as the Buckeyes sprinted past Nebraska 84-53 on Saturday. "We just try to bring a lot of energy," said Loving, a freshman forward. "We feel like our energy off the bench can affect the game in a major way, whether its scoring or rebounding or, like today, Amedeo had a lot of deflections on defence. That added a little extra spark to the game and really got us going." Coach Thad Matta has had several teams that he seldom relied on more than six or seven players. This year he has gone with nine players, all of whom have contributed. "I like this group," Matta said of his second unit. "Because the big thing that you want as a coach is guys to understand what theyre supposed to do when they go in. I think they saw today that maybe we werent as focused as we needed to be in a couple of areas and they brought that to the table." The starters also carried their end of the load. LaQuinton Ross scored 11 points, including two critical 3-pointers as the Buckeyes (15-0, 2-0 Big Ten) pulled away early in the second half. Shannon Scott had 13 and Amir Williams chipped in with 10 points for Ohio State, which shot 54 per cent from the field (27 of 50) and 47 per cent on 3-pointers (9 of 19). A blend of starters and bench players fueled a 7-0 run to close out the half that gave the Buckeyes a 10-point lead. After the lead had swelled, Nebraska (8-6, 0-2) failed to hit a field goal over the last 8 minutes. Della Valle, a native of Italy, helped turn the tide in the final 100 seconds of the first half with a tip-in. He also made plays that led to turnovers as the Buckeyes pulled away. Shavon Shields slashed across the lane and tossed up a shot that cut Ohio States lead to 33-30 with 2:29 remaining. But the Buckeyes defence turned up the pressure. Aaron Craft got things going with a 3 from the right wing at the 1:17 mark -- his first made 3-pointer inn four games -- before Scotts deflection and steal led to Della Valle tipping in Scotts missed layup.dddddddddddd Ohio State blocked Nebraskas final two shots of the half -- both by David Rivers -- with Trey McDonald batting away the first and Sam Thompson the second. Thompson was then fouled with 2.7 seconds left and hit both free throws to make it 40-30. "I think it was huge going into the half knowing we had a 10-point lead, especially playing the last 4 minutes with that energy compared to the first 4 or 5 minutes (of the game) when we didnt have that energy," he said. "And that led to a great start of the second half." The Buckeyes, leading the Big Ten in scoring defence at 55.1 points a game, limited the Cornhuskers to 38 per cent shooting from the field (21 of 56) while forcing 17 turnovers. Terran Petteway scored 15 points and Leslee Smith had 11 for the Cornhuskers, who have lost 20 consecutive road games to ranked teams since beating No. 22 Texas A&M on Feb. 23, 2008. "I thought Ohio State came out with better pace on offence in the second half," Nebraska coach Tim Miles said. "(Ross) made the consecutive 3s. When we let them go 9 for 19 from 3, youve got a problem on your hands with Ohio State." It was a last tuneup before the biggest test of the season for the Buckeyes, at No. 5 Michigan State on Tuesday night. "Collectively we have a very good mindset going into our next game," Loving said. "Michigan States a very tough team." Matta said he was pleased that the Buckeyes had opened with two victories in the Big Ten to add lustre to the showdown. They won 78-69 before a loud, hostile crowd at Purdue on Tuesday. "Most importantly, we took care of what we needed to do," Matta said. "Tuesdays environment over there in West Lafayette was probably very, very similar to what were going to see on Tuesday night (at Michigan State). Our guys have a great appreciation for how good Michigan State is. Weve got a couple of days here where we have to get ourselves ready." ' ' '