Die Nacktbar » he was crazy. Seitzer said

DENVER -- Semyon Varlamov celebrated his new contract with another stellar performance in net. Varlamov had 35 saves, John Mitchell had a goal and an assist and the Colorado Avalanche edged the Minnesota Wild 5-4 on Thursday night. Matt Duchene had two assists for Colorado, which survived a flurry at the end to get the victory. Ryan OReilly, Paul Stastny, Nathan MacKinnon and Maxime Talbot also scored. It was quite a day for the 25-year-old Varlamov, who also finalized a five-year extension with Colorado that runs through the 2018-19 season. "It was a big day for us. Im sure its a great day for Varly as well," first-year coach Patrick Roy said. "He certainly deserved that contract. Were very happy its a done deal." The Avalanche acquired Varlamov from Washington in July 2011, and the Russian turned in a pair of inconsistent seasons under former coach Joe Sacco. He has flourished under the tutelage of Roy, a Hall of Fame goalie, and goaltender coach Francois Allaire, improving to 27-9-5 with Thursdays win. "Thank God the right people came to the team during the summer," Varlamov said. "Patrick, and especially Francois Allaire. Those guys helped me a lot. They changed my game." Colorado needed every bit of Varlamovs talent against Minnesota. He helped the Avalanche win the season series 4-0-1 and move nine points ahead of the Wild in the Central Division. Colorado has a firm grasp on third place and the final automatic playoff seed in the division. "It was a big game for us. We have three games in hand and were up (nine) points in the standings," Duchene said. "That puts us well ahead and we just have to keep taking care of business." Zach Parise had two goals and two assists and Mikael Granlund and Jason Pominville also scored for Minnesota, which went 9-4-1 in January to get into the thick of the post-season race. The Avalanche used a big second period to help cool off the Wild. Mitchell broke a 1-1 tie with his sixth goal of the season at 1:43. Stastny scored his 16th of the season on a rebound midway through the period, and Talbot used the stick of Wild centre Kyle Brodziak to make it 4-1 at 15:26. Brodziak had gathered a rebound in front of goalie Darcy Kuemper when Talbot came in from behind and hit the centres stick to put the puck in the net. "We were so good the first two periods," Roy said. "Offensively this is the best Ive seen our team play. We were cycling the puck, moving it quick. We had tons of chances." A minute later, Niklas Backstrom replaced Kuemper, who had 19 saves. "I let him know it wasnt him," Wild coach Mike Yeo said. "I did it to try to change the momentum at that point." "Kuemper played a pretty good game even though he got pulled. He made some amazing saves on us," Duchene said. "It could have been 6-, 7-1 if not for him." Backstrom had nine stops the rest of the way, giving the Wild a chance to get back into it. Parises goal at 7:47 of the third made it 4-2. He then assisted on Granlunds goal at 12:51 that made it a one-score game. MacKinnon appeared to seal the win with his 19th of the season at 17:35 but Pominville scored 11 seconds later. Backstrom went off for an extra skater with 1:07 left but the Wild couldnt get the equalizer. "When you get behind the 8-ball like we did, its tough to get back," Pominville said. "They are a good team for a reason." Colorado took a 1-0 lead on OReillys 20th of the season at 4:41 of the first and Parise tied in on the power play 1:35 later. The Avalanche had three power-play chances to break the tie in the first but couldnt capitalize. Brodziak nearly scored a short-handed goal but Varlamov made a save on the odd-man rush. NOTES: Stastny left in the third period with a leg injury and did not return. ... Avalanche RW P.A. Parenteau was a healthy scratch for the second straight game. Parenteau played in three games after missing 10 with a sprained left knee. ... Wild D Jared Spurgeon skated with the team Thursday. He has been on injured reserve since Jan. 4 with a foot injury. Cheap Browns Jerseys Authentic . -- LeBron James warned the Orlando Magic to stop double-teaming him and ignoring James Jones. Browns Jerseys China . The Australian is competing in his final season in Formula One and still looking for his first win this year. He will look to end Vettels run of six straight race wins on Sunday. Webber, who is fifth in the championship, earned his second pole from the past three races and 13th of his career. http://www.cheapbrownsjerseysauthentic.com/ . -- The Anaheim Ducks have signed left wing Dany Heatley to a one-year deal, returning the 33-year-old unrestricted free agent to the Pacific Division. Cheap Browns Jerseys . After rookie right-hander Alex Colome excelled in a 5-2 victory in the opener, the Rays fell to Chris Tillman and the Orioles 4-1 on Friday night. Wholesale Cleveland Browns Jerseys . Gaborik was acquired in a trade with Columbus on Wednesday and skated on the top line with centre Anze Kopitar and right-winger Justin Williams. "We created some things," said Gaborik, who logged 16:38 of ice time.BALTIMORE – Kevin Seitzer does not have a doctorate in psychology and the Blue Jays recent offensive slump has him wishing he did. "Now would be a good time to have one," Seitzer joked to TSN.ca before Friday nights game against the Orioles. Its been a tough week. Entering Fridays action, the Blue Jays had lost five of their last six games, scoring a total of eight runs in that span. Baseballs leader with 91 home runs as a team, Toronto didnt hit any in the five defeats. The frustration is mounting, not that Seitzer needed anyone to point it out. "Its mental, emotional stuff," said Seitzer. "We were having so much fun and playing so well that when you hit a little bump in the road nobody likes it. When you dont like it you get mad and when you get mad after an at-bat and you go up for your next at-bat and it doesnt work out the way you want then you get more mad." Now is the time Seitzer gets away from swing-tweaking and mechanical suggestions. He becomes more a mental coach, inviting his group to take a seat on the proverbial couch. "I said, I want you guys to stay aggressive. I want you to compete your butt off on every at-bat but keep the emotions out of it," said Seitzer. "Weve got to keep the emotions in check. Understand that umpires are going to make bad calls you dont like, pitchers are going to hit spots that theyre not used to hitting consistently, were going to go through a little phase where we get painted up a little bit with guys who arent used to doing that." Hes talking about a guy like Minnesotas Kevin Correia, who entered Tuesday nights start with an ERA above six but shut the Jays offence down over six innings. Hes talking about a guy like Jaime Garcia of the Cardinals, who baffled Toronto over seven innings last Sunday. Garcia has a pedigree but is only recently returned from a year-long layoff following complicated shoulder surgery. Young Orioles fireballer Kevin Gausman held Toronto to a run over six innings on Thursday but Seitzer felt his offence had its best outing in a week. Gausmans fastball tops out at 98 miles per hour; he has a nasty splitter and a tough slider and hes learned a changeup, an effective weapon to keep hitters off balance. Seitzer liked, despite Gausmans relative dominance, his pitch count hitting 100 in the sixth inning, which forced him from the game. Theres also been some griping about recent umpires strike zones. Players have done a good job of not embarrassing the men in blue, quietly voicing displeasure without causing a scene. Seitzer had a way of handling such situations when he played. "Dont show them up, dont show body language, dont get them all mad but you have to let them know that you know that pitch was outside," said Seitzer.dddddddddddd If Seitzer felt a called strike was a few inches off the plate, hed murmur as much to the umpire. A third baseman and first baseman in his playing days, Seitzer often would speak to the same umpire the next day and would receive admissions of missed calls. He said the conversations often helped to develop friendships with the umpires. One thing he doesnt want his pupils doing: going out of the strike zone because the umpire has a wide one. "The thing Im telling the guys is you cant change your zone," said Seitzer. "You dont want to expand because once you start expanding a little bit then youll expand more. You dont even want to deal with those pitches until two strikes when youre battling and protecting but I dont want you protecting four inches off the plate even with two strikes because, number one, you probably will miss it and number two, if you do put it in play youre going to be out because itll be softly hit." Seitzers ability to relate to hitters is, in part, a result of the experiences he had during his own career. In 1993, following his release by Oakland, Seitzer returned for a second stint with the Milwaukee Brewers. He made a decision. As an experiment, he would no longer allow himself to be affected by negative thoughts. If he went 0-for-5 in a game, hed arrive at the park the next day repeating to himself Youre hot, youre hot until he was convinced the previous nights donut was an aberration. There were times when his hitting coach thought he was crazy. Seitzer said he never went into a prolonged slump in either 1994 or 1995 and in those two seasons he posted OPSs of .828 and .815. Reflecting, Seitzer said his mental experiment laid the groundwork for his future career in coaching although he didnt know it at the time. Hed like Jays hitters to apply his theory. "We have to let that transition again back to the good," said Seitzer. "I said dont fight, dont force, dont try and do too much and dont get mad about it and just keep competing; compete each at-bat." Despite the recent team-wide slump, Toronto continues to lead baseball with 91 home runs (Colorado is second with 84) and is second in OPS (.769). Blips happen. The statistics suggest the Blue Jays will come around. A tough week doesnt negate a strong two-month stretch. "Ill admit I was extremely spoiled rotten watching this offence go night after night," said Seitzer. "Hopefully we can get this sucker turned around quick." ' ' '