Gäste-Forum » and while they affect perception -- just ask Tyler Bo

SALVADOR, Brazil -- Gianluigi Buffon saved three penalties as an under-strength Italy edged Uruguay 3-2 in a shootout Sunday to secure third place at the Confederations Cup following a 2-2 draw after extra time. Richard Jefferson Jersey . It was a measure of redemption for Italy after a loss to Spain, also in a shootout, in the semifinals. "The main thing tonight was our character. We showed fantastic character. We never gave up," Italy coach Cesare Prandelli said. This shootout capped an entertaining match at the Arena Fonte Nova, where Alessandro Diamanti scored one goal and set up another for Italy and Edinson Cavani equalized twice for Uruguay. Italy defender Davide Astori opened the scoring in the 24th minute after Diamantis free kick rattled the post and Cavani equalized for Uruguay in the 58th with an angled shot. Diamanti restored Italys lead in the 73rd with another free kick that went in directly but not to be outdone Cavani drew Uruguay level again five minutes later with an equally splendid free kick of his own. Uruguay has now lost seven of eight bronze-medal matches at the World Cup, Copa America and Confederations Cup, including a loss to Germany at the 2010 World Cup. This defeat was surprising, considering that Uruguay appeared to be the fresher squad entering the game. "I told my players before the match, Its Italy, boys, so watch out," Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez said. "You cant just go by what you read in the newspapers. Even if they were tired they played a great match. They controlled the ball possession in first half and they made us suffer." For Italy it marked another step forward after finishing runner-up to Spain at last years European Championship. "We still have a long way to go but were on the right road," Prandelli said. In the shootout, the 35-year-old Buffon set the tone by stopping the first shot in the shootout from Diego Forlan, then also saved from Martin Caceres before smothering Walter Garganos effort to end the game. "Today would have been tough if we hadnt had this character," Buffon said. "We showed what were worth down to the end. It would have been upsetting to not win because playing this match two days after the game vs. Spain was very difficult. But we went out with the right spirit." Alberto Aquilani, Stephan El Shaarawy and Emanuele Giaccherini converted for Italy while Mattia De Sciglios shot was blocked by Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera. "Buffon is a great champion. He plays with a kids enthusiasm," Prandelli said. "He was upset the other night because he wasnt able to save a penalty. And he told the squad this morning that if it goes to penalties today, Dont worry Ill take care of it." Italy was without usual starters Mario Balotelli, Andrea Pirlo and a handful of others and ended with 10 men after Riccardo Montolivo picked up his second yellow card in the 110th minute for a foul on Luis Suarez. Uruguay was at full strength, featuring virtually the same lineup from its 2-1 semifinal loss to Brazil. With an added day of rest, Uruguay had its usual strike trio of Forlan, Suarez and Cavani in place. Still, for the first 90 minutes it was a balanced match featuring numerous opportunities for both sides. With Leonardo Bonucci on the bench after missing the key shot in the shootout loss to Spain, Astori saw his first action in the tournament and he quickly took advantage. After hitting the post, Diamantis free kick deflected off the back of Muslera and Astori was waiting for an easy tap in. However, there were doubts over whether the ball had already gone in when Astori touched it. FIFA first awarded the goal to Diamanti then gave it to Astori at halftime -- making it his first goal for Italy, in his fifth appearance. While Italy appeared content to head into the changing room with a one-goal lead, Uruguay came out energized in the second half and Cavani slotted a shot past outstretched Buffon after being set up by Gargano. Diamantis goal, also his first for Italy, came with a curling free kick from 28 metres (yards) over Uruguays wall and into the right corner beyond the reach of diving goalkeeper Fernando Muslera. The lead didnt last long, though, as Cavani then produced a shot over Italys wall that dipped down in under the crossbar with Buffon unable to stop it despite getting his finger tips on it. The two goals gave Cavani 17 in 54 appearances for Uruguay and they also may have boosted his price on the transfer market, as there is speculation he could lead Napoli after leading Italys Serie A with 29 goals last season. In extra time, Uruguay dominated but could not find the target with a series of shots from beyond the area while Italy appeared exhausted. Fortunately for the Italians, Buffon was still alert and made the decisive saves. Kenny Anderson Jersey .com) - Matt Duchene picked up the deciding goal early in the third period and added an assist, as Colorado escaped with a 4-3 victory over Dallas at Pepsi Center. Devin Harris Jersey . It looked like being another miserable day for Moyes when Ashley Westwood put Villa in front from a 13th-minute free kick. But Rooney headed United level seven minutes later, and the striker netted his 16th of the season for the struggling champions from the penalty spot before halftime. https://www.cheapnetsonline.com/ . In the late match, Shinji Okazaki scored two goals to pace Mainz to a 3-2 victory at Werder Bremen. Goals from Milan Badelj, Maximilian Beister and Hakan Calhanoglu ended Hamburgs two-match losing run and kept Hannover winless in seven games.Im going to write in defence of Capitals RW Alex Ovechkin, if only because there have been some recent attacks and, while I can certainly live with them being directed at Ovechkin, the analytical process ought to be better, particularly if its going to be a hit piece on the leagues leading goal-scorer. Yes, Im writing to defend a player that is on pace for a 59-goal season, when the second-best goal-scorer in the NHL this season, Torontos Phil Kessel, is on pace for 43. Naturally, I didnt think that Ovechkin would be a player that needed much defending, but hes taken some hits lately. Im going to largely ignore his contributions on the power play because its not in any dispute that Ovechkin is great with the man advantage and can make a difference even when he doesnt score. On one side of the discussion, we have the Toronto Star, with their Department of Hockey Analytics, and while there are plenty of flaws in Ovechkins game, they somehow determined that his goals-for/against percentage was the way to illustrate the problem. Never mind that goals for/against percentage is essentially measuring plus-minus. Ill get to that in a moment but, first, also peruse the Hockey News piece by Ken Campbell who, after Ovechkin was minus-5 against Columbus, decided that Ovechkin has to decide what kind of player he is. After all, Ovechkin was minus-17 on the season after that game. Whats odd about using plus-minus to denigrate Ovechkins contributions is that anyone doing serious analytical work in hockey has been against using plus-minus because it involves so many factors beyond an individual players control (not least of which are the contributions of nine other skaters and two goaltenders when the game is 5-on-5) and, generally, involves small samples because goals are relatively rare events. Its funny to find myself in this position, because I can be a bit of an apologist for plus-minus. You spend enough time around the game and that thinking can be pretty common, and when the sample is large enough, you can get a pretty decent list of players at both ends of the spectrum. (For example, heres the list of players with the best cumulative plus-minus since 2000, and here are the worst.) But, Ive at least learned that there are many other factors that go into whether a player is a plus or minus player, and they must be considered if youre going to attempt to pass judgment on a single season or, especially, a portion of a season. So, lets take a look at some factors that are at play to make Alex Ovechkin a minus-17. First off, the shooting percentage of others on the ice with Ovechkin at 5-on-5 is ridiculously low. His 6.3% is only ahead of fourth-liners Aaron Volpatti and Jay Beagle among Capitals forwards. The suggestion could be made -- and of course it has been -- that Ovechkin isnt making those around him better, but here are the 5-on-5 on-ice shooting percentages when Ovechkin has been on the ice for the past five seasons: 10.36%, 8.62%, 8.05%, 11.76%, 9.09%. Youre really going to have to dig for reasons, other than poor luck and ineffective shooters, to explain even-strength shooting effectiveness declining by 40% over last season, especially when Ovechkin himself is shooting 10.6% (18 goals, 170 shots) at 5-on-5. Taking away Ovechkins 18 goals on 170 shots, leaves the other Capitals to score eight goals on 242 shots (3.3%) with Ovechkin on the ice. Marcus Johansson, his most common left winger, has one goal on 51 shots. This undeniably effects plus-miinus, right? Of course it does. Theo Pinson Jersey. Give Ovechkin an average on-ice shooting percentage (say, 8%) and that is a difference of about seven goals. At the other end of the rink, Ovechkin is getting burned with a .909 save percentage at 5-on-5. Naturally, the argument will be that Ovechkins defensive play is what leads to that low percentage. Keep in mind, that percentage is well below career norms for him (.922 over the past five seasons, including this one) and ranks near the bottom on the Capitals roster. Use that typical save percentage, on 439 shots against, and that becomes a difference of 5-6 goals. So, why not take a look at where the shots are coming from with Ovechkin on the ice? According to Some Kind of Ninjas Shot Tracker, shots against the Capitals with Ovechkin on the ice at even strength, come from an average distance of 34.5 feet. In the previous five seasons, it has been 34.2, 36.6, 35.8, 34.6 and 35.9 feet on average. There can be an argument made, based on those average shot distances, that Ovechkins most effective defensive performances were in 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 (the Dale Hunter season), but there really isnt a huge difference; goaltenders arent suddenly flummoxed by 34-foot shots when 36-footers are easy pickings. On top of that, best of luck trying to identify those particular seasons as anything close to Ovechkins best. Why? Because he scored 70 goals and 150 points in 157 games over those two seasons, producing the two lowest point scoring rates of his career. Yes, even lower than this season, when virtually no one else puts the puck in the net with him on the ice. Of course Ovechkin is not a defensive whiz, but that shouldnt stand as an indictment any more than it has for elite offensive players throughout the history of the game. Seriously, take a look at the Top 10 goal-scorers in the league, none of whom put the puck in the net like Ovechkin, and identify the ones that are notably strong backcheckers. Some are: Joe Pavelski, Alexander Steen, Patrick Sharp, but theres no reason to believe that right wingers Kessel or Corey Perry or Patrick Kane are doing brilliant work in the defensive end. Heres the thing: theyre all great players! Part of the trouble for Ovechkin is that the Capitals havent been able to win in the postseason, so he gets painted with the brush of failure for a whole host of team shortcomings. Thats what comes with being a superstar. This Capitals team is flawed. They rank in the bottom third of the league in Fenwick Close (measuring shot attempts, not including blocks, at even strength, with the score close), which is a good indication of team puck possession, yet Ovechkin has relatively solid possession numbers. If you want to break down a players overall contribution, and feel that you must use one statistic in order to do so (better yet, dont), then at least reduce the impact of others on the ice and look at the possession stats, because it wont matter that linemates arent finishing or that, for whatever reason, goaltenders arent stopping the puck. Shooting and save percentages fluctuate and while they affect perception -- just ask Tyler Bozak -- they dont get to the bottom of a players on-ice contribution, and so it is with Ovechkin this year, who is having a fine season, no matter what his plus-minus says. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '