Offtopic/fun » President, hit me up right away with a jersey, N

WASHINGTON -- When you ask Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick, a two-time Olympian with a silver medal, two Stanley Cups and a Conn Smythe Trophy, what else hed like to achieve in his career, his answer is simple: I just want to win.Dean Lombardi, general manager of the Kings and for Team USA at the World Cup of Hockey, has witnessed that focus since the first time he saw Quick play at the University of Massachusetts.When players say theyre not interested in their stats, you never really think theyre telling the truth, but with this guy its true, Lombardi said. Its what hes been about his entire career. Its just the way hes wired.The next mission for Quick, 30, is to help the U.S. win the World Cup. On Wednesday, the Milford, Connecticut, native was named Team USAs starting goalie over Ben Bishop of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Cory Schneider of the New Jersey Devils.Winning came early for Quick. He won a national championship as a youth hockey player and two New England Prep School championships while at Avon Old Farms. Still, he didnt initially consider a career as a hockey player.At that age, youre playing a bunch of different sports throughout the year and just having fun, he said. I mean, whenever I played baseball, I thought I could play for the Yankees. You never think its actually going to happen. So, it was just fun and you enjoy playing it and you want to be good at it.Obviously, as I got older I recognized that I was a little bit better at hockey than the other sports and decided to focus on that.The winning continued at UMass. In 2007, he led the Minutemen to their first trip to the NCAA tournament, where they lost in the regional final, coincidentally, to Bishop and the Maine Black Bears. After that loss, Quick set his sights on the NHL. The Kings had drafted him in the third round in 2005, but they didnt just hand him a roster spot.He was a really talented kid, a really competitive kid, and he got by on his athletic ability and he wasnt really used to working as hard off the ice as he did on the ice, Lombardi said. He had to start his professional career in the East Coast [Hockey] League because of his work ethic, and it doesnt seem right to say that because he is a very hard worker; he just didnt know he had to do it or even how to do it because up to that point he really didnt have to. He was that good.Quick understood what he had to do.Ive always been a hard worker, he said. My father made sure of that. If he was going to drive me to all these games, I was going to work. But this league is on a whole other level. You look at the best players and the preparation and everything that goes into it and, if you want to be a part of that group, you have to do the same.It didnt take long for his work ethic off the ice to match his work ethic on it. In December 2007, only two months after starting his pro career with the Reading Royals in the ECHL, he played in his first NHL game. He started the 2008-09 season in the AHL with the Manchester Monarchs, but two months in he again found himself in Los Angeles, this time for good.While Quicks career numbers as an NHL goalie speak well enough for him -- 2.27 GAA, .916 save percentage and 42 shutouts -- Lombardi says its what cant be measured that sets Quick apart.Weve become enamored with stats, but theres no stat for rising to the occasion and no stat for timely saves, Lombardi said. Its not just a matter of how many he stops, but when he stops them, too. When the game is on the line, he sets the tempo probably better than anybody.For Quick, despite the high level and high stakes, hockey can still be a game that you play with your friends.I enjoy coming to the rink every day and being around the guys, he said. In that way, Im very lucky. We have a great group in L.A. to go to work with every day and here as well with Team USA. Who wouldnt want to get to do this every day? Whatever I can do to help the team win, whatever your role is, do it as well as you can and be a good teammate. Thats what I try to do every day. Its that simple.As Team USA heads into its first World Cup game against Team Europe on Saturday, Lombardi says he expects to see the same desire to win that he first saw in Quick a decade ago.I always felt he was one of those guys that was going to get there eventually, it was just a question of when, and I knew it since the first day I met him, Lombardi said. Im not surprised at all by his evolution, and what gets me excited is that I dont think weve seen the best he has to offer. Hes got a lot more to give, and I just want him to keep going.Nike Shoes Black Friday Sale . - The Oakland Raiders re-signed offensive lineman Khalif Barnes on Friday. Nike Shoes Black Friday 2019 . -- An ugly goal by Nick Bonino helped the Anaheim Ducks overcome the defensive-minded Phoenix Coyotes on a night when their ragged power play continued to struggle. http://www.nikeshoesblackfriday.com/ . Speaking to the Chicago Tribune at baseballs Winter Meetings in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Boras called the former home of the Expos a "tremendous environment" for baseball. Wholesale Nike Shoes Black Friday . -- New England Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis is retiring after a 16-year career to become the goalie coach for the Los Angeles Galaxy. Cheap Nike Shoes Black Friday . I cant pinpoint a date, but I do remember a player from my youth. 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That particular season the late great Harry Caray was calling the White Sox games.The Washington Redskins have won the race to sign highly-prized free agent cornerback Josh Norman.Norman only became a free agent last week after the Carolina Panthers rescinded his franchise tag and, according to NFL Networks Ian Rapoport, he has signed a $75m (£52m) deal with the Redskins, with $50m (£34.7m) of that salary guaranteed.The 28-year-old was an All-Pro corner last season and a big part of the Panthers run to Super Bowl 50, where they were beaten by the Denver Broncos.Washington emerged as a front-runner to sign Norman soon after he entered free agency, and they were able to get a deal done quickly, to the surprise of many including the player himself.When [the franchise tag was rescinded] it was crazy because Mr. Allen, the [Redskins] President, hit me up right away with a jersey, No. 24, Norman said.And the crazy thing is I didnt see it until a day and a half later because I wass still getting over the fact of what was going on.ddddddddddddeing somewhere 28 years all your life and just in a blink of an eye, gone, just like that, Ive just never been without a job. That small amount of hours, everything went rapid and I came up here and it just felt right.I just feel so great about being here and the craziest part about it is you guys have been so nice to me since Day One.I mean everything [since] Ive been here since I got off that plane, you guys have been so nice to me. I felt that homecoming and everything that was here. And so when I say that, everything I put into it since Day One, Im going to give back just that much for it tenfold.Also See:Panthers rescind Norman tagEagles trade for No 2 pickPrinces Super Bowl showOrlando want Pro Bowl ' ' '