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. Houston Texans Jerseys . 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. Keke Coutee Texans Jersey . At a news conference Tuesday where it was thought that the fiery Schallibaum may be shown the door after a dismal finish to the Major League Soccer season, team president Joey Saputo said no decision has been made on whether the Swiss Volcano will be back in 2014. Tyrann Mathieu Jersey . DeGrom outpitched Jake Peavy in a tantalizing hitless duel that carried into the seventh inning Saturday night before the New York Mets broke loose and beat the San Francisco Giants 4-2. http://www.officialauthentictexansstore.com/authentic-aaron-colvin-jersey.html .J. -- Richard Sherman, Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch deservedly draw the attention for what theyve done in getting the Seattle Seahawks to the Super Bowl. BOSTON -- The Boston Bruins comeback against Toronto last spring is a big part of a video highlight package shown on the Jumbotron before every home game. Bergeron cuts in and collects a rebound, finishing off an incredible rally to knock out the Maple Leafs in the Stanley Cup playoffs. And there he was again, scoring a similar goal for the eventual game-winner on Saturday night. Bergeron scored a power-play goal off a rebound early in the third period and Tuukka Rask stopped 33 shots, lifting the Bruins to a 3-1 win over Toronto in the teams first meeting since their playoff series. Try as they might, the Bruins werent going to be allowed to forget what happened last spring. "We talked about it before the game that we had to be in the present and not think about last year and realize theyre ahead of us in the standings and we have to get up each game," Bergeron said. "I thought, yes, we got away from our game a little bit in the second, but we showed some character to get back into it in the third and we got the result." Bergeron also added an empty-netter with 22 seconds to play, and Zdeno Chara also had a power-play goal for Boston. The Bruins won for only the third time in seven games. "We were not really focused on what happened last year," Chara said. "That was something that was behind us. We were focused on the present and, if you look at the standings, thats a team thats ahead of us and we want to get closer to them." Joffrey Lupul scored for the Maple Leafs, who lost for just the second time in six games. "The most disappointing part was Boston got two open power-play goals," Toronto coach Randy Caryle said. "We battled hard, but I thought we just ran out of gas in the third period." In Game 7 of the opening round of the last seasons Eastern Conference playoffs, Boston trailed by three goals with a little over 10 minutes left before forcing overtime -- with the final two goals coming 31 seconds apart in the closing 90 seconds of regulation. Bergeron scored the game winner in OT, capping an improbable comeback. On Saturday, skating during the closing part of James van Riemsdyks double-minor penalty for high-sticking Johnny Boychuk late in the second period, Bergeron jumped in on a rebound in front and fired it past sprawling goaltender James Reimer 1:06 into the final period. "I think he did a great job being in thhe right spot for that power-play goal," Boston coach Claude Julien said. Keke Coutee Jersey. Winger Carl Soderberg backhanded the puck on net from near the bottom of the right circle. Reimer made 31 saves. Boston killed off a penalty late in the game when Soderberg was sent off for holding the stick. The Maple Leafs went 0 for 3 on the power play. The Bruins had grabbed a 1-0 lead on Charas power-play goal off a rebound 15:27 into the opening period. David Krejci won the faceoff back to defenceman Torey Krug, who sent a cross-ice pass to Jarome Iginla. The winger slipped a backhand on net that Chara, positioned in front, banged past Reimer before two Maple Leafs defencemen could clear the puck. If it wasnt for solid play by Reimer it could have been a bigger deficit for Toronto. Boston outshot the Maple Leafs 14-7 in the opening period, keeping the puck in the offensive zone for long stretches. Bruins winger Chris Kelly fired a shot off the crossbar 90 seconds into the game and Reimer made nice stops on close bids by Krug and Iginla about 20 seconds apart 5 minutes into the game. "At the start of the game they were all over us," Caryle said. "In the second, we played better." But in the second, the Maple Leafs outshot Boston 18-10 and controlled play for lengthy stretches. Toronto tied the game at 1 on Lupuls goal late in the second. Paul Ranger sent a long clearing pass to Lupul, who broke in down the right wing before firing a shot that beat Rask over his left shoulder, slipping the puck just inside the right post. There were a fairly large number of blue Maple Leafs home jerseys sprinkled throughout the stands, and a big roar went up when Lupul scored. NOTES: Bruins D Adam McQuaid went down grabbing his right hip area midway into the opening period, had to be helped from the ice and didnt return. There was no update from the team on his injury other than an announcement early in the second that "he would not return." ... It was the first of four games between the teams. ... Torontos Phil Kessel needs two points to reach 400 for his career. ... The Bruins held Progeria Night, raising funds for research to help find a cure for the accelerated aging disease that affects one in every 4 to 8 million newborns. Sam Berns from Foxborough, Mass. dropped the ceremonial first puck. ... Former Bruin Terry OReilly watched the game from a luxury box. Wholesale USA Soccer Jerseysdiscount uswnt jerseyWholesale AC Milan JerseysWholesale Arsenal JerseysWholesale A.S. 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