TORONTO -- With all due respect to T.S. Eliot, when it was finally over, it ended not with a bang but a whimper, a long, mournful whimper.Of course, Team USA had been emotionally, if not technically, gone long before the final whistle blew on a 4-3 loss to a Czech Republic team most had considered the weakest in the eight-team World Cup of Hockey.Thursdays loss, naturally, put that debate to bed as the Americans finished a desultory 0-3, putting the final piece of punctuation on this most lamentable of international tournaments.Three games, no wins, five goals scored, two by defenseman Ryan McDonagh. Zero goals for defending NHL scoring champ and MVP Patrick Kane.At one point Thursday, veteran defenseman Ryan Suter inadvertently stickhandled the puck into his own net while trying to clear it.By Friday morning, there will be little to remind anyone that the U.S. team had actually been at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, except maybe a little stain like the oil spot an old car leaves on your driveway.Perhaps the best-case scenario is that this team will be remembered for how quickly it went from a plucky, blue-collar squad hoping to knock off the worlds best to become quite simply placeholders in the pantheon of U.S. hockey history.Because just as we were watching dumbfounded while the Americans imploded, losing 3-0 to Team Europe and then 4-2 to Canada before Thursdays dismal finale, the future of not just American hockey -- maybe even the game itself -- was capturing hearts and minds.Team North America didnt advance to the semifinal round in spite of going 2-1, but in their brief time at the World Cup of Hockey, there wasnt a more exciting group to watch.They were, in many ways, the anti-Team USA: joyful, driving to the net with abandon, rising to the occasion -- even if they were denied a place in the semifinals on a tie-breaker.Imagine in two years if the NHL returns to the Olympics in South Korea, or in four years to the World Cup of Hockey (assuming the event isnt just going to be shoved back into the hockey closet for another dozen years), what a Team USA might look like.How about Jack Eichel and Auston Matthews as your 1-2 centers, maybe setting up Patrick Kane, one of a handful of U.S. forwards on Team USA who would be considered a lock to make the next best-on-best tournament?Go down the list from Team North America of players who will be pushing for places on the American team in the next best-on-best tournament: Johnny Gaudreau, Brandon Saad, Vincent Trocheck will vie for forward positions while Seth Jones, Jacob Trouba and Shayne Gostisbehere will be factors along the blue line.But as Team USA staggers off into the sunset, lets pause to remind ourselves of the human beings that don those jerseys.Its something that has been easy to forget in the hours and days since they lurched out of the gate with a 3-0 loss to Team Europe that pretty much sealed their fate at this tournament.The criticism has been relentless and the attacks often person and sometimes, shockingly, from former teammates or former Team USA players.At one point in the first period of Thursdays meaningless game, a group of fans chanted We want Kessel, a reference to two-time U.S. Olympian Phil Kessel, whose postgame tweet taking a shot at the Americans after the Canada loss went viral.But know this, however poorly this team played, these are players who took time off this summer to train for the tournament, took time away from families and vacations to attend training camp, and traveled hither and yon for pretournament games.For many of these players, Thursdays popped balloon of a game played before a crowd seemingly of family and friends will be the final memory they will have of playing in a red, white and blue jersey.I wish I could play with these guys every day, defenseman Jack Johnson said.That is not an empty sentiment.No one could have imagined this would turn into such a train wreck. And even as the players shouldered responsibility for not getting the job done, there was still something more than a little melancholy about watching them leave the media center for the last time.Each group has an opportunity to do something special, and we definitely didnt take advantage of it, said McDonagh, a two-time Olympian. Same thing in Sochi with that group. Obviously, we talked about a step back in Sochi, the way we finished there, and this is about as low as it can get Im sure as far as where USA Hockey has been in the last handful of international tournaments.I felt especially bad for David Backes, another two-time Olympian, who was a healthy scratch. So was Erik Johnson, who earned a silver medal with Backes in Vancouver. It would be a surprise if either was part of the next best-on-best U.S. roster.The fact they werent in the lineup is yet another sign of what appeared to be a significant disconnect within this group because there were myriad options for players to sit other than these two veterans.The fact these two players were denied a chance at one last moment wearing their countrys colors was a shame, simply another thread in the ugly tapestry woven by this team at this most forgettable of tournaments. Chaussure Salomon Destockage . Now, correct me if Im wrong but I saw one official distinctly pointing at the net indicating a good goal but after an inconclusive review they overturned the goal. Shouldnt the ruling on the ice (good goal) stand after an inconclusive review? Why was this overturned? James Veaudry Pembroke, ON -- Hey Kerry, Youll get a lot of these, but why was the Montreal goal against Nashville Saturday night overturned? Eller puts the puck on net and the on ice ruling from the ref behind the net is a Montreal goal. Salomon Pas Cher Chine . -- The Magic have their first victory of the new year. http://www.paschersalomon.fr/ . Coach Mike Munchak says Fokou stretched ligaments in his left knee Oct. 13 against Seattle, which could keep out up to five weeks even though the linebacker didnt need surgery. Vente Salomon Pas Cher . The 27-year-old Scrivens will be joining his third NHL club since signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a free agent in 2010. The move also reunites with him with head coach Dallas Eakins from their time together with the American Hockey Leagues Toronto Marlies. Destockage Salomon Pas Cher . Reassurance came from Paul Tesori, his caddie and close friend whose newborn son is in intensive care in a Florida hospital. "Paul sent me a text this morning, just told me he loved me and wanted to go out and fight as hard as I would any other day," Simpson said Sunday after doing just that. CHASKA, Minn. -- William McGirt took his wife and infant son to Arnold Palmers office at Bay Hill, wanting nothing more than a photo.Palmer, as usual, gave him so much more.Any worries McGirt had about imposing on the King were put to rest as quickly as it took Palmer to reach over and take his son, Mac, out of his arms for the photo.We take the picture and I figure hell hand him back and wait for us to get out of his office, McGirt said Monday. No. We take the picture and he puts Mac on his desk and sits there playing with him. Mac knocked everything off his desk and he was like, `Its OK. He was having fun with him. He was the best at making you feel welcome. He made you feel like youve known him for 30 years.This was the very essence of Palmer, who died Sunday and left a gaping hole in the world of golf.This was the personal touch.Three months before his death, Palmer eased into the chair in his Pennsylvania office and started in on a lifes work that never seemed to end. On the desk next to him was a stack of photos, tournament flags and other memorabilia that fans from across the country had sent him, asking for an autograph.Some days he would sign for 10 minutes, other days an hour, depending on his energy level.But he signed.The walls outside his office are covered with personal letters from presidents dating to Dwight D. Eisenhower and other leaders. Palmer knew them all, and the letters showed how much they cherished their relationship with him.Palmer, however, treated the unknown fans with as much consideration.He made them feel important.Phil Mickelson learned that lesson over the years. The most important Palmer imparted: Never walk past anybody.He always made eye contact. He always acknowledged they were there, Mickelson said. We all try, but we never live up to his standard. He made the difficult look easy.His signature is among the most famous in sport. Everyone can read it, each letter just as legible as the A and the P. One year in his office at Bay Hill, Palmer reached for a black pen and a blank sheet of paper to show how he learned to write. He even remembered the name of his teacher in the first grade, Rita Taylor, and the Palmer Method of Writing that was scrawled on the blackboard.Thats how kids in the 1930s learned to write. The method wasnt named after Palmer. He just perfected it.Moving his large hand in a circular motion until there was a large, black dot on the paper, the King showed that it was about using the arm, not the wrist, as he moved down the line to write his name.dddddddddddd No telling how often that signature has been written. As Rocco Mediate said, Palmer autographs dont sell for much because there are probably 8 billion of them.And nothing is more personal than a letter.Gavin Hall, who plays for the Texas Longhorns, was 14 when a letter arrived in the mail from the Bay Hill Invitational in 2009. It was from Palmer, whom he had never met and never did. Hall had played in the prestigious Monroe Invitational in upstate New York that year. Palmers grandson, Sam Saunders, also was in the field. Maybe thats why he wrote.I was pleased to hear of your recent accomplishments on the golf course, the letter begins. It goes on to encourage Hall to stay devoted to the game without dismissing his education.Hall was in a minor state of shock.There was no way it was Arnold Palmer. How in the heck would he know what I did? Hall said Monday. It was amazing. To this day, its the best letter I ever received. Can you believe the amount of people he has reached? How many lives? I never met him, and he still wrote that.Hall, who qualified for the 2013 U.S. Open as an 18-year-old, was one of the younger recipients. But he wasnt alone.Each week, Palmer wrote letters to every player who won on tours large and small. Russell Knox was one of them. He won his first Web.com Tour event five years ago outside San Francisco, and a few weeks later received a letter from the King.I called my dad and said: `Youre not going to believe this. Arnold Palmer wrote me a letter, Knox said. He didnt believe me.Palmer kept a tight schedule three years ago. He took time for a visitor before two meetings and lunch with supermodel Kate Upton.He paused before signing a letter to David Frost, who had won on the Champions Tour, and said, Hes playing pretty good. The next letter was to Kevin Streelman, who had won at Innisbrook the week before. Palmer watched the back nine on television and liked what he saw.On the way out the door, an assistant told him that Japanese photographers wanted to take his picture. They were outside his door and when Palmer saw them, he rattled off his best Japanese greeting. His voice was animated. His smile put everyone at ease. The words probably didnt come out the right way. It didnt matter.They all laughed together and Palmer wrapped his arms around one of them and gave her a big hug.Just like they were old friends. China NFL Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Online Stitched Hockey Jerseys Wholesale Baseball Jerseys Football Jerseys Outlet College Jerseys For Sale Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys For Sale Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '