Begrüßungen » e won the 2015 San Clemente over the cour

PITTSBURGH -- Faced with the choice of his hockey life, Jarome Iginla figured he couldnt go wrong. As the hours before the March 28 trade deadline ticked away and the suitors for the Calgary Flames longtime captain dwindled down to Boston and Pittsburgh, the six-time All-Star understood both franchises provided him the chance to win his first Stanley Cup. Only one, however, included the added bonus of playing with good friend Sidney Crosby. And when the Penguins quite literally lured Iginla east in the middle of the night, the ripple effect forced the Bruins to a backup plan that turned out better than they imagined. Spurned by Iginla, the Bruins acquired Jaromir Jagr from Dallas hours later. Now the two clubs -- and their two high-profile late additions -- find themselves in each others way as the Eastern Conference finals get set to begin Saturday. "I knew that there was a possibility this would be the case," Iginla said. One that just as easily could have arisen if Iginla opted for Boston instead. While it appeared for a few hours the Bruins had the inside track, the Olympic gold medal winner insists he didnt back out of a deal with Boston when the Penguins swooped in at the last minute. "I never said yes and then no," Iginla said. Though the Bruins initially disagreed -- claiming an agreement was in place -- they have since moved on, adding a necessary part in Jagr to lead to a showdown that has felt inevitable for the last three months. "I always thought you had to go through them to get to where we want to go at some point," Boston general manager Peter Chiarelli said. "Its been well chronicled, the Iginla stuff and the Jagr stuff, so were happy with who we got." So are the Penguins. The 35-year-old Iginla has fit in almost seamlessly in Pittsburgh, picking up 11 points (five goals, six assists) in 13 regular-season games despite being shuttled between the first and second lines while occasionally being moved away from his natural position at right wing. Things have been more settled in the post-season. Coach Dan Bylsma placed Iginla on the second line with reigning NHL MVP Evgeni Malkin and All-Star forward James Neal. The results have been sublime. Iginla quietly rolled up four goals and eight assists in the opening two rounds of the playoffs, his powerful shot and ability to create a little havoc in front of the opposing goaltender perfectly complimenting Malkins deft passing and Neals sniper-like instincts. "You want to play together and play hard and not disrupt (their chemistry)," Iginla said. "So you find different places to go and contribute. Is that going to the net? Getting out of the way in certain positions? Knowing where we all like pucks? I think its just kind of tying everything together and Ive been enjoying it and I think its been getting better and better." The result is just the second trip to hockeys final four in Iginlas 16-year career. He led the Flames to the Cup finals in 2004 only to fall to Tampa Bay in seven games. Four straight first-round exits followed before the bottom fell out. Calgary was heading to its fifth straight season on the outside of the playoffs looking in when general manager Jay Feaster approached Iginla and asked him if he would consider waiving his no-trade clause. Iginla wanted to help the Flames rebuild almost as badly as he wanted a shot at the Cup. A brief conversation with Pittsburgh general manager Ray Shero convinced him the best chance to do both sat with the Penguins. Pittsburgh sent the Flames college prospects Kenneth Agostino and Ben Hanowski and a first-round pick in the 2013 draft for one of the best players of his generation, one still trying to get his hands on his sports most coveted chalice. The move proved refreshing in more ways than one. Iginla and fellow newcomers Jussi Jokinen, Doug Murray and Brenden Morrow, became de facto roommates at a downtown Pittsburgh hotel. Iginla found wearing a jersey without a "C" on it liberating. He has kept a decidedly low profile since his arrival, speaking to the media only occasionally while letting Crosby handle the duties that come with being the voice of the franchise. Dont misunderstand. Iginla isnt hiding but simply enjoying a rare taste of relative anonymity. "Its been a nice change," Iginla said. One that will likely come to an end if the Penguins make it to the next round. Iginla is the latest in a long line of veterans who have uprooted their lives -- think Ray Bourque going from Boston to Colorado -- in pursuit of glory. He will become one of the faces of the finals if the Penguins advance. Iginla is more than ready to handle it. If anything, hes proven hes adaptable. Iginla played at least 19 minutes 17 times with Calgary this season, a number hes topped just three times in 24 games with the Penguins. Yet Bylsma has yet to hear Iginla mention it, and he doesnt expect to. Neither do his teammates. "I think youll have a hard time finding somebody in this world to fit in better anywhere," Murray said. "Hes a great guy and hes obviously a good player. He demands respect right away." Even if respect from the Bruins will come in the form of bodies being thrown into Iginlas path at every turn. He welcomes the challenge, even if the guys slamming him are the ones that could have been his teammates. All thats over now. Any leftover hard feelings with the Bruins is just so much collateral damage. "I knew Boston was a great team," Iginla said. "It was one of those situations when I (chose Pittsburgh) that I knew there was a big possibility wed be in this situation, and here we are. Im looking forward to the challenge." Bashaud Breeland Super Bowl Jersey . -- Five former Kansas City Chiefs players who were on the team between 1987 and 1993 filed a lawsuit Tuesday claiming the team hid and even lied about the risks of head injuries during that time period when there was no collective bargaining agreement in place in the NFL. Mecole Hardman Super Bowl Jersey .J. -- Josh Cribbs was in the Pro Bowl in February and out of a job six months later. http://www.officialkcchiefspro.com/Darrel-williams-chiefs-jersey/ . -- Matt Rupert scored once in regulation and again in the shootout as the London Knights extended their win streak to nine games by defeating the Owen Sound Attack 4-3 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. LeSean McCoy Super Bowl Jersey . -- Catcher Brett Hayes has agreed to a $630,000, one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals, avoiding salary arbitration. Marcus Allen Super Bowl Jersey . Shot outdoors against the stunning backdrop of Banff, Alta., the networks 30-minute original production airs tonight at 8pm et/5pm pt on TSN2. The four All-Star teams will play for $100,000 in prize money during TSNs annual skins game, airing live this weekend on TSN from The Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre. A case can be made for taking a day off after the ordeal of Del Mars opening program. Those who survive Fat Tuesday get a whole year to recover. The Oklahoma Land Rush was one and done.But at Del Mar, the show goes on. Saturday will come up quickly, even with its 2 p.m. Pacific post time, and for true racing fans, that is when the real Del Mar meet begins.Unlike opening day, beautiful men and women will be appreciated for their handicapping skills instead of their superficial good looks. There is room to breathe, and even turn around, in the Turf Club. And there is no jeopardy of being injured by someone wearing a hat depicting the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald.Saturdays program also will feature the first noticeable tweak to the stakes schedule under the leadership of racing secretary David Jerkens, who came to the job in 2014. That summer, Jerkens was faced with a brand-new turf course not quite ready for prime time. Last year, he was similarly presented with the maiden voyage of a new dirt main track replacing the degraded Polytrack. When asked what major renovation he dealt with this time around, Jerkens paused to think.They painted the racing office, he replied.Yes, they did, going from some dull industrial shade to a calm, creamy white that certainly will guarantee full fields and happy horsemen all summer long.Del Mar long ago dropped any pretense of working with or around Arlington Parks Beverly D. Stakes for the female grass bunch. This year, to give the division a sensible, two-step series, the schedule shifted the 1-1/16-mile Yellow Ribbon Handicap from the rump of the meet to the first Saturday and pushed the 1-1/8-mile John C. Mabee Stakes to the final Sunday of the season, Sept. 4.Both are worth $200,000, which is about all you get for a Grade 2 race in California these days, and pretty much guarantees Jerkens and his crew will need to hustle if they are to avoid demotion to Grade 3.Still, no matter how hard they try, the trend does not seem to favor Del Mar. During the 39-day meet, there will be 21 graded races, six of which are Grade 1, led by the Del Mar Futurity, which has produced the last three winners of the Kentucky Derby.In contrast, during the 40-day Saratoga meet that begins next week, there will be 35 graded races, 16 of them rated Grade 1 by the American Graded Stakes Committee, a wholly owned function of the Kentucky-based Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association. Conclusions may now be drawn.The Mabee sailed along as a Grade 1 racce for 26 years from 1984 to 2009.dddddddddddd As for the Yellow Ribbon, it was the premier distance grass race in California for fillies and mares for 33 seasons while run at Santa Anita during the Oak Tree Racing Association meet.When the group was booted from Santa Anita, the race name was retained by Oak Tree, along with some office furniture and stationery, and was offered to Del Mar in place of the Palomar Handicap. Since no one could recall why it was named the Palomar Handicap in the first place, the change was a no-brainer. It helped that Oak Tree funded most of the purse.Oak Tree does business in Northern California now and left the Yellow Ribbon behind for Del Mar to enjoy, and fund, as its own. On Saturday, the race will feature the graded stakes winners Queen of The Sand, Finest City, Her Emmynency, Nancy From Nairobi, and Keri Belle, plus the 1-2 finishers from the 2015 Yellow Ribbon, Shes Not Here and Prize Exhibit.Theres little doubt that Prize Exhibit likes Del Mar. She won the 2015 San Clemente over the course, finished third in the Del Mar Oaks, and was not embarrassed last fall against her elders in the Matriarch. She was off to the races this year with a win in the Monrovia at Santa Anita, but then her running style caught up with her, and she has had little joy since.Thats the price you pay with a stretch runner like her in big fields on the grass, said trainer Jim Cassidy at his Del Mar barn this week.In her last five turf starts, Prize Exhibit has been part of fields numbering 13, 14, 11, 11, and 14. Most recently, she was fifth behind the record-setting Celestine in the Just a Game at Belmont Park, beaten less than two lengths for second.And she would have been second with any luck at all, Cassidy insisted.Two stalls down, Prize Exhibit was eavesdropping in a shadowy corner, but her long, white blaze gave her away. The English-bred daughter of Showcasing has been knocking heads with some of the best in the division not named Tepin over the past year. If she has taken it to heart, it did not show in the glow of her dark brown coat. Cassidy leaked an admiring smile, then quickly recovered his game face.Shes at her best at a mile, he said, so well see if she can get the mile and a sixteenth. Even then, shell need luck.Then again, theres only nine in the field. Prize Exhibit might feel like shes all alone out there. ' ' '