NEWS » his season. The right-hander has fa

TORONTO -- Left with nothing play for at the World Cup of Hockey, coach John Tortorella told his United States players to play a game for themselves.They played hard, gave effort in a meaningless round-robin finale but still lost 4-3 to the Czech Republic on Thursday night. With an 0-3-0 record and a minus-6 goal differential, the U.S. finished seventh among eight teams, ahead of only Finland.The bottom line is we leave here with nothing, Tortorella said. Certainly we cant be happy about that.Previous losses to Team Europe and Canada eliminated the Americans from contention. While Canada, Sweden, Europe and Russia prepare for the semifinals this weekend, the U.S. and Czech Republic played out the string in front of a half-empty arena.Joe Pavelski, Justin Abdelkader and Ryan McDonagh scored for the U.S., which did not unravel in a meaningless game like it did in the 2014 Olympic bronze medal game. Ben Bishop allowed four goals on 20 shots in two periods, and Cory Schneider made seven saves in relief.Petr Mrazek stopped 36 of the 39 shots he faced to backstop the Czech Republic to its first victory. Milan Michalek scored twice and Zbynek Michalek and Andrej Sustr each had a goal.U.S. players promised they wouldnt mail it in with nothing to play for. A result of human nature, it felt like an all-star game with a lack of real physicality as everyone wanted to get through without getting injured.I thought some guys gave some really true efforts, Tortorella said. We just didnt find a way to win the hockey game.Afterward, Tortorella broke from his usual routine and addressed the team.McDonagh said the message was, Keep your heads up, youre all great players. You all represent your country to the best of your ability and you were a great group to be around.Frustration boiled over for Dustin Byfuglien at the final buzzer as he went after Czech defenseman Michal Jordan. A healthy scratch in the tournament opener, the Winnipeg Jets defenseman had a beautiful pass to set up Abdelkaders goal and was one of the best players on the ice.A collection of fans spent stretches of the first period chanting, Lets go Kessel! and We want Kessel! Stanley Cup-winning Pittsburgh Penguins winger Phil Kessel was left off the U.S. team and made light of that on Twitter on Tuesday night after the Americans lost to Canada.That was a must-win game for the U.S. after opening the tournament with what Patrick Kane called a dud against Europe. General manager Dean Lombardi blamed not being prepared for that game for the U.S. bowing out of the World Cup.I dont think we showed enough respect for the talent on that team, Lombardi said Thursday morning.Lombardi said that the 3-0 loss to Europe put the U.S. behind the proverbial 8-ball that felt like a boulder. The Los Angeles Kings GM has seen his team come back from a 3-0 playoff deficit but described the locker room after losing to Europe as tight, and the U.S. was never able to adequately respond.We needed to do a better job than what we did, but theres a lot of good players in that room, captain Joe Pavelski said. We kind of beat ourselves a little bit.Getting almost skated out of the rink by Canada wasnt entirely unexpected, but players acknowledged their recipe to move on was to beat Europe and the Czech Republic. They didnt do either, and USA Hockey faces plenty of questions about how it will bounce back for the 2018 Olympics, if NHL players participate.Tortorella said he had a few ideas about changes that could be made but preferred to keep those to himself. He doesnt want USA Hockey to overreact despite a lackluster showing on a big stage.Weve just got to slow ourselves down and dissect whats happened, he said. It certainly isnt good. But not to the extent as far as the chatter all around us. I think weve got to block out the noise, re-assess where we went and see what we can do to get us better as an organization.Custom Los Angeles Kings Jerseys . 10 VCU 85-67 on Thursday night at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. The Seminoles (4-0) have scored at least 80 points in each of their games. Jeff Carter Kings Jersey . Nigeria beat surprise package Ethiopia 2-0 in the second leg of their playoff for a comfortable 4-1 aggregate victory. Victor Moses converted a 20th-minute penalty after an Ethiopian handball, and Victor Obinna made certain of Nigerias place in Brazil with his powerful free kick in the 82nd at UJ Esuene Stadium. http://www.kingsauthentic.com/authentic-tiger-williams-kings-jersey/ . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. Kelly Hrudey Jersey . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Rob Blake Kings Jersey .ca! Kerry, Two nights after the Scott-Eriksson incident in Buffalo, the Bruins returned home to play San Jose. In that game, Zdeno Chara put a check on Tommy Wingels that clearly targeted his head.WASHINGTON -- Several times over the past few years, TBA in the press notes of the Washington Nationals stood for Stephen James Strasburg.That was the case again Tuesday, as the probable pitcher for the first-place Nationals on Wednesday was listed as TBA.That turns out to be Strasburg, whom manager Dusty Baker confirmed after Tuesdays game will start against the Atlanta Braves in the third and last game of the series at Nationals Park on Wednesday.Hopefully Stras can give us some quality innings, said Baker, whose team clinched a .500 season with a 9-7 win on Tuesday.Strasburg has been on the disabled list since Aug. 22, retroactive to Aug. 21, with right elbow soreness. He is 15-4 with a 3.59 ERA in 23 starts this year for the Nationals.Strasburg threw from the flat ground in the outfield before Tuesdays game. He gives the first-place Nationals a formidable rotation, for a possible playoff appearance, with Max Scherzer and Tanner Roark.He is one of our big three, Baker said of Strasburg. He was having a great year. He still has the opportunity to finish a great year.Baker said Strasburg has come out of recent side sessions with no soreness, though it can be tough to ascertain that. He is a tough read, Baker said of the quiet Strasburg.While the Braves were officially eliminated from the playoffs Monday, interim manager Brian Snitker has been pleased with his teams approach.Our guys grind out at-bats and grind out games, he said after Tuesday loss. They dont give up many at-bats.Another Washington starter who has been on the disabled list this year is Joe Ross, another rightt-hander.dddddddddddd.A California native like Strasburg, Ross pitched three innings in a minor league rehab appearance for Triple-A Syracuse on Monday. We would like to get him stretched out, Baker said of Ross.The manager said it is possible Ross, who made his big league debut in June 2015, could pitch in a simulated game at some point.The Atlanta pitcher on Wednesday with be Mike Foltynewicz, who is 8-5 with a 4.31 ERA this season. The right-hander has faced Washington once, going 5 2/3 innings at Nationals Park on Aug. 12, 2016.He will have to deal with Trea Turner, who continues to be a revelation at the top of the order for Baker.Turner had three hits Monday and on Tuesday he had two more hits, including a two-run single in the eighth.My job is to get on base and put pressure on the other team, Turner said.He is now hitting .344 and has seen time at second base and center field.Baker said he wont use closer Mark Melancon after he pitched for the second day in row Tuesday.We wonder about (workload) on everybody, Baker said. This is the time of year when you worry about workload. You weigh workload with the necessity to win the games. Well probably -- not probably -- well stay away from Melancon tomorrow. We really didnt want to use him today because he hasnt been as sharp the last couple days. But these guys, everybody has a nemesis, and these guys have been his nemesis since hes been here. So like I said, we will stay away from him tomorrow. ' ' '