Bewerbungen » Heres some things to know about the Panthers

CLEVELAND -- For months, theyve been ignored, overlooked and mostly dismissed.The Cleveland Indians werent supposed to be playing in October and yet here they are: AL Central champions with a chance to end a World Series drought approaching its 68th anniversary.While many baseball fans remain fixated on the Chicago Cubs, those lovable losers trying to rewrite baseball history, the Indians have quietly overcome injuries to put themselves in position to bring another championship to Cleveland, a city still giddy after LeBron James and the Cavaliers won an NBA title this summer.We dont mind if we have to play the underdog, said second baseman Jason Kipnis. We dont mind if we have to take people by surprise. We know what kind of team weve got here and the kind of organization we have here -- and were pretty happy with whats going on.The Indians have defined resiliency this season. They played all but 11 games without star outfielder Michael Brantley and didnt have starting catcher Yan Gomes for most of the year. Cleveland lost starters Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar down the stretch to injuries and wont have them in the postseason. But the Indians cleared the obstacles thrown at them, motivated by the guidance of manager Terry Francona.With unexpected contributions from players like Jose Ramirez, Mike Napoli and Rajai Davis, the continued rise of star shortstop Francisco Lindor and a lights-out bullpen, they grabbed the division lead in June, reeled off a 14-game winning streak and never looked back, dominating rival Detroit and dethroning the defending champion Kansas City Royals, who finished 13 1/2 games behind Cleveland.It didnt go according to plan, but when does it ever? And as they prepare to take on the Boston Red Sox in the best-of-five division series starting Thursday, the Indians, who have craved the spotlight for years, are again being given little chance to advance.Kipnis and his teammates have grown accustomed to a lack of respect nationally.Its Cleveland, he said. Its a smaller market and people tend to forget that. Its OK if were not the favorite. Weve been proving people wrong all year. We have plenty of people who believe in us.On Tuesday, the Indians arrived at Progressive Field and were greeted in their clubhouse by boxes filled with new cleats and some cold-weather gear. They wont need any layering in Games 1 and 2 with temperatures expected to be in the 70s for the first pitch.But although theyve made it to October, the narrative has yet to change on the Indians, and thats just fine with them.We havent been a popular pick all year long, said the fun-loving Lindor, who plays with an infectious passion. Thats OK. We believe in each other.That confidence comes from Francona, who leads the Indians flock of faithful.From the outset of training camp, Francona, who guided the Red Sox to their first World Series title in 86 years in 2004 and then added another three years later, has instilled confidence in his players. By using his entire 25-man roster -- and then some -- hes developed a group that values depth and understands it takes everyone doing their share.That was apparent when the Indians ripped off 14 wins in a row from June 17 to July 2. There was a different hero every game, and the stretch climaxed with a 19-inning victory in Toronto.Francona pulled out all the stops in that 2-1 win, even using Game 1 starter Trevor Bauer in relief for five shutout innings. The victory sapped the Indians, but the more-than-two-week winning streak also bonded them.Winning breeds confidence, Kipnis said. That kind of laid the foundation for the season and the team that we are today. It needs to be all hands on deck for us to win and well be good if we do that.The streak began as the Cavs were rallying from a 3-1 deficit in the finals to beat Golden State and give Cleveland its first major sports championship since 1964.On June 17, hours before the Cavs would win Game 7 on the road, fans in Progressive Field alternated chants of Lets Go Indians with Lets Go Cavs during Clevelands 3-2 win in 10 innings over the Chicago White Sox.Kipnis said the Indians fed off the citys energy.It gave positive vibes around the stadium and gave positive vibes to the fans, he said of the Cavs championship run. Everyone was in a better mood. The sun was shining. There was no longer that dark cloud over Cleveland. LeBron didnt throw any shutouts for us or hit any home runs, but at the same time, the Cavs winning it all it took that pressure away of bringing home the first title.A second one might not be that far away. 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SUNRISE, Fla. -- Heres an example of how far Florida has come: At a game late last season, the Panthers were penalized twice because their home fans were overly exuberant.That wasnt possible a couple years ago.The Panthers were one of the NHLs surprises last year, winning the Atlantic Division -- only two years after finishing a staggering 51 points back in the division race -- and putting together the best regular season in franchise history. Now they have the look of a full-fledged contender, with expectations higher than theyve been in two decades.We achieved a lot of goals, Panthers forward Reilly Smith said. Making the playoffs was a big goal for us. Finishing first in our division was another big goal. Theres still that big one at the end of the tunnel that we didnt come close enough to, but wed like to get back there and we definitely have enough skill in our dressing room to get us back to that point.The Panthers expect to have a lot of that skill in Florida colors for years to come.Florida has no fewer than 10 players under contract for at least the next four seasons, including its young core -- Aleksander Barkov, Aaron Ekblad, Jonathan Huberdeau, Nick Bjugstad, Vincent Trocheck and Smith. The Panthers also added defenseman Keith Yandle in the offseason, part of some big changes on the blue line, and got goaltender Roberto Luongo a very strong backup in James Reimer.And of course, the Panthers still have Jaromir Jagr.He led the team in scoring last season, at the age of 44. He enters this season 20 points away from passing Mark Messier for No. 2 on the NHLs all-time list -- behind only Wayne Gretzky, who is still about 1,000 points ahead of anyone else.Jagr thinks it was a very positive sign for the Panthers to keep their core intact, and thinks the chemistry in Floridas dressing room is a big reason why success should be expected this season.Its not about three forwards and two defense, Jagr said. Its about five guys just working together. Forwards have to playy defense, defense has to play forward.dddddddddddd. Thats just the style of hockey now. Everyone has to know how to play everything. Defense has to help the forwards and the other way around.Heres some things to know about the Panthers going into this season:STREAKY CATSThe Panthers were streaky last season, both good and bad. Florida had a 12-game winning streak, two five-game win streaks and one other stretch of four wins in a row. There also were losing streaks of four and five games. The roller-coaster ride worked out, though the Panthers believe theres too much talent for a reprise of any long droughts this season.CATS ARE COMINGThere were two games in November last year when Florida failed to draw even 11,000 people into its building, a common problem over the last couple decades. But as the playoffs neared, the Panthers were a big ticket -- their last eight regular-season games all drew more than 15,000, with four of those getting crowds of over 18,000. And the game against New Jersey on March 31 was the one where Florida fans got their team penalized twice by throwing toy rats onto the ice in the third period.PLAYOFF STINGTrocheck got tripped with 68 seconds left in Game 6 of Floridas first-round series with the New York Islanders, on a play where he had an empty net and a golden chance of wrapping up a trip to a Game 7 at home. Instead, the Islanders tied the game seconds later, then prevailed in double overtime to end Floridas season. Still hurts, Smith said.SPECIAL TEAMSAn area where Florida can improve this season is special teams. Floridas power play ranked 23rd in the 30-team NHL last season, and its penalty kill unit was 24th.ODDS WATCHThree years ago, sportsbooks in Las Vegas listed the Panthers as a 150-1 shot to win the Stanley Cup -- by far the longest in the league at that time. Entering this season, theyre listed at 20-1. ' ' '