Müll » Substitute left-back Dmitry

LOS ANGELES -- Dan Craig and his crew have been at Dodger Stadium from dusk to dawn every night for the past week, patiently building a sheet of NHL-quality ice in the middle of the iconic baseball field. Theyre just about ready to drop the puck in sunny Southern California. The ice is solid, the fans have bought nearly every ticket, and the two local teams are eager for their historic showdown under the lights and stars. Only a few tweaks remain before the Los Angeles Kings face the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday in the NHLs first official outdoor game in a warm-weather climate. "Its hard not to get excited about it now that its almost here," Anaheim captain Ryan Getzlaf said. "It seems like everybody is talking about it." While the NHL raised plenty of eyebrows with the announcement of outdoor hockey in one of the nations hottest places, Craig has always been confident that this unorthodox game wouldnt turn into a swim meet. The NHLs ice specialist is working a vicious schedule this winter with preparations for six outdoor games, but hes most excited about the chance to do the improbable in Chavez Ravine. "This is the challenge that everybody who works with me wanted to try," Craig said. "The crew thats in New York (for two upcoming games at Yankee Stadium) doesnt want to be in New York. They want to be here." Even with daytime temperatures in the 80s and abnormal humidity in Los Angeles over the past week, Craig is quietly confident about the ice sheet created by his meticulous crew and the huge refrigeration unit in the 53-foot truck beyond centre field. They work at night, building and grooming more than 10,000 gallons of water into a 1 3/4-inch sheet that stays cool under a heat-reflecting blanket during the day. The ice is out of the suns reach by roughly 4 p.m. each day, and thats when Craigs crew goes to work. "We are very patient with what we do," Craig said. "Our guys arent getting a whole lot of sleep. I know I wont be getting a whole lot of sleep." Craig said he could have made NHL-quality ice just about anywhere in North America for several years now, but the league didnt expand its outdoor exploits to a warm-weather city until expanding its series of stadium games this winter. Glycol coolant is constantly circulated from the truck and below the rink, keeping the ice temperature around 22 degrees. The outdoor temperature is likely to be in the high 50s at game time on Saturday night, which would be plenty cold enough for Craigs purposes. "Its a hard concept for anybody thats not in the field to understand," Craig said. "Ive got two very efficient systems that were marrying together." Craig and Kings executive Luc Robitaille skated on the ice Wednesday, with Robitaille pronouncing it ready to go. The Kings and Ducks will hold separate practices at Dodger Stadium on Friday to get used to the rinks peculiarities. The boards, benches and glass were trucked into Dodger Stadium from the Winter Classic at Ann Arbors Michigan Stadium, although they wont need the heaters. The NHL is also embracing the unusual setting with a variety of amusements in the Dodger Stadium bowl -- everything from a beach volleyball court and a pond to two performance stages. The game will be the NHLs first outdoor venture west of Alberta, but its not the first attempt at Southwest outdoor hockey. Robitaille and the Kings played an exhibition against the New York Rangers in Las Vegas in 1991, and everything went fairly well -- except for the swarm of grasshoppers that jumped onto the ice. "These guys know what theyre doing, and the ice is going to be great," Robitaille said. "This is an incredible opportunity for these two teams to bring hockey to a new level in Southern California." Nike Air Max 270 Femme Pas Chere . It took five games, but the Celtics finally helped Stevens earn his first NBA victory. "Im going to celebrate for a whole 12 minutes, and then Im going to start watching Orlando and trying to figure them out," the first-year Celtics coach said after Boston beat the Utah Jazz, one of the leagues other winless teams, 97-87 on Wednesday night. Fausse Air Max 90 Femme Pas Cher . At this rate, the Flyers captain is set to be remembered more for a fantastic finish. http://www.outletairmaxpascher.fr/. 3. Trevor Ariza left them talkin about 40. Ariza made eight 3-pointers and scored a career-high 40 points to help the Washington Wizards win their sixth straight game, 122-103 over Philadelphia on Saturday night. Fausse Air Max 270 React . New York secured second place in the Metropolitan Division when the Philadelphia Flyers lost at Tampa Bay later Thursday. The Rangers will face either the Flyers or Columbus in the opening round of the post-season. The Rangers struggled throughout against the lowly Sabres and goalie Matt Hackett, who played in just his seventh NHL game of the season. Fausse Air Max 97 Off White . - On the night Dirk Nowitzki overtook Dominique Wilkins on the career scoring list, Brandan Wright was a human highlight film all by himself.MOSCOW -- Russia captain Roman Shirokov was ruled out of the World Cup on Friday with a lingering back injury. Russia coach Fabio Capello said Shirokov will go to Finland on Monday for a back operation. The Zenit St. Petersburg midfielder missed all three World Cup warmup games, including on Friday when Russia beat Morocco 2-0 in its final pre-tournament friendly. Yuri Zhirkov secured the win over Morocco in Moscow with a spectacular volley in the 58th minute for his first international goal, after centre back Vasily Berezutsky scored in the 29th from a corner. Shirokovs place in the squad will be taken by 21-year-old midfielder Pavel Mogilevets, who has made just one appearance for Russia. Shirokov is "hardly like to be able to help us at the World Cup," Capello was quoted as saying in local media. "Shirokov will be replaced in the squad by Mogilevets." Denis Glushakov also mmissed the game against Morocco after injuring himself minutes before kickoff.dddddddddddd However, the midfielder later told state television he remains fit for the World Cup. Substitute left-back Dmitry Kombarov was replaced several minutes after requiring treatment on his ankle following a stiff challenge, but appeared able to run without major discomfort. Omar El Kaddouri struck the post with a shot on 24 minutes, while Lokomotiv Moscow midfielder Mbark Boussoufa was a threat at set pieces. Morocco goalkeeper Karim Fergouche twice denied Alexander Kokorin from close range. Russia will arrive in Brazil on Sunday and is unbeaten in its 10 games since losing 1-0 to Northern Ireland in August. At its first World Cup finals for 12 years, Russia starts against South Korea in Cuiaba on June 17 before facing Belgium in Rio de Janeiro on June 22 and Algeria in Curitiba four days later. ' ' '