NEU » even shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two

WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- To boo or not to boo.Thats the question Winnipeg Jets fans will be asking themselves if defenseman Jacob Trouba skates out on the ice as expected Tuesday evening at the MTS Centre against the Dallas Stars.The restricted free agent finally put his name on a contract after sitting out the first part of the season, a two-year deal that will pay him $2.5 million for the remainder of the campaign and $3.5 million for 2017-18.Its something were very excited to be able to announce today, Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said in Monday afternoon conference call. Obviously, lots of work goes into these kinds of things. Having the opportunity to meet with Jacob. His representative (agent Kurt Overhardt) and I have constant dialogue for a long period of time and today we were able to come to terms.Some early speculation had the Jets trading Trouba to a U.S.-based team. Trouba, who was not made available to the media on Monday, had demanded a trade after complaining during the summer about not being able to play his natural right-hand side on Winnipegs crowded blue line.The Jets have compiled a 5-7-1 record during his absence and werent feeling much pressure to sign the 22-year-old because other youngsters, notably Josh Morrissey, had stepped into the void.The Stars come into Winnipeg with a record of 4-5-3, but get the tie-breaker over the Jets because they have played one fewer game. The two teams have split their first two games of the season, a 3-2 victory by the Stars in Dallas on Oct. 25 and a 4-1 win two nights later in Winnipeg.The Stars are playing their fifth contest in eight nights and coach Lindy Ruff said his biggest priority is finding time for his players to rest.To let them pour it all out for 60 minutes and then making sure, as a coach, that we dont overextend away from the game, Ruff said. Its going to be a mental grind, and I have to do a good job once that games over, whether its good or bad, to get them away from it.The clock was ticking for Trouba. If he didnt sign a contract prior to Dec. 1, Trouba wouldnt have been able to play in the NHL all season and he would have lost an entire year toward his eventual unrestricted free agency.Trouba will be a sight for sore eyes considering the sore bodies currently in the Jets sick bay. No less than seven regulars have been out of the lineup, including defensemen Tyler Myers and Mark Stuart and forwards Mathieu Perreault, Shawn Matthias, Bryan Little, Drew Stafford and Joel Armia.The Stars have some injury woes of their own, most recently center Jason Spezza, who went down with a lower-body ailment on Saturday night.After initial concern that he could be out of the lineup for a lengthy period, he has since been upgraded to day-to-day. Center Ales Hemsky will be out several months after having hip surgery.Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys . Ibaka equaled a career high with 20 rebounds, adding four blocked shots and 15 points as the Thunder smothered the Milwaukee Bucks offence in a 92-79 victory Saturday night. Cheap Devils Jerseys . Peter Holland and Brad Staubitz were sent to Toronto on Saturday as the Maple Leafs traded defenceman Jesse Blacker and draft picks to the Anaheim Ducks. http://www.cheapdevilsjerseys.com/ . -- Teemu Selanne scored the first goal of his 22nd NHL season, and the Anaheim Ducks extended the best start in franchise history with their fifth straight victory, 3-2 over the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. Cheap Adidas Devils Jerseys . "Thank you for the warm welcome," Beckham said on an 80-degree February morning. In this case, it was soccer weather. The sport moved a step closer to returning to South Florida on Wednesday, when Beckham confirmed he has exercised his option to purchase a Major League Soccer expansion franchise in Miami. Cheap New Jersey Devils Jerseys . Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night.LAS VEGAS -- Nine weeks down, eight weeks to go.This is the de facto halfway point of the NFL season, as 22 of the 32 teams have played eight games -- half of the regular-season schedule -- with 10 teams having played nine and with byes coming up.In whats been admittedly a very interesting first half of the season for betting, Rufus Peabody and I will give our 10 biggest takeaways, including a breakdown of the Super Bowl odds and which team has been the luckiest to cover games.ddddddddddddufus Peabodys midseason takeaways1. Parity is the highest it has been in recent memoryNew England and Seattle are head and shoulders above the field, and Cleveland is the worst team in the NFL by a large margin, but the rest of the league is pretty tightly clustered together in Masseyeven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two