Neuigkeiten » teenaged campers.The game of dodgeball in the gym

Just because Wayne Gretzky laced up his skates in an alumni game over the weekend doesnt mean the NHL is back to the 1980s.It just feels like it.Goals are coming fast and furious through the first two weeks of the season, with scoring at a pace that hasnt been seen in over a decade. Players are scoring an average of 5.98 goals a game, a far cry from the offense-happy days of Gretzky but an increase so far from every other year since 2005-06 when new rules were designed to boost scoring.An influx of young players, the preseason World Cup of Hockey and more backup goaltenders playing because of injuries have kept red lights flashing around the league.Overall, the game is going younger, faster, more skill, so I think everything kind of combines and goes into it, Arizona Coyotes winger Radim Vrbata said. I think the penalties are called more now than late in the season last year. Thats normal, so you probably have more power-play goals. And you have all the guys who played at the World Cup, theyre in their midseason form already where normally it would take them a couple games to get going.The NHL, hoping to keep its fans entertained, has tried many things to get scoring up, from shrinking goaltending equipment to adopting 3-on-3 overtime. Yet goals have hovered around 5.3 per game over the past five years.The jump early this season has as much to do with young talent like Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid and Toronto Maple Leafs rookie Auston Matthews as anything else.McDavid and Matthews lead a wave of 16 teenagers in the NHL right now, players who dazzle with flashy moves and who sometimes arent afraid to take a risk and maybe turn the puck over. As hockey trends more toward speed and skill, the game becomes more unpredictable and coaches gain more gray hair.You have more skill players in the league, too, so theyre not as conscious with puck management, Washington Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. You talk to the coaches probably around the league that might be as much as anything, and (players are) finding the back of the net on those.Coyotes coach Dave Tippett joked that its a Team North America mentality, referencing the 23-and-under World Cup group that thrived playing end-to-end, fast-paced games and scored at a blistering pace. Beyond just Team North America, the World Cup got many of the leagues elite up to speed to start the year, and Philadelphia forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare believes he and the other 168 players who took part are already in December form.It definitely helps, Flyers teammate Sean Couturier said. I think guys have been in game situations at such a high pace, high level for a month and a half before the season actually started.Eight of the top nine scorers so far this season played in the World Cup, and surprise standout Richard Panik benefited from so many Chicago Blackhawks players being away by making the most of extra ice time in preseason. The Blackhawks are also doing their part to contribute to the goal fest by allowing a league-high 14 of the 138 power-play goals scored through Wednesday.Carolina Hurricanes coach Bill Peters thinks power-play units are ahead of penalty kills and that five-on-five play is looser than usual.Loose play plus a lot of backup goaltenders in the nets is a recipe for offense. Through 97 games, 61 different goalies have started at least once, compared with 85 in 1,230 games last season.Thats in part a product of injuries to starters like the Los Angeles Kings Jonathan Quick, Boston Bruins Tuukka Rask and Arizonas Mike Smith and also the compressed schedule forced because of the World Cup. Each team will have a five-day bye week in January or February.Im sure because we have a lot of back to backs and we have the bye week -- the games are probably compressed a little bit more together than its been in the last (few) years, Capitals backup goalie Philipp Grubauer said. If youre good and play good and get the right numbers and win the games, Im sure (backups) will get a few more starts.Backups will continue to play, but many around the NHL expect production to slide back to normal as the season wears on. So enjoy the throwback scoring while it lasts.I think things will tighten up as we go, Peters said. But its been enjoyable for the fans.---AP Freelancers Matt Carlson in Chicago, Denis Gorman in New York and Paul Gereffi in Sunrise, Florida, contributed.---Follow Stephen Whyno on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/SWhynoCustom Marlins T-shirts . Vettel, who has already clinched his fourth straight F1 title, enters the finale with a chance to equal Michael Schumachers 13 victories in a year and match the record of nine consecutive wins by Alberto Ascari in the 1952 and 1953 seasons. Andre Dawson Jersey Large . The Dane followed up his first European Tour title last weekend with eight birdies and just a single dropped shot on Thursday for a one-stroke advantage over South Africas Allan Versfeld and Portugals Ricardo Santos. http://www.custommarlinsjersey.com/ . 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. Cheap Custom Marlins Jersey . The 27-year-old Scrivens will be joining his third NHL club since signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a free agent in 2010. The move also reunites with him with head coach Dallas Eakins from their time together with the American Hockey Leagues Toronto Marlies. Marlins Jerseys China . The Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Rays, and Texas Rangers all won on Sunday meaning the Rangers will host the Rays in a play-in game on Monday.RUTLEDGE, Ga. -- Visitors at Camp Sunshine summer camp receive two things within minutes of their arrival: a friendship bracelet and a hug. They leave with so much more.Camp Sunshine, a retreat for children with cancer, features two one-week sessions and is held at Camp Twin Lakes. Other than the advanced medical facilities, which can even provide chemotherapy treatments, it looks like any other summer camp: cabins, a lake with kayaks and a zip-line, a swimming pool, tennis courts, arts and crafts - and lots of children roaming around have a great time.Of course most summer camps dont have black vans drive up and drop off loads of Georgia football players. That was the case Thursday afternoon, as it was the week before. This is the camps 34th summer and Georgias football program has been involved with many of them, dating back to when Vince Dooley was the Bulldogs coach.Mo Thrash, a 1969 Georgia graduate and member of Camp Sunshines board of directors, was the first one to greet the Bulldogs when they arrived Thursday. Im a Dawg all the way, he said in his opening comments to the group.Thrash isnt sure exactly how many times the Bulldogs have visited Camp Sunshine, but hes been there for all of them.Ive seen them leave here and Ive seen them come back, Thrash said. I swear to you, I think they get as much or more out of it as the kids do. When they leave here, they appreciate it.For a lot of Thursdays visitors, this was their first trip to Camp Sunshine. It was sophomore defensive end Michael Barnetts second.It was a lot of fun, just being out here with the kids and spending time with them, Barnett said. They love the Georgia Bulldogs and we just want to give back. I really love it.The Bulldogs were wearing their red jerseys, which to so many adoring fans surely look like the red cape of a superhero. These are strong, tough and courageous young men that play a difficult and physically demanding game.But one look at these children and words like courage and strength have a much different meaning. The bandana covering an 8-year-olds bald head starts to look like part of a superheros outfit every bit as much as the red Georgia jjersey does.ddddddddddddThats exactly what it is, Thrash said.As Thrash led the Bulldogs on a tour of the facilities, the players got to spend some time with the children, ages 7-12. After a stop in the arts and crafts building, some players walked out with braided hair and others were now sporting more than a little glitter on their heads. All were smiling.Walking among the cabins, a young boy named Austin came up, a disposable camera in one hand and an autograph notebook in the other. He wore a black cap with a Bulldog on it and red shorts sporting a G on the left leg. Hesitant at first, he was soon surrounded by seven Bulldogs for a photo hell cherish for a long time.Barnett was among the players in the photo.You cant take life for granted and youve just got to live it out, he said. These kids, theyre going through some tough stuff, and this camp is a great experience for them and a chance to have fun and just be kids.A lot of the people that work at the camp are former campers themselves. Georgia coach Kirby Smarts brother, Karl, battled leukemia when he was a teenager and attended the camp, and later worked there. Smart attended last weeks session, which featured teenaged campers.The game of dodgeball in the gym is a fixture of every Georgia visit. Its a little more aggressive when the teens are competing, Thrash said, but he reminded Thursdays visiting Bulldogs to take it easy on the youngsters (not that they were going to take it easy on the big Bulldogs).Be yourselves, Thrash said with a laugh, but dont knock them to the floor.Camp Sunshine is a meaningful and powerful place. From the moment you arrive its like one big hug, for the campers, staff and visitors. Thrash said 92 percent of this summers staff members, all volunteers, were back for at least their second year, and more than half had been coming for at least a decade.Its something special, for sure, as sophomore wide receiver Michael Chigbu found out Thursday.Im happy to be a part of it, he said, and Id come every week if I could. ' ' '