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When Tim Thomas arrives in Atlanta for this weekends NHL all-star festivities, he doesnt know whether hell be asking the other players for autographs, posing in photos with them or just swapping stories. Cameron Jordan Jersey . And it doesnt matter one bit to the Boston Bruins goalie, who will make his all-star debut at age 33. Thomas was a late addition to the Eastern Conference lineup this week and freely admits he has no idea what to expect from the experience. "You know, I dont even know what first-timers usually do," Thomas said Wednesday on a conference call. "Thats how inexperienced I am. Being a late appointment, Im kind of in the dark still." There shouldnt be many hockey fans who are still in the dark about Thomas. He leads the NHL with a .927 save percentage and has put together a record of 15-11-3 for a Bruins team that has battled injuries all year. What makes his success even more impressive is that hes played for more than 10 pro teams and didnt become an NHL regular until the age of 30. Thomas had a couple different stints in Finland and couldnt help but reflect on those times while explaining how proud he felt after becoming an NHL all-star. "As far as making the all-star game, it was kind of so unattainable that you didnt dare think about it for so many years," said Thomas. "It was just a hard enough battle just to try to make it to the NHL." Former teammate Quinn Hancock sent Thomas an e-mail from Sweden after hearing the goalie had earned a spot in the game. Hancock wrote that the selection was the final proof that Thomas had made the right decision in signing with Boston back in September 2005. Thomas was playing for Jokerit when he received the Bruins contract offer and nearly turned it down to stay in Finland. "Id pretty much made peace with the fact that it was never going to happen," he said of his NHL dream. "(When he was offered the contract), it was a really difficult decision for me to actually take that chance and come back to the NHL because I had made that peace." Hes hardly looked back since. In fact, Thomas played well enough the past two years that he started to dream about an all-star game appearance over the summer. He still considered it a long shot. "Thats one thing that I made in my mental list of goals and I cant believe that it actually bore fruit," said Thomas. "I mean just hearing them announce me: `Tim has been elected to the 2008 all-star game. "Its funny even hearing it to my ears." There might not be another player more excited to hear his name called when the game is played at Phillips Arena on Sunday night. Thomas had originally promised to take his daughter Kiley on a shopping trip to New York during the all-star break but the seven-year-old didnt mind the change in itinerary. "She wasnt that tough of a sell," said Thomas. "I talked to her (Tuesday) afternoon and I said, `Are you disappointed we arent going to New York City? And shes like, `No, were going someplace better. "We sold her on the fact that Atlanta has a great aquarium." Thomas credits his wife Melissa and agent Bill Zito for helping him absorb all the ups and downs hes had to endure to make it this far. Hes now the kind of success story that other players look to for inspiration. One of them is journeyman defenceman Mike Mottau, who approached Thomas after a game last year and said he wanted to follow his example. The 29-year-old Mottau is now a mainstay on the New Jersey Devils defence. Thomas is always happy to hear about other players overcoming long odds to make it to the NHL, but he isnt totally comfortable being a role model for them. "I have heard it before," said Thomas. "Sometimes it just makes me so awkward. I didnt set out to be an example. I just was trying to do the best that I could." Mark Ingram Jersey . He was 86. Thomson had been in failing health for several years. He died at home in Savannah, Ga., on Monday night, the Fox & Weeks funeral home said Tuesday. On that October afternoon, with one swing, Thomson transformed a pennant race for one season, and his life forever. John Kuhn Jersey . Together, they carried the surprising Baltimore Orioles to another home victory. "The teams back on track," said Millar, who homered and had three RBIs in Baltimores 4-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday night. Authentic Alex Smith Jersey . Jiri Hudler et Drew Miler ont aussi fait bouger les cordages pour les Red Wings. Brandon Dubinsky des Rangers a réduit lécart à 2-3 avec 4:05 à faire. Les siens nont toutefois pas réussi à égaler le score, bien quils aient fini le match en surnombre. Authentic Matt Ryan Jersey . German soldiers on patrol in Kunduz, Afghanistan, on October 27. [Agencies] Prime Minister Gordon Brown launched an impassioned defense of the controversial military campaign in Afghanistan during an interview Friday on the BBC, acknowledging that Britain needed to adjust our approach amid rising casualties. Clay Matthews Womens Jersey . Toronto selected 16 pitchers Tuesday, including Canadian Tom Robson, in addition to the three the Jays chose in the first day of the draft. Authentic Felix Jones Jersey . Cristhian Martinez (0-2), in his third inning of relief, hung a breaking ball into Ludwicks wheelhouse with one on and one out in the 13th. Ludwick, who also had a solo homer in the third, turned on the pitch and found the first row of seats in left-center to end the Padres four-game slide and snap the Braves three-game winning streak. Tramon Williams Jersey . The 24-year-old Montcourt was found collapsed just outside his Paris apartment by his girlfriend overnight on Monday. Authentic Alex Smith Jersey . Liverpool is already in the three-team relegation zone after its worst start to a season in more than 50 years, and would receive a nine-point penalty from the Premier League if it became insolvent before the Boston deal was completed. A penalty could doom Liverpool to dropping down to English soccers second tier, and would cause New England Sports Ventures, which owns baseballs Red Sox, to walk away from the deal, two people told The Associated Press.Here are my 10 observations after watching 13 hours of football on Sunday: 1. Brett Favre I always thought that it was in the best interest of Favre and the NFL if he had retired after his time in Green Bay.  Well, I was wrong. It takes a lot of guts to remain confident through adversity and last Sundays last moment touchdown pass to Greg Jones was special.  It showed he still ‘has it in many ways.  Favre still has arm strength, accuracy and most importantly, courage.  He knew he was going to get hit before he threw the game winning pass and he still got it done. Could Sage Rosenfels or Tarvaris Jackson save the game the same way Favre did?  I doubt it.  That pass vindicates Brad Childress and makes Favre look like a football hero again.  It was fun to watch. 2. JaMarcus Russell About the complete opposite of Brett Favre is JaMarcus Russell.  What are the Raiders going to do about Russell, or more to the point, what is Russell going to do about himself? He only completed 35% of his passes two weeks ago against the Chiefs.  Against the Broncos, he was 12-for-21, which is better, but he only threw for 61 yards with only nine first downs. The Raiders have a lot of money wrapped up in their quarterback and someone on Tom Cables staff has to coach him into a massive improvement, or Russell will officially become an NFL bust, and I dont want to see that happen to any young player. 3. Ken Whisenhunt I really like Whisenhunt as a head coach, but I dont understand why he didnt help his left tackle Mike Gandy in his battle with Dwight Freeney.  You could tell that Freeney was into it on Sunday.  He had his power move, speed out rush, spin, redirection inside – his entire package available one-on-one with Gandy. I understand that in professional football you cant baby your players, but it Tim Hightower, or even better fullback Dan Kreider had taken turns aggressively chip blocking Freeney, Kurt Warner would likely have had a better game. I know having five receivers in route opens everything up, but I dont understand when youre playing against one of the leagues best pass rushers why you dont try to frustrate him as often as possible. 4.  Pittsburgh Steelers The Steelers are 1-2 and that has a lot to do with the loss of safety Troy Polamalu.  To me, he is the best player in the NFL.  He has unbelievable acceleration to the ball and instincts that never seem to fail him.  With that said, it is the position he plays that makes his absence hurt the Steelers more than anything else. Strong Safety is the one position that is completely dictates pass or run in the audible system of any quarterback, even more so than a middle linebacker.  If you have a dominating strong safety, you can have a great defence.  He is both a point of attack player on the run and key on coverage in passing plays. When the Steelers lost Polamalu in the Titans game, they not only lost their best player, but they lost someone in the toughest position to recover from. 5. The New York Jets The Jets are for real because they have linebackers and defensive backs that excel in disguising the blitz, while being able to accelerate faster than the average player at their position.  There are only so many things you can do on defence and still stay fundamentally sound.  Right now, Rex Ryan has people that can go from a standing position to full speed exceptionally well. Their defence looks just like the 1985 Bears (which brings back bad memories for me), in that they use very unusual fronts, then explode to locations of responsibility faster than the offence can adjust. Rex Ryan, has learned well from his father Buddy.  Eventually someone is going to burn them deep in a third and long scenario and quarterback Mark Sanchez will have to play catch-up football.  The Jets are really good, but you can beat them by successfully adjusting post snap. 6. Randy Moss I have become a fan of Randy Moss. Troy Aikman stated in the Patriots-Falcons game that Mike Woicik, who is the Patriots strength and conditioning coach said that Moss was the hardest working weight room warrior on the team.  Thats a heavy compliment. Bill Belichick said that Moss is the most intelligent receiver he has ever coached, which is even a heavier complimeent. Eli Manning Womens Jersey. There was a time that it was tough to cheer for Moss, but its not that way now.  I hope his most productive years are the ones that he has left in the NFL, because I get the feeling that he has become a true professional. You can see that on his sideline interaction, and the communication between him and Tom Brady, which seems to be genuine with purpose.  Terrell Owens and Randy Moss are similar physically, but thats about it.  Owens could learn a lot from Moss. 7. NBC They have the angel and devil in Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison during their halftime panel – which can be seen every Sunday night on TSN.  Dungy gets on the video board and explains why plays happened the way they did.  He was excellent when he showed the coverage breakdown that allowed Brett Favre to throw the game winning touchdown, yet he was kind and polite in his comments. Harrison is the opposite of Dungy.  He tells it the way he sees it and doesnt worry about any possible consequences.  I cant help but agree with most of what Harrison says.  He called Terrell Owens ‘a clown on national television, and I really believe hes one of the few people on TV with enough credibility to get away with something like that. Lets not forget that hes only one year removed from playing, and let us also not forget how good, violent and intelligent he was on the field. The duo is great because of the calm class of Dungy – who is a great author by the way – and the reality check of Harrison. 8. Sean Payton and Mike Singletary The Saints have yet to lose this season, and the 49ers looked good in losing.  The common denominator between the teams is the presence and vibe of their head coaches. When you watch both Payton and Singletary, you know that they are the boss.  They have the right balance of emotion and calm through out the game. They are not like Tony Sparano in Miami, who is a little too over the top, or too intellectual like Jim Zorn in Washington.  Payton and Singletary give off a feeling of control and determination. The personality of the Head Coach and the personality of the team coincide many times and because Payton and Singletary both the Saints and 49ers are going to have an excellent season. 9. Gregg Williams Revenge is sweet.  Im sure he will never talk about it or acknowledge it, but the Saints defensive coordinator got some revenge on Sunday afternoon in Buffalo.  The Bills scored on a special teams trick play, thats it.  It was basically a shut out win for Williams defence. Remember that Williams was the head coach of the Bills about five years ago, just after he had developed the Tennessee Titans defence to NFL excellence.  I never thought he should have fired back then, and he got his revenge on Sunday. 10. The Detroit Lions Congratulations and I dont mean that in a sarcastic way.  It is tough to win tin the NFL. Im glad that their long losing streak is over, now the pressure is off, but the Lions will have to put it back on, as they travel to Chicago this week. Theres a big advantage in this game for the Bears because the Lions are no longer playing under duress.  They won on Sunday, so now there is calm sense of satisfaction being 1-2 after three games, which is probably the worst mentality to have going on the road against a 2-1 Bears team that two weeks ago beat the Super Bowl champion Steelers. The Lions have to forget last Sunday by this Wednesday or by next Monday, they will feel the same way they did all the previous 19 Sundays. Finally, here are some quick points of interest to look forward to in Week 4: 1. Tampa Bay at Washington – the loser will be considered dead last in the NFL, well maybe the Browns will be there too. 2. Green Bay at Minnesota – Favres first chance for revenge 3. San Diego at Pittsburgh – Could the Steelers start the season 1-3? 4. Buffalo at Miami – Chad Henne will make his first NFL start. 5. Cincinnati at Cleveland – If the Bengals are for real, they should beat the Browns by 14. 6. Dallas at Denver – The first real competition for the Broncos this season. 7. New York Jets at New Orleans – Drew Brees vs. the Jets defence.  I like Brees. 8. Tennessee at Jacksonville – The Titans go to 0-4?  It is possible.   ' ' '