The Baltimore Ravens followed up their 2012 Super Bowl winning campaign with an 8-8 record, 29th-ranked offence, and of course an early start to the off-season. Clint Capela Jersey . Last year looked like an aberration, a blip on the screen for the defending Super Bowl champions, a well-run organization that had made the playoffs past five seasons and just locked up their franchise quarterback in Joe Flacco. The truth may lie somewhere in between; if last year was an aberration, so too was that Super Bowl win two years ago. Perhaps the Ravens underachieved last year, but they also overachieved two seasons ago, and a lot of the players that helped them on that surprising run in 2012 are no longer with the team. That impact was felt most on the defensive side of the ball, where the Ravens lost six key players, headlined by Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, and were left scrambling to replace their influence on a game. "Not good enough," Elvis Dumervil, one of the new additions on defence, told reporters about his units performance last year. "I think we did some good things but we left a lot on the field. I think injuries and other things maybe contribute to that, but either you get it done or you dont. So, were looking forward to that and were looking forward to taking care of business this year." "I dont know that we had that last year at times," defensive coordinator Dean Pees echoed to reporters. "Times we did, times we didnt. But weve got to have it all the time. Thats what were trying to develop, and thats what were trying to get done." Whats left is still a very good team – maybe even a playoff team – but one that cant compete with the heavyweights in the AFC, not without a huge defensive lapse by an opposing safety at least. On offence, the team almost had to award quarterback Flacco with the big contract he signed one off-season ago (six years, $120 million with $51 million guaranteed), but hes not on the level of a Peyton Manning or Tom Brady. Six starters in the AFC alone have better career quarterback ratings (an admittedly flawed stat) and that number increases to seven if you only count Kansas Citys Alex Smiths numbers after his resurrection three seasons ago. In the Ravens favour is theres no runaway favourite in the AFC North this year, rather them and two other teams in similar predicaments (Cincinnati and Pittsburgh), teams certainly capable of making a playoff run, but far from a threat once they get there. Cleveland of course takes up the caboose in a division that may look stronger than it actually is. Notes The biggest story of the Ravens off-season was Ray Rice and the actions that will cost him the first two games of the season. The fallout from the incident was as much against the league as it was Rice, which was criticized for levying a fairly lenient punishment on the running back after he allegedly assaulted his fiancé. The most intriguing free agent signing for the Ravens this off-season was veteran receiver and longtime Carolina Panther Steve Smith. Still looking to replace Anquan Boldin a year after he left for San Francisco, Baltimore added Smith, the entertaining five-time Pro Bowler, to their young and intriguing receiving corps. Outside of Smith, the Ravens were typically quiet in free agency. Re-signing left tackle Eugene Monroe, whom they traded for from Jacksonville midway through last year, was an important keep in the teams effort to rebuild their offensive line. The Ravens offence should get a boost from their new offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak. Kubiak was a respected head coach with the Houston Texans and maybe deserved a second chance after the teams disastrous season last year. The former Denver Broncos offensive coordinator is a strong offensive mind. The Ravens love having a stout and feared front seven on the defensive side of the ball. They hope theyve added two more long-term pieces to their defences storied history. Linebacker CJ Mosley was perhaps a bit of a reach at 16th overall in the first round but grabbing defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan midway through the second round counts as a steal. Clyde Drexler Jersey .Y. Islanders 4Winnipeg 5 Dallas 2Nashville 3 Colorado 0San Jose 5 Edmonton 2---AHLProvidence 5 St. Johns 4 (OT)Chicago 6 San Antonio 2---NBACleveland 105 Toronto 101Portland 98 Detroit 86New Orleans 104 New York 93Oklahoma City 114 Milwaukee 101Memphis 114 Dallas 105Miami 103 Phoenix 97Utah 100 San Antonio 96L. Patrick Beverley Jersey . Having won the first leg 1-0 in Barcelona, Madrid entered the match at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium already in control and quickly sealed its place in the semifinals when Jese Rodriguez scored in the seventh minute.MONTREAL - The chances of a second straight trip to the Major League Soccer playoffs are finished for the Montreal Impact, but they hope winning at home gives them something to build on for next year. Jack McInerney and Dilly Duka scored in the final 10 minutes to give the Impact a 2-0 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday night, leaving them 3-0-1 in their last four league games at Saputo Stadium. It wasnt enough to stave off mathematical elimination from the playoffs as the New York Red Bulls and Columbus Crew both won to move out of reach of the 6-17-6 Impact, who have five regular season games left to play. "We can still play spoiler, even though San Joses not really there either, but we can still put good performances in for the fans and for ourselves going into next season," said McInerney. "Its important to end on a good note." San Jose (6-12-10), whose winless run stretched to nine games, is also in grave danger of missing the post-season. The Impact got the fifth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot in only their second MLS season in 2013, losing their lone post-season game 3-0 in Houston. But they took a step backward in 2014, when poor defence and a 0-11-3 road record was their undoing. But the season is not a write-off yet. Their 1-0 win over the Red Bulls at home on Wednesday put them in first place in their CONCACAF Champions League group with one game left (Oct. 22 in New York), so there is motivation to keep their level of play up to try to salvage something from the campaign. "These games will carry into that," said McInerney. The Impact got new life in early August when the gifted Ignacio Piatti joined as the teams second designated player. Since then the entire squad has stepped up the pace, so that they are winning games theyd have let slip away earlier in the season. Other in-season acquisitions, such as Duka and midfielder Issey Nakajima-Farran, have also helped. "You never want to use a season to build for the next one, but the club is trying to build something long-term," said defender Heath Pearce, who due to injuries anchored an inexperienced back line against San Jose. "You can see the pieces starting to come together slowly. "Hopefully that will lead into something special next year. You can see the team coming together. You can see a system and a style that weve been hoping for all year, aand weve added some pieces and now its a lot more realistic style. Houston Rockets Gear. " Nakajima-Farran said it may help that there is little pressure on the Impact in league play at the moment, but he said the players still feed off wins and have had enough of losing. "Its just being the players we are, we hate losing," he said. "Especially the training after a loss, when everyones still feeling the loss. "Its the worst feeling ever. This has been going on for quite a while in Montreal. And when the team doesnt change, guys are getting itchy to get on the pitch. And when we get on, theres a lot to prove, so its good to get a win." Piatti, who has been playing through a nagging bout of tendinitis in his left knee, limped off the field in the 57th minute. Even though the Impact are eliminated and it would be a chance to rest Piatti up for next season, coach Frank Klopas said "Well have to see" how much action the Argentine midfielder sees. "These guys are so competitive, they want to play," said Klopas. McInerney got his eighth of the season and his first since June 29 in the 81st minute to open the scoring. The ball went to Marco Di Vaio from a corner kick and the veteran strikers curling shot needed a diving save from Jon Busch. McInerney was standing on the doorstep and he put up his hands, as though in apology, as the rebound went off his body and into the net. In the 88th, Di Vaio fed Duka near the San Jose area. He cut inside and put a shot between two defenders in off the far post for his third of the season. The Impact were on full attack in the first half, when Piatti and Duka shot over the bar early on and McInerney just missed on a bicycle kick after a lob from Andres Romero. The closest call came in the 38th minute when Piatti tried a long shot that forced Jon Busch into a desperate leap to tip over the bar. The second half saw San Jose get chances, with Chris Wondolowski stopped from close range early and Atiba Harris heading just wide in the 70th. Notes: Montreal outshot San Jose 19-8. . . Playing a third game in eight days, the Impact gave Troy Perkins the start (and the captains armband) in goal ahead of Evan Bush. Academy product Jeremy Gagnon-Lapare got a start at left back and drew praise from Klopas. Left back Krzysztof Krol sat out a suspension from a red card shown in last weeks 2-1 loss at New England. ' ' '