Louisville fans believe Jackson can even the playing field with heavyweights Florida State and Clemson. His teammates spent th

NEW YORK -- After two deep playoff runs, the New York Rangers 2016 postseason fizzled out quickly.Eventual champion Pittsburgh dispatched them in five games in the first round, the last two by a combined score of 11-3.Now, obviously, there is going to be some changes, coach Alain Vigneault said a few days later. There are still some very good pieces. We have to decide in which direction were going to take.The direction he and general manager Jeff Gorton wound up deciding to take was mostly to give it another go with those good pieces. The changes over the offseason came mostly around the edges of the roster.The big move was a trade of centers, sending Derick Brassard to Ottawa for Mika Zibanejad, who is quite a bit younger -- and cheaper.Veterans Dan Girardi, Rick Nash and Marc Staal are back after disappointing seasons, and the greatest change in 2016-17 could simply come from any or all of them recapturing their previous form.Henrik Lundqvist will turn 35 during the season. The Rangers will give their returning core at least one more chance at a title in front of the 2012 Vezina Trophy winner before the window closes.The hunger for the game and to compete is, I think, the same, Lundqvist said during the World Cup of Hockey as he thought back to the start of his Rangers career.Along with Zibanejad, New Yorks most notable additions were also younger players. Some members of the Rangers youth movement to watch:JIMMY VESEY: The Hobey Baker winner as college hockeys top player, Vesey chose to pursue free agency after his senior season at Harvard instead of signing with Nashville, which drafted him 66th overall in 2012.Vesey picked the Rangers over seven other finalists in August.It seemed that they really needed to have me in their lineup, he said at the time.The 23-year-old forward had 24 goals and 22 assists in 33 games for Harvard last season.ZIBANEJAD: Zibanejad is also 23 and already has two 20-goal seasons in the NHL. He set career highs with 21 goals and 30 assists in 81 games for the Senators last season.Brassard, who just turned 29, had a career-high 27 goals last season.I think the potential is there for more upside, Gorton said of Zibanejad. He is just scratching the surface at age 23. There are not a lot of guys who have done what he has done as far as scored 20 before that age.PAVEL AND PIRRI: Pavel Buchnevich, a 21-year-old Russian left wing who was a 2013 third-round draft pick, is looking to prove hes ready to make an NHL roster. Brandon Pirri, a 25-year-old center, had a career-high 29 points last season but has already been traded twice in his career. The Rangers signed him to a $1.1 million, one-year deal from Anaheim.J.T. MILLER: The Rangers also kept one of their own, signing restricted free agent forward J.T. Miller to a $5.5 million, two-year deal. Another 23-year-old, Miller had 22 goals and 21 assists, both career highs, last season.I dont want to be satisfied on one pretty good year, he said.Fake China Jerseys .Y. -- Sabres forward Drew Stafford has witnessed plenty of turmoil during his eight seasons in Buffalo. China Jerseys Wholesale . The 29-year-old Baines has established himself as one of the top attacking full backs in the country and was the subject of two bids from United during the last off-season. Everton manager Roberto Martinez says that keeping Baines at the club is a "massive boost and exciting for the future" because he brings "maturity and football knowledge in a very specialized position on the pitch" and an "infectious and positive influence to the rest of the squad. https://www.chinajerseyscheap.us/ . The native of Mont-Tremblant, Que., captured a World Cup downhill event Saturday, his second this year and fifth career victory on the circuit. China Jerseys Stitched . On June 12, just as the sun sets on the magnificent historical city of Sao Paulo the inventors, innovators and purveyors of “joga bonitowill” open their campaign. The opponent, Croatia and all its football might and will. As opposites do attract we are set for a corker of an opener. China Jerseys Cheap .C. Lions has come to an end. Banks told TSN on Jan 2 that he had no interest in playing out the option year of his contract with the Lions in 2014, and he again made that clear in a conversation with Lions GM Wally Buono last week.A day before Louisville opened fall camp, receiver Reggie Bonnafon was flipping through his Twitter account ?killing some time, when he came across a video of his quarterback, Lamar Jackson, mugging for the camera at the end of the student centers basketball court. Jackson palms a basketball then heaves it the length of the court, a high arc sailing over the hardwood and landing right on target, swishing through the net.Bonnafon shook his head. This is actually one of Jacksons more practiced tricks, but its still stunning to see the ease with which he unleashes his talent.Its like, man, hes ridiculous, Bonnafon said. But nothing really surprises us at this point.Jackson has only been on campus for just more than a year, but his mythology has already grown so vast that no story of his athletic prowess seems unbelievable.In May 2015, before hed even gotten to Louisville, he posted a high school highlight reel on Twitter with the caption, Louisville takeover, I promise accompanied the hashtag #Humble. Four months later, hed won the Cardinals starting QB job over three more experienced competitors. By years end, he was one of the hottest names in college football, torching Texas A&M in the Music City Bowl, a game he now refers to as his Kodak moment.Theres the story of Jackson bumping into Chicago Bulls guard Rajon Rondo on campus just a few days into summer session last year. Jackson was returning to his dorm with some teammates when he caught Rondos attention. The NBA star challenged the Louisville then-freshman to a foot race. Jackson had just come from a weightlifting session, and he wasnt sure he was up to it.You scared? Rondo prodded.Thats all it took. Jackson grinned, took his spot at the starting line, then left Rondo in the dust.Or theres the legend of how Jackson won his starting job at Boynton Beach High School. Hed transferred in from a small school nearby after his freshman year, and his grades were too low to play immediately. Still, he walked into coach Rick Swains office and announced, Im going to be your starting quarterback.Swain had heard raves from other players about Jacksons talent, but he wasnt convinced the kid was for real.I thought, either this kids got a lot of moxie, Swain said, or hes full of crap.The next semester, Jackson had earned straight As to revive his eligibility, and during a 7-on-7 game that spring, Jackson was so impressive that Swain revamped his offense from a Wing-T to a pistol to allow his new QB to showcase his skill set.Ive coached a lot of players that have gone on to play in the NFL, Swain said, but this kid has some intangible thing that not many people have.So when Louisville coach Bobby Petrino sat at ACC media days last month and suggested the Cardinals were a real threat to win the national championship in 2016, it didnt seem like such a lofty goal. Hes got Jackson on his side, and from there, anythings possible.Theres another video that made rounds on social media shortly after Jacksons first start for the Cardinals. In it, Jackson launches a football from the goal line on the far side of his high school football field. The ball soars high, gets lost briefly in the stadium lights, then emerges on the other side, dropping into the hands of a waiting receiver on the opposite goal line.Nevermind all the clicks that video earned. Somehow questions remain about Jacksons arm and his ability to win football games from inside the pocket.Petrino understands the concerns. He had them, too.We knew how good an athlete he was, Petrino said of Jacksons recruitment. The question was always whether he could throw and be a quarterback.It took just two practices for Petrino to be convinced hed found his QB. After a week of camp last year, Petrino decided Jackson would play as a freshman, and by halftime of Louisvilles opener against Auburn, Jackson had won the starting job.Still, one small problem remained.I know I can make any pass, Jackson said, but I didnt know anything [about the playbook].Instead, Jackson improvised.Behind a porous offensive line, Jackson zigged and zagged his way out of trouble, accelerating past linebackers and defensive backs with ease. By years end, hed racked up 1,143 rushing yards (excluding sacks), the fourth-most of any quarterback in the country. In the season finale against Texas A&M, he ran 22 times for 226 yards and two touchdowns.That was the easy part, Petrino said. This spring was about harnessing that big arm and putting the brakes on Jacksons legs.In 2015, Louisvilles spring scrimmages were open season on the quarterbacks,, who werent given non-contact jerseys in order for the staff to get a better feel for eachs ability to scramble.dddddddddddd This year, Petrino went the opposite direction. He refused to let Jackson leave the pocket.Hed run, Id blow the whistle, and hed get mad at me, Petrino said. Hed say, But coach, I couldve scored. But he needed to throw.As spring progressed, there were fewer debates. Jacksons eyes stayed up, his feet stayed quiet, and the offense exploded.It was Lamar Jackson 2.0, an upgraded edition of an already impressive piece of machinery. In the Cardinals spring game, Jackson completed 24 of 29 passes for 519 yards with eight touchdowns and no picks. He played just one series into the second half of the game.A lot of people dont think I can throw at all, Jackson said, so Ive got to show everyone.Jackson sat perched at a table surrounded by media at the ACCs annual kickoff event last month when one reporter flipped over the notepad Louisville had handed out earlier in the day. On the front was an action shot of Jackson, a sophomore with just eight career starts under his belt, now the face of the program.Thats pretty cool, Jackson said. Ive got to get one of those for my mom.The crowd laughed and Jackson beamed. The coronation seemed inevitable. By days end, the platitudes about Jacksons poise and confidence and maturity had devoured social media platforms. But the funny thing is, that might be the one place Jackson doesnt feel comfortable.I was uptight and nervous, he said of doing interviews last season. I didnt want to make a mistake.Jackson insists he doesnt even watch TV, so he has no idea what type of hype or criticism has been aimed his way, so the questions and the cameras mark the only time all the attention on him actually comes into focus.Yet here he was, cracking jokes and telling stories and interchanging boastful predictions with disarming charm.My feeling was hes going to be a big part of our program, and he needed to go learn how to enjoy it, Petrino said of bringing Jackson to ACC Kickoff. Hes a guy who likes life. He always has a smile on his face. Everyone got to see his personality and understand how special a young man he is.A reporter asked him if he was ever concerned he wouldnt fit in Petrinos offense.Nah, Jackson said. Im coachable.Another asked what he learned in last years loss 41-21 to Florida State.That we need to score more points, Jackson said.When pressed on his recruitment -- a late affair that didnt hit high gear until his senior campaign -- Jackson shrugged off the coaches who might have doubted him back then.High school is a small stage, he said. Im on the big stage now.One question after another, he responded with brevity and optimism. And this was Jackson in his least comfortable surroundings.Of course, thats not to say Jackson cant be flustered. When he screws up during practice, hes apoplectic. Its an issue Coach Swain struggled with during Jacksons prep career, and Nick Petrino, Louisvilles QB coach, has worked to address it this offseason, too. Swain once pointedly asked Jackson why he was so hard on himself. Jackson was unsurprisingly succinct in response: Im not supposed to make mistakes, he said.Perhaps that is Jacksons only true kryptonite this season. The expectations are so high, not just from outside the program, but from inside Jacksons own mind. Hes heading a team that is picked third in its own division, but Louisville fans believe Jackson can even the playing field with heavyweights Florida State and Clemson. His teammates spent the offseason building that hype machine, telling anyone who would listen about the huge strides Jackson made as a passer and how prolific this offense could be. And Jackson, too, hasnt shied from the bluster.This year, he said, when asked about his understanding of the playbook, its going to be easy.The bar is set high, but thats where Jackson likes it.Swain remembers pulling his prized protégé aside after practice one day at Boynton Beach. Swain had once considered law school, he told Jackson, but he loved football too much to give it up. He went into coaching instead, embarking on a hall-of-fame career. His one regret, he said, is that he didnt have the raw talent that Jackson possessed.If Id had that, Swain said, youd never be able to chase the records Id have set.Jackson grinned at his coach and shook his head.I dont know, coach, he retorted. I like doing things like that. ' ' '