relinquish.Colorado got on the board early in the game when MacKinno

TOKYO - Japanese media report free-agent right-hander Hiroki Kuroda will return to Japan in 2015 to pitch for his first team, the Hiroshima Toyo Carp.The reports say Kuroda, who turns 40 in February, has signed a one year contract worth $3.3 million. Kuroda pitched for Hiroshima from 1997-2007 and then spent four years with the Los Angeles Dodgers before moving to the New York Yankees.The Japanese broadcaster NHK and other reports said Saturday that Kuroda will wear No. 15, the same number he wore when he last pitched for the Carp. Hiroshima kept the number open for him during his time in the major leagues, where he wore 18.Last season, Kuroda was 11-9 with a 3.71 ERA. He was 79-79 with a 3.45 ERA in 1,319 career major league innings. He struck out 986 and walked only 292.Kuroda was perhaps the most durable starter in the Yankees rotation the past three seasons. He worked 199 innings this year after exceeding 200 in his first two with New York and the final season with the Dodgers. Roberto Firmino Jersey . Observant Muslims avoid food and liquids from dawn to dusk during Ramadan but can, and often do, skip it if travelling or doing hard physical labour. Some devout Muslim athletes choose to fast during training or competition, but it can create selection difficulties for the coaches in team sports. Filipe Luis Brazil Jersey . Mika Zibanejad and Jason Spezza scored in the shootout to lead the Ottawa Senators to a 2-1 victory over Nashville on Saturday night. http://www.soccerbrazilonline.com/Fernandinho-Copa-America-Jersey/ . The union filed a grievance late Thursday, one day after Goodell suspended four players who participated in bounties from 2009-11. The complaint says Goodell is prohibited from punishing players for any aspect of the case occurring before the new collective bargaining agreement was signed last August. Danilo Brazil Jersey .com) - World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, Wimbledon champion Andy Murray and four-time Australian Open titlist Roger Federer were among Mondays fourth-round winners at Melbourne Park. Fred Jersey . 1. AMIR JOHNSON: Nice to see him back in the lineup Tuesday night in Washington DC. Played with great energy and purpose. Its amazing when a guy gets those few precious days to recover what it does to the bounce in their step and overall game/confidence.DENVER - Brent Seabrook has never played better defence than he is right now. And thats powering his recent offensive surge.Or so goes the reasoning of Chicago coach Joel Quenneville, who praised his defenceman after another rock-solid performance on both ends of the ice.Seabrooks power-play goal broke a second-period tie, Patrick Kane scored twice and the Central Division-leading Blackhawks beat the Colorado Avalanche 5-2 on Saturday night.Over his last five games, Seabrook now has six points (two goals and four assists). His goal against Colorado was a pinpoint shot into the upper corner of the net.Just where he was aiming, right?Shot it as hard as I could and hoped I didnt hit anybody, Seabrook said, smiling.Moments after scoring, Seabrook turned in a nifty defensive play. With Matt Duchene racing down the ice on a breakaway, Seabrook caught up to him, lifted the speedy forwards stick and poked the puck away.(Seabrook) was probably the one guy who turned it around, said Quenneville, whose team flew in Saturday morning after a break for the holiday. I think the offence is coming because hes been defending so well.Brandon Saad also scored for the Blackhawks, while Patrick Sharp celebrated his 33rd birthday with a game-sealing power-play goal in the third period.Hes getting old, but he can still score some goals, Seabrook cracked.Nathan MacKinnon and Erik Johnson had goals for the Avalanche as their three-game win streak was snapped.This is the second time Chicago has beaten Colorado at Pepsi Center this year after going 0-2 in the building last season.Corey Crawford stopped 11 of his 23 shots in the third period, none bigger than the one he made with the Avalanche on a 5-on-3 power play. He turned back a point-blank shot to help the Blackhawks successfully dodge both penalties.The Avalanche pulled goaltender Calvin Pickard with just over 2 minutes remaining, but couldnt generate much offence against Chicagos stingy defence. Instead, it was Kane who scored when he easily tapped the puck into the net with 5.4 seconds remaining. The Blackhawks are now 12-22 this season when Kane scores.dddddddddddd.We didnt play a bad hockey game, Duchene said. We played hard. They are a playoff hockey team. ... I think there were a lot of good things in our game.Pickard stopped 28 shots in what might have been his final start before being sent back to Lake Erie of the American Hockey League. Pickard has been filling in for Semyon Varlamov as the Russian goaltender recovers from a nagging groin injury.With Varlamovs return — he blanked the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday — the Avalanche are reluctant to relegate Pickard to a backup role even if he possessed the second-best save percentage in the league entering the game. Colorado coach Patrick Roy would much rather see the 22-year-old Pickard stay in a groove by playing every night in the minors.Roy said he may wait a few days before making a decision on Pickard, just to make sure Varlamov is completely healthy.Seabrook scored his seventh goal of the season on a power play in the second period, giving the Blackhawks a lead they wouldnt relinquish.Colorado got on the board early in the game when MacKinnon scored his first goal since Nov. 13. The lead didnt last long as Saad answered 31 seconds later with a wrist shot through traffic.Johnson gave the Avalanche another lead with a goal in his fourth-straight game. Once again, the Blackhawks responded, when Duncan Keith sent a pass through the legs of defenceman Brad Stuart that Kane tipped into the net.Pickard has earned high praise from Roy and his teammates with his play. He set an Avalanche rookie record with 47 saves in a 1-0 overtime loss at Pittsburgh on Dec. 18.You dont see a goalie his age play the way he has, Johnson said.NOTES: Blackhawks C Brad Richards missed his third straight game with an upper-body injury. ... D Michal Rozsival was a scratch after not playing in the third period Tuesday due to a lower-body injury. ... C Jonathan Toews finished with two assists. ... Roy insisted he hasnt lost faith in goaltender Reto Berra, who hasnt played since Dec. 5. He needs to rebuild his confidence, Roy said. ' ' '