The Olympic break in the NHL schedule will be upon us following the conclusion of ten games on Saturday night and players selected to represent their country will head to Sochi with their sights set on a gold medal. USA Soccer Jerseys China . And I wanted to take this opportunity to share some of my experiences gained through International competition and the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. Seven NHL referees and six linesmen will be assigned upcoming games in Sochi by the IIHF as part of their 28-man officiating roster comprised of 14 refs and 14 linesmen. Referees Dave Jackson, Mike Leggo, Brad Meir, Tim Peel, Kevin Pollock, Kelly Sutherland and Ian Walsh will be joined by NHL linesmen colleagues Derek Amel, Lonnie Cameron, Greg Devorski, Brad Kovachik, Andy McElman and Mark Wheler. The IIHF has also selected linesmen Chris Carlson and Jesse Wilmot (Canada), along with Chris Woodworth and Tommy George (U.S.A. Hockey) to participate. Congratulations and best of luck to each of the officials selected to participate in this International showcase.The IIHF, represented by President Rene Fasel and Officiating Manager Konstantin Komissarov, or their designates will have already briefed the current crop of officials heading to Sochi with regard to rule differences, security measures, travel procedures and many other important matters that surround the Olympic event. Aside from the fact that it will be mostly business for the refs and linesmen once they arrive in Sochi, it is a much different world today than it was in 1998. As such, the current group of officials was strongly discouraged from having any family members join then for this Olympic event. It will be all business with heightened security measures in place! I recall our meeting with Mr. Rene Fasel at the NHL Offices in Toronto a month or so prior to our departure for Nagano. Since this was to be the first time that professional players and officials were being allowed to participate in the Winter Olympics there was extensive information that we were provided. As we were being brought up to speed on rule differences Mr. Fasel, stated that all referees and linesmen were required to wear a helmet and visor! My colleague Ray Scapinello raised his hand and said, "Mr. Fasel I dont wear a helmet let alone a visor." The IIHF President addressed Scapinello directly and informed him if he didnt wear a helmet and a visor he would not be working in the Olympics. Scampy immediately responded with, "My helmet size is 7 1/4 - thank you, sir." Those of us that didnt wear a helmet or visor put one in the last week or two of NHL games in an effort to adjust. As you can imagine I had a very difficult time with it. The visor gave me the feeling of being in a fishbowl. I tried various products and sizes in an attempt to get comfortable and was struggling with it until Ray Bourque helped me out in a game in Boston. He told me I looked ridiculous in the thing I was wearing and had the Bruins trainer put one of his special Oakley visors on my helmet. If nothing else, the style was more appealing and I wore it during the Olympics. In spite of flying business class to Tokyo from North America, it was a very long haul. We were advised to drink plenty of water (limit alcohol consumption) and to get up and exercise throughout the flight in addition to sleep as much as possible. Our Japanese hosts were fantastic. Upon arrival at Narita Airport we were personally escorted to the Bullet Train. We were then handed a ticket with a seat assignment and escorted to the platform where all passengers waited in a very orderly fashion behind a theatre-style rope. The Bullet Train pulled into the station and passengers disembarked. A cleaning crew dressed smartly in uniform and white gloves marched onto the train in single file with their brooms and dusters placed over their shoulders like rifles. They cleaned the train and then marched off in unison the same way they entered. An attendant removed the clip from the rope restrainer and the customers walked onto the train in a calm and orderly fashion, single file. For all of us that had been pushed and jostled on filthy trains throughout the North American public transit systems (especially the New York subway) this was an amazingly pleasant experience. We rolled into the mountain region of Nagano 24 hours after our flight had departed from North America. We had one day to quickly recover, meet with our IIHF colleagues in a morning skate and then work the games. The extensive travel to get to Sochi will be a challenge for the current group of officials to overcome as well. In a short tournament on the world stage, every game is crucial and the officials feel the pressure and demand to be at their very best. All of us had extensive Stanley Cup playoff experience (including multiple Cup Finals for several of us) but we were the new kids on the block regarding Olympic competition. The camaraderie that was quickly established between the amateur and professional officials in Nagano made for a unified group of zebras. We were able to share our officiating experience and help one another adjust to the bigger ice surface and style of play that we would encounter. We immediately gelled with our International colleagues and became a unified team. It was obvious to me very early in the tournament that the Czechs were going to be a team to be reckoned with. They had many talented players, but unlike their dismal performance in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey where they were individualistic and disjointed, this group appeared united and going for the gold. Their captain, Vladimir "Rosey" Ruzicka (233 NHL games with Edmonton, Boston and Ottawa) hadnt played in the NHL since the 1993-94 season but was performing at an incredibly high level; one that I had never seen from him previously. He was definitely the leader of this Czech team. And of course, they had The Dominator (Dominik Hasek) in goal! I was the backup referee for the gold medal game between Czechoslovakia and Russia. I was seated in the first row of the lower balcony beside my wife Kathy when Bill Wirtz and his wife arrived to occupy the seats beside us. The stairs were extremely steep and as Mr. Wirtz got to the railing he tripped and started to fall forward. I grabbed him by his belt and yanked hard pulling the Blackhawks owner backward into his seat before he fell over the railing. Startled, he look at me and said, "Thanks Kerry, that was a close call!" Just before the opening puck drop, Mr. Wirtz asked me who I thought was going to win the game. I told him the Czech team had really impressed me throughout the Olympics and I thought they stood a real good chance. He said that was good info because he had laid down a large bet in Vegas for the Czech team to win. The reasoning he shared with me was that he had bet against Dominik Hasek once before when he traded the goalie away from the Hawks. Mr. Wirtz said he wasnt going to bet against Hasek this time around! The Dominator shut out the Russian team and the Czechs won the gold medal. We were a tired but jovial bunch that boarded a bus arranged by Sr. V.P. of Hockey Operations Brian Burke to transport us from Nagano back to Tokyo following the gold medal game. And Burkie was busy snapping pictures of everyone as for his Nagano album. Following a brief sleep in the airport hotel, we boarded an early morning flight back home. Our stay at home was extremely short because the referees had to all fly to Toronto early the next morning for a meeting that NHL commissioner Gary Bettman insisted we attend. While we were in Nagano, the Commissioner had us craft a document with referee-in-chief Bryan Lewis in an attempt to solve the ongoing obstruction crisis in the NHL. As such, we had to jump on a plane and attend a referees-only meeting. Fortunately, those of us that had worked the Olympics were given a week off to recover from the jet lag. The meeting held in Toronto didnt prove all that productive since it wasnt until 2006 that a meaningful difference resulted in dealing with obstruction! The Olympic experience is a highlight of everyones career, whether as a player or as an official. I am quite sure the group working in Sochi will feel the same way. Best of luck boys and above all, please remain safe! USA Soccer Jerseys 2020 .This one was bigger than most.Ben Roethlisberger and LeVeon Bell came up big in a game that Pittsburgh had to win Sunday, leading the Steelers to a 42-21 drubbing of the Cincinnati Bengals that left the AFC North race wide open. USA Soccer Gear . Jesus Navas bookended yet another huge home win for City by scoring after 14 seconds and again in second-half stoppage time, with Sergio Aguero also netting in each half to add to an own goal by Sandro and a brilliant strike by Alvaro Negredo. https://www.cheapusasoccer.com/ . Englands only win in the four most recent trips north had been tight, and Scotland was expected after losing 28-6 to Ireland six days ago to show some venom against its archrival.DENVER -- Don Mattingly made a rather bold prediction after Clayton Kershaws latest masterful performance: His ace will give up another run at some point this season. "I know Im going out on a limb," the Los Angeles Dodgers manager joked. Lately, Kershaw has looked that untouchable. The hard-throwing lefty nearly had no-hit stuff against Colorado again, allowing only two singles over eight innings as the Dodgers beat the Rockies 9-0 on Friday night. Whats more, Kershaw (10-2) extended his scoreless streak to 36 innings before being replaced by a pinch hitter in the ninth. Kershaw bottled up the top-hitting team in the majors in nearly matching the no-hitter he threw against the Rockies on June 18 at Dodger Stadium. Kershaw struck out eight and walked one. "You dont ever want to give up a run," Kershaw casually said. "I guess thats the goal." The nastiness of Kershaws slider -- the best pitch in baseball, Drew Stubbs labeled it -- is fueling his roll. "Anytime he takes the mound, hes capable of the run hes been on," catcher A.J. Ellis said. Yasiel Puig hit a two-run shot -- his first homer since May 28 -- and Scott Van Slyke added a three-run homer as the Dodgers had a season-high 19 hits. Jair Jurrjens (0-1) struggled in his first big-league start in a year, lasting 4 2-3 innings and giving up eight runs. After the game, Jurrjens was taken to a nearby hospital for tests after developing breathing issues. Though the problems dissipated, the Rockies had him taken to the hospital. Kershaw was coming off quite a June in which he went 6-0 with a 0.82 ERA. He carried it over to July as he allowed only DJ LeMahieus single in the third and Nolan Arenados base hit in the seventh. The 26-year-old Kershaw hasnt allowed a run since the third inning against Arizona on June 13. His scoreless innings streak is the third-longest in Los Angeles history, according to information from the Elias Sports Bureau provided by the Dodgers. The team -- and major league -- record is 59 straight by Orel Hershiser in 1988. Of those 36 scoreless innings Kershaw has turned in, 17 have now been at Colorados expense. The Rockies didnt have Troy Tulowitzkki (tight groin) in the lineup Friday night. Fake USA Soccer Jerseys. "Hes on a pretty good roll, approaching historic measures," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. "Hes locked in right now and we saw it today." Kershaw also did some damage with his bat as he laced an RBI single to left as part of a five-run fifth to break the game open. It was Kershaws first RBI of the season. Dodgers shortstop Hanley Ramirez was hit on the left arm by Jurrjens in the fifth and was replaced when the team took the field. Mattingly indicated Ramirez could possibly be in the lineup Saturday. Colorado finally solved Kershaw in the third when LeMahieu lined a base hit to right. Jurrjens followed with a bunt that Kershaw wildly threw to first for an error, putting runners on first and third with one out. But Kershaw picked off Jurrjens and then struck out Charlie Blackmon to keep his scoreless innings streak intact. "During this run, hes had an A curveball and an A slider this entire time," Ellis said. "Theyre both electric strikeout pitches." The Dodgers hit for the cycle in the first to jump out to a 3-0 lead. Dee Gordon began with a bunt single and Puig followed with a two-run homer. Ramirez added a double and scored on Andre Ethiers two-out triple. A rocky start to Jurrjens Rockies career. The Rockies acquired Jurrjens in a trade with Cincinnati two days ago to bolster a rotation ravaged by injuries. He became the 13th different starter Colorado has used this season. Jurrjens last pitched in the big leagues on June 29, 2013, when he was with Baltimore. He was replacing Jhoulys Chacin, whos on the 60-day disabled list with an inflamed right shoulder. NOTES: Every Dodgers starter had a hit Friday night. Gordon, Ellis and Ethier each had three. ... Rockies OF Carlos Gonzalez (left index finger) hit in the cage Friday. ... Decorated Olympic swimmer Amy Van Dyken-Rouen posted on her Twitter account a picture from the Rockies game and a message saying: "Thank you to the rockies for my first outing! You guys have been amazing to us!" Van Dyken-Rouen is rehabbing at nearby Craig Hospital after an accident on an all-terrain vehicle left her paralyzed. ' ' '