Pirate Galaxy » hard thing in the first half, he said.

The Steven Stamkos sweepstakes didnt even reach the official start of NHL free agency.The Tampa Bay Lightning?signed their star captain to an eight-year deal Wednesday, keeping him off the market two days before free agency begins.?I am excited to move forward with the Lightning today for the next eight years, Stamkos said in a statement. Its not often that a player gets the chance to spend his career in one organization and I am hopeful that this agreement sets me on that path with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Most importantly, I look forward to working with my teammates, coaches and our management in our pursuit of winning a Stanley Cup.An NHL source said the contract is worth an average of $8.5 million annually. Only $1 million per year of that, however, is in pure salary; the rest is payable in signing bonuses. The deal also includes a full no-movement clause for all eight seasons, a source said.?We were just in a little group chat with the boys, and were all just so excited, so happy that hes coming back, Lightning veteran Brian Boyle said. Obviously, its been probably a process for him, but it just shows you the character he has and the kind of guy he is and what he really wanted. We couldnt be more thrilled to have him back. Hes our captain, our leader.Stamkos has spent his entire eight-year career with the Lightning, who drafted him No. 1 overall in 2008. He has scored 312 goals in 569 games since beginning his career in 2008-09, second only to Alex Ovechkin (362) over that span. He has averaged 0.55 goals per game in his career.The Markham, Ontario, native is a four-time All-Star and has led the Lightning in goals in six of the past seven seasons, including two seasons of 50 or more goals: 51 in 2009-10 and 60 in 2011-12.?Stamkos was the rare franchise player set to hit free agency after contract talks with the Lightning extended into this weeks interview window, and the interest in him was intense. The Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres, Boston Bruins, Vancouver Canucks and Montreal Canadiens were all expected to be in on Stamkos when he hit free agency Friday, but his desire to win a Stanley Cup with the team that drafted him won out.We are very appreciative of the effort and commitment that Steven and his representatives have exhibited in getting a deal done, GM Steve Yzerman said. We are excited to have him as a cornerstone part of the team for the next eight years as we continue in the franchises ultimate goal of winning another Stanley Cup.The Lightning advanced to the Stanley Cup finals in 2015. This spring, with Stamkos out recovering from a blood clot, they reached the Eastern Conference finals, falling to the?Pittsburgh Penguins?in seven games. Of all his?suitors, Tampa Bay was probably the closest to being a legitimate Stanley Cup contender in the short term.He has an opportunity, a rare opportunity, to go into free agency at such a young age, and obviously, he had a lot of suitors, a lot of dollar signs pointing at him, but what he wants to do is he wants to win, Boyle said. He takes being a captain very seriously, and he wants to win. He showed it in Game 7 against the Penguins, coming back and playing. He showed what a captain, a leader, a guy of high character should do. If hes leading the way, you better fall in line because thats the way things are going to go. Its a great strength of our team, and it goes to show you how strong of a character guy he is, and he makes everybody else better for it.?Stamkos was the focus for Yzerman,?but Yzermans work is just starting. The Lightning still need to sign restricted free agent Nikita Kucherov, who had a breakout postseason during Stamkos absence.There is also speculation that the Lightning might need to trade a goalie, with Bishop the most likely candidate.On Friday, the Lightning also can sign franchise defenseman Victor Hedman to a contract extension.It makes for a busy offseason for Yzerman, but the most challenging deal is done.Information from ESPNs Joe McDonald and Pierre LeBrun was used in this report.Vapormax Herre Norge . With his new coach and six-time Grand Slam singles champion Boris Becker watching him during an official match for the first time, Djokovic appeared tentative early against the Slovakian player, who often appeared content to keep the ball in play. Vapormax Flyknit Herre Norge . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. http://www.vapormaxnorge.com/ .com) - Manchester City midfielder David Silva is expected to miss the next four weeks because of a calf problem. Nike Vapormax Billig . Pirlo limped out of Sundays 1-0 win over Udinese after just 13 minutes. Juventus says Pirlo underwent tests on Monday which revealed he has "a second-degree lesion to the collateral medial ligament in his right knee. Vapormax Svart Herre Norge . Colin Wilson had two goals and an assist, and Mike Fisher scored a goal and helped set up two others in the Predators 6-4 victory over the Red Wings on Monday night.COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio States stout defense hasnt allowed a touchdown in two games against overmatched Bowling Green and Tulsa. Urban Meyer knows the first real test will come at No. 14 Oklahoma next week.The Buckeyes intercepted four of Tulsa quarterback Dane Evans passes Saturday -- including pick-sixes by safety Malik Hooker and cornerback Marshon Lattimore -- in in a 48-3 victory.Our defense is playing so well right now, Meyer said. Obviously, the challenge will come next week against a very good team, and were going to jump on that one early and get ready to go.The offense, on the other hand, was a little slow to get going Saturday.After piling up a school-record 776 yards last week against Bowling Green, Ohio State (2-0) didnt score an offensive touchdown against until quarterback J.T. Barrett ran in from 11 yards with 9:42 left in the third quarter.Tailback Mike Weber, Barrett and H-backs Curtis Samuel and Dontre Wilson added scoring runs later in the second half to put the game out of reach.Wilson said Ohio State must come out gunning next week in Norman.It will be tough, it will be tough, Wilson said. Thats the plan not to start that way, and I dont think well start that way. Weve got to establish the running game. Once the running game pops we can start doing better.Tulsa (1-1) managed only Redford Jones 37-yard field goal in the first quarter and was limited to 188 total yards on offense.We got some things going but just didnt finish when we got in the red zone, Tulsa coach Philip Montgomery said. We just made too many crucial mistakes at bad times.Barrett was a pedestrian 14 for 22 for 149 yards and no touchdowns after throwing for six last week.Weber gained 92 yards on 17 carries and scored his first touchdown as a Buckeye.Lightning in the area extended halftime to about 70 minutes and driving rain fell throughout the second half, chasing away many of the 104,410 fans.THE TAKEAWAYTULSA: The Golden Hurricane played tough against Barrett and the Ohio State offense in the first half, but Tulsas offense made too many mistakes to stay in the game.Right before the half, the picks were a tough pill to swallow, Montgomeryy said.ddddddddddddHIO STATE: Ohio State again flexed its defensive muscle and showed its secondary could be among the best in the country. The Buckeyes managed just 158 yards of offense in the first half against a four-touchdown underdog, but the harder the rain fell in the second half, the more they scored. They finished with 417 yards.KEY NUMBERS:Samuel again put together a solid game, catching five passes for 62 yards and rushing for 78 yards on 8 carries....The Ohio State defense limited Tulsa to 77 rushing yards on 36 carries for a 2.1 yards-per-carry average....Hookers second-quarter interception was his third of the season. He returned it 26 yards for a touchdown, marking the second-consecutive game an Ohio State defensive back has a pick-six. Later in the second quarter, Lattimore returned an interception 40 yards for a score....Ohio State defensive end Sam Hubbard tallied a career-high six tackles. Linebacker Raekwon McMillan led the Buckeyes with nine.MAKING ADJUSTMENTSBarrett said Ohio State was confounded by the Tulsa defense in the first half, but halftime adjustments kick-started the attack in the rainy second half.That was a hard thing in the first half, he said. They threw the kitchen sink at us. It was a really good defense. With that being said, trying to adjust to that on the sideline was kind of rough in the first half. Once we got to halftime we made better adjustments.He said the driving rain wasnt a factor.POLL IMPLICATIONS:No. 4 Ohio State walloped a weaker opponent as expected. No. 2 Clemson struggled with an underdog so could possibly lose some votes.UP NEXTTULSA: A home game against FCS team North Carolina A&T next week.OHIO STATE: The real season starts as the Buckeyes travel to Oklahoma to take on the Sooners. Oklahoma slipped to No. 14 in the polls after an opening loss to Houston.---Follow Mitch Stacy at http://twitter.com/mitchstacyFor some of his other recent stories: http://bigstory.ap.org/content/mitch-stacy---AP college football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '