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The few minutes of media access after a hard-fought game isnt usually the best time to get a young NHL player talking about something other than the contest he just played. You save those conversations for practice days or morning skates.But even coming off the heat of battle, Connor McDavid and Patrik Laine happily paused to talk about playing against their idols in the NHL for the first time.In the case of Laine, it has already happened. The Winnipeg Jets rookie grew up an avid?Alex Ovechkin fan and got to face Ovechkin for the first time in the NHL last Tuesday. Laine had played against Ovechkin internationally, the first time coming during the World Championships in May.Still, their first NHL meeting was quite the thrill for the 18-year-old right winger.It was exciting to play against my childhood idol, Laine said. It was a great moment.Next, its McDavids turn.McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers face Sidney Crosbys Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET. It will be the first time McDavid, 19, plays against Crosby, 29. McDavid was still sweating from a win over the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday when he was asked about the opportunity to play the guy he grew up revering.Even as reserved as McDavid is, you could sense his admiration.Its exciting. [Crosby is] someone I grew up idolizing, McDavid said. I didnt get a chance to play him last year. I didnt get a chance to play him in the World Cup. For me, its going to be pretty cool.Crosby and Ovechkin are still at the top of their games. Their teams are well-built and poised to make runs in the Stanley Cup playoffs.Were not putting them out to pasture.But in McDavid and Laine, we have two young players who are just about ready to take the baton. If youre sick of Crosby and Ovechkin comparisons, well, youre in luck. Get ready for a decades worth of comparisons between McDavid and Laine, because they might be the two players best poised to fill the vacancy when Crosby and Ovechkin move closer to the Hall of Fame.With eight goals so far this season, Laine is at the top of that leaderboard, where Ovechkin has finished six times in his career.Sounds pretty good, Laine said, when told of his spot in the goals standings. Cool. Its nice to hear.He also has more goals than any other rookie in the league, even after?Auston Matthews jumped out to an early lead with his historic four-goal NHL debut on Oct. 12.The general manager who drafted Ovechkin was in the building when Laine scored his seventh NHL goal. Former Capitals and current Las Vegas GM George McPhee saw shades of Mario Lemieux in Laines game when he first watched him during the World Junior Championships in Finland.The Ovechkin comparison works for McPhee too, mostly because both are threats to score every time they shoot.Some guys can shoot it all night and its not going to go in, McPhee said. These guys need one chance and theyre a threat to score. They both have the ability, a little bit of a curl and drag -- while theyre doing it, it changes the angle for the goalie. [Laine] is really accurate. He can really place pucks.As for McDavid, he has been getting Crosby comparisons all his life. Now the hockey world will get to see how their matchup plays out on the same sheet of ice on Tuesday night.Crosby has two Art Ross trophies, a collection that would be bigger if it werent for his multiple concussions. In six games this season, Crosby is averaging 1.67 points per game -- the highest ratio of his career. Hes making a charge up the leaderboard despite missing the Penguins first six games while recovering from his latest concussion.Waiting for him near the top of the points race is McDavid.McDavid has 14 points in 13 games, a total topped only by three players (Artem Anisimov, Patrick Kane and Nikita Kucherov) through Monday.It sure looks like McDavid will give his idol just as much competition in the points race as Kane, Claude Giroux and Steven Stamkos?will.Oilers winger Jordan Eberle has played on a line with Crosby during the 2015 World Championships and now skates on McDavids wing with Edmonton.The one thing that sticks out with Connor is his speed, Eberle said in comparing the two. Hes faster than any player Ive ever played with.McDavid and Laine both joined the NHL via different drafts, like Ovechkin (2004) and Crosby (2005). They play different positions like Ovechkin (left wing) and Crosby (center). They play in the same conference, like Ovechkin and Crosby do.The way the Jets and Oilers are trending, theyre going to see a lot of each other in the coming years -- with a lot on the line. You know, like Crosby and Ovechkin.If it ends up playing out the way that rivalry has, McDavid would be thrilled.If you can have half [Crosbys] success or even a quarter of his success, I think thats a pretty amazing career, McDavid said. Hes won basically everything there is to win. Hes a pretty good guy to try and follow.So is Ovechkin. Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys Free Shipping . There was no hesitation from the 40th-ranked Pospisil, from Vernon, B.C., who admitted that he cut back on his training sessions over the last few days to conserve energy as the long ATP season finishes next week at the Paris Masters. NFL Jerseys China . -- Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Alrdridge were again the go-to duo for the Trail Blazers against the Kings. http://www.cheapwholesalejerseysnfl.com/ . "I was fortunate to play many years at this level with a great organization and unbelievable teammates," said Hejduk in a statement. Cheap NFL Jerseys China . And when it opened, every player was at his stall. Thats a sure sign that a team is in a slump and is searching for answers. "Its embarrassing to be at home and play the way we did," said defenceman Josh Gorges. Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys For Sale . Sgt. Eric ONeal says most of the arrests at Monday nights game were for public drunkenness, though one person was taken into custody on suspicion of trying to steal a seat from the stadium.FIFA will have a new president on 26 February. After 18 years, Sepp Blatters controversial reign will come to an official end at the FIFA Congress in Zurich. Five candidates want to replace Blatter and become the most powerful man in world football, and whoever wins will become the ninth elected president in FIFAs 112-year history.The new president will be elected in a secret ballot of FIFAs 209 member associations, but Kuwait and Indonesia are banned, so there may be only 207 votes up for grabs. Africa has 54 votes, Europe 53, Asia 46, North and Central America and the Caribbean 35, Oceania 11 and South America 10.A candidate needs two thirds of the votes to win in the first round. In subsequent rounds, the candidate with the lowest number of votes drops out and a simple majority is required to win.During the past three months, Sky Sports News HQ has interviewed all five candidates - Sheikh Salman of Bahrain, Gianni Infantino, Prince Ali of Jordan, Jerome Champagne and Tokyo Sexwale.Over the next week we will profile each candidate, study their manifestos and assess their chances. Today, we start with Sheikh Salman. Salman is currently president of the Asian Football Confederation SHEIKH SALMAN OF BAHRAIN:WHY IS HE STANDING?Sheikh Salman did not intend to stand for the top job in world football this year. He decided to enter the race only when it became clear that Michel Platinis bid was in serious trouble.In May 2013, Salman was elected president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Blatter and Platini were in Kuala Lumpur, as Salman received 33 of the 46 votes.Last May, the AFC backed Blatter to serve a fifth term as FIFA president.Salman and the AFC were going to back Platini this time, until details emerged of the £1.3m payment Platini had received from FIFA in 2011, a payment which had been signed off by Blatter without a written contract and a payment which led to both men being banned from football.With Platini out of the running, the AFC needed their own man in the race and that man was Salman.It is worth bearing in mind, though, that Salman would have stepped aside if Platini had cleared his name in time to re-enter the race.WHAT ARE HIS CHANCES?Sheikh Salman is the clear favourite and his chances look good. He can count on the majority of Asias 46 votes and he is confident of securing many of Africas 54 votes.Last month, the AFC signed a controversial memorandum of understanding with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the CAF executive committee has endorsed him.Salmans team believe he will receive 18 of the 25 votes of the Caribbean Football Union and 5 of the 10 votes of the South American CONMEBOL confederation.Theoretically, he should have the votes he needs to win in the second round, but this is a secret ballot and there is no guarantee that he will get the votes he has been promised.The other four candidates will all pick up votes in Africa and some member associations have already broken ranks and publicly endorsed Prince Ali, Gianni Infantino and Jerome Champagne.As the frontrunner, Salman has not had to do as much travelling and campaigning as his nearest challenger Infantino. Salmans team expect him to receive between 70 and 80 votes in the first round. Salman plans to split FIFA into two parts if he is elected WHAT KIND OF PRESIDENT WILL HE BE?He will be a non-executive president and will delegate responsibility. Many people think FIFA needs a more hands-on approach at a time of crisis. Salman, though, is convinced that his light-touch leadership style is the way forward.dddddddddddd He calls FIFA a phoenix project and he believes he is the man who can lift the organisation from its ashes.Richard Scudamore has been talked about as a potential FIFA secretary general in a Salman administration, but it is highly unlikely that the Premier League executive chairman would want to have anything to do with FIFA.Salmans top executive will not necessarily have a football background, but he will be a turnaround expert.Salman also wants to set up a board of advisers from within the game. The great and the good will be invited to Zurich on a regular basis. Sir Alex Ferguson is one of the names on Salmans list of potential advisers.Salman has tried repeatedly to draw a line under allegations that he was involved in the identification of athletes and footballers who were imprisoned and tortured in Bahrain in 2011. He says he can guarantee that no-one was tortured under his authority but the questions have not gone away and there will be more of them if he becomes FIFA president.WHAT STANDS OUT IN HIS MANIFESTO? Salman says he does not want to be paid, but he will publish the salaries of other senior officials.He wants to divide FIFA into two parts. There will be Business FIFA and Football FIFA.This separation should, in theory, ensure that corruption scandals are a thing of the past. Or, as Salman puts it: Only by strictly separating the generation of funds and supervising the flow of all monies spent can we guarantee the rebirth of FIFA. Other candidates have talked about expanding the World Cup from 32 to 40 teams, but Salman believes this is a policy designed to attract votes from countries who have trouble qualifying for the tournament.Speaking during a presentation in Miami on 11 February, Salman said: Promises of more World Cup places during an election are unprofessional. He says any changes need to be properly studied and debated before they are introduced. Blatter has done many good things according to Sheikh Salman WHAT DOES HE THINK OF SEPP BLATTER?Like all the other candidates, Salman does not want to criticise Blatter in public. Blatter received almost two-thirds of the votes at the presidential election last May and there are still many member associations who think he has been treated unfairly. Salman - and the other candidates - need their votes, so any criticism is always qualified with praise.Salman says he has known Blatter since 1998. He says Blatter has done many good things. He thinks Blatter made a mistake by not standing down at the end of his fourth term. He still respects Blatter: We have to carry on the good work that has been done but in a different way. I have respect for him and his contribution for the game. Life has changed, we have to turn a page.WHO DOES HE BLAME FOR THE FIFA CRISIS?Salman believes FIFAs problems have been caused by rogue elements in confederations which are beyond FIFAs control. He blames individuals in the CONCACAF and CONMEBOL region and says FIFAs problems have to be put into context: Other sports are much worse. You look at athletics and tennis and the doping and fixing - there are much worse cases than FIFA.WHO DOES HE SUPPORT?Manchester United. Salman says he started supporting United in the 80s. His favourite United players are Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes. He admits that watching the current United team can be boring. Watch full coverage of the FIFA Presidential Election on 26 February on Sky Sports News HQ. Also See: FA to back Infantino Platini upbeat Blatter appeal to be heard ' ' '