Sinnloses » before halftime to put France into the lead, while Honduras

PHILADELPHIA – Maple Leafs general manager Dave Nonis spoke to Florida Panthers boss Dale Tallon on Thursday morning about the prospects of trading up for the first overall pick in Fridays draft. "But at this point," Nonis said a few hours after the conversation, "I dont think theres a deal there for us." Despite interest in moving up the ladder of the first round – from where they currently stand at eighth overall – Nonis didnt believe the current price-tag fit the bill for his club, particularly if it meant sacrificing young talent. The cost was simply too high. "It is for us," Nonis said of the first overall pick. "It may not be for other teams. I know that Dale is serious about moving it – I think hes happy to keep it as well – but hes not going to give that pick away. "Theres been dialogue, but we havent made any traction and as it stands right now, I would expect that were going to stay at eight." Having hoarded a slew of promising building blocks in recent years (including Aleksander Barkov with the second overall selection in 2013) and with the draft lacking in a consensus, slam-dunk superstar, Tallon is inclined to give up the rights for the top spot. But hes labeled the price for the pick as including a top young player, one who can step right into the Panthers lineup, and perhaps a pick or something of similar value. "Somebody has to knock our socks off for us to make the move," Tallon told TSN recently. In a different draft, Nonis might be prepared to pay that price. He was second in command to Brian Burke at the time of the 2009 draft when Burke spoke openly and aggressively about his pursuit of the first overall pick in a draft that featured star John Tavares. "That price-tag is different than possibly moving up to take the player whos going to go [first] here," Nonis said. "It doesnt mean that the player who goes [first] is not going to be a great player, but those price-tags are different and I think every team in the league would tell you that. Theres a number or a value that we place on moving up and it wouldnt include our top young players, no." Beyond Aaron Ekblad, theres a definite aura of unpredictability at the top of this draft, making the possibility of the Leafs landing a quality asset at eight all the more likely. Toronto has demonstrated a strong inclination toward selecting North American players in recent years, picking just seven Europeans since 2009 and none in the first round since 2006 when Jiri Tlusty was picked 13th overall. They may not be able to land the top centre theyve long desired with the eighth pick – Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart and Leon Draisaitl all figure to be off the board – but theres potential to add front-line skill at wing, perhaps in the form of Nick Ritchie or Jake Virtanen (Nikolaj Ehlers and William Nylander are both intriguing, but neither seem to fit the current Toronto mold). "This [draft] may not have the superstar at the top, but I think most teams would agree theres some pretty good players in this draft that are going to be useful players on good teams," said Nonis. "Its important when youre picking at eight that you get one of those players." Back in 2008, with Cliff Fletcher minding the helm, Toronto moved up two spots in the draft to land Luke Schenn with the fifth overall pick, sending their first round selection (seventh overall) to the Islanders along with picks in the second and third round. The Leafs selected hulking centre Frederik Gauthier with their top selection a year ago (21st overall), adding Morgan Rielly to their young mix in 2012. Nike Zoom Wholesale . Plata blasted a rising shot to the upper left corner for his team-leading seventh goal of the season. He got the kick after referee Allen Chapman ruled Chris Tierney fouled John Stertzer in the penalty area. Nike Zoom Shoes On Sale . Heather, the first Gaiter to win the award, set a Canadian Inter-university Sport record with 3,132 passing yards in eight league games, an average of 391.5 yards per game. That beat the mark of 3,047 set only one week earlier by Westerns Will Finch, a Hec Crighton finalist. http://www.cheapnikezoom.com/ . -- Cheyenne Woods, the niece of Tiger Woods, shot a 2-under 69 on Tuesday to finish first in stroke-play qualifying at the Womens U. Cheap Nike Zoom Shoes Free Shipping Worldwide . Bayern winger Franck Ribery marked his league return after recovering from a cracked rib by scoring two goals and setting up two more as the league leaders inflicted the heaviest home defeat on Bremen in the Bundesliga. Nike Zoom Clearance . In the days leading up to the draft, TSN.ca and TSN Radio basketball analyst Duane Watson looks at some of the names that will be headlining the event. Watch the 2014 NBA Draft on TSN, Thursday at 7pm et/4pm pt.Fridays action from Brazil concludes with Ecuador and Honduras both looking for their first win at the 2014 World Cup. Listen to Ecuador vs. Honduras LIVE at 6pm et/3pm pt on TSN Radio 1050 Toronto and TEAM 1410 Vancouver. Ecuador and Honduras will both be aiming to bounce back after suffering defeats in their respective World Cup openers in Group E play at the Arena da Baixada on Friday. Both sides enter the match without a point, but the two teams arrived at that destination in very different ways. Ecuadors 2-1 defeat to Switzerland came on a stoppage-time winner from Swiss substitute Haris Seferovic, while Honduras was hammered 3-0 by France and had Wilson Palacios sent off in the first half. There is no room for error for either team in this game as the loser would be eliminated, and both must pick themselves up after tough defeats to open the competition. Ecuador took the lead in the contest in the 22nd minute through a goal from Enner Valencia as he headed home a free kick. But Switzerland made the most of a set-piece chance of its own and equalized early in the second half courtesy of Admir Mehmedi. The match was there for the taking for either side in the second half, but just when Ecuador seemed to be pressing for the winner, Switzerland hit on a counter attack in the dying minutes to snatch the win on a well-worked piece of play that resulted in Seferovic slamming home the winner from close range. "It was an intense and evenly-matched game. Weve seen both teams perform to the best of their ability," said Ecuador head coach Reinaldo Rueda, "We seemed to have thee game under control, but what use is that if you end up losing? But thats football, although we didnt deserve to lose.dddddddddddd Both teams went looking for the win. We have to get this defeat out of our heads and get ready to face two very strong opponents." That first opponent, Honduras, was soundly beaten by France through two goals from Karim Benzema and an own goal that brought goal-line technology into play. Benzema converted from the penalty spot shortly before halftime to put France into the lead, while Honduras entered the break with 10 men after Palacios received a second yellow card. At that point it was mostly about damage control for head coach Luis Fernando Suarez and his team, although he watched France add another goal in the 48th minute when a shot from Benzema struck the post and was deflected into his own net by goalkeeper Noel Valladares. Benzema then capped the match with another tally 18 minutes from time, leaving Suarez to hope that his side can learn from the defeat and move forward. "It was a tough match, and they came through it better than we did," Suarez said. "Weve got no regrets; they were simply better than us on the day. There are certain aspects that well need to improve ahead of our next game. Its difficult to overcome a team thats already up by a goal and is capable of holding on to the ball so well. Well need to retain the lessons we learned today." Honduras is still searching for its first win at a World Cup, while Ecuador can give itself a chance at reaching the round of 16 for the second time with three points on Friday. ' ' '