Lynch looks to further prove value after MVP season Marshawn Lynch, who the Seahawks refused to give a significant raise in the offseason, was the Seahawks most valuable player this year. NBA Jerseys Outlet . With all due respect to Russell Wilson, Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas and others, Lynch entered every game of the Seahawks campaign as the focal point of opponents and yet still managed to create big plays on the ground and in the passing game. He finished as the leagues fourth leading rusher in 2014 and finished third in receiving yards on the Seahawks. His 13 rushing touchdowns tied him with DeMarco Murray for the league lead. The 28-year-old proved throughout the season and again in the NFC Championship game – when he rushed for a season-high 157 yards – why he had demanded more money when the Seahawks opened training camp as defending champions in August. Lynch demanded his $5 million base salary be raised in the offseason and when he didnt receive an offer he liked, decided to hold out as the team returned to Seattle. After one week, and a $1.5 million raise, Lynch ended his holdout and returned to the team. His $6.5 million contract left him as the leagues sixth-highest paid back. In Super Bowl XLVIII, the Denver Broncos held Lynch to just 39 yards on 15 carries and a touchdown as the Seahawks defence and special teams stole the show. Beast Mode will be looking to better that performance against a Patriots defence which ranked ninth against the run this season and prove why he dissevered more from the Seahawks front office. If the Seahawks repeat, dont expect Malcolm Smith to As the Seahawks defence dominated Peyton Manning and the Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII, outside linebacker Malcolm Smith was rewarded with the Super Bowl MVP title. Working as a replacement for injured starter K.J. Wright, Smith was all over the field against the Broncos; credited with a safety, a fumble recovery and a career-high 10 tackles. He topped all that off with a 69-yard interception return for a touchdown. One year later, Wright is healthy and finished as the teams leading tackler in the regular season, leaving Smith as a backup once again. Though the Seahawks defence may shine once again on the leagues biggest stage, barring injury, Smith will not be a key contributor. According to Bovada, Kam Chancellor and Richard Sherman are listed the Seahawks defensive favourites to be the Super Bowl MVP at 33-to-1 odds. Free safety Earl Thomas (40/1) and middle linebacker Bobby Wagner (50/1) have the next best odds of any Seahawks defender. Wright is listed at 75/1, while Smith is going off at 100/1, tying him for the longest odds of any player. Canadian TE Willson emerges as an X-Factor In his second season with the Seattle, Canadian tight end Luke Willson rose up the depth chart and became a starter in the Seahawks offence. Willsons 16.5 yards-per-catch average led all Seahawks who caught more than 20 balls in 2014, and he finished as the teams fourth leading receiver with 362 yards. At 65, 252 pounds with a 4.5 second 40-yard dash time, Willson can create mismatches against smaller defensive backs or slower linebackers. Quarterback Russell Wilson and the Seahawks will likely be forced to take advantage of these opportunities against Patriots, when cornerbacks Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner are expected to lock down receivers Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse. Willson caught four passes for 68 yards and a touchdown against the Carolina Panthers in the divisional round and caught the two-point conversion attempt against the Packers that put the Seahawks up 22-19 with under two minutes to play. See you next year? Seahawks roster built for another run Of 22 starters across Seattles offence and defence, just five are set for free agency this offseason; cornerback Byron Maxwell, guard James Carpenter, receiver Jermaine Kearse, defensive tackle Kevin Williams and fullback Will Tukuafu. Of those, only Maxwell would likely be viewed as a significant loss should he depart. Both Williams and Tukuafu opened the year as backups until injuries promoted them. A Super Bowl win has a possibility to ruin a team financially if multiple key contributors are headed to the open market – see Baltimore Ravens, Joe Flacco – but the Seahawks are built to remain a contender and a potential dynasty with key players locked in for another year. The average player age on Seahawks 53-man roster in Week 1 placed them as the NFLs seventh-youngest team at 25.65 years old. 2014 also marked the third straight year the Seahawks ranked in the top seven in that regard. With Russell Wilson, Marshawn Lynch, Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas all under contract for at least one more year, a three-peat is not out of the question for the Seahawks. That, of course, will require a win on Sunday over the NFLs last dynasty, the New England Patriots. Discount NBA Jerseys . The Bruins forward has been fined $5,000 by the National Hockey League for spearing Red Wings defenceman Danny DeKeyser in the groin. Wholesale NBA Jerseys .ca. The NHL Play of the Year showdown kicks off with some slick moves going head-to-head with a combination of soft hands and endless patience. https://www.nbachinajerseys.us/ . "This isnt really the week you want to lose Chris Greaves," fellow lineman Glenn January said Wednesday after practice. Greaves is expected to miss several weeks after suffering a knee injury in last weeks 36-28 win over the Ottawa Redblacks.It was back in 1991 that Stephen Ames got a taste of what life in Canada would be like. For a guy raised in the tropical temperatures of Trinidad, it was a rude Calgary welcome. "I think the wind chill was minus-55," he said recalling his first Canadian winter spent living in the basement of his mother-in-laws house. "I never left the house." Ames has never really grown fond of winter, but he has certainly fallen in love with Canada. On Wednesday, the country paid him back for that by naming him to the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame. A four-time winner on the PGA Tour including the 2006 Players, Ames is winding down his career on the regular tour and preparing to join the 50-and-over gang on the Champions circuit in April after reaching the magic age of 50. For most of this year, hell split his time between the two tours using his top 50-career money list exemption on the PGA Tour. When asked what he thought the difference between the two tours would be, Ames said it might have to do with what happens off the course. "I think its the 19th hole," he said with a chuckle. "I think its a bit more relaxed after the round." Ames would be a worthy inductee based solely on his playing record, but his contributions to Canadian golf go well beyond that. He has run the Stephen Ames Cup for the past decade, a team event that pits squads from Canada against those from Trinidad. Some of the youngsters who have participated in that event have gone on to earn U.S. college scholarships. And he was instrumental in bringing the Shaw Charity Classic to Calgary, helping line up a team of big rollers in the Western Canadian city to lay the foundation for the Champions Tour event. Ames was also the guy who gave an energetic young teacher named Sean Foley a chance to work with a PGA Tour pro. We all know where thats gone. When asked what the top mark of his career is, Ames didnt hesitate. "Its this," he stated, in reference to his indduction. Stitched NBA Jerseys. "I think being in the Hall of Fame is the highlight." On the course, Ames said that his Players victory was at the top of his personal list. I can say that in all the golf Ive covered and watched, that is simply the best 18 holes of golf Ive ever witnessed. Ive never seen anyone control his golf ball for every shot as Ames did that day. All he did was beat the best field in golf by six shots. I remember some of the biggest names in the game that day shaking their heads in disbelief at what he was doing to TPC Sawgrass. For some people, Ames is seen as a prickly personality but to those who get to know him, nothing could be further from the truth. Hes a guy with a huge heart who loves to laugh and loves his family. Sometimes when he speaks his mind, it can get him in trouble such as the occasion when he questioned Tiger Woods driving ahead of the 2006 Match Play. While a lot was made of that and the subsequent beating Woods laid on him, what he said wasnt wrong. Woods was hitting it all over the lot with his driver. After he won the Players, some media members took him to task for saying he might skip the Masters to go on a family vacation. They couldnt understand how someone would pass up the years first major, the one thats exceptionally difficult to get into. What many failed to realize was that his wife, Jodi, was recovering from surgery for lung cancer. Suddenly a golf tournament, even the Masters, didnt seem so important. There are also still some who, for small-minded reasons, dont even consider him a Canadian. To me, a guy who leaves his native country to willingly take up citizenship, to give back to the game here, to start businesses here, to create tournaments here and make his home full time in Canada – and even cheer for the Calgary Flames -- is about as Maple Leaf as they come. Ames is more than deserving of a spot in Canadian Golf Hall of Fame, even if hes never learned to love those nasty wind chills. ' ' '