The Edmonton Oilers have gone 10 seasons without a playoff appearance, employed seven head coaches, won the draft lottery four times and lost 488 of 704 games. Cal Ripken Jersey .Yet the only number that matters now is 97.Thats the number on the sweater of generational talent Connor McDavid, whos going into his second NHL season and leading the Oilers into a new era in their new arena. Edmonton will play the first regular-season game at sparkling Rogers Place against the rival Calgary Flames on Oct. 12, raising the curtain on a fresh start for an organization in need of one.Rogers Place isnt the arena McDavid built, though it should be the scene for the 19-year-olds rapid ascent as one of hockeys brightest stars.He kind of adds another level of excitement, center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. Its pretty cool with the new building and everything. Its all kind of coming together at the right time, so now weve just got to go out there and perform, obviously. Its exciting the direction that were heading. Connor is going to be a big part of that. Its going to be fun.Winning the 2015 draft lottery to get McDavid set into motion big changes for the Oilers organization, including the hiring of Peter Chiarelli as general manager. This offseason, Chiarelli signed big power forward Milan Lucic, traded Taylor Hall for defenseman Adam Larsson and drafted Finnish winger Jesse Puljujarvi to complement McDavid, Nugent-Hopkins, winger Jordan Eberle, center Leon Draisaitl and defenseman Darnell Nurse -- all first-round picks.A broken collarbone limited McDavid to 45 games in his rookie season, though he still incredibly put up 48 points and was a finalist for the Calder Trophy. He may have a big, new linemate in the 6-foot-3, 235-pound Lucic, who signed a $42 million, seven-year deal to score goals, dish out assists and hits, and serve as something of McDavids bodyguard for some of his prime seasons.The first thing that stands out about him is just how big he is, McDavid said of Lucic. I didnt know he was that big. Hes a great skater and can really shoot the puck. I think hes definitely going to be a great asset for us.Pencil Lucic in on McDavids left wing and put it in ink that the pride of Newmarket, Ontario, will be the youngest captain in NHL history at 19 years, 273 days old when he wears the C for the first time.Here are some other things to watch with the Oilers this season:LIGHTS, CAM, TALBOTGoaltender Cam Talbot enters the first season of his $12.5 million, three-year deal needing to prove he deserves to be a franchise goaltender. After a rough start last season, the former New York Rangers backup had a 2.37 goals-against average and .922 save percentage in his final 40 games. Edmonton would like Talbot to put up those kinds of performances behind a work-in-progress defense and steal some games along the way.THE BIG GERMANLeon Draisaitl could be a matchup nightmare for opponents as the third-line center behind McDavid and Nugent-Hopkins. Stanley Cup-caliber teams are built down the middle and on the back end, and the Oilers are well on their way if the slick, big 20-year-old German continues to adjust to the NHL.MCLELLAN MAGICThe Todd McLellan-coached, star-studded 23-and-under Team North America dazzled at the World Cup with the kind of fast, exciting hockey that had fans drooling about the future of the sport. He has McDavid and Nugent-Hopkins in Edmonton, too, but knows he cant play that kind of up-and-down, blistering pace for 82 NHL games.Well continue to coach with the same concepts, McLellan said. The team that we have in Edmonton is a really good team but not at the same talent level, and thats natural.DEFENSE UNDER CONSTRUCTIONChiarelli has worked to remake the Oilers blue line by acquiring Larsson and signing Andrej Sekera in the summer of 2015, but its still not at a playoff level. The development of Nurse and 23-year-old Oscar Klebom is essential to that, and it could take another offseason of moves.REPLACING HALLGetting Larsson from the New Jersey Devils cost Edmonton its leading scorer in Hall, who had 26 goals and 65 points last season. The Oilers may be better in the long run after dealing Hall, but theyll have to make up for his production somewhere. Hint: Keep McDavid healthy.---Follow Stephen Whyno on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/SWhyno Joey Rickard Jersey . The 25-year-old Japanese star has officially been posted by his club team, the Rakuten Golden Eagles. Eddie Murray Jersey .com) - Yankee Stadium is the home of the Bronx Bombers, but on Sunday afternoon it will open its gates to host the latest addition of the Hudson River Rivalry. http://www.oriolesapparelsshop.com/jimmy-paredes-jersey-c-9/ . Mickelson barely made the cut but had the best round of the day with nine birdies and an eagle coupled with two bogeys to sit two shots behind leader Craig Lee of Scotland. Lee shot a 69 for a 12-under 204 total. "I just love the fact I am in contention and have an opportunity in my first tournament of the year here in Abu Dhabi," Mickelson said. On July 5, 2015, ICCs new ODI rules kicked in. The changes were largely to brought in to offer some succor to the bowlers, who, in the words of Dave Richardson, the ICC chief executive, had been on a hiding to nothing with the earlier rules, which allowed only four fielders outside the circle in the last ten, and also had a batting Powerplay which was usually taken between the 36th and the 40th. Under the new rules, the batting Powerplay was done away with, while an extra fielder was allowed outside the circle in the last ten. Also, there was no compulsion to have two catching fielders within the first ten.Since those rules kicked in, 113 ODIs have been played, which is a reasonable number to check whether those new rules have had the desired effect on the scoring rates and helped bowlers a little bit. The most recent evidence would suggest not, given that England made the highest ODI total a couple of days back at Trent Bridge against Pakistan, but a longer term view suggests little difference in the overall numbers.In its latest avatar, the average ODI has witnessed a run rate of 5.33, which is almost exactly the same as the rate when the earlier rules were in force between October 30, 2012 and July 4, 2015. The scoring rate increased dramatically in the first six months of 2015, rising to 5.67 from 5.29 in 2014. Those six months included the 2015 World Cup, where the scoring rate was 5.65, and the New Zealand tour to England, where the rate across five matches was an astronomical 7.15. Between October 30, 2012 and December 2014, the overall run rate was only 5.25. When splitting the numbers by teams batting first and second, the distribution is very even over the last 14 months. The teams batting first and chasing have won exactly 54 games each, while the run rates arent very different either. The numbers are quite similar to those between January 2014 and July 4, 2015. The bigger difference, as expected, has been in the last 15 overs. With teams usually opting for the batting Powerplay between the 36th and the 40th, and only four fielders allowed outside the circle in the last ten, the last 15 overs had earlier given the batting teams the licence to hit out freely, knowing that there was minimal risk of being caught at the boundary. However, with the batting Powerplay being scrapped and an extra fielder allowed on the boundary in the last ten, the run rates and the boundary-hitting frequency has dropped significantly.Since July 2015, the run rate for teams batting first in the last 15 overs has dropped to 6.95 from 7.81 in the earlier period. The balls per boundary has gone up from 6.7 to 8.7, a change of nearly 30%. With more fielders on the boundary, batsmen have had a few more opporrtunities to take twos, but overall the run rates and boundaries have reduced in the slog overs and bowlers have had more opportunities to have some control on the game. Pedro Alvarez Jersey. he difference in the second innings isnt so significant, though. With a specific target to chase, teams werent so aggressive in the last 15 even when the field restrictions were in place. The earlier fielding restrictions were tough on bowlers when opposition teams had wickets in hand. When teams batting first had gone into the last ten overs with five or more wickets in hand, they scored at 9.62 per over and averaged 56.81 runs per dismissal. In the last 14 months, those numbers have dropped to 8.78 and 43.58. In the first 35, the rate has gone up marginally - from 4.72 to 4.83 - but it is in the last 15 that bowling captains will feel they have more protection and a better chance to somewhat control proceedings, thanks to the extra fielder available in the outfield. When England go the way they did at Trent Bridge, though, even that extra fielder makes absolutely no difference.****Englands resurgence in ODIs over the last year has been written about before in much detail, but they have been so good recently that it deserves another mention. The 444 at Trent Bridge further underscores their transformation from the team that was such a dismal failure in the 2015 World Cup. Since that tournament, they have scored 350 or more six times in 28 innings (including two washouts), and have six other scores between 300 and 349. In 644 previous ODIs, they only had only two scores in excess of 350.A comparison between their numbers over the last year, and those between January 2014 and March 2015, shows outstanding improvements in all aspects, but especially in terms of power-hitting. In the period between January 2014 and March 2015, England scored a boundary (four or a six) every 12 balls and scored 40% of their runs in boundaries. They averaged 75 balls per six, which works out to four per 50 overs.Since the World Cup debacle, the batting line-up has transformed, and so has the boundary-hitting ability. Their balls per boundary has dropped to eight, percentage of runs in boundaries has risen to 49, and the balls per six has dropped to 46. All of those factors have contributed towards a run rate of 6.39, and a win-loss of 16-9, from a miserable 13-23 in the earlier period. With the batting firepower that they command at the moment, they would have to be favourites for the Champions Trophy that they will be hosting next year.* Percentage of total runs in boundaries^ Balls per boundary (4 or 6)