The equipment managers at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa might have a look of confusion at training camp next week when they unload Braden Holtbys World Cup of Hockey goaltending gear and come across a bag with a fold-up acoustic guitar. Jeremy Lamb Jersey .Expected to challenge Carey Price for the No. 1 job for Team Canada, the Washington Capitals reigning Vezina Trophy winner has overcome disappointment and bouts of self-doubt to become one of the worlds top stoppers.More than anything, Holtby credits his mental preparation, which includes a game-day jam session on a portable guitar, for his meteoric rise to hockey stardom.I knew fairly early in junior that guys were going to be better than I was, Holtby said. I had to find a different area where I could push myself to the next level, and that was the mental game.Not everyone wants to put in that kind of work and not everyone wants to buy into it because its one of those things where youre kind of the weird guy when youre doing mental exercises. Youve got to get over that hump, and thats 90 percent of the reason Im here today.Holtby acknowledged that one of his greatest disappointments in hockey came as an 18-year-old when, despite being taken by the Capitals in the fourth round of the 2008 NHL draft, he was not one of the eight goalies invited to Team Canadas camp for the 2009 World Junior championships.Growing up, that was a huge goal of mine, to play on the World Junior team, Holtby said. It took me quite a while to get over that. Obviously, there was a little bitterness. It was one of those negatives I was able to turn into a positive. It was one of those points in your career where you can either use it as negative energy or put it toward proving people wrong.Holtby spent parts of four seasons with the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League, trapped behind Capitals goalies Semyon Varlamov, Michal Neuvirth and Tomas Vokoun, before bursting onto the NHL scene during the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs when he helped the Capitals upset the defending Stanley Cup-champion Boston Bruins in the first round.Holtby has been Washingtons No. 1 ever since and last season he tied Martin Brodeurs NHL single-season record with 48 victories, making him an overwhelming choice for the Vezina Trophy and giving him a leg up on Price when the World Cup begins on Sept. 17, one day after Holtbys 27th birthday.Im sure the coaches have a plan in place, said Holtby, a native of Lloydminster, Saskatchewan. For me, its a huge honor just to be named. You look at the roster and youre pretty amazed youll be able to play alongside those guys. It will be a lot of fun and it will be amazing to see the atmosphere in Toronto, being on home soil. It will be pretty cool.Whether hes strumming along to the folksy rock of Bob Dylan, the island sounds of Jack Johnson or the indie rock of The Black Keys -- He can play awesome, and hes actually got a really good voice too, said Capitals backup goaltender?Philipp Grubauer?-- Holtby reintroduced music to his busy game-day routine last season.When youre a young guy coming in, you dont really do those things, he said, noting he taught himself guitar as a teenager. You try to blend in as opposed to stand out.Holtby said his affection for music was passed down from his grandparents, who were musicians, and his mother, Tami, who was the lead singer of Canadian country band Tami Hunter and Walkin After Midnight in the late 1980s and early 1990s.It kind of calms me down and calms everyone else around me, Holtby said. Game days can be pretty stressful and if you liven things up a bit and make it fresh, its better than sitting there by yourself waiting for the game.For a typical 7 p.m. game, Holtby will begin his preparations at 5:30 with a quiet 10-minute meditation, followed by hand-eye exercises in which he tosses a rubber ball against a wall. When the clock strikes 6, Holtby finds a place in the arena, often behind the players bench or in the stands behind the net, rests his chin on his goalie stick, and begins darting his eyes throughout the arena.Hes looking for things to focus on, said Capitals goaltending guru Mitch Korn, who coached six-time Vezina Trophy winner Dominik Hasek when he played for the Buffalo Sabres. Pekka Rinne would do the same thing in Nashville, but hed sit in his locker stall and find the O in a nameplate, then find an A. Like another player warms up his body, Braden warms up his eyes.Holtbys unorthodox eye exercises take place just before the arena doors open to the public, but he said the arena crew at Madison Square Garden seems to have caught on.At MSG they play some weird music, Holtby said. I dont know if its from the Muppets or what, but I think they wait to test their stereo system until Im out there.Moments before the puck is dropped, Holtby will rock to the rhythm of the national anthem, spray water on his thick mane, kiss the names of his children on his mask, then buckle up for a 60-minute ride.When he allows a goal, Holtby will break into another routine. Leaning against his crossbar, hell squirt water into the air and follow each droplet as it descends in front of his face.It started as an eye trick, Holtby said of the post-goal routine he began in junior hockey under the direction of sports psychologist John Stevenson. Sometimes when youre feeling a little lost, your vision starts to shake a bit when youre trying to focus for too long on the puck.One of our tricks is to zone in on something really small and focus on that, and it kind of brings your eyesight back into focus. It reminds me to focus on the next shot.Korn, who has seen Holtby win more games in consecutive seasons (89) than any NHL goalie since Brodeur (92 wins in 2007 and 2008), said he was so concerned with Holtbys idiosyncrasies that it was one of the first discussions they had when Korn joined Barry Trotzs staff in Washington two summers ago.I asked him about the routine and whether it was too much and whether it wore him out, Korn said. His response was, I control my routine. My routine does not control me. It was the right answer and I never brought it up again.Holtby said that while he would like to lead Canada to a gold medal in the World Cup, his primary focus is preparing himself for the 2016-17 season, where the Capitals will try to build on last years 120-point season and finally reach the Eastern Conference finals.My main goal through all of his is to make sure Im prepared for the season, he said. Thats No. 1 and itll never change from No. 1. I get to spent a month practicing and playing with the best players in the world and if I can use that to my advantage to be a little sharper for the start of the season, that would be a good thing. Alonzo Mourning Jersey . -- San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks was fined $15,570 by the NFL on Wednesday for his hit on Saints quarterback Drew Brees last Sunday. Percy Miller Jersey . -- Eastern Kentucky thrives off creating havoc for others. http://www.officialhornetsonline.us/marco-belinelli-hornets-jersey/ .ca. Hey Kerry, big fan of yours, just finished reading your book. I think that we all saw the Canucks/Flames line brawl just after puck drop. It was obvious that something was about to happen, even to the referees because the fourth lines were on to start. PHOENIX -- The Diamondbacks understand what they are up against entering the second half of the season, and their comeback victory against San Francisco on Saturday was a step in the right direction.Welington Castillos three-run homer in the eighth inning put the finishing touches on a four-run comeback for an exhilarating 6-5 victory, snapping a six-game losing streak.As for something to build on as the teams prepare for the final game of a three-game homestand, time will tell.I hope so, said Arizona first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, who made a lunging stop with a runner on first base to preserve reliever Jake Barretts first major league victory and Brad Zieglers 17th save for the final out Saturday.Youd like to say yes, but who knows if you can. You show up tomorrow and it is zero-zero and it doesnt really matter that much. We need the win, just because we know how far back we are from San Fran and even in the wild card, so any win is going to be big. Hopefully the momentum carries over, but I know they are not going to be fazed by it.They are fine coming off losses, and it is not like if we would have lost we would have showed up and been hanging our heads tomorrow. Hopefully we can win the series.The D-backs (37-46) will send left-hander Robbie Ray against Giants right-hander Albert Suarez in the finale of the three-game series at Chase Field on Sunday.Arizonas victory Saturday was the first by the home team in the first 10 games of the season series. The Diamondbacks swept a four-game series at AT&T Park on April 18-21 before the Giants swept a four-gamer series at Chase Field on May 12-15. The Giants won the opener of this series Friday, coming back from two three-run deficits in a 5-4 victory. P.J. Hairston Jersey. That is one we let get away, San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said Saturday.Castillo has homered in two consecutive games and has hit four of his 10 homers against the Giants this season. He had seven in his first 21 games before going 28 games without one, connecting again June 17.Asked if his homers come in bunches, Castillo drew chuckles when he said, Thats what it looks like. Ive been feeling good lately. I know I went through a tough moment. I dont worry about my hitting. I know I can hit a little bit. Just time, and its going to come.Arizona third baseman Jake Lamb had two hits and a walk Saturday and is close to becoming the fourth player (five occurrences) in franchise history to have 20 doubles and 20 homers before the All-Star break. Lamb hit his 19th double Saturday and has 18 homers after hitting one in each of the three previous games. Only Paul Goldschmidt (twice), Matt Williams and Jay Bell have done it.Ray (4-7) threw six shutout innings for his first victory of the season at San Francisco on April 19, and he is 1-0 with a 1.64 ERA in two career starts against the Giants. He averages 10.42 strikeouts per nine innings, seventh highest among NL starters and third highest among left-handers.Suarez (3-1) will make his sixth start Sunday and also has made six relief appearances. He took Matt Cains spot in the starting rotation when Cain went out with a right hamstring strain. He has a 4.39 ERA in five starts and will gave the Diamondbacks for the first time. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '