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TORONTO – They were making Morgan Rielly hold the shopping bags as they strolled through Eaton Centre during a rare day off the ice. Nazem Kadri was there and so was the 24-year-old walking backwards and documenting the light mocking of his junior teammate with a cell phone camera. Then he tripped over a garbage can. Things just aren’t going Jake Gardiner’s way these days. Gardiner has been a healthy scratch in each of the past two games, an odd show of faith to a player who signed for five years and more than $20 million in late July. The Maple Leafs, though, have consistently taken a tough love kind of approach to the former Ducks first round pick. The results mostly indicate that such an approach has failed to reap much in the way of reward, Gardiner struggling to find consistent form in each of the past two seasons – some of that, no doubt, the growing pains of a young defenceman. In question is whether such an approach is beneficial to the long-term development of a talent the organization is clearly high on, but also someone whom the head coach, Randy Carlyle, has prodded most often. Tough love from a coach can have its benefits, say various players in the Toronto room, but only if the personality in question is right for that type of motivation. Some respond to old-school types, benefiting from constant barks in the ear. Dion Phaneuf, for example, recalls his time under hard-edged former Flames coach, Mike Keenan, fondly. Others need that positive voice. Nazem Kadri would probably fall more under the latter. He took his share of prodding over his early Toronto years from the likes of Dallas Eakins and Ron Wilson. And while he hated it, he also was the fiery type to respond to it. “It sucks,” said Kadri. “I don’t like it all. But I’m not going to let it ruin my confidence or my self-esteem as a player because at the end of the day I know what I can do and I believe in myself. “I don’t want to say it works because then they’ll just keep giving me tough love,” he continued. “[But] I think I respond well to it. It doesn’t really bother me. I’m a pretty thick-skinned kid, even going back to minor hockey; I’ve had some pretty tough coaches. I don’t like it so much and sometimes I’m not so patient with it, but I think I react well. It doesn’t really bother me. It’s not like I go into a shell after I get ripped out or reamed out, I just continue playing my game.” Gardiner isn’t really that fiery type. And the odd seat in the press-box or even down to the Marlies hasn’t done much to affect his performance positively. When the lockout ended in Jan. 2013, Gardiner was first healthy scratched and then sent to the American League, where he lingered unhappily for weeks. He finally returned to the NHL in March – amid the ranting of fans, media and his agent at the time – played a couple games, and then was sent back to the press box for the final days of the regular season and even Game 1 of the playoffs. Gardiner flourished when the Leafs turned to him for the rest of that playoff series with Boston, but promptly struggled again the following fall – drawing another prominent healthy scratch in late November. Is this the best way, then, to motivate Gardiner? A player, mind you, who questioned his security with the Leafs before – amid ongoing trade rumours – only to believe he was done with all that when the team sprung for a five-year deal in the summer. There’s nothing wrong with scratching a player from time to time despite media and fan protests, but to do so three games in the season – given the history of disconnect between player and team, the splashy new deal, and fact that said player hadn’t played so poorly – seems off the mark. Gardiner has ultimately been pushed out of the lineup by rookie Stuart Percy, an early revelation in a top-four role. But is removing Gardiner, who was by far the Leafs top possession player a year ago and leading defensive point-getter at even-strength, best for the team and best for his development as a young player? That’s unlikely, especially given the predictable early season struggles of Stephane Robidas. Carlyle, speaking generally, says his motivational tactics are dependent on the individual. “I think a lot of that is feel and a lot of it is personality,” he said. “Some people take coaching as criticism and other people take criticism as personal. Those things are things that you to weigh and have to measure when you’re applying it.” Carlyle admits to making mistakes in how he’s handled things in the past, though not specifically with Gardiner. Sometimes, he says, it might be the wrong time or the wrong setting for certain tactics. “We’re all human,” he said. “We all make mistakes. Those are things that you have to gauge with experience. I think those are learning curves for a coach.” Communication can make all the difference. And to Carlyle’s credit, he has been up front with Gardiner about why he’s not playing – though not anymore so than usual. He’s told the Minnesota native that his play hasn’t been up to the level that they expect. Today’s players, Carlyle says, want more of that. They want answers and responsibility. And despite his old-school leanings, it’s apparent that Carlyle has tried to adapt. There was a point last year before a game in Philadelphia that saw him bring Gardiner onto the visitors’ bench at Wells Fargo Center, pull out the iPad and show him a few video clips on what needed improvement. More of that might be helpful. And through some film dissection this fall, Gardiner has been told that he needs to contain the opposition more effectively in the defensive zone and move the puck quicker. Cody Franson wasn’t afforded such treatment by the team’s previous head coach, Ron Wilson, during his first training camp in Toronto. Franson found out he’d be the seventh defenceman to start the regular season not from the coach himself, but from an online video of the coach speaking to media. The worst part about it, he says, was leaving the rink every day uncertain of why he wasn’t playing and when he’d get back in. “When I went through it it wasn’t the best thing for me,” Franson said. “But every guy’s a little different. Some guys need stuff like that. Some guys just need to be talked to. It all depends on the individual.” “It always helps when you get some words of encouragement,” Kadri observed. The leash for Gardiner, however, has seemed short at times and especially now. He seemed to say as much in his exit meeting with Carlyle last spring – revelations that went beyond the imagination of the head coach. All that being said, Carlyle did doll out more even-strength minutes to Gardiner than any other player on the team last season, an indication of trust if there was ever was one. “We feel that we have a quality hockey player that can play to a higher level and he agrees with that,” said Carlyle earlier this week. “So to me that’s end of story.” Asked what Gardiner could do to impress once he earned another opportunity, Carlyle responded bluntly, “Play better.” Time will tell if he does and Carlyles tough-love approach is worth pursuing. Cheap Nike Vapormax Womens .com) - Tonight will go a long way in determining the two wild card spots in the Eastern Conference. Cheap Nike Vapormax China . Under the deal, the Vikings will donate an undisclosed sum of money to five gay rights-related charities over the next five years. 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First-half goals by Will Bruin and Oscar Boniek Garcia sucked the life out of the Impact as the Houston Dynamo bounced them from Major League Soccers post-season with a 3-0 victory on Thursday.OAKLAND, Calif. -- During a players meeting following the All-Star break, Jermaine ONeal promised his teammates to play the rest of the regular season like he would never play again -- because he very well might not. The 18-year NBA veteran has backed up his words more than anybody ever expected. ONeal had season highs of 23 points and 13 rebounds to carry the load for an undermanned frontcourt, and the Golden State Warriors held off the Brooklyn Nets 93-86 Saturday night for their third straight victory since the break. "Whatever I have, Im going to leave it on the able. Ive said that quite a few times, but Im dead serious," said the 36-year-old ONeal, who missed extensive time following surgery on his wrist earlier this season. "You may have to wheel me out of here at the end of the season, but thats what Im going to do." With Andrew Bogut sidelined with a left shoulder injury and David Lee out with a stomach flu, ONeal followed up his game-saving block that preserved Golden States overtime victory against Houston on Thursday night with a vintage performance. ONeal shot 10 for 13 from the floor, and Draymond Green scored a career-best 18 points to go with 10 rebounds starting in Lees place. Stephen Curry banked in a big 3-pointer in the final minute to finish with 17 points, and the Warriors won three games in a row for the first time since the Nets ended their 10-game winning streak on Jan. 8 in Brooklyn -- crediting ONeal for leading the way in the locker room and on the court. "Hes getting an opportunity to put a stamp on what he says," Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. "Its no longer what he says, its what hes doing." The veteran Nets never matched the intensity. Deron Williams had 20 points and six assists, and Joe Johnson scored 15 points for Brooklyn, which struggled to shoot from 3-point range and was just as careless passing. Brooklyn made just 2 of 21 attempts from beyond the arc and committed 16 turnovers. "I thought we had a lot of good shots, they just didnt fall," said Nets forward Paul Pierce, who scored 11 points on 3-for-11 shooting. "Sometimes you live by the 3, you die by the 3. We should attack more, especially with them limited in their big men." The Nets made sure the game moved at a plodding pace untill the final minutes.dddddddddddd Johnson made an 18-foot fadeaway to tie the score at 84 with 2:22 remaining. Green followed with two free throws, then Andray Blatche converted a tying layup. ONeal drew a foul on the other end and hit two free throws -- getting another chance after missing his second attempt because of a hitch in his release that drew a lane violation -- to give Golden State an 88-86 lead. On Brooklyns next possession, Johnsons pass was deflected before hitting Williams hands and landing out of bounds. Curry quickly came back by banking in a 3-pointer to put the Warriors up 91-86 with 37 seconds remaining and put the game out of reach. The win moved the Warriors (34-22) a season-high 12 games over .500. They begin a six-game road trip -- all against Eastern Conference opponents -- at Detroit on Monday. Golden States smaller lineup gave the Nets fits from the start. Curry hit two 3-pointers during an 18-6 run to open the game. Brooklyns slow start compounded when Shaun Livingston left in the first quarter with a bruised tailbone after falling hard when he was fouled by Harrison Barnes going for a layup. The team said X-rays on Livingston were negative. Just like they did in Brooklyn, though, the Nets rallied from an early deficit against Golden States second unit. Brooklyn took the lead for the first time when Williams started a three-point play on a layup over Andre Iguodala, putting the Nets up 46-44 late in the second quarter. They never led again. "Even though we didnt shoot the ball extremely well from behind the arc, it was a game until the last minute," Nets coach Jason Kidd said. "On the road against a team like Golden State, thats all you can ask for." NOTES: Green said he was in an accident driving to the game, but that no one was injured. ... Nets G Marcus Thornton sat out with a stomach illness. He has yet to play since being traded from Sacramento on Wednesday for Jason Terry and Reggie Evans. ... Warriors coach Mark Jackson said Bogut, who missed his seventh straight game because of an ailing left shoulder, will likely return at some point during the Warriors six-game road trip. ... The Warriors signed C Hilton Armstrong to a 10-day contract, calling him from the teams NBA Development League affiliate in Santa Cruz. ' ' '