of throwing that kind of money around.Its all done now s

The fanfare around the arrival of Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho in Manchester means Londons finest have been little more than a sideshow heading into the 2016-17 English Premier League.Dont, though, discount the chances of Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal being in the title conversation next May.After putting up the worst ever Premier League title defense last season to finish 10th, Chelsea surely will be a different proposition this time round under new coach Antonio Conte and with summer signing NGolo Kante running its midfield.Tottenham got a taste of challenging for the title last season, eventually fading away in the final weeks to finish third, and its young and dynamic squad will be better for the experience.Then theres Arsenal, a regular in the top four but a team that so often flatters to deceive when the championship trophy looks to be in sight. Many say they are a world-class striker away from ticking every box.With West Ham also seemingly on the rise and playing a first season in its new home at the Olympic Stadium, maybe theres life outside Manchester this season, after all.Of Londons three top sides, Chelsea could be best equipped to go all the way. The teams unraveling last season was almost as mystifying as Leicesters march to the title, but the squad is largely the same as the one that romped to the league trophy in 2014.Throw in Conte and the ubiquitous Kante -- following his departure from Leicester for $40 million -- and Chelsea has all the ingredients of a title winner, with its motivation rebooted.The schedule also helps. No European football this season means plenty more time with Conte -- a master tactician in the words of Guardiola -- on the training ground and extra rest between games. None of the travel and fatigue that comes with midweek games in the Champions League and Europa League.Look how that benefited Liverpool three seasons ago, and Leicester last season. And Conte experienced a similar situation in his first season at Juventus, in 2011.I took over after they had finished seventh, he said. We didnt play in the Champions League or the Europa League and our energy was only focused on the league. We won the title.New to the Premier League, Conte is sure to be one of the characters this season. The Italian is fiercely passionate about his job and can get animated to the point of wild in the technical area. But inside, theres a calm and calculated technician who knows how to get the best out of his players, which he showed as coach at the European Championship where Italy went out in the quarterfinals against Germany on penalty kicks.I want to transfer my passion to my players, Conte said on joining Chelsea.If Eden Hazard rediscovers his form of two seasons ago and Diego Costa can focus on scoring goals rather than clashing with the opposition, Chelsea will be hard to stop. The central-midfield axis of Kante and Nemanja Matic might prove to be the best in the league.A second-place finish last season maintained Arsenals record of qualifying for the Champions League every full season in Arsene Wengers 20-year reign, but there was frustration that a chance had been missed to end a league title drought now stretching 12 years.One potential area of weakness may have been filled by Wenger with the signing of Switzerland defensive midfielder Granit Xhaka but the most obvious issue -- the lack of a proven striker -- remains glaring. Attempts to sign Leicesters Jamie Vardy and Lyons Alexandre Lacazette have failed, leaving the not-always-convincing Olivier Giroud as first-choice striker.For Arsenals increasingly disenchanted supporters, that isnt enough, but theres still time for late business in the transfer window.Its also been relatively quiet across north London at Tottenham, whose only signings have been holding midfielder Victor Wanyama from Southampton and Vincent Janssen from the Dutch league. Janssen will provide much-needed back-up for main striker Harry Kane.Under forward-thinking coach Mauricio Pochettino, Spurs -- led by Kane, playmaker Dele Alli and a tight defense marshalled by Toby Alderweireld -- played the best football on a consistent basis last season and were the main challengers to Leicester in the last two months.This will be their last season at White Hart Lane before a move to a new ground adjacent to the current stadium: What better way to say farewell than winning the league for the first time since 1961?Tottenham will be playing in the Champions League for the first time since 2010-11, with home games staged at Wembley Stadium to meet UEFA requirements while work is done near the stadium, so its an exciting time for the club.Indeed, all three of Londons top clubs should be excited going into the new season, looking to prove theres more to the Premier League than Manchester. St.Louis Blues Pro Shop . Shot outdoors against the stunning backdrop of Banff, Alta., the networks 30-minute original production airs tonight at 8pm et/5pm pt on TSN2. The four All-Star teams will play for $100,000 in prize money during TSNs annual skins game, airing live this weekend on TSN from The Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre. Stitched Blues Jerseys . -- Claudio Bieler hadnt scored since early September, and not from the run of play since mid-July. https://www.cheapblues.com/ . From filmmaker Nanette Burstein (On the Ropes), The Price of Gold revisits the saga that rocked the figure skating world ahead of the 1994 Lillehammer Olympic Winter Games: the assault on Nancy Kerrigan, and the plot that led its way back to her rival Tonya Harding. Fake Blues Jerseys . Batiste, who briefly signed with the Eskimos in 2006, has spent time with several NFL teams including the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Redskins. Blues Jerseys 2020 . The incident occurred at 19:56 of the second period of the Kings 4-2 road win over Edmonton on Sunday. Nolan punched Oilers forward Jesse Joensuu in the jaw in front of the Kings goal during a scrum. Parramatta club captain Tim Mannah says no man is bigger than the Eels - even his superstar best mate Jarryd Hayne.Mannah had lunch with Hayne on Monday and admits his code-hopping former teammate asked him when the Eels were going to make an offer.Mannah, though, says while it may be disappointing for fans that Hayne wont be returning to Parramatta any time soon, the embattled Eels are intent on building a club and team thats sustainable for the future rather than splashing out for one player.Gold Coast have offered him a very big sum and one thing weve learnt at the club is one player isnt bigger than the club, Mannah said after Haynes announcement on Wednesday that he was joining rival NRL club the Titans.Mannah admitted he relayed Haynes quest for an offer to Eels officials and thought it kind of got the wheels moving a bit quicker to get something to him.But he said with all the upheavals at the club in 2016 it was always going to be tough to secure Haynes services.We dont have a head of football at the moment, Mannah said.We have a CEO now but there was a little period there wherre we didnt have a lot of leadership that could have made the right calls.ddddddddddddBut whether or not we had people there, it might not have changed anything anyway.I dont know if we would have gone down that path of throwing that kind of money around.Its all done now so theres no point us crying over split milk.Hes made the decision thats best for him. Hes a grown man and hes got to look after himself.At the same time, Parra, we want to look after ourselves as well.It would have been nice to have him at Parra but hes looked after himself and its a good chance for the club to kind of take a step back, look at what position were in now.Weve got a bit of space to work with and a bit of money to spend and we can go ahead and build a team we want to build.Mannah said he understood Haynes urgency to seal a deal.Hes got a chance to play some finals footy this year, he said.And I guess if you wanted to have a crack at that, youd have to get it done pretty quick. ' ' '