ed it, he returned a kickoff 108 yards for a score.Still, he di

The rink where?Josh Harding?now works is five minutes from?his house in Edina, Minnesota. A road trip now means a drive to a different local high school. Every day includes lots of quality time with his 3-year-old daughter and 3-month-old son.Even over the phone, you can sense that Harding is at peace with the fact that this is where his career path has led.When the doctors say enoughs enough, you kind of have to listen to them, the former Minnesota Wild netminder said.Just before he picked up the phone to call an ESPN.com reporter, Harding, 32, spoke with?Carolina Hurricanes forward Bryan Bickell.Bickell, 30, was recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and is taking time away from the game to try to figure out how best to deal with the disease, the same incurable one that ultimately ended Hardings career in 2015.By sharing some of his experiences in dealing with MS, which attacks and scars the protective covering of nerves in the brain and spinal cord, Harding gave Bickell at least some sense of what lies ahead. He also shared strategies, things that worked and things that didnt work for him.Anything I can obviously do for him to kind of help him along, Harding said. I was just telling him that one of the things I felt was very tough was when youre trying new medications but trying to play and practice through those. That was pretty tough for me. But I think Bryans handling it great.Apart from his hands-on advice, Harding has also helped simply by being a sounding board, someone who understands intimately the nature of the now-competing narratives that will dominate Bickells life moving forward -- battling the disease and fighting to stay in the game.When Harding was diagnosed in 2012, he spoke with Jordan Sigalet,?another netminder whose playing career had been derailed by multiple sclerosis. Both Sigalet and Harding have been or plan to be in touch with Bickell, a kind of unspoken pay-it-forward mentality that springs from the shared experience of being diagnosed with MS.Just coping with it and accepting that there isnt a cure right now, but the sooner you can kind of wrap your head around it and really get what works for you, the better its going to be, Harding said.The one thing that Harding cannot give Bickell is the answer he wants to hear: that he will definitely, at some point, return to being an NHL player.If there was a blueprint for what you have to do, I really think Id still be in the league, Harding said. Thats obviously another tough thing with this disease, that there isnt this exact handout that you can follow to get it out of your body.Harding knows the difficulty of that fact all too well.The native of Regina, Saskatchewan, was diagnosed with MS in September 2012. That fall, NHL players were locked out in a labor dispute for several months and the season was ultimately cut almost in half.Harding wrestled with how to deal with his diagnosis. The Wild were aware, but he considered keeping his condition from becoming public knowledge. That ultimately didnt seem workable, given that he was going to need to take time away from the team for rest and treatment.Harding ultimately decided that sharing his story -- letting people know that multiple sclerosis wasnt something to be ashamed of and that he was going to work to continue his job while dealing with the disease?-- was an important part of his new reality.That mindset has never changed, even if Harding did have to make concessions to his health.He registered a shutout in his first game after the lockout but appeared in just five games during the shortened 13 season. That spring, Harding was pressed into service in the first round of the playoffs when starter Niklas Backstrom was injured before Game 1 against the?Chicago Blackhawks. Harding was excellent in an overtime loss in the Wilds first game against top-ranked Chicago and played in every game of the series before the Wild were eliminated in Game 5.Later, Harding would receive the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy in recognition of his perseverance and dedication to the game.But the reality was that Hardings best opportunity to keep the disease at bay was at odds with being a player -- and, specifically, an NHL netminder.Im not going to sugarcoat it: It was very tough for me, he said. Right when I thought that I kind of had it under control, it just seemed like something would kick my legs out from under me again.For Harding, taking as much stress out of his life and having an orderly schedule of rest allowed him to function as close to normal as possible. And that meant an end to his life as an NHLer. I feel like Im in a lot better place now, healthwise, he said.Maybe Bickell will find that his experience with MS is different. Harding, for one, is rooting for Bickell to find something that eluded him.I would give anything to be back playing hockey, Harding admitted. Thats kind of what weve done for our entire life. Its kind of a diagnosis that you know you didnt ask for and you didnt want. Theres really not much you can do except to battle through it. But I really miss [playing].The extra time Harding gets with his young family is a treasure that is denied most NHL players, given the travel demands of the sport. And coaching alongside former NHLer and highly successful high school coach Curt Giles at Edina High School has given Harding a welcome connection to the game.Sometimes the kids on the Edina Hornets will ask whether Harding is going to put on the pads at practice. But he doesnt. Harding is aware that even something that seemingly simple could upset the balance that he has established in his life, could add unneeded stress.Plus, he joked, there are pretty good shooters among the high schoolers and his confidence might take quite a beating. He figures that he can live without that. Hes focusing on the positives and happy that he still has a tie to the sport he loves.I try to take the positives out of it, he said.Cheap Shoes Online Australia . He says so-called TRT is only one problem and he wants to go even further than the ban. "Its about time," St-Pierre told reporters at a promotional event in Montreal on Friday. "I think its a good thing. 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Rousey will put her perfect 8-0 record and hardware on the line against another undefeated fighter, 7-0 Sara McMann in the main event of UFC 170, which will be held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas Nevada on February 22nd.TEMPE, Ariz. -- Defenders like to make fun of David Johnson because hes almost always smiling.But Johnson usually gets the last laugh.While the Arizona Cardinals did a lot of things wrong in their season-opening loss to the New England Patriots, Johnson did a lot of things right.His mix of skill and instinct was on full display in a 45-yard run that led to the Cardinals go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter.Johnson began the play with a jump cut worthy of a long jumper, followed by a spin to get out of the clutches of would-be tacklers. He put his hand to the turf to keep his balance and stiff-armed two defenders as he broke into the open field.A crazy run, basically, Johnson said after the Cardinals practiced Wednesday. It was all instincts. Thats all I could say is that all instincts took over that run for sure.Johnson is big -- 6-foot-1, 225 pounds -- with power, agility and surprising breakaway speed.In the 23-21 loss to New England, Johnson carried the ball 16 times for 89 yards and caught four passes for 43 yards, one of them a 26-yarder that featured a couple of open-field moves and a quick dash past would-be tacklers.The Cardinals, who had the No. 1 offense in the NFL last season, are known for Carson Palmers passing Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd and John Brown, among others. But Palmer points to Johnson as a critical player if the team is to have the success it expects this season.It goes where Dave goes, theres no doubt, Palmer said. He does so much in the passing game, not only protection but running routes. He catches a lot of balls. But very few things will work in the pass game if we dont have a run game. So, him running the ball like hes been running from the beginning of training camp until has tremendous effect on the pass game. Hes as big a part of this offense as anybody.According to Pro Football Focus, Johnson had the highest rushing grade of opening weekend at 81.4, followed by Melvin Gordon (80.5), DeAngelo Willliams (80.dddddddddddd1) and Todd Gurley (78.7).In the six games since Johnson became the starter as a rookie late last season, he leads the NFL with 531 yards rushing and 791 yards from scrimmage.Gurley and Gordon were the big-name backs chosen in the first round of the 2015 draft. Johnson was selected in the third round out of Northern Iowa.Coach Bruce Arians said he saw immediately what kind of potential Johnson had, but brought him along slowly.The first time Johnson touched the ball in an NFL game, he caught short pass from Palmer and turned on the speed in a 55-yard touchdown play. The second time he touched it, he returned a kickoff 108 yards for a score.Still, he didnt get the starting running back job until Chris Johnson went down with a season-ending knee injury. Chris Johnson is back but David has a firm hold on the job now. Chris Johnson only played two snaps against the Patriots.Chris will play when David decides hes too tired.He never really got tired against New England, Arians said. There was the one time we had a longer drive and he tapped out, and Chris went right in and Andre (Ellington) jumped in on third down. Hopefully we have some longer drives and he taps out more often and we can get Chris in there.Johnson is such a nice guy its hard to reconcile that with the hard-hitting player on the field.When you get on the field, its a different story, especially as a running back, he said. Youve got to be aggressive. Youve got to be able to take the pounding and be able to get the yards.Not much can make him angry, he said. He gets mad at himself when he makes a mistake. And then theres those times when the defenders are chirping.I try to show them, Johnson said, that just because I smile, Im not a soft guy.---Online: AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '