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Forget the extravagant claims of greatness and fight-of-the-year talk. Last Saturdays Andre Ward-Sergey Kovalev bout was boxings version of a beggars banquet -- nothing epic, just a decent meal after a steady diet of stale sandwiches and flat beer at pay-per-view prices.Wards unanimous decision victory (114-113 on all three official cards) didnt really settle much, and had it been a fight between lesser lights, its unlikely we would still be talking about it.But boxings core audience was emotionally invested in the match. It was the showdown it craved and lobbied for, a fight between a pair of undefeated light heavyweights who seemed made for each other. A relentless power puncher against a master craftsman, but with a double twist: The puncher could box, and the craftsman had a mean streak.Expectations were high, a little too high as it turned out. But thats the burden all major matches must bear during boxings seemingly never-ending winter of discontent.Ward-Kovalev had no shortage of tension and suspense, but with the possible exception of Kovalev knocking down Ward in the second round, there were few memorable highlights. Clinches were more numerous than meaningful exchanges, and neither man ever mounted an all-out attack, even though they must have known it was close.We should have learned by now that the best-fighting-the-best formula does not necessarily guarantee a great fight. Thats up to the fighters. But the odds in favor of something exceptional happening are obviously enhanced when the combatants are among the elite.During the prefight hype, Ward-Kovalev was likened to the first bout between Shane Mosley and Oscar De La Hoya, in 2000, a superb example of a brilliant fight between exceptional fighters at the peak of their careers. Shane and Oscar held nothing back and tore into each other virtually nonstop from first bell to last. It was magnificent stuff fought at the highest level.We werent that lucky Saturday. Neither Ward nor Kovalev seemed as eager as Mosley and De La Hoya to risk all in the quest for glory, which is, of course, a prerequisite for true greatness.But these are trying times. Boxing has been sinking in a sea of mediocrity since the crushing disappointment of the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fiasco and the ensuing backlash.Ward-Kovalev didnt quite live up to expectations but provided enough of a boost to keep boxings bent nose above water. That has to count for something.Its easy to understand why a sizable number of viewers believed Kovalev deserved to have his hand raised and were ticked off when he didnt.I, too, had the Krusher ahead, 115-113. But theres a difference between a robbery and a controversial decision, and Ward-Kovalev fell into the latter category. It was that kind of fight. Neither ever gained total control.At first it looked as if Kovalev were about to dispatch Ward with the sudden violence of a man who laughs at his victim as he falls. He staggered Ward in the first round with a jab and knocked him down in the second with a right to the head. Nothing to it, right?Ward seem seconds away from oblivion, but in the face of the greatest crisis of his career, he found the resiliency to keep going. He hung in there through the first half of the fight, taking his lumps, getting in his own share of the blows, but generally falling further behind.As things progressed, however, Wards subtle but highly effective work to the body began to sap Kovalevs strength. You could see the change in the Russians face, and Andre had the better of it most of the way down the stretch. Not by much, but apparently enough to win by a single point on each card.The promoters ambitiously named Ward-Kovalev Pound for Pound, alluding to the notion that the winner would ascend to the top of the mythical rankings. It didnt seem that big a leap of faith at the time. Going in, Kovalev and Ward were No. 3 and No. 5, respectively, in ESPN.coms P4P hierarchy. Now, not so much.Pound-for-pound is such an arbitrary and subjective concept, an argument can be made for the inclusion of any number of boxers, depending on ones criteria. For me, P4P is an arena of the mind, where all the boxers are the same size and compete against one another.Playing by those rules, nothing that took place at T-Mobile Arena last Saturday convinced me that either Ward or Kovalev should advance above Roman Chocolatito Gonzalez and Gennady Golovkin, currently No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. Others, Im sure, have different ideas.Putting too much emphasis on P4P rankings can backfire. Right now boxing is like an unfaithful spouse trying to patch things up with its partner. Its going to take a long time and a lot more than one or two good fights. Ward-Kovalev was a good start, but only a start. A rematch could be another.An occasional good fight is nowhere near enough. Continuity is vital to even a minor boxing renaissance. The hardcore audience isnt going anywhere. Theyre hooked on boxing and are in it for the duration. The sport has to round up the strays and seduce the casuals to thrive. And thats not going to be easy.The answer is the same as in any business: consistent quality at a reasonable price -- not exactly boxings governing business model. But every now and then we get lucky. The next few months might, just might, be one of those times.The upcoming schedule is PPV free and features Vasyl Lomachenko-Nicholas Walters on Nov. 26 and Terence Crawford-John Molina on Dec. 10. Molina is unlikely to last long with Crawford, but Lomachenko-Walters is intriguing.Badou Jack-James DeGale (Jan. 14), Carl Frampton-Leo Santa Cruz II and Keith Thurman-Danny Garcia (Mar. 4) await us in the new year. All have promise, and with a bit of luck, could keep things going.Its boxing were talking about, so undue confidence is foolish. Fights fall apart for countless reasons. It comes with the territory. But the upcoming schedule is promising, and if things fall into place, we could look back on Ward-Kovalev as the start of a roll.It was, at the very least, a time when arguably the two best fighters in their division chose to fight each other. Thats never a bad thing. Stitched College Jerseys . Vettel, who has already clinched his fourth straight F1 title, enters the finale with a chance to equal Michael Schumachers 13 victories in a year and match the record of nine consecutive wins by Alberto Ascari in the 1952 and 1953 seasons. 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PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- For more than a decade, this has been his net, his job, his town.A decade of superlative goaltending that has, in spite of the odd wobble, established Marc-Andre Fleury as one of the great goaltenders of his generation.Consider: At the start of this season, the 31-year-old is 18th among all NHL goalies with 357 wins.Lets imagine he plays four more years and averages 25 wins a season -- a paltry amount, given his historical level of consistency -- and that gives him 457 wins, which would put him fourth all time. If he has relatively good health, hes more likely to end up third all time, behind only Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur. Throw in a couple of Stanley Cups (at least), a place on Canadas Olympic roster in 2010 and the next thing you know, Hello, Hall of Fame.And still, and still, for someone this constant, this sure in this most passionate of hockey towns, things are anything but certain and sure for Fleury as the Pittsburgh Penguins begin defense of their 2016 Stanley Cup championship.Yes, he was tabbed to start ?Thursday night for the banner-raising game against the Washington Capitals, just as he was after the Penguins defeated the Detroit Red Wings in seven memorable games in the 2009 finals.Make no mistake, this is different.Fleury knows it. The fans know it. Heir apparent to the Penguins net, Matt Murray, who is recovering from a broken hand sustained while playing for Team North America in the World Cup of Hockey, knows it.I knew it would be a little bit different from what Im used to, Fleury admitted, the trademark grin firmly in place. But I was glad to be able to come back to Pittsburgh, to be able to play with this team and play for this city again. And Ill try my best try to win some games. Its all I can do, really.Murray started last season in the American Hockey League and then came on in relief of Fleury after Fleury sustained a concussion late in the regular season. Then, Murray became the story of the 16 playoffs. He was injured in the final regular season game but returned for the second game of the Pens first-round series against the New York Rangers. He yielded one start the rest of the way, that in the Eastern Conference finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning in which Fleury took the loss, and turned in a .923 save percentage behind a 15-6 record.A few days before he celebrated a Stanley Cup championship, Murray turned 22. And then turned the Pittsburgh goaltending situation on its ear.Or did he?What seemed assured, that Fleury would begin this season as last season ended -- sitting on the end of the Penguin bench with a ball cap on his head -- has now been thrown into disarray.Murray is nursing his broken hand and Fleury, as he has been pretty much for the past dozen years, will be the man when the Penguins begin another pursuit of greatness.It wasnt always easy for Fleury last spring, but he was universally lauded by teammates and observers for his deportment during the playoff run.Ive always been used to playing, to be in there, so some days were a little tougher, he admitted. But as a teammate, I wouldnt want anybody to see it or to think about that, to thiink about me.ddddddddddddI just wanted them to focus on their game and not be a distraction for anybody. At the end, like I said, we won, so it was all worth it.Mike Rupp played with six NHL teams and some of the games greatest goalies -- including Fleury -- before retiring. He spoke with Fleury during the finals and was impressed but not surprised by the netminders demeanor in the face of having been supplanted as the No. 1.Marc-Andre Fleury is legitimately the most kind, probably the best guy Ive ever met in hockey, said Rupp, whos now a national analyst. He is that. And everybody thinks that and says that. Hes just the ultimate teammate.Lets not confuse being a good teammate with not caring who starts.Fleury wants very much to again be the man.Whether thats here in Pittsburgh or somewhere else, that remains to be seen.Former teammate Colby Armstrong, also a national broadcast analyst, understands the mental toll this kind of uncertainty can have on a player.Thats what the games all about, thats the hardest part of the game, Armstrong said. I know in playing with him and dealing with him and even just talking to him, hes a proud guy that wants to do the right thing and be a good teammate and is also competitive and wants to have that net. I respect that.Close your eyes and you can still see Fleury sliding across to block Nicklas Lidstroms last-second bid to tie Game 7 at Joe Louis Arena in June 2009. GM Jim Rutherford can. He was running Carolina at the time, his Hurricanes having been swept by Fleury and the Penguins in four games in the 2009 Eastern Conference finals.If the outside view might be of a team with a potential goaltending controversy Rutherford, who played 457 NHL games as a goaltender, views things somewhat differently.What I worry about as a GM is if you dont have one goalie, Rutherford said. So, why would I worry about having two good ones?Indeed, when was the last time a team entered a season with two goaltenders who had guided their teams to Stanley Cup wins?Rupp, for one, believes the Penguins are starting the season with the best tandem in the business.Rutherford might have to make a hard decision at some point as the season moves along, but he doesnt have to make that decision today. I have a very good veteran goalie and I have a very good young goalie, he said. Itll play itself out.How?And until that narrative reveals itself, Fleury is content to try to enjoy this as much as possible.Its tough because I get reminded by people coming to the rink and stuff with mics, he said with another chuckle. So, yeah, sometimes you have a little thought whats going to happen and stuff. But I have to remind myself to enjoy the day, enjoy what we have now. Its going to be good here and whatever happens, happens.I just want to be normal, he added. I dont want to overanalyze, overthink stuff. I just want to have a nice season, go play, enjoy the guys at the rink, outside the rink.Surely the man who has owned this net, this team, this town for so long deserves that much. ' ' '