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The Toronto Maple Leafs surprised many by making the Stanley Cup playoffs this season. Sokratis Papastathopoulos Jersey . They have also impressed many more with their efforts against Boston in the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series that now stands at 3-2 in favour of the Bruins, after Torontos 2-1 victory in Game 5 on Friday. One of those who has been impressed is Wayne Gretzky. Gretzky spoke with TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.com on Saturday and offered his thoughts on the Maple Leafs, the team he watched growing up in Brantford, Ontario. "Theyre up against a really good opponent, a team thats just two years removed from winning the Cup, but any time you can win a Game 5 in that situation against a team of that caliber, obviously youve got character and it builds even more character," Gretzky told LeBrun. "Theyre legit. Theyre playing on high-emotion right now." Gretzky was quick to point out that much of the credit for the Leafs play of late should go to head coach Randy Carlyle and his system. "Its about believing in your system. The system starts with the head coach," added Gretzky. "Hes got tremendous credibility after winning a Stanley Cup himself [2007 in Anaheim]. Its not a question of players saying, Are we sure he knows what hes doing? Because theyre absolutely positive he knows what hes doing. The credibility starts right there with the coach." Gretzky also singled out goaltender James Reimer for his play throughout the season and into the post-season. "There was so much talk throughout the hockey world wondering if their goaltending was strong enough to get through the season and get into the playoffs," Gretzky told LeBrun. "I think their goaltender has answered that question extremely well." Win or lose, Gretzky feels this series will go a long way to improving the long-term outlook of the Leafs, a team that had not made the playoffs in nine years before this season. "You know, theyre still young and theyre still learning," said Gretzky. "This is how you learn, by getting a chance to play in big games like this. Game 5 in Boston was probably one of the biggest games those kids have played in for a long time. From that point of view, its just going to help their maturity and their growth a lot quicker. The Maple Leafs host the Bruins in Game 6 on Sunday night. Should they win to force a seventh game, it would be played back in Boston on Monday night. Granit Xhaka Jersey . Kiriasis and brakeman Franziska Fritz finished two runs in one minute 55.41 seconds -- a mere 0.01 seconds ahead of Meyers and Lolo Jones, who likely bolstered her Olympic hopes by helping give USA-1 a huge push in the second heat. Laurent Koscielny Arsenal Jersey . - Derek Wolfe says hes finally healthy after suffering a seizure in November that doctors now believe was related to the spinal cord injury he suffered in the preseason. http:///...eira-Arsenal-Jersey/ . But what about the officials? Every sport has officials and they also have stories about hard work and sacrifice but their accomplishments are seldom recognized by anyone outside their inner circle. INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- The city of Cleveland will open its doors to the sports world this week when the Cavaliers raise their 2016 NBA championship banner Tuesday on the same night the Indians host Game 1 of World Series.LeBron James, born about 40 miles south of Gateway Plaza, where Progressive Field and Quicken Loans Arena are located across from one another downtown, said it will be a spectacle unlike any his hometown has ever seen.Its a special day for our fans in Cleveland, in Northeast Ohio to be able to live and enjoy for a day, James said after practice Monday. They get an opportunity to just remember this day, us receiving our rings and our Indians being able to host Game 1 of the World Series, so, its a day that will go down in history. For anyone that lives here, they will never forget it. So, Im happy Im a part of it.The Cavs will play the New York Knicks at 7:30 p.m. ET, moving their tipoff time up a half-hour to accommodate Cleveland fans who want to watch the pregame ring ceremony and still catch the first pitch between the Indians and Chicago Cubs at 8:08 p.m. ET.James, a known New York Yankees fan, explained how he maintains an allegiance to both the Bronx Bombers and one of their American League rivals in the Indians.Im a supporter of winners, man, James said. As a kid, Ive told you guys long before this day, when I was a kid growing up I needed inspiration to get out of the situation I was in. So, I loved the [Chicago] Bulls, I loved the [Dallas] Cowboys, I loved the Yankees. Those are winning franchises. Those are people that I liked because they gave me hope of being a winner. So, thats part of the reason why Ive always loved those teams. But Im definitely in support of what the Indians are doing right now.So much so that he has committed to making a wager with Chicago native Dwyane Wade over the series outcome, only he hasnt quite ironed out the details of the bet.I dont know, James said. Were both wine drinkers, so it will probably go to that. He has his own wine too, so, welll probably figure that in or I dont know, we both have kids. Arsenal Jerseys. So well figure something out.The rest of the Cavs are trying to figure out how they will manage their emotions as they celebrate their historic 3-1 comeback against the Golden State Warriors and then immediately try to focus on beating the Knicks.Like I told some of the guys already, I might cry, but we still have a game to play, Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said. I might cry, its going to be emotional, and rightfully so. Weve done something that no other team has done in NBA history, we brought a championship to the city of Cleveland, so its going to be an emotional night and we expect that. Guys should embrace that. We still have a game to play. If guys that won a championship, they cant handle it, then Ill play guys that didnt win: [Mike] Dunleavy Jr. and guys that are hungry and trying to win another one.James, who was 2-0 on ring night during his time with the Miami Heat, has experience with the balancing act.Its unfortunate that you have to go right from reliving all your accomplishments from the previous year to getting ready to, now, lets start to play the game right away, James said. So, its very difficult, its very challenging but its what it is and we have to be ready.Should the Indians beat the Cubs, Cleveland would become just the second city to win both the NBA and MLB championships in the same calendar year, joining Los Angeles, which did it in 1988 (Lakers and Dodgers) and 2002 (Lakers and Angels).This is a unique time, James said. You got one team like you said that [last won a championship] in 1948 and another one in [1908], this is a unique time, especially for the MLB and just for sports period. Its great to have those two teams. Those fans and all Cubs fans, obviously they got two [baseball teams [in Chicago], but Cubs fans and Indians fans deserve it, and, may the best ball club win. ' ' '