though he conceded theres room for improvement. "

BALI, Indonesia -- Stephen Harper has dropped his prime ministerial gloves and put on his hockey historians helmet to wade in on the subject of violence in Canadas most popular sport. And he did so from a beach-front hotel in Bali, Indonesia, of all places. The prime minister, who has a book coming out next month on the early history of professional hockey, prefaced his unsolicited comments Tuesday on his role as an author, not as a politician. "Since Im taking off my hat soon on this (hockey historian) business anyway, as you know, I welcome the opportunity to comment on it," he told bemused reporters at a closing news conference following a summit of Asia-Pacific leaders. Harper -- a sharp-elbowed partisan in the political game -- said hockey is a rough sport but hes an admirer of skill over brawn. "I do think that authorities have historically not taken their responsibility to try and keep the rough, tough part of the game within the rules," he said, adding hes particularly concerned about head shots. "These are very serious issues and they do have to be taken seriously by the NHL and other sports bodies." Last weeks opening of the 2013-14 NHL season saw a nasty incident in which Montreal Canadiens enforcer George Parros pitched to the ice during a battle with Toronto Maple Leafs tough guy Colton Orr, falling hard on his chin and knocking himself unconscious. The Parros incident was one of several that marred the early season and renewed yet again the debate over fighting on ice. "Im not trying to be nonchalant about some of these incidents, which I think are of concern to any parent watching this and seeing examples set and worrying about what could happen to their own boys and girls when they step on the ice," Harper said, speaking in a hotel penthouse room overlooking the Indian Ocean. "That all said, what we all have to realize is that this debate is as old as the game itself." In fact, said historian Harper, "there has never been an era in hockey, including from the very beginning, where violence was not an issue of controversy." Matters are actually less rough today, said the prime minister, who called the level of violence in pre-war hockey "quite shocking." Harpers coming book is titled "A Great Game: The Forgotten Leafs and the Rise of Professional Hockey." Author and Globe and Mail columnist Roy MacGregor acted as an editorial consultant on the book, which is to be released Nov. 5, with proceeds going to a military charity. Moses Malone Jersey . "Im not doing enough to help them," Durant told The Oklahoman on Monday of his 28-9 team. "Im shooting too much. Im shooting too many threes. Im not helping them out at all. Cheap NBA Jerseys . -- Claudio Bieler hadnt scored since early September, and not from the run of play since mid-July. http://www.cheap76ersjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-charles-barkley-jersey . New York secured second place in the Metropolitan Division when the Philadelphia Flyers lost at Tampa Bay later Thursday. The Rangers will face either the Flyers or Columbus in the opening round of the post-season. The Rangers struggled throughout against the lowly Sabres and goalie Matt Hackett, who played in just his seventh NHL game of the season. Markelle Fultz Jersey . -- With the Memphis Grizzlies struggling to find their offensive rhythm, O. Joel Embiid Jersey . They are back to a game above .500 on the year and back to .500 on the road. It was their 10th extra time game of the year, and only the second one that did not got to a shootout.SAO PAULO, Brazil -- Argentinas theme at this World Cup seems to be scrappy wins with Lionel Messi pulling through at the last minute to save the day. This time he didnt score on his own, but set the stage for Angel Di Maria to score an extra-time winner against Switzerland. "It doesnt matter if its beautiful or ugly," Di Maria said. "Only that Argentina won and will play another game in the tournament." Argentina will play Belgium in the quarterfinals. Except for its final group-stage win over Nigeria, Argentina has won its matches in Brazil in the same manner -- grinding down its opponents rather than dazzling them with brilliant football. In the first half Tuesday, Argentina struggled to find paths through Switzerlands five-man midfield, and it was the Swiss that produced the best chances. Granit Xhaka pushed Sergio Romero to a great save and Josip Drmic spoiled a great opportunity when he tried to chip the ball over the Argentina goalkeeper. When cracks started opening in the defence in the second half, goalkeeper Diego Benaglio kept Switzerland in the game, stopping Gonzalo Higuains header and Messis low shot in the 78th minute. Benaglio also saved a powerful attempt by Di Maria in extra time, and it looked like the Swiss would be able to push the game into a penalty shootout. Then, in the 118th, Rodrigo Palacio won the ball in midfield and fed Messi, who dribbled down the middle in trademark fashion, escaping a challenge from Swiss defender Fabian Schaer before poking the ball to Di Maria. Unmarked, the Real Madrid player beat Benaglio with his 10th goal in Argentinas colours. "Whats important is that we moved on to the next stage," said Messi, who has scored four oof Argentinas seven goals, including an injury-time winner against Iran.dddddddddddd "It was difficult. We knew it was going to be a hard match." Swiss substitute Blerim Dzemaili nearly equalized right before the end but his header hit the post, and the rebound bounced off his knee and wide of the goal. Switzerland coach Ottmar Hitzfeld, whose brother died at age 81 one the eve of the match, said his team leaves the tournament with "our heads high." "We made life very tough for them," he said. "They managed to keep their cool. It shows Argentina has a good team." Hitzfeld said it was his last match as a football coach. He had earlier said he would quit after the tournament. His Argentine counterpart, Alejandro Sabella, said he thought his team played a "wonderful match," though he conceded theres room for improvement. "It was a match that we deserved to win," said Sabella. "The first half was very even. They had two clear chances and after that the match was ours." Argentina will play its next match without left back Marcos Rojo, who is suspended after receiving his second yellow card on Tuesday. ------ Lineups: Argentina: Sergio Romero; Pablo Zabaleta, Federico Fernandez, Ezequiel Garay, Marcos Rojo (Jose Maria Basanta, 105); Fernando Gago (Lucas Biglia, 106), Javier Mascherano, Angel Di Maria; Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Ezequiel Lavezzi (Rodrigo Palacio, 74). Switzerland: Diego Benaglio; Stephan Lichtsteiner, Johan Djourou, Fabian Schaer, Ricardo Rodriquez; Xherdan Shaqiri, Gokhan Inler, Granit Xhaka (Gelson Fernandes, 66), Valon Behrami, Admir Mehmedi (Blerim Dzemaili, 113); Josip Drmic (Haris Seferovic, 82). ' ' '