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Опубликовано 15 Декабря 2016, 13:01:55
CHICAGO -- Stung by the Luol Deng trade, the Chicago Bulls found a way to ease their pain. Kevin Boothe Jersey . Taj Gibson had 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Chicago beat the Phoenix Suns 92-87 on Tuesday night in its first game after parting with Deng. Joakim Noah added 14 points and 16 rebounds, helping the Bulls to their sixth win in eight games. D.J. Augustin and Jimmy Butler each scored 13. Tony Snell added 12 points, including back-to-back 3-pointers during an 8-0 run early in the fourth quarter that extended the lead to 13. Chicago sent Deng to Cleveland in a deal that was announced early Tuesday morning after the two-time All-Star recently turned down a proposed contract extension, a move that hurts in the short term but gives the Bulls flexibility to add to their roster down the road. It also could also help knock them into the lottery, although thats far from a sure thing given the weak state of the Eastern Conference. Either way, they werent conceding anything on Tuesday. "We lost a really great teammate, a really great player last night/this morning," Butler said. "Im glad we got the win." Goran Dragic scored 21 for Phoenix, but the Suns simply couldnt get into gear after winning 11 of their previous 14. Their 87 points were one off their season low, and they matched one with 12 assists. Tops in the NBA in fast-break points, Phoenix managed just 10 against defensive-minded Chicago. The Suns played without guard Eric Bledsoe, who missed his third consecutive game with a sprained right knee, but the Bulls were hardly operating at full strength. Besides dealing Deng, they were without Carlos Boozer. He missed his second straight game because of a sore right knee, leaving Chicago with just nine players available. The Bulls were leading by five early in the fourth when Snell hit back-to-back 3s. Noah then scored on a layup to make it 78-65, and Chicago hung on after it got tight again late in the game. Phoenixs Miles Plumlee hit a free throw to make it 85-81. But Kirk Hinrich answered with a 3 to bump the lead to seven with two minutes remaining. "It doesnt matter if they have five people or 12 people," the Suns Channing Frye said. "Theyre going to come out here and play as hard as they can. They have really good players. Guys that want to prove themselves." It was a difficult day for both teams, with the Suns departure from Phoenix delayed to Tuesday because of the subzero temperatures in Chicago and the Bulls trading away one of their best players. Chicago acquired three draft picks from Cleveland along with Andrew Bynum, who was promptly waived in a move that took Chicago off the hook for the remaining $6 million on his two-year, $24 million deal. But trading Deng was yet another big blow for a team that expected to challenge the Miami Heat for supremacy in the Eastern Conference. Derrick Roses season-ending knee injury in November dashed those hopes, and Deng is gone now, too. "We can accept our circumstances as they are, or we can do all we can to change them and turn them into something positive," coach Tom Thibodeau said. "Thats one of the things Ive admired about our team -- theyve accepted every challenge." Theyre facing another one after trading Deng. Snell referred to him as a "big brother," and Butler has repeatedly mentioned how much he learned from him. "He told me hes going to miss me, and Lus never told me anything nice since Ive been here," Butler said, grinning. NOTES: Along with Bynum, Cleveland also sent the Bulls a first-round pick, two second-rounders, and gave Chicago the right to swap first-round choices in 2015 if the Cavs are not in the lottery. ... Bulls executive vice-president of basketball operations John Paxson apologized to Deng for the way the organization publicly handled his illness during last years playoffs. The Bulls said at the time he was out with flu-like symptoms. An angry Deng posted on Twitter from a hospital that he had a more serious condition that required a spinal tap to rule out meningitis. "We did not handle that as well as we could have and should have," Paxson said. "We spoke to Lu. I guess we didnt understand the gravity in that moment, and thats on us. Over the summer we talked to both Lu and Herb (Rudoy, his agent). We apologized. Thats something that we dropped the ball on." ... Leandro Barbosa arrived in Chicago and was expected to sign a 10-day contract with the Suns. Barbosa spent his first seven years with Phoenix but has not played in the NBA since he suffered a season-ending knee injury playing for Boston on Feb. 11, 2013. Bo Jackson Jersey .com) - Avery Bradley scored 21 points and the Boston Celtics beat the Brooklyn Nets, 89-81. Otis Sistrunk Raiders Jersey . Barnard, 28, was 1-0 with a 0.53 ERA in three appearances, including two starts, with San Angel o this season. He struck out 19 batters and walked just one in 17 innings pitched. He has previous American Association experience with the Lincoln Saltdogs, El Paso Diablos and Amarillo Sox. http://www.proraidersauthentic.com/authentic-keith-mcgill-raiders-jersey/ . Down 2-1 after Rick Nash scored on a penalty shot, the Oilers ran off four unanswered goals in the remainder of the second period on the way to a 6-3 victory on Sunday.WASHINGTON -- Twenty years later on this darkest of baseball anniversaries, the Montreal Expos franchise is once again basking in the sunshine of first place. A powerhouse ballclub had its record frozen in time Sept. 14, 1994, stuck forever at 74 wins, 40 losses. Thats the day the strike-shortened major-league season was officially cancelled. The star-studded team would be blown apart by the time a big-league umpire again shouted, "Play ball." The good news now for the franchise is that, barring some unmitigated, unanticipated 1994-style disaster, its going to the playoffs. With basically a nine-game division lead and barely two weeks left, this bitter anniversary season will seemingly be washed down in sweet champagne. Of course theres that other, bad news which Montreal baseball fans probably dont need to be reminded of on this, or any other, occasion: the playoffs are happening in Washington, D.C. Its been a decade since the franchise moved away, leaving mascot Youppi temporarily unemployed. He soon found a new job with the Montreal Canadiens. But local baseball fans havent been quite as lucky in getting a replacement. If any feel like cheering for the Washington Nationals this fall, and living vicariously through the offspring of Nos Amours, theyll find a few familiar faces milling about the ballpark just east of the U.S. Capitol. The teams colour commentator is former Expos infielder F.P. Santangelo. Star shortstop Ian Desmond was drafted by the Expos. Coaches Tony Tarasco, Bob Henley, Randy Knorr and Rick Schu all played for the Expos. PR man John Dever, equipment manager Mike Wallace, and visiting-clubhouse manager Matt Rosenthal all worked for the team in Montreal. "Do we talk about the Expos days? Of course. All the time," Dever says. "The Blue Jays-Mets series (of exhibition games in Montreal) back in late March really got the juices flowing. Watching the game, seeing Stade Olympique, seeing the fans, some familiar faces. It looked like a heck of a baseball party. We were happy for everyone up there." For Washington, the baseball party is just starting. After a so-so start, dragged down by early injuries, the team caught fire. It went on a 10-game win streak, with some thrilling final-inning victories. The streak only ended when starter Doug Fister tried pitching a couple of days after surgery to remove skin cancer -- although he insisted the scars didnt affect him. The key to its success is depth. The Nationals have one hitter in the top-10 in batting average, and one in the top 10 in homers in the National League. Theyre centre-fielder Denard Span at .301, and Adam LaRoche with 24 home runs. No pitcher has over 13 wins. But everyones pulling their weight: Four starters have an earned-run average under 3.50. The staff may even break a record for the best strikeout-walk ratio in major-league history. And their lineup would probably include three hitters with more than 20 homers, if young slugger Bryce Harper hadnt missed nearly half the season with a thumb injury. Santangelo can pinpoint the exact moment the team took flight. In early August they were down 7-0 to their nemesis and tormentor, which coincidentally was also the Expos closest rival in 1994: the Atlanta Braves. They scored six runs, and started to believe they could claw back from anything. "A big lightbulb went off in my head -- ding! -- these guys are good now," Santangelo says. "The team kind of clicked." For most of their history, the Washington Nationals had actually been a lot like the Expos: they lost more than they won. Their historical winning percentage is even slightly worse than Montreals -- since 2005, its .474. But they dwarf the Expos in two areas that count. Theyre on the verge of their second division title. It took a while, but the team finally cracked .500 three seasons ago and hasnt looked back. As for financial viability, its been no contest. Theyre drawing triple what the Expos did toward the end, and are in factt getting even bigger crowds than in the best years of the late 1970s-early 80s. David Ausberry Jersey. Attendance is slightly better-than-average for a major-league team -- at nearly 32,000 a game. Santangelo saw plenty of empty seats as a player; he was called up in 1995, after the team had been stripped in a firesale. He doesnt blame Montreal fans for staying away. He says even the players on the team understood that a short Canadian summer combined with an enclosed concrete stadium, the distance from downtown and annually losing popular players wasnt exactly a formula for success. "We didnt harbour any ill-will toward Expos fans. We understood," Santangelo says. "Summers very short. And to spend four hours of your short summer, indoors -- a lot of people didnt want to do it. And a lot of people were fed up that Pedro (Martinez) was a Red Sock, and John Wetteland was a Yankee. Just go down the list of everybody that left there -- thats gotta get old after a while... I cant blame Expos fans for not coming out in big numbers." What he always tells people is Montrealers loved baseball: "Everywhere you went around town they knew your batting average, they knew your record, they knew what your record was in the last 10 games. They followed the team." He says he was thrilled to see the crowded stadium for exhibition games earlier this year in Montreal, which he calls one of his favourite cities in the world. In a way, Santangelo is a bit like the people in that crowd: somewhat of a baseball orphan. He watches other teams enjoy reunion nights where former players get together and tease each other about their weight and dwindling hairlines as part of a regular bonding experience. "I dont have that privilege," he says. "I spent the majority of my major-league career in Montreal, and theres no team there anymore. "So we dont have the reunions and its sad, because even though you become great friends with your teammates everybody goes their own way once you retire, once you move on... And that part saddens me." There are faint physical reminders of the old team in the new Nationals Park, a nouveau-traditionalist beauty that opened its doors in 2008. For starters, there are always a few Expos caps and jerseys in the crowd. And in the ring between the upper and lower decks, above the first-base line, there are plaques to Hall of Famers Gary Carter and Andre Dawson. Theyre grouped with plaques dedicated to the superstars of the old Homestead Grays from the Negro Leagues, and the former Washington Senators. When Dawson was honoured in a pre-game ceremony in 2010, the Washington Post wrote about the awkward relationship between the franchise and its own history. Even the emcee of the Dawson celebration, a broadcaster and local baseball historian, said the team had no responsibility to honour the Expos. He said it made more sense to honour Whitey Herzog, the Hall of Fame manager who played for the original Washington Senators a half-century ago. Yes, Washington knows what it feels like to lose a team -- it happened twice. But things are so good now that nobodys even noticed the old Washington Senators are doing terribly. Actually, theyre in last place in not just one division, but two -- as the bottom-dwelling Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers, who are a combined 55 games out of first. This town is too busy loving the new team to think much about Montreal, either, Santangelo says. "I dont think the fans even remotely care about anything that has to do with Montreal, to be quite frank," he says. "Washington wants their own identity -- and I think thats healthy. "You want to establish that youre the Washington Nationals, and not the Montreal franchise. And I think thats how it should be. I think it would be weird if they paid tribute to the Montreal Expos on a regular basis." He does notice the old tri-coloured logo in the stands, "And I love it." But for most people, he says, the attitude is, "You move on." NFL Jerseys Chinacheap jerseys ' ' '
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