TSNs Jack Armstrong offers his thoughts on the agressiveness of Paul George, the struggles of LeBron James in Game 5, the prospects of Billy Donovan as an NBA head coach, the swagger of Cory Joseph and the maturation of Russell Westbrook. Nike Air Max 90 Rabatt . 1. Paul George (Pacers): Brilliant fourth quarter Wednesday night as he saved his team from elimination. Unfortunately, we havent see that from him enough in the playoffs and surely in the second half of the regular season. He let it rip in Game 5 and loved his aggressiveness and the attack mode that he took. When he plays like an elite player, it settles the rest of the roster down and guys are able to play their games. Still dont like their chances though; their bench has been a huge bust and though the defence was a bit better Wednesday, it hasnt been up to par in this series. I like Miami to close in Game 6 at home. 2. LeBron James (Heat): Played less than 25 minutes due to foul trouble! How often do you ever hear or see that? An aberration to say the least. Obviously, that helped the Pacers immensely. I tend to doubt youll be hearing that phrase too often the rest of the playoffs for Mr. James. When its time for the spotlight to shine brightest, hell be out there. 3. Billy Donovan (University of Florida): Where there is smoke, there is fire. Keep hearing his name when you talk about NBA jobs. Hes a terrific head coach and has done a wonderful job with the Gators. Already took the Orlando Magic job and then backed out years ago when Stan Van Gundy ended up taking it. Worked out great for both guys. Talking to a number of college coaches of late, many of them are getting tired of the one and done mentality that many players have and the concept of the free agent mentality that many players have today regarding transferring out each offseason. I know, I get it, its a two-way street for both sides yet I think when you coach at the highest level in top-notch leagues and have constant movement each year, you say to yourself, might as well get to where everyones trying to get to and not have to deal with recruiting and academics and the goofy NCAA rules and deal totally with why you do it in the first place: basketball - the game - and not the other nonsense. Like many college coaches, Im sure Donovan has had those thoughts. If he comes to the NBA, I have no doubt hed be good. 4. Cory Joseph (Spurs): Loved the swagger he played with in Game 4. Came in and looked like he belonged. Love the dunk on Serge Ibaka; posterized him! Hes a passionate competitor and you cant discount that playing in San Antonio has greatly helped his development as a young player. Hes had nice stints of play at times this year and with a guy like Patty Mills in front of him behind Tony Parker, minutes are tough to come by. When youre called upon, be ready. He has shown me that when that happens, hes ready to get after it. Good for him. 5. Russell Westbrook (Thunder): What a Game 4 performance with 40 points, 10 assists, five rebounds and five steals. When you look around the NBA right now, there arent many more talented guys than this guy out there. Yes, at times, he can drive you crazy with his self-absorbed play but you cant discount his ability. Hopefully, the consistent maturity and professional/team-oriented approach becomes a part of his daily persona. I see a young guy that is maturing and still figuring it out; a guy you definitely stick with because there is so much there and he really wants to win. Just still learning how to go about it the right way, but its coming. Nike Air Max 97 Rea . After rookie right-hander Alex Colome excelled in a 5-2 victory in the opener, the Rays fell to Chris Tillman and the Orioles 4-1 on Friday night. Nike Air Max Rea . Jones, from Winnipeg, built a 3-0 advantage after three ends by scoring two in the second and one in the third. Chinas skip Bingyu Wang cut that lead to 3-1 in the fourth before Canada added another three in the fifth for a 6-1 lead. http://www.reaairmaxsverige.com/air-max-90-rabatt/max-90-herr.html . Fognini won 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 after Argentinas Carlos Berlocq had beaten Andreas Seppi 4-6, 6-0, 6-2, 6-1 on the outdoor clay surface. Doubles are set for Saturday with reverse singles on Sunday to decide which team reaches the quarterfinals.DETROIT - Canadas Kirsten Moore-Towers and Dylan Moscovitch are in second place after Saturdays short program in pairs at Skate America which launches the ISU Grand Prix figure skating season. World champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov of Russia grabbed the lead with 83.05 points, Moore-Towers and Moscovitch followed with a personal best score of 71.51 and Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov of Russia are third at 64.80. "We improved on most aspects of our program," said Moore-Towers of St. Catharines, Ont. "The transitions and connections were the things we really wanted to do better today." Moore-Towers and Moscovitch put their hat in the Olympic medal contenders ring last season placing fourth at the world championships. They opened 2013-14 with a victory at the U.S. Skate International last month. Moscovitch says he wasnt surprised to see a personal best this early in the season. "We knew we were on track to get that score at this point," said the Toronto resident. "Were happy with it even though we didnt skate completely perfectly." Margaret Purdy of Strathroy, Ont., and Michael Marinaro of Sarnia, Ont., are seventh. The pairs free skate is on Sunday. The two couples are Canadas only entries at the competition. Later, Mao Asada of Japan won the womens short program, beating Ashley Wagner. This marked the second straight competition where Volosozhar and Trankov, the reigning Skate America champions, have set a short program world record. Their previous record, 81.65, was set last month en route to winning the Nebelhorn Trophy in Oberstdorf, Germany. Their Skate America performance, to "Masquerade Waltz" by Aram Khatchaturian, was a crisp display of big throws and lifts, unison spins and a triple toe loop, and sophisticated interpretation. The crowd gave the Russians a one-minute standing ovation. "We dont care so much about the world record," Trankov said. "We care more about our personal record, about our seasons best, about our skating. "Its our pleasure to skate good, and to have audience love it. When people stand up out of their seats, and are very loud and clap their hands, we feel it. It is more important thing than the scores." Asada skated cleanly and had 73.18 points. Wagner, the defending Skate America champion from the U.S., was next at 68.26. Elena Radinova of Russia, who is 14 and the reigning world junior champion, was third at 67.01. The long program is Sunday night. Asada boosted her score on the fly, changing her planned program content. She had planned a triple flip-triple loop near the beginning, but went with a triple loop instead. Asada performed a triple loop-double toe near the end of the short, upping her total. Asadas high-technical program had a pleasing, quiet flow. She made an adjustment, turning a plannned triple flip-double loop scheduled for the start to a triple loop-double loop near the end. Nike Air Max 97 Herr Rea. Jumps placed in the latter half of a program, when a skater is typically tiring, receive a higher scoring value. "For the past few years, I was not able to perform my best at the first Grand Prix, so I was very happy I was reasonably able to perform a very good performance," Asada said through a translator. "I think it is a very good start for the season." Wagners steady performance revealed her off-season work to improve her difficulty level. Wagner, the two-time U.S. champion, is also the defending Skate America titleholder but was still a technical difficulty level below Kim Yu-na, Carolina Kostner, and Asada coming into this season. Wagners lack of a triple-triple was addressed, and Skate America was the first ISU Grand Prix of the season to display it. Her more mature short program, to Pink Floyds "Shine on You Crazy Diamond," debuted at Skate America with a leadoff successful triple flip-triple toe. When her score of 69.26 was announced, she screamed "Oh!" and then did a little seated shimmy dance. "Going into the flip-toe, I was actually pretty terrified because its a high-risk element for me," Wagner said. "Before I went out there, Rafael (Arutunian) told me, Just go do it, go skate the flip-toe, do it like you know how to. And I just kind of turned the rest off and went into autopilot for the flip-toe and performed it like the way I had in practice. Im happy with that." While Asada and Wagner both impressed, the buzz from the short program was Radionova. She is Skate Americas youngest competitor, and many wondered how she would handle the pressure of the seasons first Grand Prix event. She answered the questions quickly, delivering a clean and confident performance. Radionova is the reigning world junior champion, and dominated the senior-level Nebelhorn Trophy event last month in Germany. She is ineligible for the Sochi Olympics because of her age. "This competition is a new level for me, I did not expect this result. ... I was not nervous, I was really calm and I kept it together really well," Radionova said through a translator. "I think this competition has a big meaning for me." The pairs competition wasnt nearly as close, as Volosozhar and Trankov showed they were at a level above the field. Canadians Moore-Towers and Moscovitch are nearly 13 points behind the leaders. Their throw triple loop was big, but Moore-Towers double-footed the landing. Former junior champions Ksneia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov evoked a Spanish feel in their short program. Their side-by-side triple toes were on par with those of Volosozhar and Trankov. But they lost points by downgrading their opening triple twist lift to a double. ' ' '  |
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