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| Tweet Topic Started: Jan 11 2013, 12:22 PM (38 Views) | |
| buwu | Jan 11 2013, 12:22 PM Post #1 |
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LOS ANGELES -- Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol have raised enough championship trophies to realize they really shouldnt be getting excited about any win in the first week of November. Johnathan Joseph Jersey . After the Los Angeles Lakers stumbled through the past five weeks without winning any games anywhere, Kobe and Pau figured its fine to enjoy a small victory. Dwight Howard scored 28 points, Bryant had 15 points and eight assists, and the Lakers finally got their first victory of the season, 108-79 over the winless Detroit Pistons on Sunday night. "We had to stop the bleeding, and there wasnt a way to do it other than coming out here tonight and getting a solid win," said Gasol, who scored 14 points. "Weve got a little bit of tension out of ourselves right now." Metta World Peace scored 18 points for the Lakers, who went 0-8 in the preseason and started the regular season 0-3 for just the fourth time in franchise history despite adding Howard and Steve Nash over the summer. But the Lakers growing worries about coach Mike Browns new offence and their veteran rosters durability vanished for a night against the struggling Pistons, who never led and never threatened. "We needed this bad, just to change the mood and give us some of that feel-good feeling," said Steve Blake, who tied his career high with five steals while starting in Nashs place. "Losing games was tough. I guess we did a good job of staying positive, but it feels good, thats for sure." After their worst start to a season in 34 years, the Lakers occasionally resembled the powerhouse most expected to see this season -- even without Nash, who missed his second game with a small fracture in his leg. Los Angeles took a 28-point lead in the first half and stretched it to 36 points in the third quarter, with Howard dominating the paint and Bryant slipping easily into a playmaking role in the Nashs absence. Howard excelled in the paint against Greg Monroe, hitting 12 of 14 shots -- most of them right at the rim -- and grabbing seven rebounds with just one foul. "Its a relief -- more for Mike than anybody else," said Bryant, who appeared to play easily on his sore foot while taking just 10 shots and grabbing seven rebounds. Brown is aware his offence is getting roasted by fans and critics everywhere from Toluca Lake to TNTs "Inside the NBA," but hes sticking with the motion-based schemes. "We werent perfect offensively, but I think everybody -- including us -- got a good taste of what it can be like," Brown said. "Were just barely scratching the surface on where this thing can go. ... Obviously, we needed a win. Every win we get gives us a little more belief on both ends of the floor." Bryant got all eight of his assists in the first half, and the Lakers starters played only token minutes in the fourth quarter, giving them valuable rest before Wednesdays trip to Utah. While the Lakers wait a week to learn the severity of Nashs injury, Blake had six assists and six points, while backup Darius Morris also played well with six points. The Lakers began the regular season by dropping games to Dallas, Portland and the Clippers, but theyve only started a season 0-4 once in franchise history -- and that was in 1957, back in Minneapolis. Los Angeles hadnt even started a season 0-3 since 1978 -- but that team won 15 of its next 16 games. "I dont think anyone over there was panicked that they were 0-3 or that they hadnt won a preseason game," Detroit coach Lawrence Frank said. "Theyre a very good team. Theres a big disparity right now between us and the Lakers. It was total domination." Jonas Jerebko scored 18 points for Detroit in the second stop on a difficult six-game road trip. Detroits five starters all struggled mightily, going a combined 11 for 39 -- including Brandon Knights 1-for-8 performance. Rodney Stuckeys shooting slump reached three games, with the starting guard going 0 for 6 to drop to 1 for 23 this season. "We just had no rhythm to the game and no flow," said Tayshaun Prince, who scored nine points. "We knew the Lakers would try to start off quick, being in the position we were in without a win. You let a team shoot that high a percentage in the first quarter, its always going to be a problem, especially playing against a great team. Were a young team, and we showed it tonight." The Pistons also might wonder if the NBAs schedule-makers used Apple Maps to plot their trip: Detroit must travel to Denver for a game Tuesday, only to return to California to face the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday before heading back out to Oklahoma City. NOTES: The Lakers hadnt started 0-3 at home since 1959. ... Lakers assistant coach Darvin Ham played on the Pistons 2004 championship team, which upset the Lakers in the NBA finals. ... Flea, will.i.am, Andy Garcia and Jeremy Sisto attended the game. Womens Brian Cushing Jersey . Blackburn threw his 79th pitch of the day -- a ball to David Murphy -- and motioned for the trainer. Brian Duensing replaced Blackburn with the Twins trailing 2-1 and a runner on first base. Elite Owen Daniels Jersey . He did it 10 years ago, when 70-1 Sarava charged to victory in the Belmont Stakes as War Emblem was attempting to complete a rare sweep of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont. http://www.shopnfltexansgear.com/j-j--watt-jersey/ . Scott Milanovich, who has served as the Montreal Alouettes offensive coordinator for the last four seasons, was given permission by the Als to be interviewed for the head coaching position. Pink Foster Jersey .J. Green, Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt and Tennessee Titans kick returner Darius Reynaud have been named the AFCs top players for the month of September. Alan Ball Jersey .75 million with the Senators, according to a report in The Ottawa Sun. BURBANK, Calif. -- Junior Dos Santos got into only a few street fights as a kid in Brazil, and he doesnt remember winning any of them. "I was a crying boy," the 6-foot-4, 240-pound Dos Santos said over lunch this week. "I got beat up. I didnt like it." Dos Santos thinks he could have been content as a busboy or a labourer. He didnt have the rampaging fire of many mixed martial artists, no desire to prove the whole world wrong with his fists. How he became the UFCs heavyweight champion still surprises Dos Santos, a relative latecomer to MMA who has grown into one of the sports best strikers, its most talented boxer -- and one of the sports most pleasant people. "You have to keep going, and you can never give up," Dos Santos said. "Its not just a saying. Its true. You have to train and work, and those things you do become automatic. Its not easy, but I love it." Dos Santos (14-1) will defend his title for the first time at UFC 146 in Las Vegas on Saturday night, meeting two-time champion Frank Mir (16-5) in the main event of a pay-per-view card stacked with heavyweight talent -- including Cain Velasquez, who lost the UFC belt to Dos Santos last fall. Although hes headlining a pay-per-view for just the second time, Dos Santos already won his title in stunning fashion on the biggest stage possible. When he stopped Velasquez just 64 seconds into the first round in Anaheim, Calif., with a vicious overhand right, he also introduced MMA to a national television audience on Fox in what UFC President Dana White called the biggest fight in the promotions history. Dos Santos immediately became a celebrity on two continents, putting the quiet kid from Salvador, Brazil, into a spotlight he never imagined. Years of training with the famed Nogueira brothers didnt prepare him for the attention and wealth resulting from his remarkable rise. "I come from a small city, and people recognize me a lot on the streets now," Dos Santos said. "Im making proud my family and my mom. I never imagined anything like this in my life. Everything I do, I try to do my best. Im just enjoying what I deserve. When you work hard, you deserve to get nice things." Before Dos Santos stumbled upon jiujitsu while working out at a regular gym, he worked 12-hour shifts as a busboy six days a week, making little money, but getting fed by sympathetic cooks. Although he was already stroong from other work as a labourer, pouring concrete and cutting wood slabs in a factory, he had little athletic skill and no MMA training until a jiujitsu coach, Yuri Carlton, saw his potential. Tim Jamison Jersey. Dos Santos also had a hunger for a better life, even if he didnt advertise it. Although he was happy in menial jobs, he was ambitious. "Suffering makes you a better person," Mir said. "Adversity makes all people greater. I didnt have a hard life. Cigano, it made him tough. He already had a certain toughness level before he got into an octagon." Although its tough to believe when looking at his enormous shaved head, Dos Santos used to show up for practice with his hair in a ponytail, earning him the nickname "Cigano" -- a Portuguese word for gypsy. He learned various additional skills and moved into MMA, training over the next 16 months before his first pro fight, when he knocked out his first opponent with some sort of soccer kick to the head. "When I beat him, it was like someone had pulled a whole airplane of weight off my shoulders," Dos Santos said. Dos Santos got a boxing coach, Luiz Carlos Dorea, but his game really took off six years ago when he began sparring with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Brazils famed Pride Fighting stars. Dos Santos took a daily beating from the worlds best, and he learned something from every bruise and black eye. "I trained every day, and it didnt matter if you got beat up or no," Dos Santos said. "I came to Rio the first day, and I got beat up. I was thinking about going back home. That was too much. But the next day, I was ready to get hit again. ... Today, they dont want to spar with me." Dos Santos rose through the heavyweight ranks, joining the UFC in October 2008 with a knockout of fellow Brazilian Fabricio Werdum. He has beaten an impressive list of heavyweights, including Cro Cop Filipovic, Gabriel Gonzaga, Roy Nelson and Shane Carwin, culminating in his title win over Velasquez. Dos Santos takes none of his success for granted. He had knee surgery after winning the belt last fall, but returned to training with a determination to stay on top against Mir, a savvy veteran with the most wins in UFC heavyweight history. "I know its a tough fight, but I like a tough fight," Dos Santos said. "Im OK to fight anybody. I like this challenge." ' ' ' |
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