NEW YORK -- Oklahoma Citys Scott Brooks has earned his second All-Star coaching assignment. Brooks clinched the Western Conference spot Tuesday night when Portland lost to Memphis, guaranteeing the Thunder (36-10) will have a better winning percentage than the Trail Blazers through Sunday. San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich is ineligible because he coached the West last year. Brooks, the 2010 Coach of the Year, led the West to a 152-149 victory over the East in 2012, when the Thunder eventually reached the NBA Finals before losing to Miami. Indianas Frank Vogel will coach the East in the Feb. 16 game in New Orleans. Cheap Hockey Jerseys Authentic . Weise will have his hearing with the NHL head office over the phone, while the league has requested an in-person hearing with Kassian. Oilers centre Sam Gagner suffered a broken jaw after getting hit with a high stick from Kassian in Edmontons 5-2 win. Hockey Jerseys Black Friday . The team announced that it exercised the options on 15 players including goalkeepers Evan Bush, Maxime Crepeau and Troy Perkins, defenders Matteo Ferrari, Karl W. https://www.fakehockeyjerseys.com/ . -- Rookie Victor Oladipo came off the bench to score 20 points and Glen Davis had 18, leading the Orlando Magic to a 112-98 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night. Cheap Hockey Jerseys China .C. -- Al Jefferson said he feels like hes playing the best basketball of his 10-year NBA career. Fake Hockey Jerseys . Louis Cardinals on Sunday afternoon; a brief, poor outing that served to highlight two trends that have developed this season.Hope. Thats all Toronto FC supporters have asked for. Wins have been priority, too but its true, unmitigated hope of positive direction thats been desired. Progress. Commitment. Hope. Hope has been fleeting before. Julian de Guzman, the clubs first designated player brought hope as did the addition of hometown hero Dwayne De Rosario. Toronto FC turning orange, the Dutch total football revolution under Aron Winter brought hope as well. But thats about it. Spare me hype surrounding some unknown international prodigy that has come and gone, or the legendary Mista. Genuine belief has been temporary and few and far between. Unfulfilled promise. Pandering of false hope. Rinse, wash, repeat. Then Wednesday happened. True hope came calling. As often the case may be, good things came in three; each story bigger in importance, potential impact and surprise. De Rosarios return to Toronto was publicly confirmed with a Thursday press conference ahead. My colleague Luke Wileman reported coveted Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe will land in Toronto this weekend with an expected Monday introductory press conference to follow, unveiling the prized acquisition. The bells and whistles surrounding Defoes arrival are said to be impressive. Lastly, the most audacious, unexpected news of all; a deal all but done to bring 26-year-old US international midfielder Michael Bradley to TFC in the absolute prime of his career. Surprised? Yes we are. Three signings dont get much bigger than this in MLS. Make it four with last months arrival of Brazilian Gilberto. If no curveballs are thrown and once the ink is dry, just like that, the inferior, miserable, beaten down landscape of Toronto FC forever changed. Toronto FCs new promo campaign, Its A Bloody Big Deal! – 01.13.14 couldnt ring more true. The YouTube video shows a bald-headed man spit take in shock, presumably about Defoes arrival. Well add another spit take for Bradley; the kind of choke on your coffee and have it pour out your nose sort of disbelief. In North American soccer circles, this is the kind of impact and magnitude were talking about. Defoe entering the fray isnt much a secret. The 31-year-old English international had fallen out of favour at White Hart Lane. The crafty forward still has pace and ability and could have a similar impact in MLS to Robbie Keane. Toronto FC spared no expense to convince Defoe Toronto was right for him. Flights, houses, family considerations - Toronto bent over backwards, realizing treatment and paycheck would be sufficient to supplant a Premier League caliber talent and bring him to Canada. Many expect Defoe to score 30 goals in Major League Soccer. Along with on-field expectations, off-field ambassadorship is expected. Defoe instantly becomes one of MLS top players. Ditto for Bradley. A work engine in the central midfield, the current AS Roma player is a warrior. The ferocity of Bradley, with ability to move forward in attack, would make him a special breed in MLS, where most central midfielders are either preferred attacking options or stay at home, hold the shape kind of players. Bradley is an all-action type player, and all-important for the US Mens National team and a move to MLS comes at a peculiar time with World Cup preparations first and foremost. US Mens National team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann was critical of Clint Dempseys move to Seattle last fall. So a return to North America comes as a shock. The story behind the potential move has yet to be revealed, but considerable dollars are at pplay.dddddddddddd. A rumoured salary ballpark of $6.5 million per year would do the trick, roughly six times his current salary. Playing time is also an issue. The arrival of Kevin Strootman last summer, along with last weeks signing of Radja Nainggolan put the writing on the wall at Roma: Bradley must leave. Cathal Kelly of the Toronto Star reports upwards of $100 million is being committed to Defoe and Bradley in transfer fees and salary. Its an incredible commitment for soccer in this city. These kinds of dollars cannot be justified by pure economics of the game alone. The MLS salary cap for 2013 before designated player commitments sat at just shy of $3 million. MLSE obviously has the funds but to make this kind of financial commitment to soccer and a team that had operating revenue in the ballpark of $4.5 million last season (according to Forbes) shows true ambition. This is what it takes to compete. For Bradley, whose father Bob is a former US National team coach, to choose a Canadian club no less over a US-based team speaks to the show me the money type mentality of the modern game. Credit Tim Leiweke. He said he would turn Toronto FC around, and quick. This is beyond the expected. Dion Phaneuf salaries to soccer players in Toronto will never make sense. But MLSE using its financial strength to turn an embarrassment into a pillar of the organization is money well spent. Many south of the border will question what a move like Bradleys says about the growth of MLS. Id argue it has less to do with MLS than it does Leiweke. With a network, resources and desire to win, hes what TFC desperately needed. MLS plays a big role in player acquisition and obviously contracts, which they control. Toronto FC failed to play nice in the sandbox regarding specific targets and team performance in recent years. Squabbling and the perennial disappointment of TFC, whose supporters are credited for league growth and expansion, was a black eye for MLS headquarters. Leiweke was an ideal buffer between club and league. Theres a history and understanding. It then made perfect sense to hire the young and bright Tim Bezbatchenko, an MLS staffer to take over as general manager - a calculated move, facilitating congruence with MLS to provide much needed stability. It has not been disclosed who is funding the transfers. MLSE stepping up assuming the cost would be seen as extending the olive branch. Leiwekes fingerprints are all over these transactions. They signal a donning of a new era for the organization. MLSE has a face. Its Leiweke, and all that comes with him. In a city with too few victories and forced tradition rather than substance, Leiweke is filling a void, one handshake and dollar at a time. These signings are an investment as will a stadium makeover in the coming years. Its part of a bigger plan, where reputation speaks for itself. For MLSE to gain credibility, they need to show they are serious about winning. No more talk; actions. No more wrangling with agents. No more disagreement with the league. No more ostracizing fans. Moves like these wins people over. This is how you win. This is how you sell hope. The cynic will remain. Signings alone dont equal results. Even more work is to be done to the roster. The heavy lifting is near complete. Toronto FC will be able to compete. True hope. Thats all it takes. Its a reasonable thought that the vibe, the fun, and actual winning football can all live simultaneously at BMO Field. We hope. @WheelerTSNgareth.wheeler@bellmedia.ca ' ' ' said. "You never what its going to be or if theres going to be one, but any additions will help." Paul George Shoes Free Shipping . Mauer drove in two runs before leaving with an injury, Eduardo Nunez homered and the Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Royals 10-2 on Tuesday night. Paul George Shoes Outlet . Vincent Lamar Carter is no longer the lean, athletic dynamo who dazzled Raptors fans with eye-popping dunks that posterized even the leagues best defenders. https://www.cheappaulgeorgeshoes.com/ . The Giants chances of winning the division were dealt a serious blow by the three-game sweep at the hands of the lowly Padres. The Giants open a three-game series at Dodger Stadium on Monday night. San Francisco is still in good shape to clinch a wild-card berth, although it dropped into a tie with Pittsburgh in the race for the top spot. Clearance Paul George Shoes .C. -- Theyll remember the OT from the first Syracuse-Duke game -- and the Ts that decided Round 2. Paul George Shoes For Sale . Brooks replaces right-hander Yordano Ventura, who left his last outing with a sore elbow. Ventura is expected to miss one start. Brooks has made one relief appearance for the Royals this season, allowing six runs in two innings in a May 3 loss to Detroit.IRVING, Texas -- There was no near-miss for Stacy Lewis this time. This was a runaway for the highest-ranked American after six runner-up finishes in her previous 16 tournaments. Lewis shot a 7-under 64 on Sunday in the North Texas LPGA Shootout, finishing at 16-under 268 and six strokes ahead of Meena Lee. It was the LPGA Tours largest margin of victory since Jiyai Shin won the 2012 Womens British Open by nine. "Ive been wanting to do this for a long time. I kind of have these mini goals in the back of my mind," Lewis said. "One of them was kind of taking a tournament and running away with it. ... So to be so close the last few weeks and then to come out and shoot 64, I mean I dont even know what to say." It was the ninth career LPGA Tour victory for Lewis, her first since August in the Womens British Open, and will boost the Texan from third to second in the world ranking. Lewis made a putt from about 25 feet off the fringe at the 540-yard seventh for an eagle. She followed with consecutive birdies to make the turn at 14 under and up by three strokes. "The eagle just really kind of got things going in the right direction, and then just I never let up," said Lewis, who punctuated her round with birdies on Nos. 17 and 18. "I never let the hammer down." Lee, the South Korean who won the last her two LPGA Tour titles in 2006, shot 70 after going into the final round at Las Colinas Country Club tied with Lewis for the lead. Lee bogeyed the opening hole and needed a birdie at No. 18 to finish alone in second place. Michelle Wie, who closed within two before faltering late, had a 67 to finish third at 9 under. Na Yeon Choi (69) and Kim Kauffman (70) tied for fourth at 8 under. Kraft Nabisco winner Lexi Thompson (69), Cristie Kerr (71) and Suzann Pettersen (72) were among six players at 7 under. Lewis, from The Woodlands near Houston, has finished outside the top six only once in nine tournaments this year. She was third at the Kraft Nabisco and had another runner-up finish just last week in San Francisco. She had three runner-up finishes in her last eight tournaments in 2013 after her victorry at St.dddddddddddd Andrews. Lewis got a share of the lead in Texas after a frustrating 69 in the third round Saturday when she hit all 18 greens in regulation but missed several makeable birdie putts. "Honestly, I didnt change anything. I didnt do anything different," she said. "They just didnt go in (Saturday). ... But once you see putts in, its kind of contagious." Defending champion Inbee Park closed with a 72 to tie for 14th at finish at 5 under. That will be good enough when the new world ranking comes out to stay No. 1 for the 56th consecutive week since the South Korean replaced Lewis at the top. Lewis will supplant Lydia Ko in the second spot. Ko, who didnt play in North Texas, moved to No. 2 after her win last week in San Francisco only days after her 17th birthday. Wie had her fourth consecutive top-10 finish, including her first win in nearly four wins at home in Hawaii after a runner-up finish in the seasons first major. Wie, playing five groups ahead of Lewis, was 6 under in a span of seven holes -- Nos. 9-15. When she made a 4-foot birdie putt at No. 15, she was 11 under and only two strokes behind Lewis, who was finishing her only bogey of the day at the par-3 11th. Lewis tee shot at the 175-yard 11th half-buried in the sand just under the lip of the bunker. Lewis had sand in her face after hitting out, and couldnt save par. But she got that lost stroke right back with a long birdie putt at the par-4 12th. While Wie was finishing with consecutive bogeys, Lewis had an incredible par-saver at the 390-yard 15th hole, where deciding against an iron she hit her drive into the water. After dropping from about 140 yards, she hit her approach to about 3 feet. Wies eagle at the 510-yard 10th hole was her third of the week there. But after missing the green at the 180-yard 17th for a bogey, she hooked her 8-iron approach at the closing par 5 into the trees and bogeyed. "I thought I had it on 17, just nuked it over the green," Wie said. "I just hit a wall on the last hole, which is disappointing for me. At the same time, 4-under par on the last day, Ill take it." ' ' 't be a part of it. Things that were doing right now and the way the fan base is going out there, we want to go out there and play hard and give them a reason to keep coming back and packing Maple Leaf Square and packing the ACC. "We need our fans, we love our fans. . . We cant wait to see (Wednesday) night, the vibe and the energy were going to get." The series has been a spirited battle even before the first ball was tossed up, thanks to general manager Masai Ujiris now-famous F-bomb. Its been a fierce fight on the court. Casey said Kyle Lowry looked like hed been through a 15-round bout after Game 4, and the coach expects both teams to come out swinging in Game 5 on Wednesday. "Its not going to be all smiles and bubble gum and fruitcakes. . . Its going to be a street fight," Casey said. "Thats the way weve got to come out, with that mentality." The Raptors, said Lowry, were caught on their heels Game 1 of the series. The less-experienced Raptors -- three of the teams starters had never made a playoff appearance -- werent prepared for how physical post-season action would be. They lost that game. They put up a fight in Sundays Game 4 victory in Brooklyn, holding the Nets to just three baskets in a scrappy fourth quarter. But they were forced to battle back from a lackadaisical third quarter, a bad habit the Raptors havent been able to shake all season long.dddddddddddd "Weve got to compete like that for 40-plus (minutes)," Casey said. "The third quarter has been our nemesis. . . thats what we have to remedy, coming out of the locker-room at halftime with that desperate disposition." Despite being the No. 3 seed, the Raptors were considered underdogs in this series based on playoff experience. DeMar DeRozan said theyve played with a chip on their collective shoulder with that underdog mentality all season, so this is nothing new. "We understood coming into this series that people still counted us out, people still doubted us, people said: Brooklyns experience, this, that and the third. . . whatever you want to hear," said DeRozan, who struggled through playoff jitters in Game 1 but has shone for Toronto in the three games since. "Weve been counted out so long, weve got the underdog mentality. I dont think thats going anywhere." Playoff experience was a major theme when this best-of-seven series began. Future Hall of Famer Paul Pierce alone -- with 136 playoff appearances -- had played in almost as many post-season games as the entire Raptors roster combined. None of Torontos starters -- Lowry, DeRozan, Terrence Ross, Amir Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas -- had ever started in a playoff game. DeRozan, Ross and Valanciunas had never played in the post-season, period. The Raptors say that four games in, experience doesnt mean much anymore. "Its just who wants it more from here on out. Thats what it boils down to now," DeRozan said. Added Casey: "I dont think were as wide-eyed and bushy-tailed as we were in Game 1." Ross remains the one Raptor struggling with the playing on the big stage of the post-season. The athletic sophomore, who poured in 51 points in a game earlier this season, scored zero in Game 4. Casey and the players remain fiercely supportive of the 21-year-old. "Im not going to do anything to crush that young mans confidence or what hes brought to the table thus far," said Casey, pointing out that Ross has done some good things on the defensive end. "And its not about Terrence Ross, its about our entire team," the coach added. "The spotlight should not be on him in any way whatsoever. The reason why we win or lose is not because of what Terrence Ross did or didnt do." ' ' '