ekansekans's blog: "df"

GLENDALE, Ariz. Frank Gore Pink Jersey . -- Wayne Gretzky gave hockey in Los Angeles a significant boost in his eight seasons with the Kings, providing them with some cache in an overloaded market while boosting attendance and interest all the way down to the youth level. He had a similar impact as owner and later coach of the Phoenix Coyotes, though to a different extent and without nearly as much success. Thriving long after Gretzky was gone, the Kings and Coyotes are still reaping the benefits of the Great Ones influence as they get ready to start the Western Conference finals Sunday night in the desert. "His imprint is certainly on both teams," Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said. "Both teams should be grateful for the imprint that hes left on them." Just dont expect any carry-over affection between these teams. Bottom line is, they just dont like each other. As Pacific Division rivals, the Kings and Coyotes play each other six times a season, enough build up animosity, from an entire team standpoint down to individual battles. The games are always physical and the ones this season were particularly brutal, featuring high sticks and hooks, questionable hits, plenty of face washing and nearly as many fights as goals. The Coyotes 1-0 victory Feb. 16 in Los Angeles featured four brawls, including three in the first period and one between captains Shane Doan and Dustin Brown after Brown knocked Coyotes defenceman Rusty Klesla out the game with a hard hit. Five days later, Kings winger Kyle Clifford received a game misconduct for a shot to Phoenix centre Gilbert Brules head. With the teams facing each other in the playoffs for the first time and a trip to the Stanley Cup finals on the line, things could really get testy. Game 1 is Sunday night in the desert and can be seen live on TSN and TSN Mobile TV at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. "Weve had some pretty intense, physical games already," Doan said. "Im assuming that its just going to kind of go up even more than that." The series will feature two teams few expected to still be around this late in the season. One of the NHLs worst-scoring teams early in the season, the Kings cost coach Terry Murray his job on Dec. 20. He was replaced by Darryl Sutter and though the scoring picked up a little, Los Angeles still had to rely heavily on goalie Jonathan Quick and ended up being the last team to make the playoffs in the West after Phoenix made a run to take the division title. The Kings were underdogs in each of their first two playoff series, yet didnt seem to be fazed. Los Angeles ran past Vancouver in the opening round and swept St. Louis out of the second to reach the Western Conference finals for the first time since 1993, when Gretzky led them to the Stanley Cup finals against Montreal. Los Angeles is the first No. 8 seed to knock off Nos. 1 and 2 in the same playoffs, and has an eye on No. 3, the Coyotes. "A lot of trials and tribulations for this team this year," Brown said. "It hasnt been an easy year for us to go through a coaching change, we had some losing streaks, we were fighting for a playoff spot pretty much the whole season. It just kind of all came together." The Kings at least had some expectations heading into the season. The Coyotes were picked by many to miss the playoffs, not make a run to the conference finals. Theyre a group that doesnt like to be told what they cant do and used the low projections as motivation, shaking off a brutal first half of the season to win their first division title in 33 years as an NHL franchise. Despite being a higher seed, Phoenix was an underdog in its first two playoff series, in part because the team hadnt advanced past the first round since 1987 -- nine years before moving to the desert. The Coyotes didnt let that bother them, either, riding the superb goaltending of Mike Smith and a by-the-seat-of-their-pants style to reach the conference finals for the first time. The run has allowed the team to reconnect with a fan base that had fallen into a malaise while the team played without an owner for the past three seasons. "We feel weve been in survival mode for three years, really since Dave (coach Tippett) showed up," Coyotes general manager Don Maloney said. "This is great for us and our franchise. Were certainly not satisfied to just sit here today. We want to go further." Getting to the Stanley Cup finals wont be easy for either team, not with the goalie matchup this series features. Though the play differing styles, Smith and Quick have been equally dominant. Smith made the Coyotes look awfully smart for signing him to replace Ilya Bryzgalov, becoming one of the NHLs best goaltenders in his first full season as a No. 1. The big, athletic goalie was among the league leaders in wins (38), save percentage (.930) and shutouts (eight) during the regular season to get the Coyotes into the playoffs. Hes been stellar in the post-season, singlehandedly carrying the Coyotes at times while posting a 1.77 goals-against average and .948 save percentage with a pair of shutouts. His counterpart, Quick, was even better, keeping the Kings in the playoff picture despite their inability to score during the regular season. He is a finalist for the Vezina Trophy after setting a franchise record with 10 shutouts, finishing second in the NHL with a 1.95 goals-against average and winning 35 games. Quick has been dominating in the playoffs, allowing 14 goals in nine playoff games against the Western Conferences top two teams for a goals-against average of 1.55 and a .949 save percentage. The games during the regular season were tight -- three of six went to overtime or a shootout, all but one won by a goal -- and everyones expecting the same thing with Smith and Quick between the pipes. "Itll be a tough one for us," Kings defenceman Drew Doughty said. "Theyre a very close team to us. Both teams have great goaltending, great defence and great forwards, so the matchup is due to be hard-fought and with a lot of rough stuff." Scott Tolzien Jersey .J. -- Sporting KC not only maintained first place in the Eastern Conference, it showed the New York Red Bulls they have a long way to go to be as good. Dwight Clark Womens Jersey . Adams, who gave up three home runs in a span of five batters in his last outing, said Sunday that he has been diagnosed with a case of Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. That is when a bone in the upper body presses against a nerve, causing numbness and tingling in the fingers. http://www.2013superbowl49ers.com/frank-gore-jersey . For one day, Indiana can wait. Having Thursday off from practice is Miamis first playoff prize, and although a five-game win over the Knicks might have seemed easy, the reigning Eastern Conference champions insisted afterward that it was more grinding than it appeared. Donte Whitner Super Bowl Jersey . The commissioners office announced the penalties on Thursday. St. Louis first baseman Alan Ahmady was suspended after a second violation for a drug of abuse. Jerry Rice Super Bowl Jersey . Terms were not disclosed. Cunningham was the 24th overall selection in the NBA draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. OKLAHOMA CITY -- After two straight cakewalks to start their homestand, the Oklahoma City Thunder finally got some fourth-quarter resistance against the Utah Jazz. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook still found a way to close out a perfect stretch at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Durant scored 25 points, Westbrook made a two-pronged bid for his sixth career triple-double and the Thunder beat the Jazz 106-94 on Friday night. Oklahoma City won all three games by double digits and made a bid to win three in a row by at least 20 points for the first time in 25 years before a late charge by the Jazz. "Definitely a good homestand leading to the road," Westbrook said. "Were playing good basketball right now. Everybodys moving the ball, feeling good and hopefully we can continue it." Westbrook ended up with 23 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists and seven steals. Kevin Martin scored 19 points for the Thunder. Enes Kanter scored a career-high 18 points, with 14 coming in the fourth quarter as Utah pulled within five before Oklahoma City closed it out. Westbrook came up with two of his steals -- and one of his eight turnovers -- during a wild, momentum-changing stretch midway through the fourth quarter. After his two free throws stretched Oklahoma Citys lead to 90-83, Westbrook swiped the ball, only for Earl Watson to steal it back, and then for Westbrook to race back up the court to get it again. He fired a pass ahead to Kendrick Perkins, who flipped it to Durant for a two-handed slam that got the sellout crowd roaring again and the Thunder back on the path to victory. "He makes big plays. Its not always just making a pass or scoring," Durant said. "He makes big plays that change the game, and that was a huge play for us." Westbrook was one shy of his career high in steals and two off his best rebounding total. Serge Ibaka added 12 points and seven blocks for Oklahoma City, and Perkins also scored 12. Al Jefferson had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Jazz, who were without starting forward Marvin Williams due to concussion symptoms. The Jazz had a three-game winning streak snapped and lost for the second time in seven games. "I dont feel bad at all about this loss," Jefferson said. "I think we did a great job against all odds." The Thunder have won six in a row at home and make a brief, two-game road swing before coming right back for five in a row in Oklahoma City. "Every day is important for us to get better," Durant said. "I think were having a good stretch right now." The leagues highest-scoring team, Oklahoma City locked down on defence to move ahead for good in the second quarter. The TThunder limited Utah to 30 per cent shooting in the period while making 63 per cent of their shots and led 54-42 at halftime. Carlos Rogers Jersey. The lead got as big as 81-63 when Martin followed Nick Collisons three-point play with a jumper from the right wing with 1:47 left in the third quarter. This one wasnt destined for a blowout like the first two games of the homestand, though. Oklahoma City had handed Charlotte its worst loss in franchise history in a 114-69 rout on Monday night, taking a 40-point halftime lead with one of the most dominant first halves in NBA history. The Thunder then kept Houstons James Harden from hitting a shot in the first half Wednesday night while building a double-digit lead theyd never relinquish. The Jazz became Oklahoma Citys first opponent on the homestand to be within single digits in the second half, roaring back with a 20-7 run after coach Tyrone Corbin went to Watson to run the show late in the third quarter. Watson lobbed to Gordon Hayward for an alley-oop dunk to finish the period, and the Jazz scored 11 of the first 13 points of the fourth quarter. Kanters three-point play got Utah as close as 88-83 with 7:41 remaining. Watson had eight assists in just 13 minutes and Kanter, the No. 3 pick in last years draft, had one of the best scoring stretches of his young career. "We tried something different and our guys responded well," Corbin said. "These guys have been great all year by just playing the minutes they get on the floor and just going out there and competing." The absence of Williams was complicated when Derrick Favours strained his right arch in the first half and did not return. Point guard Mo Williams did return after missing the previous three games with a right foot injury, and had 13 points and six assists. Kanter went 6 for 7 from the field, made both of his free throws and had four rebounds in the fourth quarter. "It feels good but we lost the game," Kanter said. "Thats why Im not happy about my scores or my rebounds. In the end, all that matters is whether you win the game or not." Notes: The Thunder hadnt won three straight games by at least 20 points since November 1997, according to STATS. In that stretch as the Seattle SuperSonics, they won by exactly 20 points against Milwaukee, Vancouver and San Antonio. The SuperSonics also won by at least 20 in four straight games in February 1994 and March 1995, according to STATS. Those are the only three times the franchise has won at least three games by at least 20 points. ... Corbin said Marvin Williams still had a headache Friday but was able to travel with the team to Oklahoma City after his hard fall Wednesday in New Orleans. ' ' '