FIVE QUICK HOOPS THOUGHTS: 1. FLIP SAUNDERS (Timberwolves): Im not the least bit surprised that he appointed himself as head coach after his search concluded. The president had the most successful run of any coach in franchise history and is a good fit at this stage. The fact that hes got lots of power in the organization will help him in the locker room because players will know that the buck stops with him. That always helps a coach. 2. NBA FINALS FORMAT: I love the fact that the NBA has gone with the 2-2-1-1-1 traditional format. Im a huge believer that the finalist that had the better regular season deserves to be able to host that critical Game 5. This was a smart move to get in line with the demands of the fans and most coaches and executives. 3. NBA REFEREES: You can say what you want about officials and I have a tendency to mildly voice my opinion from time to time (haha) about them, but on the whole they do a terrific job and the playoffs are really difficult to call. I really like what the league has done this year with trying to keep officiating crews together during the Pplayoffs. Im a fan of consistency and, the more a crew works together, the more cohesive they become. It helps a great deal and it not only makes sense, but its smart. 4. ABC ANNOUNCERS: I absolutely love listening to Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson and Doris Burke. Insightful, prepared, enthusiastic and entertaining - a really enjoyable listen that enhances the experience of watching the game and helps promote the sport. Just like the Spurs and Heat on the floor, this is the best game broadcast team in hoops. Theres a nice balance of opinion and strategy brought each telecast. For me, a joy to listen to. 5. RASHARD LEWIS (Heat): Lewis dropped 14 points in Game #2 and its nice having veteran experience on the floor. His perimeter shot-making ability is critical and he gives them better size to deal with the Spurs penetration and post-ups in the paint. Hes got a ton of big game experience and it showed in a huge win for Miami. LeBron was brilliant, yet you must have unsung heroes to help complement the stars. This is a guy on many nights this season was a DNP or barely played. Lewis is a true pro whos ready when called upon. Naomi Girma Jersey .C., has been named Canadas top female official, winning the 2014 SOC Award of Excellence. Cranes career as a figure skating judge has spanned over 40 years. Alana Cook Jersey . Chris Heisey followed with a two-run triple and Billy Hamilton added an RBI double, all but sealing Cincinnatis fourth straight victory and seventh in eight games. Brandon Phillips, celebrating his 33rd birthday, hit a go-ahead homer in the ninth for the Reds before pinch-hitter Buster Posey tied it with an RBI double off hard-throwing closer Aroldis Chapman in the bottom half. https://www.cheapuswnt.com/752w-margaret-purce-jersey-usa.html. - Kevin Labanc and Joseph Blandisi were a potent combination for the Barrie Colts on Friday night. Abby Wambach Jersey . Manager Alex Ferguson says the injury was sustained while the player tried to hit a volley toward the end of training on Tuesday. Lauren Holiday Jersey . Spezza scored a power-play goal with 5 minutes left and Stephane Da Costa had the other two goals to lead the Ottawa Senators to a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night.LOS ANGELES -- Even after three games and a cross-country flight in the previous five days, the Los Angeles Kings came out roaring at home with a three-goal first period against Winnipeg. Coach Darryl Sutters team knows all about peaking for the post-season after its Stanley Cup title run two years ago, and the Kings are counting down the games until they can try it again. Anze Kopitar scored two goals in the first period, Jonathan Quick made 24 saves, and the Kings beat the Jets 4-2 Saturday night for their sixth straight victory. Trevor Lewis and Tyler Toffoli also scored for the Kings, who havent lost since March 17. Marian Gaborik and Willie Mitchell had two assists apiece as Los Angeles took a big early lead and cruised to its 14th win in 17 games. "I dont think there is any coasting goes on, period," Sutter said. "Youre just trying to refine parts of your game, very simple. You are trying to take care of your own business first. Youre not a playoff team until you clinch the playoff spot." The Kings are just a couple of wins away from clinching their fifth straight playoff trip and a first-round matchup with San Jose or Anaheim. After 4 1/2 weeks of outstanding play out of the Olympic break, theyre all but locked into third place in the Pacific Division. Los Angeles has won 13 of 16 since Sochi, with three one-goal losses between two lengthy winning streaks. Kopitars third multigoal game of the season was set up by another strong offensive game from Kings newcomer Gaborik, who had his second multipoint performance on Los Angeles top line. "We have a chance to finish very strong and prepare for the playoffs," said Gaborik, who has eight points in his past nine games with Los Angeles. "This team works well in a system. Everybody is on the same page. Everybody is trusting each other. Its like one big machine." And that machine steamrolled the Jets in the opening 20 minutes. Matt Halischuk and Blake Wheeler scored in the third period for the Jets, who hadnt visited Los Angeles since Jan. 3, 1996. Ondrej Pavelec gave up three goals in the first period before getting pulled, and Al Montoya stopped 12 shots iin the final 40 minutes.dddddddddddd Winnipeg has lost four of six and 10 of 13, its playoff hopes dwindling to a faint prayer. The Jets trail eighth-place Phoenix in the Western Conference standings by nine points with seven games to go and three teams between them. The erstwhile Atlanta Thrashers finally have appeared in every NHL road arena since their move to Manitoba in 2011, but they couldnt keep up in the first period against their surging hosts. "We got taught a real good lesson in the first period about being ready to play a hard game," Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice said. "We were just giving up so much ice and backing up. The last two periods, we were ready to play. Theres a learning lesson for some." The Kings went ahead just 2:42 in when a sharp-angled shot somehow got past Pavelec for Lewis career-best sixth goal of the season. Lewis didnt score in his first 38 games of the season, but the grinding forward has four goals in March. Kopitar then scored when a rebound of Gaboriks shot banked off his skate and in for the Slovenian centres 23rd goal. Gaboriks shot sent Winnipeg defenceman Mark Stuarts stick flying into Pavelecs chest. Kopitar scored again late in the period, muscling past the Winnipeg defence for a rebound backhand. "There is no explanation," Wheeler said of the Jets early effort. "They came out with the kind of energy you need to start a hockey game. We didnt. Thats what happens. After the opening period, we figured it out a little bit." After a scoreless second period, Halischuk scored his first goal since Dec. 14 from right in front of Quick, banging home Evander Kanes pass from below the goal line in the corner. Quick made an amazing facedown save with 1 minute to play, sticking his right leg into midair to block a long Winnipeg shot. NOTES: The Kings have outscored their opponents 19-11 during their winning streak. ... Los Angeles has 44 victories, two shy of the regular-season club record with seven games to go. ... Mitchell had his first multipoint game since April 5, 2012. The stay-at-home defenceman missed all of last season with injuries, and he had seven points in his first 69 games this season. ' ' '