Dein erstes Forum » established a similar theme this season

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Al Jefferson breaks into a wide, giddy smile and anxiously rubs his large hands together when he thinks about what he and the Charlotte Hornets might to able to accomplish this season.As the Hornets opened training Tuesday in Asheville, Jefferson praised owner Michael Jordan and the teams front office for landing Lance Stephenson and Marvin Williams in free agency and drafting P.J. Hairston and Noah Vonleh a€” moves he feels will greatly benefit a team that went 43-39 last season but was swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Heat.They got the weapons we needed, Jefferson said.Weapons the 6-foot-10, 289-pound centre believes will help free him up from double teams in the low post a€” and give the team more scoring options if he kicks the ball back outside.I mean, Im so happy about it I dont even want to talk about it because I feel like I might jinx it, Jefferson said. I had a lot of fun last year once we got healthy a€” and I got healthy a€” and started rolling. This year I think its going to be ten times better.Its hard to imagine the 29-year-old Jefferson being much better than last season.After overcoming a sprained ankle in the preseason, Jefferson got better as the season went on earning Eastern Conference Player of the Month in March and April before an untimely foot injury limited him in the playoffs.Jefferson finished with one of the most dominating seasons of his 10-year NBA career, averaging 21.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game a€” the only player in the East to average more than 20 points and 10 rebounds per game.Coach Steve Clifford said Jefferson looks far from content.Based on what I saw from him in September, he has a hunger, Clifford said. He has a feeling that we can have a really good year and a hunger to prove to people that he can play that well again.Jefferson has become the face of a once-struggling franchise.Despite getting snubbed for the All-Star game once again, Jefferson was selected third-team NBA last season.I look at it like this: Ive never been an All-Star but being one of the top 15 players in the game last year, well, that is pretty good a€” real good, Jefferson said.Jefferson is also thrilled to be healthy and in better condition.On Tuesday, the Hornets jumped right into scrimmaging at Kimmel Arena and Jefferson said he played about 24 minutes.Last year at this time I probably would have keeled over, he said with a laugh.Part of Jeffersons motivation stems from the way last season ended.Charlotte played well in the second half of the season and looked to be in position to at least compete with the LeBron James and the Heat in the playoffs. But any chance of an upset bid ended when Jefferson injured his foot in the first quarter of Game 1.He limped through the remainder of the series a€” getting pain-killing injections before each game a€”until he eventually had to sit out Game 4.Looking back, Jefferson said he wasnt even close to being 50 per cent healthy.It was pretty bad, Jefferson said. A lot of my favourite moves I like to do (in the low post), I couldnt do because of the foot. I could hardly run. It was painful.He still averaged 18.3 points and 9.3 points in three games. But the injury demonstrated just how important the man teammates simply call Big Al is to Charlottes chances of making a deep playoff run.Jefferson didnt need surgery, but he said it took nearly five months to fully recover.Hes not worried about a reoccurrence. Although he still wakes daily with soreness in the foot, he said it subsides once he begins to move around.Clifford said Jeffersons willingness to play even at half-speed on basically one foot spoke volumes about his commitment to the franchise. He said in just one year Jefferson became the teams leader and the stabilizing figure on a young team.To me he totally accepts the responsibility of being the best player a€” and thats a big thing, Clifford said.Now Jefferson is ready to move on to bigger and better things this season. He flashed his wide smile again when asked what he has planned for an encoreHonestly, I didnt have any personal goals going into the season last year and things went well, Jefferson said. So Im not going to have any personal goals this year either. I just want us to have success as a team. Air Max 270 Womens Canada .com) - Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer were among the third-round winners Friday at the French Open. Air Max 90 Canada . -- Adam Tambellini scored three times and set up one more as the Calgary Hitmen won their sixth in a row by crushing the host Lethbridge Hurricanes 8-1 on Saturday in Western Hockey League play. http://www.clearanceairmaxcanada.com/air...anada-sale.html. Still, Encarnacion felt a sense of relief. He felt a pop just before crumpling to the ground after running out a groundball in the first inning of Saturdays game. It could have been worse. “Its going to take maybe two weeks,” said Encarnacion. “It depends how Im going to be and how Im going to be day after day, feeling better or not. Air Max 97 Canada Sale . Replay backed him up. Adeiny Hechavarria immediately followed the ruling with a go-ahead sacrifice fly for the Miami Marlins, who held on to beat the Seattle Mariners 3-2 on Sunday completing a three-game sweep. Air Max 720 Canada . CEO Steve Koonin on Tuesday told the Hawks flagship radio station that he made the decision to discipline Ferry but allowed him to keep his job managing the team. He did not say what the punishment was, but noted that he relied on a law firms three-month investigation of Ferry and him describing Deng as someone who has a little African in him.Nassau, Bahamas (SportsNetwork.com) - The 22nd-ranked UCLA Bruins and the UAB Blazers will try to salvage their stays in the Battle 4 Atlantis on Friday night in the seventh-place game at Imperial Arena. UCLA failed to advance to the winners side of the bracket in the quarterfinals by suffering a 75-65 loss at the hands of Oklahoma and then had another disappointing setback on Thursday in a nationally-ranked showdown with North Carolina, 78-56. It was the first two losses of the season for the Bruins, who are 4-2. UAB was outmatched in both of its matchups in this event, falling to the seventh-place game after losing to Wisconsin (72-43) and Florida (56-47). The Blazers are off to a sluggish start this season at just 2-4. The Bruins and the Blazers have never before squared off on the hardwood. Although the Bruins played tight with UNC for most of the first half of their latest game, the Tar Heels finished the first half on an 18-4 run to go into intermission up by double digits and the Bruins never sniffed the lead in the second stanza. They shot only 38.6 percent from the field, which included a dreadful 1-of-14 showing from 3-point range, and they were also plagued by 23 turnovers. Norman Powell paced the losing effort with 15 points, while Kevon Looney and Bryce Alford netted 11 and 10 points, respectively. Two poor showings in this event hasnt been able to completely spoil UCLAs impressive offensive numbers this season, as it shoot 46 percent from the field for 83.7 ppg, which is moore than good enough to support a modest scoring defense (73.dddddddddddd2 ppg). Alford (18.2 ppg) and Powell (18.0 ppg) are one of the best one-two scoring punches in the nation, with the duo combining to shoot 26-of-67 from 3-point range. Alford also gets his teammates involved with 7.3 apg and Powell is a great perimeter defender with nearly three steals per game. Rounding out the outstanding starting five are Looney (14.3 ppg, 11.5 rpg), Tony Parker (11.7 ppg) and Isaac Hamilton (10.0 ppg). The Blazers put forth a great effort against Florida on Thursday, even holding a two-point lead with under four minutes to play, but they faltered down the stretch by allowing the Gators to score the final 11 points of the game. Their defensive effort was spectacular, as they held Florida to a mere 34 percent field goal shooting, but unfortunately they could not take advantage with a modest 42.2 percent showing (including 4-of-14 from 3-point range) to go with a game-high 16 turnovers. Tosin Mehinti and Robert Brown were the only players to score in double figures with 12 points apiece. UAB has established a similar theme this season, as its lackluster offensive attack (.402 FG percentage, 63.0 ppg) isnt quite good enough to support a stellar defense (.439, 67.7). Brown (11.3 ppg) and C.J. Washington (9.3 ppg) are the leading scorers but neither shoots greater than 36 percent from the field. Tyler Madison (9.3 ppg), Mehinti (8.8 ppg) and Hakeem Baxter (8.0 ppg) have also been solid. ' ' '