Die Allianz T-D-P » Detroit Red Wings, then thats a great sign. Obviously

FIVE QUICK HOOPS THOUGHTS 1. LEBRON JAMES (Heat): Totally agree with his stance to take a little family vacation and get away from the noise and reflect on what his next step should be in his career. Also allows Heat president Pat Riley to assess his roster and the prospects for improving his club. Im sure the two will have another in-depth conversation when he returns to set the stage for the next Decision. As we all know, too often were so busy that we dont take enough time to truly size up where were at in our lives and careers and get swept up in the busy nature of our daily existence. James has lots to think about. Five Finals appearances with the Cavs and Heat and two NBA titles. Not a bad run so far. The next step will be a huge one to say the least. 2. SAM MITCHELL (TWolves): Hired as an assistant coach by his longtime coach when he played there, Flip Saunders. Great move by Saunders. Love this hire for their team. Sam will have his back and do a terrific job for him. Sidney Lowe is another top notch hire for Saunders. Flip is a terrific coach, yet isnt the most domineering personality and needs strong assistants to "put out fires" on occasion. Mitchell and Lowe are excellent and both have head coaching experience, which really helps. Obviously, mixed emotions on my part - had a lot of fun working with Sam the past few years at TSN and in the years he was the Raptors head coach. Will miss him yet Im thrilled for him - hes an outstanding coach and leader and Im happy for his sake that hes back where he wants to be - on the sidelines. 3. KAWHI LEONARD (Spurs): MVP of the NBA Finals getting lots of attention in the past few days and deservedly so. Hes got an outstanding future ahead of him and by all accounts is a big time worker who is very coachable. Those are wonderful traits to have. No surprise coming from a Spur. They do a really nice job sizing up guys and their character. Hes in the right environment to grow considerably as a player in the years to come. Moments like these usually cause a player to take that next step and give them a true sense of what they can accomplish. Sometimes as a coach, you see it in them and they dont. I think he realizes now what he can/cant do and will develop further. Id sure love to have his future. 4. LIONEL HOLLINS: Only the Cavs and Lakers still have head coaching openings and well see if hes lucky enough to get one of them. If not, there are rumours that folks would like him to serve as an assistant coach. Im sure this is a tough time for him after doing such a great job in Memphis to still not be able to land a head coaching job. Very humbling business for such a proud man to deal with this. Hell get through it. I have no doubt that somewhere down the road a very smart GM will give him another chance that he both deserves and will thrive in. 5. NBA DRAFT and FREE AGENCY: I laugh so much this time of year with all of the lies and misinformation that both agents and teams put out there to steer folks in the wrong direction. Id love for someone to track what ends up being fact and fiction in the next 15-17 days. I assure you most of what we hear and read ends up being planted nonsense and other times its some media members thoughts and opinions that end up taking on a life of its own and becoming fact until it ends up being pure speculation. Fun time of year. Clay Matthews Jersey . This week, topics cover the Blue Jays rotation, the futures John Gibbons and Alex Anthopoulos, protecting pitchers and a bonus question on his predictions for the MLB playoffs. David Long Youth Jersey . The 10-year deal the league and players agreed to that ended the 2011 lockout gave either side the right to opt out after six years. With the league projecting financial growth, there has been speculation that players will take that option in three years, especially since a new national TV contract will be in place by then. http://www.footballramsshop.us/authentic-robert-woods-rams-jersey/ . TSN platforms will broadcast 75+ live games per season – tripling the networks current slate of MLB games. With the new deal TSN retains rights to ESPNs SUNDAY NIGHT BASEBALL and, for the first time, acquires rights to ESPNs MONDAY NIGHT BASEBALL and WEDNESDAY NIGHT BASEBALL. Cooper Kupp Youth Jersey . - The infectious smile was missing from Nam Nguyen last week. Greg Gaines Rams Jersey .C. -- The Bobcats announced theyve signed centre Justin Hamilton to a 10-day contract.TSN Hockey Insiders Bob McKenzie, Darren Dreger, and Pierre LeBrun have the latest on available players on the New York Islanders and Buffalo Sabres, if moving Dave Bolland is a possibility for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Steven Stamkos Olympics situation. From the moment Thomas Vanek turned down a reported $50 million contract offer from the New York Islanders, the thought was he has to be moved. Is a deal imminent? Pierre LeBrun: Its not imminent but it could happen before the end of the week, of course we have an Olympic trade freeze Friday at 3pm et. In a perfect world the Islanders would look to divest themselves of that big salary of Vaneks so they dont carry it through the Olympics. But that same big cap number is why some of the contenders – and we know that Los Angeles and Pittsburgh have some interest in Vanek – cant deal yet as they are right at the cap. So it makes this deal difficult before the Olympic freeze. To get Vanek, the asking price is three assets: any combination of a first-round pick, a young player, and a prospect. Whatever the combination, Islanders GM Garth Snow is trying to get his big haul here because we know how much he gave up to get Vanek at the start of the season. Bob McKenzie: The Islanders also have another asset in play in defenceman Andrew MacDonald. Heres a guy that is going to unrestricted free agency at the end of the season, hes only making $550,000 right now, but he leads the NHL in blocked shots. And for the last two seasons hes been the minutes leader for the Islanders. There has been a lot of interest in this player. The Islanders could do a deal with him, maybe between $4 million and $5 million a year, which would be a huge increase on what hes currently making, but the Islanders have lots of young defencemen coming and lots of teams are calling. MacDonalds name is definitely in play. And is one of Thomas Vaneks ex-teammates also drawing interest? McKenzie: That would be Steve Ott of the Buffalo Sabres. We all know that Matt Moulson has been drawing interest, with upwards of a double digit number of teams inquiring about Moulsons availability by the deadline. But Ott is attracting that much, if not more attention than Moulson. Obviously keep an eye on the Sabres, theyre at the bottom of the league and ready to offload people. In addition to Ott and Moulson there is the Ryan Miller scennario playing out but also Henrik Tallinder is another guy who could be moved as well as Drew Stafford and Cody McCormick.dddddddddddd Dave Bolland hasnt played since November 2. Is he still in play? Darren Dreger: Hes an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year, so Dave Nonis and the Toronto Maple Leafs are going to have to figure out what option they want to pursue with Bolland. There are three of them: No. 1 is theyll negotiate relatively soon and find out what his number would be to avoid free agency. No. 2 is if they dont like the number at this stage in the season, they wait and use him as their own rental to push for the playoffs. No. 3, which isnt anywhere near as likely as No.1 but is certainly an option, is to trade Bolland if you know that a deal isnt likely to be made. By all accounts, everything is going to plan for Steven Stamkos. His plan is to play Saturday and then make a decision with Team Canada at that point. What is Team Canada doing to manage the situation if Stamkos cant go? Dreger: First of all, there are a couple hurdles Canada has to get by. No. 1: they want to find out what Wednesdays test results are medically speaking on Stamkos. Either way, expect Team Canada GM Steve Yzerman to reach out to at least a couple, as many as four or five, of the replacement players – Claude Giroux, James Neal, Eric Staal, Martin St. Louis – to put them on standby. Then you look to Saturday and if Stamkos is able to play against the Detroit Red Wings, then thats a great sign. Obviously theyll monitor how he feels post-game, then theyll make the decision as to whether he or somebody else gets on the Sunday charter flight. LeBrun: And theres a Stamkos-like situation playing out in Minnesota, obviously not getting as much attention. Mikko Koivu, the best player on the Finnish Olympic team, may not be able to play. This thing is going down to the wire. We know one thing, hes not going to play for the Wild this week. He hasnt played in a month after ankle surgery. Hes still recovering and skated on Tuesday, having felt better than he has in a couple days. But at the end of the day, be it Friday or Saturday, Koivu has to get together with Minnesota team doctors and the Finnish Olympic team to make a call on whether or not hes fit to play in the Olympics. That would be a gigantic loss for Finland. ' ' '