LOS ANGELES -- Another chapter of storylines unfolds when the Los Angeles Lakers tip off their 2016-17 campaign Wednesday night.Last season, it was Kobe Bryants final year that grabbed the headlines, punctuated by a 60-point performance in his last game and a rare Lakers win.This time its Luke Walton stepping into the spotlight as he begins his first season as coach when the Lakers face the Houston Rockets at Staples Center in the season opener for both clubs.Walton replaces Byron Scott, who was dismissed after a franchise-worst 17-65 run last season. While Scott was known as a taskmaster and clashed with players, Walton brings a laid-back approach that the Lakers believe suits his young club well.I like leading by love, Walton said, according to the L.A. Times. But I had hippie parents so thats to be expected. Its the way I was raised.Walton, formerly the top assistant at Golden State under Steve Kerr, rose as a hot coaching property last season by guiding the Warriors to a 39-4 mark and winning an NBA-record 24 in a row to open the season as interim coach during Kerrs absence for health reasons.Walton already was on the radar of up-and-coming assistants destined for NBA coaching jobs, but that successful stretch expedited his elevation.Obviously, the Lakers job has major challenges. Walton will attempt to mix a crop of young talent (DAngelo Russell, Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance Jr. and rookie No. 2 pick Brandon Ingram) and blend it with a core of veterans (Lou Williams, Luol Deng, Jose Calderon, Timofey Mozgov and Nick Young).Theres no better guy to lead a franchise and teach a franchise from a youthful perspective that he brings to the game with maturity and knowledge, Phoenix Suns coach Earl Watson told the Orange County Register recently. He sees the game on a different level. Theres so many levels at this game. Theres so many games within a game. Few can see it with substance the way that he does.Mike DAntoni will return for the first time as a head coach since he quit the Lakers job after the 2013-14 season because the club refused to extend him a long-term deal.James Harden, the NBAs second-leading scorer at 29 points per game last season, leads a Rockets team that will play for the first time in three campaigns without center Dwight Howard, who bolted to Atlanta as a free agent.I think everybody is excited, everybodys ready to get going. Weve had a good preseason, said DAntoni, whose club finished 5-2 in exhibitions. Weve got still a lot of growth thats got to going on and weve got to get a lot better, but I think were at a reasonably good point.The Rockets will play without guard Patrick Beverly, who underwent arthroscopic knee surgery Tuesday. Beverly is expected to miss at least three weeks.We have to have a couple of guys (who) are going to step up without Pat, DAntoni said.In addition to Harden, Trevor Ariza, Ryan Anderson, Eric Gordon and Nene are among those players expected to carry to the load. Discount Hockey Jerseys . Westbrook has missed 27 games since having a procedure on Dec. 27 to deal with swelling in his injured right knee — the third operation on the knee in nine months. Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys .In my heart and mind Im competing for India, luge competitor Shiva Keshavan told The Associated Press in an email interview. Every day Im flooded with messages from Indians all over the world telling me they are supporting me. http://www.cheapnhljerseysusa.com/ . As he recorded his 23rd and 24th points of the evening, a segment of the sellout Air Canada Centre crowd expressed their appreciation for the Raptors point guard with a smattering of MVP chants. Hockey Jerseys China .Y. -- Sabres defenceman Tyler Myers had no intention of changing his hard-hitting style before taking part in a disciplinary hearing for his illegal check to New Jersey forward Dainius Zubrus head. Wholesale Adidas Hockey Jerseys . Jason Zucker and Matt Cooke also scored for Minnesota, which has won five of six. Kuemper made five saves in the first, nine in the second, and nine in the third. The rookies best save came with 2:17 left in the third period when he denied former Wild forward Matt Cullen from just outside of the crease on the right side.In only his third American Association start, Edgar Osuna outdueled the leagues all-time wins leader. Osuna pitched into the seventh and allowed only three hits, as the Goldeyes defeated Ben Moore and the Sioux Fall Canaries 8-1 to pick up the series win on Thursday afternoon. "It was an all-around good game for our team," said Goldeyes manager Rick Forney. "Edgar gave us a good start, held them in check and gave us a chance to settle in so we could start to produce a little offence." Sioux Falls started the scoring in the third inning on a Cory Morales two-out RBI single. The Goldeyes replied in the fourth when Ryan Scoma led off the inning with a double off the right field wall. He would score on a Luis Alen single up the middle. Winnipeg had the chance to add more in the inning, but stranded three base runners to leave it tied at one a side. The Goldeyes took the lead in the sixth inning. Fehlandt Lentini and Alen had back-to-back RBI singles to put Winnipeg up 3-1. With the hit, Lentini extended his hitting streak to eight games. The Goldeyes continued to pour it on in the eighth against Sioux Falls bullpen. With the sscore 5-1, Ray Sadler brought home another insurance run on a sacrifice fly.dddddddddddd The next batter, Casey Haerther, hit a two-run double off the right field wall, narrowly missing a home run by inches. The late-game offensive strike would be more than enough run support for Goldeyes pitching. Osuna exited as the winning pitcher of record with one out in the seventh and allowed the Goldeyes bullpen to finish off the game. Chris Kissock and Brendan Lafferty went the rest of the way for Winnipeg and kept the Canaries from scoring any more runs. It was the second straight quality start for Osuna, who improved to 2-1 on the year. He walked two and struck out four Canaries in 6 1/3 innings of work. Moore pitched six innings for the Canaries and took the loss. He surrendered three runs on 10 hits and Moore, who entered the game as the leagues leader in strikeouts, sat down three Winnipeg hitters. He also hit three Goldeyes. Winnipeg continues their homestand tomorrow night, as they begin a four game series against the CanAm Legaues Trois-Rivieres Aigles. It will be the final interleague series of the season for the Goldeyes. ' ' '