Off Topic » e blame on everyone, saying the defencemen n

The Sacramento Kings believe DeMarcus Cousins can avoid his past mistakes and be the foundation of the franchise under new owner Vivek Ranadive. The Kings and Cousins reached an agreement on a contract extension late Wednesday night, a person familiar with the deal said. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. The Sacramento Bee reported the extension is a four-year, $62 million deal that will carry Cousins through the 2018-19 season. Cousins was eligible for an extension up to five years and $80 million. The Kings had until Oct. 31 to come to terms on an extension to prevent Cousins from becoming a restricted free agent next summer. Cousins averaged 17.1 points, 9.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists last season. The 23-year-old centre, drafted fifth overall in 2010 after one season at Kentucky, has been one of the NBAs best young big men but also one who has drawn multiple suspensions from the NBA and the Kings for his behaviour. The new regime has insisted Cousins could flourish under new leadership. Ranadive has praised Cousins since he bought the Kings from the Maloof family in May. New coach Mike Malone and general manager Pete DAlessandro each called Cousins an "incredible talent" when they were hired this summer, too. New minority owner Shaquille ONeal said earlier this week he had already initiated conversations with Cousins. The 15-time All-Star said he wants to help Cousins the way Phil Jackson helped ONeal co-exist with others when he came to coach the Los Angeles Lakers. "When I look at a young DeMarcus Cousins, I see a young Shaquille ONeal. Very talented, very stubborn in his ways," ONeal said. Cousins has dazzled at times during his first three seasons and other times struggled with defence and discipline. Just last season, Cousins was reprimanded multiple times for his behaviour. On Dec. 22, Cousins was suspended one game by the Kings for "unprofessional behaviour and conduct detrimental to the team" after an incident involving then-coach Keith Smart in the locker room during a loss at the Los Angeles Clippers. He was suspended one game without pay by the NBA for striking O.J. Mayo in the groin during a defeat at Dallas on Dec. 10. Following a loss at San Antonio on Nov. 9, the league suspended Cousins two games without pay for confronting Spurs announcer Sean Elliott in a "hostile manner." Swell Bottles Ireland . The Irish golfer, whose father Patrick died from cancer, says he underwent surgery for sun spots. The 42-year-old Harrington told Irish radio station Today FM: "Ive had a number of skin cancers removed off my face. Black Swell Bottle Ireland .J. -- Travis Zajac of the New Jersey Devils took a lot of grief considering his scored the first of his career-best three goals just 12 seconds into a crucial game against the Florida Panthers. http://www.swellwaterbottleireland.com/ . The attacking midfielder arrives on a free transfer from Spains Malaga. The 28-year-old joins Scottish striker Kenny Miller and Argentine midfielder Matias Laba as designated players on the Whitecaps roster. Swell Bottle Black Friday Sale . The young man, never lacking confidence, thought he could be really good. Swell Bottle Outlet Ireland . -- Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer will be out three to six weeks with a stress fracture of the third finger of his right hand.TAMPA, Fla. -- There are two ways to look at Dale Weise scoring the Game 1 overtime winner for the Montreal Canadiens. From a glass-half-empty perspective, the Habs probably shouldnt have needed the fourth-liner to score after outshooting the Tampa Bay Lightning by more than double in regulation and dominating the play. From a glass-half-full perspective, they can be thankful they spread the scoring around five different players. Thats the kind of depth that can propel a team in the playoffs, and while the power play tops the list of what must improve for Game 2 and beyond in this series, the Habs are confident in the bevy of scoring options they have up and down the lineup. "Its playoffs, I think you see a lot of guys like Weiser, a lot of guys in his kind of role are going to score those big goals in overtime or late in the third period," winger Rene Bourque said. "Its nice, though, we do have depth. We could rotate guys in and out of the lineup from the first to the fourth line." The Habs got goals from the first (Thomas Vanek), second (Tomas Plekanec), third (Lars Eller and Brian Gionta) and fourth line (Weise) in Game 1 on Wednesday night. That kind of scoring balance makes it hard for any opponent to key on one line. "We need contributions from everyone if we want to have success," coach Michel Therrien said. "You need to use and you need to show confidence in all your players when you go to the playoffs." Therrien showed plenty of confidence in his forwards, playing each at least 12 minutes. That includes almost a full extra period because of overtime, but its not like the fourth line of Weise, Daniel Briere and Michael Bournival got benched when the game was on the line. The Habs put 35 shots on net in regulation to the Lightnings 16. That was one reason why defenceman P.K. Subban liked the "structure" of play so much. "I cant remember the last game we outshot a team,&quuot; Subban said.dddddddddddd"For us, structurally, I thought we did a great job." Problem is, the Habs did a great job and still couldnt close the deal. No lead lasted more than four minutes, and they could never take a stranglehold on the game. One reason was that Montreals power-play drought extended to 0 goals in its last 25 chances dating to March 26. Therrien put his team through some power-play work at Tampa Bay Times Forum on Thursday. "Im confident as a coach that it will be more productive," he said. "By working, by communicating, by teaching, this is the way we believe that eventually were going to be better." Subban put the blame on everyone, saying the defencemen need to do a better job of putting the puck in better places for forwards to retrieve it. As for what exactly isnt working, check the scoreboard. "You know what? Were not scoring," Subban said. "Its just not going in for us. If we score, it changes everything." In addition to the power play, the Habs might want to stop giving up as many quality chances as they did. After the 5-4 victory, captain Brian Gionta called the shot total "misleading" because the Lightning had several golden opportunities. Those opportunities, and the goals that resulted, also frustrated goaltender Carey Price. The Habs dont want that. "I think hockeys a game of mistakes and you see yesterday, they capitalized on every mistake we made," Bourque said. "Weve just got to tighten up defensively a little bit more." Players and Therrien expect plenty of adjustments and for this to be a long series that changes as it develops. But even winning Game 1 the Habs know what they cannot continue to do. "If we give up four goals Im not sure were going to win the next game," Therrien said. "There were a few breakdowns that were going to approach with our team to make sure were more solid." Follow (at)SWhyno on Twitter ' ' '