Neues » another weekend to race

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Thunder guard Derek Fisher has played more playoff games than anyone in history. Taylor Hall Jersey . He says the Western Conference finals between the Thunder and San Antonio Spurs, filled with major strategy shifts and home blowouts, has produced one of the wildest series hes been involved in. San Antonio leads 3-2 and can close out it out Saturday in Oklahoma City. "Theres no script for this," Fisher said. "You can try to set expectations, and everybody can sit around and try and predict whats going to happen and which team is going to come out on top, and its just impossible. Thats what makes sports sports, and why people are so excited about either being there or watching it, because you never know whats going to happen." San Antonios Gregg Popovich and Oklahoma Citys Scott Brooks have one-upped each other with shrewd moves during the series, and the scoreboard has tipped dramatically with each change. Oklahoma City came up with the first major lineup changes in Game 3. Defensive wiz Serge Ibaka returned to Oklahoma Citys starting lineup after suffering what was thought to be a season-ending left calf strain and Reggie Jackson moved into the starting lineup to help the Thunder win Game 3, 107-96, and Game 4, 105-92. In Game 5 in San Antonio, the Spurs decision to go with perimeter-shooting post players alongside Tim Duncan helped the teams floor spacing, and the Spurs rolled to a 117-89 win. Matt Bonner got his first start of the season, and his presence helped Duncan get off to a fast start. Boris Diaw started the second half and scored seven points in the third quarter to help the Spurs take a 20-point lead at the end of the period. Popovichs move forced Ibaka, the leagues leading shot blocker during the regular season, away from the basket, and the Spurs perimeter players had an easier time getting to the hoop. "The adjustments that the coaches made were very efficient tonight," Diaw said after the game. "We tried to space the floor a little more. We came back to the way we were aggressive in the first two games. Going from good to great. Thats what Pop has asked all year, thats what weve been doing all year." When Brooks was asked if he might start Ibaka at centre to prevent the Spurs from pulling him away from the basket, Brooks ruled nothing out. "Anythings possible," he said. "We just have to, whoever we put out there, we just have to play better." Thunder forward Kevin Durant said lineup changes, though important, are secondary to effort. He said Oklahoma City did not play with enough intensity in Game 5. "Schemes and Xs and Os, it all goes out the door," he said. "Weve just got to play harder. They did last game, so weve got to match up." Brooks said the key for Oklahoma City is defence. San Antonio has shot at least 50 per cent from the field in all three of its wins. If the Thunder dont get stops, they cant get into their dangerous fast break attack. "We know their plays, they know our plays, and we just have to be able to execute with maximum effort to give ourselves a chance to get a stop," Brooks said. "Thats what it comes down to." The lineup changes have coincided with venue changes. The home teams have won every game in the series by at least nine points, and by an average of 20.4 per game. Popovich was at a loss to explain why the series has played out this way. "It seems like the home team each time looks to have the greater passion or physicality," he said. "Thats hard to measure because both teams want to win just as bad as the other." Durant said the effort must be there Saturday night or the trend of home blowouts -- and Oklahoma Citys season -- will end. "We know that its a situation where we lose, we go home, and nobody wants to do that, so we just leave it all out there and whatever happens we live with," Durant said. "Most of the time when we play extremely hard, play well, play together, we come out on top." Damon Severson Devils Jersey .com) - After Tom Brady added to an already illustrious legacy, Malcolm Butler established his by leaving the Seattle Seahawks, well, deflated. Travis Zajac Jersey . On Wednesday night, they showed that stellar defence and a little small ball can get the job done too. With pinch-runner Kevin Pillar aboard after Dioner Navarro opened the bottom of the ninth with a single, Anthony Gose dropped down an excellent bunt along the first-base line. http://www.devilssale.com/authentic-pavel-zacha-devils-jersey/ . Coach Jorge Sampaoli resisted naming any major surprises in the list published Tuesday at the site of Chiles football association. Chile is pinning its hopes on the recovery of Vidal.Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone says his series and NASCAR wont be competing for the same motorsport fans in Texas when they hold races 190 miles apart in November. Ecclestone dismissed on Wednesday any clash between the series, after the top executive at Texas Motor Speedway called F1 "arrogant" for scheduling the United States Grand Prix in Austin on the same weekend that his track hosts NASCAR in Fort Worth. "I absolutely think its foolish," said Eddie Gossage, the track president and general manager. "Its a shot fired by Formula One at NASCAR. I cant say I was surprised because Bernie Ecclestone does a lot of foolish things. The thing he unfortunately doesnt recognize is there is an 800-pound gorilla when it comes to major American motorsports. The 800-pound gorilla is NASCAR." Texas Motor Speedway will host NASCARs Texas 500 on Nov. 2, the same day F1 will hold its only race in the U.S. this year. Fort Worth is about a 3-hour drive from Austin. While Gossage thought a stronger stance by the management at Circuit of the Americas would have prevented the scheduling issue, Ecclestone believed it was a non-issue. "Ive also spoken to the people that run the race at COTA and their position is thhat they believe the NASCAR crowd is a different crowd to Formula One, different people, different customers," Ecclestone said. Jamie Langenbrunner Jersey. "At the end of the day, they run a domestic series in America -- we run a world championship." F1 requires considerable logistical planning by the teams, he said. "Weve a small problem they (NASCAR) dont have -- we have six jumbo jets to move around all our equipment, and we have to find the most sensible way to use them to do that," Ecclestone said. "We have to be efficient and bear in mind we may also encounter problems at an airport. "There are issues that can occur, but (Gossage) and other people do not realize these things. The race prior to the one in the U.S. is in Russia, in Sochi. Weve never been before, and we have to get out of there and into Austin. That is probably a lot easier than trying to get into Brazil, and then we have to get out of there (Sao Paulo) to go to Abu Dhabi." Gossage said F1 could have found another weekend to race in the U.S. "Its just not smart," he said. "Theres 52 weeks in the year. But that was the only weekend that Formula One could make it work in Austin, Texas. Give me a break." ' ' '