Neues » way we wanted to start it

SAN ANTONIO -- The Portland Trail Blazers were clearly rattled by the San Antonio Spurs in the opener of the Western Conference semifinals, and they were almost snake bit before Game 2. Cheap Air Force 1 White . A baby rattlesnake, estimated at about 3 to 4 feet, was discovered in the teams locker room at the AT&T Center about two hours before the game Thursday. It was found by reserve forward Thomas Robinson, who recoiled a few feet after seeing the snake when he moved a bag from his locker. "I didnt (see it)," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "They said it was a young one." Young or not, guard Mo Williams tweeted that it was a scary experience. Rattlesnakes are a venomous species that can grow up to 8 feet and weigh more than 10 pounds. It takes its name from a "rattle" at the end of its tail that produces a rattling sound when shaken to warn predators of its presence. It is unknown if the rattlesnake found in the locker room made any noise, but Robinsons cries were enough to alert his teammates of its presence. "Well, its bizarre to have a venomous snake in your locker room," Stotts said. "I dont know if its ever happened before. That sounds like an ABA story." The Spurs have a history in the ABA and also with critters in the AT&T Center. The stadium hosts the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo each February and its grounds are used for livestock shows during the three-week event. Spurs guard Manu Ginobili also swatted down a bat that was flying above the court at the AT&T Center on Nov. 1, 2009. Ginobili had to have rabies shots after striking the bat with his bare hands. Fortunately for the Spurs, Ginobili wasnt needed to corral the snake. "I think some people here (captured it)," Stotts said, smiling. "They have them on hand at the AT&T Center. They have a specialist." It probably wasnt a good omen for Portland, which is seeking to even its series with San Antonio. "Or a good sign," Stotts said. "We survived." The Trail Blazers will gladly accept any good fortune after being walloped in their first second-round appearance in 14 years. San Antonio led by as many as 31 points and never trailed in rolling to a 116-92 victory on Tuesday. Tony Parker had 32 points and nine assists, as many as Portland had as a team, as the Trail Blazers never threatened the defending Western Conference champions. Stotts was asked if he thought someone from the Spurs had planted the snake to rattle his young charges. "Youre the investigative reporter, you figure it out," Stotts said, tongue in cheek. Stotts was then asked if he considered returning the favour and planting the snake in San Antonios locker room. "That thing, its like Fort Knox over there. You cant get in," he said. Well, the room with officials Joe Crawford, Bill Spooner, Derrick Stafford and Sean Wright is only about 50 feet away from the Blazers locker room. "And I cant comment on the officials," Stotts said, laughing. Air Force 1 White Ireland . Bozak and Clarkson suffered the injuries in pre-training camp workouts, according to Carlyle, who said they made "small amounts of improvement" from Friday to Saturday. After the players were deemed less than 100 per cent by doctors after Thursdays medical testing, the Leafs held them out of on-ice testing and are being cautious. Wholesale Air Force 1 Mens . Howard had 17 points and a career-high-tying 26 rebounds in his Houston debut, James Harden added 21 points and the Rockets cruised to a 96-83 win over the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday night. http://www.airforce1shoesireland.com/air-force-1-white-wholesale-ireland.html . John Albert Elway, 24, was booked into jail early Saturday morning after an incident near a college campus in downtown Denver, according to jail records.NASHVILLE -- A long dormant Predators power play is finally beginning to produce. David Legwand had a goal and an assist to lead Nashville to a 3-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Thursday night. Patric Hornqvist and Paul Gaustad also scored for the Predators, who have won two straight. Carter Hutton made 33 saves. Nashville closed out the first period with power-play goals from Hornqvist and Legwand just 28 seconds apart. "When you can go 2 for 2 pretty much on the power play, thats a game-changer," Legwand said. "Its huge for our team. Executing 5-on-3s is big." The Predators had not scored a power-play goal in their previous six games, five of which were losses. "When we score a power-play goal, its pretty good," coach Barry Trotz said. "The last six or seven games, its been a little bit dry in terms of the goal production. That was a real big turning point for us. It gave us a lot of confidence at home." Erik Cole had the goal for Dallas, which has lost three of four. Cole scored the games first goal at 18:07 of the opening period when he took possession of the puck behind the Nashville net and skated out front before lifting a backhand over Huttons right shoulder. Making his second consecutive start, Hutton improved to 6-3-1 this season. Dallas got into trouble when Shawn Horcoff took a high-sticking penalty at 18:45 and Brenden Dillon was sent off for delay of game 7 seconds later after his clearing attempt from inside the Stars blue line sailed over the glass. "We lost the game in a 2-minute span," Dallas coach Lindy Ruff said. "We were playing a good period and had a lead, but for me its a mental mistake we cant make as a team." Hornqvist got NNashville on the scoreboard at 19:02 on the two-man advantage. Wholesale Nike Air Force 1. From the bottom of the right circle, Legwand found Hornqvist alone in the slot, where he wired a wrist shot high to the stick side of Dallas goalie Kari Lehtonen. Legwand scored on the 5-on-4 at 19:30 when he collected the rebound of Roman Josis shot from the left point and put it by Lehtonen for his sixth of the season. "I think for me, whats huge is instead of being down 1-0, were up 2-1 after the first period," Hutton said. "Then you kind of have some confidence and we have a couple of big penalty kills in the second which really kind of get me into a groove." Shea Weber assisted on both of Nashvilles first-period goals, giving the team captain 10 points on the power play this season. Nashville is 11-0-1 when leading after the first period. Gaustad gave the Predators a two-goal lead at 9:14 of the second, beating Lehtonen with a wrist shot from the left side. The goal came on a delayed penalty to the Stars and with Hutton off for an extra attacker. Gaustad has four points in his last two games. This one was the first of three straight road games for Dallas against fellow Central Division teams. "These are big ones," defenceman Alex Goligoski said. "We have two more big ones on this road trip to turn it around. Not the way we wanted to start it, but thats the beauty of hockey. You have to prove it every day." NOTES: Dallas D Aaron Rome appeared in his first game of the season. ... Josi has points in three consecutive games. ... Nashville won for just the third time when allowing its opponent to score first. ... Hutton turned aside 12 shots in the first, nine in the second and 12 in the third. ' ' '