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| Author: | khm1997 [ Tue Nov 27, 2018 8:56 am ] |
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INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- Kevin Loves phone rang in July and LeBron James asked the All-Star forward if he wanted to play with him in Cleveland. "Im in," Love told James. For the long haul. Getting used to a new city and new team after being acquired by the Cavaliers on Saturday, Love said hes committed to winning an NBA title with the Cavaliers -- however long it takes. Love, who didnt make the playoffs during six sometimes rocky seasons with Minnesota, can opt out of his contract and become a free agent next summer. But 25-year-old Love, regarded as the games top "spacing" forward, said he intends to stay with James and the Cavs. "Im committed to this team, committed long term to the end goal and thats to win championships," he said. Cleveland is smitten with its newest superstar. Love was introduced Tuesday by the Cavs, who acquired him in a blockbuster, three-team trade that instantly turned Cleveland, which won just 33 games last season, into an NBA championship favourite. The deal also gives the team a star-powered trio in Love, James and Kyrie Irving. Love and James became friends two summers ago as U.S. Olympic teammates in London. It was there, while chasing a gold medal together, that James began recruiting Love, who wasnt sure what to make of the four-time league MVPs overtures. "Sitting next to me, a locker really close to me and he would always tell me how good he thought I was," Love said. "For me I would just kind of brush it off and shake it off because I was standoffish because I didnt know him well." James persisted and after more conversations, Love realized there could be a time when their careers could intersect again. "I thought that one day maybe I could play with LeBron James," he said. And now that Love is gone, the Timberwolves are left to rebuild around No. 1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins and last years top pick, Anthony Bennett, two young players they were able to pry from Cleveland. Love didnt leave the Timberwolves on the best of terms. He was the face of the franchise, and Minnesota is where he developed into one of the games top rebounders and scorers, a dual threat from inside and out. But the years of losing wore on him and it was no secret that he wanted out. Still, Love said hell look back on his first NBA home as a positive experience. "The people of Minnesota were great, the fans were great, they showed up, win, lose or draw, and I really developed a lot of relationships all the way down through the organization," he said. "It was a great six years, and I enjoyed my time, and I cant say enough good things about it." While Love was saying good things about his former team, his old boss wasnt as warm about him. Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor isnt sure Love fits in Cleveland as well as many believe. "I question Kevin if this is going to be the best deal for him because I think hes going to be the third player on the team," Taylor said. "I dont think hes going to get a lot of credit if they do really well. I think hell get blame if they dont do well. "Hes around a couple guys that are awful good. Im not saying Kevin isnt good. I think where maybe he got away with some stuff not playing defence on our team, Im not sure thats how its going to work in Cleveland. I would guess theyre going to ask him to play more defence -- and hes foul prone." The Cavs know nothing is certain, and theres risk in bringing aboard Love. But with James, Love, Irving, guard Dion Waiters, relentless rebounder Anderson Varejao and newly signed veterans Shawn Marion, Mike Miller and James Jones, the Cavs have the makings of a championship team -- this season and for many more to come. "This is culmination of a year and a half of conversations to trade for Kevin," general manager David Griffin said. "This is a player that, quite frankly, fits us as well as any player could have." Love will wear No. 0 for the Cavs. His No. 42, the number he wore in college and with the Timberwolves, was worn by Nate Thurmond and retired in Cleveland. He considered No. 11, his Olympic number, but that was worn by Zydrunas Ilgauskas and also hangs from the rafters at Quicken Loans Arena. So he went with 0, the number he first wore as a kid in Beaverton, Oregon. "I thought this was a chance to start fresh," Love said, "and pick a new number that would suit me. I just decided that 0 was the right fit for me." And so was the chance to play again with James. .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. . Espanyol midfielder Sanchez intercepted Bilbao goalkeeper Gorka Iraizozs clearance and, having spotted a gap, risked using his less-favoured left foot to fire a beautifully precise long-range shot that bounced in from high up the near post in the 24th minute. http://www.cheapbluejacketsjerseysauthe ... nes-jersey. CNN and Gazzetta dello Sport reporter Tancredi Palmeri broke the news via Twitter Tuesday afternoon. Italian Football Association President Giancarlo Abete has also resigned, according to Palmeri. . Fielder ended 4-for-5 with a solo homer, while Avila was 4-for-4 with two runs scored for the Tigers, who put the brakes on a three-game skid and rebounded from a loss in Mondays opener. Victor Martinez and Austin Jackson both contributed two hits, an RBI and a run scored as Detroit maintained its healthy lead atop the AL Central. . The Canadian skicross racer appeared to have the bronze medal locked up in the mens final at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, only to wipe out while trying to make a pass in the biggest moment of his career.NHL history shows that if you are not in a playoff spot when U.S. Thanksgiving rolls around, your chances of getting in are slim. The other side of that coin is, if you are in a playoff spot today, your chances of getting to the post-season are quite good (thanks captain obvious). In the Central Division, the Winnipeg Jets sit in a tie for third with Chicago, each with 27 points. In the Western Conference they sit in a tie for seventh with the Blackhawks. The Jets are coming off back-to-back road wins over Columbus and Buffalo to up their road record to 8-4-2, and lift their record versus Eastern Conference teams to 8-3-2. They wrap up the road trip in Boston Friday. Individually, many have contributed to the success the team has had, including Michael Frolik. The 26-year-old out of Kladno, Czech Republic has moved around the lineup, and as coach Paul Maurice has said, “whichever line he is on, plays well.” If the Jets have some players that are struggling and need a jump start, Maurice has put Frolik on their line for a spell. “I feel like everyone is fighting to play with him,” Mark Scheifele said. “He makes all the best plays. He rarely makes a mistake. He just does everything right and that’s everything you want from a linemate.” For Frolik, it’s a matter of playing his game. “My game doesn’t change much no matter who I play with,” he said. “I try and play the same way.” Maurice was recently asked about what makes Frolik the player he is. “He’s an honest, quick player,” Maurice said. “Quickness to get to the right spots, his consistency shift-to- shift, great personality, always has a smile. There is not a lot of negative after a bad shift. He’s a swing guy, good defensively but has an offensive side. His goal that got us on the board in Minnesota was key to our comeback.” When he played in Kladno, Frolik was called “The Baby Jagr”, because people felt he looked and played a lot like his famous Czech countryman. Drafted no. 10 overall by Florida in 2006, Frolik made the move to Canada, joining Rimouski of the Quebec Major Junior League. He showed his offensive skills with 31 goals and 73 points in 52 games in his rookie year, and after two more productive years in Rimouski, he made the jump to the NHL, starting his career with back-to-back 21 goal seasons. “Stephen Weiss was my centreman and we had good chemistry,” Frolik said. “The most success we had was when Nathan Horton was on our line.” When he was traded to Chicago, coach Joel Quenneville asked him to play a different role. “I was always an offensive guy when I was younger, in Chicago it turned,” Frolik said of the defensive role he was asked to adapt to. “But I still think of myself as an offensive guy. I want to put numbers on the board and help the team that way. But a good defensive game is important and I’vve gotten better at that.dddddddddddd” His numbers with the Blackhawks dropped, but the tradeoff was a Stanley Cup. During the lockout-shortened season his regular season numbers were 3-7-10 in 45 games, his playoff numbers 3-7-10 in 23 games. So what part of the game comes easier? “It’s hard to put numbers up on the board and sometimes it can be frustrating. But you make sure the defensive side of the game doesn’t change. Don’t let cheating get into your game. Play defense and the offense will come.” In his first season with the Jets, he posted 15 goals and scored twice in his first game with the team. So far this year, he sits fourth in team scoring at 5-5-10, and has four goals in his last eight games, including a shorthanded goal that stood as the winner Wednesday night in Buffalo. Frolik was part of the Czech Republic team in four World Junior Championships, winning bronze in 2005. In 2007 and 2008 he scored nine goals in 12 games. He also won back to back World Championship bronze medals for his home country, competed at the 2014 Olympics, and has scored two NHL playoff penalty shot goals. Ladd/Little/Wheeler Paul Maurice put Blake Wheeler back on the line with Bryan Little and Andrew Ladd five games ago, and one can’t help but notice how the three have matured into complete players. “In the past, their focus has been ‘we have to go out and score goals’, now I like to get them out against the other team’s best lines in the checking role,” Maurice said. But not only have they been good in the checking role, the three share the team lead in goals at eight, with Ladd and Wheeler sharing the team scoring lead with 16 points each. Little has 15 and has scored the game’s opening goal in each of the last three games. The centreman leads all Jets forwards in average ice time at 20:09 per game, and is first on the team in faceoffs taken, surpassing the 500 mark. In the last game of the home-stand vs St. Louis, Little took 20 of the team’s 66 draws, winning 60 percent. In game one of the road trip in Columbus he took 30 of 67 draws winning 60 percent. And in Buffalo took 20-of-41 draws, winning 55 percent of them. Welcome to the Central To succeed in the Central you need good goaltending. The Jets tandem of Ondrej Pavelec and Michael Hutchinson has been solid. In terms of team goals against average, the Central Division has the NHL’s top four teams , with St. Louis first at 1.97, Nashville and Chicago next at 2.06, with the Jets being joined by the Pacific Division’s Kings at 2.13. Ice time With Toby Enstrom out the past two games because of injury, Jacob Trouba has led the team in ice time. Trouba led the Jets in ice time 21 times last year. So far this season, Enstrom has topped that category, leading the Jets in ice time 17 times. ' ' ' |
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