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Geregistreerd op: 06 Dec 2018 Berichten: 765
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Geplaatst: 22-12-2018 06:17:22 Onderwerp: loss to Ireland a few months earlier drew 20,396 fans to th |
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LOS ANGELES -- Doc Rivers couldnt begin the Los Angeles Clippers only day of preparation for Game 7 in the film room or on the practice court. Wholesale Shoes China . The coach was downtown at the Clippers team offices Friday, meeting with an angry roomful of ticket-sellers and marketers still outraged by owner Donald Sterlings racist comments. "Ill say this much: Our players thought about not working. So did our employees, and they still felt that way," Rivers said. "They needed somebody to ask them to continue to work and support us. Were still trying to put this thing together." For both the Clippers and the Golden State Warriors, basketball has been secondary for much of this extraordinary series. But after the most tumultuous week in Clippers history, the first round is finally down to its grand finale. The Clippers will host a seventh game for the first time in franchise history on Saturday night, hoping to draw energy from their Staples Center crowd for a cathartic victory. The winner gets a second-round date with Oklahoma City or Memphis. "Weve got to protect home court," Clippers centre DeAndre Jordan said Friday. "Our season is tomorrow." The Warriors have been just one obstacle faced by the Clippers, who endured sleepless nights and immense scrutiny while their owner was exposed and subsequently banned for life from the NBA between playoff games. Los Angeles has lost two of three games since the Sterling saga began, playing lifelessly in Game 4 before struggling along with the Warriors in Game 6 on Thursday night. When the Clippers went back to work Friday, Sterling-related memorabilia had been removed from the trophy case in the hallway at their palatial $60 million training complex built by Sterling six years ago. Even the "Sterling Drive" sign outside the Playa Vista facility had been taken down. The Clippers missed their chance to wrap the series in Oakland, but the Pacific Division champions played all year for the chance to finish a series on their home court. "Its going to be tough, and youre going to face adversity, and we clearly have faced adversity in this round," said Blake Griffin, who managed just 17 points on 8-for-24 shooting in Game 6. "I think its just important that we all stayed the course and had positive thoughts about it. It is a Game 7, but its still a playoff game. It doesnt change a whole lot." Neither team plans to spend much time working on tactics or adjustments after six games of seeing everything their opponent has to offer. Both teams arent saying much about various nagging injuries, from Chris Pauls strained left hamstring for the Clippers to Jermaine ONeals sprained right knee for Golden State. Instead, two relatively inexperienced playoff teams are eager to show off everything theyve learned about perseverance and toughness over the past two weeks, culminating in a rare winner-take-all finish to their series. "Im not sure that both teams love each other, but Im pretty positive that both teams have tremendous respect for each other," Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. The Clippers core played a Game 7 two years ago, beating Memphis on the road for just their second playoff series victory since Sterling bought the team in 1981. Jordan and Griffin said there was little to draw from that victory, with Jordan barely remembering it. The Warriors havent played a Game 7 since 1977, no surprise for a franchise with just three playoff berths in the last 20 years. When asked if an injury could keep him out of Game 7, Paul scoffed. "Ill be there," Paul said. "Seven-thirty, that balls throwed up, Ill be there. Cant wait." Even with the Clippers on the front page during this series, Golden State has plenty of its own internal drama. Jackson could be coaching his final game for the Warriors after the club ownerships reluctance to publicly back his return despite the most successful two-year stretch in two decades. "I think weve had more controversy than them throughout this whole season that gets overlooked, kind of thrown under the rug a little bit," Golden States Andre Iguodala said. "Weve had some battles this year weve had to deal with, but its kept us together and made us stronger." Discount Shoes Online . Francis told several hundred members of the European Olympic Committees that when sport "is considered only in economic terms and consequently for victory at every cost . Cheap Shoes Online . - Buffalo Bills running back C. http://www.cheapshoeswebsites.com/ . -- J.R. Sweezy was the one part of the Seattle Seahawks offensive line that had avoided injuries or having to change positions this season. TORONTO -- Canada may have been within a couple of points of knocking off a Tier 1 rugby team Saturday, but there was no celebrating in the Canadian locker-room after the game. A controversial penalty in the dying minutes made sure of that. The Canadians dropped a 19-17 decision to Scotland in an international Test match at BMO Field -- a country that sits a full eight positions higher than them on the world rankings. But Canada was in position to win with five minutes to go when the referee reversed his decision on a call, after originally awarding Canada a penalty kick. "Im gutted actually for the guys, they really put it all in," said Canadian coach Kieran Crowley. "Positives are . . . we ran a Tier 1 country to two points, thats a pretty good effort." On the controversial play in the 75th minute, Canadian flanker Jebb Sinclair had the ball, his forearm made contact with Ruaridh Jackson, and the Scottish player was knocked out cold. The referee initially awarded a penalty kick to Canada, but reversed the call after reviewing video. "I dont know what you mean to do with your elbow in that situation when a guy gets his head on the wrong side," Crowley said "He refereed it how he saw it, and I thought it was the wrong decision. But thats the way he sees it." Jeff Hassler scored Canadas lone try while James Pritchard booted for 12 Canadian points. Grant Gilchrist scored the single try for Scotland, while Greig Laidlaw kicked four penalties and a conversion. Hassler scored in the 23rd minute, after Ciaran Hearn broke through the Scottish midfield and sprinted 30 metres down the sideline in front of a red-and-clad crowd of 18,788 fans -- plus the odd Scottish fan dressed in a kilt -- at BMO Field. "Its always good to get one on the board early in front of the home fans, it was a bit of a spark for us, just good team play and a good finish," Hassler said. The Canadians were looking to bounce back from a 34-25 loss to Japan in a Pacific Nations Cup game a week earlier in Burnaby, B.C. -- an ugly affair that saw the Canadians give up 25 unanswered points in the second half. While it was expected the No. 16-ranked Canadians would be in for a much tougher afternoon against the eighth-ranked Scots, they made Scotland work for the win -- the first Scottish victory on Canadian soil. "Its pretty gutting," Hassler said of the close loss. "Its not the first time weve been in that position and its something that we as a Canadian team need to improve on and start knocking off some of these teams in the last couple of minutes of the game. Locker-room is pretty disappointed, but we know were right there." Gilchrist scored in the 27th minute, muscling his way across the try line after some strong work from the Scottish forwards. Scotland took a 13-8 lead into the dressing room at halftime. Pritchard booted four penalty kicks, plus a conversion. He had a chance to give Canada the lead with 15 minutes to play, but his kick banged off the post. He made good on his next attempt to put the Canadians up 17-16. But Laidlaw booted his fourth of the day to put the Scots back on top with eigght minutes to play. Wholesale Shoes Online. Stuart Hogg also had a penalty kick for the Scots, who were coming off a 24-6 victory over the United States a week earlier in Houston. "Not happy at all with the outcome," said Canadian captain Tyler Ardron. "Im sure that call (on Sinclair) is whats going to be talked a lot about this week, but in all honesty I dont think it should have come down to that. I think we should have closed it out before that and its shouldnt have made a difference." Despite the close loss, Ardron said this game didnt sit with him any better than last weeks defeat at the hands of Japan. "Its the same feeling, I think we should have won both those games, but its not good enough to sit back and say we should have won those games," he said. "We have to win them. If we want to get to where we feel we should be, thats got to be our attitude." Scotlands coach Vern Cotter admitted the call on Sinclair that reduced Canada to 14 men "changed momentum" of the game. "(The Canadians) were attacking at that stage," said Cotter, after his second game with Scotland. "Always in these games, little things make the difference. A little thing turned out to be a big thing and had a reasonably big consequence on the result." Cotter praised the Canadian side that is "developing rapidly." He added the Canadians clearly came out at the opening whistle bent on making up for last weekends disappointing result against Japan. "They were very angry, you could see in the first couple of rucks, there was a couple of exchanges, they obviously wanted to impose physically," Cotter said. "I think thats part of their team psyche, they enjoy that type of thing. "I think they played particularly well. . . theyre doing some good things." The BMO Field crowd was positive on the afternoon -- another strong rugby turnout at the lakeside venue that Canadian players have dubbed their unofficial home. Some 22,566 fans squeezed into BMO Field to watch the Maori All Blacks beat the Canadians 40-15 there last November -- a North American record crowd for the sport. Canadas loss to Ireland a few months earlier drew 20,396 fans to the stadium that is normally home to Major League Soccers Toronto FC. "It felt awesome," said Ardron, who grew up in Lakefield, Ont., just north of Peterborough. "Its so hard to comment on how good it felt now after such a devastating loss, a close game like that. But having the support behind us the whole game felt great." The game was Scotlands first victory over Canada on Canadian soil. Canada had beaten Scotland twice at home -- 24-19 in 1991 in Saint John, N.B., and 26-23 in Vancouver in 2002. Theyve met two times in Scotland, both Scottish victories -- 22-2 in Edinburgh in 1995 and 41-0 in Aberdeen in 2008. The game was halted for about 10 minutes midway through the first half while medical staff attended to Scotlands Alasdair Strokosch. Strokosch was eventually wheeled off the pitch on a stretcher. The Canadians face the United States next Saturday in a Pacific Nations Cup game in Sacramento, Calif. 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