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TSNs Jack Armstrong offers his thoughts on Thunder GM Sam Presti, The Eastern and Western Conference finals, the firing of Vinny Del Negro in Los Angeles and Mike Krzyzewski returning to Team USA. 1. Sam Presti (Thunder GM): As I watch the first two games of the Memphis-San Antonio series, I keep telling myself that neither team is better than the Thunder if James Harden is still there this season, even if Russell Westbrook is injured for the Playoffs. The Thunder would win the West with Durant and Harden in my opinion. Look at Thursdays announcement of the All NBA Teams, Kevin Durant along with Westbrook and Harden were selected to the Teams. OKC has three of the top 15 players in the league. As a GM, you to hold onto them as LONG as you possibly can and if you need to do a salary dump for luxury tax/cap purposes you do it after you give this thing as much of a chance to win a title. You owe it to your fans. With all due respect to Kevin Martin, he isnt even close to James Harden and we saw it in the Memphis series. Martin is a nice player but not a difference maker. Harden was a restricted free agent at the end of this season. The Thunder should have played it out for this season and maybe even another year/two to give themselves more time to win it. Instead they jump the gun and miss an opportunity. Has the window shut in OKC? No way, but when I look at a guy like Kendrick Perkins I shake my head because he looks like a guy thats aged a bunch in the past 18 months. You dont get many chances in a market like OKC, so you must capitalize. Sometimes folks Over-Think issues, which I think Presti did. 2. Memphis vs. San Antonio: The Grizzlies have to win four of the next five games to get to the NBA Finals, and I think they can do it. Will they? Not likely but it wouldnt shock me. I look at the Grizzlies and the whole key is going to be taking care of the ball and slowing the pace of play down considerably. Memphis needs to get into the power-game mode with points in the paint and rebound differential. The Spurs are one of those team that if you can take away transition and guard the three-point line you give yourself a chance. The Mike Conley-Tony Parker match-up will still prove to be a huge factor. The Grizzlies must keep Parker out of the lane and Conley needs to play at the elite level weve seen from him in the past few months. Its do-able yet not going to be easy. 3. Pacers vs. Heat: Paul George was brilliant late in Game 1 and gave his team chances to win, yet in the defining moment he allowed LeBron James an easy look. I would like to have seen George play sound and make James shoot a contested Jumper. Im sure coach Frank Vogel didnt sleep well last night having his rim protector Roy Hibbert on the bench with him. Was it a mistake? I say yes. You always make a team beat you on the perimeter with a hand in the face. You cant allow an opponent to have a easy shot in the heart of your defense at crunch time. I know match-ups were a concern yet the Heat needed to know by Hibberts presence that youre dictating to them the type of shot theyre going to have to take. Indy looks like they can play with the Heat and they believe they can yet a loss like that is the defining moment. Either the Pacers get by it and prove that theyre truly better or that loss will crush them. 4. Vinny Del Negro (Clippers): He sets a franchise record in wins and loses his Job. The NBA is a great business aint it? Youve got to win in the playoffs. This is the best available job (Brooklyn Nets are the second best) in the NBA right now. The Coach they hire will surely be a guy that will pass Chris Pauls inspection. The Clippers must hold on to Paul in free agency. This hire will set the stage for whether Paul sticks around and if they can take that next step as a franchise. This is a defining moment. 5. Mike Krzyzewski (Duke & Team USA): Stick with what works. Back for the 2016 Olympics. If youre USA GM, Jerry Colangelo you do everything in your power to convince him that he needs to give you one more run. Mission accomplished. Coach K has amazing leadership, coaching and most importantly, people skills. He gets it". Players respect him and play hard for him. Only truly talented coaches can lead the best and get the most out of them. He does it beautifully. Jerseys NFL Wholesale . Ancelotti says Ronaldo has recovered from a hamstring injury but "but he doesnt feel comfortable yet so we wont risk him." Madrid is third in the Spanish league, six points behind leader Barcelona, going into Saturdays game against Valladolid. Jerseys NFL Cheap .Y. - Nelson Mandela will be honoured by the New York Yankees with a plaque in Monument Park. http://www.jerseysnflwholesalenike.com/ . With their top three point guards and Kobe Bryant all sidelined by injury, the Lakers signed Marshall out of the D-League on Friday before their home game against Minnesota. Jerseys China Sale . But Bourque, who has missed three games with a lower-body injury, wont be in the lineup when the Habs travel to Buffalo to take on the Sabres on Wednesday. Jerseys Cheap . The Montreal Canadiens announced on Friday that the veteran forward will return to the teams line-up on Saturday night when the Habs visit the Nashville Predators. EDMONTON -- The Edmonton Eskimos lost the game, and possibly a big part of their offence on Friday night. Craig Newmans 57-yard interception return for a touchdown with 25 seconds left in the fourth quarter capped a late rally as the Saskatchewan Roughriders scored a 31-24 come-from-behind victory over Edmonton in CFL pre-season play. After Riders quarterback Tino Sunseri hit DeDe Dorsey for a TD on third and goal from the Eskimos one-yard line to tie the game 24-24 with 54 seconds left, Newman picked off a deflected pass by Edmonton pivot Jonathan Crompton on the ensuing drive and raced in for the decisive points. The focus for the Eskimos afterwards wasnt the last-second loss, but rather the status of quarterback Matt Nichols. The 26-year-old, who has been in a dead heat for the starting job with Mike Reilly through training camp, went down in the end zone when he was hit by Riders defensive end Kenny Rowe while trying to make a tackle after throwing an interception late in the first quarter. Nichols, who suffered a gruesome injury to his left ankle in last seasons East Division semifinal loss to the Toronto Argonauts, left the game with a right knee injury and was seen leaving the stadium on crutches. His immediate prognosis was not known and doctors will take a more in-depth look on the weekend. "I just went down and felt a little twist," Nichols said. "The doctors have looked at it and it looks like there are decent signs. We wont know anything until we get a picture of it. All I can do right now is hope for the best. "Im optimistic. My ankle injury last year, that was the first time I have ever been hurt. This is a new feeling for me, so it is hard to have an idea on my own how bad it is. Im just hoping for the best right now." Eskimos head coach Kavis Reed was also hopeful, saying it would be a shame if Nichols was out long term after putting in the hard work to compete for the starting job. "Were going to see how it settles tonight and assess it tomorrow," he said. "Hopefully it is not serious. Sometimes it looks worse than it is. I am very hopeful that it is not something catastrophic and season-ending. Matt has worked exceptionally hard to come back from his injury in the playoffs and I would be very disappointed for that young man if this is a serious injury." Nichols said there is nothing he can do but wait. "Its obviously a tough situation," he said. "It is part of this game, though. Its not something that is going to hold me back. Im going to do whatever I can to get healthy as soon as possible, whatever the situation is." As for the game itself, Saskatchewan head coach Corey Chamblin was pleased with the overall effort in the comeback win. "There was a lot to learn from that game," he said. "We had some penalties and some stuff we need to clean up. But as far as being able to come back and showing some resiliency, I was very pleased that our team was able to fight back. We said we were coming here to win and the guys did that.dddddddddddd" Drew Willy got the start at quarterback for Saskatchewan and engineered a scoring drive on the Riders first possession as Chris Milo nailed a 40-yard field goal six minutes in. Edmonton went up 7-3 with three minutes to play in the opening quarter when Don Oramasionwu popped a ball loose from Riders receiver Taj Smith. Eskimos defensive back Marcel Young scooped up the loose ball and galloped 58 yards into the end zone. The Saskatchewan defence got those points back just two minutes later on the play that led to Nichols injury as he saw his pass bounce off of a receiver and into the hands of Carlos Thomas, who took it back 30 yards for the touchdown and a 10-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. Reilly came in to take Nichols place and was subsequently picked off by Woodny Turene, but Milo missed his second field goal of the night as the Roughriders settled for a single point. Edmonton went up 14-11 with three minutes to play in the second when Reilly connected on a long pass to Isaiah Sweeney, who turned on the jets and outran a pair of pursuers for a 77-yard touchdown. Saskatchewan, which will host the 2013 Grey Cup, was pressing late in the first half but receiver Scott McHenrys fumble at the Eskimos 21-yard line was recovered by Edmontons Eric Samuels. The Roughriders pulled even with five minutes left in the third quarter as Brody McKnight kicked a 27-yard field goal on the heels of a 50-yard passing play from Sunseri to Greg Carr. The Eskimos went back up 21-14 with a minute to play in the third after Roughriders returner Phillip Livas bobbled a punt and it was recovered on his teams seven-yard line. Edmonton quarterback Jacory Harris, who came in to start the third quarter, took it in himself on the next play. Saskatchewan notched a McKnight field goal five minutes into the fourth quarter to close it to 21-17, but Grant Shaw restored the seven-point edge with his first field goal of the game for Edmonton with three minutes left on the clock before Saskatchewan rallied late. Notes: The Roughriders and Eskimos will play at Commonwealth Stadium on June 29 in the regular-season opener for both teams. ... Saskatchewan hosts the Calgary Stampeders in the final pre-season game for both clubs on Thursday, while Edmonton visits the B.C. Lions on Friday. ... Eskimos head coach Kavis Reed is now 0-5 in exhibition games in his career. ... Eskimos rookie kick returner Tavoy Moore left the game in the first half with a lower-body injury. ... The Riders had 67 players on their roster for Fridays game. The veterans not dressed included Geroy Simon, Dominic Picard, Rey Williams, Ricky Foley, Tristan Black, Cory Huclack and Keith Shologan. ... Among the bigger names sitting out for the Eskimos were Fred Stamps, Hugh Charles, Marcus Howard, Almondo Sewell, J.C. Sherritt and T.J. Hill. ... The Eskimos announced on Friday that they will host an exhibition game against the Roughriders in the northern Alberta community of Fort McMurray in 2015. Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys cheap jerseys Cheap Jersyes Cheap Basketball Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys cheap jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '