导出博客文章No. 25 Florida State and Illinois came to New York with hopes of continuing hot
starts and winning the NIT Season Tip-Off.Those hopes came crashing down in a
pair of brutal Thanksgiving Day defeats on Thursday.Now the Seminoles and Illini
will meet Friday in the third-place game of the Tip-Off at the Barclays Center
in Brooklyn, N.Y.In the case of the Seminoles (4-1), they blew an 18-point
second-half lead against Temple. Florida State then lost in the final seconds
after forward Jonathan Isaac missed a wide open layup that would put them ahead
by a point and likely sealed the win.The Seminoles were last ranked at the
beginning of the 2012-13 season and when the new rankings are released Monday,
they will likely be unranked.The Seminoles had been averaging 96.7 points a game
before Thursdays 89-86 loss, and they looked well on their way to another big
outing after jumping out to a 41-31 lead at the break.We did a lot of nice
things, Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton said after the loss. We just
didnt do enough.Hamilton was pleased that leading scorers Dwayne Bacon, who led
the Seminoles on Thursday with 22 points, and Isaac (19 points) both continue to
flourish offensively in the early part of the season, but the defensive
intensity has to improve.When we play teams that shoot the ball well, we have to
do a much better job defensively, said Hamilton of Temples 55 percent shooting.
But one game doesnt define a season. It means you got a lot of stuff to work
on.Illinois second consecutive loss, meanwhile, was an entirely different kind
of bad.The Illini (4-2) fell behind 48-29 at halftime, and -- rather than make a
push to get back in the game -- fell apart and trailed by as many as 39 points
in the second half.Illinois coach John Groce called the loss embarrassing, but
he was more displeased with how his team handled West Virginias smothering
press, which has earned the Mountaineers defense the nickname Press
Virginia.Illinois turned the ball over a staggering 24 times in the blowout
loss, and Michael Finke (13 points) was the only starter in double figures.
Leading scorer Malcolm Hill was held to seven points on 2-of-8 shooting and in
the last two games, he is shooting 6-of-25.Our coaches have been working on this
press since August, running six-on-five and even some seven-on-five drills, and
we did it because we knew we were playing them, Groce said. We were good in
practice but in real-time speed it was a lot different.Florida State and
Illinois will now try to shake those defeats Friday in hopes of carrying
momentum into a big week of more tests for both programs.Florida State returns
to Tallahassee on Monday to face Minnesota in the kickoff of ACC/Big Ten
Challenge, while the Illini will face ACC foe North Carolina State on Tuesday,
followed by a date with mid-major power VCU on Saturday.
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Bottles Near Me . The Swede became the first golfer to win the PGA Tours
FedEx Cup and European Tours Race to Dubai in the same season. "It is still
taking a little time to sink in what Ive achieved this week as was the case when
I won the FedEx Cup but then it just kept getting better and better as the days
went on and I am sure this will be the same," he said.
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coach Caleb Porter didnt stray from his business-like approach to the season
even after Portland downed the two-time defending league champion Los Angeles
Galaxy to gain crucial playoff position.
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. Cuban testified Thursday that he was upset when the companys CEO told him news
that would reduce the value of his shares, for which hed paid $7.5 million. But
he said he did nothing improper when he sold those shares over the next two
days.
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Supported by three-run homers from Jayson Werth and Wilson Ramos, the young
right-hander went seven strong innings in the Washington Nationals 8-4 victory
over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night.
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which I would say two things: 1. Where there is smoke, there is or perhaps has
been a little fire. Or, in other words, the two teams would appear to have at
least spoken. And spoken is defined as one calling the other to inquire, no
more, no less. SAN ANTONIO -- Life without Tim Duncan has officially begun for
the San Antonio Spurs, even if they arent quite ready to accept it.For the first
time since Bill Clinton was in the White House and Men In Black was a box office
hit, the Spurs will open training camp without Duncan.During the teams annual
media day Monday, San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich joked that Duncan is being
fined daily -- $2,500 a day, every day that he does not show up.I wasnt here
with him that long so its not as dramatic for me as it will be for everybody
else, but it definitely feels like he should walk in any moment but he hasnt
yet, Spurs forward LaMarcus Aldridge said.Duncan retired in July after 19
seasons as arguably the greatest power forward of all time. A two-time MVP,
Duncan led San Antonio to five NBA titles and helped set a selfless, team-first
standard that is the envy of many sports franchises.The transition from the
Spurs reliance on the Big Three of Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili began
in earnest last season with the addition of Aldridge and the continued growth of
Kawhi Leonard. San Antonio continued the makeover in the offseason with the
signing of Pau Gasol, but that doesnt soften the blow of losing Duncan.I think
its going to hit me more tomorrow when we get on the court, Parker said. Were
definitely going to miss him. You cant replace a guy like that. Hes been the
face of the franchise for the last two decades. Its going to be weird. Its going
to be weird without him, especially now that we have a lot of young guys, a lot
of new faces and so its going to be a lot of teaching to do at the beginning of
the season.Duncan will attend some practices to assist with coaching, but it
will be up to Parker, Ginobili and the other veterans to acclimate the largest
number of new faces in Popovichs 20 sseasons as Spurs coach.ddddddddddddan
Antonio added 11 new players to its training camp roster, including rookies
Dejounte Murray and Davis Bertans and free agents like Gasol and David Lee.Its a
lot of fun just to think about new bodies and new blood in the gym, Popovich
said. Not just the players, the staff. I dont know half of the names of the new
staff we hired in the film room, interns and management and all that kind of
thing. A lot of people walking around, both players and staff. It will be
exciting who comes up with what ideas, who plays well and who fits
together.Gasol is the most critical addition. Entering his 17th season, the
7-foot center has won two NBA championships and made his sixth All-Star
appearance last season while with the Chicago Bulls.Stepping into Duncans place
in the starting lineup will be one of the biggest challenges of his career.Tim
has been so exceptional and unique, Gasol said. He is considered by most of us
the best power forward that has ever played the game. So, Im not coming here to
fill his shoes and the spot that he left, but Im here to make the best that I
can to fit in as best as I can and to work with the guys that are here to win a
title and work as hard as I can to do that. Its an opportunity, its a privilege
but at the same time, its a huge challenge.Gasols presence will help ease the
burden on Leonard and Aldridge.The All-Star forwards led San Antonio to a
franchise-record 67 victories last season before falling to the Oklahoma City
Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals.I think everybody has to take on
that burden, Aldridge said. Its not a one-players job, no one can be Tim Duncan.
Its going to be everyones job. ' ' '
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