Österreich » a 1-in-100 find for our doctors because he

TSNs Jack Armstrong offers his thoughts on the Spurs being back in the mix, the bench strength of the Raptors, the Pacers and Heat not being ready for prime time, the compete level of Kemba Walker and the Warriors coaching situation. 1. SAN ANTONIO SPURS: Have won 15 straight games and suddenly here they are again in the mix regarding the discussion of what teams can be in the Finals in June. Dont beat you ever with flash but man, oh man lots of substance when you talk about this team. Wednesday night against Denver, they had five players in double figures and had 30 assists on 43 field goals. Thats quite impressive. The commitment to the team and playing the game together is a principle that has served them well over the years and will make them a tough out in the playoffs. The sum is more important than the parts. 2. RAPTORS BENCH: Its pretty evident that in spite of the Raps being 6-5 in the absence of Patrick Patterson, they miss his presence big-time in a variety of ways. Hes a wonderful perimeter defender on screen and roll sequences, gets after it on the glass, defends in the post and can give you both scoring inside/out as well as intelligent team play on offence. He and Greivis Vasquez are the two major contributors off the bench and when you look at the Boston game Wednesday night with less than 10 points coming off the bench, its an area of concern to say the least as you prepare for the playoffs. Pattersons absence has clearly affected the defence as well with teams putting the Raptors in screen and roll scenarios and the nightly battles on the boards without one of your sturdier post guys. John Salmons has struggled of late and is a solid veteran player. When hes going good, this team has another gear. Getting Patterson back and healthy and an on-track Salmons will go a long way towards getting this team ready for the playoffs. Digging themselves early holes that they have to battle back from are an issue that has to be corrected along with tightening the screws again with the defence. They do that and Im confident that they can compete quite well in a first round series. 3. PACERS VS. HEAT: Watched the game Wednesday night and I must say I was underwhelmed with the quality of play. Yes, it had great playoff intensity but it appeared to me that both of these teams have needed a game like this for a while to get that next gear back in their playing style. Both looked like they need to work out some kinks in the final weeks with offensive flow/execution to be ready to roll in mid/late April. A long season combined with injuries, etc. have a way of messing up your chemistry and neither looked as fluid as when theyre at their best. The Raptors see both of them next week with the Houston Rockets sandwiched in between (what a week!) which will be a good test of their playoff readiness as the Heat have been able to knock off the Raptors this season three times while the Pacers are 2-1 and the Rockets won their game in Houston vs the Raps. The good teams start to take that next step here in the final 10 games to get everything humming and in sync. Always fun to watch as teams gear up for the second season. 4. KEMBA WALKER (Bobcats): Al Jefferson (35 and 15) was awesome in the overtime win vs. the Nets Wednesday night. Coach Steve Clifford has done a terrific job with that team. Its about time the folks in Charlotte get behind their team and support them for a change; this is a team you can root for. Love Kemba - what a gamer, scoring 20 points and five rebounds along with 12 assists. There are certain guys that you just throw out the stats some night because they just play so hard and have amazing pride and competitive spirit and do whatever it takes to win. From his days at UConn to now, he personifies what it means to give it his all. Hes been in a tough situation there with a poor roster, shaky coaching and questionable management decisions and Im happy for him that some of the proper decisions have been made around him and things are coming together. This team has become fun to watch and Walker is the heart and soul of that. 5. BRIAN SCALABRINE (Warriors): Assistant coach gets demoted to the D-League by head coach Mark Jackson. This is right out of the book of Jason Kidd/Lawrence Frank differences that took place early in the season. Jackson was adamantly supportive of Kidds move in the fall with Frank and now he does the same thing. Ive been both an sssistant coach and a head coach and I always felt that loyalty to the boss was #1 and if you disagree, you do it behind closed doors and it never gets picked up by the players, media, etc. At the same time, its vital that the assistant coaches cant be Yes Men that have to supress their opinion as opposed to express their opinion. Healthy dialogue is important yet at the end of the day, the head coach makes the call and we all march together in unison. (Hes also got to be open to suggestions and not have all the answers.) Jason Kidd got past this controversy and has done a good job with the Nets and it will be significant for Jackson to get past this as well by the performance of the team. Expectations are high in the Bay Area and results will be needed. Never an easy situation for any coach to be in and I can relate to the feeling of both. Jackson has a healthy ego and high opinion of his coaching acumen which is good to a degree, yet its time to get this team to the next level and the playoffs will be a major stage for him and his team to show that they can do it. Hes got major potential to be an outstanding coach in this league for a long time and this is another of the many tests young coaches go through in their development. Youre paid to make the tough calls and many times you have to be ruthless in this results-oriented business because at the end of the day, it all falls back on you and your record. Jackson is nobodys fool and is as competitive as they come. Its his show - plain and simple. Never easy or fair. In one word, you have to produce. Cheap NFL Jerseys China Free Shipping . -- Craig Anderson has quite a record against his former team, the Florida Panthers. Authentic Cheap Jerseys NFL . Toronto (11-12) gave up leads in 10-8 and 11-4 losses to the Baltimore Orioles this week. It was never close Friday as the Boston Red Sox got to Mark Buehrle early en route to an 8-1 win. http://www.chinanflcheapjerseys.com/.C. - Alberta prop Andrew Tiedemann will captain Canada against Uruguay on Friday, the opening day of competition at the IRB Americas Rugby Championship. Wholesale Jerseys USA . Interestingly, the culprits were not rookies, but well paid, experienced pros. The first gaffe came in the 24th minute of arguably the biggest early season MLS game in history between Seattle and Toronto. Sounder newcomer Marco Pappa, (with over 100 MLS games, and 39 Guatemalan Caps to his name) attempted a back pass to one of his central defenders. Cheap NCAA Jerseys China . Louis Cardinals, the team will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the opening of the SkyDome. Jays legends Jimmy Key and Ernie Whitt, members of playoff and World Series-winning teams of the past, will be on hand for the festivities to look back at what was the beginning of the Jays halcyon years.KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Alex Smith thought he had some indigestion. It turned out to be a lacerated spleen.Now, the Kansas City Chiefs will put their already slim playoff hopes in the hands of career backup Chase Daniel, who will make his second-ever start Sunday against San Diego.The Chiefs need to beat the Chargers and hope that Baltimore loses to Cleveland and Houston gets beat by Jacksonville to reach the post-season for the second straight year. San Diego needs only to defeat its longtime AFC West rival to get back to the playoffs — and now faces a second-string quarterback.The guys have a lot of trust in Chase, Chiefs coach Andy Reid said shortly after Fridays practice. Our heart goes out to Alex. Its not something he wanted to happen. He wanted to be out there. But the guys know Chase. Theyre comfortable with him.Daniel should be comfortable facing the Chargers, too.Last season, the Chiefs (8-7) had already locked up their playoff seed before their regular-season finale in San Diego. Reid rested his starters and Daniel made his first NFL start, playing well in an overtime loss that allowed the Chargers to squeak into the playoffs.Smith is expected to miss about six weeks, Chiefs trainer Rick Burkholder said, though his age and fitness level could shorten that timeframe. The Chiefs would need to make the playoffs and then likely advance all the way to the Super Bowl for him to return this season.I didnt know what to make of it, Smith said. Once you start hearing how serious it is, obviously yeah, you know the implications as far as not playing — thats the last thing you want to hear. At the same time, youre not crazy.The Chiefs, who have lost four of five, have been plagued by injuries all season.Defensive tackle Mike DeVito and linebacker Derrick Johnson were lost to torn Achilles tendons and offensive guard Jeff Allen a torn biceps in Week 1. Running backs Joe McKnight and Cyrus Gray, tight end Demetrius Harris and wide receiver A.J. Jenkins have joined them on injured reserve.Then theres safety Eric Berry, who was placed on the non-football injury list and diagnosed with Hoodgkins lymphoma.ddddddddddddBerry is currently undergoing chemotherapy and other treatments.Smith believes he was hurt on a hit early in the third quarter of last Sundays 20-12 loss at Pittsburgh. He didnt feel any pain until after he had showered, and then it felt like cramps and pressure. He visited with the teams medical staff but didnt go through full testing.Thought it was something I ate, said Smith, who ultimately took some antacids.Smith practiced twice early in the week, feeling fine other than some nausea. There had been a stomach virus going around the team that kept wide receiver Dwayne Bowe from practicing all of last week, so Smith and the training staff suspected that might be the cause.The Chiefs had off for Christmas and Smith didnt want to leave his family, but a team doctor helped persuade him to undergo a scan, which to his surprise found a 3-centimetre laceration. There was only a bit of bleeding, though, which explained why Smith had so few symptoms.If you would take another shot there and the laceration would increase, then you have a medical emergency, Burkholder said. This is a 1-in-100 find for our doctors because he didnt have any signs of a spleen (injury).Burkholder said scans also revealed a slight enlargement of the spleen, and Smith will have more testing to determine why thats the case. Burkholder said it may just be natural.Its a non-surgical case. It will heal on its own, but he is going to have to have some time down from contacts and collisions, Burkholder said. I wont go as far as to say that we saved a life, but you saved something that could go on Sunday.Daniel, who starred nearby at Missouri, was acquired by the Chiefs last season. Hes appeared in only seven games since, mostly in mop-up duty, but was 21 of 30 for 200 yards with a TD pass and no interceptions in that 27-24 loss to San Diego last year.We have a sharp game plan this week. Were excited about it, Daniel said after Fridays workout, and it was great to get out here and go over the entire game plan.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '