playoffs for his worst two-game stretch of the season. Part of that is due to Portlands Wesley Matthews and Nicolas Batum taking from zgr123's blog
The International Olympic Committee is reprimanding athletes for wearing items commemorating the dead. Kris Dunn Swingman Jersey . IOC spokesman Mark Adams said Monday the Olympic body sent a letter to the Norwegian Olympic Committee after its female cross-country skiers wore black armbands Saturday in honor of a teammates brother, who died on the eve of the Sochi Games. Adams did not give details of the IOC letter, saying that was "the end of the matter." In other disciplines, the IOC banned helmet stickers in tribute to Canadian halfpipe skier Sarah Burke, who died after a crash in training two years ago. Adams said athletes should find "a better place" to express their grief. Australian snowboarder Torah Bright said in an Instagram post on Friday that the IOC has banned competitors from wearing stickers on their gear. The IOC considered it to be a "political protest," Bright wrote. The IOC has strict rules against protests or propaganda during competitions, outlawing any demonstrations in Olympic venues. Although a commemoration of a dead athlete can hardly be considered a political protest, the IOCs tough stance is often explained by fears that allowing someone to display non-Games-related messages on the gear would encourage others to use the games for their own gain. Lauri Markkanen Swingman Jersey . The striker headed Spurs into a 35th-minute lead and tapped in their third in the 71st after Chico Flores own goal. Wilfried Bony hit the bar and had a good penalty appeal for a push by Tottenham captain Michael Dawson turned down in the first half, before getting Swanseas consolation late on. Lauri Markkanen Red Jersey . "Its not done, but its a huge step," Hannover general manager Dirk Dufner said. Poor defending allowed the visitors to score in the second minute, when Leon Andreasens header from Christian Panders cross sent the ball inside the far post.PORTLAND, Ore. -- Houston has a LaMarcus Aldridge problem. The Trail Blazers All-Star forward has been dominating with more than 40 points in each of the opening two playoff games with the Rockets in Houston. Portland is up 2-0 as the series moves to Rip City on Friday night, giving the Rockets little time to figure out how to defend Aldridge. He opened the playoffs with a franchise post-season-best 46 points in the Blazers 122-120 overtime victory, then followed it up with 43 points in the 112-105 win on Wednesday night. Rockets coach Kevin McHale summed it up best when he said: "So far, hes had a hell of a series." Aldridge found success in the paint in the opener so the Rockets adjusted -- but so did Aldridge, who went outside to pepper Houston with midrange jumpers. Thirteen of his 18 field goals came from 10 feet out or more. "Hes making tough shots, hes getting to the foul line. Hes offensive rebounding. Hes doing the whole package and its tough for us," said Houston guard James Harden. "We gotta figure something out real soon. In game three, it is either we win or its over." Aldridge is the first player to score 43 or more points in consecutive playoff games since Tracy McGrady in 2003, and the first to score at least 40 in back-to-back post-season games since LeBron James in 2009. It almost goes without saying that Aldridge is the first Blazer with at least 40 points in back-to-back playoff games. "You can tell just by his approach how hes really dialed in and hes playing big. Hes really taken it upon himself to do all these things," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said Thursday. "Give him all the credit. Hes been wanting this moment for a long time and hes rising to the challenge." Aldridge acknowledged the team for his success. "This team in general just believes in me so much and they ride the wave so well," he said. "When Im going one through 15, they are all cheering and telling me to shoot it. If I pass up a shot, theyre all mad at me and I think having 15 guys having your back like that is great." Aldridges play has put Portland in charge as the teeam returns home. Kris Dunn Jersey. . The Blazers havent opened a playoff series 2-0 since 1977, when they got the early jump on the Lakers en route to the Western Conference title. Portland went on to beat Philadelphia for its lone NBA championship Portland ranked seventh in the league during the regular season with just 10 losses at home. Only three teams have come back to win after losing the first two games of a seven-game series at home: The last was the 2004-05 Mavericks, who came back against the Rockets. Houston is 0-7 overall when falling behind 0-2 in the first round since the 1983-84 expansion. Dwight Howard said its no time to panic. "Weve played against Portland in the regular season and we were successful. We just got to play basketball. We cant look back. We have to stay positive," he said. "They (Portland) won two games but its the first to four and we cant let our heads down. We dug a hole but we can always get out of it." Howard had 32 points and 14 rebounds in Wednesdays loss, while Harden had 18 points. Harden was the leagues top shooting guard in the regular season, but hes 14 of 47 from the field in the playoffs for his worst two-game stretch of the season. Part of that is due to Portlands Wesley Matthews and Nicolas Batum taking turns at shutting him down. "Weve done a good job guarding without fouling and one thing about playoff basketball is that everybody has the every possession mentality," Stotts said. "We didnt fall asleep on him and I dont think he got a lot of easy looks and every great player in this league, you just want to make them work and I think Nick and Wes in particular really have made him work." For his part, Harden isnt really concerned about a slump. Hes more focused on the Blazers -- and stopping Aldridge. "Im not worried about my offence, Im worried about our defence, our defence as a team. When we get stops and get out in transition everybody feels good about themselves and thats when the assists flow in and things start going well," he said. "If we cant get stops it makes it more difficult. They are a very good team." Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys ChinaCheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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