Inland Waterways » e for Lindsey Vonn

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Nearly two months have passed since the San Antonio Spurs collected their championship rings and began their title defence.The NBA season may have opened Oct. 28, but Christmas is the real coming-out party.Footballs popularity leaves little room for other sports in the fall. Its enough to make some believe the unofficial opener should be the real opening day, as it was in 2011 following the lockout.There could be an argument, and a strong argument, to starting our season later and do it on Christmas Day and go into the summer, ABC analyst Jeff Van Gundy said. I think there could be a strong argument to do that and avoid a lot of the NFL and college football season.Football is quiet on Christmas, so the NBA loads up with a five-game schedule, highlighted by LeBron James return to Miami. Thats followed on ABC by San Antonio hosting Oklahoma City.Washington visits New York in the ESPN opener, and because Christmas falls on a Thursday, TNT has its usual night doubleheader and Inside the NBA studio show. Then Chicago hosts the Los Angeles Lakers before Golden State takes on the Los Angeles Clippers.Van Gundy preferred the Christmas schedule when it was just a couple of games. But Mark Jackson, working the Cavaliers-Heat game with Van Gundy and Mike Breen, is all for five.If it was watered down and youre trying to stretch five, thats different, he said. But I think weve got good teams with quality matchups, and if Im a fan I like the idea of basketball being played all day.The challenge of the basketball marathon for Breen is to inform the new audience without insulting fans who have been watching since around Halloween.I dont go in thinking all right, Ive got to broadcast towards these people who havent watched a single NBA game, he said. But at the same time you cant ignore the fact that some people might not be up to speed on certain things.___Here are some things to know about the five Christmas games:WIZARDS AT KNICKS: Jackson coached Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson in Golden State, and Washingtons John Wall and Bradley Beal are in that class. They complement one another extremely well, he said. Beals shooting ability, Walls ability to create, to score and to play with great pace. They wont have a problem worrying about their backcourt for a long time.CAVALIERS AT HEAT: The Cavs have had some of the same struggles Miami did in James first season in Florida, mostly because of Clevelands defence. You want to win big in this league, youre going to commit to that end, the defensive end of the floor, Van Gundy said, and some games they have and other games theyve really struggled.THUNDER AT SPURS: Van Gundy coached an eighth-seeded Knicks team to the NBA Finals, and Oklahoma City could be forced to make a similar run after injuries to Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Oklahoma City, no matter where you start them, if theyre in the tournament, they have a chance, Van Gundy said.LAKERS AT BULLS: Kobe Bryant remains must-see TV in his record 16th Christmas appearance. Kobe Bryant is as compelling as an NBA player whos ever played. ... you just never know in any given game when he steps on the floor what hes capable of doing, Breen said.WARRIORS AT CLIPPERS: Their nasty Christmas matchup last year was followed by a seven-game playoff series. I think its two tough teams, two very successful teams, two teams that dont like each other and two teams thats extremely exciting to watch, Jackson said. So obviously its a developing rivalry, but I wouldnt call it a rivalry.___STAT LINE OF THE WEEK: Tim Duncan, Spurs: 48 minutes, then 43 in consecutive triple-overtime games. The 38-year-old forward hadnt logged 40-plus minutes in consecutive games since Dec. 25-27, 2008, according to STATS. Fran Tarkenton Jersey . Although Olivetti, a qualifier, had 13 aces, he failed to force a single break-point chance on Gasquets serve and lost his own three times. Gasquet next plays third-seeded Jerzy Janowicz of Poland, who won had 18 aces in a 6-2, 6-4 win against seventh-seeded Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France. Paul Krause Jersey . - The Cleveland Indians will place centerfielder Michael Bourn on the disabled list before their opener at Oakland on March 31. http://www.vikingssale.com/Vikings-Dalvin-Cook-Draft-Jersey/ . Winnipeg trailed by five points in the final minute when quarterback Drew Willy completed a 13-play, 75-yard drive with Feoli-Gudinos 18-yard touchdown catch on third down to lift the Bombers to a 34-33 victory over the Montreal Alouettes on Friday night. Chuck Foreman Jersey . JOHNS, N. Randy Moss Jersey . Catch the game on TSN starting at 7pm et/4pm pt. You can also listen to all the action live on TSN 1050 at 7pm et. The Knicks are two games behind the Atlanta Hawks for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference race.BEAVER CREEK, Colo. -- The new Beaver Creek downhill course features a gliding section near the start for a skier to drop into a tuck and build speed. There are technical turns in the middle, followed by a steep part -- maybe the steepest on the World Cup circuit -- and then a giant jump at the finish. An ideal course for Lindsey Vonn -- if she were here, of course. The four-time overall World Cup champion was supposed to make her return this week from a serious right knee injury she suffered in a crash last February. But after hurting her knee again in a training mishap last week, Vonn will sit out to rest and rehab because everything she does is with an eye toward the Sochi Games, which are less than three months away. Her fellow competitors spent the morning learning the nuances of a challenging course called "Raptor" in downhill training on Tuesday, with Lara Gut of Switzerland posting the fastest time of 1 minute, 43.42 seconds. No Vonn now, but there is a chance she could be in the starting gate on Dec. 6 in Lake Louise, Alberta, a venue thats treated her so well that its playfully dubbed "Lake Lindsey." At least, U.S. womens head coach Alex Hoedlmoser remains hopeful that Vonns ailing right knee will be ready for a return to racing in time for Lake Louise. "Its all going to be determined on how her knee feels," Hoedlmoser said in an interview with The Associated Press. "Its up to her. Shes the only one who knows how her knee feels." Hoedlmoser was there the day of Vonns crash at the speed centre in Copper Mountain last Tuesday, when she tumbled going from sunshine into the shade on a tricky part of the hill. Vonn partially tore one of the reconstructed ligaments in her surgically repaired knee. The reigning Olympic downhill champion will continue to go through therapy on her knee and hasnt ruled out Lake Louise. Her good friend and rival, Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany, visited with Vonn the other day just to lift her spirits. She fully expects to see Vonn back sooner rather than later. "Shes of course sad she cant be here," said Hoefl-Riesch, who turned in the eighth-fastest training time on Tuesday, 1.01 seconds behind Gut. "But she was positive because shes not out for the season and that she maybe can come back next week already. If anyybody is strong enough in the head, its her.dddddddddddd" This new course -- the site of the 2015 world championships -- appears well suited for Vonn given all the terrain changes. Heres some of the feedback on the hill from the fastest skiers on the circuit: -- "Its quick. A lot of switches are quick and a lot of technical turns -- intimidating sections. Its got a little bit of everything. Its pretty awesome," American Julia Mancuso said. -- "Its really cool. But its one of the hardest," said Austrias Anna Fenninger, who had the second-best overall time. -- "Its one of the most difficult downhills in the World Cup. I love it. Its great," Hoefl-Riesch said. -- "Every downhill in the world should be like that," Gut said. And yet the reigning World Cup downhill champion wasnt around to enjoy it. "I feel really sorry what happened to her," said Slovenias Tina Maze, who captured the overall crown last season by accumulating a record 2,414 points. "We all wish her all the best. You want healthy competitors." Especially one with the instant name recognition of Vonn, who just so happens to be dating golfer Tiger Woods as well. She was way ahead of schedule from the torn ACL she suffered during a high-speed crash at the world championships last February before wiping out again. "Lindsey for sure is very important for Alpine skiing," said Atle Skaardal, the womens race director for the International Ski Federation (FIS). "Thats very tough for everybody. These things happen. Its difficult to avoid. Its a sport where we have speed involved and, unfortunately, accidents happen even though we have a lot of different projects running to make the sport as safe as possible. Something can always happen." The timetable for Vonns return is completely up to her, Hoedlmoser said. Theres no rush for a return even with Sochi rapidly approaching. "Even if it comes down to that shes not going to be able to do much racing before (the Olympics), were for sure going to bring her to do training runs (in Sochi) and then decide from there," Hoedlmoser said. Possible for Vonn not to ski all season and still compete at a high level in Sochi? "Yes," Hoedlmoser said. "Because shes the best in the world." 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