who are with us and the people who are going to be there
New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - John Wall supplied 24 points and 11 assists in leading the Washington Wizards to a 102-91 win over the New York Knicks on Christmas Day. Wall made a dazzling move late in the third quarter, hitting a reverse spinning layup, and then was involved in fourth-quarter scuffle. He took exception to a hard foul from Quincy Acy, retaliating with a shove. The New York forward swung his right arm as if to throw a punch before holding up. Acy received a Flagrant-2 foul and was ejected with 5:31 remaining. Wall received a technical foul. Bradley Beal had 17 points and Kris Humphries scored 14 off the bench on 7-of-9 shooting for the Wizards, who snapped a two-game losing streak with a win in their first game on Christmas since 2008. Washington earned its fourth straight win at Madison Square Garden and fifth overall against the Knicks, who have dropped eight consecutive home games, the longest streak in a single season in team history. Carmelo Anthony scored 34 points and Jose Calderon added 16 for New York, which has lost 16 of its last 17 games overall. Final Score: Oklahoma City 114, San Antonio 106 San Antonio, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Russell Westbrook turned in another dominant performance and the Oklahoma City Thunder, minus Kevin Durant, beat the San Antonio Spurs 114-106 on Christmas Day. Westbrook totaled 34 points, 11 assists, five rebounds and five steals for the Thunder, who were without the reigning MVP Durant for a fifth straight game. Durant sprained his right ankle late in the first half of a loss to Golden State on Dec. 18. Westbrook scored 20 in the second half, helping Oklahoma City hold off a pair of Spurs rallies. Serge Ibaka added 21 points and Steven Adams donated 16 points and a career-high 15 boards. Seven Spurs reached double figures, with Matt Bonners 17 points leading the balanced attack. Tim Duncan scored 15, Cory Joseph and Tiago Splitter had 14 apiece and Manu Ginobili tallied 11 with a game-high 13 assists. Final Score: Miami 101, Cleveland 91 Miami, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Cheers quickly turned to boos once Michael Baiamonte announced the rest of the Cleveland Cavaliers starting lineup. Dwyane Wade then went and shot the lights out in the first half. Literally. And once LeBron James finally helped put the Cavs in front early in the fourth quarter, the Miami Heat had one last surge in them. Wade netted 24 of his 31 points in the first half and the Heat spoiled James return to South Beach with a 101-91 win over the Cavaliers. James, who helped the Heat to a quartet of NBA Finals appearances and a pair of titles during his four-year stay with Miami, was the first Cleveland player introduced out of its starting five. He was greeted with a standing ovation with a scattering of boos, but James wasnt able to fully sink in the reaction as Baiamonte quickly went through the rest of Clevelands lineup. The cheer was more elongated midway through the opening frame when the Heat played a video tribute. James acknowledged the applause by waving to the crowd. James finished with 30 points and eight assists. Final Score: Chicago 113, LA Lakers 93 Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) - Pau Gasol faced his former team for the first time, but a showdown with Kobe Bryant will have to wait. Gasol had 23 points and 13 rebounds as the Chicago Bulls routed the Los Angeles Lakers 113-93 on Christmas Day. Gasol signed with the Bulls during the offseason after spending his previous six-plus seasons with the Lakers, winning a pair of NBA titles. The 36-year-old Bryant cited old age and sore knees as his reasons for sitting out Thursday nights game against Chicago during a pregame session with reporters. Jimmy Butler posted 21 points, six rebounds and five assists, while Derrick Rose added 20 points and six assists for Chicago, which has won five straight and eight of its last nine games. Wesley Johnson supplied 19 points and nine boards and Ed Davis provided 13 points and 14 rebounds for the Lakers, who have dropped four of their last five contests. Final Score: LA Clippers 100, Golden State 86 Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Jamal Crawford scored half of his 24 points in the final quarter, and the Los Angeles Clippers overcame a sluggish start to beat the Golden State Warriors, 100-86, at Staples Center. The Clippers went 4-of-24 from the field in the opening quarter and shot 27.7 percent over the first 24 minutes, but went ahead for good with nearly 4 1/2 minutes left in the third and dominated the fourth. Chris Paul provided 22 points, and Blake Griffin chipped in 18 with 15 rebounds and six assists for the Clippers, who began a franchise-record nine-game homestand by snapping a two-game skid. Theyve won eight in a row at home. DeAndre Jordan scored 14 to go with 12 rebounds in the win. The Warriors, who lost back-to-back games for only the second time this season and fell to 23-5, received 14 points, nine boards and seven assists from Stephen Curry. Golden State suffered a 10-point defeat at Staples Center to the Lakers on Tuesday. Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping . Steven Kara, doctor for Weepus Blues Super Rugby team, said a scan on Monday had revealed the 30-year-old player likely suffered the stroke earlier this month. Kara said the condition was unlikely to be rugby related. Cheap Jerseys . -- Andrew Loupe knows how one week can change everything. http://www.cheapjerseyschinass.us.com/.J. Burnett found out he had a hernia, hes been at his best. Cheap Jerseys Wholesale . He will report to minor league spring training with Toronto next month. Scoma, 26, finished third in the American Association last season with a .TORONTO -- No Jermain Defoe. Two key defenders out with injury. And Dwayne De Rosario and two young squad players away with the Canadian national team. The Greg Vanney era as manager of Toronto FC is starting with more than a few challenges. Vanney, the MLS clubs former assistant general manager and still academy director, braved grey skies and rain Tuesday in his second practice since Ryan Nelsen and five assistant coaches were fired Sunday in a bid to stop the slide of a big-ticket team that has gone 3-5-5 in its last 13 games. At 9-9-6 with 10 games to go, Toronto currently stands fourth in the Eastern Conference with 33 points, in the thick of the playoff picture but also just five points above the ninth-place team. The top five in the conference make the playoffs. Vanney, a former assistant coach at Chivas USA, jumps into the deep end Wednesday night as Toronto visits seventh-place Philadelphia, which at 7-9-9 is just three points behind. The two teams meet again Saturday in Toronto. Vanney exuded calm, however, as he met the media after practice. The same feeling was translated to his players. \"In a crazy two or three days, Greg has come in and handled it tremendously,\" said star midfielder Michael Bradley. \"He has a strong but calm way of leading.\" \"When youre at a club that is going through some crazy times and some crazy days, its important that the leaders within that club are strong. And I think Greg has done an incredible job of that.\" Vanney, a 40-year-old American, played professionally for 13 years, winning three MLS Cups, the U.S. Open Cup and CONCACAF Champions Cup with the Los Angeles Galaxy. After the 2001 season, he moved to SC Bastia in France before returning to MLS in 2005 with FC Dallas. The all-star defender went on to play for the Colorado Rapids, D.C. United and the Galaxy again before retiring at the end of the 2008 season. He won 36 caps for the U.S. national side. Like Nelsen in weeks gone by, Vanney does not have a full hand to play with as the team takes on Philadelphia. Defoe is back home in England dealing with a groin injury while pundits debate whether he really wants to continue in Major League Soccer. Captain Steven Caldwell (quad) and fellow defender Justin Morrow are still out while midfielder-defender Warren Creavalle (hamstring) is probably a game away. Defenders Doneil Henry and Ashtone Morgan are back from the national team camp, but De Rosario, young goalie Quillan Roberts and midfielder Kyle Bekker are still preparing for an international friendly next Tuesday against Jamaica. The depleted roster will mean changes, although Vanney was understandably cagey about the kind of formation he will use. Anything will be better than the lackadaisical display Saturday in a 3-0 loss to the visiting New England Revolution. \"Whats important for me is that we bring a high level of energy to the field and that we bring a confidence level to the field that were going to try and get three points, that were not going to try to survive,\" Vanney said. \"I really want us to feel that we can let loose and play with some freedom, but with our tactics in mind the whole game.dddddddddddd\" \"We have a plan,\" he added, \"but its a short-put-together plan. But Im confident in the group we have because we have some special players.\" Vanney said his preferred style is to \"dictate the game, on both sides of the ball.\" That is at odds to the counter-attacking style employed by Nelsen, although the former manager looked to combine that with possession as the game and opposition dictated. \"I dont like waiting and letting the other team dictate what we do,\" said Vanney. \"I want to try to put the game in our vision of the game, not wait and see what the oppositions vision of the game is. And that requires us to be proactive through the course of the match. I like to be possession-oriented and I like to be attacking-minded.\" He cautioned that such an evolution will take time, but added: \"This group is built to be dynamic.\" Bradley will be getting a new role, dispatched further up the field. Under Nelsen, Bradleys role seemed all-encompassing with the American international often taking the ball from the centre back to trigger an attack with his pinpoint passing. \"I think Michaels strengths are to play forward and to feel the freedom to move forward and drive the team,\" said Vanney. \"Hes a great final passer, hes great at arriving into the (penalty) box late and driving into attacks late. Hes outstanding at closing people down. \"We just have to make sure were all doing it together. It doesnt make sense if one guys closing people down and four guys, five guys around him are dropping back. Its making sure that were all on the same page.\" Jason Bent, the lone holdover among Nelsens assistant coaches, was joined at practice by academy head goalie coach Jon Conway, under-14 coach Nick Theslof and Jim Liston, the academys director of sports science. While praising each one, Vanney said it was an interim staff while everything is being assessed. \"This has all happened so fast, were going to evaluate,\" he said. \"I want to make sure theyre all comfortable in the roles and the positions that we see for them.\" The change has been so fast that Nelsens parking space and sign was still in place Tuesday, a lone empty stall in the lot outside the clubs north Toronto practice facility. There was one immediate change under the new regime. Reporters were allowed to watch practice from the edge of the field. Under Nelsen, the Hubble telescope was needed to see what was going on with drills held far away. Asked what his message to fans was, Bradley replied: \"Keep the faith. \"I dont pretend to know everything thats gone on at this club since Day 1. I know that theres been promises, heartbreak, disappointment. \"But its only going to mean that the people who are with us and the people who are going to be there when we do get this right and when we do have success, its only going to make it that much better.\" Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China ' ' '