misses to cap a 2-of-18 shooting spell from late in the first quart

With the news of MLSE reaching out to Brendan Shanahan for a front office job with the Leafs coming on the heels of Trevor Lindens hiring in Vancouver, there appears a clear trend of teams hiring former stars – and preferably alumni – to run their hockey operations. Joe Sakic is running things in Colorado; Steve Yzerman is in charge in Tampa Bay; and Ron Francis, currently the No. 2 in Carolina, is widely expected to one day take over the Hurricanes hockey ops. There are several success stories with this business model, the benchmark perhaps set by former Bruins great Cam Neely who has been President and Alternate Governor of the team since 2010. But it doesnt always work, as some Edmonton Oilers fans would surely argue. Pat Lafontaines short-lived period as Buffalo Sabres President of Hockey Operations serves as a cautionary tale as well. The move can make sense from a business standpoint. A flashy hire of a former fan favourite can do a lot to curb poor season ticket sales – a rumoured consideration in the Canucks hiring of Linden – although that wont factor into any Leafs decisions. Toronto went down this path before, hiring former Montreal Canadiens great Ken Dryden as President in 1997. He lasted seven years with the Leafs, overseeing some of the most successful Leafs teams in recent memory. Will a similar hire lead to comparable results, or - Leafs fans hope - even better ones? Is hiring a former star player to run hockey operations a good move for a team? Youve heard what weve had to say, now its your turn. As always, its Your! Call. Nike Air Max Plus Tn Ultra Customize . So heres what I do when I want to get into the baseball mood—I delve into "The Baseball Project". Cheap Kd Shoes China . The rookie is rewarding their faith with a stellar first season. MacKinnon had a goal and two assists, Jamie McGinn had two goals and an assist, and Colorado beat the Buffalo Sabres 7-1 on Saturday. http://www.wholesalenikeshoesclearance.com/ .Hoffenheim forward Anthony Modeste opened the scoring on a counterattack in the 15th minute, shooting though Jaroslav Drobnys legs after Lewis Holtby lost the ball in midfield. Air Max 1 Clearance Sale . And rest hardly led to rust for the two-time defending NBA champions. Nike Shoes Clearance Outlet . The Durban-based Sharks withstood a furious second-half fightback to beat the Queensland Reds 35-20 for a fourth straight win which gave them a five-point lead atop the championship table. The Hamilton-based Chiefs scored two late tries to beat the Cape Town-based Stormers 36-20 for their third win, after the Stormers rallied from 24-6 down to 24-20 with six minutes remaining.DALLAS -- Boris Diaws big third quarter wasnt enough to hold off a Dallas comeback. The San Antonio veterans decisive shot in the final minute was. Diaw hit a go-ahead 3-pointer for the last of his 17 points, Manu Ginobili scored 23 and the top-seeded Spurs held on to beat the Mavericks 93-89 in Game 4 on Monday night, pulling even in their first-round playoff series. "Youve got to give up something," said Dirk Nowitzki, who was running at Diaw as the shot was released. "That was a tough one." Just like Vince Carters buzzer-beating 3-pointer was for the Spurs two days earlier, when Dallas went up 2-1 with a one-point win. The difference was, the Mavericks had a chance to do something about Diaws shot after San Antonio went up 90-87 with 32 seconds remaining. Nowitzki, who had 19 points, had a putback on a missed 3 by Monta Ellis to get Dallas within 90-89 with 19 seconds to go. But the Mavericks let nearly 10 seconds run off the clock before fouling Ginobili. Ginobili missed one of the free throws, giving Ellis a chance to tie on a driving layup. Ellis, who led the Mavericks with 20 points, missed again to finish a 6-of-20 shooting night. "I had a good look at the end but it didnt go down," Ellis said. The Spurs, who led by 20 points in the third quarter, regained the home-court advantage by getting a split of two games in Dallas, matching what the eighth-seeded Mavericks did in San Antonio. Game 5 is Wednesday night in San Antonio, and the Spurs are going back tied because a bench thats been quiet this post-season outscored Dallas reserves 50-30. "We knew that we could do better," Diaw said. "We didnt play the same like we did during the regular season." Tim Duncan and Tiago Splitter had double-doubles for the Spurs, with Duncan getting 14 points and 10 rebounds and Splitter adding 10 points and 12 boards. San Antonio, which led from early in the second quarter until late in the fourth, was down 83-82 when former teammate DeJuan Blair was ejected for kicking Splitter in the back of the head after getting called for a foul when he got tangled up with the San Antonio centre as both players fell to the court. Ginobili, who had five assists, madde the technical free throw for an 83-all tie, and Splitter hit both free throws on the foul for an 85-83 San Antonio lead.dddddddddddd Blair had a big hand in getting Dallas back in the game, scoring all 12 of his points and grabbing nine of his 11 rebounds in the second half. "Its real disappointing because with me in the game our momentum was going great and when that happened and that got me out of there, that was a big deal," said Blair, who said the kick was unintentional. San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich challenged his team to play with more "nastiness" after falling behind in the series with two straight losses, and his Spurs responded in the first half. The best display was in a dominant second quarter, when the Spurs outscored the Mavericks 32-13. Kawhi Leonard intended to swat Carters driving shot into the stands. Instead, Patty Mills dived into the seats to save it, sending the Spurs on a fast break that ended with a miss by Tony Parker, who had 10 points of 5-of-14 shooting. Parkers miss didnt matter, though, because the Mavericks were in the middle of a 5-minute scoreless stretch that included eight straight misses to cap a 2-of-18 shooting spell from late in the first quarter to late in the second. Dallas shot 21 per cent in the second quarter. Diaw scored eight points on 4-of-5 shooting in the third quarter, and looked like he was going to be able to hold off the Dallas surge. "Manu and Boris changed the entire game," Duncan said. "They kept us from blowing a big lead." Dallas hurt itself with missed free throws. Samuel Dalembert was 1 of 6 from the line two nights after he hit two late to get Dallas even in a back-and-forth final minute. The Mavericks were 18 of 28 from the line. NOTES: Both teams wore black socks in support of the Los Angeles Clippers as the NBA investigates racist comments that owner Donald Sterling is alleged to have made in a taped conversation. ... Dalembert had 15 rebounds but just three points. ... The Spurs improved to 25-0 on the road when leading after three quarters. They are 53-1 overall. ... Nowitzki was held under 20 points in a fourth straight playoff game for the first time since his first post-season in 2001. ' ' '