Dein erstes Forum » championship, and now Cleveland

Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. This week they discuss the IOC and Russias policy towards homosexuality, the poor defence of the Toronto Blue Jays, the stellar defence of Los Angeles Angels outfielder J.B. Shuck and the Canadian mens basketball team. Bruce Arthur, National Post: My thumb is up to the pressure being exerted on the International Olympic Committee and its partners over Russias violent and despicable oppression of homosexuality in advance of the 2014 Games in Sochi. Russia is sending mixed messages; public support of homosexuality will or wont be allowed, but its policies are abhorrent, either way. Opponents are pushing boycotts, none of which seem likely, though its a worthy debate. Either way, this has a chance to be a critical moment in the global push for equal rights. The world will be watching, someone will speak up and the IOC and its sponsors will have a small and unlikely chance to prove that their amoral globe-trotting sporting carnival has any morals whatsoever. Steve Simmons, Sun Media: My thumb is down to the Toronto Blue Jays, and no, Im not going to squawk about starting pitching this morning. Its about their defence - which has been described by one American League scout as being similar to a slo-pitch softball team. Thats not meant as a compliment. Ive been watching this team from its infancy and honestly, I cant remember a Jays club as poor defensively as this one. Its one thing to be near the bottom in earned runs given up. Its another thing entirely to marry that with being near the bottom in unearned runs allowed. Its a formula that adds up to a last place finish. Gary Lawless, Winnipeg Free Press: Thumbs up to the future of Canadas senior mens basketball team which has gone from a witness protection program to one of promise. New GM Steve Nash gave the program buzz and substance all in one make-it-look easy, no-look pass. Not long ago Basketball Canada had difficulty attracting NBA players but now, according to coach Jay Triano, theyll find themselves in a position where theyll be strong enough to cut an NBA player. Nash and Triano can look at their top end talent and see Tristan Thompson, Cory Joseph, Andrew Nicholson and Joel Anthony. First overall pick Anthony Bennett and lottery selection Kelly Olynyk and also on the radar as is 2014 projected no. 1 pick Andrew Wiggins. Nash calls this new era the golden age of Basketball in Canada. Fair enough. The fun part starts now as we get to watch and see if they can transform from paper tigers to giant slayers. Dave Hodge, TSN: Steve talked about shoddy defence by the Toronto Blue Jays -- well, on Friday night, a sensational defensive play by Angels outfielder J.B. Shuck reminded the Jays how important plays in the field can be--they can be as good as a Jose Bautista homer, if they can rob Jose Bautista of a homer. Undoubtedly this play made Bautista say something stronger than "shucks". The otherwise little-known J.B. Shuck had a long run to the left-field corner -- he had the ball and the wall to deal with, and he had to leap to make the catch, and then he disappeared.... with the ball in his glove. It was one of those plays that made everyone who saw it happen "live" say the same thing in unison -- "Sportscentre highlight." Indeed, it was.MLB Jerseys 2020 . LOUIS -- Cardinals cleanup hitter Allen Craig says hes recovered from a foot injury and ready to be put on St. MLB Jerseys From China . Both players have lower body injuries that will keep them out of the lineup until at least January 31, which is the first game they can be activated from IR. https://www.mlbjerseys2020.com/ . Listen to the game live on TSN Radio 1050 at 7pm et. 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Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable.CLEVELAND -- LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers got a late scare, but their winning streak over the Orlando Magic remained intact.James scored 23 points, Kyrie Irving added 20 and Cleveland beat Orlando for the 15th straight time, 105-99 on Saturday night.Cleveland built a 22-point lead late in the third quarter, but the Magic steadily got back in the game and trailed 88-85 with 4 minutes to play.J.R. Smith took over, hitting three 3-pointers and scoring 11 points in the quarter as the NBA champion Cavaliers improved to 3-0. They havent lost to the Magic since Nov. 23, 2012, in Orlando.Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue was unhappy the Cavaliers didnt put the game away earlier against an 0-3 team.I thought we let our guard down because of their record, and not playing them as a good team, he said. Theyre struggling right now but they have a good team and we didnt respect that.Smith, who missed most of training camp in a contract dispute, made 3-pointers on consecutive possessions and Cleveland forced a shot-clock violation. James followed with two baskets, including a left-handed finish at the rim.Serge Ibaka converted a three-point play and hit a free throw, cutting the lead to 98-95 with 45 seconds left, but Smiths 3-pointer from the corner pushed the lead to six.J.R. was able to knock a few down in the fourth quarter when we needed it the most, James said.We leave J.R. Smith open, and hes the only person you cant leave open out there, Orlando center Bismack Biyombo said.Smith scored 16 points and Kevin Love had 19 for the Cavaliers. Evan Fournier scored 22 points while Ibaka added 19 for Orlando.James put together a personal highlight reel in the first half. He converted a four-point play in the second quarter, hitting a 3-pointer while being fouled in front of Clevelands bench with the shot clock winding down then made the free throw.James drove past Fournier aand dunked over Nikola Vucevic despite getting hit in the face in the first quarter.dddddddddddd He also motored down the lane for a dunk at the first-half buzzer.TIP-INSMagic: G Jodie Meeks (fractured right foot) has not played in a preseason or regular-season game. He was acquired in a June 29 trade with Detroit.Cavaliers: Rookie G Kay Felder made his NBA debut and scored his first points on a drive to the basket. ... C Channing Frye is away from the team because of the death of his mother. He also missed Fridays game in Toronto.ADVANCE ANALYSISMagic coach Frank Vogel saw plenty of the Cavaliers while he was on the Pacers bench.Theyve grown into what everyone thought they would be when they were put together, he said. Obviously, they won the championship, and now Cleveland looks like a finished product.BACKUP PLANLue has been using Iman Shumpert at backup point guard, but doesnt want to overload the veteran.Its a hard position to play, Lue said. I know he can guard point guards defensively. As far trying to get him to learn the whole playbook, thats not fair. Thats not going to happen. Hes going to make some mistakes. We just have to live with it for right now.BASEBALL FEVERHighlights of Game 4 of the World Series between the Indians and Cubs were shown on the arena scoreboard. The crowd cheered on several occasions as the Indians built the lead to go ahead 3-1 in the series.I looked too, Lue said. Im guilty of that.Several thousand fans attended a watch party across the street at Progressive Field.UP NEXTMagic: They play in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, still searching for their first win of the season.Cavaliers: They host Houston on Tuesday night, seeking their first win over the Rockets at Quicken Loans Arena since March 11, 2012. ' ' '