Dein erstes Forum » though he likely wont play in the prese

If you think its hard to shake off a centurys worth of baseball futility, just try to break away from decades of basketball success.The Los Angeles Lakers, NBA royalty, had always been the opposite of the Chicago Cubs. That once-pleasant distinction is now their problem, the challenge of shedding the trappings of that rich history when thats precisely what they need to do to morph into a contending team once again.So even as general manager Mitch Kupchak sat in a room in Lakers headquarters and proclaimed Its all new with this 2016-17 edition of the team, on the wall behind him were framed pictures of Kobe Bryant, James Worthy, Jerry Buss with Magic Johnson, and Jerry West. On the wall across from him where pictures of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain. The past is ever-present with this team.You come into the practice facility and walk the halls, and you see pictures of all-time greats, said first-year coach Luke Walton, who went to the Lakers past four trips to the NBA Finals as a player.Yet even with Waltons return to Lakerland, this is as separated as the franchise has ever been from its glory days. Kobe Bryant retired and Byron Scott was let go as coach and in one offseason, there went two central figures from the Staples Center and Showtime eras. For added measure, athletic trainer Gary Vitti, one of the bridges between the two dynasties, retired. Jerry West has been gone since 2000, The Voice of the Lakers Chick Hearn died in 2002, Shaquille ONeal was traded in 2004, Jerry Buss passed away in 2013 and Magic Johnsons name was taken off the company masthead this past year after one tweet too many. Kupchak, who transitioned from playing to the front office in the 1980s, is practically the only name from the past left in the building.I mean, you cant hold on to everything forever, Kupchak said.Every member of the coaching staff except for Mark Madsen is new. Two new therapists and a new strength and conditioning coach will report to Vittis replacement, Marco Nunez. There are two new hires for the analytics department. Theres a practice facility under construction a few blocks away from their current site in El Segundo.A lot of its almost like pressing a reset button, Kupchak said.That includes a shift in the philosophy of building the team. No longer will you see the Lakers take the approach that failed them in recent off-seasons: patching together rosters with players whose primary attributes were expiring contracts that would create the salary cap space for the Lakers to pursue a star free agent. After Dwight Howard walked out the door and the likes of Carmelo Anthony and LaMarcus Aldridge?turned them down in recent summers, it was time to scrap that approach. Not only had the rules that once enabled them to sign Shaquille ONeal changed (the Lakers can no longer outbid teams, or offer the same number of years as a players current team), so had the landscape.You have to have assets; cap room alone is overrated, Kupchak said. I think if you talk to teams in the NBA for the last four or five years that have had all kinds of cap room, its a stressful situation. Because youve got to go out there and pay non-max players, youve got to overpay to get somebody, depending on the city. And you might not get somebody. And then you kick the can down the road a year and try to do the same thing next summer.Thats why this year, rather than fish for the biggest names in the free agency pond, the Lakers quickly signed Timofey Mozgov and Luol Deng to contracts worth a combined $136 million over four years. Its explained by Kupchaks one-word expectation for this season: progress. Young teams dont win in the NBA. Adding those two veterans to the all-under-25 group of Julius Randle, DAngelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson, Brandon Ingram, Larry Nance Jr. and Ivica Zubac was designed to make the Lakers incrementally better, faster.Taking small steps isnt the traditional Laker way. Its also a potentially risky strategy for this Laker administration under executive vice president for basketball operations Jim Buss, who had pledged to step down after this season if the Lakers have not returned to contending status. A new name at the top could potentially mean new names throughout the organization, including Kupchaks job.My only goal is to get this franchise on solid footing with young players, free agents and flexibility, Kupchak said. And I think weve done that.I dont know how many games were going to win. But my hope is that as the season goes on, our fans, our partners, the TV audience can watch this team play and see growth and see enthusiasm. Luke is not an experienced coach, but Im hoping as this season goes on everybody can watch a coach become a good coach. And watch young players develop and grow. And I want to see exciting basketball. Thats my focus. To get involved in anything else from where I sit is counterproductive. And thats really all I focus on.These are different days in Lakerland, when the immediate goals arent championships, and the players are guaranteed to hang on the walls one day. How will this play? Well, Denzel Washington is a good indicator to follow. He isnt so much a hardcore Laker fan as he is a fan of the sport at its highest level. He typically only sits in his courtside seats when he expects a good game. He was there on opening night, and after the Lakers high-scoring victory over the Houston Rockets he said, with a touch of surprise in his voice, I like what I see.Bob Lilly Womens Jersey . Uniteds eighth defeat of a wretched campaign means Liverpool, which currently occupies the fourth and final Champions League place, could go nine points clear of its fierce rival by beating West Bromwich Albion on Sunday. Charlie Adam scored both of Stokes goals at Britannia Stadium either side of Robin van Persies equalizer, with a miserable day for seventh-place United capped by first-half injuries to centre halves Jonny Evans and Phil Jones that forced them off. Bob Lilly Cowboys Jersey . -- Playing time has been limited for Maxim Tissot this season, so the Montreal Impact defender made the most of his first scoring opportunity on Saturday. https://www.cowboyssportsgoods.com/Womens-Larry-Allen-Inverted-Jersey/ . LOUIS -- Lance Lynn was one of the more enthusiastic participants as the St. Terrell Owens Womens Jersey . -- Arizona raced out to a big lead and did not back off, hitting the accelerator instead. Jay Novacek Womens Jersey . LOUIS -- Alexander Steen scored a power-play goal with 59.NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Marcus Mariota is throwing the ball effectively. DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry are running so well that fans already are tossing out nickname possibilities on social media, even if it just preseason.Defensively, the Titans have a few issues they need to clean up.Quickly.Tennessee (2-1) has allowed opponents to drive for a touchdown on the first possession of each of the first three preseason games, a worrisome trend for a franchise trying to turn around after winning a combined five games the past two seasons and with Dick LeBeau now in charge as coordinator.Coach Mike Mularkey said Sunday that the return of cornerback Perrish Cox, who has yet to play this preseason because of an injured ankle, should help the defense.When we settle down and take away the big play, I think thatll have a big part in stopping some of these drives, Mularkey said. To me, its not when the drives are but the big plays that helps these drives score points.The Titans ranked 27th in the NFL last season giving up more than 26 points per game despite 12th in fewest yards allowed.In Tennessees 27-14 win at Oakland, the Titans gave up a handful of big plays including a 42-yard kickoff return. Derek Carr also threw a 29-yard TD pass to Amari Cooper and a 41-yard pass to Michael Crabtree. Thats on top of the 44-yard TD pass to the Chargers in the preseason opener and a 61-yard TD pass to Cam Newton and the Panthers in the second exhibition.Thats too many for Mularkey.Obviously, were concerned about that, Mularkey said. Weve got to make some plays. Again I watch a lot of tape on these guys. Those big throws are some of the best throws that they make, some of the best throws by Derek Carr. ... TThats a tough pass to defend the way they throw it, and theyre good at it.ddddddddddddThe Titans made some big plays themselves against Oakland. Jurrell Casey sacked Carr, and David Bass picked up a fumble forced by Sean Spence that he returned 47 yards for a touchdown. They got the win despite giving up 440 yards.Casey said the Titans just need to clean up some things, including communicating better.Were letting too many plays get away, and were letting too many plays go and get over our head and up the middle of our defense, Casey said. We have to find a way to make this happen. A lot of times we come back and bounce from it, but I think we have to do a better job of getting the game started off.Cox is expected to return to practice this week, though he likely wont play in the preseason finale Thursday night at Miami (2-1). Mularkey said Mariota will play at best a series in that game with the Titans looking ahead to the season opener Sept. 11 against Minnesota.Game notesQuinton Spain, the undrafted free agent out of West Virginia in 2015, has won the starting job at left guard at least for the opener. Plans to rotate Sebastian Tretola with the starters on the offensive line fell through when the Titans put together a 14-play drive that took up more than 8 minutes of the second quarter. ... The Titans waived 12 players Sunday and still have a couple more moves to make before Tuesdays deadline to be at 75.---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Teresa M. Walker at www.twitter.com/teresamwalker ' ' '