Dein erstes Forum » halfway into the race.Earnhardt hopes to retu

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- Just after the United States routed Canada by 40 points, Geno Auriemma and his UConn greats posed for a group photo on the court.The five former UConn players, who helped the Huskies win 10 of their 11 national championships, received one last rousing ovation from the crowd. A fitting send off for the team from their adoring Connecticut fans.Auriemma gave those same fans an opportunity to cheer their former stars early on, starting all five. It was virtually the same starting lineup he used in a win over France on Wednesday. The only change was putting Breanna Stewart into the group instead of Elena Delle Donne.The Hall of Fame coach said it was the right thing to do.I hadnt had the same starting five in any games we played, he said after the 83-43 victory Friday night. I thought to myself, I asked Cheryl (Reeve), if you were head coach instead of me, youd do it, because its the right thing to do. She said OK. Im not going to worry about it and did it. It was fun for the kids and the fans.The players really didnt notice it until the opening tip.When you look at it, you have a good piece of history out there with Sue (Bird) and Diana (Taurasi) representing the early success and then Stewie on the other end, said Maya Moore, who helped the Huskies win two titles. It was really cool and really cool for the fans.The U.S. will aim for an unprecedented sixth consecutive gold at the Olympics. The Americans have one more exhibition game Sunday at Madison Square Garden against Australia, which beat France 76-67 on Friday night.Taurasi, Bird, Moore, Stewart and Tina Charles struggled a bit offensively when they were in, but defensively they shut down Canada. After struggling in their first two exhibition games in the first half, the Americans jumped all over their neighbors to the north.The U.S. only had a three-point lead on the select team in their pre-Olympic tour opener Monday and led France by one Wednesday at the half. The Americans wouldnt let that happen against Canada.The Canadians missed 13 of their first 14 shots and couldnt recover from the slow start, trailing by 13 after one quarter and 24 at the half.I thought defensively we were about as good as we can be given the short amount of work that weve done, Auriemma said. That kind of led to a bunch of other things.Taurasi scored 14 points, and Delle Donne added 12 to lead the U.S.Auriemma had always seemed to shy away from playing all his UConn players at the same time during the 2012 London Olympics and the last two world championships. He rarely had five UConn players on the court in either of those major championships.But just as he did starting Delle Donne in Delaware on Wednesday, he gave the fans one more opportunity to cheer the local favorites. The loud crowd gave the former Huskies a great ovation in pregame introductions and then cheered every one of their plays.When we get to Rio, the best five players for that situation will be on the floor regardless of where they come from, Auriemma said.The offensive highlight of the first half came from Delle Donne, who threw a nifty no-look pass to Taurasi for a layup.Canada finished fifth in the world championship in 2014 and will look to improve on that in Rio. The Canadians have never won a medal at the Olympics in womens basketball and hope to change that with a nice mix of veterans and youth.One of those talented young players is Kia Nurse, who is a junior at UConn. Nurse help lead Canada to the gold medal at the Pan-Am Games last summer. She got a nice hand from the crowd in pregame introductions, but had a rough game. She was scoreless in 25 minutes, missing all three of her shots.This was Nurses second game back for Canada. She had sports hernia surgery after helping UConn win a fourth consecutive national championship in April.I cant say how impressed and pleased we are that shes come back as well as she has, Canada coach Lisa Thomaidis said. Shes such a competitor, so tough, nothing surprises us anymore with her.Canada will play France in the opener at the Garden on Sunday.---Follow Doug on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/dougfeinberg Danny Green Jersey . With the short-handed Warriors needing help from someone -- anyone -- to stop a three-game skid, ONeal returned from right knee and groin injuries that had sidelined him for four games and put up season highs with 18 points and eight rebounds. It was just enough to help lift Golden State to a 102-101 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. Spurs Jerseys 2020 .com) - The game was all punts and field goals before Kodi Whitfields catch. https://www.cheapspurs.com/536j-cliff-hagan-jersey-spurs.html .J. -- Josh Cribbs was in the Pro Bowl in February and out of a job six months later. Avery Johnson Jersey .J. -- Pitcher Carl Pavano is retiring after 14 major league seasons. Rich Jones Jersey . The (11-11-4) Jets are seventh in the Central Division with 26 points. Fifth place Dallas and sixth-seeded Nashville also have 26 points, but the Stars have three games in hand on Winnipeg while Nashville has two. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has missed the past 17 NASCAR Sprint Cup races. The one Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway was by far the most difficult one for him to watch.Earnhardt, the defending winner of the PIR fall race, watched as his substitute driver, Alex Bowman, led a race-high 194 laps only to finish sixth after a wreck battling Matt Kenseth for the lead on a restart with two laps remaining.Watching Bowman vie for the win reminded Earnhardt of how nervous he would get watching his father, a seven-time Cup champion, battle for victories. Not only was Bowman going for the win but he was in the difficult position of having to race drivers who also were attempting to advance to the championship round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup.This whole day has been about damn miserable watching that race, Earnhardt said on The Dale Jr. Download podcast released Monday and produced by his JR Motorsports team. Golly. I dont know how fans do it.For the longest time, I havent felt that way since watching Dad race. I remember it so clear now, all the nerves and sick feeling in your stomach, even halfway into the race.Earnhardt hopes to return to racing next year as he continues to rehabiliitate from a concussion suffered in June at Michigan.ddddddddddddm so happy because our cars are so good, Earnhardt said. Im going to get into that thing next year and its going to be as good or better than when I got out of it.I feel like a very lucky guy in that regard. ... Man, Im really looking forward to getting back on the track, cutting some laps and just being a driver. I miss it, especially as I am getting more and more healthy and more confident in my health. I miss it more and more.When he returns, Earnhardt said he hopes he doesnt lose the perspective he has gained from his extended absence.It was hard being a fan, Earnhardt said about the race Sunday. I really got a new appreciation for what thats like. I had forgotten. I got caught up in what Ive been doing the last several years and had forgotten what that was like.Im seeing so many new perspectives, a lot of them unintentionally, which change the way I see everything about it. It will be a little bit different when I get back in the car, and I will try not to forget what I learned. ' ' '