arry the offensive load. And have struggled to do so. The Mavericks shot 28.8 percent from the floor in Fridays loss, the lowest single-game field-goal percentage in the NBA this season.But like the

Lessons learned from the fallout over David Reynolds infamous description of a womens team have steeled Renee Gracie to make her own Bathurst 1000 statement this year.For the second straight year, Gracie and Swiss star Simona De Silvestro will team up as a wildcard entry in the only all-female line-up at next weekends Great Race.They are full of confidence after completing a two-day testing session on Wednesday at Winton Raceway in their new Nissan.But Gracies preparation began almost 12 months ago in the aftermath of Reynolds sexist description of her team.Gracie and De Silvestro in 2015 were the first all-female team to contest Bathurst in 17 years but their entry was overshadowed by fellow driver Reynolds dismissing them as the Pussy Wagon, earning a whopping $25,000 fine.In the media frenzy that ensued, Gracie realised she could not continue juggling drives in both the second-tier Dunlop Series and Bathurst 1000 races like she did last year at Mount Panorama.As a result, Gracie - ranked 16th in the Dunlop Series - has ditched her regular drive in the second-tier category at Mount Panorama to concentrate solely on her Bathurst 1000 tilt.Last year, it was quite hectic with media requests and then, after David Reynolds comment, there was a whole new level of attention overnight, Gracie told Supercars media.I could not focus on what I needed to do which is crazy considering I was at one of the worlds trickiest tracks.By dropping the Dunlop drive (at Bathurst), I can now concentrate on what I need to do with no distractions.I would love to race both but I have to look at the bigger picture.De Silvestro will partner Gracie at Bathurst before becoming the first full-time female Supercars driver in 2017, starting a three-year deal.Gracie backed the former IndyCar driver to excel next year - after a tough initiation.She is in for a bit of a shock on our street circuits like Adelaide, she said.At Bathurst, there is room for error.At Adelaide (first round), there is no buffer, no sand traps, just concrete walls.There will need to be a massive adjustment but she is the right person for the job.Gracie and De Silvestro finished 21st in a Ford at the 2015 Bathurst 1000.Gracie hoped their Bathurst result would help set up De Silvestro for Supercars success from 2017 and beyond.I hope she does well. It would mean a lot not just for motorsport but for women in general, she said.The more women do what people say they cant, the better - its empowering.She is flying the flag, leading the way for women. Drazen Petrovic Jersey . The 18th player to shoot 60 on the tour, Jamieson settled for par on the final hole when his 15-foot birdie chip grazed the edge of the hole and stayed out. After opening with rounds of 66 and 73 to make the cut by a stroke, he had 11 birdies in the bogey-free round. Bill Walton Jersey . Detroit and Boston are deadlocked, 1-1, and Tigers manager Jim Leyland could be forgiven if he was caught rationalizing instead of dissecting how his club could blow a 5-1 lead late in Game 2. https://www.cheapblazersonline.com/518i-kelvin-ransey-jersey-blazers.html . PAUL, Minn. Steve Johnson Jersey . Olli Jokinen, Mark Scheifele, and Bryan Little each had a goal and an assist as Winnipeg won 5-2, handing Calgary its record-setting seventh consecutive loss on home ice. Wayne Cooper Jersey . -- The Sacramento Kings are set to become the first major professional sports franchise to accept Bitcoin virtual currency for ticket and merchandise purchases. A week ago, the Orlando Magic were in dire straits.The team was struggling at 3-5, dropping two after winning three games in a row. Their supposed defensive identity was falling apart as they ranked 29th in the league in defensive rating, giving up 109.0 points per 100 possessions. With one of the worst offenses in the league too and the worst field-goal shooting to boot, the Magic were sinking fast.Magic coach Frank Vogel took the drastic change of sending prized youngster Aaron Gordon to the bench in favor of veteran Jeff Green, hoping to add some stability. The results were not immediate, and that change may not be the root cause, but something happened for the Magic in the week since.In four games, the Magic defense has suddenly come alive. Orlando has given up 96.1 points per 100 possessions in the past week, the sixth best in the league in that time. They have risen from 29th in defensive efficiency to a much more respectable 15th overall.Defense has taken hold.We are creating habits, Evan Fournier said after practice Friday. Its not second nature yet. But we are definitely creating habits. It is encouraging. But on both ways. We have good players offensively as well. We have times where we really move the ball and find the open shooter. At times we do it, but we have to be more consistent. It is obvious we are getting better.The Magics offense remains much more of a work in progress than the defense at this point. But they have held three of their last four opponents to less than 90 points and have held opponents to worse than 40 percent shooting in the past two games. That helps the offense do just enough to win games -- two of the past three.Orlando has slowly begun to formulate a defensive identity that has propelled thee team to five wins despite its anemic offense.dddddddddddd.The Dallas Mavericks are in much the same boat, without the same kind of success.Dallas has just two following an 80-64 home loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. The Mavericks have seen injuries hit the teams roster hard. Deron Williams, Devin Harris and Dirk Nowitzki have all missed time so far this season.Both Nowitzki and Williams will miss Saturdays game in Orlando, in addition to sitting out Fridays home game against the Grizzlies, coach Rick Carlisle said Friday.(Nowitzki is) making progress, but were going to be cautious and were going to be smart about it, Carlisle told Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas. Hes played hurt a lot in his career. This situation is different, though. Were early in the year. Theres something that has hung around that needs to be addressed and be expunged, so were working on it.Harrison Barnes and Wesley Matthews have had to carry the offensive load. And have struggled to do so. The Mavericks shot 28.8 percent from the floor in Fridays loss, the lowest single-game field-goal percentage in the NBA this season.But like the Magic, the Mavericks have thrived on defense while struggling on offense. Dallas has the second worst field goal percentage in the league at 41.8 percent entering the game (the Magic are last at 40.8 percent).That defense has not translated to wins yet though.Both teams have had to settle into the season, integrate new pieces and discover their identity. Injuries have hurt the Mavericks offense while their defense has played well enough to keep them in most games. The Magic appear to be rounding into form. ' ' '