SACRAMENTO, Calif. Gabriel Landeskog Avalanche Jersey . - DeMarcus Cousins has the statistics. He has the stature. And he has the support of several high-profile peers calling for him to get his first All-Star nod.What he doesnt have is a winning team.Just about everybody around the NBA agrees that the Sacramento Kings franchise centre has blossomed into one of the leagues best big men. Based on ballot returns the past few years, though, many still dont believe hes done enough with the Kings to earn All-Star status in the deep Western Conference.Fans left Cousins out of the mix again when the starters were announced last week. The reserves, voted on by the coaches, will be revealed Thursday night, and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will select any injury replacements before the marquee game at New Yorks Madison Square Garden on Feb. 15.Count Cousins among those wondering if he finally has the right resume — and reputation — in his fifth season to trump Sacramentos shortcomings.To be totally honest, it is what it is, Cousins said. If I make it, I make it. If I dont, I dont.Coaches must vote for three frontcourt players, two guards and two wild cards. Cousins main competition in the frontcourt is Portlands LaMarcus Aldridge, Oklahoma Citys Kevin Durant, San Antonios Tim Duncan, Dallas Dirk Nowitzki and Houstons Dwight Howard.The biggest thing hurting Cousins campaign — besides the competition — is his teams worsening record.After starting 9-5 this season, the Kings (16-27) have collapsed since Cousins came down with viral meningitis in late November. They went 2-8 during his sick leave — which coincided with Michael Malones stunning firing as coach — and have failed to pick up the pieces under short-term replacement Tyrone Corbin.Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own players, but Corbin believes Cousins shouldnt be penalized because of all the chaos around him.Its the All-Star game. Its about individual performances, Corbin said. You look at (team records) sometimes, but I think most cases on the All-Star performance they look at the guy and his numbers and what hes doing for this year. Hes certainly having a great year where we havent won the number of games that we would like to win.Cousins began to repair his volatile image when he helped Team USA win gold at the FIBA World Cup in Spain over the summer, and his game has continued to rise during another disappointing season in Californias capital city.He entered Wednesday averaging career highs of 24.2 points, 12.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.6 blocks per game, staggering statistics by most traditional metrics. He was also eighth in the NBA in player efficiency rating at 25.78.Perhaps most importantly, his emotional and often unpredictable behaviour has improved — at least by his standards. After compiling a league-most 33 technical fouls the last two years, Cousins has just four this season.You can tell theres been a lot of growing on his side as a player, Bulls centre Joakim Noah said. He is playing more efficiently. I feel sometimes he gets frustrated and that works in our favour. I feel this year hes the one getting guys frustrated and its worked for them.Clippers coach Doc Rivers said hes noticed a difference, too.Hes grown up emotionally, Rivers said. His game has grown up. I think hes the best low-post player in the league, and hes doing it every night. Hes doing more than just scoring. Hes doing everything. Im just very proud of him.Rivers later said Cousins is an All-Star in his mind, and so have most coaches this season. Of course, many have said such things publicly in the past.How they vote will be the true test of their resolve.Golden States Steve Kerr, who is coaching the Western Conference in the All-Star game, said most coaches will side with the player on the better team when making a close call. The same reasoning is why Kerr is confident Klay Thompson will join Stephen Curry on the West team and represent the NBA-leading Warriors (36-7).Asked specifically about Cousins, Kerr said hes one of the few players in the league that his staff centres its game plan around. But he stopped short of saying whether hed select Cousins on the crowded ballot.There is no doubt that he is an All-Star-calibre player, but its musical chairs in the West, Kerr said. There are only so many spots. I dont know how it will play out.___Antonio Gonzalez can be reached at: www.twitter.com/agonzalezAP Keith Magnuson Blackhawks Jersey . Zuccarello was evaluated back in New York, and diagnosed with a non-displaced fracture -- an injury that typically takes 3 to 4 weeks to heal -- the Rangers said Friday. The 26-year-old Zuccarello, New Yorks leading scorer this season with 43 points, will miss a week of practice time before the Rangers play Chicago on Thursday in their first game following the NHLs Olympic break. Zach Bogosian Sabres Jersey . Klitschko, taller with a longer reach, controlled the fight at will, scoring with left jabs and straight rights with hardly any opposition from the Samoan-born Australian.TORONTO -- Canadas Milos Raonic strolled into the post-match interview room at Rexall Centre and immediately looked over at the television monitor beside his seat. He watched the screen intently as Roger Federer and Marin Cilic squared off on the stadium court before sitting down to discuss his 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 victory over Julien Benneteau at the Rogers Cup. Raonic will next meet Feliciano Lopez in the quarter-finals but the possibility of another semifinal showdown with Federer -- just a month after they met in the final four at Wimbledon -- has Canadian tennis fans drooling. So, is a potential rematch with the Swiss star in the back of his mind? "No, I just enjoy to watch tennis," Raonic said with a grin. Federer ended Raonics run at the All England Club before losing to Novak Djokovic in the final. It was a career-best performance at the Grand Slam event for the 23-year-old Canadian, but his performance against Federer left him disappointed and frustrated. Raonic responded last week by winning in Washington and he has maintained the momentum this week, although he has been tested in both of his matches. The No. 6 seed from Thornhill, Ont., barely got by American Jack Sock in his opener before getting another stiff challenge from Benneteau on Thursday night. The hard-serving Raonic controlled the early pace with his powerful ground strokes but the Frenchman picked up two breaks in the second set to pull even. Raonic broke Benneteau at love to open the third set and was never threatened after that. "Today I was (in) much more (of) a comfort zone -- created my opportunities," Raonic said. It was a day of upsets at the US$3.78-million Masters 1000 series tournament as three of the top four seeds were eliminated. South Africas Kevin Anderson got things started in the morning by knocking off No. 3 Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland 7-6 (8), 7-5 and No. 13 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France followed with a 6-2, 6-2 win over top-seeded Novak Djokovic of Serbia. In the evening, Lopez pulled out a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over fourth-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic. The second-seeded Federer held off Cilic, the No. 15 seed from Croatia, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-4. With a near-capacity crowd cheering him on, Raonic had little trouble in the opening set. He was pushed to deuce at one point but a volley winner and 221-km/h service winner gave him the hold and a 4-3 lead. In the following game, Raonic landed a scorching forehand in the corner to set up a break point and took the game when Benneteau made an unforced error. He closed out the set when the ball struck the net tape and softly landed on Benneteaus side. Benneteau appeared to get more of a read on Raonics serve in the second set but he couldnt match up in the third. The Frenchman fought off threee match points in the penultimate game before Raonic closed things out in one hour 47 minutes. Brian Gionta Sabres Jersey. Earlier, Djokovic was unable to settle into his usual rhythm and it proved costly against Tsonga, who needed only 63 minutes to complete the straight-sets victory. "Just nothing was going," Djokovic said. "No baseline, no serve, no return. So (it was) just generally (a) very bad day, very poor performance. (I) couldnt do much." Tsonga had eight aces and Djokovic continually struggled to keep his service returns in bounds. Tsonga closed out the victory when Djokovic returned a serve wide. A visibly elated Tsonga did some shadow boxing and jumped up and down before waving to the receptive crowd. "Its not every day you get the rewards of what youre doing every day during the year," he said. "You leave your family, practise every day hard, suffer a lot on the court. And when you win a match like this, you just feel good." Djokovic barely got by Gael Monfils of France a day earlier, needing a third-set tiebreaker to avoid a loss in his tournament opener. He came into Thursdays match with 11 straight wins over Tsonga, but was nowhere near adding a 12th. The three-time Rogers Cup champ said he didnt feel comfortable in either match on the fast hardcourt. "I wasnt hitting the ball clean and a lot of unforced errors," Djokovic said. "Its maybe (a) lack of matches on this surface and well, it takes time. Lets just say its going to be better, Im sure." Tsonga will play No. 8 Andy Murray of Britain in the quarter-finals. Murray advanced when Richard Gasquet of France withdrew due to an abdominal strain. Djokovic planned to maximize his time on the practice court over the next few days as he gets ready for next weeks tournament in Cincinnati ahead of the U.S. Open at the end of the month. "Obviously Im disappointed that I lost this early in the tournament, but on the other hand I had a tough draw yesterday and today again. Tsonga played (at) a very high level, great quality shots. "All I can say is well done and I have to move on." Federer will next play fifth-seeded David Ferrer of Spain, who defeated Ivan Dodig of Croatia 1-6, 6-3, 6-3. Anderson will face seventh-seeded Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria, who beat No. 17 Tommy Robredo 7-5, 5-7, 6-4. Notes: Benneteau received a warning midway through the second set for a time violation between points. He had some critical words for chair umpire Damian Steiner at the next changeover. After the match, Benneteau explained that he would have appreciated a soft warning beforehand. ... Raonic lost to Spains Rafael Nadal in the final of last years tournament in Montreal. Nadal is not able to defend his title due to a wrist injury. Cheap Jerseys nfl jerseys cheap authentic wholesale jerseys jerseys from china authentic Cheap Jerseys wholesale stitched jerseys ' ' '
