or a third consecutive title. Listen to the game live on TSN Rad

The Miami Heat will hang a third NBA championship banner, and second in a row, when they kick off their title defense tonight against the Chicago Bulls. Lucas Nix Womens Jersey . Commissioner David Stern will be on hand to dole out some fancy jewelry. The Heat players will receive the championship rings pre-game as Miami will begin its quest for a third consecutive title. Listen to the game live on TSN Radio 1050 starting at 8pm et. "Its an exciting time for us, for our fans, for our franchise," two-time reigning MVP LeBron James said after practice on Monday. "But, we cant prepare for it." And what about the fact that the Heat get their rings and banner ceremony, on opening night, at AmericanAirlines Arena, and against the Bulls, a team several pundits picked to usurp the Heat in the Eastern Conference? "It didnt matter who it was," said James, ever the diplomat. "But, we like the fact that it is the Bulls. It makes us stay on our toes. Its exciting. Its great for the league." Its definitely great for the NBA, pitting arguably the two best teams against each other on opening night. Its also great that James will battle Derrick Rose, the former MVP, who missed all of last season when he tore his ACL in the playoffs in 2012. Rose took his fair share of criticism for sitting the entire season, despite the Bulls announcing he was medically cleared to play. Rose didnt feel ready, but he does now and has had this day circled on his calendar. "Its just going to be an emotional day," Rose said back in September about this night. "Just playing again and being around my teammates and being in the atmosphere of an arena, playing in front of people...I havent had that in a long time." Roses return should propel a Bulls team that lost to the Heat in the Eastern Conference semifinals last season. Chicago knocked off the Brooklyn Nets in Game 7 at the Barclays Center last season, but Miami then dispatched the Bulls in five games. That was all without Rose. The two seasons prior to last, the Bulls were the No. 1 seed in the East. Rose won the MVP in 2011 and Tom Thibodeau was named Coach of the Year. Yet, the Bulls never made it past the Heat. This season, the Bulls still boast an incredible defense (third last season in points allowed), a great starting unit with former All-Stars Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer and Luol Deng alongside Rose and Jimmy Butler, who emerged in the postseason. But, all roads to championship banners run through Miami. James is the best player by miles and is the odds-on favorite for a fifth MVP. At 28, James is still in the prime of his career, although this season might be taxing at times. He can opt out of his contract with the Heat and become a free agent, but James doesnt want to discuss that during the season. (Good luck.) Dwyane Wade had an awesome regular season last season and an awful playoff run. Same goes for Chris Bosh. Both can also vacate their contracts, but both should be much improved from their disastrous postseason performances. The biggest additions in Miami this offseason came in the form of Greg Oden and Michael Beasley. They went first and second in the 2007 and 2008 NBA drafts, respectively. Odens career seemingly ended due to bad knees and Beasleys looked to be over thanks to poor decisions, but the Heat are giving them a chance. The two teams have been evenly matched the last seasons, going 4-4 against each other. Chicago did win in Miami on Jan. 4 and the two sides wont meet again until Dec. 5 in the Windy City. Brice Butler Raiders Jersey . Portugal could still pull level with Russia in next weeks last qualifiers but the Russians have scored seven more goals than the Portuguese, giving them the decisive edge. The draw in Lisbon ensured Portugal at least a place in the playoff between the best eight second-place teams in the nine European qualifying groups. Kaluka Maiava Womens Jersey . The Germans held their nerve to beat Fernando Verdasco and David Marrero 7-6 (5), 6-7 (9), 7-6 (7), 6-3 in 3 hours, 25 minutes, giving Spain its second straight first-round exit. Spain lost to Canada last year.Sweden and Canada became the first mens teams to qualify for the Olympic curling semifinals on Sunday, and Britain missed the chance to join them by losing to Norway. Canada (6-2) stole a point at the last end to secure an 8-6 win over the U.S., which now cannot qualify. The Canadians didnt know they had qualified when they came off the ice after a tense win over the U.S. team, but they soon were celebrating. Even if the Canadians lose their last game — to China in the evening session — the worst they could finish is tied at 6-3 with Norway and Britain. They would qualify on a superior head-to-head record, the Canadian Curling Association confirmed. "We played all right, definitely not our best, but its still good to get the win knowing that we didnt put our best performance together," Canada skip Brad Jacobs said. The game came down to the final shot, delivered by U.S. skip John Shuster. His draw settled around the button next to a Canadian stone, which was clooser by barely half an inch. Art Shell Womens Jersey. "Sometimes you are on the right side and sometimes on the wrong side," Shuster said. "It just sucks that weve been on the wrong side at the Olympics." Playing in front of their king, Carl XVI Gustaf, the Swedes beat Russia 8-4 in nine ends to move into the outright lead at 7-1. They are the reigning world champions. Norway (4-3) staved off elimination with a 7-6 win over Britain (5-3), ensuring there will be plenty to play for going into the final day of round-robin action Monday. "It was one of the most important games of our career," said Haavard Vad Petersson, who was part of the Norway team that won an Olympic silver medal in 2010. "We had to win this one to stay alive. "We have won a medal before but we want to get gold." The Americans are 2-5. Norways final two games are against Switzerland and Denmark, both of which are out of contention. Britains last game is against China. ' ' '