BOSTON -- A playoff hockey classic was shoved to the backburner Friday as Canadiens and Bruins players and coaches found themselves addressing the ugly issue of racism. http://www.bearsfootballauthentic.com/authentic-alan-ball-bears-jersey/ . Montreal defenceman P.K. Subban, who is black, was targeted for racial abuse on social media in the wake of his winning goal in Thursdays thrilling 4-3 double-overtime playoff win over Boston. "Im shocked," Montreal coach Michel Therrien told reporters Friday. "Honestly Im shocked to hear those type of comments." "No one deserves to be treated like this," he added. "And P.K. has all our support." Many comments with racist and derogatory terms were posted on Twitter and other social media websites after the victory. The 24-year-old Subban, a slick-skating defenceman who is one of the NHLs most exciting players, scored twice as Montreal won the opener of the best-of-seven second-round series. Subban was not made available by the Canadiens, who had a closed gym session instead of a practice Friday thanks to the tight turnaround between Thursdays extended Game 1 and the afternoon start for Game 2 Saturday. Montreal brought out four players, all of whom decried the abuse of their teammate. "I just think its unacceptable," said defenceman Mike Weaver. "Its just classless." Forward David Desharnais echoed his coach. "Nobody deserves to be treated like that. It has nothing to do with sports or anything," he said. Weaver, like the other Habs players who met the media, blamed the ugliness on "a few individuals." Boston was quick to denounce those responsible. "The racist, classless views expressed by an ignorant group of individuals following Thursdays game via digital media are in no way a reflection of anyone associated with the Bruins organization," team president Cam Neely said in a statement. Boston coach Claude Julien also spoke out against those behind the abuse. "Its just poor judgment, poor taste, and we dont associate ourselves with people like that, and people who think that way are not what we call our fans," he told reporters at the Bruins practice facility. "They may think they are, but we certainly dont support that at all. "Its a shame that this is still going around in this day and age, and that people are still thinking that way." In a week that saw a Spanish soccer fan throw a banana at Barcelona defender Dani Alves, the torrent of abuse aimed at Subban was a painful reminder that hate knows no boundaries. "Youd like to think that it wouldnt happen but it does," said Montreal forward Brendan Gallagher. "Its still part of the life and part of the world ... I think it is getting better. I think its a very small group of people. It doesnt represent the National Hockey League in any way. We have great fans." Said Julien: "Theres a lot of good fans out there, and thats the sad part about it is that, you know, your good fans get tarnished because of comments like that from people who dont belong in that same group." The abuse was an embarrassment on several levels for the Bruins, who drafted Subbans younger brother Malcolm. Asked if the Boston organization plans to reach out to the younger Subban, a goalie, Julien replied: "I think were reaching out to everybody in that situation. You know, weve got Jarome Iginla on our team. Lets be realistic here about this. Its something we dont support." Gallagher said P.K. Subban was professional in handling the abuse. "He understands the best way to handle it is just ignore it," he said. "And understand that their opinions dont really mean anything." "He shakes it off pretty good," added Desharnais. Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre called the remarks "unfortunate", saying he would not defend the undefendable. "We will answer back with the goals that we score," Coderre told reporters Friday at Montreal city hall. The mayor also had a few words for Boston fans, saying there are some who will try to destabilize the Habs. "They will try with all kinds of insults, (both) acceptable and unacceptable, but we wont fall into their trap," Coderre said. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said in a statement that the offensive tweets were "a disgrace." "These racist comments are not reflective of Boston, and are not reflective of Bruins fans. Ive said before that the best hockey in the world happens when the Bruins and Canadiens play each other, and there is no room for this kind of ignorance here." The racial abuse wasnt the only fan misbehaviour on the night. Some in the building reacted to the overtime loss by throwing drinks and garbage at the Canadiens as they left the ice. "Its Boston, its the rivalry. They dont like (it) when were winning, I guess," said Desharnais. "Thats just Boston." "We come here, we dont expect to be cuddled," he added. Therrien, who is one of the first off the bench, said he had not noticed the cascade of garbage. As to how the rest of the Habs reacted, Desharnais said: "We just got off the ice pretty quick." Subban, meanwhile, restricted his Twittter activity Friday to a tweet directing followers to check out a link to one of his sponsors. But he addressed the issue of racism in a 2012 interview on "George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight." "Ive been playing hockey since I was two-and-a-half, three years old. And theres been a number of those incidents. And theyre just stupid people really, to be honest with you," he said. "Hockeys filled with great people, and its a great sport, and I encourage a lot of people to play it because of the relationships that you make in hockey. Those are the things that Id rather talk about than all those other things, because theyre just ignorant people." When Stroumboulopoulos cited fans throwing bananas at black soccer players, Subban said "Id probably just pick it up and eat it." Which is exactly what Alves did this week, to worldwide acclaim. http://www.bearsfootballauthentic.com/authentic-william-perry-bears-jersey/ . If they dont find a way to stop the tumble theyve been on before March closes, they could find themselves on the outside looking in. Gorgui Dieng had 15 points and 15 rebounds to continue his out-of-nowhere emergence, and the Minnesota Timberwolves dealt the slumping Hawks another costly loss with a 107-83 victory.http://www.bearsfootballauthentic.com/authentic-christian-jones-bears-jersey/ . -- Serena Williams wants to stay healthy. AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Josh Smith was annoyed with himself earlier in the week, when his jumper with the game on the line missed badly and Detroit went on to lose to the New York Knicks. So when Smith had the ball in the final seconds again Saturday night, he went straight to the basket. "I wanted to be aggressive," Smith said. "When I caught it, I didnt want to settle." Smiths driving, left-handed bank shot with 1.2 seconds left gave the Pistons a 110-108 win over the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night. Smith finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds, and Brandon Jennings had 18 assists, the most in the NBA this season, to go with eight points and eight rebounds. Smith was involved in a few big plays in the final half-minute -- both good and bad. His 3-pointer as the shot clock expired put Detroit ahead 108-105 with 26.8 seconds left. Then he fouled Gerald Green while the Phoenix guard was shooting a 3-pointer. Green made all three free throws to tie it with 4.3 seconds remaining. The ensuing inbounds pass went to Smith near the top of the key. He drove to the right and then switched hands, making a tough shot while being tightly defended by Channing Frye. Greens 3-pointer at the buzzer from in front of the Detroit bench missed badly. "This is a great game for us, to be able to see how mentally strong we can be," Smith said. "Weve just got to be able to reflect on these games and apply it to the games that we have in front of us." Frye led Phoenix with 21 points. The Suns tied the game with a 13-3 run to start the fourth quarter, but Detroit responded with a 7-0 run. It was 105-97 before Phoenix scored eight straight points, tying it on a 3-pointer by P.J. Tucker with 51.2 seconds left. "We had one game this year where we came from 21 back, and we usually fight hard," Tucker said. The Pistons barely got a shot off on their next possession, but Smith was able to free himself on the left wing and connect from 3-point range. It was his first of two big shots at the end. "Those were two tough shots that Josh made," Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said. "We let him get to the basket at the end, but he was going in the wrong direction and still knoocked that down. http://www.bearsfootballauthentic.com/authentic-ryan-mundy-bears-jersey/. Before that, we play great defence, they lose the ball and they manage to bat it out to him and he hits the 3. Thats just a bad break for us." Jennings equaled team records held by Isiah Thomas with 11 assists in the first quarter and 16 in the first half. But Jennings didnt have any points, rebounds or assists in the fourth quarter. Backup Will Bynum picked up the slack a bit, scoring eight of his 16 points in the final period. "Sometimes in those fourth quarters Brandon was alone out there as far as creating and thats kind of tough on him," Bynum said. "So when were out there we help him out a lot and that spreads the court out." Detroit has been a disappointment after signing Smith and trading for Jennings in the off-season, but those two looked sharp for most of the night Saturday. In the first quarter, the Pistons looked as smooth and cohesive as they have all season, repeatedly beating the transition-oriented Suns down the court for easy baskets. Jennings tossed an alley-oop off the backboard to Andre Drummond for a 12-3 lead, and later in the quarter his alley-oop to Smith gave him 10 assists. Jennings then found Kyle Singler for a dunk that made it 35-19. The Pistons finished the quarter with 16 assists on 17 field goals -- and a 35-21 lead. Even when Jennings shot an airball at the end of the second quarter Drummond was there to tip it in at the buzzer for a 64-51 lead. Detroit had 50 points in the paint in the first half. The Pistons finished with 68. The last player with 16 assists in a half was Jason Kidd, who did it April 5, 2009, for Dallas, according to STATS. That was also against Phoenix. The last player with at least 11 assists in a quarter was Steve Blake, who had 14 for Portland in 2009. Phoenix was without guard Eric Bledsoe, who had surgery Friday on his right knee. NOTES: Thomas had 16 assists in a half against Dallas on Feb. 13, 1985. He tied the team record with 25 assists in that game. He twice reached 11 assists in a quarter. ... Ty Lawson, Kendall Marshall and Chris Paul (twice) have all had 17-assist games this season. Jennings surpassed that before the end of the third quarter. Cheap Jerseys Wholesale JerseysWholesale Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys ' ' '
