SAN ANTONIO -- Family vacations, scouting, free agency, rest and relaxation, playing in the European Championships.http://www.belgieshirtsshop.be/romelu-lukaku-shirt-belgie.html . The staff and players of the San Antonio Spurs had a hectic off-season, but not even the busiest day this summer could make them forget what might have been just three months ago. San Antonio was five seconds away from winning its fifth NBA title only to watch the Miami Heat rally for an improbable 103-100 overtime victory in Game 6. Almost as heartbreaking was a 95-88 loss in Game 7 that gave the Heat their second consecutive title and handed the Spurs their first series loss in the NBA Finals. "Suffice to say Ive thought about it every day," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "Im wondering if it will go away, Im anxious for it to happen, but it hasnt happened yet." Returning to the court as a team should help ease the pain. Thats what the players and coaches are hoping for. The Spurs open a four-day training camp in Tuesday at the Air Force Academy near Colorado Springs, Colo. "As time goes on, as we all know in our lives, you get back to the day-to-day stuff pretty easily, because its the nature of life," Popovich said. "Basketball might be like the 11th- or 12th-most important thing on your list. So, its time to get over it." Thats the mentality the veteran Spurs take into their 18th season under Popovich, but its one that will be different in a number of ways. San Antonios Big Three of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili return to a roster basically unchanged from last season. Still, the bench is going to look vastly different after assistants Mike Budenholzer and Brett Brown left to become head coaches at Atlanta and Philadelphia, respectively. "We really dont know yet (what impact the departures will have)," Ginobili said. "But, for sure, were going to miss them. If any of us had a doubt during the game we would go bother Brett probably before Pop because Pop is doing so many things and controlling other stuff that if you have a question you go to them because you knew they were going to think the same as Pop." Jim Boylen, formerly of the Pacers, was added to the coaching staff along with former Spurs player Sean Marks. Popovich joked he may turn over player instruction during training camp to his Big Three because he will be too busy "coaching the coaches." The Spurs have added Marco Belinelli, Corey Maggette, Sam Young and Jeff Ayres, who changed his surname from Pendergraph in the off-season, through free agency. Maggette and Young will compete to spell Kawhi Leonard, the talented third-year forward who is expected to take on a bigger role in the teams offence after a breakout campaign last year. Leonard averaged 11.9 points and 6.0 rebounds last season and had a career playoff-high 22 points as well as 11 rebounds and three steals in Game 6 against Miami. "I think Kawhi is the new Parker, Ginobili and Duncan kind of guy," Popovich said. "Hes going to take over as the star of the show as time goes on. Hes been phenomenal. Hes improved more quickly than any other player weve ever had because his mindset is such that he wants to be great and he has all the reasons to be so we have to put him in position where he can be a great player." Leonards development will be needed on a veteran team that many thought was too old to make it past the first round let alone to fall in a heartbreaking defeat in the Finals. Can San Antonio overcome that disappointment for another improbable run? The Spurs can look to their French teammates to see a rebirth is possible. Parker, Boris Diaw and Nando De Colo took some of the sting out of their Finals loss by defeating Lithuania on Sept. 22 to claim Frances first title in the European Championships. "I had a great summer," Parker said. "Obviously it was worth it. Big win for France, first win in history. That last week it was an experience that you only live once in a lifetime; it was crazy in France." Popovich was proud of his players, but jokingly said he wasnt going to take it easy on Parker during training camp even though his All-Star point guard spent most of the off-season playing for Frances national team. "No, what does he make, like $200 million a year?" Popovich said with a wry smile. Still, the jovial mood didnt quite hide the disappointment he said he continues to feel. A former player and assistant coach with the Air Force Academy, Popovich said holding training camp in a new environment should quicken the team bonding. "Its going to be a lot of fun, just to do something different," Popovich said. "Take them to altitude, take them to mountains; get them away from everything. It will help the coaches. And look at the players that have been her for a while, it will be good for them to meet the new coaches. Weve got some new players in camp, so its a good camaraderie thing." http://www.belgieshirtsshop.be/mousa-dembele-shirt-belgie.html . Mike Babcock has turned to the Montreal Canadiens goalie over Roberto Luongo, who backed Canada to a gold medal in Vancouver in 2010, for Canadas final preliminary round game against the ailing Finns. http://www.belgieshirtsshop.be/blanco-shirt-belgie.html . McElveen spent the first four seasons of his CFL career with the Alouettes from 2008 to 2011, and played on two Grey Cup champion teams with Montreal. NEW YORK -- Baseball writers could elect a quartet of players to the Hall of Fame for the first time in more than a half-century. Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas appeared to be on track to gain election from the Baseball Writers Association of America on Wednesday, and Craig Biggio could join them. The last time four players received the required 75 per cent was in 1955, when Joe DiMaggio, Gabby Hartnett, Ted Lyons and Dazzy Vance all got in. Surprisingly, it was the third ballot appearance for DiMaggio, who fell 81 votes short in 1953 and 14 shy the following year. When he announced his retirement in December 2008, Maddux wouldnt talk about the Hall. "I think theres a lot of good players in there," he said. "Dont really have any thoughts on it." Maddux could break the mark for highest percentage (98.84), set when in 1992 when Tom Seaver topped the record Ty Cobb set in 1936. "I just have just never come across any human being, whether theyre a voter or just a fan, that doesnt think Greg Maddux is a Hall of Famer and one of the greatest pitchers who ever pitched," The Boston Globes Nick Cafardo said Tuesday. "I cant imagine someone not voting for him. So I would guess that hes going to break Seavers record." Maddux is among three high-profile players on the BBWAA ballot for the first time, joined by his former Atlanta teammate Glavine and Thomas. Holdovers include Biggio, who topped voting at 68 per cent last year, 39 votes short of the 75 per cent needed for election. It was only the second time in four decades the BBWAA failed to elect anyone. Ken Gurnick of MLB.com, a former reporter for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, said Tuesday the only player he voted for was Jack Morris, on the writers ballot for the 15th and final time after falling 42 votes shy last year. "To me, I didnt exclude Maddux. I excluded everybody from that era, everybody from the Steroid Era," Gurnick said. "It wasnt about Greg Maddux, it was about the entire era. I just dont know who did and who didnt." Gurnick said Morris also was the only player he voted for in 2013 and added he intends to abstain in future elections. "SSome people quibble over when the era starts, but the bulk of his career was in my opinion well before all of the widespread use of performance-enhancing drugs," Gurnick said.http://www.belgieshirtsshop.be/matz-sels-shirt-belgie.html. Given that 569 ballots were submitted in 2013, Maddux likely could be omitted from six this year and still break the record set by Seaver, who received 425 of 430 votes. Seaver was left off by Paul Hagen of the Philadelphia Daily News, Bob Hertzel of The Pittsburgh Press and freelance writer Bob Hunter. They all submitted blank ballots to protest the decision by the Hall of Fame board of directors to bar Pete Rose from the vote because of his lifetime ban from baseball following a gambling probe. Retired writers Deane McGowen and Bud Tucker also did not vote for Seaver. "If it had cost Seaver anything, yeah, I probably would regret it at some level, but it didnt really cost him anything," Hagen, now with MLB.com, said Tuesday. "He still got the highest vote (percentage) total ever, and he wouldnt have been unanimous anyway." The Steroids Era has impacted the vote totals of players with stellar statistics. In initial appearances last year, Mike Piazza was at 57.8 per cent, Roger Clemens at 37.6, Barry Bonds at 36.2 and Sammy Sosa at 12.5. Mark McGwire received 16.9 on his seventh try. The Baseball Think Factory website compiled votes by writers who made their opinions public, and with 194 ballots had Maddux at 99.5 per cent, followed by Glavine (95), Thomas (90) and Biggio (78). The websites count had Piazza (69), Morris (61) and Jeff Bagwell (58) falling short along with Tim Raines (54), Bonds (42), Clemens (41), Curt Schilling (37) and Mike Mussina (26). McGwire (11) and Sosa (8) had little support. Approximately 600 writers who have been members of the BBWAA for 10 consecutive years at any point considered the 36-player ballot. Next years ballot could be even more crowded when Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz, Carlos Delgado and Gary Sheffield become eligible, five years after their retirements. The BBWAA last month formed a committee to study whether the organization should ask the Hall to change the limit of 10 players per ballot. Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Authentic China Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NHL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys ' ' '
