Dein erstes Forum » finish him with that game plan. B

Boris Diaw was on his way out of the NBA when he arrived in San Antonio, where the Spurs were trying to breathe new life into a core that had not won a championship in five years. They proved to be a perfect match, and after playing a key role in the Spurs latest championship, Diaw found no reason to continue his career renaissance elsewhere. Diaw tweeted Sunday night that he agreed to terms on a new contract with the Spurs and a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press that its a three-year contract worth $22 million. The person requested anonymity because the contract cannot be signed until the leagues moratorium ends Thursday. "Hey spurs fans, Good news," the French-born Diaw tweeted, "i stay in san antonio for a few more years. Lets win it again." For the 32-year-old Diaw, it was a chance to get one last big payday that he earned by providing some essential versatility on both ends of the court for the Spurs. He averaged 9.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists and shot over 52 per cent in 25 minutes per game last season. For the Spurs, it was the chance to keep together a team that posted the best record in the NBA last season and dominated the two-time defending champion Miami Heat in the finals. They have already learned this summer that Tim Duncan is returning next season and backup point guard Patty Mills will be back as well after a long rehabilitation of a shoulder injury. The Spurs decided to give Diaw a hearty raise after watching him blossom in a system Gregg Popovich designed to keep the ball moving at all costs. But they also protected themselves by only partially guaranteeing the third year of the deal, which was first reported by Yahoo! Sports. He will be guaranteed $15.5 million over the first two seasons of the contract, a big boost from the $4.7 million he made last year. "Hes perfect for them," former Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman said about Diaw and the Spurs during the season. Diaw was considered a rising star in the early portion of his career in Phoenix, a lithe, athletic, big man with the vision of a point guard that flourished with the run-and-gun Suns. But his career nose-dived soon after when he was traded to the Charlotte Bobcats in 2008. He put on weight and didnt appear interested in playing for a team with no hope of contending. The Bobcats waived Diaw near the end of the 2012 season, and the Spurs brought him in to see if he could rediscover his game while playing alongside close friend and countryman Tony Parker. Thats exactly what happened. It didnt take long for Diaw to make a good impression with Popovich, and he signed a two-year deal to stay with the Spurs that summer. He still carries a few extra pounds, but the deft passing, precise defensive positioning and floor-stretching shooting all have reappeared and been vital to San Antonios two straight finals appearances and its run this spring to a fifth championship. ___ Follow Jon Krawczynski on Twitter: http://twitter.com/APKrawczynski Aleksander Barkov Jersey . With newly minted president of hockey operations Trevor Linden looking on from above one day after being handed the keys to the franchise, it was more of the same on Thursday night. Vincent Trocheck Jersey .com) - Devan Dubnyk stopped all 30 shots fired his way and made several big saves down the stretch for his third shutout of the season as the Minnesota Wild beat the Calgary Flames 1-0 on Tuesday. http://www.hockeypanthersofficialonline.com/ .C. -- The Edmonton Oilers used a late-power-play goal to get a hard-fought road victory. Evgenii Dadonov Jersey . But sometimes the way you lose takes precedence over the final score. And how the Jets lost the 5-4 game to the New York Islanders on Thursday is what had Coach Claude Noel hot after the game. Custom Florida Panthers Jerseys . - Alex Dostie scored two goals and assisted on another to lead the Gatineau Olympiques to a 5-3 victory over the Drummondville Voltigeurs in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action on Sunday.TORONTO -- They say iron sharpens iron, which augurs well for Mike Ricci at UFC 165 this weekend. The 27-year-old lightweight from Montreal spent much of his 10-week training camp for American Myles (Fury) Jury working with UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre. The two have trained before but the busy St-Pierrre was in Montreal for an extended period of time -- "which is rare," according to Ricci -- that dovetailed with Riccis camp. "He has been my main sparring partner for this fight," Ricci said. "Ive done most of my rounds this training camp with him." Not surprisingly, Ricci (9-3) lost most of those rounds against the bigger man, and a champion to boot. But the 155-pounder says he began to steal the odd one. "It feels good when youre working and working and you win small battles here and there against guys like that," he said. "You know youve been improving." Light-heavyweight title-holder Jon (Bones) Jones takes on Swedens Alexander (The Mauler) Gustafsson in Saturdays main event at the Air Canada Centre. Ricci is one of seven Canadians on the undercard. Francis Carmont, a French middleweight who fights out of Montreal, is on the main card. Ricci also trains with welterweight Rory (Ares) MacDonald, a close friend, at Montreals Tristar Gym. Like GSP, MacDonald is preparing for a fight at UFC 167 in November. St-Pierre takes on No. 1 contender Johny (Bigg Rigg) Hendricks in the main event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas while No. 3 MacDonald faces No. 8 (Ruthless) Robbie Lawler. Ricci says St-Pierre is more than generous with his time in the gym. "Its unreal. If Georges wanted to, he could just do his own thing and then leave," said Ricci. "But he stays and he puts in work with guys. Not only just me because I have a fight coming up, hell work with everybody. "You could even see this guy maybe even developing into a great coach one day. He stays, he puts in the work and he puts in the time and he explains things. And he gets to the bottom of them. Ill do a round with him and then after hell be like OK we have to work on this when sparrings over. Its great to have him as a training partner. And I havent had him around this much and working with me this much in a while. It was a very good experience." Fighting as a welterweight, Ricci lost last December to Colton Smith in the final of Season 16 of "The Ultimate Fighter." He bounced back at UFC 158 in March to defeat Colin (The Freakshow) Fletcher, a finalists in the Australia versus U.K. TUF spinoff. It was a doominant win, albeit one that was less than stirring in terms of entertainment.dddddddddddd But it was a memorable night for Ricci, coming in front of a hometown crowd. He walked out to the Phil Collins song "In the Air Tonight," explaining later that the story said it all. "I have been waiting for this moment all my life," he said later, quoting the song. "I grew up wanting to win in the Octagon and Ive spent six years on a road of blood and sweat to make sure I got here. "I had some UFC jitters, but I spoke with GSP two days ago and he said Listen, get used to them because they never, ever go away so I was nervous but I expected to be going in. Winning a UFC fight means everything to me." Ricci walked out to the cage in traditional martial arts garb, complete with a sword. He says his goal in the Fletcher fight was simply the win. "I felt like my position (in the UFC) wasnt as secure as Id like it to be ... I came back down to my weight class and I just felt it was the fight I had to win. "You get into those fights where you know you can win them if you do as youre supposed to do," he added. "You know you will 100 per cent win and I knew that I would 100 per cent beat Fletcher if I stuck to a game plan. "But I wasnt 100 per cent sure if I would finish him with that game plan. But the win to me was more important. So I went down that road. ... I hit him plenty of times. Could I have hit him more? Yes. Could I have been more aggressive? Yes. But I did what I had to to win and stay safe. I feel like my position is more solidified now" Thats good because the 24-year-old Jury represents a step up. Jury (12-0) has won all three of his UFC fights since appearing on Season 15 of "The Ultimate Fighter." He was on Season 13 initially but had to leave through injury. Ricci says he chose Jury over two other opponents. "Easier fights, to be honest with you," Ricci said. "This is the fight that I wanted. This is what felt like it was supposed to happen to me." Jury is not short of confidence, judging from the bio on his website (www.teamfury.com). "At just 24 years old, Jury is what the experts refer to as the new breed of the sport; a hybrid fighter, well versed in all aspects of the demanding game," the bio reads. "And, when you combine the baby- faced looks of a Hollywood actor with the ferocity and tenacity of a young Mike Tyson, youre left with a dangerous concoction of a modern day warrior with tunnel vision, glaring all the way to the top." ' ' '