BOSTON -- Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman Brooks Orpik was expected to travel home with the team after being taken off the ice on a stretcher after being pulled down and punched by Bostons Shawn Thornton in the opening period of Saturdays 3-2 loss.
LeBron James USA Jersey . The club said on its Twitter site that he "returned from the hospital and will be travelling with the team back to Pittsburgh." During the game, the Penguins said on their site that he was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital where "he is alert and conscious." It happened in a wild sequence of events. Bostons Brad Marchand was injured on the other end when Thornton came skating up quickly from centre ice and grabbed Orpik from behind, knocking him down backward before punching him. Thornton, dressed in a suit and speaking very quietly in front of his locker after the game, said he was "sorry" for what happened. "Its hard for me to talk about right now. I cant say Im sorry enough. Im sure Ill be criticized, but its true," he said. "I felt awful. It wasnt my intention. I know Brooksie. Ive gotten to know him the last seven years here. I skated with him during the lockout. I texted him a couple of times. Its not what I wanted to see or anyone to see." In TV replays, it appeared that Orpik didnt move after taking the punch. He also appeared hit his head on the ice when he fell. Thornton was given a match penalty. Thornton has a hearing with the NHL. "I hope hes doing all right," Thornton. "I heard hes conscious and talking and Im happy about that." Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said Orpik has a concussion. "I think he was out on the ice for a period of time," Bylsma said. "So I think that means hes got a concussion, for sure." Players immediately called for medical assistance for Orpik. He was surrounded by members of both teams medical staffs before he was taken off on a stretcher after about a 10-minute delay. Pittsburghs James Neal was assessed a kneeing penalty for his hit on Marchand. "I mean, what do you want me to say? That I was trying to hit him?" Neal said. "No, Im going by him. I dont get out of the way, like I said. I need to be more careful and I guess get my knee out of the way, but Im not trying to hit him in the head or injure him or anything like that." In the games opening minute, Orpik hit Bostons Loui Eriksson with his shoulder near the wingers head as he turned to move up the ice. "I think thats a big reason why," Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said when asked why Thornton may have reacted like he did. Eriksson was stunned and went to the bench dazed before heading to the dressing room with a trainer taking one arm to help his balance as he got up from the bench. Eriksson didnt return to the game. Bruins coach Claude Julien said Eriksson left with a concussion and will not travel to Toronto for Sundays game. A few seconds after Orpiks hit on Eriksson, Boston captain Zdeno Chara charged at the defenceman and drew a cross-checking penalty. Boston forward Milan Lucic also fought the Penguins Deryk Engelland midway into the period.
Anthony Davis USA Jersey . Now comes an off-season of questions about manager Matt Williams decisions and a handful of key roster choices, including what to do about Ryan Zimmerman, whether to sign Jordan Zimmermann and Ian Desmond to long-term deals, and how to upgrade an offence that fell flat in October.
Victor Oladipo Thunder Swingman Jersey .While Rosberg is coming off a strong victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix, Hamilton is dwelling on a mistake that ended his streak of five consecutive wins and kept him from increasing his advantage. ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Orlando Magic have made no secret that the future of their franchise will depend on how well they can develop their young players. Rookie Victor Oladipo is a key cog in that group and provided a glimpse of what team officials hope that future will look like. Arron Afflalo scored 32 points and Oladipo had 30 points, a career-high 14 assists and nine rebounds as the Magic rallied to beat the New York Knicks 129-121 in double overtime on Friday night. The Magic trailed by as many as 14 points, but got 25 points and 10 assists from Oladipo after halftime to stave off the Knicks. Tobias Harris added 22 points. "Every game I control one thing -- my energy that I bring to both ends of the floor," Oladipo said. "Im just trying to do that every game, whether its a good game or a bad game." Orlando snapped a three-game losing streak in its first game following the departure of Glen Davis, who had the remainder of his contract bought out earlier in the day. Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said he thought Oladipo played a complete game. The rookie logged a team-high 49 minutes. "He got what he wanted to on both ends of the floor," Vaughn said. "On the offensive end, in a lot of different places we kind of let him go and it was his decision to make." Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks with 44 points, but only 14 came after the third quarter. The Knicks loss ended their eight-game win streak over the Magic. It was also the latest head-scratching loss for a New York team that has last four of its last five and is yet to post back-to-back wins this month. "Every game right now is important," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. "They made the run at the start of the fourth and we couldnt get it back. Its a tough loss." Afflalo found Oladipo for a layup to put the Magic in front 117-113 in the second overtime. But Afflalo injured his right ankle in the process by stepping on Raymond Feltons foot and didnt return. He will be evaluated before the teams upcoming four-game road trip. Orlando was dealt another blow on the Knicks next possession when centre Nik Vucevic was whistled for his sixth foul. Anthony then hit a pair of free-throws to get New York back within a basket.
James Harden USA Jersey. Oladipo answered, getting fouled when he fought past Tim Hardaway Jr. for a layup. He completed the three-point play to push the lead back to 120-115. The Knicks got it back to a point before another three-point play by Oladipo made it 125-121 with 30.7 seconds left. Felton had a 3-pointer rattle out on the other end, forcing the Knicks to foul and Orlando sealed the win at the free throw line. "It is just another game that I feel that we gave away," Anthony said. "We were up and had a comfortable lead. They fought back and never quit." Felton hit back-to-back jumpers to put New York up 113-111 with less than three minutes to play in the first overtime. Oladipo quickly countered on the other end with a driving layup before Felton sprinted ahead and found Tyson Chandler for a reverse slam. But the ball bounced off Chandlers head and popped up and out of the basket. Chandler was called for offensive interference and the basket was waved off. The Magic got the ball, but Afflalos pass was knocked away by Chandler and prompting a Knicks timeout with 41.6 remaining. Anthony briefly got open in the lane, but could only get off a leaning 16-footer that hit the rim and was rebounded by the Magic, who called their own timeout with 8 seconds left. Orlando got up several shots at the rim, but Vucevics final tip attempt fell short. The Knicks led by as many as 14 in the third quarter before the Magic trimmed it to 86-83 in the opening minutes of the fourth. Afflalo sent it to overtime when he hit a step-back jumper with 42.9 seconds left to tie it 106-all. As solid as his performance was, Oladipo said hes not satisfied. "Theres so much room for improvement. I can get so much better," he said. "I really feel like I havent scratched the surface of how good Im going to be. I honestly believe that." NOTES: The Magic improved to 1-4 in overtime games this season. ... J.R. Smith made his 12th start of the season in place of injured swingman Iman Shumpert, who is expected to miss about two weeks with a sprained ligament in his left knee. ... Former Magic player Penny Hardaway was honoured in a ceremony as part of the teams ongoing 25th anniversary season celebration.
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