LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers said he declined a chance to speak with owner Donald Sterling, who is alleged to have made racist comments
in a recorded conversation.
Salvador Perez Royals Jersey . "I was asked, do I need to talk with Donald, and I passed, quite honestly," Rivers said
Monday. "I dont think right now is the time or the place, for me, at least. I
just took a pass." Sterling is purported to have told a woman not to bring black
people to his games or associate with them. "Yeah, I believe he said those
things. But I still want to make sure," Rivers said during a conference call.
"As far as believing those things? I heard what he said. Until someone tells me
differently, you usually listen to what people say. I havent given him his due
process. I havent given him an opportunity to explain himself and quite honestly
right now I dont want him to. I want to wait for that further judgment." The
coach cancelled practice Monday, a day after a 118-97 loss to the Golden State
Warriors that evened their playoff series at 2-2. "I just felt like they needed
to breathe. Theyve been inundated with this," Rivers said. Still, he said pretty
much the entire team was at the clubs practice facility. "Ill go down and say hi
to them and talk to them, make sure theyre in the right place. Right now its
more than basketball. This is a non-basketball decision that I thought I had to
make and I thought it was right decision. If you get your life better, then you
can probably do your work better. They need to do that." Game 5 is Tuesday night
in Los Angeles. "These last 48 hours or so have been really hard for our players
and everyone," Rivers said. "Id just like to reiterate how disappointed I am in
the comments attributed to our owner. I cant tell you how upset I am, our
players are." Warriors coach Mark Jackson suggested that Clippers fans should
boycott the game. "I believe if it was me, I wouldnt come to the game," Jackson
said. "I believe the fans, the loudest statement that they can make as fans is
to not show up to the game. ... To me, it will make the noise of it not being
tolerated. That this is a different time. Its unfortunate, and we cannot allow
someone with these feelings to profit." Rivers said he knew Jackson was speaking
from his heart and that everyone has their opinion. "I dont share that. I hope
its packed and people are cheering for us, the players. And they were cheering
for the players before this happened. But if they feel differently, who can say
theyre wrong? And Im not the one thats going to say that, I can tell you that."
Rivers said its still to be determined whether he or a player will address the
crowd. "Again, we dont know the right answer," Rivers said. "We want to do right
here. We want to make the best decisions here. If we feel thats something will
help our fans, then it will be done. If we feel its something they dont need, we
wont do it. The tickets have already been sold. The fans, theyre in a dilemma as
well. We want them to cheer for their players and their team. Because its still
their players and their team, and it will be their players and their team. I
think from what I get from the fans Ive heard from, thats how they feel, like,
This is my team, these are my players Im cheering for, and thats not going to
change. I hope that continues." Rivers said the controversy has been tough on
his players. "What other players are going through Should I be playing thoughts
in the middle of a playoff series? I sympathize for my players. They didnt sign
on for this. Yet here they are and theyre in the middle of it and they have to
deal with it. They didnt do anything wrong and theyre in the middle of it, and
they didnt ask to be. I feel terrible for them. Im going to try to do whatever I
can to make them OK."
Kendrys Morales Authentic Jersey .Y. -- Mark Steenhuis scored four goals and added two assists to lead the Buffalo Bandits
over the Toronto Rock 12-10 in National Lacrosse League action on Saturday.
Edinson Volquez Authentic Jersey . Ramon, 30, played in a career-high 97 games with the Goldeyes in 2013. He also matched a
career-high eight home runs and posted 52 RBI.ANAHEIM – It was about the moment
Randy Carlyle felt his team slipping. His Maple Leafs beat the Ducks on a
mid-December night in a manner that had become the worrying custom during his
nearly three-season rule: Torontos potent offence pumped six past Frederik
Andersen and Jonathan Bernier stopped 40 of 42 shots. The process was wrong, but
the result right in what was a sixth straight win and the final bullet in an all
too misleading 10-1-1 run. One month later with Carlyle since fired (his
concerns proving prescient) and the Leafs are beginning to get that process
right, but not yet finding those results. Luck is suddenly churning against the
luckiest of teams. Its funny we were just talking about that, Daniel Winnik said
after a 4-0 loss in Anaheim, how we used to give up 40 shots and wed win games
and now were holding teams to under 25 and were losing. It was the third loss in
four games since the coaching change – which saw Peter Horachek gain control –
and 10th in the past 13 overall for the Leafs. It was also the second time in as
many nights in Southern California that a usually powerful offence was shut out.
Unlike that earlier win over Anaheim though – in which Berniers brilliance
prevailed – the Leafs actually played fine in this most recent test against a
beast of the West, but they couldnt beat Andersen and were undone by a couple
bad breaks and the ferocity of Corey Perry. They continue to play in a manner
thats conducive to long-term success, even if the results arent showing up in
the short-term. The chances are maybe less, but were giving up a lot less, said
a noticeably frustrated Horachek. Forty shots as opposed to 25 is a big
difference. The Leafs are finally thinking defence first under his direction,
even if that costs them a chance at some extra offence. Its a matter of
continuing to play that way even when the results arent showing. The way were
playing I think more often than not youre going win games more than you lose,
Winnik observed. All too lucky often during that smoke and mirrors run of late
2014 – and well before that – the Leafs have seen that luck run out recently.
Theyve scored two or less in five of the past six games, getting next to nothing
on a usually potent power-play. They played it tight again on Wednesday, but
slipped up just enough to lose the game. Anaheim scored the opener at the
tail-end of a full two minute, five-on-three advantage, adding three straight
from Perry. The former Hart Trophy champ scored his first of the night on a shot
that clipped the right skate of Cody Franson. His second of the evening was a
breakaway the Leafs believed adamantly was offside, his third plunging into an
empty net, Ducks fans howling furiously in anticipation. Its a frustrating
night, thats for sure, Franson said. I thought we played a pretty strong
systematic game. We kept a very good, solid offensive team to 25 shots.
Systematically I think were doing a lot of good things and stuff that we can
continually build on. Weve definitely got some tough puck luck right now and its
frustrating, but weve got to stick with it and continually move forward. For all
the improvement theyve managed under the new bench boss though, the Leafs need
to start making that process work toward some result and soon. They sit two
points back of Florida and five points back of Boston for the final wild card
spot in the East. Five Points 1. Dry Spell The Leafs were the luckiest team in
the league when they rung off 10 wins in 12 games, burning with an on-ice
shooting percentage of more than 14 percent and a PDO of 108 (anything above 100
registering as lucky). That luck has turned in the past couple weeks. Suddenly
the chances Toronto is managing arent falling and while playing to a tighter
brand the quantity of chances has diminished. Weve been happy with our process
of how weve been doing things, weve just got to capitalize on our chances, James
van Riemsdyk said. Were not probably traading as many chances now so youre going
to really have to bear down on the ones you go get.
Yordano Ventura Royals Jersey. Once the highest-scoring team in the league the Leafs have fallen to fifth at 3.04 goals
per game. Theyve managed just nine in the past six games. Well find ways to
score, van Riemsdyk added. We have a lot of firepower. Well find ways to score.
2. Shot Suppression Toronto managed something in defeat that it never could
under Carlyles direction. They held an opponent under 30 shots for the fourth
consecutive game, the Ducks managing just 25 on Jonathan Bernier. That didnt
happen once with Carlyle at the helm, achieved in Horacheks first four games
behind the bench. The Leafs have given up less than 23 shots per game since
Horachek was moved into the head coaching role. Given the light night for his
no. 1 goaltender, Horachek may opt to go back to Bernier in San Jose on Thursday
night. He wouldnt commit to using James Reimer prior to Wednesdays game.
Sometimes you look at situations where you think you want to get your other
goalie in...and a lot of times that is on back-to-backs, Horachek said. Clearly
thats a good time to do it, but sometimes you need to get the points and you
need to balance that as well. 3. Concussed David Booth was on the ice about 20
minutes before the Leafs morning skate was due to kick off on Wednesday. He was
alone on the Honda Centre surface, putting in extra skating and getting up a few
extra shots. Booth left the building later that night with an apparent
concussion. The 30-year-old took a Sami Vatanen elbow to the face during the
third period, wobbling nervously around the ice afterward. He required help from
teammates and then team trainers to get to Torontos dressing room. Horachek
offered no update on his status after the game. Booth has a notable concussion
history. He missed 54 games combined with two separate concussions during the
2009-10 season. 4. Road Swoon The Leafs are nearing the middle of a hellish
stretch that sees them play 17 times on the road in 22 games. So far, not so
good. Theyve now lost eight of the past 10 in visiting confines, facing tall
tests in San Jose (Thursday) and St. Louis (Saturday) in the coming days. Their
seven road wins this season are more than only the Sabres, Hurricanes and Flyers
in the Eastern Conference. 5. Lost Teeth & Stitches Roman Polak lost two
teeth and needed more than 20 stitches to repair the damage he suffered last
week. Polak took a Troy Brouwer blast to the face a week ago, unbelievably
returning to action that night with a badly swollen right cheek. I think
adrenaline was up so I didnt feel it, he said. Polak couldnt speak much for days
after the initial blow and there was a brief time when he struggled to see out
of one eye. But against the advice of the team he decided to play without a cage
or visor in the days that followed. He tried them briefly, hated how they
affected his vision and ditched it thereafter. The 28-year-old called the
overall experience awful, not exactly horrified though at how the initial damage
caused his face to look though. I thought it was going to be worse than that,
Polak said. I think I can still do my modeling career after I retire. Stats-Pack
2-8-0 – Leafs record in their past 10 games on the road. 4 – Consecutive games
in which the Leafs have held an opponent under 30 shots. 22.75 – Average shots
against the Leafs in four games with Peter Horachek behind the bench. 1:54 –
Ice-time for Daniel Winnik during a two-minute five-on-three Ducks power-play.
1.5 – Goals per game for the Leafs in their past six. Special Teams Capsule PP:
0-3 Season: 19.9% (11th) PK: 1-2 Season: 81.8% (13th) Quote of the Night The
chances are maybe less, but were giving up a lot less. Forty shots as opposed to
25 is a big difference. -Peter Horachek after a 4-0 loss in Anaheim. Up Next The
Leafs visit the Sharks on Thursday night.
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