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MONTREAL -- The Montreal Impacts faltering offence could be getting a big boost this weekend. Kellen Winslow Jersey . After a month watching from the sidelines, star striker Marco Di Vaio will likely dress for Montreal when the last-place Impact (1-5-4) face the Colorado Rapids (4-4-3) in Denver on Saturday. "I think Im ready to go," said Di Vaio on Wednesday before the team left for the American southwest. "I trained yesterday, alone at first and then with the team. And today I took part in the whole session. I feel good after the injury. I can go." The star striker injured his hamstring on April 19 in a 4-0 road defeat to Sporting Kansas City, leaving the game in the 56th minute. He then played in most of Montreals victory over the Philadelphia Union the following week, but has since missed the clubs last four games. "Obviously, if Marco comes back, it will help," assistant coach Mauro Biello told reporters on Wednesday. "We have a good record when hes in the lineup. Were just waiting for him to be at 100 per cent." Despite only scoring once in five appearances this season, Di Vaios return could spark a struggling club looking to build on back-to-back respectable results. Montreal played to a 1-1 draw against second-place D.C. United last Saturday three days after a midweek victory over NASL side FC Edmonton in the Amway Canadian Championship. "The confidence is growing," Impact defender Jeb Brovsky told the teams website. "As a team, the chemistry is going up. This team is going in the right direction. It takes only two or three games to really change things around in a season. We have a tough road game. Its time to see what were made of." With seven points from 10 games, the MLS-worst Impact are looking to climb from the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. The team has only scored three goals in its last five MLS games. Two of those were courtesy of striker Jack McInerney, who has now scored five times in all competitions since joining the Impact in April. And while the combination of McInerney and Di Vaio up front in a two-striker formation has yet to click for Montreal, the team is hoping the two connect for goals on Saturday. "Were happy that Jack is scoring goals, and that Marco is coming back," said Biello. "We have to keep working on that chemistry up front. With players like that, we can give a lot of trouble to our opponents." Montreal will hope to trouble a Colorado side going through struggles of its own. The team has only scored four goals in its last six games, and is coming off consecutive losses for the first time this season. Last week, defender Drew Moor scored his first goal of the season late in the game, a consolation prize in a 2-1 loss to Real Salt Lake. While Di Vaio may be returning to the Impact lineup, the Rapids will still be without top-scorer Vicente Sanchez, who sprained his knee in a May 3 win. Sanchez has scored five goals this season -- four of those from the penalty spot. "(The Rapids) have a few injuries," said Biello. "But they have a lot of speed up front and a lot of quality in the midfield. Were expecting a team thats looking for a victory, especially at home. They lost their last home game. We have to be ready for a team that will push and pressure us." The Impact will also have to cope with high altitude. Denver is nicknamed the Mile-High City because, at one mile above sea level, it is one of the most elevated cities in the United States. For Montreal, it will mean a risk of dehydration and altitude sickness. "The altitude is definitely an issue," said Denver-born Brovsky. "We are a fit team, so that should help. But well have to make sure that we arent running around aimlessly." Excited to be going back to his home city, Brovsky promised to fill a section of Dicks Sporting Goods Park with Impact supporters. "I already made a lot of calls, and a lot of people are amped up," he said. "So hopefully we have a home atmosphere in Colorado. Hopefully theyll be pretty rowdy -- which I know my family are." Notes: Newcomer midfielder Issey Nakajima-Farran could make his Impact debut against the Rapids. The Canadian international was acquired by Montreal last week from Toronto FC. a The Impact have lost both their games against the Rapids since joining MLS. a Marc Burch (hamstring) and Nathan Sturgis (foot) are both doubtful for the Rapids. a The Impact and Rapids wont meet again this season. 14:34ET 23-05-14 Dan Fouts Jersey .Y. - Henrik Lundqvist wasnt happy going into Game 6 against Montreal. Shareece Wright Jersey . - The NFLs officiating chief has cleared Broncos receiver Wes Welker of any wrongdoing for his hit that knocked Patriots cornerback Aqib Talib out of Sundays AFC Championship.NEW ORLEANS - Shortly after hoisting his second Slam Dunk trophy, this one hell have to share, Terrence Ross was stunned to hear that the contests format change was not especially well received. "It was one of the best shows ever," said the Raptors guard, disagreeing with the critics. "Its really what people wanted to see. You couldnt see those dunks without three players on the court so it worked out for the best I think." The Slam Dunk Contest - the pride and joy of All-Star Saturday Night - adopted a team concept this year, pitting the three participants from the East against the Wests trio in a two-round showcase. It was, for all intents and purposes, a bust. In the final round, a head-to-head session, the team from the East - consisting of Ross, John Wall and Paul George - defeated the West in a clean sweep. It was an unorthodox victory for Ross, who only threw down one dunk, outside of the initial freestyle round. "Hey, a wins a win," the sophomore said, elated after the competition came to an end, not unlike most in attendance and watching from home. "Im gonna take it either way. Ive never lost a dunk contest at this point so Im happy." The real champion, assuming anyone can really be considered a winner after that performance, was John Wall, who was awarded the fan vote for Dunker of the Night. Wall capped off an anticlimactic evening with the only real jaw-dropping dunk, leaping over Wizards mascot G-Man, taking the ball out of his hands and completing a two-hand reverse jam to seal the Easts victory. Off the top, each team had 90 seconds to work together and complete as many dunks as they could. The team dynamic, allowed the dunkers to collaborate and be creative in their attempts. Ross and the East took advantage, while the West - with Damian Lillard, Harrison Barnes and Ben McLemore - ate up nearly a third of their allotted time before converting a notable slam. To call it organized chaos would be putting it mildly. Mostly, it was a disjointed mess with an occasional highlight, a couple from Ross, who put down a reverse to open the contest. The battle round had promise but lacked any semblance of rhythm or flow, as actual dunks were few and far between. Just as it started to come around, it ended abruptly. Lillard led off the proceedings - competing in his third event of the night - facing Ross, who brought along a friend and colleeague for assistance. Philip Rivers Jersey. With last years trophy in hand, Raptors global ambassador Drake accompanied Ross on the floor to the tune of Started from the Bottom. Ross, wearing a boxing robe as he entered, would miss his first two attempts before eventually taking the ball from Drake, putting it through his legs and throwing it down with the opposite hand. As it turns out, Drake was a late substitution for Ross teammate and original assistant. "At first I knew the dunk I wanted to do and then I was like, DeMar (DeRozan) is going to do it," said the Raptors sophomore. "And then I was like, let me ask Drake because that would be a little better fit with him being the global ambassador, so I said that might work. I had fun with it, he was willing to help in any way he could." In the end, Ross was happy with the format change and embraced the chance to team up rather than go at it alone. "We got to throw off the shot clock, the backboard, bounce it off the ground," he said. "It was fun, everybody loved it." Ross maintained the team concept allows participants to be more creative, giving each of them a greater opportunity to come up and execute something new. For that reason, he believes the format should be here to stay. "It was fun, just coming up with certain things. I was trying to see if we could throw it off the jumbotron and see if we could do something like that but they said that would probably break it." Format changes encapsulated the entire night, certainly not what the league was going for. The Skills Challenge also had participants competing in teams for the first time. DeRozan - who was paired with Bucks rookie Giannis Antetokounmpo - more than held his own, sinking the chest pass on his first attempts and nailing the jump shot from the top of the key in two tries. His partner needed three tries to complete the pass and as a result, they were eliminated in the opening round, bested by Michael Carter-Williams and Victor Oladipo by 1.7 seconds. That pair would go on to lose to Lillard and Trey Burke by a tenth of a second in the finals. Former Raptor Marco Belinelli, the eventual winner of the Three-Point Contest, would not have made it past the first round if not for a new twist which allowed for one entire rack filled with money balls. He went on to defeat Wizards guard Bradley Beal in a tie-breaking round. cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
