|
TORONTO -- It didnt take long for Brian Burke to reach into his Toronto Maple Leafs past in his new job with the Calgary Flames. Darius Slay Lions Authentic Jersey . Late Saturday night, Burkes Flames acquired centre Joe Colborne for a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2014 draft. Colborne was among the players fighting for one of the final spots on the Leafs roster but did not stand out in the pre-season. The 23-year-old joins a host of other young players who are expected to be given big minutes by the rebuilding Flames. "With the opportunity to speak with Brian Burke and learn about Joes hockey sense and character from someone who had him as a player and knows him so well, it became clear to us that this is the type of young, big centre we need," Flames general manager Jay Feaster said in a statement. "He fits in very well with our rebuild and provides size up the middle which we believe is critical going forward. The fact that he is from Calgary is an added bonus. We look forward to welcoming him to the Flames family." Its the second time Burke has traded for Colborne. When he was the Leafs GM, Burke got Colborne from the Bruins as part of a deal that sent defenceman Tomas Kaberle to Boston. Now the Flames president of hockey operations, Burke has some salary-cap space to play with. Beyond Colborne, whos on a one-year, one-way deal that pays him US$600,000, that could mean getting involved in waivers in the coming days. "I would predict that Sunday will be a big day on the waiver wire, and possibly Monday, because the league starts on Tuesday," Leafs coach Randy Carlyle said. Colborne, a 2008 first-round pick of the Bruins, has one goal and five assists in 16 career NHL games for the Leafs. He had three assists in six pre-season games. Toronto said the fourth-round pick it got for Colborne is Calgarys and that it could be upgraded to a third rounder "if certain conditions are met in the upcoming season." Those conditions were not disclosed.Barry Sanders Womens Blue Elite Jersey . Wedge will manage the final three games of this season against Oakland before the Mariners begin a search for a new manager. "Its got to the point where its painfully obvious to me that I just wasnt going to be able to move forward with this organization," Wedge said before Fridays game. Golden Tate III Jersey . That will be 35 more holes than the first time they played together. Walker was a senior at Baylor when he used his parents credit card -- against their wishes because it was during finals -- to go through Monday qualifying for the Byron Nelson Championship.(SportsNetwork.com) - The storied rivalry between the San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks will add a new chapter Sunday afternoon when the two teams meet for Game 7 of this Western Conference first round series at AT&T Center. For the second time in the Tim Duncan/Dirk Nowitzki era, these two perennial titans will clash in a Game 7. In the second round of the 2006 Western Conference playoffs, Dallas prevailed in the critical final game. Since Nowitzki turned the Mavericks into a title contender, they are 4-0 in Game 7s. Duncans Spurs have won four titles under his stewardship and his San Antonio team is 2-2 in Game 7s. This series finale will be in San Antonio, which owned the best record in the NBA this season. "You play the whole season to have a Game 7 at home," Spurs guard Tony Parker said. If the Mavs, who won Game 2 in San Antonio, prevail, it will mark the sixth time a No. 8 seed has bested a No. 1 seed. It will also be the second time the dubious distinction happened to the Spurs, who fell in round one three years ago to the Memphis Grizzlies. Game 7 is necessary because the Mavericks defended their home court in Game 6 Friday night. Monta Ellis led a fourth-quarter surge and finished with 27 points Friday as Dallas forced a winner-take-all Game 7 in San Antonio with a hard-fought 113-111 victory. Ellis scored 12 of his 29 points in crunch time, but nearly wiped it all away when he threw an ill-advised pass out of bounds with 1.3 seconds rremaining to give the Spurs one final look. Jason Jones Jersey. Patty Mills off-balanced shot at the buzzer was well short and came after the clock struck zero. "My teammates just told me to be aggressive," Ellis said. "My team just believed in me, and I just had to go out there and respond." Nowitzki chimed in with 22 points and Dallas deep supporting cast came up with big plays down the stretch, notably former Spur DeJuan Blair. Parker netted 13 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Spurs, who led 81-76 entering the fourth and appeared in control before the Mavs rattled off nine straight points midway through the frame. Ellis hit a go-ahead 3-pointer during the run and Blair, who was suspended for Game 5 after kicking Tiago Splitter in the head the previous game, capped it with a three-point play for a 97-92 Mavericks lead with 4:25 to play. After some sensational play from Parker, the margin was one. Dallas Vince Carter made it a three-point game with two free throws, and Blair picked off a Parker pass intended for Duncan under the basket, forcing the Spurs to foul the rest of the way. Dallas made 5-of-8 free throws and hung on despite Ellis head-scratching turnover in the closing seconds. The winner will meet the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday. If its San Antonio, Game 1 of the conferences second round will be in Alamo City, but if Dallas prevails in Game 7, the series opener of the second round will be in Portland. ' ' ' |
