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DURBAN, South Africa -- The Sharks say they have signed former England and British Lions prop Matt Stevens for two years and the front-rower will return to Durban to play in this years Currie Cup. Nike Air Max 90 Premium Femme . The Sharks say Stevens, who was born in Durban, will join in August. Sharks chief executive John Smit says Stevens "versatility" makes him "a great acquisition to our squad." He will provide backup for the Sharks in the Currie Cup when Springboks front-rowers Tendai Mtawarira and Jannie du Plessis are likely to be on international duty. Now with Saracens, the 31-year-old Stevens played 44 tests before retiring in 2012. He was banned for two years from 2009-11 after a positive drug test for cocaine. Nike Air Max 90 Homme Pas Cher . - The Kansas City Royals are hoping All-Star catcher Salvador Perez will be back in a few days. Nike Air Max 90 Hyperfuse Pas Cher . The Nets continued their winning ways Tuesday by sweeping a back-to-back set for the first time this season, beating the Orlando Magic 101-90 a night after routing the crosstown rival New York Knicks.Before the 2013-14 NCAA season began, CBSSports.com listed Syracuse point guard and Toronto native Tyler Ennis at 69 on its "Top 100 Players in college hoops." Michigan guard and fellow Canadian Nik Stauskas was one ahead at 68. With 42 days before the NBA Draft in New York City, two of three analysts of the same website have Ennis getting selected in the top 10, while all three have Stauskas going in the 10-14 range. "Ive played against some of the best players in the world and Ive played against some of the best players in my class," Ennis said at the NBA Combine, which began Thursday. "I just have the confidence and I know how hard I work and I know my abilities." Played is the operative word in that sentence. For as much as the 19-year-old Ennis and 20-year-old Stauskas did to get noticed on the court, they both understand to fulfill their NBA dreams theyll have to impress potential employers off the court just as much. "People know how I play and I think the main thing for teams is to get to know me and know if they are going to draft me, what theyre going to deal with," Ennis said. "They want to see, as a nineteen-year-old coming out of college, if youre able to lead grown men in the NBA and I think they are able to get a feel for that in the interviews." The process is something all players have to go through and Stauskas is doing his best to combat the expected nerves. "The main thing for me is to just try to be myself and let teams know what kind of person I am and how I grew up and how I got to this situation right here," the Mississauga native said. Stauskass upbringing could serve him well when talking to NBA clubs. His family originally hails from the basketball-mad Lithuania. "t;Im a good person, really hard-working, and I come from a great family. Nike Air Max 90 Essential Femme. I think thats important for people to know and I just want them to know that Im not doing this because I want money or anything like that," he said. "Obviously, the moneys great, but Im really doing this just because I love the game of basketball. This is whats made me happy since I was seven or eight-years-old. I feel like if teams really get that vibe from me, theyre going like that." Both Stauskas and Ennis sat out the first day of the combine. Each player was officially measured - height, weight and wingspan - but neither participated in any of the on-court drills. "Before the combine started, knowing what the drills were going to be, I felt a lot of it was just jump-shooting," Stauskas said. "Obviously, thats the strongest part of my game and I feel that teams already know I can shoot the ball, so coming in, I felt that even if I had a great day shooting the ball, it wasnt really going to do much for me because teams already know thats my strength." Both Canadians, however, will participate in physical testing and the aforementioned team meetings. And although the footage of their abilities is likely endless at this point, both players say there will be a few surprises awaiting any and all who will be watching. "Im not the one dunking all the time but Im able to jump pretty high and Im a lot faster than people think," Ennis said. "Going through the combine I think my numbers will show that its more surprising than people expect. "I dont think people realize I can jump the way I do or run the way I do," Stauskas echoed, "so Im really looking forward to tomorrow, getting in there and working." wholesale nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' ' |
