Infos & Interessantes » with a back injury, Vucevic had 21 points, 10 r

The season began back in early March, with a cover story in ESPN The Magazine in which Bryce Harper, the 23-year-old reigning MVP of the Washington Nationals, declared that baseball is a tired sport.It will end with the crowning of a World Series champion.In between, the season has played out in the background of a presidential race in which immigration became one of the pivotal issues.Jose Fernandez was an immigrant. He tried and failed three times to defect from Cuba before he and his mother finally made it on a fourth try. Last year, he became a U.S. citizen. And on the baseball field, he was anything but tired.Harpers argument was the games unwritten code limits self-expression. You cant do what people in other sports do, he said. Im not saying baseball is, you know, boring or anything like that, but its the excitement of the young guys who are coming into the game now who have flair.He singled out Fernandez. Jose Fernandez is a great example. Jose Fernandez will strike you out and stare you down into the dugout and pump his fist. And if you hit a homer and pimp it? He doesnt care. Because you got him. Thats part of the game. Its not the old feeling -- hoorah ... if you pimp a homer, Im going to hit you right in the teeth. No. If a guy pimps a homer for a game-winning shot ... I mean -- sorry.Fernandez not only had the flair that Harper admires but an unfiltered joy for the game. As teammates, opposing players and reporters talked about Fernandez the past two days, everyone mentioned that he simply loved playing baseball, always played with a smile, heck, could even make Barry Bonds laugh in the dugout:On Twitter, two moments from his rookie season were continuously retweeted as a form of grief therapy. The first one was when Fernandez improbably snagged a line drive off the bat of Troy Tulowitzki:Did you catch that? the cameras captured Tulowitzki asking. Fernandez grinned. Yeah. Of course he did.The second one was his reaction after Giancarlo Stanton hit a game-tying home run in the ninth inning of a game nobody now remembers except for this:The Marlins announced that they will retire Fernandezs No. 16. There were cries to allow him to be elected to the Hall of Fame or name an award after him. But this should be Fernandezs lasting legacy: Keeping baseball fun again.Thats an important idea to understand in this most divisive of years. Watching the pregame ceremony at Marlins Park before Mondays game, I saw Giancarlo Stanton and Christian Yelich, a black man and a white man, doing their pregame sprints together, both with red-rimmed eyes. I saw teammates from America, from Cuba, from Taiwan, from Japan, from the Dominican Republic, from Venezuela, all wearing jerseys with Fernandezs No. 16 on the backs. I saw Bonds, the son of a major leaguer, a man with his own large footprint on this game, crying as a high school choir sang the national anthem. I saw Dee Gordon, another son of a major leaguer, cry as he rounded the bases after impossibly leading off the game with his first homer of the season. I saw the Marlins place their hats on the mound after they had defeated the Mets.It was a team rallying around a kid who was born in Cuba, escaped to Mexico on a boat, made his way to Florida and became a baseball star with a movie-star smile. It was all a reminder that this game brings together players from all over the globe. They all bring their own codes, their own style of play, their own idea of flair. Its up to all of us -- players and fans -- to understand our differences, to understand there are different ways to play this game. That a bat flip is sometimes just a bat flip. That we can have Mark Fidrych talking to the baseball, Rickey Henderson making one-handed snatch catches, Dennis Eckersley pointing at batters after a strikeout, the Red Sox Idiots breaking a curse and Asdrubal Cabrera hitting a walk-off home run and throwing his bat like hes competing in the Olympic hammer throw. Its all baseball.I read somewhere -- sorry, forgot who wrote it, but it was a good line -- that Fernandez was one of those players kicking and screaming to bring baseball into the 21st century. Theres something to that, although as Jeff Passan of Yahoo wrote, Fernandez had a blissful ability to take neither himself nor what he was doing too seriously.In other words: Have some fun. It is, after all, just a game. Cheap Custom Hockey Jerseys . After a replay, the winner will meet Sunderland in the quarterfinals. Sagbo did well to control Sone Alukos right cross and fire past Brighton goalkeeper Peter Brezovan. Aluko was making his first start in four months after recovering from an Achilles injury. Custom Hockey Jerseys Store . Isner, ranked No. 14, won his eighth career singles title and took the title in New Zealand for the second time after his victory in 2010. The match was similar to Isners quarterfinal victory over fifth-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber which went to three sets, all tiebreaks and contained no breaks of serve. http://www.customjerseyshockey.com/custom-philadelphia-flyers-jerseys-749b.html . If ever they start actually putting pictures beside words in the dictionary, the Blue Jays left-handers mug will appear beside “Consistency. Custom Ottawa Senators Jerseys . Coach Tom Thibodeau says the former MVP will probably start travelling with the team in the next few weeks. Rose tore the meniscus in his right knee at Portland in November and was ruled out for the remainder of the season by the Bulls. Custom Boston Bruins Jerseys . The third-ranked Ivanovic, who won the event in 2008 and 10, served five aces and broke Wickmayer, also a former winner in 2009, five times. "The result looked easier than it really was," Ivanovic said. ORLANDO, Fla. -- Evan Fournier seemed oblivious to the trash talk and choice words Brooklyn Nets newcomer Sean Kilpatrick sent his way in the final 3 minutes Friday night.Instead of firing back with nothing more than his mouth, the Orlando guard silenced Kilpatrick with a dominant performance down the stretch. Fournier scored 11 straight points -- hitting all eight of his free throws and a clutch 3-pointer -- as the Magic beat Brooklyn 118-111 to snap their six-game home losing streak.Its part of the game. I love it. I really love the trash talking, said Fournier, who finished with 21 points. Im usually not the one starting it, but when its on its on.Fourniers outburst broke open a game that was tied at 106. He converted four consecutive free throws and then drained a 3-pointer that gave Orlando a 113-108 lead with 1:53 remaining.It was a remarkable finish considering Fourniers early struggles, which led to a brief benching in the third quarter.Hes done that before, where hasnt been shooting the basketball well but still has the confidence to hit big shots down the stretch, Magic coach Frank Vogel said. As long as he is making the right reads -- when he makes the right reads he shoots a remarkable 3-point percentage. He is a big reason why we pulled away with the victory.In a game that was close throughout, the Magic came up with key baskets and big stops down the stretch. The Nets had no offense outside of point guard Jeremy Lin during the final 3 minutes.Orlando, meanwhile, received key contributions from its big men, with Serge Ibaka, Bismack Biyombo and Nikola Vucevic combining for 11 blocked shots. The trio also was important in giving the Magic several second-shot opportunities. The Magic outtscored the Nets 10-4 on second-chance points as a result of 13 offensive rebounds.ddddddddddddhey absolutely have an athletic group and we knew they were committed to crashing the glass beforehand, said Nets center Brook Lopez, who had 22 points and five blocked shots. They went out and did it. Maybe we need to recommit.NET GAINVucevic seems to save some of his best performances for Lopez and the Nets.Friday night was certainly no different. After missing three games with a back injury, Vucevic had 21 points, 10 rebounds and a big blocked shot off the bench against Lopez.I think we both play really well against each other. I think we both just enjoy going against each other. You get fired up for a matchup like that, he said.GETTING TECHNICALThe third quarter featured five technical fouls, four on the Magic and one on Nets coach Kenny Atkinson.But going into the fourth, Vogel let his players know it was time to get their heads back in the game.I told everybody to stop getting techs, said Vogel, assessed one of the technicals himself for arguing a no-call. We said our peace. We didnt like what we were seeing. We said our peace and move on.TIP-INSNets: Lin returned to the lineup after missing Wednesdays game due to lower back tightness. He scored 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting. ... The Nets are 1-11 on the road this season.Magic: Orlando has assigned rookie center Stephen Zimmerman and guard C.J. Wilcox to the Erie BayHawks of the NBA Development League. ... The Magic are 5-9 at home.UP NEXTNets: At the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday.Magic: Host the Toronto Raptors on Sunday. ' ' '