ekansekans's blog: "df"

NEW ORLEANS -- The New Orleans Hornets first win of the season was overshadowed by an injury to rookie centre Anthony Davis. Youth Justin Tucker Jersey . The No. 1 overall pick in the draft was inadvertently elbowed in the head by fellow rookie teammate Austin Rivers and left the game in the first half and didnt return to the Hornets 88-86 victory over Utah on Friday night. The team said after the game that Davis had a mild concussion and would not accompany the team to Chicago for Saturday nights game and listed him as day to day. Davis had eight points -- all on dunks -- six rebounds and two blocked shots before being injured with 4:51 to play in the first half. The last-second win was even more impressive for the Hornets since they were also missing guard Eric Gordon who is out indefinitely with a right knee injury that limited him to nine games last season. Talking before the game, coach Monty Williams would not confirm a report by Yahoo! Sports that Gordon would miss 4-to-6 weeks. Said Williams: "Were still processing information. We havent talked to any doctors. We certainly havent talked to our doctors on a day were getting ready for a game." Greivis Vasquez hit a driving layup with 1.3 seconds left to give New Orleans the win. Vasquez, who had 13 points and 10 assists, drove past Gordon Hayward, who fell to the floor, and banked in a short shot over Al Jefferson. Utah had a chance to win after calling a 20-second timeout, but Mo Williams fallaway 3-pointer at the buzzer bounced off the rim. "I was just focused and it was a huge shot," Vasquez said. "It was my first huge shot of my NBA career." Vasquez started 26 games last season -- his second in the NBA -- as the Hornets struggled after dealing All-Star guard Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Clippers in a trade he forced. The experience has paid off through two games this season, with Vasquez following a 13-assist effort against San Antonio on Wednesday by hitting his game-winner against Utah. "The angle he had, I cant figure out how that ball went in," Monty Williams said. "I just thanked the Lord and moved on. The play was created for him to go with his right hand. He just made a heck of a play." Robin Lopez and Ryan Anderson both had 19 points for the Hornets. Andersons fifth 3-pointer with 32.7 seconds left gave them an 84-83 lead. After two free throws extended the lead to 86-83, Utahs Paul Millsap drained a 3-pointer to tie it, setting up Vasquez finish. "We were trying to switch everything," Hayward said. He just turned around and hit a tough shot." Reserve Randy Foye had 20 points for Utah while Williams added 16. Anderson, who made an NBA-best 166 3-pointers for the Orlando Magic last season, got open on the baseline to hit what appeared like it might be the game-winner when Utah missed two shots on its next possession. Instead, Millsap responded with a 3-pointer on a second-chance opportunity from the wing with 7.1 seconds left. He was 18 of 74 from 3-point range in his first six seasons in the NBA. "I was like, No way! No way, when he let it go," Vasquez said. "Youve got to give him credit." The Hornets closed it out without Davis, who scored 21 points in his debut on Wednesday in the Hornets 99-95 loss to San Antonio. At least for one half, they did not miss him, scoring 34 of their 48 second-half points in the paint. New Orleans relied on the combination of Vasquez and Lopez in the fourth quarter. Vasquez scored and had two consecutive assists as the Hornets turned a 70-67 deficit into a 73-70 lead. Lopez had a point-blank putback, a hook shot and a follow tip of his own missed putback to give New Orleans an 81-77 lead with 4:01 left. "He is playing tremendous and he has got his confidence back and well keep going back to him," Hornets forward Jason Smith said. "We kept it close and came up with a big win down the stretch. The drive by Greivis to win the game, he makes that shot on a consistent basis and thats why we go to him." Foye hit a 3-pointer -- his fourth of the game -- to make it 81-80. Millsap drove for a dunk to give the Jazz an 82-81 lead, and seconds later, Vasquez was called for a charge. After a replay reversal gave Utah the ball with 1:10 left, Hayward hit one of two free throws with 52.4 seconds left. Foye blocked Roger Masons outside shot out of bounds, leading to a New Orleans timeout and setting up Andersons shot from the corner. Before leaving, Davis made two spectacular plays, following a missed floater by Vasquez with a one-handed jam and driving through the lane for an emphatic dunk when no one picked him up. "We learned a lesson," Utah coach Tyrone Corbin. "We have to be more aggressive at the start of the game and play all 48 minutes. We didnt play our best basketball." Notes: The Jazz began a stretch with eight of 10 games on the road after going 11-22 away from home last season. ... Neither team shot a free throw until Vasquez hit one with 3:32 left in the first half. Utahs first foul shot came with 1:26 left in the half. Anquan Boldin Jersey . The White Sox are only 1 1/2 games ahead of the Detroit Tigers for the American League Central lead and dropped a 6-2 decision in Fridays series opener. Jake Peavy had an outing he would like to forget and gave up five runs and eight hits in five innings. Youth Ray Rice Jersey . -- Washington Redskins receiver Pierre Garcon says he has a torn ligament on the bottom of his right foot and hes hoping to avoid surgery. http://www.thebaltimoreravensgear.com/marshal-yanda-jersey . You can watch the game LIVE NOW on TSN and TSN Mobile TV. With a record of four wins and one overtime loss, Canada leads host Finland by one point with each team having two games remaining in the roundrobin portion of the competition. Bernard Pierce Jersey . The Toronto Blue Jays acquired pitchers J.A. Happ, Brandon Lyon and David Carpenter in a 10-player deal with the Houston Astros. Tyrod Taylor Womens Jersey . -- The worn-out notebook with the blue cover that Scott Pioli drags out of pile of paperwork on his desk is from 1994. OPALENICA, Poland -- Portugal lumbered through the first five months of 2012 looking like a team that was planning only a short stay at the European Championship. The talented Portuguese were winless in three warmup matches and then lost 1-0 to Germany in their Euro 2012 opener. But after netting just one goal in four matches, Portugal finally found its scoring touch in a 3-2 win over Denmark. It only got better from there, with the previously misfiring Cristiano Ronaldo finding the net three times in two matches to put Portugal into the semifinals. With the Real Madrid star on the kind of form that has made him one of the worlds best players at club level, Portugals chances of extending its run at Euro 2012 -- and perhaps even winning the countrys first major tournament -- are suddenly looking better. This team isnt considered Portugals most talented of recent years -- that honour goes to the Luis Figo-led sides that lost in the semifinals of Euro 2000 and the final of the 2004 edition. But coach Paulo Bento does have quality talent to call on -- Real Madrid defenders Pepe and Fabio Coentrao, along with Chelseas Raul Meireles and Manchester Uniteds Nani in midfield. And thats not even mentioning the sublime skills of Ronaldo. Its that sort of top-class talent that brought out around 1,000 fans, many of them kids sporting Ronaldos Real Madrid jersey, for the teams open training session in the western Polish town of Opalenica on Saturday. Serenaded by chants of "Ronaldo, Ronaldo" from the crowd, the Madrid forward and others signed autographs after a light practice session. Limited Torrey Smith Jersey. The players also showed their appreciation for the town, holding up a banner that read in Polish: "Thank you Opalenica." Bentos side next faces either France or Spain, and the Portuguese are under no illusions of how tough a task beating either of those sides will be. "France, they have young squad, a very talented one," Portugal defender Ricardo Costa said. "They play direct football, fast football. They also have a lot of creativity, and they are a difficult opponent for us if we are to meet them." Beating defending European and world champion Spain, which knocked out Portugal in the quarterfinals of the 2010 World Cup, will be no easier. "Spain -- they are a very powerful team. They have the basis of Barcelona and their style of play with a lot of passes and ball possession," Costa said. "Currently theyre playing without a striker, and some say they are struggling a little bit with their tactics. I hope they keep on struggling." Bento, who took over in September 2010 after Portugal earned only one point from its first two qualifiers, said he has no preferred opponent for Wednesdays semifinal in Donetsk, Ukraine. "Weve got no preferences in the semifinals of a big competition like this, as the teams are good teams, with different characteristics, very good players, and are very organized," he said. With Bentos team picking up steam as the tournament goes along, nobody can be looking forward to the challenge of having to face Portugal either. ' ' '