ekansekans's blog: "df"

PHILADELPHIA -- Andrew Bynum has no idea if he will play for the Philadelphia 76ers this season. Evan Turner and Jrue Holiday are playing the role of go-to scorers just fine in his absence. Turner had 18 points and 11 rebounds, Holiday scored 25 points and the Sixers beat the Detroit Pistons 104-97 on Monday night. Turner hit the winning shot in the final seconds of overtime on Friday against Boston. Holiday took his turn with a 12-point fourth quarter against the Pistons. Holiday thrived off the pick-and-roll all game and buried a pair of pull-up jumpers in the final 2 minutes that returned the lead to five. Holiday and Turner combined for a 19-for-33 effort from the floor with 15 assists. "I thought Jrue and myself would be successful," said Turner, who made eight of his 13 shots. "When we play like this, we have a great chance at winning games. Tonight, we did that." They sure did. The Sixers needed the lift after Bynum said before the game his left knee is causing him too much pain to play. The Sixers have played without him all year. Theyre getting used to having Turner and Holiday carry them, and it could be a familiar show for the rest of the season. "I think we saw it last year in the playoffs when Jrue and myself stepped up," Turner said. "When the plays run for you, youve got to make the shot." Holiday and Turner have been Philadelphias best players, with power forward Thaddeus Young in the mix, as well. Young had 20 points and five steals. He had a nice swipe in the fourth against Tayshaun Prince at the top of Detroits key and turned it into a fast-break dunk and a 95-91 lead. Each time the Sixers needed a clutch bucket or a big steal, Holiday, Turner and Young delivered. "Were the guys that have to go out there and be key for us each and every night," Young said. Spencer Hawes had 15 points and eight rebounds for the Sixers. Greg Monroe missed a tip with less than a minute left that came back to haunt Detroit. Holiday sank a 19-footer for a 100-95 lead and the Sixers stretched the lead from the free-throw line. Monroe and Brandon Knight had 22 points apiece. Rodney Stuckey scored 19 for Detroit, and Tayshaun Prince finished with 16. "Holiday got away from us a couple of times," coach Lawrence Frank said. "We had some great looks at the rim that unfortunately didnt go our way. We just have to be cleaner." The Sixers shook off a tough loss Saturday at Boston and sluggish first half against Detroit before pulling away in the second half for the win. Jason Richardson scored 13 points for Philadelphia, including an unusual tiebreaking 3 that made it 83-80 in the fourth. Richardsons shot rattled around the rim, shot up off the top of the backboard and plopped through the net. Holidays pull-up jumper made it 98-93 and the Sixers seemed to have some breathing room with 1:53 left. The Pistons were 0-8 when they came to Philadelphia last month and thumped the Sixers 94-76. They pulled within three in this one before Monroes miss around the basket helped cost them a second straight upset win. "They are one of the best defensive teams in the league," Monroe said. The 76ers opened the third quarter with a 14-0 run, turning a three-point halftime deficit into a 60-49 lead. Holiday buried a 3 during the spurt and Hawes picked up his play after a poor first half. The Pistons recovered and pulled within three after Jason Maxiells thunderous dunk over Young. In one of the odder box scores to that point, Maxiell missed his first 10 shots to go along with 11 rebounds. He wouldnt score again or grab another rebound. Taking a temporary break on press row, Sixers CEO Adam Aron fretted that the Pistons were making the game too close. Knight promptly hit a 3 that tied it at 71. Perhaps looking for better luck elsewhere, Aron left for better seats. Hawes hit an 18-footer to end the third and give the Sixers a 76-75 lead. The Sixers are now 11-0 when leading after three quarters. NOTES: Former 76ers great Darryl Dawkins was at the game. ... Bynum said his injured right knee is feeling better but even walking causes pain in his left. Hell have his knees examined again Dec. 20th. ... The Sixers are 6-1 when scoring 100-plus points. The Pistons are 1-10 when allowing 100. ... Turner had his sixth double-double. Wholesale NFL Jerseys Supply . Starks, signed by the Steelers just before the start of training camp, missed the first two weeks of practice while rehabbing from a torn ACL in his right knee. The eight-year veteran is expected to battle for the starting left tackle spot. Wholesale Jerseys Supply . Now, theyre in the same predicament: trying to bail out two increasingly desperate teams, both teetering on the edge of collapse. http://www.wholesalechinajerseysmall.com/ . The 31-year-old from Kamloops, B.C., who was ranked No. 1 in the world last season, threw 20.72 metres. American Ryan Whiting won with a throw of 21.14. Armstrong, who battled injuries over the winter, threw 21. BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Most everywhere Lou Billittier turns these days, the Buffalo restaurateur is reminded of the NHL lockout, and its impact on his blue-collar, sports-mad town where Dominik Hasek became a star and the French Connection is still revered. Billittier misses the familiar faces of Sabres players having their traditional game-day lunch at his restaurant, Chefs. He recalled a recent conversation he had with his seafood supplier, whos struggling because he also provides salmon and chicken wings to the Sabres arena, the First Niagara Center. And then there are the arenas idled, part-time employees who stop in looking for work. With his own business down 15 per cent, Billittier can only turn them away because hes concerned whether theres enough work for his staff. "Its amazing the trickle-down effect," Billittier said, standing in his lobby, not far from Chefs "The French Connection" room, honouring the famed former Sabres line of Gilbert Perreault, Rene Robert and Rick Martin. "It bothers me, not only because were down, but it affects everything. Our community out-reach, we cant donate to the people we normally donate to. Its brutal." From south Florida to Vancouver, Montreal to Anaheim, a wide array of businesses located in the NHLs 30 markets have taken a significant hit because of the lockout, which is now in its fourth month and has wiped away 625 games. On Thursday, the league cancelled all games through Jan. 14. Joe Kasel, owner of the Eagle Street Grille in St. Paul, Minn., last month wrote a letter expressing his concerns to NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. "I had to look 32 of 48 employees in the eyes and inform them that I no longer can afford to keep them on staff," Kasel wrote. "The impact on our lives is immeasurable. One citys devastation may not seem like a powerful incentive to end the lockout; but I know this is happening in other cities around the nation." Chris Ray, manager of the Brewhouse Downtown in Nashville, said his establishment is losing an estimated $5,000 for every cancelled Predators home game. Thats already a $90,000 hit, given 18 Predators home games have been wiped out. Its no different at Wayne Gretzkys sports bar in Toronto, where much of the Great Ones memorabilia is on display. "Yes, its been very slow," said a bartender, who wouldnt give her name. "Im scared about January." The Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto is feeling the pinch. Hall of Fame spokeswoman Kelly Masse said theyve made "adjustments" to staff because gate and retail revenues are down significantly. And sos Hockeytown, aka, Detroit. The downtown three-level Hockeytown Cafe, operated by Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch, was nearly empty on Monday. "If theres not a show at the Fox, this is what its like in here," bartender Molly Brown said, referring to the Fox Theatre next door. "We havent fired anyone, but everyone has had their days and hours cut because the Red Wings arent playing. Were all suffering." The effect goes beyond bars, restaurants and tourism. In Chicago, Gunzos Hockey Headquarters, a four-store chain that sells hockey equipment annd jerseys, is losing business.dddddddddddd "Its been a huge impact. Huge, huge, huge. People dont see the games and its out of sight, out of mind," owner Keith Jackson said. "Its kind of a double-whammy for us. Were losing out on equipment sales and were losing out on the jerseys and licensed apparel sales." With the Christmas shopping season nearly over, Jackson worries those are sales hell never get back even if the NHL resumes playing soon. Mid-January will be a critical time, since Bettman has said the league doesnt want to play a season shorter than 48 games per team. With an entire season wiped out in 2004-05, outsiders are wondering whether the two sides -- rich owners and well-paid players -- are indifferent to the effects their labour disputes create. "People are disgusted," said Tom Woolsey, owner of Andrews On the Corner in Detroit. He estimates his business is down 75 per cent on nights the Red Wings are playing. "Its incomprehensible to me that after four or five prosperous years in the NHL, that they cant figure out how to split $3.2 billion (in revenue)," Woolsey said. Its mind-boggling to John Heidinger, chairman of the Service Employees International Local 200 in Buffalo, who represents about 225 ushers at First Niagara Center. "When youre making 12 bucks an hour working at an arena, and these guys are haggling over hundreds of millions of dollars, I think for a lot of people its a hard reality to understand," Heidinger said. "It really frustrates you." Sabres president Ted Black can understand the frustration. "We are disappointed the NHL and NHLPA have not been able to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement," Black said. "Our fans are extremely disappointed, and we know the lack of NHL hockey is having a negative impact on many local businesses. At the same time, we want to play hockey under the right circumstances that the NHL will negotiate on our behalf. ... The league has our full confidence." The impact of another lost season would be high. In Buffalo alone, the citys tourism bureau, Visit Buffalo Niagara, estimates local hotels that host visiting NHL teams will lose between $850,000 and $1 million if theres no season. City transit is affected. Douglas Hartmayer, spokesman for the Niagara Frontier Transportations Authority, says up to 1,700 riders use Metro Rail to attend each Sabres home game. Theres even a psychological cost, especially in a place like Buffalo, where the winters are already long, and the Sabres provide an entertaining outlet, particularly when the Buffalo Bills are struggling, as they are once again are this year. "Especially with Pegula, you had some hope," said Joe Allman, bartender at the Swannie House, referring to Sabres owner Terry Pegula, whos raised expectations since purchasing the team two years ago. "They probably are our best chance to win." With no hockey, and the Bills out of playoff contention for a 13th straight season, theres little for Buffalonians to fall back on. "You want to have something," Allman said. "And right now, we dont have anything." ' ' '