CARBONDALE, Ill. cheap nfl jerseys . -- Southern Illinois was inspired offensively by coach Barry Hinsons return to the bench following a death in the family, and the Salukis shot 54 per cent. It wasnt nearly good enough against No. 8 Wichita State. Fred VanVleet had 17 points, seven assists, two steals and no turnovers and the Shockers remained unbeaten behind 62 per cent shooting, opening Missouri Valley Conference play with an 82-67 victory Thursday night. "Were glad to get out of here with a win," coach Gregg Marshall said. "I knew that with everything thats been going on with Coach Hinson, the way the team had rallied around him and then with the tragedy with his family, we were honestly afraid that this team would pull out something special." Hinson returned after missing one game due to the death of his son-in-law, 31-year-old Niles Thomason, on Christmas while visiting family. In an emotional postgame news conference, the usually fiery coach blamed himself for the loss, saying he just wasnt up to it. He also pointed out that Wichita State was very, very good and coming off a Final Four appearance, and said the key to game was the "the little stinker VanVleet." Last month after a loss at Murray State, Hinson called players "mamas boys," then later apologized for singling out a player for criticism. "Tonight, I dont mind telling you Im going to point the finger at me," Hinson said, his voice halting at times. "When youre 52 years old, you ought to be mature enough to at least figure out how to fake it, and get your guys energized. "And I couldnt do that, so I take full responsibility." Hinson said the death hit him hard on New Years Eve. "The biggest thing that bothers me is Im a basketball coach and Im a father and we fix things," Hinson said. "And I cant, I cant, fix this." Cleanthony Early scored 23 points for the Shockers (14-0, 1-0), the preseason conference favourites. The 14-0 start is five wins better than the schools previous best and the 14-game winning streak matches the school mark set in 1953-54 under coach Ralph Miller. "Like Coach says, its easy to get a good look every time when youre setting yourself up," Early said. "Its easy to fall in love with just trying to score every time when you get a big lead like that but we stayed patient and stayed focused." Sean OBrien and Desmar Jackson had 19 points apiece for Southern Illinois (4-10, 0-1), which upset Wichita State at home last February the week after the Shockers had been knocked out of the Top 25. "This group plays a little smarter than that group at times," Marshall said. "It starts with Fred." Nick Wiggins added 13 points on 5-for-5 shooting for Wichita State. Southern Illinois was out of it early despite its strong shooting. OBrien topped his previous career best of 11 points. Wichita State shot 59 per cent to go with a 16-8 rebounding advantage and near error-free play while building a 49-32 halftime lead, committing its lone turnover with about 3 minutes to go. The Shockers got contributions across the board with an 18-0 run over a span of 3:19 that made it 33-16 with just over 8 minutes to go. Darius Carter opened the run with consecutive baskets and the Shockers got three-point plays from Early and VanVleet plus 3-pointers by Wiggins and VanVleet. Late in the half, Cotton and Early got behind the Southern Illinois defence on consecutive possessions in transition. The Shockers are 30-8 on the road the last three seasons, best in the nation. nfl jerseys china . -- The Detroit Lions have released defensive back Brandon McDonald and signed defensive tackle Jovan Haye. cheap jerseys from china . Dominic Oduro put the visitors on top after 26 minutes, but LaBrocca equalized less than two minutes into the second half, giving the Fire 12 draws already this season, just two short of the MLS single-season record of 14 set last season by FC Dallas. Chivas goalkeeper Dan Kennedy did well to keep out an effort from Oduro in the eighth minute, but the Chicago striker was not going to be denied midway through the opening half.Remember when Alonzo Mourning refused to play in Canada? How about Raptor power forward Antonio Davis? After blossoming into an All Star in Toronto, he opted out of his contract because he felt uncomfortable that his kids were singing O Canada. And learning the metric system. These were actual reasons he gave. I do not predict Amir Johnson feeling similarly. Something is happening — has happened — and it is a genie for whom the bottle will forever be too cramped. Turns out, after two decades of tumult and failure, subtly and steadily, Toronto has turned into a basketball mecca. In a fitting end to the roundball dominance of Chicago, Los Angeles and New York, each respectively has been or is being upset by Wizards, common decency and your Toronto Raptors. This isnt emphatic hype from a success-starved fan. This is real. This is how the future of Toronto basketball is going to play out. (Results guaranteed or your money back.) First, Toronto is going to beat the Brooklyn Nets. They are going to do this because they are faster, stronger, better coached and more talented. My words to Garnetts ears, I think theyre tougher too. Id confidently go to battle against KG, Pierce and Deron Williams with Lowry, Amir and Jonas. (Toronto can also selectively deploy Tyler Hansbrough, forcing Brooklyn to be mindful of his ever-present Metta World Peace potential. Observe when Hansbrough is deployed in a game. Always during a "Charles Oakley moment" when a teammate is being manhandled or has taken a series of tough fouls, and it is time for a guy made of elbows to contribute. Last game he played for 8 minutes, committed 3 fouls, and even touched the ball a few times.) The only reason the series goes seven is Torontos lack of experience. Heading into Game 5, the Raptors are now nearing the point of enough collective savvy and bend-but-dont-break guile to beat these paper tigers. The New Jersey Nets of Brooklyn are going down. (Sidenote on Donald Sterling: I would be neglectful not to mention the shadow hanging over an otherwise terrific first round of NBA playoffs. This is a teachable moment to talk about prejudice, especially when a Toronto club has experienced something similar. Remember when Harold Ballard warned us of the Soviet threat in 1979, proclaiming no Russian would ever play for the Maple Leafs, that they were "parasites and barnacles who steal our money?" I think Nikki Borschevsky told me that story. It was just the kind of boldly regressive, anti-humanistic rhetoric which helped spurn a generation of iconic movie villains from Ivan Drago to Boris the Blade. We may never see the same yield of film icons, but after commissioner Adam Silvers welcome and decisive announcement, I guarantee this whole affair ends in the plus column. Before you can explain to your mother that "Instagram is like Twitter with more pets," Magic Johnson will own an NBA team and Donald Sterling will not. Let him waste away in his underground lair, using his billions for, oh, I dont know, drumming up support to bomb North Korea? Backing anti-climate change lobbyists? Pouring millions into Monsantos nuclear corn division? Im not really sure what super-villains are into these days.) Speaking of villains, up next will be Miami, a team Toronto will not get past. This second round series is whats known in the business as "valuable experience". Any team on its way up bonds, grows and learns how to win by getting beat bby the best. wholesale nfl jerseys. Do not be surprised when T.O. finds a way to win a game, maybe two (possibly three). This years Heat have a touch of the Nets in them (see: slow, creaky). They also have Lebron so they will be winning. 2014/15. Critical mass. The season NBA fans will remember as the Canadian Invasion. The one lasting achievement of the Vince Carter-era is inspiring a generation of local athletes to basketball greatness. The talent emerging is staggering, and some of it a credit to Carter as the deified player who sparked their imagination as kids. He, and two-time MVP Steve Nash, have long been the main influences for young Canadian ballers. In 1996, Nash was drafted 15th overall, the highest pick in NBA history for a Canuck. But years would pass. Bill Wennington would retire. Carter would move on to half-ass it in other cities. The Northern Uprising would start afresh in 2011, when Cleveland drafted Toronto-native Tristan Thompson 4th overall, a new record. Emerging San Antonio Spurs point guard Cory Joseph, a native of nearby Pickering, was drafted 29th. By 2012, a record five Canadians would be drafted, led by Orlando forward Andrew Nicholson (taken 19th). 2013 would be uncharted territory for Canadian ball. It was the first time two Canadians were selected in the lottery, including 13th selection, Toronto-native Kelly Olynyk and, shockingly, another Toronto-native, Anthony Bennett, going first overall. FIRST OVERALL. And he wasnt supposed to be the guy to accomplish that. That honour was being reserved for 2014s expected draft class hero, Raptor fan, and Toronto-native Andrew Wiggins (note the geographic trend). He may still wind up chosen first overall. Highly-touted Toronto-born Tyler Ennis is also declaring for this years draft and expected to go in the first round. 7-foot-5-inch Sim Bhullar (of Toronto) has a chance to be drafted as the first NBA player of Indian descent. Mississauga-native Nik Stauskas is considered a potential lottery pick. The list is long. Peruse the 2014 mock draft board. I did the math. Toronto is the best represented city in the world. Though the seminal players in Torontos basketball history may not be the most beloved, Marcus Camby, Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady and Chris Bosh represent a considerable quantity of upper echelon talent which will someday appear as the bedrock on to which greater success was built. They are testament that superstars can be developed in Toronto, in Canada, where Vince Carter led fan voting for the All Star game four times, and Terrence Ross has been turning on young fans with dunk championship flare. More winning will build more local talent. Perceptions will change. A noteworthy cogitation to pull all this accounting together. It is entirely plausible there could come a day — there will come a day — when great players around the league are nagging their agents, opting out of contracts early, even colluding with their talented buddies...to come to Toronto. With so much homegrown talent pouring into the league, the standard could well be broken soon, where the prominent talents want to come to Toronto rather than dismiss it. To some extent, it is going to happen. To what extent, will be exciting to witness. >> Gallays Poll #8 << Who would you most like to see receive a hard foul from Tyler Hansbrough?(A) Kevin Garnett (most likely)(B) Jason Kidd (less likely)(C) Jay-Z (unlikely)(D) All of the above (almost certainly) cheap jerseys ' ' '
