SAN ANTONIO -- Family vacations, scouting, free agency, rest and relaxation, playing in the European Championships. Victor Hedman Jersey . The staff and players of the San Antonio Spurs had a hectic off-season, but not even the busiest day this summer could make them forget what might have been just three months ago. San Antonio was five seconds away from winning its fifth NBA title only to watch the Miami Heat rally for an improbable 103-100 overtime victory in Game 6. Almost as heartbreaking was a 95-88 loss in Game 7 that gave the Heat their second consecutive title and handed the Spurs their first series loss in the NBA Finals. "Suffice to say Ive thought about it every day," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "Im wondering if it will go away, Im anxious for it to happen, but it hasnt happened yet." Returning to the court as a team should help ease the pain. Thats what the players and coaches are hoping for. The Spurs open a four-day training camp in Tuesday at the Air Force Academy near Colorado Springs, Colo. "As time goes on, as we all know in our lives, you get back to the day-to-day stuff pretty easily, because its the nature of life," Popovich said. "Basketball might be like the 11th- or 12th-most important thing on your list. So, its time to get over it." Thats the mentality the veteran Spurs take into their 18th season under Popovich, but its one that will be different in a number of ways. San Antonios Big Three of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili return to a roster basically unchanged from last season. Still, the bench is going to look vastly different after assistants Mike Budenholzer and Brett Brown left to become head coaches at Atlanta and Philadelphia, respectively. "We really dont know yet (what impact the departures will have)," Ginobili said. "But, for sure, were going to miss them. If any of us had a doubt during the game we would go bother Brett probably before Pop because Pop is doing so many things and controlling other stuff that if you have a question you go to them because you knew they were going to think the same as Pop." Jim Boylen, formerly of the Pacers, was added to the coaching staff along with former Spurs player Sean Marks. Popovich joked he may turn over player instruction during training camp to his Big Three because he will be too busy "coaching the coaches." The Spurs have added Marco Belinelli, Corey Maggette, Sam Young and Jeff Ayres, who changed his surname from Pendergraph in the off-season, through free agency. Maggette and Young will compete to spell Kawhi Leonard, the talented third-year forward who is expected to take on a bigger role in the teams offence after a breakout campaign last year. Leonard averaged 11.9 points and 6.0 rebounds last season and had a career playoff-high 22 points as well as 11 rebounds and three steals in Game 6 against Miami. "I think Kawhi is the new Parker, Ginobili and Duncan kind of guy," Popovich said. "Hes going to take over as the star of the show as time goes on. Hes been phenomenal. Hes improved more quickly than any other player weve ever had because his mindset is such that he wants to be great and he has all the reasons to be so we have to put him in position where he can be a great player." Leonards development will be needed on a veteran team that many thought was too old to make it past the first round let alone to fall in a heartbreaking defeat in the Finals. Can San Antonio overcome that disappointment for another improbable run? The Spurs can look to their French teammates to see a rebirth is possible. Parker, Boris Diaw and Nando De Colo took some of the sting out of their Finals loss by defeating Lithuania on Sept. 22 to claim Frances first title in the European Championships. "I had a great summer," Parker said. "Obviously it was worth it. Big win for France, first win in history. That last week it was an experience that you only live once in a lifetime; it was crazy in France." Popovich was proud of his players, but jokingly said he wasnt going to take it easy on Parker during training camp even though his All-Star point guard spent most of the off-season playing for Frances national team. "No, what does he make, like $200 million a year?" Popovich said with a wry smile. Still, the jovial mood didnt quite hide the disappointment he said he continues to feel. A former player and assistant coach with the Air Force Academy, Popovich said holding training camp in a new environment should quicken the team bonding. "Its going to be a lot of fun, just to do something different," Popovich said. "Take them to altitude, take them to mountains; get them away from everything. It will help the coaches. And look at the players that have been her for a while, it will be good for them to meet the new coaches. Weve got some new players in camp, so its a good camaraderie thing." Tyler Johnson Authentic Jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Evgeni Nabokov Authentic Jersey ." Johnson was responding to comments made by lawyer Jeffrey Kessler, representing the NBA players association, who told the Washington Post that owners are treating players like "plantation workers" during the ongoing lockout. http://www.lightninghockeyonline.com/Lightning-Ryan-Callahan-Stanley-Cup-Jersey/ . The Leafs centre went for an MRI and could be out longer than that initial timeline. Bozaks injury is yet another blow to Toronto, which is already missing wingers Joffrey Lupul (bone bruise in foot) and Nikolai Kulemin (bone chip in ankle), and defenceman Mark Fraser (knee).CHICAGO -- Sluggish for most of the afternoon, the Chicago Bears found their rhythm in time to make Marc Trestman a winner in his debut. Jay Cutler passed to Brandon Marshall for the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter, helping the Bears rally for a 24-21 victory over the sloppy Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday and giving Trestman a victory in his first game as an NFL head coach. It wasnt quite the display the Bears were looking for after making some big changes in the off-season. But they made the most of a handful of big plays by Cutler and repeated mistakes by the Bengals. "There were a lot of question marks," Cutler said. "How were we going to do on offence? Are the plays going to work? Are we going to be able to block them? Am I going to complete balls? So to go out there, it wasnt pretty, it wasnt perfect, we didnt think it was going to be. We made plays when we had to make plays." Cutler threw for 242 yards behind a line with four new starters. Marshall had eight grabs for 104 yards, and the offence pulled it out after struggling most of the way. The Bengals led by 11 in the third quarter and were up 21-17 early in the fourth when Tim Jennings jarred the ball from Mohamed Sanu following a reception and made the recovery. Chicago took over at its 19 and got an 8-yard run from Matt Forte on fourth-and-inches at the Bengals 27 to keep the drive going. Cutler then found Marshall in the front corner of the end zone for a 19-yard touchdown with 7:58 remaining. The Bears made big changes in the off-season, parting with star linebacker Brian Urlacher and hiring Trestman to replace the fired Lovie Smith with the idea that he could spark the offence and lead them to the playoffs after missing out five of the past six years. Clearly, theres work to do. The offence seemed stuck most of the afternoon but came through in the end, with Cutler completing 21 of 33 passes. He also had two touchdowns to go with an interception. Charles Tillman matched a career high with two interceptions, giving him 35 overall for Chicago. And Robbie Gould set a franchise record with a 58-yard field goal at the end of the first half following some questionable clock management by Cincinnati. "I think it tested us and our backbone because it didnt go the way we wanted it to go, certainly, in the first half," said Trestman, who coached the CFLs Montreal Alouettes the past five seasons. "But the guys hung in there togethher, at halftime pulled themselves together and the team went out and played every play and were able to come out on top. Valtteri Filppula Stanley Cup Jersey. " Cincinnatis Andy Dalton threw for 282 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. A.J. Green had 162 yards receiving and two touchdowns, including a 45-yarder. But it was a disappointing opener for a team coming off back-to-back playoff appearances for the first time since 1981 and 1982. "They didnt stop us one time," Green said. "They didnt really stop us on offence. We were doing whatever we wanted. The biggest thing we had was turnovers." Up 14-10 at the half, the Bengals started the third quarter with an 80-yard scoring drive. Tillman got called for interference on a deep pass to Green that put the ball on the 1, and BenJarvus Green-Ellis plowed in from the 5 after being hit with a 4-yard loss, making it 21-10. But the Bears responded with an 80-yard drive that ended with Forte running it in from the 1 to get them back within four. Vontaze Burfict intercepted Cutler near midfield early in the fourth quarter, taking a shot to the right knee from Chicagos Kyle Adams. Cincinnati took over at the Bears 40, but Sanus fumble at the 17 led to a big swing. And Marshall couldnt believe he was one on one with Reggie Nelson on the go-ahead touchdown. "I didnt understand it. You know?" Marshall said. "Fourth quarter, put a safety on me one on one? You can only ask for that and dream about that." The Bengals would have had one last chance to win or tie it, but Rey Maualuga committed a personal foul away from the play when Cincinnati stopped Michael Bush after a short gain on third-and-6 at the Cincinnati 45 with a little over a minute left. The unnecessary roughness penalty that kept the drive going and allowed Cutler to take a knee twice, ending the game. "We had a lot of guys unfortunately lose composure today," Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said. "We cant do that." NOTES: Burfict said his knee was bruised. ... Green hurt a finger at one point, but Lewis said hes fine. ... Bengals LT Andrew Whitworth, recovering from off-season surgery on his left knee, was inactive. ... Gould held the previous Bears record with a 57-yard field goal against Denver on Dec. 11, 2011. ... Trestman joined Hall of Famer George Halas (1920), Neill Armstrong (1978) and Dick Jauron (1999) as the only coaches to win their Bears debut. cheap nfl jerseyscheap soccer jerseys ' ' '
