CHARLESTON, S.
Nike Shox Wholesale .C. - American Sloane Stephens was upset 6-4, 6-4 by Elina Svitolina at the Family Circle Cup, losing to the 35th-ranked Ukrainian on Wednesday. The 18th-ranked Stephens fell to the 19-year-old Svitolina, who earned her fourth career victory over a top 20 player — the third coming last week at the tournament near Miami. The 21-year-old Stephens gave credit to her opponent, who moved up seven spots to reach a career-high ranking this week. "She played pretty well, and its just unfortunate that I lost, but I mean, you can just learn from the mistakes and things like that and build on it," Stephens said. Last week at the Sony Open, Svitolina defeated Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Eugenie Bouchard and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova before losing to No. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska. "I started to believe more in myself that I can compete with players like this, top level, top 20 and top 10," said Svitolina, who is making her first appearance on the green clay in Charleston. "I think this is the key, that I believe more in myself and I play more solid from the baseline and trying to go forward to finish the point earlier." Second-seeded Jelena Jankovic, the highest seeded player remaining after top-ranked Serena Williams was upset Tuesday, plays Wednesday night against American Lauren Davis. The 28th-ranked Venus William faces Chanelle Scheepers of South Africa later Wednesday. Stephens says shes looking forward to a long career. "If I play 10 more years of tennis, until Im 31, thats a lot of tennis to be played," Stephens said. "I could win the next Grand Slam or I could win one in six years and that would still be, you know, if I had pretty decent results and I was pretty consistent, I think that would still be pretty good." In other matches, Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia defeated American qualifier Grace Min 6-2, 6-3. Elena Vesnina of Russia stopped Petra Cetkovska of the Czech Republic, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.
Vans Old Skool Wholesale . She still remembers the massive roar of the home crowd when the Canadians walked out on the pitch before 47,784 fans at Commonwealth Stadium in 2002. Lang expects a similar reception for the Canadian team as the host nation at this years tournament, which begins Tuesday.
Nike Cortez Clearance . The Heat centre scored 10 of his 30 points early in the first quarter to silence the Toronto fans as Miami defeated the Raptors 113-101 on Friday night.
http://www.nikeshoesoutletwholesale.com/air-max-270-sale.html . The last team in the NBA that will have any sympathy for the Thunder is the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are showing signs of putting everything together after two years of devastating injuries.LONDON -- While critical of Dennis Rodmans trips to North Korea, incoming NBA commissioner Adam Silver says the former all-star also helped raise awareness of leader Kim Jong Uns "repressive regime." Rodman took a group of retired NBA players to the pariah state this month to play a game as a gift for Kim, a move criticized by some members of the U.S. Congress, human rights groups and the NBA. Rodman, the highest-profile American to meet Kim, has stressed he is not a statesman and is only seeking to build cultural ties between Pyongyang and Washington through basketball. But the 52-year-old Rodman has been denounced for not trying to use his influence with Kim to secure the release of Kenneth Bae, an American missionary with health problems who is being held in North Korea on charges of "anti-state" crimes. Although Rodman has been accused of becoming a public relations tool for North Koreas government, Silver regards the publicity from the trips helping to shine a light on a country with a poor human rights record. "As negative as that trip was in so many ways it also brought attention to a critical issue in North Korea that ... most Americans hadnt focused on at all in terms of a repressive regime," Silver said on Thursday in London ahead of a game between the Brooklyn Nets and the Atlanta Hawks. At the start of the Jan. 8 game in Pyongyang, Rodman sang "Happy Birthday" to Kim, who was seated at the stadium, and bowed deeply as North Korean players clapped. Silver, who succeeds David Stern as commissioner on Feb. 1, said the NBA persuaded some former players not to participate in the game. "We did talk directly with certain other players who decided not to go," Silver said after appearing at a meeting organized by the Sport Industry Group. "In terms of any damage done to the NBA, we dont think there was any damage done to the NBA ... the fact basketball happens to be very popularr in North Korea I dont think is a negative for our league.
Nike Cortez Mens Sale. "And it just demonstrates that its not just basketball but all sports bring tremendous opportunities." And, with the Nets owned by Russian businessman Mikhail Prokhorov, the NBA is looking beyond the U.S. for more investment in franchises. Stern said there are discussions with investors from China, Latin America and the Middle East, in particular those in oil-rich United Arab Emirates whose "connection to the governing families is quite close." Efforts to grow the NBA beyond U.S. shores in Britain have been limited, despite Thursdays regular-season game at the O2 Arena being the fourth in four years at the venue. While acknowledging that "football is king" in England, the NBA feels that its efforts to intensify interest have not been matched by a commitment from the government and local groups to promote the game and build facilities. Silver described the club infrastructure as being "not on a par" with other basketball nations. "We would have thought there would have been more growth," Silver said. "For whatever reason basketball hasnt caught on here," he added. "And I think there has been an absence of leadership and we have to fill the vacuum." Having expected a strong basketball legacy from the 2012 London Olympics, the NBA was disappointed the chance was not grasped. "I would say lost opportunity rather than wasted opportunity -- every government has their priorities but given how popular a venue (basketball) was during the Olympics, it should have been the launching pad for additional things happening," Silver said. "There are all kinds of reasons why governments should be getting behind the sport." Stern went further, saying: "I know the debate about physical activity in schools, but if you shut down the gyms you cant have basketball games." ' ' '
