hopefully that leads to a gold medal next yea

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Al Jefferson is happy he didnt make the All-Star game. Kemba Walker said it might be a huge blessing for the Charlotte Bobcats that the big man got a few days off to rest his 29-year-old legs for the stretch run, particularly with four games in five nights coming out of the break. "Im glad he didnt make it either," Walker said with a laugh. "Hes fresh now. And you dont have to make the All-Star game to be an All-Star. I know hes a great player and unguardable in the post." Jefferson dominated the Pistons for the third time this season Wednesday night, and Walker played his best game since returning from an ankle injury to lead the Bobcats to back-to-back wins over Detroit, 116-98. Jefferson scored 29 points, while Walker had 24 points and a career-high 16 assists. The win gives the Bobcats (25-30) a sweep of the season three-game series and a 2 1/2-game lead over the Pistons in the race for the eighth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. "We had a bad reputation around this league for a long time, at least since Ive been here," Walker said. "Coach (Steve Clifford) has done a great job of changing the culture. We just want to win. We dont want to be those Bobcats where guys come in here and beat us up every night." The 6-foot-10, 289-pound Jefferson, who had 32 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists in Tuesdays 108-96 win at Detroit, went 12 of 20 from the field and grabbed eight rebounds. He has scored at least 20 points in 16 of the last 18 games and barely missed his seventh 30-point game in the last 10 games. Jefferson said the Bobcats (25-30) are playing their best basketball of the season as they gear up for the stretch run and a shot at the franchises second career playoff appearance. "We have been a top 10 on defence all year," Jefferson said. "But now our offence is picking up and were learning how to play with each other." Frustration seems to be setting in for the Pistons, who have lost nine of 14. Brandon Jennings had 20 points for Detroit before being ejected from the game with 1:13 left after picking up his second technical foul for arguing a call. Jennings did not speak to the media after the game. "We definitely have to do a better job as a team of keeping our composure, especially in tough games like this," teammate Greg Monroe said. "Down the stretch these games mean a lot. You know, keeping a level head and playing hard, as a team is something were going to have to do." Coach John Loyer said its not too late to regroup. "Its two games," Loyer said. "Granted its two that we wanted to get, two we needed to get, but we didnt get them. You move on. You figure out your next plan and you just try to go win the next game." Josh McRoberts chipped in with 15 points for the Bobcats and Ramon Sessions had 10 points and 10 assists off the bench. But its Jefferson who is setting the tone. "We are just getting acclimated to Al," Walker said. "It took a little while but we know how to play with him and play off him. He makes all the right plays. All we have to do is get him the basketball in the right spots all we have to do is make shots." The Bobcats led by six at halftime, but opened the second half with a 17-3 tear to take a 70-50 lead behind 3-pointers from Walker, McRoberts and Gerald Henderson. The Pistons got within nine in the fourth quarter, but McRoberts buried a pair of 3-pointers and Walker hit a jumper to put the Bobcats safely ahead. Loyer stressed before the game the importance of starting fast, but Monroe and Josh Smith combined to miss their first 14 shots. Meanwhile the Bobcats got off to a fast start for the second straight night, hitting 7 of 9 shots to start the game and build a double-digit first quarter lead. Cody Zeller brought immediate energy and production off the bench for the Bobcats with a career-high three blocked shots. NOTES: Former South Carolina Gamecocks defensive end and top NFL draft prospect Jadeveon Clowney attended the game. ... Charlotte had lost five straight games at home to Detroit prior to Wednesday night. ... The more aggressive Bobcats dominated on the boards, outrebounding the Pistons 49-31. Dorance Armstrong Jr. Jersey . In this space, I will be writing new and unique pieces about the team that you wont be able to find anywhere else. So naturally, in an attempt to come up with a fresh topic about the Ottawa Senators, I am going to start with a piece about their goaltending. Anthony Brown Jersey .That sight softened the blow of what ended up as a 4-3 shootout loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night.Knowing their teammate was fine after a scary headfirst fall in the opening minute of the game helped calm the Maple Leafs. http://www.officialdallascowboysfootball...rsey-womens.The third-seeded Murray, who won here in 2009, will face seventh-seeded Kevin Anderson of South Africa next on the indoor hard court. Travis Frederick Jersey .Mihajlovic was sent off minutes from the end of Thursdays 2-0 win over Brescia and has been punished for using a disrespectful expression toward the fourth official and throwing the contents of a bottle of water at him, thus assuming an intimidating attitude. Tyrone Crawford Jersey . Amaro broke the NCAA all-time record for receiving yards in a season for a tight end with 1,352 during his junior campaign, eclipsing the mark of 1,329 set by Rices James Casey in 2008. OTTAWA -- The Ottawa Gee-Gees were the only team in Canada to beat Carleton this season. The Ravens werent about to let it happen again. Carleton picked up its fourth straight national mens basketball title, and 10th in the last 12 years, with a 79-67 victory over its crosstown rival on Sunday. "Ottawa is a good team, you have to give them credit," said Carletons Tyson Hinz, who was named the tournaments most valuable player. "Thats by far the best team Ive played in my five years here." The Gee-Gees upset the Ravens last week in the Ontario University Association final. That just riled up the most successful CIS basketball team of the last 12 years. "It was pretty easy to get motivated after a loss," said Hinz, who led all scorers with 30 points. "Im so happy for the guys. Im happy we got the win." In addition to Hinz, the Ravens had solid contributions from Thomas and Philip Scrubb who had 20 and 16 points respectively. "The fact that they beat us was really motivating," said Philip Scrubb. "We just tried to focus on our team and what we had to do to win." Ravens head coach Dave Smart has been at the helm for all ten championships and has created one of Canadas greatest basketball legacies. "Every year its a different group of guys," said Smart. "These guys are special kids. Its been a long year. You guys see the wins and losses, but theres been a lot of ups and downs." Smart is known as a brilliant coach and many wonder how long before he chooses to expand his horizons, but the Ravens coach says hes happy where he is. "Even if someone offered me ridiculous money it would be a family decision," said Smart. "I know I would go into a situation coaching wise and program wise that would be worse. I have a great situation here and you have to look at it professionally, but you also have to look at your family. The point of me saying that was I aint leaving." The win was the Ravens fourth consecutive championship, but it didnt come easily. The Ottawa Gee-Gees came into the tournament as the No. 1 seed and advanced to the final for the first time in program history. The final score was hardly indicative of the battle that was fought all afternoon. The Ravens led by two, 16-14, after the first quarter, but the early half of the second belonged to the Gee-Gees as they pulled away with a six-point lead. The Ravens regained control on the back of Hinz, who had 13 points in the firrst half.dddddddddddd The Ravens again led by two at the half, 37-35, but as so often has been the case this season the third quarter was where Carleton was at its best, jumping out to a 58-49 lead. "It was a tough third quarter for us," said Ottawa head coach James Derouin. "Carleton is sort of known for their quarter and coming out of halftime. We made a couple shots early in the quarter and I thought we had sort of sustained it, but the O-glass ended up killing us in the end. I think 29 second chance points and you just cant give a team this good that many second chance opportunities." The Gee-Gees made a valiant effort through the fourth, but the Ravens experience came through and they made the most of their opportunities at the free throw line. Carleton was 21-for-25 from the free throw line, while Ottawa was 8-for-11 which left the Gee-Gees coaching staff questioning a number of calls. Despite the loss, the Gee-Gees say they will look to grow from this experience and will use it as motivation for next season. "I just told them how proud I am of them," said Derouin. "They should be proud of the season they had. Our goal is to be back here next year. We were bronze last year, silver this year and hopefully that leads to a gold medal next year." Fourth-year forward Johnny Berhanemeskel led the Gee-Gees with 19 points. In the bronze medal game the University of Alberta Golden Bears defeated the No. 4 Victoria Vikes 61-53 Sunday morning. It was a quick turnaround for the Canada West rivals, who both lost in Saturday nights semifinals and also lost an hour of sleep thanks to daylight savings time. "I dont think either team was excited about playing with the time change in the bronze medal game," said Golden Bears head coach Barnaby Craddock, whose troops defeated Victoria 82-77 in the conference final last weekend. Alberta took control early on jumping out to a 25-4 lead after the first quarter. Victorias offence rebounded in the second quarter as they outscored Alberta 17-15, but it wasnt enough as Alberta led 40-21 at the half. The Vikes outscored the Golden Bears for the entire second half, but were unable to erase the advantage Alberta built up in the early going. Golden Bears star graduating forward Jordan Baker led his team with 16 points and eight assists in his final CIS game. Victorias fifth-year guard Terrell Evans finished his career leading the Vikes with a game-high 16 rebounds and 18 points. 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