Bulls didnt waste any time moving on

Used to be the greatest rivalry in hockey was Canada vs. Russia. When the best players from both countries hooked up for an eight-game series in 1972, a heated rivalry was born. Canada won the famous Summit Series, but the Russians taught them a thing or two about conditioning and team play. Then, in 1980, things changed again when a bunch of school kids did the unimaginable and beat the Russians in the semifinal of the Olympic Games – the Miracle On Ice. Even though that victory wasnt for the gold medal, it is widely regarded as the greatest hockey game ever played and put the American right into the thick of things in terms of world dominance in the sport of hockey. Since then, Canada and Russia has waged a bitter ice war and now, with the Olympic Games being played in Russia, the host country desperate wants to win the gold medal. Thats what makes Saturdays match-up against the United States such an interesting one (7:30 a.m. ET, streaming at cbc.ca/olympics). Team USA lost the gold medal by a goal in 2010 in Vancouver and thoroughly dominated its opening game in Sochi, crushing Slovakia 7-1. Russia, meanwhile, beat Slovenia 5-2, but was not overly impressive. The Americans – pros this time – are influenced by the legend of the Miracle On Ice. Not only that, Team USA star defenceman Ryan Suter is the son of Bob Suter who was a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic team. Ryan was born five years after the stunning win over the best team in the world. On the other side of the ice, Viktor Tikhonov, 25, is the grandson of legendary Russian coach who goes by the same name. The elder Tikhonov is 83 years old. All guns firing The Russians boast a high-power offence featuring the likes of superstars Alexander Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk and Evgeni Malkin. All three scored goals in the opening victory against Slovenia. Team USA has a few snipers of its own starting with Phil Kessel of the Toronto Maple Leafs. In NHL action this season only Ovechkin, with 40 goals, has scored more often than Kessel who has 30. The speedy right-winger had a goal and three points in Team USAs win over Slovakia. Team USA coach Dan Bylsma has indicated he will stick with Jonathan Quick in goal. Quick, who led the Los Angeles Kings to the Stanley Cup two years ago, got the start ahead of Ryan Miller of the Buffalo Sabres. Miller almost singlehandedly led the United States to a gold medal in 2010. He was the tournaments most valuable player despite losing the final to Canada in overtime. Cheap Basketball Shoes Au . - Novak Djokovic beat John Isner 7-5, 6-7 (2), 6-1 on Saturday to reach the final of the BNP Paribas Open, where hell resume his longtime rivalry with Roger Federer. 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Patrick Sharp scored twice and Patrick Kane, Bryan Bickell and Nick Leddy also connected to lead Chicago to a 5-2 win over the Devils on Monday night.The Chicago Bulls recovered quickly after losing out on Carmelo Anthony in free agency, landing Los Angeles Lakers big man Pau Gasol to bolster the teams offence. Gasol announced on his verified Twitter account on Saturday evening that he reached agreement with the Bulls. "It hasnt been easy," Gasol tweeted. "After meditating it a lot Ive chosen to play with the Chicago Bulls. Looking forward to this new chapter of my career." The Spaniard is one of the NBAs most offensively gifted and versatile big men, and he has long been one of Kobe Bryants favourite teammates with the Lakers. Gasol spent the last seven seasons in Los Angeles, teaming with Bryant to win two championships and reach another NBA Finals. The exact terms of his agreement with the Bulls were not immediately clear. The Bulls and Lakers had reportedly been discussing sign-and-trade options earlier in the day Saturday, but no official announcement from either team had been made. The 7-foot Gasol is a four-time All-Star and averaged 17.4 points and 9.7 rebounds in 60 games last season with Los Angeles, and he brings some sorely needed offensive punch to the Bulls frontcourt. Even with Derrick Rose expected to be ready to start next season after missing most of the last two years with knee injuries, the Bulls were still very much in the hunt for some offensive help for one of the most hard-nosed defensive teams in the league. With Rose out last season, Tom Thibodeaus group still managed to win 48 games and make the playoffs for the sixth straight season thanks largeely to a defence led by Joakim Noah up front and Jimmy Butler on the perimeter.ddddddddddddBut scoring proved to be very difficult at times, and the Bulls lost to the Washington Wizards in five games of their first-round series. Thats why they were so hot after Anthony, perhaps the best pure scorer in the game. The Bulls felt he would be a perfect fit to be surrounded by a defensive-minded supporting cast. But as reports swirled that Anthony would remain with the Knicks, the Bulls didnt waste any time moving on. Now Gasol will team with Noah, a very good passer in the high post, in a formidable frontcourt tandem. Its also the end of an era for Gasol and the Lakers. His arrival in a trade from Memphis helped quell Bryants dissatisfaction with the direction of the franchise after owner Jerry Buss decided to move Shaquille ONeal and go forward with Bryant as the unquestioned face of the franchise. He arrived in the middle of the 2007-08 season and helped the Lakers reach the finals after a three-season absence. They lost to the Boston Celtics that time, but rebounded to win the next two championships. Gasol was the subject of trade rumours for much of his time in Los Angeles but always had the steadfast backing of Bryant. But Gasol just turned 34, battled foot injuries last season and clashed with coach Mike DAntoni several times. DAntoni is gone, but the Lakers are trying to preserve their long-term salary cap flexibility to make a run at another big star next summer, so bringing the aging big man back was not considered a high priority. ' ' '