. McDonald and Madigan then bogeyed the fifth and ninth,

Those 36-year-old legs of Manu Ginobilis have been feeling pretty spry this season. That spring in his step that had been missing for so much of last season was back, helping the Argentine magician become a game-changer again for the San Antonio Spurs. So when the lane opened up in the third quarter Tuesday night against the Houston Rockets, Ginobili decided to go for it. He rose up, cradled the ball in his left hand and threw down a solid, one-handed dunk. And with that, Ginobili joined the growing list of injured Spurs. The team said Wednesday that Ginobili strained his left hamstring on the dunk and will miss the next three to four weeks. Ginobili joins Danny Green (broken finger), Kawhi Leonard (broken left hand) and Tiago Splitter (sprained right shoulder) on the teams injured list, a run of bad luck that has torn apart the teams depth, particularly on the wing. "You play the guys on the bench," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "We cant play the guys on the other team. I know that." The team is hopeful Splitter, who hasnt played since Jan. 4, will return in time for the teams annual rodeo road trip, a 10-game stint that begins Monday in New Orleans. That would help out Tim Duncan and the big men up front, but the problems on the perimeter remain. After struggling for much of last season, Ginobili signed a two-year contract to remain in San Antonio. He has rebounded this season to resume his role as the Spurs playmaker off the bench, averaging 12.1 points, 4.5 assists and shooting 52 per cent on his 2-point shots. During a monthlong stretch from the middle of December to the middle of January, Ginobili scored at least 20 points five times in a 16-game span to help the Spurs once again establish themselves among the NBAs elite teams. Hes been pretty healthy as well, missing two games earlier in January because of a sore left hamstring before injuring it more severely on Tuesday night. Ginobili, who has long been the emotional centre of this close-knit team, was dejected as he limped off the court. His injury puts even more responsibility on the shoulders of veteran Marco Belinelli, who has been a reliable shooter in a supporting role after coming over in free agency from the Chicago Bulls. Belinelli is averaging 10.9 points and shooting 46.7 per cent from 3-point range for the Spurs. With the injuries to Leonard and Green, Belinelli had become a starter on the wing and seen his playing time steadily increase. Belinelli played 38 minutes in the loss to Houston, and the Spurs recently signed NBDL standout Othyus Jeffers to a 10-day contract to give them another warm body on the perimeter. Thanks in large part to Ginobilis return to form, the Spurs entered Wednesdays game against the Bulls at 33-12, good for second place in the hyper-competitive Western Conference. But theyve lost three of their last four games, are 1-11 against the top seven teams in the league and now face the daunting challenge of that long road trip without Ginobili, and with Portland (33-13) and the Clippers (32-15) right on their heels. Chicago is facing its own injuries woes. All-Star point guard Derrick Rose was lost for the season with a knee injury for the second consecutive year and starting centre Joakim Noah (illness) and guard Kirk Hinrich (right hamstring) are game-time decisions for tonights game against San Antonio. So, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said he has little empathy for the Spurs, not because Chicago is also battling injuries, but because of how deep San Antonio is. "Its the nature of the league. Its the grind of an 82-game season. Youre going to take injuries on. Its how you respond and the Spurs have always done a good job with that. Its the way the Spurs are built." Wes Hopkins Jersey . Bjoergen pulled away from Swedens Charlotte Kalla on the final straight to win in 38 minutes, 33.6 seconds and defend her title from the 2010 Vancouver Games. Kalla was 1.8 seconds back. Heidi Weng of Norway took bronze. Mike Wallace Eagles Jersey . The defending champions sent their preliminary list to FIFA on Tuesday, with coach Vicente del Bosque to announce the final 23-man squad on May 25. Costa is set to lead the attack in his native Brazil, with Atletico Madrid teammate David Villa and Chelseas Fernando Torres also included, while David de Gea replaces injured goalkeeper Victor Valdes. http://www.theeaglesfootballauthentic.com/eagles-desean-jackson-black-jersey/ . At 11:06 of the first period, Neal struck Marchand with his knee when Marchand was down on the ice. Marchand remained in the game. Neal was assessed a kneeing penalty for his hit on Marchand. Brian Westbrook Womens Jersey . And all things considered, the first 40 games have offered a little bit of everything from a hockey club that faced many questions in its first year under new management, with a new head coach and with a number of new faces in the lineup. However, with a recent dip in scoring, it seems some of the same old questions persist and several new ones have been raised after a somewhat troubling homestand. JJ Arcega-Whiteside Womens Jersey . According to the sportsbook BoDog, the Stampeders are 8/5 favourites to take home the Grey Cup at Mosaic Stadium in Regina on November 24.WINNIPEG - Timothy Madigan carded a 3-under 68 on Saturday to claim a three-stroke lead entering the final round of The Players Cup. Madigan, who is seeking his first career win on the PGA Tour Canada, finished 54 holes at Pine Ridge Golf Club at 9-under-par 204. Josh Persons shot an even-par 71 to move into second place at 7-under 206, while Ricky McDonald is alone in third at minus-6. Second-round leader Erik Barnes tripped to a 4-over 75 on Thursday to fall into a share of fourth with Jay Myers (67) at 5-under 208. Barnes entered the day with a 2-stroke lead, but bogeyed the second to fall to 8-under and cut his advantage to just one. McDonald then birdied the first and fourth to claim a share of the lead before Barnes dropped another shot at the fourth to leave McDonald alone atop the leaderboard. Madigan, meanwhile, birdied the fourth and seventh to meet McDonald at 8- under. McDonald and Madigan then bogeyed the fifth and ninth, respectively, to each fall to minus-7 and into a tie for the llead with Persons and Barnes.dddddddddddd Persons had countered a double-bogey at the second with birdies at the fourth and sixth to reach 7-under. McDonald would then bogey the seventh, 10th, 11th and 12th to fall well off the pace before a hole-in-one at the 14th brought him back into contention, while Barnes bogeyed the ninth and 10th to also lose his share of the lead. Persons was next to fall out of the top spot with back-to-back bogeys at the 11th and 12th. That left Madigan alone in the lead and he took advantage with birdies at the 15th and 17th to move to 9-under and claim a 3-stroke lead. Persons closed his round with birdies at the 16th and 18th to pull within two of Madigan entering the final round. NOTES: Madigan has two top-five finishes this season, including a runner-up to Persons at the Bayview Place Island Savings Open in June ... McDonald is seeking his first career win on tour. He also has a runner-up this season, finishing in second place at the Syncrude Boreal Open. ' ' '