and not be afraid to risk failing to be incredible

[lw789]

LONDON -- The Brooklyn Nets should think about making another franchise move -- to London. The Nets improved to 3-0 in regular-season NBA games in the British capital with a 127-110 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday. Joe Johnson, who spent seven years with the Hawks, led the way for the Nets at the O2 Arena. The Brooklyn guard scored 26 of his game-high 29 points in the first half, and nailed two buzzer-beating 3-pointers. "We just exploited mismatches. I was just feeding off these guys," Johnson said. "We had a lot of ball movement and took a lot of open shots." Three years ago, the then-New Jersey Nets played two regular-season games at the same O2 Arena, located on the banks of the River Thames and the venue used for the gold medal basketball game at the 2012 London Olympics. They beat the Raptors in both those games. Last year, the New York Knicks beat the Detroit Pistons in the third regular-season game to be played in London. Although the crowd seemed to save its loudest cheers for off-the-court action, both teams finished the game with five players scoring in double digits. Andray Blatche added 20 points and 14 rebounds for the Nets, while Paul Pierce contributed 18 points, Alan Anderson 15 and Kevin Garnett 12. "The ball was moving, guys were looking for each other and finding each other," Nets coach Jason Kidd said. "Joe has been off the charts. Not just last few games but the whole season." Mike Scott and Shelvin Mack, both coming off the bench, led the Hawks with 17 points each. Jeff Teague scored 16 points, Paul Millsap had 13 and Pero Antic 11. The Hawks stayed close for the first quarter, but the Nets started to pull away in the second. Anderson started an 8-0 run early in the quarter, with Pierce contributing two layups and Blatche finishing it off with a putback to make it 39-30. "Their size and their length was a problem in a lot of different ways, and rebounding was just one of them," Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. Johnson ended the half with a 3-pointer at the buzzer to make it 65-53. And the Nets pulled further away in the third quarter, with Johnson again finishing it off with a buzzer-beating 3 to make it 99-74. Although his scoring numbers dropped in the second half, Johnson has now scored 20 or more points in four straight games. "Weve got the best seat in the house," Garnett said of watching Johnson put up big numbers. "When youre so used to being in that situation yourself, its great to have a guy who can just take over the game." On the other end, Hawks guard Kyle Korver extended his NBA record to 108 straight games with a 3-pointer. Korver was off-target in the first three quarters and finally sank his eighth attempt from beyond the arc with just over 8 minutes to go, making it 111-81. That was his only basket of the night. "To give him an opportunity to continue something thats very unique and special is important," Budenholzer said. "At some point the streak will come to an end, but it wasnt tonight." Both teams play again on Monday. The Nets visit the New York Knicks while the Hawks host Miami. Besides the game, the fans oftentimes cheered wildly for the entertainment between quarters and timeouts, and for one famous guest. During a break in the third quarter, the face of Beatles great Paul McCartney flashed up on the big screen. As the crowd roared, several kids nearby jumped into the frame to make themselves seen. McCartney, sitting behind the Nets bench, then squirmed his way through the youngsters to gets his face back up on the giant monitor as "Hey Jude" blared inside the venue. NOTES: Nets G Deron Williams was out with a sprained left ankle. ... The Nets-Hawks encounter is the 12th NBA game in London, dating back to 1993, but only the fourth regular-season game. ... The Nets improved to 8-3 this season when Johnson scores 20 or more points. ... As usual, several Premier League soccer stars made their way to the O2 Arena to watch the game, including Germany striker Lukas Podolski and England midfielder Jack Wilshere. Both play for London club Arsenal. Trevor Rosenthal Cardinals Jersey . Nikolai Khabibulin was yanked in the second period, and the Ottawa Senators looked ready to put away a big road win. Justin Verlander Orioles Jersey . Trailing 2-1 from the first leg, Fiorentina levelled on aggregate in the 14th minute when Joaquin Sanchez Rodriguez headed back a long ball from David Pizarro and Pasqual smashed home an angled volley. http://www.probaseballonline.net/San-Fr ... ck-Friday/. - Bryan Price sat down in the cushy chair. Curtis Granderson Mets Jersey . The cause of his death is as of yet undetermined, but police said foul play is not suspected. Whitey Herzog Cardinals Jersey .C. -- Al Jefferson knows few people will be giving the Charlotte Bobcats a chance to upset the Miami Heat in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.GLASGOW -- When Catharine Pendrel bumped into Canadian cycling teammate Raphael Gagne at the Commonwealth Games, Gagne made a point of thanking her. It seems not only is Pendrel one of the worlds best mountain bikers, but one of the most generous as well. The 33-year-old from Kamloops, B.C., led Canada to a 1-2 finish in cross-country mountain biking at the Commonwealth Games on Tuesday, taking the lead from the opening lap and never looking back. Pendrel absolutely crushed the field to cross in one hour 39 minutes 29 seconds, a minute and 10 seconds ahead of silver medallist Emily Batty of Brooklin, Ont. Australias Rebecca Henderson was third. Max Plaxton of Victoria was fourth in the mens race. "Everyone whos watched me race knows I just like to go hard from the start. . . When you get some space between you and other riders, you just go for it," Pendrel said. "It feels ..... to win the gold for Canada." The reigning world champion decided this year to decline Sport Canadas funding -- the $1,500 a month she would normally receive as part of the athlete carding system. The money was split into three development cards of $500 apiece. Gagne told Pendrel he thought he was one of the three recipients. "That was really cool to feel like I was helping one of those guys," Pendrel said. "I felt that it could make a bigger impact in one of the up-and-coming riders life," she added, pointing out that she is a semipro athlete -- she rides for Luna Pro Team. "I just knew just how big it was to receive that carding the first time, not just financially but emotionally, to know that youve reached that level where your country wants to invest in you. And thats really special. "I wanted another athlete to have that experience." Gagne finished seventh in the mens race Tuesday, and praised Pendrel for her gesture. "Catharine did that so thats really generous from her," he said. "That opens up other spots for younger athletes like me so obviously thats super cool from her." The last time many Canadians saw Pendrel was at the 2012 London Olympics where she went in as a favourite but faded to ninth, tearfully apologizing to fans back home. The two-time world champion said the disappointment of that performance stung for some time. "But what it comes down to: I didnt have a good day. Theres so much more to look forward to and opportunities to do well for Canada," she added -- particularly, next summers Pan American Games in Toronto and the 2016 Rio Olympics. "I got sso much positive feedback that I realized, even a bad day for me can still be inspiring, and Ill just keep inspiring people to ride their bike and to reach for big goals, and not be afraid to risk failing to be incredible.dddddddddddd" On Tuesday, Pendrel, wearing earrings made from links of a bike chain -- a gift from a young .................................... from New Brunswick -- led from the outset. She was already more than a minute ahead after the first lap of the 31.95-kilometre course that twisted and turned around Cathkin Braes Country Park. A coach handed her a Canadian flag near the finish line, and she waved it as she crossed for gold, keeping intact a gold-medal streak for Canadian women. Canadas Chrissy Redden won the title in 2002 in Manchester, England, where the sport made its Commonwealth debut, and Marie-Helene Premont took the title in 2006 in Melbourne, Australia. There was no mountain bike four years ago at the Games in New Delhi, India. "I was trying to ignore the fact that Canada has never not gotten gold in mountain bike at the Commonwealth Games," Pendrel said, laughing. "I really didnt want that pressure before coming into this, but I knew with how quick Emily was going as well, that we had a strong chance." The 26-year-old Batty battled Henderson for the entire race until the Canadian pulled away on the final lap. "I was feeling strong, I knew Catharine was up the road and I knew it as going to be hard to catch her," Batty said. "I came here for gold, but silver is the next best thing." Batty, who narrowly lost to Pendrel at the recent Canadian championships, said shes benefited from the tradition of strong female mountain bikers in Canada. "It really helps. Weve always been a top-ranked country for the womens cross-country mountain biking and it puts the bar really high for our development program and it is really inspiring," she said. "Not long ago I was looking up to the top Canadian women and now being one is really inspiring. "I just gave myself goosebumps saying that," she added, laughing. "We really feed off each other, and push each other." Hundreds of fans turned out to watch the mountain bike racing, despite dark clouds, periodic rain and blustery winds. The riders had to negotiate a tricky course that featured the Brig ODoom, Broken Biscuits, and Clyde Climb -- all named by local schoolchildren. Anton Cooper of New Zealand won the mens 37.15-kilometre race, followed by teammate Samuel Gaze. Daniel McConnell of Australia won the bronze. China Jerseys ' ' '