Own The Podium also noted in the confidential

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Kevin Durant insists he and Russell Westbrook arent turning their first-round series into a two-man show, even if the NBA scoring champ says they may be shooting too much. Durant and his Oklahoma City teammates agree those shots will fall. Saturday night in Game 4 would be a good time to start, or the Thunder could find themselves on the brink of playoff elimination in the opening round for the first time since 2010. "I just didnt make shots," Durant said Friday after practice. "Thats the name of the game. But I liked the way I cut, I liked the way I was aggressive. But I have to do a better job of maybe passing the ball a little bit more and also making shots. Ive got to stay confident in myself." Durant and Westbrook each scored 30 points in Thursday nights 98-95 overtime loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, combining to go 19 of 53 or a majority of the 87 shots the Thunder took. Worse, they were a chilling 4 of 21 beyond the arc with Durant missing all eight of his attempts. Thunder centre Kendrick Perkins said that wont happen again. "KD is obviously the league MVP and we expect him to be the MVP down the stretch," Perkins said. Memphis has been making Durant and Westbrook work hard for shots by crowding the paint while holding the Thunder below 40 per cent shooting in back-to-back games. Now the Grizzlies have the same 2-1 lead they had a year ago in the semifinals against Oklahoma City after consecutive overtime wins. Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger said they want to limit the easy shots and hope Durant and Westbrook miss some. "Theyre going to get them up," Joerger said. Durant and Westbrook werent alone. Oklahoma City went 5 of 28 for a chilling 17.9 per cent. That was just the seventh time in the playoffs the Thunder have shot 20 per cent or less from 3 since moving to Oklahoma City, and three came against the Grizzlies. Thunder coach Scott Brooks said the Grizzlies have been forcing them to take some of the 3s by crowding three and four players around the paint. Oklahoma City can loosen up Memphis by hitting some of those "The ones were trying to eliminate and hopefully we do that next game, are the ones that are off the dribble with the no passes. Those are the tough ones. Those are the ones that we dont want. The ones we like, and were going to have to be able to step up and make, are the ones when theyre packing the paint." Still, the Thunder, who posted the NBAs second-best record, remain confident. "Itd be different if we got blown out or we feel like we didnt have a chance to win," Westbrook said. "Were in a good place." So are the Grizzlies. They now have won four of the last six playoff games against Oklahoma City, including four straight on their home court. The Thunders lone win here in the post-season needed three overtimes in Game 4 of their 2011 semifinal. Not even going to overtime after blowing fourth-quarter leads has bothered Memphis, which has been pushing for the playoffs since January once centre Marc Gasol returned from a sprained left knee. The Grizzlies went 10-4 in games decided by three points or less as one of only four teams with double-digit wins in one-possession games. Conley called Saturday night the next most important game of the season. "We know theyre not going to go away," Conley said. "Theyre going to fight and do whatever they can to win the series." Pittsburgh Steelers Jersey . - The Detroit Lions have placed tight end Brandon Pettigrew on injured reserve, ending his season. Ryan Shazier Steelers Jersey . The Blue Jackets got goals from Cam Atkinson, Nick Foligno, Boone Jenner and R.J. Umberger and Curtis McElhinney posted his first shutout since 2011 in a 4-0 victory on Friday night. http://www.steelersproauthentic.com/Bla ... th-Jersey/. And like the near entirety of last season, Jonathan Bernier and Torontos goaltending tandem is up to the task. Le Veon Bell Steelers Jersey . Kelli Stack and Alex Carpenter also scored for the Americans, who avoided a repeat of Finlands upset at the Four Nations Cup in Lake Placid, N.Y., in November. Finnish goalie Noora Raty made 58 saves in that one, but the three-time Olympian could stop just 40 of 43 U. Ryan Harris Steelers Jersey . Cabrera-Bello shot a 1-over-par 73 and was caught by Webster, who carded 70 at Doha Golf Club for three-round totals of 12-under 204. They were only one stroke ahead of Adrien Saddier of France, the biggest mover with six birdies in his opening seven ........... in a round of 64, South African Thomas Aiken (70) and Denmarks Thorbjorn Olesen (68) on a packed leaderboard.The problem: Canadas Paralympic team performed well below expectations two years ago during the Summer Games in London. One possible solution: targeting events that attract the severely disabled and have weaker entry fields, giving Canada a chance to boost its medal count. Savvy tactic or "shameful" sportsmanship? Own The Podium, Canadas high-performance sport funding initiative, is suggesting Canadian Paralympic officials target athletes who participate in sports for the severely disabled, a strategy that could boost Canadas faltering Paralympic medal count but one that is leaving some sports marketing executives and athletes suggesting officials are using a "back door" to get more medals. The suggestion by Own The Podium officials was disclosed in documents obtained by TSN under Canadas Access to Information laws and comes after a performance by the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic teams in London thats described by Canadian officials as disappointing. The documents include email correspondence, post-Games briefings and audits that dissect Canadas performance at the 2012 Summer Games in London and suggest that during the lead-up to the next Olympic Games in Rio in two years, Canada is paring the number of sports and athletes it funds through the Own The Podium program. The documents were produced by Own the Podium in late 2012 and were shared with the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Committees as well as the federal government. They highlight how Canadian officials have dropped the "please like us" veneer in favour of a more cutthroat approach to competition. Created in 2005, the Own the Podium program has pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into Canadas quest for medals, focusing on athletes who are predicted to have a top-three finish. In Vancouver, the program garnered widespread approval after Team Canada won 14 gold medals, tops among countries, after having been shut out of golds in the prior two Olympic Games held in Canada. In one document titled, "Confidential initial reflections from 2012 Paralympic Games," Own The Podium officials wrote Canada "took a significant step back relative to other leading nations" at the London Paralympic Games. Canada secured seven gold medals at London, half as many as Own the Podium staff had predicted for the Canadian team, according to the Oct. 4, 2012, document. "Other nations have adopted a much more professional approach in many para-sports," the document says. "There is some complacency within some para-sports in Canada. "Canada struggles with entries in events for classes with more severely disabled athletes," the document says. "Many nations appear to have targeted performance in events for female athletes with a disability… Consider strategic investments that support potential multi-gold individual athletes and events with weak depth of field such as events for athletes with severe disabilities and some events for female athletes." Own the Podium has cut funding to several Paralympic sports following London, including womens wheelchair basketball (which received a total of $986,000 in 2009-10 and 2010-11 but has not received funding since the 2012 Games) and womens goalball. Equestrians funding was also cut drastically. Still, Own The Podium has increased its funding in the Paralympics to triathlon, canoe-kayak and archery and overall, its Paralympic funding has totaled $10.1 million in the first two years of the Rio 2016 quadrennial, up from $9.4 million during the firstt two years of the London quadrennial.dddddddddddd One of the documents conclusions has been censored by the Canadian government, which cited the confidentiality of a third party. The tactic of targeting sports for the severely disabled is polarizing. "On one hand, the outcome (support for a worth cause) is good," said Mike Gilleran, executive director of the Santa Clara Universitys sports law and ethics department. "On the other, the motive, lets kick ass in this weaker depth of field for the glory of Canada is probably not the most inspirational call to arms weve ever heard." Andy Harkness, a sports marketing executive in Toronto whose clients include Canadian Tire and Scotiabank, said he doesnt like the strategy. "We shouldnt prop up our medal counts on the back of lesser known sports and athletes," Harkness said. "The rub to me is that it sounds like we are using severely disabled athletes to prop up numbers and that doesnt sound right." Jeff Adams, a Canadian Paralympian and six-time world champion in wheelchair sports, called Own The Podiums tactic "shameful." "How are the underpinnings of this document reconciled with the spirit of sport and all the motherhood and apple pie messages about not winning at all costs?" Adams told TSN. "When that win at all costs mentality is layered with win the easy medals at all costs, it becomes doubly wrong," he said. "Chasing after easy things is certainly not what sport taught me, and this sends a terrible message to athletes and to Canadians. Im embarrassed this document was created." Own The Podium chief executive Anne Merklinger said the tactic has nothing to do with cutting financial support to athletes who already are receiving help. "Its not a question of narrowing the focus," she said in an interview. "Its a question of focusing on athletes that have severe disabilities because when you look at the international scene, there are very few entries from nations in categories of athletes that have severe disabilities. That is a strategic opportunity. If Canada is able to identify athletes with severe disabilities, that is a medal opportunity for our country."Martin Richard, a spokesperson with the Canadian Paralympic Committee, said he attended a conference in 2012 when Merklinger disclosed the suggested tactic. "These were early observations," Richard said. "I understand (the concerns.) Its the language. Its direct. Theres no rationale behind it, and it opens it up for interpretation." Bob Stellick, a Toronto sports marketer, suggested Own The Podiums suggestion is a sign of the times. "It sounds harsh but really does mimic what (Canadas Olympic teams) were doing at the regular Olympics," Stellick said. "They definitely focused on more obscure and limited talent pool sports." Own The Podium also noted in the confidential documents that able-bodied Canadian Olympic teams in rowing, cycling and diving also underperformed--at a time when around the world, "escalating investment in Olympic medals has turned into an arms race." There was a "shallow pool of podium potential athletes," Merklingers group said in a Sept. 17, 2012, memo. "Anticipate that fewer sports will be targeted for 2016." Since London, Own The Podium has cut funding on the able bodied side to mens wrestling, fencing, gymnastics. Sports that have received an increase in funding include archery, tennis and womens rugby. Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '