ATLANTA -- Boston Celtics forward-centre Jermaine ONeal

ATLANTA -- Boston Celtics forward-centre Jermaine ONeal will have surgery on his left wrist and miss the remainder of the season, adding more urgency to the teams search for inside help. Nike Free Schuhe Billig. ONeal, in his 16th NBA season, already has missed 13 games with the sprained wrist. Celtics spokesman Jeff Twiss said Monday no date has been set for the surgery. The 33-year-old ONeal has averaged 5 points and 5.4 rebounds in 25 games, including 24 starts, this season. Celtics coach Doc Rivers said before Monday nights game against the Hawks the team hopes to add "one or two bigs" this week to replace ONeal, who has been out since Feb. 22. "We already had counted this in, honestly," said Rivers of ONeals inability to return. "Weve had the For Sale sign out. Weve just got to get somebody to buy. "I feel good that were going to find a couple of guys. ... Wed like one that has a skyhook and is 7 feet tall, but were probably not going to find that." The Celtics, seventh in the Eastern Conference, began Monday nights game in Atlanta only two games over .500. Kevin Garnett, Brandon Bass and Paul Pierce were Bostons three starting forwards against the Hawks. Rookie Sasha Pavlovic, averaging only 1.9 points per game, was one of Rivers first substitutes against the Hawks. Rivers said the team cant be too selective in its search for help. "Really, honestly, whoever comes, were going to look at him and were probably going to sign him," Rivers said. "Its pretty close to that." ONeal, from Columbia, S.C., was a first-round pick by Portland in 1996. He also has played with Indiana and Miami. He averaged more than 20 points per game in four straight seasons with Indiana (2002-06). Nike Free Schuhe. 6 Tomas Berdych 6-3, 6-2 on Thursday at the Kooyong Classic. Hewitt defied his current ranking of 82 to beat Berdych in only 88 minutes and said later he felt he would be competitive against anyone at the seasons first grand slam. Nike Free Run 3 Kinder. Canadas top-ranked mens singles tennis player uses Barcelona as his training base and deploys an exclusively Spanish coach. http://www.nikefreeschuheshop.de/. "The Canadiens said Im no longer in the race," Giguere told the Montreal newspaper by phone. "They told me very recently, but I dont want to say any more to do any harm to the teams process." Giguere told La Presse that he had two conversations with the Canadiens, who have been in search of a replacement for Pierre Gauthier since Mar. Nike Free Günstig Kaufen. Javier Hernandezs close-range finish in the 19th minute was enough to earn the Premier League champions their first victory at Goodison Park since 2007. Alex Fergusons side kept up the pressure on Manchester City at the top of the league and also went some way to erasing the memory of the 6-1 humiliation a week ago. Nike Free Run Laufschuhe. -- Ricky Williams didnt really look like the Ricky Williams the football world has come to know.PITTSBURGH -- The fear is gone. The doubt too for that matter. Ditto the hesitation. A year into his comeback from the concussion-like symptoms that nearly derailed Sidney Crosbys career, the Pittsburgh Penguins superstar is back atop the NHL scoring race thanks to his unparalleled mix of artistry, speed and grit. It wasnt the avalanche of points -- 50 and counting heading into Fridays game against the New York Islanders -- that let Crosbys teammates know their captain was back at the top of his considerable powers. No, the proof lay in the tight places around the net where Crosby makes his living better than anyone else. "To play down low in the defensive zone against him is a nightmare," Penguins forward Craig Adams said. "Its a long way back, but I cant imagine a guy playing better than he is right now. You cant get the puck from him." Perhaps because Crosby doesnt have to worry about getting knocked around so much anymore. Dont get him wrong, the game has never been faster. The players have never been bigger and hes never drawn more attention. Yet thanks to a series of rule changes made by the league and a shift in attitude by the guys wearing the sweaters, players say the NHL is as safe now as its perhaps ever been. "I can only speak to the games we played in, theres been a difference," Pittsburgh defenceman Brooks Orpik said. "I think guys are a little bit more conscious, a little more respectful." In the 2-plus years since Crosby sustained a concussion following a blindside hit from Washingtons David Steckel in the 2011 Winter Classic, the league has outlawed shots to the head entirely and given senior vice-president of player safety Brendan Shanahan great leeway in handing out punishment for dangerous plays. Though Crosby says its still too early to tell whether the steps taken by the league have made any impact on the number of concussions sustained by players, he does see evidence of guys playing more under control. "I know its changed from my first couple years, thats for sure," Crosby said. "The game is much tighter." Crosby pointed to the average number of penalties as evidence that sticks, elbows, etc., arent flying quite as much as they used to. Teams are averaging 3.6 power-play opportunities a game this season, down from 5.8 per game during Crosbys rookie year in 2005-06. Part of the decline can be attributed to the decreasing amount of open ice. After offences flourished following the 2004-05 lockout, the pendulum has swung back to more conservative, defensive-minded schemes. The result is more clutching and grabbing, sure, but also a decision by players to avoid the kind of unnecessary penalties that can tilt games. It doesnt always lead to thrilling hockey, but it can lead to smarter, safer play. "Obviously everyone needs to protect their heads and do the right thing in that mindset," Nashville forward David Legwand said. "But we also want to win hockey games and play the right way." The definition of what "right way" is, however, remains entirely up for interpretation. Where some players see progress, New York Rangers coach John Tortorella sees a problem. Tortorella believes the game has become almost too sanitized, particularly the closer to the goal the puck gets. "Underneath the hashmarks, I think you need to let us play a little bit more," he said. "And I kind of miss that part of it. II know its not going to come back to that. Nike Free Run Schuhe But I thought that was a big part of hockey back in those years, and we certainly cant do those type of things now." Tortorella isnt embracing brutality as much as he is vocalizing what is, in some ways, an identity crisis for many contact sports. Hockey is trying to preserve the spirit of the game while also protecting the health of its players. Getting hard data on concussions is difficult because many teams remain vague about the nature of an injury, often never getting more specific than "upper body" and "lower body." Even the Penguins -- one of the few progressive franchises in the league when it comes to discussing such matters -- grew reticent when reigning NHL MVP Evgeni Malkin left a game against Florida last month after sliding into the end boards. Pittsburgh declined to label Malkins injury as a concussion until two days had passed. The play in question, unlike the hit that sent Crosbys career into crisis, however, was clean. And the league understands that no amount of legislation will be able to eradicate head trauma from the game for good. Detroit Red Wings general manager Ken Holland believes the number of players diagnosed with concussions this season are down compared to last year but even he is working mostly off anecdotal evidence. "I think were doing as good of a job as we ever have in protecting our players," he said. "But, when you have 6-foot-2, 200-plus pound players on skates going 25 miles per hour and theyre hitting each other, youre going to have some injuries." Dont mistake positive steps, however, for victory. Every week Shanahan is forced to review tape of questionable plays. Buffalo forward Patrick Kaleta received a five-game suspension three weeks ago after sending New York Rangers forward Brad Richards into the boards. Philadelphias Harry Zolnierczyk sat four games for launching his shoulder at the head of Ottawas Mike Lundin. Both penalties -- like all others handed out by the league -- were accompanied by a video from Shanahan breaking down the play and explaining what the guilty player did wrong. Coaches can then use the video as teaching moments during team meetings. Adapting can take time. Yet there are success stories. Pittsburgh forward Matt Cooke was considered one of the leagues dirtiest players two years ago but has cleaned up his act to the point where when he does something wrong, it is almost a shock. He earned a rare double-minor for boarding and unsportsmanlike conduct in a win over Washington on Tuesday. Cooke said he knew he needed to change if he wanted to extend his career. And even players who lack Cookes pedigree as an enforcer have taken a hard look at how they go about their business. Adams, a grinder who has spent 12 years in the NHL as an aggressive forechecker, admits there are times he gets frustrated when he skates 200 feet only to have an opposing player intentionally turn his back to Adams to try and invite a penalty. Yet Adams -- and most of his brethren -- understand the need to hold up instead of following through. Mistakes will happen. So will concussions. Yet Adams sees a league trying to maintain a portion of its soul while also getting rid of the kind of cheap shots that almost prematurely ended Crosbys career. "Were avoiding those hits," he said. "I think its starting to get into the culture that thats not OK." ' ' '

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