Unser Chat » for wine and cigars

Last April, Nik Stauskass season at Michigan came crashing to a halt with a tough 82-76 loss to the Louisville Cardinals in the NCAA Championship game. The 66" shooting guard started all but six games in his freshman year, averaging 11 points per game and shooting .440 from the three-point line. Based on his post-game comments, it was clear that he took the championship loss hard. "We just got to move on," he said, his eyes clearly filled with tears. "I know myself, Im going to get back in the gym tomorrow to start working on my game." Stauskas wasnt giving lip service. The dozen or so shooting videos, shot from his backyard in Mississauga, Ontario in sun, rain and snow on YouTube, attest to his incredible drive. His quest for improvement was doubly as important as the top two players on the Wolverines, National Player of the Year, Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway, Jr., were both selected as first-round picks in this past Junes NBA Draft. With their departure, someone had to emerge on the team to pick up the slack and Stauskass work ethic would not allow it to be anyone else but him. "It just comes from me loving the game," he said. "I enjoy playing basketball, so its not really work for me. I enjoy getting better and anytime you go out there and see yourself being successful, it motivates you to try even more and get even better. Its kind of like a cycle for me - the better I get, the more I want to work." Already established as one of the best shooters in college basketball, Stauskas spent the summer in Ann Arbor, Michigan, rounding out his game. Working on his ball-handling to take defenders off the dribble and finish at the rim, he also added 16 pounds of muscle to his lithe frame. The result of his efforts was something no one expected him to do, by averaging 18.2 points in his first 11 games of the season. When met with stiffer competition in the Big 10 Conference, he led the Wolverines to a 9-1 record in one of the toughest conferences in the NCAA, all of which translated into Michigan moving up the national rankings and garnering the sophomore a spot on the Naismith Award Midseason Top 30 list. "Ive never really had recognition like that before," Stauskas said. "To be put in that group with those guys, its an honour. Theyre all really talented and its a prestigious award. Im happy that I can be there and that my work is paying off." Yet as Stauskass talent continues to develop with increased freedom and responsibility, opposing coaches have recognized this, as well. In some games, he has been neutralized as defences key in on Michigans primary threat. "I think the biggest challenge for me personally has just been addressing the way teams have been defending me," he said. "A lot of teams have been preparing for me, more than anyone else on our team. Getting double-teamed and being face-guarded has been an adjustment for me, cause Ive never had to deal with that before. Its made me work harder in a lot of areas I havent had to work on before." Stauskass growth, however, isnt solely physical, as he has had to make the adjustment to being a leader on his team. "Its tougher to pick up the rest of the team and stay positive and encourage everyone else while you struggle personally," Stauskas. Yet, he recognizes its a necessary adjustment to take his team and game to the next level. His focus and drive to succeed wont allow him to think otherwise. This April, Stauskas has similar visions on what another Michigan group of fabulous freshmen accomplished in consecutive seasons - back-to-back trips to the NCAA Championship game. "After the loss we had in the Final Four, obviously our goal is to get back there and win that championship game," he said. "At the same time, we came two points away from winning a Big 10 Championship. Those are both goals I want to achieve coming back this year. The way were playing right now, I think were right on pace to do that, we just have to keep working hard." Randy Johnson Jersey . Basketball fans around the globe will be watching as Kobe Bryant makes his season debut - 240 days after tearing his left Achilles - against Toronto, a team he has used as his own personal punching bag. Luis Gonzalez Jersey . It will mark the 22nd time the tournament has been held in this country and fourth in Atlanta Canada but will make its first appearance ever in played Nova Scotia. http://www.diamondbackssale.com/customized/ . Obasi chested the ball past one defender, prodded it past another and then rounded the keeper before scoring from a tight angle in the 16th minute. Seconds after the restart, Obasi set up Klaas Jan Huntelaar for the Dutchmans 11th goal from 13 games this season. Curt Schilling Jersey . - A mixed martial arts fighter who changed his name to War Machine was ordered Friday to stand trial in Nevada state court on 34 felony charges including attempted murder, sexual assault and kidnapping that could get him life in prison for allegedly attacking his porn star ex-girlfriend and her friend. Arizona Diamondbacks Jerseys . -- Michigan coach John Beilein is willing to give Nik Stauskas a little leeway when it comes to shot selection.AUGUSTA, Ga. - Young and old. Even without Tiger Woods, this Masters has a little bit of everything. Twenty-year-old Jordan Spieth is making quite a bid to become golfs youngest major champion in more than 80 years with three straight sub-par rounds in his Augusta National debut. Hell have to fend off 50-year-old Miguel Angel Jimenez and 54-year-old Fred Couples, both hoping to become the sports oldest major champion. And lets not forget Bubba Watson, who stumbled a bit on moving day but will go for his second green jacket in three years from the final group. Spieth, who last year became the youngest PGA tour winner since the Depression at age 19, shot a 2-under 70 on Saturday to share the lead with Watson. "This is the place Ive always dreamt about," said Spieth, who was 5 under for the tournament. "I thought it was a good fit for my game. So far, so good." He has a shot at becoming the youngest major winner since Tom Creavey, just a few months younger when he won the PGA Championship in 1931. Watson had four bogeys on the front side Saturday — twice as many as he had in the first two rounds combined — and slid back to an emboldened group of challengers with a 74. Hell go out in the last group with Spieth on Sunday. "Were pretty good friends," Watson said. "Its going to be fun. It will be interesting, but be fun. Hopefully one of us wins, if not me hopefully him." Matt Kuchar (68) and Jonax Blixt (71) were one shot back at 212. Jimenez (66) and Ricky Fowler (67) were another shot behind. Watson, the 2012 Masters champion, posted two rounds in the 60s to start the tournament, giving him a three-stroke lead and the largest 36-hole edge since Chad Campbell in 2006. By the time he made the turn in front of the historic clubhouse and that big oak tree, the edge was gone. He got it back with a birdie at the 10th, but a three-putt par at the par-5 13th kept things close, another par at the par-5 15th was a disappointment, and a bogey at the 16th left him staggering to the finish. It shaped up to be a wide-open Sunday with Woods on the sideline for the first time in his career, recovering from back surgery. Lee Westwood (70), Jim Furyk (72) and Thomas BBjorn (73) were all in the mix.dddddddddddd And Couples did enough to hang around, managing a 73 that kept him within five strokes of the lead. Watson bogeyed the first hole, then struck a brilliant approach shot that rolled up about 5 feet from the flag to set up an eagle 3 at the second. That would be one of his few highlights. Jimenez posted the best round of the tournament thus far and matched the lowest score ever for a senior golfer at Augusta National. Ben Hogan was 54 when he shot 66 during the third round of the 1967 tournament, and Couples matched it at age 50 during the opening round in 2010. The Spaniard known as "The Mechanic" finished up with a par at the 18th about the time Watson was teeing off at the adjacent first hole, having sliced into a 10-shot deficit by taking advantage of warm, sunny conditions. There was barely a hint of the swirling breezes that can make Augusta so treacherous. Jimenez has never won a major championship but hes been a perennial contender, capturing a new generation of fans with his unique stretching routine before each round, his red ponytail, and his fondness for wine and cigars. "Just because you are 50 does not mean you cannot play golf," said Jimenez, one of six 50-and-older golfers to make the Masters cut. "Im still flexible. I hit the ball longer than ever." His wasnt the only new entry in the Masters record book. Gary Woodland matched the lowest score ever on the front nine with a 6-under 30, and actually got his score to 7 under with another birdie at the 10th. But the 29-year-old American couldnt keep it going through Amen Corner, where a bogey at the 11th and a double bogey on 12 stifled his momentum. Woodland struggled down the stretch and settled for a 69, which left him at 216. Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., also struggled to a 79 and was well back at 8-over-par 224. Defending champion Adam Scott couldnt get anything going, his chances of becoming only the fourth back-to-back winner in Masters history fading away with an ugly 40 on the front side. He faced a six-stroke deficit heading to Sunday, a daunting challenge with so many players in between him and the lead. But plenty of others were ready to seize the spotlight. ' ' '