Vegas community behind this concept.The arena, a

1. JORDAN CRAWFORD (Warriors): The Golden State Warriors have reportedly acquired guards Jordan Crawford and MarShon Brooks from the Boston Celtics Wednesday as part of a three-team trade. Golden State is sending guard Toney Douglas to the third team in the trade, the Miami Heat, who will ship center Joel Anthony to the Celtics, according to multiple sources. Crawford has done a nice job in Boston with his play-making. Led the Celtics with close to six assists per game and scoring close to 14 ppg. Things didnt work out with the Wizards and GM Danny Ainge gave him a shot and hes an improved player. Still forces a few too many shots for my taste, yet when I watch him I see a guard that starting to figure things out gradually. 2. KYLE LOWRY & DEMAR DEROZAN (Raptors): Lots of discussion of late about the all-star game. I wont lie - Im bias. I see these guys perform all the time and have watched their improvement; maturity and games evolve and would be thrilled if both made it. Theyve been a huge part of the turnaround and winning players deserve recognition. It will likely be tough for both to make it, yet if the Raptors can continue to win games (and that really helps open eyes of coaches when they pick the reserves), their chances increase. Keep it going and make it a tough decision for folks by leading your team to victories. 3. OKC THUNDER (5-4 without Russell Westbrook): Kevin Durant has been nothing short of brilliant trying to keep his team afloat. Hes even said that hes shooting too much. Theyve become a very predictable and defendable team without the dynamic point guard which is no big surprise. You lose a guy of that caliber and youre going to struggle. Does GM Sam Presti sit tight and wait this turbulence out or do they try to make a move to help this teams scoring punch? Dont want to be in a position that youre without home court advantage in the second round in the very difficult Western Conference playoffs. Some deep thinking and soul searching for them as they ponder winning now vs. internal growth and patience. Good test. 4. GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO (Bucks): Caught him in person for the second time on Monday night in Toronto. He fascinates me. Only 19-years old. Milwaukee took a flyer on him in the first round and Ive gotta tell you, I see why. Its not about now but when hes 22-23 years old and the game starts to come naturally to him and he figures it all out. Obviously, he needs major upgrades with his strength and stamina and that will come. Hes long, athletic and has decent skills. Definitely a guy to keep an eye on the next few years as he matures. 5. MARCO BELINELLI (Spurs): Having a wonderful year shooting the ball at 50 per cent from three-point range (tops in the NBA). Great system for him to play in and hes always been a guy that I liked since his days in Golden State. Good passer and better defender than he looks. Hes tough and loves to compete. His short stint was a major disappointment in Toronto due to injuries and conditioning but in Chicago and now San Antonio hes gotten it together. Its amazing - the Spurs always come up with guys that make complete sense to their philosophy. He fits. Nike Air Huarache Deutschland Kaufen . The 41-year-old Northern Irishman has proved a perfect fit at Liverpool since taking over from Kenny Dalglish in the summer of 2012 and steered the team to an unexpected title challenge in the Premier League last season. Air Force 1 Billig Kaufen .com) - The Los Angeles Kings peppered Ryan Miller with shot after shot. http://www.airforce1gunstig.de/ . - Veteran Kings defenceman Robyn Regehr, sidelined since Game 1 of the Anaheim series, says hes close to returning. Nike Air Presto Off White Kaufen . Petersburg of the KHL. Belov was a free agent last summer when he signed a one-year contract with the Oilers. In 57 games this season he had one goal and six assists with 34 penalty minutes in Edmonton. Air Force 1 Schwarz Deutschland . In an interview with La Presse this week, the five-time Stanley Cup champion and three-time NHL scoring leader specifically took aim at wingers Thomas Vanek and Max Pacioretty, saying they cant show up in a 7-4 win over the New York Rangers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final and come up empty in Game 6.Bill Foley is not Jim Balsillie, and the prospective owner of a Las Vegas expansion franchise isnt following the same path that got the former BlackBerry mogul blacklisted by the NHL.Several years ago Balsillie tried (and failed) to move the Nashville Predators to Hamilton and even went so far as to list season tickets for sale against the leagues wishes. When he wanted to buy the Phoenix Coyotes, the NHL preferred bankruptcy to his ownership and went to court to keep him out.Foley doesnt have a long history with the NHL, but his efforts to deliver hockey to Las Vegas have been in lock step with what commissioner Gary Bettman wants. So far, the millionaire businessman has asked for and received permission to run a season-ticket drive and isnt pressuring for anything more.Im an ex-Army guy. I follow orders, Foley said in a phone interview over the weekend from his home in Northern California. Weve been very careful in our meetings with the NHL administrative staff, just trying to make sure that we do things in the proper fashion. Were not pushy, were not demanding.Foley is trying to go about this the right way as the league and owners have many questions about the unique nature of the tourism-heavy Las Vegas market. But dont mistake that for the 70-year-old believing the city cant handle a pro team.To the contrary: Foley is in this to win it because he sees the growing business community in Las Vegas and its employees as the perfect audience for the NHL.Nevada and Las Vegas in particular are no longer what they were 50 years ago or 40 years ago: a gambling city, kind of a weigh station in the desert, Foley said. A number of software companies, development companies have located in Las Vegas. ... Those companies and those people who work for those companies, thats our target. Those are the people that we want to have come to these games.A schedule of NHL games in Las Vegas is at least 22 months and many steps away, including the completion of an arena being built by AEG and MGM on the strip and eventual approval by the board of governors. The arena is a question of when, but league approval requires a two-thirds vote and is not a sure thing.The first step is a season-ticket drive that is expected to measure the level of interest Las Vegas locals have in supporting a professional hockey team. The league is eager to see the results.I think what the ownership group is looking for, and ultimately what I think what would be important to the board, is that local people in Las Vegas are going to support this franchise, not just the local businesses, deputy commissioner Bill Daly said last week in Boca Raton, Fla. Because Im not sure it’s the same thing.It wont get going in earnest until early 2015, but Foley said as of Saturday and through only two days of the initial website launching that 1,500 people had already given their name, phone number and email address to express interest in buying season tickets.Thats without any advertising beyond Bettman announcing Foley had been given the go-ahead to launch the ticket drive and the ensuuing buzz and publicity from it.dddddddddddd In hockey circles the idea of going to Las Vegas is glamorous, and locally the notion of finally attracting a team in one of North Americas major four sports leagues is enticing.Being the first of those leagues to break into Las Vegas is also intriguing.If the theory is that a market can support a professional sports franchise, by being first you know when theres only so many dollars in a market, youre getting those dollars committed to you as opposed to having to compete with somebody else for those dollars, Daly said.To bring the NHL to Las Vegas, Foley could partner with the Las Vegas-based Maloof family, which previously owned the NBAs Sacramento Kings. Though he lives part-time in California and Whitefish, Mont., and has business ventures in Jacksonville, Fla., Foley and his associates seem to grasp the intricacies of the Las Vegas market.With that in mind, Foley said the upcoming ticket drive is expected to include some seats in half-season and quarter-season shares just to make sure that we hit the demographics properly in Las Vegas. Like True North in Winnipeg did after it was awarded the Atlanta Thrashers, Foley said his group would offer NHL-average ticket prices ranging from around US$40 to $120 with the mid-point being somewhere around $62 to $65.Winnipeg is different on a host of fronts because they were really selling tickets and they already had a real season-ticket base, Daly said.Suites, including so-called bunker ones available along the glass, are expected to sell out extremely quickly, Foley said. The goal of the season-ticket drive is to show theres a base of fans to fill the rest of the seats.We feel like if we can demonstrate the strong local support for a team, that will go a long ways toward convincing the NHL or persuading the NHL that hockeys viable in Las Vegas, Foley said. Our mission is simply that. It doesnt really go beyond that. Were trying to rally the Las Vegas community behind this concept.The arena, a 20,000-seat state-of-the-art facility, is scheduled to open in spring of 2016.Itll be as good as it gets in terms of hockey visibility, Foley said. The arena is being designed around not just concerts and fights and so on. Its being designed around hockey.Thats a big plus, especially considering one of the other front-runners for expansion, Seattle, doesnt have an arena that could house an NHL team. Even Barclays Center in Brooklyn, where the New York Islanders are moving next season, has an awkward setup for hockey, including the overhead scoreboard hanging over one blue-line.Quebec City has the sparkling Quebecor Arena set to open this fall, but Bettman has urged Nordiques fans and others not to assume that building is a guarantee of getting an NHL team. It doesnt hurt, but Quebec appears to be behind Las Vegas, at least right now, in the pecking order.Foley isnt apologizing for being at the front of the line.Were just focused on Las Vegas, he said. I cant help anybody else or worry about anybody else.---Follow @SWhyno on Twitter ' ' '