The fight-back was short-lived, thou

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Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. This week they discuss Knicks fans treatment of Andrea Bargnani, Cameron Wake, the Impact bowing out of the playoffs and expanded replay for MLB. Bruce Arthur, National Post: My thumb is up to New York Knicks fans and not just for living through the Isiah Thomas era. When you visit New York, its easy to feel like youve arrived from the boonies, gawking at the skycrapers and the locals are smarter than you. Well, when it comes to basketball, theres something to that. It took Knicks fans one quarter of basketball to decide that yes, Andrea Bargnani was a player who deserved booing, as his jumpers clanked and his defence floated and his rebounding remained largely theoretical. It was Bargnani at his worst, but still: one quarter and they knew. It took years before Toronto fully turned on the former first-overall pick, as he progressed from promise to disappointment to empty calories. Eventually, the relationship turned toxic. In New York, it might be already there. Steve Simmons, Sun Media: My thumb is up to Cameron Wake, the former BC Lion, who added to a week or so of stunning finishes with a game-ending safety in the Thursday night football game between Cincinnati and Wakes Miami Dolphins. Weve seen walk-off home runs in baseball, just not walk-off safeties very often - not in the way Wake planted himself into quarterback Andy Dalton and drove him into the end zone. Its only the third time in NFL history that an overtime game has ended this way. The safety came after one World Series game ended with a pick-off and another ended on an obstruction call. Id love to tell you whats next, but honestly, I dont have a clue. Michael Farber, Sports Illustrated: My thumb is down to the Montreal Impact, not as much for being outclassed in its MLS playoff game Thursday, but for losing without class. Of course, context is in order here. The second-year Impact actually made the playoffs, unlike, say, feckless Toronto FC. But true to its unfortunate habit, the Impact comported itself like sugared-up kids the morning after Halloween. Taking its cultural cue from (now former) coach Marco Schallibaum, who was suspended four times during the regular season, Montreal finished its playoff match in Houston with eight players. The final accounting: Three Dynamo goals and three Impact red cards. Houston, you are not the one with a problem. Dave Hodge, TSN: My thumb is up to Major League Baseball for going full speed ahead with expanded instant replay for next season. If Bud Selig needs a feather in his cap to mark his final season, that can be it. There is still potential for trouble if the finished product is too complicated, but it is time to give the umpires the help they so obviously need. Dont worry, boo-birds--there will still be room for managers to argue with them--on non-reviewable calls only--remember, not too complicated. But good for MLB if it gets it right--the NHL is advised to observe with interest and with a willingness to follow. Scott Feldman Astros Jersey . For Bergevin, the best pick is the 30th — which traditionally goes to the Stanley Cup winner. "Thats our goal. Evan Gattis Jersey . The teams all-time leading scorer, DeRo has won everything there is to win in MLS. http://www.baseballastrosproshop.com/ca ... ersey/.com) - Former FBI director Robert Mueller said his investigation found no evidence that the NFL saw the elevator video of Ray Rice striking his then-fiancee before the tape was released in September. Jon Singleton Astros Jersey . Snedekers best result so far this year is a tie for eighth place at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March. He sits 113th in FedEx Cup standings and has dropped to 31st in world rankings — not the results expected from a player ranked fourth in the world only two years ago. Houston Astros Hats . The D-Backs came into being in 1998 and appear destined to finish second in the AL West after the Tsunami that is the Los Angeles Dodgers swept over them. I thought it might be interesting to see what the D-backs have done over their 16 years compared to what the Blue Jays have done over their past 16 campaigns.AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- The Chicago Bulls felt they played only two quarters of defence Wednesday night. That was all they needed to beat the Detroit Pistons 99-79 and end a four-game losing streak. The Pistons led 53-51 at the half, but Chicago only allowed 26 second-half points, including 11 in the fourth quarter, as they pulled away for the easy win. "They made some shots in the first half, but I liked the way we were playing offensively," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "In the second half, we got our defensive intensity going." Chicagos defence was at its best in the fourth quarter, where the Pistons went scoreless on 10 straight possessions. Jonas Jerebkos jumper had pulled Detroit to 80-75 with 8:39 left, but the Bulls didnt allow another basket until Gigi Datomes jumper made it 99-77 with 1:31 to go. "This has been a tough road trip for us," said Kirk Hinrich. "We played to our strengths tonight, we really competed defensively in the second half and we got one in the win column. Detroit shot 27.8 per cent in the second half, missed all six 3-point attempts, went 6 of 13 from the line and turned the ball over nine times. "They were obviously a lot better in the second half than they had been in the first half," Pistons coach Maurice Cheeks said. "We couldnt score the ball, and a lot of that was because of their defence." Luol Deng led the Bulls with 27 points, while reserve Taj Gibson had a career-high 23. Tony Snell, making the first start of his career, added 13 points in 37 minutes. "When I heard I was in the starting lineup, I just told myself to play my game and not rush anything," he said. "All the hours Ive put in, working hard in the gym, were so that Id be ready for this." Rodney Stuckey finished with 25 off the bench for Detroit but no one else had more than 13. Josh Smith had 13 points and 11 rebounds and Andre Drummond had 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Pistons. Point guards Brandon Jennings and Will Bynum combined for two points on 1-for-8 shooting in the second half.dddddddddddd "We certainly needed some scoring from Brandon and Bynum," Cheeks said. "If you dont get anything from either of them, you are going to have a hard time." Neither team played much defence in the first half, with the Pistons shooting 58.5 per cent to Chicagos 52.4 per cent. Stuckey and Gibson both had 15 points off the bench, and each team also had two starters in double figures by halftime. Six quick points from Joakim Noah helped Chicago put together a 18-8 run that gave them 69-61 late in the third. The Bulls had three straight possessions with a chance to move the margin into double figures, but two misses on open jumpers and a fast-break turnover let the Pistons stay close. Stuckey finally ended Detroits drought with a pair of baskets, and the Pistons pulled to 69-65. The fight-back was short-lived, though, and the Bulls had the advantage back to 76-68 by quarters end. The margin stayed in the high single figures for the early part of the fourth, but Detroit started to struggle when Cheeks took Stuckey out of the game. It was 86-75 when Stuckey returned with five minutes left, but he couldnt help. Hinrich immediately made a three-point play to make it a 14-point game, and Chicago led by as many as 24 down the stretch. "They are tough, but we adjusted to the physical play of the game," Thibodeau said. "When the ball was in the air, we got bodies on people and fought for the ball." NOTES: Michigan native Floyd Mayweather Jr. was seated at courtside, a few seats away from Pistons owner Tom Gores. Mayweather, accompanied by a large entourage, engaged in some friendly banter with Bulls players, including an imitation of Joakim Noahs unusual free-throw style. He also got a large ovation when he was shown on the scoreboard during the fourth quarter. ... Stuckey leads the Eastern Conference with points off the bench, coming into the game at 15.9 points. ... Datome finished with four points on his 26th birthday. Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Discount NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys 2018 Cheap Jerseys 2018 Discount NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys From China Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping ' ' '