faced calls to have this one stopped. Ickx duly sho

Februarys All-Star Weekend in New Orleans is a long way away. Yet when it comes to Aaron Gordon and Zach LaVine, everyone is already thinking about it and what might come. The two players who stole the show -- stole the whole All-Star Weekend in Toronto -- are still making their victory laps it seems.Neither LaVine nor Gordon is ready to commit to the Slam Dunk Contest in February. But the two-time dunk champion and his greatest challenger will meet on the court for the first time since that Saturday in Toronto when the Minnesota Timberwolves (1-5) visit the Orlando Magic (3-4) at Amway Center on Wednesday.The two players have been tied together more since that epic back-and-forth dunk contest. They ended up at promotional stops together in China during the offseason. They were part of a Nike commercial together, where naturally they were throwing each other alley-oops.Were both very casual, relaxed dudes, Gordon said after practice Tuesday. We chop it up, joke about it and laugh about it. We both know we put on a show.Gordon and LaVine indeed put on a show with their back-and-forth display of incredible athleticism that made the dunk contest the talk of the entire weekend. Many people believed Gordon should have won the contest. Even Zach LaVine has said he thought they should split the trophy.The two are still creating highlights on a nightly basis. Gordon busted out a 360 dunk in-game last week at Philadelphia and has some hair-raising dunks and alley-oops already.But the question for these two young players next is how do they turn their dunk contest success into actual production on the court?LaVine so far has looked like he is beginning to find his fit. Now relieved of Minnesotas point guard experiment, LaVine is averaging 17.7 points per game and is shooting 41.7 percent from beyond the arc.He scored 31 points in a game against the Memphis Grizzlies last week and had 17 points in the Timberwolves 119-110 loss in Brooklyn on Tuesday.I think each year hes gotten better, coach Tom Thibodeau told Derek James of ESPN 1500 in Minneapolis following the win over the Grizzlies last week. Hes comfortable and puts a lot of work into his game. He spends a lot of time shooting. I think he has a much better understanding of the NBA game now and I think theres a lot of room for him to grow, too. I think he can be terrific defensively.Gordon too has had to evolve his game. He has found that process a little more difficult.The Magic are testing him out at the small forward position and playing him on the perimeter more. With the increased playing time and role, he is averaging 11.6 points per game and shooting a career-best 36.4 percent from beyond the arc. There are still plenty of hiccups and inefficiencies in the 21-year-olds game.Both LaVine and Gordon, though, are young. Their insane athleticism is a reminder of that. The two are forever bound in that incredible evening in Toronto.Now the two are looking to expand their games and help their young teams take the next step closer to the playoffs. Joe Ledley Wales Jersey . -- Stanfords Kevin Danser knelt on one knee and hardly moved on the sideline as Michigan State celebrated its Rose Bowl victory and his Cardinal teammates made their way to the locker room. Joe Ledley Jersey . That left plenty of energy for pitching books and swatting away free agency questions. Anthony had 24 points and nine rebounds, and the Knicks avenged an embarrassing home loss with a rout of their own, beating the Boston Celtics 114-88 on Wednesday night for their third straight victory. http://www.soccerwalesstore.com/joe-allen-wales-UEFA-EURO-jersey/ .Y. - General manager Billy King says the Brooklyn Nets are looking to add a big man and confirmed the team worked out centre Jason Collins, who would become the first openly gay active NBA player if signed. Wales Soccer Jerseys . Andreas Johnson had a goal and two assists while Jacob de la Rose also scored for Sweden (2-0-0). Esa Lindell and Rasmus Ristolainen replied for Finland (1-1-0) Lindell opened the scoring for Finland just 41 seconds into the game, but the hosts quickly regained their composure and tied the score less than four minutes later on Wennbergs first of the game. Gareth Bale Jersey . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. Who would be Charlie Whiting? Last Sunday he was damned if he did and damned if he didnt.The race director had to walk the fine line between providing a race for the bedraggled spectators around the track and an expectant audience sitting in the dry at home while, at the same time, carrying the can should something go terribly wrong.Take Kimi R?ikk?nens spin as one example. What if someone had speared through the spray and into the hapless Finn? What if that car had ridden up the nose of the Ferrari and struck the driver? What if bits of debris had flown into the pit lane or the grandstand?Hypothetical and pessimistic, I know. But its not difficult to imagine the headlines the following morning as the world - fed by a voracious media - demanded answers. In the event of a fatality or serious injury, the first question in these Health and Safety obsessed days would have been: Surely it was madness to allow the race to run in those conditions? Over to you, Mr. Whiting.As it happens, the race director and his team called it absolutely right. With one proviso. The second red flag was so much of a mystery at the time that Niki Lauda and TV commentators questioned it in public.In fact, the decision was driven by the fairly certain knowledge that the poor weather was set to continue, thus bringing further tedious safety car running as the clock ticked towards the two-hour cut-off. Far better, it was reasoned, to wait for an improvement and then get on with the racing. Which is exactly what happened. The single failure was not to relay such commendable logic to the waiting world and short-circuit the subsequent bad PR.Lauda did say that drivers should be allowed to decide for themselves whether or not to race. Its difficult to argue with the triple world champion on that one, particularly when he quit the teeming wet 1976 Japanese Grand Prix knowing that ballsy decision might assist James Hunt to the title.When discussing last Sundays fantastic motor race (to quote CChristian Horner and many others), it is worth noting that the same sentiments might have been voiced post-race at Suzuka 2014 had Jules Bianchi not had his appalling accident.dddddddddddd Without getting into a discussion about the reason behind it, the crash did highlight the difficulties facing the man with his finger hovering over the red button.Much has been written and tweeted about Max Verstappens drive (and lets not forget Lewis Hamiltons peerless performance at the front) with comparisons being made between the Red Bull drivers stunning commitment and that of Ayrton Senna at Monaco in 1984.On that day, 32 years ago, the responsibility for halting the wet race lay with Jacky Ickx, the Clerk of the Course. Here was a man who knew all about winning in the rain (think 1968 French Grand Prix at Rouen) and yet he faced calls to have this one stopped. Ickx duly showed the red flag after 31 laps -- just as Senna, driving the cumbersome Toleman-Hart, had caught and was about to pass Alain Prosts leading McLaren-TAG.Sennas first F1 win denied by an official decision? Possibly not. A look at the lap times shows the leaders being caught hand-over fist by Stefan Bellof in the nimble non-turbo Tyrrell-Ford. Sennas fastest lap had been 1:54.334 on lap 24. His final three laps were 1:55.666, 1:59.008 and 1:59.433. Bellofs final three were 1:54.978 (his fastest), 1:58.949 and 1:59.219.You will not find Bellofs lap times on the FIAs official Olivetti/Longines results sheets for 1984. His name, and that of team-mate Martin Brundle, was surgically removed after Tyrrell had been thrown out of the championship later in the year.At least we wont have that to contend with when discussing what might have happened in the championship had different decisions been made last Sunday. Then again, given this roller-coaster season, anything could happen. ' ' '