Chat » e 15th hits so well see where it goes." Sheets and Dressle

Its a double dose of Thursday night hoops as the battle of New York continues, and the defending champs head to the windy city to renew a rivalry. Watch the Knicks at Nets (TSN2) Tonight at 7pm et/4pm pt and Heat at Bulls (TSN2) Tonight at 9:30pm et/6:30pm pt Thursdays showdown between the Knicks and Nets at Barclays Center was an anticipated matchup when the schedule came out and now seems like an ordinary game. The Knicks have lost nine a row and are just 3-13, while Brooklyn has dropped eight of 10 games for a 5-13 record. Both the Knicks and Nets are battling to stay out of the basement in the Atlantic Division. Actually, the Knicks are three games off the division lead and Brooklyn sits two back. "I just want to win, man," Knicks star Carmelo Anthony said. "I dont care about me having a big night. I want to win. I think that should be the mindset for everybody. Is it an important game for us? Yeah. Lets be quite frank about that. We are playing Brooklyn in their arena, one of our rivals, and we want to win." Anthony then said he wants to have a big game and that the team as a whole should have the same mentality. Anthony, the NBAs reigning leading scorer, is second in the league with 26.3 points per game and will see a familiar face on the opposing side in Nets head coach Jason Kidd. Kidd and Anthony were teammates last season in New York. "We have to get used to it," Anthony said of seeing Kidd. "Im still getting used to it because just a couple of months ago he had a uniform on with us. To see him in a suit now coaching ... trying to get used to that." A reporter told Anthony that Kidd was asked about Thursdays battle between the Knicks and Nets and responded, "we both stink right now." "We do. He wasnt lying about that. I mean we do," Anthony said with a smile. "For us we have to figure it out and try to turn it around ASAP. We have to play with some more energy, some more effort." Anthony, who has led the Knicks in scoring in all 16 games, also said, "we are the laughing stock of the league right now." New York suffered its ninth straight loss in Sundays 103-99 decision versus the New Orleans Pelicans and Anthony netted 23 points on 9-of-21 shooting. Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 21 points off the bench and Andrea Bargnani chipped in 17 and seven rebounds for the Knicks, who are on the longest losing streak since dropping 10 in a row from Jan. 28 - Feb. 13, 2006. "Until we are able to take pride in guarding the ball, there are going to be nights like this," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. "We needed some stops and we couldnt get them." J.R. Smith and Raymond Felton scored 12 points apiece for the Knicks, who havent won since Nov. 13 at Atlanta. Smith is probable Thursday because of a sore left knee and is averaging 11.7 points per game. The Knicks hope to stop a five-game road losing streak and are just 2-6 away from Madison Square Garden this season. Brooklyn is coming off Tuesdays 111-87 loss to the Denver Nuggets and is still without guards Deron Williams (ankle) and Jason Terry (knee), and forwards Paul Pierce (hand) and Andrei Kirilenko (back). Through 18 games this season, the Nets have lost a total of 41 games due to injury. Joe Johnson and Andray Blatche scored 22 and 15 points, respectively, for the Nets, while Brook Lopez and Tyshawn Taylor each finished with 12. "We sometimes cant put the ball in the basket and we stop playing on the other end," Kidd said after Brooklyns fifth straight loss at home. The Nets are 2-5 at Barclays Center this season. Johnson has scored 20 or more points in four of his last six games, averaging 21.0 ppg in that time, and is four assists shy of 4,000 in his career. Kidd, meanwhile, made some news when he reassigned assistant coach Lawrence Frank to a lesser role. Kidd cited "different philosophies" for the switch. Brooklyn and New York will play the first of four matchups this season and split four games in 2012-13. The Knicks are 11-5 in the last 16 meetings with the Nets and have won four of five as the guest in this series. Anthony averaged 35.0 ppg in four games against Brooklyn last season. Williams, who is doubtful for Thursday, posted an average of 16.0 points and 11.5 assists in last seasons series (4 games). --- The Miami Heat will exit the comfy confines of home when they embark on a four-game road trip, starting with Thursdays matchup against the Chicago Bulls at the United Center. Miami had its season-high 10-game winning streak come to an end with Tuesdays 107-97 loss to the Detroit Pistons and played without guard Dwyane Wade because of sore knees. LeBron James once again led the Heat with 23 points to go along with six assists and five rebounds. James has scored in double figures in 513 consecutive games. Moses Malone is next on the list at 526 games from Oct. 4, 1978 - March 4, 1985. Michael Beasley added 23 points off the bench and Chris Bosh registered 14 for the Heat, who were down 28-18 after the first quarter and trailed by as many as 17 in the fourth quarter. The Heat trimmed the Pistons lead to 91-88, but would get no closer the rest of the way. Detroit scored 29 points off 19 Miami turnovers and held the Heat to 43.9 percent shooting. The Heat will try to extend their road winning streak to six games Thursday and are 5-2 as the guest. Miami will also make stops in Minnesota, Detroit and Indiana. Meanwhile, Wade is probable against the Bulls and is averaging 18.5 points, 5.4 assists and 4.6 rebounds this season. Wade has scored 20-plus points in four of his previous five games. Chicago opened its four-game homestand with Mondays 131-128 triple-overtime loss to the New Orleans Pelicans after going 1-5 on its previous road trip. The Bulls were outscored, 9-6, in the third extra period and suffered their first home loss of the season (5-1). Luol Deng did all he could to propel the Bulls to victory with 37 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Deng has tallied five straight games with 20 or more points, averaging 27.4 points per game in that stretch. Taj Gibson posted a career-best 26 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, while Mike Dunleavy netted 23 points. Chicago was coming off a late loss at Cleveland and is just 1-6 in the past seven games overall. "We are just one play away the last two games, but the games are there for us," Gibson told NBA.com. Joakim Noah ended with 19 points and 10 rebounds versus the Pelicans and Kirk Hinrich chipped in 13 points, 11 assists and six rebounds for his first double-double of the season. Hinrich, of course, is seeing more action with star guard Derrick Rose expected to miss the rest of the season after undergoing another knee surgery. Rose is scheduled to address the media for the first time since his season- ending surgery to repair a torn medial meniscus in his right knee after Thursdays shootaround. The Bulls, who are allowing just 94.6 ppg, still have Detroit and Milwaukee slated to visit the United Center, and suffered a 107-95 loss at Miami on Oct. 29. James had 17 points to lead seven players in double figures and Carlos Boozer scored a game-high 31 points to pace the Bulls, who have dropped four of six games against Miami. Miami has lost 10 of 13 trips to the Windy City. The New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets had high expectations for this season, but so far both squads have disappointed. cheap nfl hoodies china . - The Denver Broncos kept rookie wide receiver Tavarres King from joining the Green Bay Packers by promoting him to their active roster Tuesday. cheap hoodies from china . Edwin Encarnacion carried the torch for two days at Fenway Park this week; Melky Cabrera and Jose Bautista have had their moments; lately Anthony Gose has contributed. http://www.hoodieschina.com/?tag=cheap-san-francisco-49ers-hoodies . - The Oakland Athletics say they are stopping negotiations to extend their lease at the Coliseum. cheap nike hoodies china . The Padres made the moves before Fridays game at Washington. They promoted infielder Jace Peterson from Double-A San Antonio and right-hander Kevin Quackenbush from Triple-A El Paso. Cheap Cincinnati Bengals Hoodies . Kerr said he had dinner with Jackson, his former coach with Chicago and the new Knicks team president, on Friday night and they talked again Saturday. Kerr is in New York to work the game between the Brooklyn Nets and Toronto Raptors for TNT.REGINA -- Taj Smith is staying put. The lanky receiver re-signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Thursday. Smith was scheduled to become a free agent at noon ET on Feb. 15. Smith, 30, is entering his third season with Saskatchewan. The six-foot-one, 198-pound receiver had a team-high 78 catches for 1,007 yards and seven TDs last year. "Taj is a pretty big part of what we do, obviously," general manager Brendan Taman told reporters. "He was very committed to being here and Jeremy (assistant GM Jeremy ODay) did a lot of great work behind the scenes to get it done. "One guy off the list and an important guy is a good thing." Smith 11 catches for 186 yards in Saskatchewans two playoff wins before registering one reception for five yards in the Riders 45-23 Grey Cup win over Hamilton. Smith has recorded 125 career catches for 1,697 yards and nine touchdowns in 31 regular-season games with Saskatchewan. Taman still faces a busy off-season as Saskatchewan still has 16 potential free agents, including slotback Weston Dressler, running back Kory Sheets, kicker Chris Milo and punter Ricky Schmitt, who Taman said worked out for the NFLs Buffalo Bills on Thursday. Taman is hopeful he might re-sign one or two before the free-agent deadline. "Were pretty aggressive to get something done before the 15th," Taman said. "But realistically one or two and thats probably what its going to be." Last month, the Riders signed rookie free-agent kicker Brett Cameron, the son of Hall of Fame punter Bob Cameron who attended Winnipegs training camp last summer. The younger Cameron spent four seasons at the University of Northh Dakota (2009-12) before signing with the Bombers.dddddddddddd "He (Cameron) is a legit contender to come in and compete but Ricky will dictate a lot of that," Taman said. "Ricky would like to come back and were working towards that and hopefully we can get that done before (Feb. 15) but well see. "Weve had on-and-off communication with (Milos) agent, moreso from our end. Hes very driven to stay here if he can but business is business. Im sure hell have an offer to mull over once the 15th hits so well see where it goes." Sheets and Dressler were key contributors to Saskatchewans Grey Cup push in 2013 but both have garnered NFL interest since the end of the season. If they sign south of the border, the expectation is neither would be back with the Riders until September, at the earliest. Sheets finished second in CFL rushing with 1,598 yards. He capped his season by running for a record 197 yards in leading the Riders to just their fourth league championship. The five-foot-seven, 179-pound Dressler led the Riders with nine TD catches and was second in receptions (70) and yards (1,011). He registered his fourth straight 1,000-yard campaign and fifth in six seasons with Saskatchewan. "Everybody here is a big Weston Dressler fan and I think he deserves a chance if he can get one," Taman said. "I have no idea how its going to play out but hes always welcome here no matter if its January, September, October, November. "If thats what he wants to do I really hope he can achieve that goal and well adjust accordingly. We cant really control any of that so well sit back and see what happens." ' ' '