Dein erstes Forum » Annals of Time is more lightly race

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A week ago after waking up in Paris to flurry of congratulatory text messages, Serge Ibaka wasnt quite sure how to feel about the NBA draft night trade that landed him in Orlando.But one text message in particular helped him feel better about his transition from the Oklahoma City Thunder -- a team contending for an NBA championship -- to a young team trying to figure out how to make the postseason.One of things that made me feel good at that moment was dad texted me, Ibaka said Thursday a news conference. Before I could get excited and happy, my dad was happy. He congratulated me and said he was real happy for me. Thats what changed everything at the moment.This is a business, and things happen for a reason. So Im happy to be here and for my family and for my daughter.The Magic aggressively went after Ibaka, trading Victor Oladipo, Ersan Ilyasova and the rights to Domantas Sabonis (the No.11 overall pick) to land the veteran power forward. They were looking for an inside presence and leadership; Ibaka, a veteran who has gone deep into the playoffs, gives them both.Orlando hopes the 6-foot-10 Ibaka is the player the Magic were missing last season as they fell short of making the playoffs for the fourth straight year. The three-time NBA All-Defensive first team member is one of the leagues top shot blockers.Serge Ibaka is such an important piece to taking this organization to where we want to take it, to become a defensive monster, be one of the best defensive teams in the league, said coach Frank Vogel, who was hired by the Magic last month after coaching the Indiana Pacers. We are going to preach defense as much as I always have. But you have to have the people that can get the job done.Ibaka, who wore a black t-shirt with Orlando United on front in recognition of the recent club shooting tragedy that left 50 dead and another 53 injured, said he is looking forward to a likely expanded role that will include being more of a leader and offensive presence while certainly adding the defensive muscle the team needs.It feels good, said Ibaka, a native of Congo. I feel like my first year in the league, Im that excited. Im looking forward to the new challenge. I know its not going to be easier. Thats how we become great when we beat the challenges in front of you.Ibaka, who had a slight dip in productivity last season with the Thunder averaging 12.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocked shots, will fuse with a young core of players and will be looked to be versatile enough to play both power forward and center when needed. This team will look much different than the Thunder team he is coming from that was headlined by stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.Ibaka said he is up for the challenge as he takes what he learned over the last seven seasons with the Thunder organization to Orlando.They have great guys and young talent. Its always good to know I am going to work with good people, thats how I am, said Ibaka, who speaks four different languages which include Spanish, English and French. Im excited because I know Im going to bring to them the seven years Ive been in the league playing with two of the best players in the game learned me a lot of things and Im sure Im going to bring those things here to help the guys. Wholesale Flames Jerseys .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres have placed centre Cody Hodgson on injured reserve and recalled two players from their AHL affiliate in Rochester. Calgary Flames Store . They hope to persuade the other team owners and commissioner Roger Goodell to put pressure on Redskins owner Daniel Snyder to drop the nickname they find offensive. "Given the way the meeting transpired," Ray Halbritter, an Oneida representative and leader of the "Change the Mascot Campaign," said Wednesday, "it became somewhat evident they were defending the continued use of the name. https://www.cheapflames.com/ . LUCIE, Fla. Stitched Flames Jerseys . He says so-called TRT is only one problem and he wants to go even further than the ban. "Its about time," St-Pierre told reporters at a promotional event in Montreal on Friday. "I think its a good thing. Calgary Flames Shirts . - NASCAR announced a 33-race schedule for the 2014 Nationwide Series with virtually no changes from this years slate. Chad Brown was planning to be at Del Mar -- home of the 2017 Breeders Cup -- this weekend when half a dozen of his runners will populate the $300,000 Hollywood Derby and the $300,000 Matriarch. Really, he was.Ive never been to Del Mar, never won a race there, Brown said Thursday from New York. And I wanted to come out. But ?Here it comes. East Coast excuse No. 487 for a trainer blowing off a stakes date in California. Okay, go ahead.I only have one brother, Todd, and he has one child, my nephew, Brown said. Hes being christened on Sunday, the day of the Matriarch.Well, thats very nice. Family comes first, and all that jazz.Hes 6 months old, his name is Evan, Brown added, and Im the godfather.The man gets a pass.Brown did his time in California a decade ago as part of the Bobby Frankel crew. He answered most often to top assistant Humberto Ascanio during the Hollywood Park spring meet, then he would bounce east to be with the boss during Saratoga.Brown left the Frankel nest in late 2007, won a Breeders Cup race the following year in his first try, and now has nailed down his first national championship on the strength of more than $22 million in stable earnings, while relegating Todd Pletcher to second place for the first time since 2009, no mean feat. Pletcher was 37 when he won his first earnings title in 2004. Brown turns 38 on Dec. 18.Sometimes people say to me, a jocks agent, even a journalist, Todd -- oh, Im sorry, I mean Chad, Brown said with a laugh. I tell them not to worry about it. My mom always calls me Todd.In approaching Saturdays Hollywood Derby, at a mile and one-eighth on firm turf, Todd Browns brother did not exactly overthink the challenge. He simply turned to his 1-2-3 finishers in the Oct. 8 Hill Prince Stakes at Belmont Park -- at a mile and one-eighth on firm turf -- and sent them packing to Del Mar.Camelot Kitten, already a multiple stakes winner, finished first in the Hill Prince, a head in front of Secretariat Stakes winner Beach Patrol. Annals of Time, making his stakes debut, was a length back in third. They have nine opponents in the Hollywood Derby, topped by Del Mar Derby winner Free Rose and Twilight Derby winner Frank Conversation.Its been a long year for Camelot Kitten and Beach Patrol, while Annals of Time is more lightly raced than the other two, Brown said. But I took the same approach to the Hollywood Derby and the Matriarch that Ive taken since Ive been in business -- I train them all individually,, and if an individual earns the right to run in a certain race, I run em.ddddddddddddBrown is channeling other top-flight trainers who had the numbers to flood stakes races in an attempt to take as much off the table as possible. Charlie Whittingham, who once ran 1-2-3 in the Hollywood Gold Cup, would say, We got em surrounded. And he was right.Still, there is a delicate political minefield to negotiate when a patron looks up to see another horse from the same barn beat his pride and joy on the money. Then again, most trainers would envy such a problem.My clients will tell you Im brutally honest with myself and tell it how it is and what I see, Brown said. I have no problem running multiple horses in a race. If a horse belongs in a race, they run. I dont come up with a reason not to run just to keep horses separated. Thankfully, I have many veteran owners who are appreciative just to make it to big stakes races with a chance to win, regardless of who else is running.