on it. With some gentle nudging from Gino, he attended a speedskating | Forum

SACRAMENTO, Calif. Tony Parker Jersey . -- The Los Angeles Lakers navigated the first 19 games of the season without star Kobe Bryant well enough to welcome him back with a winning record. Jodie Meeks made two huge 3-pointers in the final minutes to finish with 19 points, lifting the Lakers past the Sacramento Kings 106-100 Friday night in whats expected to be their last game before Bryant returns. "You know who he is, hes Kobe Bryant. But hes not going to be able to do it by himself," said Lakers centre Jordan Hill, who had seven points and nine rebounds. "Weve got to go out there and fight for him and carry him." So far this season, they have. Pau Gasol had 19 points and seven rebounds, and Steve Blake added 13 points and 10 assists for the Lakers (10-9), who held the Kings scoreless for nearly 3 1/2 minutes until Ben McLemores meaningless 3-pointer with 6.9 seconds remaining. The Lakers are counting on an even bigger boost when he returns against Toronto on Sunday, nearly eight months since undergoing surgery on his torn left Achilles tendon. "We knew at the beginning of the season we were going to have to do it by committee," said Meeks, who shot 5 of 6 from beyond the arc. "We dont have any superstars. Our superstar is coming back Sunday, but 19 games we didnt, so we had to share the ball." DeMarcus Cousins and McLemore each scored 20 points, and Isaiah Thomas added 14 points and a season-high nine assists as Sacramento (4-13) lost its sixth straight game. The Lakers outshot the Kings 47.7 to 43 per cent but were outrebounded 51-36. Los Angeles forced 17 turnovers -- and committed only 12 -- to seize control in the final minutes. The Lakers outscored the Kings 25-13 in the fourth quarter. "The one major horror that jumps out at me with our team is discipline," first-year Kings coach Michael Malone said. "And right now, we have none." After going down by 10 points late in the third quarter, Lakers coach Mike DAntoni called a timeout. He waved his arms in the air and shouted at his players to improve defensively. "When Im out of my mind, I just go with it," DAntoni said. "I wanted to kill somebody at that point. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesnt." Los Angeles responded by scoring 11 straight, going ahead 88-87 on Blakes 3 early in the fourth. Meeks made another from long range before Gasols jumper gave the Lakers a 98-97 lead late. Meeks followed with his final 3-pointer to extend the Lakers lead with 1:09 to play. Wesley Johnson stole the ball from McLemore on the next possession. Then Nick Young hit a 20-foot jumper to send most of the announced sellout crowd of 17,317 -- most wearing white T-shirts as part of Sacramentos "white out" -- to the exits. "This is just ugly," Kings point guard Greivis Vasquez said. "Theres no other name. Theres no other adjective I could give to describe this." For the Lakers, though, the comeback capped a day of good news. Bryant announced his return in a dramatic video posted on his Facebook page in the afternoon. He didnt make the trip to Sacramento, and Los Angeles had only nine healthy players -- and one point guard -- after injuries to Steve Nash (back and hamstring), Jordan Farmar (left hamstring tear) and Chris Kaman (back spasms). Robert Sacre, who started at centre for the first time this season in place of Hill, helped the Lakers go ahead by eight points early in the first quarter. Thomas ignited the Kings with 14 points and seven assists in the first half as they took a 51-43 lead late in the second quarter. Cousins free throws with 3:35 remaining in the fourth gave Sacramento a 97-93 lead. But the Lakers held the Kings scoreless until McLemores 3-pointer in the closing seconds, showing the kind of defensive effort DAntoni hopes to get when Bryant returns. "We have to compete like we did tonight and understand that theres going to be some turbulence ahead," DAntoni said. "Just put your seatbelt on and well get through it." NOTES: A moment of silence was held before the game for Nelson Mandela, the former South African president and anti-apartheid icon who died Thursday at age 95. ... Nash could return to the lineup next week, DAntoni said. ... The Kings assigned C Hamady Ndiaye to the Reno Bighorns, the teams NBA Development League affiliate. Authentic David Robinson Jersey . Mickelson barely made the cut but had the best round of the day with nine birdies and an eagle coupled with two bogeys to sit two shots behind leader Craig Lee of Scotland. Lee shot a 69 for a 12-under 204 total. "I just love the fact I am in contention and have an opportunity in my first tournament of the year here in Abu Dhabi," Mickelson said. Bruce Bowen Spurs Jersey .5 million, one-year contract on Friday. Hawkins, who turns 41 in December, will compete with Rex Brothers for the closers role at spring training. http://www.spursnbateamshop.com/kyle-anderson-spurs-jersey/ . -- Lou Brocks shoulder-to-shoulder collision with Bill Freehan during the 1968 World Series and Pete Roses bruising hit on Ray Fosse in the 1970 All-Star game could become relics of baseball history, like the dead-ball era.CALGARY -- Gilmore Junio hopes the people who follow his speedskating career in typhoon-ravaged Philippines feel their spirits lift after his recent gold medal. The Filipino-Canadian won the first World Cup gold medal of his career in the 500 metres last week in Salt Lake City, Utah. His parents Gino and Julie emigrated from the Philippines to Canada in the 1970s. Junio was born and raised in Calgary. Hundreds were killed and millions left homeless when Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines earlier this month. Junio says the disaster did not directly impact his familys relatives. He is sponsored, however, by the Philippine telecommunications company PLDT. So after winning his gold, Junio sent a message to the company acknowledging his victory, but also conveying his best wishes for anyone affected by the typhoon. "I kept it pretty brief on my success and said it was a great confidence booster going towards the Olympics, but my thoughts and prayers went out to all families," Junio said. "Maybe not a lot of Filipinos know what speedskating is, but maybe just having an athlete they hear has won a gold medal on the World Cup circuit, maybe they can kind of be excited despite the tragedy and find something to rally around for the next couple of months." The 23-year-olds gold was his second career World Cup medal after winning a silver during the 2012-13 season. Along with Edmontons Jamie Gregg, who has earned a pair of World Cup bronze in the 500 already this season, the two men are medal threats at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, in February. The Philippines is an island country in the western Pacific Ocean. No athletes from the country competed in the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver and Whistler, B.C., so Philippine media coverage of the Games concentrated on Filipino-American speed skater J.R. Celski and figure skater Amanda Evora. "My dad watches a lot of the Filipino channel and those two were always on the news," Junio said. "For Filipinos to have winter athletes to rally around at Olympic time, its special for them. "Theyre really big on their sports too," he continued, pointing out that boxer Manny Pacquiao is so beloved there, he was elected to political office. Junios sponsorship deal with PLDT is a unique story on its own. Junio did it with the help of Kevin Jagger, an Vancouver investment banker so inspired by the 2010 Games he quit his job to become a speedskater. Jagger has yet to make the national team, but still attracted sponsorship to his quest with his business and marketing smarts. Jagger worked with Junio on building a sponsorship proposal. They highlighted his unique heritage in the sport with the slogan "fastest Filipino on ice." ""We basically took that sttory and put a deck (proposal) together saying that over 100 metres, Gil is faster than Usain Bolt," Jagger said. Sean Elliott Jersey. "We put that deck together and sent that out to PLDT. "They loved it and they loved the idea. Even though he competes for Canada, hes very proud of his Filipino heritage. Thats someone they can call their own. They have a huge employee base so we basically pitched it around an employee morale story. "It speaks to the importance of having social media and blogging and having a website where he can effectively share his story and tell it across the ocean." It isnt NHL or NBA money, but the sponsorships value is in the double digits. Thats a significant amount to athletes who often believe they cant begin to engage a companys interest without an Olympic gold medal around their necks. "Its a pretty big amount compared to what Im used to," Junio said. "Especially with the Olympics this year, you want to make sure youre doing everything right buying supplements and vitamins and paying for extras. "We have a yoga core class so paying for that and equipment just piles up. To be able to just pay for that stuff and have the financial stresses off me . . . . you kind of have no more excuses." Junio has twice travelled to the Philippines and most recently in 2011 to visit his fathers relatives. Interestingly, Jagger also helped Junio parlay his "born-and-raised Calgarian" side into attracting sponsorship from the Calgary software company Aclaro. "On the sponsorship side, you wont get far with a generic deck," Jagger said. "Each pitch has been highly customized. Its always genuine, but youre pitching different things." Junio played hockey from age seven to 13. He realized he might not be big enough to pursue the sport at a high level when the opposing team had current six-foot-eight Buffalo Sabres defenceman Tyler Myers on it. With some gentle nudging from Gino, he attended a speedskating talent identification camp at the Olympic Oval. Junior started out in short track, but broke two bones in his back just prior to the junior world championships at age 19. He switched to long track as a means of training safely during his comeback and stayed with it. Junio tied for gold in Salt Lake City with Japans Joji Kato, the Olympic bronze medallist in 2010, as the two men posted identical times. "Having the gold with one of the fastest times Ive ever skated, that in itself gives me a lot of confidence that if I execute my plan right and really hone in on that day, I could contend to bring home a medal," Junio said. "Looking to Sochi, I just have to execute on the days I compete and at the Olympic trials. 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