Suchen mods /admin » NFC West has been over the past couple of years

INDIANAPOLIS - The Indiana Pacers bizarre season came to a familiar end Friday night. Another embarrassing loss at Miami. Now Larry Bird must spend the off-season trying to figure out what went wrong and what must be fixed to finally beat the Heat in the playoffs. "You just have to go into the off-season with the mindset that were going to reload. We have a core, a system, a culture thats going to give us a chance every year," coach Frank Vogel said after Fridays 25-point, season-ending loss. "Weve got to make whatever adjustments we have to make to come back and be here again next year." There are plenty of questions heading into what could be a turbulent off-season. Will Vogel be back after leading the Pacers to 42, 49 and 56 wins in his first three full seasons as coach, capturing back-to-back Central Division titles, reaching the last two conference finals and earning the No. 1 seed for only the third time in franchise history? Will the Pacers re-sign free agent Lance Stephenson, their 23-year-old energizer, whose erratic behaviour became a major distraction in the Eastern Conference finals? Could Hibbert be on the trading block after struggling through Indianas confounding second-half swoon and nearly disappearing, at times, during the playoffs? Might Bird make other moves to cope with the NBA trend of spreading the floor, add scorers or rebuild the bench yet again? Or do the Pacers simply need more time to mature? While those answers might not come for months, one thing is clear: They must find a way to get past Miami after three straight playoff series losses, the last two in the Eastern Conference finals. "Obviously, theyre more prepared, theyre more seasoned for this moment," David West said. "Theyve been able to embrace these moments to get to a level that we, for some reason, cant compete." Bird spent last summer revamping the bench, and Indiana responded with a 33-7 start — the best in the NBA. But after signing Andrew Bynum in February and trading Danny Granger for Evan Turner at the trade deadline, the Pacers went into a confounding second-half swoon in which they looked disengaged and disinterested. Two-time All-Star Paul George acknowledged Friday that the Pacers seemed to hit a wall, thinking they could turn it on whenever they needed it. Somehow, they still managed to finish with the best record in the East, rallied to win the final two games against eighth-seeded Atlanta after twice giving away home-court advantage and rallied again against a young Washington team after giving away home-court advantage in Game 1. When they did it again by failing to close out the Heat at home in Game 2, Miami responded by winning all three of its home games decisively to clinch the series. "You know at times it feels like were there, and then theres games where it still feels like were not at that point yet," George said when asked if he thought the Pacers had closed the gap on Miami. "Coach says it, I mean, in order for us to beat this team, weve got to play like champions. More times than not, we didnt do so." Most of the problems were self-inflicted. Indiana struggled with infighting, prolonged slumps, unseemly rumours and constant criticism. Hibbert epitomized much of it. In late March, he complained about "selfish dudes" in the locker room, a barb directed at Stephenson, later apologized and was so bad, at times, in the playoffs that fans and analysts called for his benching. And its unclear what the Pacers will do after a second straight blowout in an elimination game at Miami. Bird acknowledged the Pacers were going "all in" this season when they re-signed David West, gave George a max deal and traded away their first-round pick to get Luis Scola from Phoenix. Stephenson could be the next Pacers player to strike it rich. But after calling out LeBron James publicly before Game 4, blowing in his ear in Game 5 and tapping James on his chin early in Game 6, some wonder if the Pacers even want Stephenson back. It all depends on whether Bird thinks Stephenson can help beat the Heat. "I dont know what the future holds for us," West said. "Obviously, everything starts and ends with the Miami Heat. You have to have a team that can get through a tough regular season but ultimately, you have to be able to beat Miami to get to the finals." Discount Jacksonville Jaguars Jerseys . - Carter Verhaeghe scored the winner with 41 seconds to go as the Niagara IceDogs edged the North Bay Battalion 3-2 to even their first-round series at a game apiece in Ontario Hockey League playoff action on Sunday. Authentic Jacksonville Jaguars Jerseys . It was a move of some time in the making. “He hasnt thrown well, clearly some guys are being used more than him right now and the only way to get out of this funk is to pitch,” said general manager Alex Anthopoulos. http://www.jaguarscheap.com/. The third-ranked Buckeyes were down eight points to Notre Dame with less than 2 minutes to play and their offence was nowhere to be found. Jacksonville Jaguars Jerseys Outlet . The Marlies surrendered two power-play goals and failed to score on six man-advantage opportunities en route to a 4-1 defeat in American Hockey League action on Saturday. Wholesale Jacksonville Jaguars Jerseys .Y. - Peyton Manning made his fifth MVP award a family affair.RENTON, Wash. - After beating up on each other twice earlier this season, Pete Carroll was not surprised to see San Francisco as the opponent coming to Seattle for the NFC championship game. He believes the division foes, with one of the most heated rivalries in the NFC, meeting for a trip to the Super Bowl is validation for how good the once-mocked NFC West has become. "This matchup is exactly what everybody is looking for and its an exciting one with a lot of background," Carroll said on Monday. "Im grateful its coming from our division. I think our division really made a statement this year about how good we were and lot of losses came within the division. When you look at it this is a fantastic matchup with a great opportunity for both teams." Seattle (14-3) advanced to the NFC title game after knocking off New Orleans 23-15 in the divisional round on Saturday. Its the second NFC championship game appearance for Seattle and third overall having once played for the AFC title. There is familiarity and contempt when it comes to San Francisco and Seattle. Theyve played six times since San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh arrived before the 2011 season with the 49ers holding a 4-2 advantage. But of Seattles four losses, only one — the first — has been by more than seven points. Seattle and San Francisco split the two games this season with each winning at home. The Seahawks rolled to a 29-3 win in Week 2, and the 49ers kicked a late field goal for a 19-17 win in Week 14. Perhaps its appropriate that the series record is tied 15-15 heading into Sunday with more at stake than ever before. "It shows how good the NFC West has been over the past couple of years," Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson said. "Its going to be a great challenge for both teams. Its going to be a physical game. Its going to be a game where everybody knows each other andd everybody knows everybodys techniques so we just have to play great football and execute and be on time make the plays when we need to make them.dddddddddddd" Seattle goes into the week with two lingering injury questions. The first is with wide receiver Percy Harvin, who made his return on Saturday and suffered a concussion late in the first half. Carroll emphasized Monday they will "respect the heck" out of the process for Harvin to get cleared and said Wednesday and Thursday will be the important days if hes able to get back on the field. Harvin took two big hits in the game, the first coming from Rafael Bush on the third play and drawing a 15-yard roughing penalty. Harvin also was hit by Malcolm Jenkins as he hit the field on the play he was injured. Before he was injured, Harvin showed the flashes Seattle believed it was getting in mass quantity when it traded for him during the off-season. Carroll said Harvin had no issues with his hip that was surgically repaired in August and the concern this week is strictly for his head. He added that Seattle playing on Saturday and Harvin having an extra day of recovery could be significant. "Were going to take care of Percy and make sure we do the right thing. Were not going to stretch the limits at all. Were going to be very careful here. Well do that every step of the way." Aside from Harvin, Seattle is also waiting to see if linebacker K.J. Wright will play for the first time since suffering a fracture in his right foot against San Francisco in Week 14. Wright had surgery after the injury and was back running last week. Carroll said he would be tested on Wednesday to see where he is at in his recovery. "We ran well today and over the weekend," Carroll said. "Hell come back out on Wednesday and well see where he is. He has a chance and were excited for him." 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