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NEW YORK -- Jeremy Lin will be urged to become a better leader. Cheap Falcons Jerseys Authentic . Brook Lopez will be challenged to rebound and defend better.Kenny Atkinson believes in being direct and honest with his players, but theres one thing the new Brooklyn Nets coach wont discuss with them.After all, the players already know some people dont think very much of them.I think those guys are aware of it, so as a coach I dont think I need to be putting stuff up in the locker room and motivating them that way, Atkinson said Tuesday.Expectations are low for the Nets, who open training camp next Tuesday. While they could be better than last seasons 21-61 record, they also could be the worst team in the Eastern Conference, now that the Philadelphia 76ers will be interested in trying to win.Odds makers, media members and even some of their own fans dont expect much from the Nets, and some players already have made clear they wont be as bad as critics say.I dont think we look at is as bulletin board material, general manager Sean Marks said. I mean, youve read probably a couple of pieces that some of our guys have said that they dont agree with those odds and thats great. Thats exactly what we want ... thats the competitor in them.Marks, a former assistant general manager with San Antonio, begins his first full season after he was hired last February. He hired Atkinson from Atlanta, where he helped the Hawks reach the second round of the playoffs as an assistant to Mike Budenholzer.They made a number of additions over the summer, but not the splashy types the Nets favored during their first few years in Brooklyn, when they were trying to win new fans while also winning games. That led to trades for players such as Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Joe Johnson, and they reached the postseason in their first three seasons after moving from New Jersey.But the mindset has changed now, with the bold predictions of Russian owner Mikhail Prokhorov giving way to tempered talk from Marks, a New Zealand native. Prokhorov wanted to win fast -- time expired on his goal of winning a championship within five years of buying the team -- but now is backing a plan to build slowly.Well, it depends on what your definition of slow is, Marks said. Our owners know exactly what the expectations are, so theyre 100 percent on board. Theyve been on board all summer long.Lopez is the teams best player and the Nets hope Lin, back in the city where he was briefly a star with the Knicks in 2012, can build on a strong season as the backup to Kemba Walker in Charlotte. Atkinson was an assistant under Mike DAntoni in New York during the Linsanity days and believes Lin is ready to handle the responsibilities of running this team.Its a heck of a challenge for him, but I think hes prepared for it, Atkinson said. I think its the right time in his career.The Nets were encouraged by the play this summer of guard Bojan Bogdanovic, who was Croatias leading scorer as it qualified for the Olympics, then surprisingly reached the quarterfinals. And they have high hopes for youngsters such as Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Chris McCullough, Sean Kilpatrick and rookie Caris LeVert, even though none of them have played a full NBA season yet.Thats why Marks said success for the Nets wont be measured only in wins and losses, but by how those players improve during the season.This is not going to be something thats going to turn around in two, three months, he said. As weve said before, we want something thats done strategically and systematically that builds a strong foundation and not something thats a fleeting moment.---Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Briancmahoney DeVondre Campbell Jersey . Rob Manfred, baseballs chief operating officer, testified last week during the grievance filed by the players union to overturn Rodriguezs 211-game suspension. A person familiar with the hearing, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press on Saturday that Manfred testified the sport wasnt concerned whether Bosch distributed performance-enhancing drugs to minors because MLBs interest was his relationship with players under investigation. Ricky Ortiz Jersey . Carey Price didnt, but he still came out on top against one of his rivals for the No. 1 job at the Sochi Games. The Anahim Lake, B.C., native was stellar in making 39 saves in his home province and Lars Eller got credit for a bizarre short-handed winner as the Canadiens defeated the Canucks 4-1. http://www.cheapfalconsjerseysauthentic....in-senat-jersey .25 million option on reliever Jose Veras. DENVER -- While his counterpart was kept under constant duress, Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask had a relatively breezy night.Very few defensive breakdowns, hardly any penalties and a puck-controlling offense will do that.Rask stopped 21 shots and David Krejci scored in the first period, lifting Boston over the Colorado Avalanche 2-0 on Sunday night.The difficult-to-solve Rask showed no signs of fatigue despite being in net for a second straight night. He made 31 saves in a 2-1 win over Arizona on Saturday. Rask got his 33rd career shutout and moved to 7-0 on the road this season.Thats how you win a road game -- a pretty much mistake-free game, Rask said. We kept them on the outside and really limited their scoring chances and rushes. And then we kept the puck in the offensive zone and made some plays and created chances.Krejci scored his second goal of the season on a wrist shot midway through the first period -- a big development for a team fighting some exhaustion.We didnt have to overwork, said Rask, whose 10 wins this season are tied with Montreal goaltender Carey Price for the league lead.The Avalanche pulled Semyon Varlamov with about a minute remaining but couldnt generate much offense. Dominic Moore sealed it with an empty-net goal with 27.2 seconds remaining.Varlamov turned out to be the hard-luck loser, stopping a season-high 43 shots.Varly was outstanding, Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. He was the best player on the ice.An already struggling Avalanche offense was missing leading scorer Matt Duchene, whos dealing with concussion-like symptoms stemming from a hit against Winnipeg on Friday. It was the fourth time Colorado has been shut out this season.Passed up on a lot of shots early in the game, too much east-west plays, and then we didnt get a lot of our point shots through, a lot of them got blocked, Bednar said. Its kind of Bostons M.O., they do a good job in that regard, but we certainly made it too easy for (Rask).Boston didnt commiit a penalty until midway through the third period, when rookie defenseman Brandon Carlo was called for holding. DelShawn Phillips Jersey. Recent call-up A.J. Greer tried to wrap in a shot and then slid into the net with Rask. The officials took a quick look at the play on video to see if the puck crossed the line.It didnt.Carlo then had a breakaway out of the penalty box, only to be thwarted by Varlamov.Its frustrating that we didnt win, Varlamov said. It doesnt matter how you play. Im not happy that we lost because we need the two points. Thats the most important thing for us.Boston dominated the second period, outshooting the Avalanche by a 23-7 margin. The only thing keeping this from a blowout was Varlamov. Case in point: a sequence late in the period when Brad Marchand lined a shot that bounced off Varlamovs left pad and back to Marchand. The Bruins left winger quickly lined another shot that Varlamov, who caught it with his glove.Krejci got the best of Varlamov at 9:30 of the opening period off a pass from David Backes. That was all Rask needed.Just another great game. Cant say enough about that guy, Krejci said. Hes been great so far and keeping us in the game every single game. Sometimes, we only need one or two goals to win the game.Game notes Boston is five goals shy of scoring the 20,000th goal in franchise history, according to the team. The Bruins will join Montreal as the only teams in NHL history to reach that milestone. ... Carlo is from Colorado Springs and grew up a big Avalanche fan. ... Avalanche LW Blake Comeau missed a fourth straight game with a groin injury. ... Greer played in his first NHL game after being recalled from San Antonio of the American Hockey League.UP NEXTBruins: At Minnesota on Thursday night to finish a three-game trip.Avalanche: Host Los Angeles on Tuesday night to wrap up a four-game homestand. Wholeslae Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NBA Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Cheap College Jerseys Cheap Football Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Cheap Baseball Jerseys ' ' '