miaowang123: James passed Larry Bird for No. 8 on the leagues all-time playoff scoring list. ..

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NASHVILLE -- The Nashville Predators signed centre Olli Jokinen on Wednesday in their latest attempt to boost an offence that has lacked punch. Charles Clay Jersey . The 35-year-old Jokinen had 18 goals and 25 assists in 82 games last season for the Winnipeg Jets. He signed a one-year deal worth $2.5 million. "Olli is a guy that all through his career has played against the top lines," Predators general manager David Poile said during a news conference. "Hes a big, physical player that can play against the best players in the National Hockey League. His record speaks for itself. Hes a guy thats scored a lot of goals in his career. We expect that this is another guy thats going to help us increase our offensive production." The Predators ranked 19th in the league with 2.61 goals per game last season and missed the playoffs for the second straight year. After the season, the Predators fired Barry Trotz -- the only coach in franchise history - and replaced him with Peter Laviolette. Laviolette and Poile have discussed the Predators hopes of improving the teams offence. The Predators off-season moves have reflected that desire. The Predators acquired forward James Neal in a Friday trade that sent forwards Patric Hornqvist and Nick Spaling to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Neal had 27 goals and 34 assists in 59 games this season, which marked the sixth straight year he scored at least 20 goals. Now theyve added a veteran presence in Jokinen, who has 317 goals and 423 assists in 1,169 career regular-season games that have taken him all over the NHL. Jokinen had two stints with Calgary and also played with the Los Angeles Kings, New York Islanders, Florida Panthers, Phoenix Coyotes and New York Rangers before coming to Winnipeg in 2012. Jokinen, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound centre, has scored at least 20 goals in seven seasons and has reached the 30-goal mark four times. Jokinen was an NHL All-Star in 2003, and he has been a team captain or alternate captain in eight of his last 11 seasons. Poile cited Jokinens experience and versatility should help the Predators. Poile said the Predators are penciling Jokinen in at centre but also believe he can play wing. "With all the young players that we have here, I think the idea of adding that veteran forward presence was the right thing to do," Poile said. Andre Holmes Jersey . -- DeMarcus Cousins had 25 points and 16 rebounds to help the Sacramento Kings snap a seven-game losing streak by defeating the Chicago Bulls 99-70 on Monday night. Eric Wood Jersey . "First, I would like to offer my deepest and sincerest apologies for any harm I have inflicted on University of Missouri defensive lineman, Michael Sam," the statement read. MIAMI -- Each of the last two Miami championship runs has been highlighted by moments where a sharpshooter enters a game and immediately provides a surprise spark. James Jones got his turn Sunday. And the lift he brought, combined with the expected playoff showings from LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, have the Heat off and running in these playoffs. James scored 27 points, Wade added 23 and the Heat rode two big runs -- one late in the first half, the other down the stretch -- to beat the Charlotte Bobcats 99-88 in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round series. Miami trailed for much of the first half, but rallied and has now topped Charlotte 17 straight times. "We were flat to start," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "I think our guys were just anxious." Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Wednesday. Al Jefferson will be getting plenty of treatment until then. Kemba Walker scored 20 points for the Bobcats, who started fast behind Jefferson -- who was diagnosed with a strained left plantar fascia after a misstep in the first quarter, and got a pair of injections just to continue playing. "We did some really good things today," Walker said. "We just have to keep executing throughout the game. We cant get rattled." Jefferson still finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds -- yet in what cant be a real exciting sign for Charlotte, he left the arena in a walking boot. "Just got to suck it up, man," said Jefferson, who confessed that hes no fan of needles but insisted he doesnt plan on sitting out. Gary Neal scored 17 and Josh McRoberts added 15 for Charlotte, which shot only 12 free throws compared to 26 by Miami, and allowed the Heat to turn their 15 turnovers into 20 points. "If were going to have 15 turnovers, were not going to win," Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said. Miami sealed it with an 18-4 run in the fourth, all but three of those points coming with James getting a rest. Luke Ridnour made a high-arcing baseline jumper over Ray Allen with 10:29 left to get Charlotte within 74-69. Thats when James got a breather. He returned to breathing room. Chris Andersen had a tip-in for a 12-point lead, Wade -- who shot 10 for 16 -- made a 33-pointer as the shot clock was winding down with 6:50 left to make it 85-70, and another score by Andersen pushed the margin to 17. Zay Jones Jersey. With that, Game 1 was secure. "That group that was in once I took that break at the 10-minute mark in the fourth quarter, they just bumped the lead," James said. "Obviously, to have three Hall of Famers in the game when Im out of the game, CB, D-Wade and Ray ... that was big-time." So was Jones. He didnt play in the first half of any playoff game last season and was out of the rotation much of this year. But when he checked in with 4:19 left in the half Sunday, Miami led 35-34. "Hell of a spark," Wade said. Before long, it was 47-36, Jones scoring four of those late as Miami was wrapping up a 19-2 run. He added five more in the third, and his 3-pointer with 10:08 left kickstarted what became the game-deciding spurt down the stretch. "When youre dressed, youre expected to perform," Jones said. Two years ago, it was Mike Miller giving a lift to the Heat in that off-the-bench role. Last year, it was Miller and Shane Battier sharing those honours. Miller is in Memphis now, Battier is out of the rotation, and that means a door may be opening for Jones. "Hes going to be a very, very key ingredient to our success," James said. Charlotte had four players making their first playoff starts. It was also the first national-television appearance this season for the Bobcats, who seemed anything but overwhelmed by the moment. Walker made a 3-pointer to beat the first-half buzzer, drawing Charlotte within 49-42. That started an 11-0 run by the Bobcats, who scored the first eight of the third quarter to reclaim a one-point lead. And the third stayed close, neither team leading by more than three for the majority of the third. But the Heat closed strong behind Jones and James, who made a 3-pointer with 0.6 seconds left for a 72-65 Miami lead entering the fourth. NOTES: With his final point, James passed Larry Bird for No. 8 on the leagues all-time playoff scoring list. ... Miami is 61-8 over the last three seasons when making at least 10 3-pointers. ... Charlotte was returning home after the game, taking advantage of the long break before Game 2. Cheap Authentic Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Online Jerseys From China Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China ' ' '