over the court, hitting a pair of 3s to go with usual leaners, floate

The four-team Champions Classic has been the marquee event of the college basketball regular season, thus?Duke, Kentucky, Kansas?and Michigan State?didnt balk at renewing their deals for three more seasons through 2019.The November doubleheader event began in 2011 and continues Nov. 15 at Madison Square Garden in New York City with all four teams likely in the preseason AP top 10, including No. 1 Duke taking on Kansas and Kentucky playing Michigan State.The future matchups are as follows: Kansas versus Kentucky and Duke versus Michigan State, Nov. 14, 2017, at the United Center in Chicago; Michigan State versus Kansas and Duke versus Kentucky, Nov. 13, 2018, at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis; Kansas versus Duke and Michigan State versus Kentucky, Nov. 12, 2019, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.It has become one of the premier college basketball events on the national schedule every year, Kentucky coach John Calipari said. Youre talking about four blue-blood programs playing on a neutral, NCAA tournament-like stage. I know our fans love traveling to those cities. Its always a tough way for a young team like ours to face those types of teams that early, but its a great opportunity for us to learn and to prepare for that type of environment down the road.The Duke-Kentucky game last season drew a 2.0 rating, the highest-rated regular-season game last season.The Champions Classic has become the signature event for the start of the college basketball season, Duke athletic director Kevin White said. Duke is happy to be included in the continuation of the series and to stay linked with our championship colleagues from Kansas, Kentucky and Michigan State.Michigan State will go from an Armed Forces Classic game to the Champions Classic for the third time since 2011. The Spartans have gone from San Diego, where the Spartans played North Carolina on the USS Carl Vinson in 2011, traveling back from Germany after playing UConn at Ramstein Air Base in 2012, and this upcoming season the Spartans will go from Honolulu playing Arizona in the Armed Forces Classic to NYC for the Champions Classic.While head coaches may question their sanity about scheduling these games, I know that they love this event too, especially when you surround Kentucky with Arizona [in Hawaii] and Duke [ACC-Big Ten Challenge] and a trip to the Battle 4 Atlantis, ?Michigan State AD Mark Hollis said about the schedule facing coach Tom Izzo and the Spartans. With the Champions Classic, the student-athlete wins and the fans win. Its an outstanding event.Kansas associate athletic director Larry Keating, who handles the Jayhawks scheduling, was one of the early architects of the Champions Classic with ESPN programming director Nick Dawson.Its obviously the top event of the regular season, Keating said. You usually have four of the top 10 and it should be that way again. No one has ever thought of not doing it. Everyone knows the value of it. The four fan bases can get to all cities where the event takes place. It has been everything we thought it would be and more.The Champions Classic was in New York City in 2011, Atlanta in 2012, Chicago in 2013 and 2015 and Indianapolis in 2014. Kentucky beat Duke 74-63, and Michigan State beat Kansas 79-73 last season in Chicago. Air Max Pas Cher Solde . -- Cam Newton pranced into the end zone, placed his hands over his chest and did his familiar Superman pose. Air Max Pas Cher France . -- Timbers coach Caleb Porter didnt stray from his business-like approach to the season even after Portland downed the two-time defending league champion Los Angeles Galaxy to gain crucial playoff position. http://www.airmaxpascherfrance.fr/ . Despite the cost, effort and an improved steroid test, its possible that very few -- if any -- positives will be detected, Dr. Richard Budgett told The Associated Press in an interview. "We just dont know what the results from Torino will be," Budgett said. Air Max Soldes Pas Cher .H. -- Matt Kenseth made it 2 for 2 in the Chase, holding off teammate Kyle Busch to win Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Site Air Max Pas Cher . "We have always prided ourselves on the way we play defence. Having two big pieces back is going to be a key for us moving forward for years to come," said Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen. NEW ORLEANS -- Its Holiday season in New Orleans all right. One of the Pelicans primary players is back and already helping them win.Jrue Holiday scored 21 points in his first action this season, Anthony Davis had his latest stellar outing with 38 points, nine rebounds and four blocks, and the Pelicans beat the Portland Trail Blazers 113-101 on Friday night.I head a great first game, Holiday said. The thrill was there. It felt good, being a part of a team.Holiday made his season debut after missing the first 12 games to care for his wife , retired soccer star Lauren Holiday, who had brain surgery last month only weeks after giving birth to the couples first child, a daughter.He wound up playing just more than 23 minutes hitting an array of jumpers, including a 3, as well as driving floaters and layups. He finished with seven assists, none more crowd-pleasing than his crisp bounce-pass to a cutting Davis, who finished the play with a thunderous two-handed dunk.Holiday had been in constant contact with coaches and studying game video while on leave, so he wasnt surprised that he quickly got into the rhythm of the offense.There are some new faces around here, but at the same time its the same system, Holiday said. The part that I was really worried about was conditioning. I really thought that I was behind. Maybe I was just excited for this game. I felt like I could play forever.Terrence Jones added 15 points, and Tim Frazier had 12 for the Pelicans. New Orleans built the lead up to 20 in the fourth quarter and cruised to the finished. Theyve won three of five after an 0-8 start.Damian Lillard scored 27 points, and CJ McCollum 24 for Portland, which has lost three straight to fall to 7-7. Mason Plumlee added 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who never got closer than eight points in the second half.We obviously are not playing the best basketball right now, but we are still .500, said Portland forward Ed Davis, who had 11 rebounds in a starting role that required him to attempt to defend his Pelicans namesake. Its not like we are on an eight-game losing streak.We are not in panic mode, he added. Well be all right, man.TIP-INSTrail Blazers: Maurice Harkless scored 10 points, but went 2 of 7 from 3-point range, from where the Blazers wentt 12 of 34 as a team.dddddddddddd ... Portland has scored 100 or more points in 12 of its first 14 games. ... The Blazers, which lost 126-109 in Houston on Thursday night, dropped to 3-4 on the road.Pelicans: Alvin Gentry reached his 800th career game as an NBA head coach. ... New Orleans won its second straight home game after starting 0-5 on its own floor. ... Center Alexis Ajinca sat out with a sore left shoulder.HOLIDAY CHEERThe crowd bellowed, Jruuuuue! as Holiday checked in, and he wasted no time getting involved, assisting on Jones layup the first time he handled the ball on the offensive end.Within four minutes on the court, Holiday scored five points to go with a rebound and assists, and even a block on Noah Vonlehs dunk attempt.Anthony Davis called Holiday instant offense.He comes in, makes great reads, makes plays for himself or others -- and also does it on the defensive end, Davis said. In my eyes, hes one of the top point guards in the league and it showed.DOMINANT DAVISDavis was making shots from all over the court, hitting a pair of 3s to go with usual leaners, floaters, layups and mid-range jumpers.The Pelicans made their first significant push in the final three minutes of the first half. Portland was down 51-47 after Plumlees 16-foot jumper, but Davis responded with a 16-footer of his own that sparked a 13-4 run to close out the half. Davis added six more points during the spurt, hitting a jumper, floater and spinning a reverse layup off the glass with McCollum climbing on his shoulders. Davis also rejected his third Lillard shot of the half, and New Orleans led 64-51 as the horn sounded to end the second quarter.NEW LOOKHoliday wore goggles as a precaution after missing the last nine games of last season because of an inadvertent elbow he took to the head, fracturing his orbital eye wall.He said he hasnt decided yet how long hell wear them.We won so Im probably going to play in them Saturday night, he said. I think I look dorky. Ive already been made fun of by half of the team. Thats OK as long as we get the win.UP NEXTTrail Blazers: Visit Brooklyn on Sunday.Pelicans: Host Charlotte on Saturday night. ' ' '