Dein erstes Forum » ad by 20 in the fourth quarter. The Warriors

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Grady Sizemores long journey back from a series of injuries that almost ended his promising career is complete: He will be the Boston Red Soxs starting centre fielder on opening day. The three-time All-Star is set to play for the World Series champions Monday at Baltimore. "Its very exciting," Sizemore said Friday. "Its been a long road for me and Im happy to keep moving forward and to be in this position for this team." Sizemore beat out highly regarded prospect Jackie Bradley Jr. for the starting job. The Red Sox said Friday that Bradley will begin the season at Triple-A Pawtucket. Sizemore has not played in the majors since September 2011 with Cleveland. He has undergone seven operations since 2009, including surgery on both knees, his back and elbow. The Red Sox lost star centre fielder Jacoby Ellsbury to the Yankees in free agency during the off-season. Boston signed the 31-year-old Sizemore in January, hoping he could still make an impact. Sizemore hit .333 in spring training, going 13 for 39 with a home run, two doubles, three walks, and four strikeouts. He held up well in the outfield, playing 82 innings. "This is one of those situations where the game was taken away from a player and now that its back in his reach, that appreciation is only going to grow," Farrell said. "Theres a greater appreciation that I think any player goes through when theyre able to attain that level again. "He hasnt had any push back with the repetition and the volume in spring training, saying his body cant take it," Farrell added. "We have had a cautious level of optimism with each passing day." Entering spring training, the Red Sox were not sure what to expect from Sizemore. But hes passed every marker. Whats left is to see how he holds up during the rigours of a full season. "As far as the durability question, we answered it as best we could given the number of spring training games," Farrell said. "He will still be on a progression in the month of April where theres a prescribed number of games played and theres a progression to that. Its premature to give you an exact number of games per week. But were working toward an everyday status." Sizemore was a third-round pick of the Montreal Expos in 2000 before being acquired in a six-player deal by Cleveland in 2002 when Farrell was the Indians director of player development. Before his injuries, Sizemore was one of baseballs most dynamic players. A left-handed batter, he hit 20 or more home runs with 20 or more stolen bases in each of his first four full seasons, from 2005-08, the most 20-20 seasons in Indians history. The only other players ever to record three 20-20 seasons within their first four big league seasons are Darryl Strawberry (1984-86) and Bobby Bonds (1969-71). Despite his time away from the game, Sizemore never gave up on his baseball career, though. "I didnt think it was over," he said. "I just didnt know if Id ever get back to feeling healthy. It wasnt really a matter of playing baseball. It was the little things like being able to run. It was one of those things where youre just trying to find answers." The last few years have not been easy on Sizemore. After appearing in a total of 639 games from 2005-08, he has played in just 210 since. But, on Monday, expect that to change. "Its nice to have some positive news," Sizemore said. "In the last couple of years everythings been so negative. Its almost hard to realize whats going on. Hard to sink in." Roger Clemens Jersey . The visitors missed a host of good chances to win the game, and were left to rue substitute Ivo Ilicevics strike against the crossbar in the 86th minute, when he only had the goalkeeper to beat. J. D. Martinez Jersey .Y. -- The Montreal Canadiens have had few reasons to celebrate this season as they have been mired near the basement of the Eastern Conference. http://www.theredsoxteamshop.com/Red-Sox...ro-Kids-Jersey/. "I have had no discussions with Chad Johnson or his representation," Popp said Friday in an email. However, he appeared to confirm a report on Twitter from TSN this week that Johnson was on Montreals negotiation list. Ted Williams Jersey ... as usual. Even with the salary cap being set lower than many general managers expected and hoped for at $69 million and whats considered a shallow pool of top-end players available, this unrestricted-free-agent period figures to follow the familiar script of teams bidding up prices to keep up with each other. Jim Rice Jersey .C. -- The Carolina Panthers announced Thursday theyve signed free agent wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery to a two-year contract, helping rebuild a depleted wide receiving corps.OAKLAND, Calif. -- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson asked his players a simple question during Fridays morning shootaround: How many of them had ever been on a team 14 games over .500? Only veterans Jermaine ONeal, Steve Blake and Andre Iguodala raised their hands. With so many home games remaining, the opportunity in front of the Warriors is rare. Golden State took another step forward Friday night by easing past the Atlanta Hawks 111-97 for its third straight win. "Were chasing greatness," Jackson said. "Were not going to be satisfied. Were going to continue to try to chalk up Ws, continue to battle and continue to celebrate where we are as a basketball team. Its a great time. And if nobody else knows it, we know it." David Lee had 18 points and six rebounds, and ONeal came off the bench to add 17 points and eight rebounds to lift the Warriors (39-24) a season-high 15 games over .500 with a relatively smooth win. Iguodala and Stephen Curry each scored 13 points to help Golden State build a 66-52 halftime lead and go ahead by 20 in the fourth quarter. The Warriors, fresh off a 4-2 road trip, are 8-2 since the All-Star break and beginning to look like the team that roared to the second-round of the playoffs last year. "Ive been 15 under in New York a bunch of times and when I first got here," Lee said. "It says a lot about the direction this organizations headed that were breaking through and reaching goals like that." Paul Millsap had 16 points and seven rebounds after missing the last five games because of a bruised right knee for the Hawks, who have lost five straight. Mike Scott added 14 points and DeMarre Carroll and Jeff Teague scored nine points apiece as Atlanta continued its late-season slide. The teams traded baskets for most of the first half until the Warriors put together a 12-1 spurt in the closing minutes that the Hawks (26-34) never recovered from. "We lost our focus," Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer said. "WWe lost our mental toughness at the end of the second quarter and they were able to get out on us to like a 14-point lead going into halftime.dddddddddddd That stretch really hurt us." Golden State began a stretch of nine of 11 and 13 of its final 20 games at Oracle Arena. The Warriors want to use the finishing stretch to re-establish their home-court advantage and make a run at the Los Angeles Clippers, who are four games ahead in the Pacific Division. The Warriors, who needed Iguodalas 3-pointer as time expired to beat the Hawks 101-100 in Atlanta on Jan. 3, allowed little drama in the rematch. Draymond Greens 3-pointer capped a run that put the Warriors ahead 97-77 with 6:09 remaining in the fourth quarter. The depleted Hawks, with big men Al Horford and Gustavo Ayon out for the season, never seriously challenged. The only major setback for the Warriors came when shooting guard Klay Thompson limped to the locker room six minutes into the first quarter with a strained lower back. He did not return for precautionary reasons, the team said. Thompson has been Golden States most durable player the past three years. He has played in a franchise-record 211 straight regular-season games to start his career. Jackson said Thompson couldve started the second half, but there was no reason to with the Warriors in control. Millsap moved Atlanta within four early in the third quarter, but he had little help inside. Golden State led 85-77 entering the fourth quarter before pulling away. "We got away from what weve been doing," Millsap said. "Its kind of tough to lose that discipline, especially when youre on the road." NOTES: Curry has made at least one 3-pointer in 51 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the NBA after Kyle Korvers league-record 127-game streak ended in Atlantas loss at Portland on Wednesday. Korver was 1-for-5 shooting from beyond the arc against the Warriors. ... The Hawks play at the Clippers on Saturday night. ... The Warriors host Phoenix on Sunday. 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