NEWS » istrikers early well beyond half-court and the ball

CARDIFF, Wales - Garry Monk was handed the Swansea managers job Wednesday on a permanent basis after keeping the south Wales club in the Premier League. The 35-year-old Monk signed a three-year contract, three months after stepping up from the playing squad to replace the fired Michael Laudrup. "I have had a taste of the job for the last three months and its something Ive really enjoyed," Monk said. "Now Im really looking forward to the next phase in my life and the clubs progression." Monk has been at Swansea for a decade, playing a key role in defence and as captain as the team climbed from the fourth tier to the Premier League, and then won its first major piece of silverware — the 2013 League Cup. "Garry represents all the strong values we hold so dearly as a football club," Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins said. "We have all been impressed with his work-rate and commitment since taking over the reins in February and how he adapted in very difficult circumstances to secure the points we needed to remain in the topflight." Swansea heads into the final match of the campaign against Sunderland on Sunday in 13th place, and preparing for a fourth season in the Premier League. "We all agreed that we needed to get back to basics and reinforce the principles that have brought us success in recent years," Jenkins said. Cheap Authentic Air Max 90 . NORRIS COLE (Heat): Its funny, you watch a guy play and now really produce and it just jumps off the page at you - why? You put a young player with potential in a winning environment where there is veteran leadership, outstanding coaching and management and a way that things are done and its a wonderful environment for growth, improvement in a climate of constant accountability and expectation of achievement/production. Air Max 90 Cheap Wholesale . (AP) -- The head of the committee that developed Major League Baseballs plan to expand instant replay says he is optimistic the system will be in place this season, even though owners and unions for players and umpires have yet to approve. http://www.airmax90cheap.us/. Louis Cardinals on Sunday afternoon; a brief, poor outing that served to highlight two trends that have developed this season. Discount Air Max 90 .com) - Maria Sharapova reached her 10th career grand slam final after beating Ekaterina Makarova in straight sets at the Australian Open on Thursday. Air Max 90 Cheap Free Shipping . These teams will see plenty of each other in the next few weeks as three of the Canucks next nine games are against the Wild (after today they meet February 9th in Minnesota and again February 16th at Rogers Arena).The Oklahoma City Thunder and Memphis Grizzlies return to Chesapeake Energy Arena Tuesday night for a crucial Game 5 of their Western Conference quarterfinal matchup. The Thunder knotted the series with a 92-89 overtime victory in Memphis Saturday night. It was the third overtime contest during the four games of this series. "Now its tied up 2-2," OKC head coach Scott Brooks said. "That means that we have to play with the same type of intensity on both ends of the floor in front of our home crowd, which are the best fans in the league." The Grizzlies won Game 2 in Oklahoma City. On Saturday, the Thunders hero wasnt Kevin Durant, or Russell Westbrook. It wasnt even Serge Ibaka, rather top bench producer Reggie Jackson. Jackson scored a playoff career-best 32 points, including eight in overtime, to lead the Thunder. "We were struggling there in the fourth, and he just took it over," Durant said. "He was aggressive going to the rim all night. He just told himself before the game to be assertive. Defensively he was good. Offensively he attacked the defense and opened it up for everybody. We rolled all night. He made huge, huge plays and Im so proud of him." Durant had 15 points and 13 boards and Westbrook totaled 15 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, but the duo combined to shoot 11-of-45. Ibaka provided 12 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks for the second-seeded Thunder, who shot 36.7 percent. Marc Gasol had 23 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Grizzlies, who had a chance to tie the game at the end but Mike Conley missed a 3-point shot. The seventh-seeded Grizzlies had a 15-game home winning streak broken. Conley had 14 points and 10 assists, and Tony Alllen ended with 14 points and 13 rebounds in defeat.dddddddddddd. Zach Randolph was limited to 11 points for the Grizzlies, who made 37.2 percent from the floor. Memphis widened the gap to 80-75 following a Gasol jumper beyond the foul line with 1:20 left, but the Thunder scrapped to get the game to OT. Jackson drained a 3-ball with 59.2 seconds left, and Durant came up with a steal, which led to Jacksons floater in the lane to tie the game with 30.6 on the clock. It was a wild finish to regulation. Gasol missed a foul-line jumper, and Allen got the offensive rebound, but Ibaka came up with the block under the hoop. Jackson then got the loose ball and had plenty of time to dribble down the court, but shot early well beyond half-court and the ball went out of bounds as time expired. OKC used hustle plays to even this series with Jackson at the center of the effort. He dove for a loose ball on the floor with 1:08 left in OT. Durant then was fouled on a drive to the bucket and made two for an 88-87 edge for the Thunder with 62 seconds left. Conley missed high off the glass, but he came back with a big steal. Westbrook missed a jumper, got his own rebound and tried to dribble the ball back out, but Conley stole the ball and called timeout with 30.9 on the clock. Conleys jumper was then too strong and Jackson made two from the charity stripe with 12.2 seconds left. Conley then drove in for an uncontested layup with 3.8 seconds to go, but Jackson made two more foul shots less than a second later. "I thought the little plays made the difference," said Memphis coach Dave Joerger. "I thought we had great chances to pull out the win. They made enough plays." Game 6 is slated for Thursday night in Memphis. ' ' '