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PORTLAND, Ore. -- Damian Lillard has big plans for the 2016-17 NBA season -- for himself and the Portland Trail Blazers.I want to get to the Western Conference finals and give ourselves a chance to get to the (NBA) Finals, said Lillard, who leads the Trail Blazers into action Tuesday night against the Utah Jazz at the Moda Center in the regular-season opener for both teams. I think its possible.Lillards personal goal entering the season?MVP, he said. I want to be the MVP. If we come out and do the things were capable of doing as a team, if we win games, that means my performance will be at the level of an MVP.There are people in high places who arent scoffing at the possibility. In Oakland, Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr was asked about Kevin Durants chances to claim the MVP Award in his first season with the Warriors.I think K.D. is kind of like Gary Johnson -- a third-party guy who is going to come in and take a few votes from Steph (Curry), takes some from LeBron (James), and then Damian Lillard wins the election, Kerr told Bay Area reporters. Thats my forecast.Lillard, 26, had his best season in 2015-16, gaining second-team All-NBA honors for the first time. The two-time All-Star point guard finished eighth in MVP balloting, joining James, Curry and Russell Westbrook as the only players to place among the leagues top 10 in scoring (25.1, sixth) and assists (6.8, eighth) during the regular season.After finishing fourth in the Western Conference with a 44-38 record and advancing to the second round of the playoffs before being eliminated by the Warriors, the Blazers have reason to believe they can make a deeper run this season.Except for reserve guard Gerald Henderson, they retain all the key components of the 2015-16 team. And they have added free-agent Evan Turner, who finished fifth in the NBAs Sixth Man of the Year Award balloting while with the Boston Celtics a year ago.Portland has one of the NBAs deepest rosters. Lillard and CJ McCollum will start in the backcourt, flanked by Moe Harkless, Al-Farouq Aminu and Mason Plumlee on the front line. The rotation to start the season is expected to include Turner, forward Meyers Leonard and swing man Allen Crabbe, plus perhaps forward Noah Vonleh and/or point guard Shabazz Napier.Utah expects to show improvement, too, after barely missing the playoffs last season, finishing ninth in the West with a 40-42 record. The Jazz made three veteran offseason acquisitions -- point guard George Hill, swingman Joe Johnson and power forward Boris Diaw -- to a young nucleus that includes front-liners Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert.We get something from all three, shooting guard Rodney Hood told the Deseret News. With Boris, his passing ability, his knowledge of the game. Hes always teaching us little things here and there to make things easier. With George, pushing the pace, being a leader ... youre always hearing his voice. With Joe, hes always in my ear telling me little things I can do to make the game easier. All three have helped a lot. Its more than just the physical things.The Jazz come to Portland with a decidedly short cast. Hayward, their best player, will miss the game with a left ring finger that was broken three weeks ago. Reserve guard Alec Burks, and probably Favors, will miss the game with knee issues.That means Diaw and Johnson will likely team with Gobert on the front line in a Utah starting lineup that will include Hill and Hood in the backcourt.Utah has being forecast to finish as high as fifth in the West.Were a little bit of a fashionable pick, third-year coach Quin Snyder said. But that was with Gordon and Derrick and Alec.Guards Dante Exum and Shelvin Mack and forwards Trey Lyles and Joe Ingles are among those who will come off the bench for the Jazz. Matt Milano Womens Jersey . Still, Brewers manager Ron Roenicke thought taking him out before the fifth inning was an unusual move. 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By having more great seasons. Manning was the only unanimous choice for the 2013 Associated Press NFL All-Pro team Friday. So far, Oleksandr Usyks plan is working perfectly -- but it is not quite done yet.The 2012 Olympic heavyweight gold medalist from Ukraine came into the professional ranks with a goal to quickly win a cruiserweight world title, which he did in only his 10th professional fight on Sept. 17, when he traveled to Poland and won a unanimous decision to take the belt off Krzysztof Glowacki.Usyks checklist, however, also includes making it big in the United States, unifying cruiserweight titles, and then moving on -- like many top cruiserweights do -- to the heavyweight division for bigger fights and bigger money.Usyk will get started on the second item on his checklist on Saturday (HBO, 10 p.m. ET/PT) at The Forum in Inglewood, California, where he will make his U.S. debut and his first title defense against South Africas Thabiso The Rock Mchunu (17-2, 11 KOs), a 28-year-old southpaw contender, in the opener of a tripleheader.I have a very good impression of the United States, and I am very excited to fight here, Usyk told ESPN through translator, good friend and light heavyweight contender Oleksandr Gvozdyk, his bronze medal-winning Olympic teammate. From the beginning of my career I wanted to fight in the United States, and now my dreams come true.The card is headlined by legend Bernard Hopkins (55-7-2, 32 KOs), the former middleweight and light heavyweight world champion from Philadelphia, who is a month shy of his 52nd birthday, closing out his 28-year career with a 12-round light heavyweight farewell fight against Joe Smith Jr. (22-1, 18 KOs), 27, of Shirley, New York.In the co-feature, 24-year-old featherweight up-and-comer Joseph JoJo Diaz (22-0, 13 KOs), a 2012 U.S. Olympian from South El Monte, California, will fight Horacio Violento Garcia (30-1-1, 22 KOs), 26, of Mexico, in a scheduled 10-rounder.Besides defending the belt, the 6-foot-3 Usyk also wants to entertain the fans. He is a showman with a big personality who likes to perform the traditional Ukrainian Hopak dance of the Cossacks in the ring.It comes from my heart, Usyk said of his dancing prowess. I was born with this, and I was thinking when I was a kid I would like to be an actor. I became a boxer, so I tried to combine the two by dancing.It is the showmanship as well as his fighting ability that made manager Egis Klimas, who has known the 29-year-old Usyk for years, want to get involved with his career. He finally signed him shortly after he won his title.I think because of his personality, the way he acts, I think he will have a very big fan base, said Klimas, who also manages former unified light heavyweight titlist Sergey Kovalev, Gvozdyk and junior lightweight titlist Vasyl Lomachenko, who is also a close friend and Olympic teammate of Usyks. I truly believe people [are] going to like him a lot.Usyk, a southpaw, is a popular fighter in Ukraine, where he sells out 10,000-seat arenas. He is promoted by K2 Promotions, whose figurehead, Vitali Klitschko, the former heavyweight world champion and current mayor of Kiev, is a fixture at his fights; he is expected at The Forum on Saturday. As popular as Usyk is in Ukraine, he and Klimas agreed that it was time to come to the U.S. and make a move.If all goes well, Klimas said Usyk probably would fight two of every three fiights in the U.ddddddddddddS. with one in Ukraine.America is still the mecca of boxing, Klimas said. You can be the most popular guy in Ukraine, but if you want the world to know who you are, and you want to unify titles, you need to be on this soil. That was his dream, to fight in America and to fight in a big arena.Definitely, being with the legendary Bernard Hopkins means a lot to him and our whole team. We have so much respect for Hopkins. Hes been a great fighter. Thats what Usyk wants to be. Our goal is also to get American fans and American [television] network behind us.By winning the 200-pound belt in his 10th professional fight, Usyk broke the division record for fewest fights needed to win a world title. He surpassed the mark held by Evander Holyfield, the recently elected International Boxing Hall of Famer who won a cruiserweight world title in his 12th fight when he beat fellow Hall of Famer Dwight Muhammad Qawi in an epic 15-rounder in 1986.It was a record Usyk said he had his eye on from the start of his pro career.I knew about it. This was my goal to beat this record, he said. I was really happy when I did it. I like and respect Holyfield. I saw a lot of his fights growing up, and I am happy I can do it faster than he did.Then Usyk flashed his wit, adding with a laugh, Holyfield, nothing personal. Sorry, just business.Holyfield became the undisputed cruiserweight champion and then moved up to heavyweight division and became the undisputed champion there also. Usyk hopes to follow in his footsteps in the not-too-distant-future.Im not fighting at heavyweight now because we should go step-by-step, said Usyk, who was introduced to boxing at age 15 by his late father. I want to become a star in the United States because I want to show everyone quality boxing.Unifying all the belts could be a very time-consuming effort, so Usyk said he would like to at least unify two belts before leaving the division.From the beginning I wanted to dominate in the cruiserweight division, unify titles and then go to heavyweight, Usyk said. I think maybe in a couple of years, maybe in 2018, you will see me in the heavyweight division.Said Klimas: The most exciting thing about working with Usyk is maybe in a year and half, after unifying titles, he will turn into a heavyweight. This is a key. Thats a plan.Gvozdyk and Klimas believe Usyk can accomplish all that he says he wants to.I have no doubts about it, Gvozdyk said. I watch the cruiserweight champions, and he has a big chance to be the unified champion if he gets a chance to fight those guys. I know him. I used to spar with him. I have seen him against tough opponents. I see what he can do, and I think he can beat all of the [cruiserweight] champions.Said Klimas: I believe Usyk is right there with Kovalev and Lomachenko, the same level. I havent seen him live in a fight yet, only videos, but [Ive] seen him training and sparring. He went 15 rounds with four different sparring partners the other day and stepped out of the ring and went right to the heavy bag. His stamina is good. He has a big desire and heart. He has desire to prove to the world what he can do. ' ' '