NEWS » 00 p.m. GMTIrelan

In a move for the future, the Philadelphia 76ers traded their best player in order to get an injured lottery pick with great potential. Numbers Game looks at the move sending PG Jrue Holiday to New Orleans for highly-touted C Nerlens Noel. The Pelicans Get: PG Jrue Holiday and the 42nd pick in the 2013 draft (used to take PG Pierre Jackson). Jrue Holiday, 23, is coming off a career-best season in which he scored 17.7 points and had 8.0 assists with 4.2 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game. Hes at the low end of a rare group of players that scored 17 points with seven assists, four rebounds and 1.5 steals per game, as LeBron James and Russell Westbrook were the only other players to meet all those thresholds. For all that statistical production, Holidays defensive play wasnt as effective as it had been in previous seasons, perhaps a reflection of his increased offensive workload, as he attempted a career-high 16.5 shots per game. Nevertheless, as well as Greivis Vasquez played for New Orleans last season, Holiday is a better option going forward, both as an offensive creator and on the defensive end of the floor. Signed for four years and $44-million, Holiday is a quality addition for the Pelicans, one that could push them towards contending for a playoff spot next season, provided that PF Anthony Davis and SG Eric Gordon can stay healthy. Jackson is a decent value pick at No. 42. Hes a small (5-foot-11) and quick point guard who can get to the rim and shoot a little bit, so he could give the Pelicans nice depth at the position, if he sticks. The 76ers Get: C Nerlens Noel and a 2014 first-round pick. Nerlens Noel was the sixth pick in the 2013 draft, slipping from what likely would have been the top selection had he remained healthy. Unfortunately, Noel suffered a torn ACL in February, putting his status for next season in doubt, but a year to rehabilitate his injury will also allow Noel time to get stronger, as hes a very lean 7-footer. The 19-year-old is still a work in progress offensively -- he didnt score 20 points in any of his 24 games at Kentucky, though he did shoot 59.0% from the field -- but hes athletic and young enough that he has time to develop that aspect of his game. The addition of Noel, at the cost of their best player last season, makes it likely that the Sixers will struggle next season, but thats part of the plan. The pick they receive from New Orleans is protected for picks 1-5, but gives the Sixers another potential lottery asset to go with their own pick that is likely going to be in the lottery too. Those two picks plus Noel will become the building blocks for the future of the franchise. Whichever team ended up taking Noel in this draft was facing the prospect of one step back to take two steps forward and the Sixers were bold enough to take that chance. For the Pelicans, they already have their Kentucky shot blocker -- last years No. 1 pick, Anthony Davis -- and have enough pieces to show a little more urgency in their bid to become a playoff contender. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Cheap Air Max 97 Rose China . It was just business as usual for the Thunder at home. Durant scored 32 points and the Thunder beat the Bulls 107-95 on Thursday night for their eighth straight win. Cheap Air Max 97 Black China . "It was nerve-wracking, but we pulled through," said Collaros, who threw four touchdown passes to lead the Toronto Argonauts (8-4) to a 33-27 win over the Calgary Stampeders (9-3) in front of 28,781 fans at McMahon Stadium. http://www.cheapairmax97fromchina.com/cheap-air-max-97-pink-china/ . MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez also will attend the session, which was announced Monday. The league has discussed placing its next two expansion teams in Miami and Atlanta. Cheap Air Max 97 Brown China . Shot outdoors against the stunning backdrop of Banff, Alta., the networks 30-minute original production airs tonight at 8pm et/5pm pt on TSN2. The four All-Star teams will play for $100,000 in prize money during TSNs annual skins game, airing live this weekend on TSN from The Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre. Cheap Air Max 97 Orange China . Canada is now down to its 22-player limit, although but players wont be registered until Christmas Day. Changes could still be made as a result of a suspension or injury. England keep on rolling, Scotland and Wales won, just about, Italy piled the pressure on South Africa and All Blacks are back to winning ways. ESPN reporters?have their say on the biggest storylines for each team coming out of the third week of the autumn internationals.Argentina Pumas not the golden team they once wereThere were glimpses of the free-flowing, attacking flair which we have been accustomed to seeing from Argentina, but for the most part they were poor in defeat to Scotland. Very poor. The narrow defeats to Wales and Scotland alone, may not be cause for concern, but the manner of the defeats surely are.They havent looked like the side which beat Ireland by double scores at last years Rugby World Cup. It has been one error-strewn performance after another for Los Pumas from the Rugby Championship and into the November series. Now they face an England team in devastating form.Their problems wont be fixed in a week, but they will be keen to end the year on a higher note. They will need to get a foothold at the set-piece, and at all costs prevent England from scoring early. Should they do that, and Nicolas Sanchez keeps the scoreboard ticking, they could end the year with some positives. -- Killian OConnorWeek 4 vs. England, Twickenham, Nov. 26, 2:30 p.m. GMTAustralia Scrum aside, Wallabies newbies deliver?Australia are three from three in Europe after Michael Cheikas new-look outfit survived a late drop goal attempt to defeat France in Paris. With a host of first-choice players enjoying the week off, or starting from the bench, Cheika called upon the like of Kyle Godwin, Sefanaia Naivalu, Luke Morahan, Alan Alaalatoa and Tolu Latu to get the job done at Stade de France.And they did just that. The Wallabies could have been forgiven for a lack of fluidity in attack, given the mass changes, yet Godwin and Morahan slotted in seamlessly at inside centre and fullback respectively as Australia moved the ball with precision. They also scrambled well on defence and used the rolling maul to their advantage, a move which left referee Glen Jackson with no choice but to award a first-half penalty try.But it wasnt all good news, with the Australian scrum - loosehead James Slipper in particular - coming under huge pressure throughout. The visitors fortunate not to be penalised in the closing minute, a decision which would have presented France with a kickable penalty.?-- Sam BruceWeek 4 vs. Ireland, Aviva Stadium, Nov. 26, 5:30 p.m. GMTEngland Englands fullback battle is fascinatingAlex Goode missed the first high ball against Fiji. In his first start since their final World Cup pool match against Uruguay, the usually assured Saracens fullback allowed the ball to bounce.It was strange to watch; nerves could have been a factor but whatever the cause, they were then buried as he performed well on his audition for the No.15 shirt. Eddie Jones was lukewarm in his assessment of Goode post-match. His praise for Semesa Rokoduguni and Elliot Daly was more fulsome so the smart money is on Mike Brown to return at fullback for Argentina next weekend.But there is a temptation to give Goode another chance. Fijis defence was at times so poor that it was hard to judge exactly how effective Englands back three was. Goodes ability to step into a playmaking role and link man in phase play works in his favour but Jones will probably turn to Brown for his physicality when the Pumas come to town. -- Tom HamiltonWeek 4 vs. Argentina, Twickenham, Nov. 26, 2:30 p.m. GMTIt is something on Jones radar and he will be keeping a close eye on the spot throughout the November Tests. - Tom HamiltonFrance Goalkicking problematic for Les BluesWill Guy Noves be able to solve the ongoing problem of a lack of a consistent kicker for the visit of the All Blacks? It haunted them last Saturday against Australia. Maxime Machenaud missed two conversions, Scott Spedding missed a long range effort and Camille Lopez missed a drop goal with the last kick of the game.Some aimless kicking invited the Australian attacking train onto them, but despite looking like they would collapse early in the second-half, some brilliant attacking rugby brought them back into the game.Noves wants France to play in the same free-flowing style that was his trademark at Toulouse. But while some of the attack play from Spedding,?Virimi Vakatawa and Noa Nakaitaci was brilliant to watch, sometimes the clever option was avoided. Louis Picamoles has been outstanding for Northampton but failed to have an impact. Noves needs to rethink before New Zealand arrive. If he doesnt, it could be as humiliating as the 62-13 defeat France suffered at last years World Cup. -- KOCWeek 4 vs. New Zealand, Stade de France, Nov. 26, 8:00 p.m. GMTIreland Josh off to a flying start with IrelandAmid all the talk surrounding World Rugbys residency laws and so-called project players, spare a thought for Irelands Josh van der Flier. The Dubliner with the Dutch name may still be viewed with suspicion by some opposition fans, but hes Irish born and bred and continues to prove himself to be an adept addition to his countrys back-row.A head injury sustained by CJ Stander with a little over 20 minutes gone at the Aviva Stadium ensured that the flanker was ushered on in the early stages, as he had been in Chicago a fortnight ago. And as on that occasion, he didnt let Ireland down here. Pitched into an unfamiliar role on the blindside of the Irish scrum, van der Flier dovetailed excellently with his Leinster teammate, Sean OBrien.Van der Flier was a constant presence in the 59 minutes he was on the pitch, doing everything that was asked of him defensively while taking the game to the All Blacks, making 51 metres with ball in hand. The only blot in his copy book came in the second half as he tried to force an offload when Ireland were camped in New Zealands 22. It was a rush of blood that can be excused in someone winning only their fourtth Test cap.dddddddddddd Signs are, there will be plenty more international honours to come. -- Martyn ThomasWeek 4 vs. Australia, Aviva Stadium, Nov. 26, 5:30 p.m. GMTItalyOShea making his mark with the AzzurriWhat a result! Yes this is one of the worst Springbok sides in the professional era, but the Azzurri were also low on confidence after being handed a 58-point drubbing by a second string All Blacks a week earlier.Italy stuck to their strengths and forced South Africa into submission. Their defence improved significantly to keep the Boks to just two first half tries, while their line-out and rolling maul sent a big South African pack backwards and led to a deserved try.This is Conor OSheas first big scalp in his fifth Test as head coach and its fair to say hes turning Italian rugby around after a horror Six Nations campaign earlier this year. Theres still work to be done, but with a Test against Tonga to round out the year, another win is there for the taking. -- Nick BewleyWeek 4 vs. Tonga, Stadio Euganeo, Padovai, Nov. 26, 2:00 p.m. GMTNew Zealand Importance of second rows Following what was an attritional affair at times, All Blacks coach Steve Hansen was keen to praise the character that his side had displayed in Dublin. This was not New Zealand at their free-flowing best, but that they still ground out the win and held Ireland out was to be applauded.No two players embodied that approach more than the returning second-row partnership of Brodie Retallick and Sam Whitelock. The duo, who were both injured for the Chicago fixture, got through an astonishing amount of work -- some of which skirted on the boundaries of legality -- putting in 37 tackles between them, and doing much more that cannot be accounted for by the stats sheet.Whitelock drew particular praise from his coach for the level of his performance, given he had not played a single minute of Test rugby in almost a month. It cannot be argued that the return of Retallick and Whitelock helped tip the balance in New Zealands favour here, but is there a case to be made that the All Blacks are becoming too reliant on their star locks?Both played 80 minutes against Ireland. Obviously theyve got a huge gap [on their rivals] because both of them have been playing for a long time, Hansen said. Theyre probably two of the best locks in world rugby when theyre fit and playing well. He will hope they stay fit and in form for the foreseeable future. -- MTWeek 4 vs. France, Stade de France, Nov. 26, 8:00 p.m. GMTScotlandA win is a winIf Scotland drew plaudits from their defeat to Australia, they wont have won many supporters as they trudged to victory over Argentina.But amidst the errors, of which there were many, they put in some great defensive efforts to stop Argentina. Alex Dunbar, Finn Russell and Hamish Watson all combined to drive Nicolas Sanchez back when the fly-half darted for the line following a scrum, leading to a turnover. Huw Jones also showed his class once more, this time beating three players before offloading to Sean Maitland to score.With Ireland beating the All Blacks, Italy beating South Africa and Georgia beating Manu Samoa, theyll need to improve to avoid their name being added to the list. Their scrum was ravaged by Argentina. It wont come up against the same pressure against Georgia, but if they are not in a good frame of mind, it could be another tough watch in Edinburgh. -- KOCWeek 4 vs. Georgia, Murrayfield, Nov. 19, 2:30 p.m. GMTSouth Africa Shambolic Springboks continue downward spiralAllister Coetzees tenure as Springboks coach - four wins, seven losses. All in the space of five months. Based on those results Coetzee is walking on the thinnest of ice as South Africa languish in the depths of rugby despair.The players look so low on confidence, and completely directionless. There was an instance where they had a five-on-one overlap inside Italys 22, but failed to score. There is talent there. Willie le Roux for example is world class, but this is a team playing like a bunch of individuals with a real lack of continuity and a game-plan.Their attack is of most concern. Seven tries in their last six Tests makes for bleak reading. The Boks need to get more out of the likes of le Roux, Bryan Habana and Damian de Allende this week against a Welsh side who were exposed defensively by Japan. -- NBWeek 4 vs. Wales, Principality Stadium, Nov. 26, 5:30 p.m. GMTWales Wales need to back the mavericks Wales look out of sorts and are lacking the confidence and fluidity that led them to the World Cup quarterfinals a year ago. Against Japan - who were void of a number of premier players - Wales laboured to their last-gasp win. But out of the match comes three burning issues for the Wales coaching team. Two of those revolve around players.It is time for Sam Davies to be given a chance to start at fly-half against South Africa next weekend. The young Ospreys playmaker came on with just 13 minutes left but immediately brought width to Wales attack and showed admirable nerves to slot the last gasp drop-goal.Keelan Giles, who didnt get a chance to attack with ball in hand, should replace the out-of-sorts Alex Cuthbert. The latter is fiercely talented but needs time to re-find his best form and Giles, who has taken to PRO12 rugby with such ease, would benefit from being given a chance against the Boks from the outset.Which now comes to the third question. Do Wales need to freshen up their coaching team? Perhaps they need to bring in an external influence like Eddie Jones has done with England to bring a new perspective to their style of rugby. This is not to challenge the present order but it could bring a valuable clarity and inspiration to the current management team. -- THWeek 4 vs. South Africa, Principality Stadium, Nov. 26, 5:30 p.m. GMT ' ' '