the last six months as well so it didnt blindside us," W

Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. This week, they discuss standout moments from the NHL and NBA Drafts, the Coyotes speaking frankly and FIFAs famous foam. Bruce Arthur, Toronto Star: My thumb is up to the NBA. Heres why. The NBA draft is a show about possibilities, and thats fun. Then, Thursday night, midway through the first round, Adam Silver stopped the proceedings to tell a story about a prospect named Isaiah Austin, whose career ended last week after he was diagnosed with a disease called Marfan Syndrome. Then Silver stepped up to make Austin a ceremonial pick on behalf of the entire Association. They took a moment about the cruel end of possibility, and the NBA made it beautiful. Best moment in draft history, hands down. Steve Simmons, Sun Media: My thumb is up to Don Maloney, general manager of the newly named Arizona Coyotes - and yeah, that sounds weird - for his unusual honesty in explaining why the club has chosen to buy out top-line centre, Mike Ribeiro. Normally youd get a little “blah blah blah” from an NHL GM on why a player was being let go. But Maloney was more than clear here: he said the team didnt want to put up with Ribeiros behavioral issues, could not tolerate them going forward and could not have him part of the team anymore. The Coyotes, who couldnt afford lunch a year or two ago let alone buying someone out, will be paying Ribeiro $2 million a year for the next six years just to go away. Michael Farber, Sports Illustrated: My thumb is up to one of the great sporting advances of the past decade. Baseballs expanded replay? Advanced stats? Heck, no. Im talking about the so-called felony foam world cup referees have been spraying on the field to mark the spot for free kicks and, more importantly, delineate where defenders can set their wall. This low-tech marvel, which looks like shaving cream and dissipates in a minute, eliminates time wasting and the inevitable cheating by defenders who try to creep closer to the spot. While baseball needed a replay room in New York, FIFA found an inexpensive way to literally lay down the law. The gimmick belongs in the sports hall of foam. Sorry. Dave Naylor, TSN: My thumb is up to the sons of athletes who chose their own path to make a name for themselves. Im refering to the selection of Elfrid Payton Jr. in this weeks NBA Draft, going 10th overall to the Philadelphia 76ers. Payton is the son of CFL Hall-of-Famer Elfrid Payton - better known as SWAC to some - who played for five CFL teams including Baltimore, Montreal and Winnipeg. Like recent NHL draft picks Darnell Nurse and Seth Jones - whose fathers played in the CFL and NBA respectively - Payton put his good athletic genes to use in another sport. Its always a nice story to see a young athlete follow in his fathers footsteps. But its a little more interesting to see them go their own way. Cheap Air Max 97 Grey China . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91. Cheap Air Max 97 Black China . Case in point: LeBron James vs. Ben McLemore. James was driving to the rim in the first quarter and McLemore decided to try to take the charge, which was quite admirable and predictably futile. http://www.cheapairmax97fromchina.com/ .com) - The collective hearts of Chicago Bulls fans sank on Friday night when Derrick Rose went down with a leg injury against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Cheap Air Max 97 Pink China . -- Theres something about playing on Orlandos floor lately that seems to bring out the best in the Dallas Mavericks. Discount Air Max 97 . Bjoerndalen, who had failed to win any major race for two years before Sochi, writes in a Facebook entry that he is "full of energy and inspiration" after winning the 10-kilometre sprint and mixed relay at last months Olympics.WINNIPEG -- The Winnipeg Jets are exploring a move of their AHL farm team from St. Johns, N.L., to Thunder Bay, Ont., after a deal was announced to build a new $106-million "event centre" in the Lake Superior community. But Mark Chipman, chairman of True North Sports and Entertainment, which owns both the Jets and AHL franchise, suggested Tuesday it wasnt quite yet a done deal yet. "This is a very preliminary step," he said in a video statement on the teams website. "Its something that were going to explore. "Theres a lot of work to be done for it to become a reality." But former Newfoundland premier Danny Williams, president of the St. Johns IceCaps, told radio station VOCM in St. Johns on Tuesday he will be looking for another team to bring to the island. "We will be actively seeking another affiliation and another franchise," he said while suggesting hed like to see the IceCaps remain until 2017 if that could be arranged, two years past the end of the current deal. Williams said it wasnt a surprise but he learned of the latest decision only the night before. The franchise is owned by True North Sports and Entertainment, the parent company of the Winnipeg JJets.dddddddddddd "Weve been informed of this process over the last six months as well so it didnt blindside us," Williams said later, adding he was also pleased Chipman was offering to help St. Johns land another farm team, but one attached to an eastern NHL cub. "The difference is now that Winnipeg has moved to the Western Conference," he said of the teams desire to relocate the team. Chipman pointed to travel issues as the reason to consider the move. "Its just simply geography, nothing more than that," he said while stressing its not guaranteed to happen. "It remains to be seen whether this will occur or not. Were hopeful that it will." The team had regular sellouts in St. Johns, although travel was often difficult for visiting teams and even for Jets executives who wanted to see how players were developing, he said. Fans were disappointed at the decision, which could see the team leave at the end of next season when the current deal runs out. "While I hope fans continue to support the team on the ice, this is going to kill merchandise sales and be a big problem for season ticket sales," Rod Zdebiak said on the teams Facebook page. ' ' '