onsistency, an unprecedented level of stability that has brought five championships and established the organization as a model franchise in profe

Each week, Ill write about the sport I love: college basketball:UCLA and Georgia Tech will face off in the 2017 Pac-12 China Game presented by Alibaba Group. Longtime Pac-12 partner Federation of University Sports of China (FUSC), which operates under Chinas Ministry of Education, will serve as the co-host for the game.?Oregon gave coach Dana Altman a seven-year contract extension. He is looking to lead the Ducks to a fifth straight NCAA tourney trip.Avery Johnson is doing a good job at Alabama. He has had a very good week in recruiting, then the Tide drew 14,579 fans at Coleman Coliseum for the season-opening win over Coastal Carolina. There is more than just football down in Tuscaloosa.Syracuse saw its depth suffer with the news that diaper dandy?Matthew Moyer?will sit out the season. Moyer has decided to redshirt this season due to preseason time missed with an injury, according to Coach Jim Boeheim.Yale also received bad news as guard Makai Mason, the teams leading scorer, is out for the season with a broken right foot. Mason averaged 16 points per game last season.There were plenty of surprises as the season tipped off. Wagner stunned a ranked Connecticut squad. Boston College of the ACC lost to Nicholls State; what will happen against the likes of Duke and North Carolina? Penn State lost to Albany, Tennessee fell to Chattanooga, and Tulsa lost to Jacksonville State. Cheap Air Jordan 13 . Sulaiman, 44, was chosen unanimously Tuesday in a vote by the leadership, the World Boxing Council said. Sulaiman becomes the sixth president of the organization. Jordan 13 For Sale Cheap . Clarke was injured while practicing on the Doha Golf Club range after the pro-am on Tuesday. The Northern Irishman arrived at the course on Wednesday hoping to start, but after hitting a few balls on the practice putting green Clarke advised officials he was not fit to play. http://www.cheapairjordan13.us/ . Here are his mid-season NBA awards. MVP: (KEVIN DURANT-Thunder) - Has been sensational this season and more importantly, the most consistent player in the league. Considering that his team has been without star guard Russell Westbrook and with the free agent departure of sharpshooter Kevin Martin, hes had to carry the majority of the load to not only keep his team afloat but more importantly, at an elite level. Authentic Air Jordan 13 For Sale . There was no hesitation from the 40th-ranked Pospisil, from Vernon, B.C., who admitted that he cut back on his training sessions over the last few days to conserve energy as the long ATP season finishes next week at the Paris Masters. Cheap Air Jordan 13 Online . On Tuesday, Ottawa placed forward Cory Conacher and defenceman Joe Corvo on waivers as trade rumours swirl around the Senators. MINNEAPOLIS -- For so many years, the San Antonio Spurs have been defined by their consistency, an unprecedented level of stability that has brought five championships and established the organization as a model franchise in professional sports.The colors dont change. The coach doesnt change. The core never changed.After 20 years and those five titles, change has finally come to San Antonio.Tim Duncan, the tone setter from the moment he was drafted in 1997, retired last summer. Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili have taken reduced roles this season, and the Spurs brought in seven new faces as part of a rare roster shuffle as they try to retool around Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge.Its been at the same time a challenge and a refreshing sort of situation, coach Gregg Popovich said. The team is changing personnel-wise and where the ball goes and a few different players so we have to do things a little bit differently. Theres a give and take, strategy wise, to fit the group. Its been a lot of fun. Watching some of the young guys get minutes and develop has been fun.Fun because while the faces have changed, the results have not. The Spurs (18-4) have navigated the bumps in the road that come with unfamiliarity and have the second-best record in the league, tied the star-studded Golden State Warriors (18-3) in the win column. They have started the season 13-0 on the road and can match last years Warriors for the best road start in league history with a win in Chicago on Thursday night.It hasnt always been pretty for these Spurs. Theyre not the same ruthless, precise machine that steamrolled the league during championship runs. They have had to muddle through things, overcome mistakes and struggle while they get acclimated to one another.Newcomers like six-time All-Star Pau Gasol, steady veteran David Lee, Argentinian point guard Nico Laprovittola and shot-blocking center Dewayne Dedmon have had to work hard to integrate into a culture that is as enduring as any.You could see it in our games. Sometimes our offense is stagnant, our defense isnt moving well or in our help positions, Leonard said. We have a big playbook on the offensive end. Its just hard to learn iit.dddddddddddd It was hard for me to learn it. I didnt get it down until probably my second or third year. Weve just got to keep giving a consistent effort and being into the game and into our playbook and just keep moving from there.The result has been a team that tends to start slow, fall behind and then gradually digs its heels in. They are 5-4 at home, where they only lost once all of last season. Theyve lost to the Magic at home, were thumped by the Clippers and have not recaptured the breathtaking form they showed in a 29-point win at Golden State on opening night. But the wins keep coming.I think the first eight to 10 games was the coaching staff trying to figure out what lineups were going to play and there were a lot of changes, a lot of trying what works best, said Gasol, who signed as a free agent this summer. But now I think theres more consistency, theres more defined lineups. Guys know when to come in, when theyre going to play and whats expected of them.The Spurs have won 13 of their last 14 games, and Popovich has leaned on his core more than he has in years to get them off to a good start. Leonard and Aldridge both average more than 33 minutes per game, the first time San Antonio has had two players averaging that much playing time since 2008-09.Its been interesting to see how the team develops and comes together and who the leaders will be without Timmy being that overriding factor for so long, Popovich said.Leonard, for years the ultra-quiet storm trooper of the Spurs army, has been much more vocal this season. Gasols personality and approach have been a perfect fit as most expected and Ginobili and Parker are still there to help filled the void left by Duncans retirement.And little by little, the new guys are getting up to speed.Theyve done a great job of making it easy for us and for Pop to throw them into the fire and trust them to know the system, Green said. Well continue to help them and they will continue to be sponges and absorb it.---Follow Jon Krawczynski on Twitter: http://twitter.com/APKrawczynski ' ' '