hat way even before the puck dropped.Both captains were called to center ice for a goodwill gesture, pairing them up with young boys on skates holding flag

ATLANTA -- With two stadiums already under construction and plans for a major arena renovation, the Atlanta metro area is getting yet another new sports facility.The Hawks announced Thursday they are bringing an NBA Development League team to College Park, an inner suburb that is home to Atlantas massive airport.The D-League team will play at a 3,500-seat arena to be built adjacent to the Georgia International Convention Center. The cost of the project and how it will be funded were not been revealed by College Park officials, but the Hawks said they will be tenants in a city-owned facility.The new team will begin play in the 2019-20 season. The Hawks said launching a D-League franchise was vital to player development, especially since it will be located only 8 miles from Philips Arena.From a basketball perspective, this is critical to our growth, coach Mike Budenholzer said, adding that players could practice in the morning with the D-League team and play that night at Philips Arena for the Hawks. They may play one night for the Hawks and the next night for the D-League team. Those things cant happen unless you have a partnership and a team that close. So the location was huge for us.Two Atlanta teams are moving into new stadiums next season that carry a combined price tag of more than $2 billion -- at least $600 million of which will be funded by taxpayer dollars.The Braves of Major League Baseball are relocating to SunTrust Park, which is nearing completion in suburban Cobb County. It will replace 20-year-old Turner Field near downtown Atlanta, leaving it to be downsized and converted into a new football stadium for Georgia State University.The Falcons are departing the Georgia Dome after this season. That facility, which opened in 1992, is being replaced by a lavish retractable-roof stadium next door.In addition, the Hawks last week announced a nearly $200 million renovation of 17-year-old Philips Arena that will be paid for largely with city funding, after previously breaking ground on a new practice and training facility near Emory University.Now, the D-League is coming to an arena near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the worlds busiest airport.I feel like Ive been saying how excited I am about a lot of things the last couple of weeks and months, Budenholzer said. Its kind of mind-boggling.He pointed out that key Hawks players such as Kent Bazemore, Dennis Schroder and Tim Hardaway Jr. spent time in the D-League, not to mention general manager Wes Wilcox and assistant coaches Darvin Ham and Taylor Jenkins.Hardaway is a prime example of how valuable the D-League is, according to Budenholzer. The guard struggled after being acquired by the Hawks, but several stints in the minors helped him turn things around. Hes become a leading contributor off the bench in his second season with Atlanta, scoring 11 points Wednesday in a victory over Chicago and averaging 11.4 to help the Hawks get off to a 6-2 start.Did you see Hardaway play last night? Budenholzer asked. My man was ballin. Youre going to see things like that in College Park.Former NBA star Grant Hill is a part-owner of the Hawks, coming aboard when Tony Ressler bought the team in 2015. Hill said owning a D-League affiliate was always one of the top priorities for the new ownership group.We are excited about showcasing and displaying and ultimately nurturing the players of tomorrow, Hill said. The players of tomorrow who will get a chance to develop right in our backyard, right in the city of College Park.---Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/paul-newberry . Air Force 1 Low Blanche . After Mondays hard-fought loss, the wait seemed longer than usual. Getting set to go their separate ways for a short Christmas break, the Raptors coach credited his team for their effort on a seemingly impossible three-game road trip, urging them to build on that success when they get back to work at the end of the week. Nike Air Force 1 Low Pas Cher . Any real chance at payback wont come until the playoff. Still, Pittsburgh knows its taut 3-2 win over the Bruins on Wednesday night is a pretty good place to start laying the groundwork. "They are a very good defensive team," Penguins forward Brandon Sutter said. http://www.siteairforce1pascher.fr/ .05 million next season unless Graham and the Saints subsequently agree on a long-term deal. The designation was released Monday after the deadline passed for NFL teams to use franchise or transition tags on players becoming free agents. Air Force 1 Haute Homme . Olli Jokinen, Mark Scheifele, and Bryan Little each had a goal and an assist as Winnipeg won 5-2, handing Calgary its record-setting seventh consecutive loss on home ice. Air Force One Just Do It Pas Cher . Defencemen Drew Doughty, Shea Weber and forward Ryan Getzlaf also scored for the Canadians, who started their gold-medal defence 2-0. Goalie Roberto Luongo, getting the call in place of Game 1 starter Carey Price, was solid when needed in making 23 saves for the shutout. TORONTO -- Sidney Crosby was at his best on one of hockeys biggest stages.Again.Crosby scored once and assisted on both of Brad Marchands goals, including the winner early the third period, to help Canada beat Russia 5-3 on Saturday night in the World Cup of Hockey semifinals.[Crosby] always comes up big in the big games, Marchand said.The Canadians will face the winner of Sundays Sweden-Team Europe game in the best-of-three finals that will start Tuesday night.Crosby opened the scoring at 7:40 into the game on a spectacular sequence, showing he has plenty of energy despite having a brief summer between winning the Stanley Cup and competing in the World Cup.It was short, but exciting, knowing we were coming here, he said.Crosby skated hard into a corner, forcing Alexey Marchenko to give up the puck earlier than he wanted. Dmitry Kulikov ended up with the puck in the left circle, but he didnt have it long because Crosby snatched it away.Crosby made the puck dance on both sides of his stick as he skated across the front of the crease, and as soon as Sergei Bobrovsky went down on his left hip, Crosby backhanded the puck into the net without a Russian player near him.I had a little bit more time than you typically get, Crosby said.Bobrovsky made 16 of his 42 saves in the first period, keeping the Russians in it.Thats why hes one of the best goalies in the world, teammate Alex Ovechkin said. He played unbelievable. When they score, its not his mistake. He gave us a chance.Nikita Kucherov made it 1-all midway through the first, and Evgeny Kuznetsov put Russia ahead 2-1 with 3:36 left in the second.Crosby, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time Stanley Cup champion, made a cross-crease pass to set up Marchand for his tying goal just 1:12 after Russia went ahead.In the dressing room after two periods, Babcock delivered a brief message.Theres no chance they can keep up if we keep doing what were doing, Canada coach Mike?Babcock recalled telling his team.The Russians, and perhaps any other team, may not have much of an opportunity to win against a Crosby-led team with some of the games biggest stars.With a chance to take a pivotal lead in the third, Crosby chose to give up the puck, not shoot it.dddddddddddd He deftly dropped a pass to Marchand atop the left circle to assist on the game-winning goal 1:16 into the third.Corey Perry gave Canada a two-goal cushion at 5:48 of the third, and John Tavares made it 4-2 midway through the period.Carey Price made 31 saves for the Canadians. He made some momentum-stunting saves early in the first, but backchecking forwards and poke-checking defensemen made his job relatively easy for much of the night.Russia was not in a position to come back in a game in which it gave up more than twice as many shots as it put on the Price-protected net until pulling their goalie late to add an extra skater in a nothing-to-lose attempt to get back in the game. Artemi Panarin scored with 9 seconds left, making the score look slightly more respectable.The Russians were without one of their top players, Pavel Datsyuk, because of a lower-body injury.As usual in a matchup of NHL superstars, Crosby came out on top against Ovechkin.It looked as if it might end up that way even before the puck dropped.Both captains were called to center ice for a goodwill gesture, pairing them up with young boys on skates holding flags that represented each country.While Crosby put his arm around the youngster next to him, a stone-faced Ovechkin stood with his gloves at his side.Crosby helped the host Canadians crush the Ovechkin-led Russians 7-3 in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Vancouver Games. Four years later, with a chance at redemption at the Winter Olympics in Russia, Ovechkin couldnt do enough to help his team get past the quarterfinals while Crosby and the Canadians earned gold again. Ovechkin is also left waiting and wondering if hell ever hoist the Stanley Cup.Given a chance to help his team and country get a desperately wanted win, Ovechkin didnt have a shot through two periods and finished with just two shots.Maybe he doesnt have enough of luck, Russian coach Oleg Znarok said through an interpreter. ' ' '