? Things have gone wrong with other moves by AA that appeared to be "cant miss" transacti

SAN ANTONIO -- Iman Shumpert scored a career-high 27 points, including the tiebreaking tip-in with 23.4 seconds left, and Carmelo Anthony had 27 points and 12 rebounds in his return from injury as the New York Knicks surprised the San Antonio Spurs 105-101 on Thursday night. Amare Stoudemire added 11 points and Beno Udrih and Andrea Bargnani had 10 each for New York (10-21), which snapped a three-game skid. Marco Belinelli had a career-high 32 points, but missed a pair of 3-pointers in the final minute for San Antonio (25-8). Tony Parker had 12 points and Manu Ginobili added 11 points and 12 assists. The Spurs dropped to 12-5 at home this season. They had won three in a row overall. The Knicks skid coincided with Anthony sitting out with a sprained left ankle, but the All-Star forward looked refreshed in revitalizing the teams struggling offence. After scoring 23 points on 9-for-15 shooting in the first three quarters, Anthony was limited to four points in the final period while going 1 for 5. But those last four points were critical in a frenzied finish. Following consecutive 3-pointers by Parker and Belinelli that pulled San Antonio to 96-94 with 3 minutes left, Parkers layup gave the Spurs a 98-96 lead. Anthony tied the game with a driving layup, and Parker missed a contested layup. Shumpert then hit a 3 with 39.1 seconds remaining after the Knicks captured a loose ball that six players touched at one point. Belinelli tied the game with a 3-pointer off an inbounds play drawn up during a timeout. Shumpert then rose high above San Antonios interior defenders to tip in a missed shot with 23.4 seconds remaining, giving New York a 103-101 lead. Belinelli missed a 3 and Anthony drained a pair of free throws to seal it. NOTES: Knicks F Metta World Peace (sore knee) and G Pablo Prigioni (broken right toe) did not play. ... San Antonio celebrated "70s Night," but apparently word didnt reach the public. Aside from the teams two in-house announcers, mascot and Silver Dancers, only a pair of fans were seen in 1970s attire. ... A Knicks fan in attendance flashed a "Chris Smith 4 MVP" sign in honour of the J.R. Smiths brother, waived Tuesday to make room for Jeremy Tyler. ... It was a rough second half for official Marc Davis. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, Parker and Tim Duncan all charged toward Davis after a late whistle against Kawhi Leonard on Anthony in the third quarter. Both teams were already in transition off a defensive rebound when Davis ruled Anthony missed the shot because Leonard hit him on the arm. Davis later ruled a ball went out of bounds against the Spurs when replays showed that not only did it last touch Shumpert, but it was still a foot inbounds when Duncan picked it up. In the fourth quarter, Popovich told Davis "get it right" after the San Antonio coach saw a replay showing Patty Mills was outside the circle on a block he was issued. Popovich later told Davis "good call" when Parker hit Udrihs arm in the final 3 minutes of the game. Nike Air Max 720 Australia . 8 Sergio Parisse for its penultimate Six Nations match against Ireland at Lansdowne Road. Air Max 720 Australia Wholesale . -- Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew practiced in a limited capacity Friday, a positive sign he might be able to play against the Tennessee Titans. http://www.airmax720australia.com/ . The Brazilian driver had the second-best time in last months tests at Jerez and said the "good start" could play to his advantage when the season gets underway in Australia in March. Air Max 720 Buy Australia .J. -- Pitcher Carl Pavano is retiring after 14 major league seasons. Cheap Air Max 720 Australia . It was my fifth straight year attending and, as always, there are many interesting matters discussed as it pertains to the use of statistics in sports.6) The 2014 season left everyone wondering about the lack of scoring in the CFL. It was easy to point to the quarterback position--too many injuries, not enough talent or experience otherwise. So did you worry about a Grey Cup that featured Bo Levi Mitchell and Zach Collaros, admittedly the best of the new breed but perhaps not ready to light up BC Place with their right arms? Well, both passed for more than 300 yards, and yet just one touchdown pass was thrown, and that by Collaros on the losing side.7) Will you applaud when an NFL team signs Ray Rice and says it believes in giving a second chance? Well, okay, but the NFL team that signs Ray Rice will do so because it believes it needs a running back.8) If it is inevitable that Connor McDavid will come to the NHL as "the next Wayne Gretzky", would it be good or not so good if he is drafted by the Edmonton Oilers? (Wayne Gretzky himself believes McDavid will handle the hype wherever he plays--Im not so sure Edmonton is the best place to do that. And by the way, the Oilers are in 30th place.)9) The event is the thing at the World Junior Hockey Championship, but shall we admit that the interest level will go up or down depending upon the health and performance level of McDavid?10) Does Team Canadas decision to award roster spots to goalies Zach Fucale and Eric Comrie while promoting plenty of competition at other positions make you scratch your head?11) I said here earlier that Tom Brady would clinch NFL MVP honours if he followed wins over Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck with a win over Aaron Rodgers. So the question is: Does the Green Bay quarterback enter the MVP discussion, if he wasnt already in it, and is he now the favourite?12) More MVP talk--is it inevitable that the NHLs Hart Trophy will be won by Sidney Crosby or Steven Stamkos?13) You do want to pause for a minute before declaring that a Toronto Blue Jays trade made by Alex Anthopoulos is a good one, dont you? Things have gone wrong with other moves by AA that appeared to be "cant miss" transactions. But pause all you want, how do you question the decision to trade Brett Lawrie and three prospects for Josh Donaldson?14) Okay, shall I attempt to answer the above? You question the TOR-OAK deal only if you think the As can sstraighten out Lawrie and he can rise a lot closer to Donaldsons level, and if you think Billy Beane is right when he says shortstop Franklin Barreto is one of baseballs best prospects.ddddddddddddWhere the Jays were concerned, Barreto would only have been one of their best prospects.15) Is there a winnable game on the horizon for the Philadelphia 76ers? On this seasons schedule, I mean.16) Never mind how it turns out, when the Boston Red Sox made a big splash in the free-agent pool by signing Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez, werent baseball fans everywhere the beneficiaries? The Red Sox are supposed to be an attraction, and they really werent last season. As for the other team that isnt allowed to be boring, its your move, New York Yankees.17) How much will 2014 home run king Nelson Cruz help the Seattle Mariners? Well, he should certainly help Robinson Cano by hitting behind him in the batting order, but the Mariners, who came agonizingly close to a playoff spot last season, have to do more than add one bat every winter. Canos average was .314 last season. No other Mariner who appeared in 100 or more games was within 45 percentage points of the star second baseman.18) When San Jose Sharks owner Hasso Plattner said "After 10 years on the sunny side, we now find ourselves struggling to make the playoffs", do the rest of us understand that the playoffs are the sunny side, or do we agree that the playoffs are weather-neutral until they end, at which time the sun may not be shining? Like in San Jose.19) Should the NFL have disciplined five members of the St. Louis Rams for their "hands up, dont shoot" gesture? This is a tough one, because the NFL is hearing it from police in St. Louis and elsewhere for not acting, and would certainly have been criticized if it had issued fines. Trouble is, the NFL cant pick and choose based on the issue, dealing with the trivial and ducking the touchy. Except thats what it does, too often lately.20) Is there any reason to mention the New Jersey Devils signing of Scott Gomez? Well, no, not really, except to introduce this weeks musical offering, from the band called Gomez, and for that, we go back to 2006, when Scott Gomez was first with the Devils. Thats "How We Operate". ' ' '