Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. This week, they discuss preparations for the Rio Olympics, the exciting first round of the NBA playoffs, Mike Keenan victorious in Russia and the prolonged wait for the NFL Draft finally coming to an end. Bruce Arthur, Toronto Star My thumb is down to the International Olympic Committee and…I know, I know…you feel like weve been here before, but this is a new frontier because the concept of an Olympics in Rio was new when the IOC awarded Brazil the 2016 games seven years ago. Concerns about readiness, inequality and about the way the country might react? Dont worry! Rio! Now with two years to go, the IOC is shocked…shocked…to find that they gambled on a country that hasnt built the establishment. Seriously, Rio is in major organization trouble with whole complexes unbuilt and with public unrest still simmering, the IOC is lamenting the fact that they cant employ Beijing-style slave labour. Theyre blaming it on Rio. Guess who they should be blaming instead? Steve Simmons, Toronto Sun My thumb is up to the first round of the playoffs and Im not talking about the Stanley Cup playoffs, which have been marvelous, as usual. Im talking about the NBA playoffs, where, normally, the first round is about favourites winning and not much else, but not this year. A last-second three by the sensational Damian Lillard of Portland meant there were five Game 7s in the first round, instead of a record-breaking six. There have been eight overtime games and the road team has won 21 of the first 36 playoff games - this from a league that usually sees the home teams win 70 per cent of the time. And, of course, there is Game 7 in Toronto today with the possibility of 2 million people watching on TV. If this isnt fun, I dont know what is. Michael Farber, Sports Illustrated My thumb is up to Mike Keenan, who reminds us that a coach is a coach is a coach, no matter the team or the time zone. Keenan always dreamed of winning a Cup, although probably not the Gagarin Cup. Two decades after the New York Rangers memorable Stanley Cup run, Iron Mike did it again on the far side of the erstwhile Iron Curtain, coaching the KHLs Metallurg Magnitogorsk to a Game 7 win over Lev Prague. Note one striking similarity in the championships: as he did after beating the Vancouver Canucks in 94, Keenan celebrated in the dressing room by singing karaoke - this time in Russian, of course. The Red Army choir is not giving up its day job. Dave Hodge, TSN My thumb is up to May 8, which is coming soon - on Thursday - and thats why my thumb is up, because when May 8 finally arrives, it brings with it the National Football League Draft…finally. Did I say "finally?" When the NFL moved the draft from April to May, we might have known wed be sick of mock drafts by now. There is actual analysis that proclaims winners and losers of mock drafts! Ive heard so much about Jadeveon Clowneys awesome talent and alleged laziness that Im sure there are two Jadeveon Clowneys. Im not sure if the Houston Texans will take one of them or which one or if the Texans will take Johnny Manziel or if theyll trade down - I only know they cant trade up and I dont care anymore what they do, I just want them to do it. On May 8. Adidas Supercolor Blu Scuro. WASHINGTON REDSKINS AT NEW YORK GIANTS, 1:00 PM (ET) Washington - QB Kirk Cousins, WR Leonard Hankerson, DE Jason Hatcher, RB Roy Helu Jr. Adidas Superstar Rosa Chiaro. The Jets are now 5-2 in shootouts on the season. The win snapped Calgarys six-game winless skid, and snapped the Jets four-game home winning streak. The Jets are now 0-2-1 in the second game of back to backs. After their four-game winning streak was snapped Sunday night in Minnesota, the Jets record sits at 10-10-3. http://www.adisuperstar.it/adidas-superstar-saldi-outlet/adidas-superstar-blu.html. JORDAN CRAWFORD (Warriors): The Golden State Warriors have reportedly acquired guards Jordan Crawford and MarShon Brooks from the Boston Celtics Wednesday as part of a three-team trade. Adidas Superstar Oro Prezzo. Instead, his strategy was relatively simple: Just pitch the ball and see what happens. Adidas Supercolor Rosse. Just thirty seconds into the game, Flyers defencemen Braydon Coburn and Kimmo Timonen circled back into their zone to collect the puck.SOCHI, Russia – The Canadians had to hurl nearly 60 shots at the Latvian goal to scratch their way into a semifinal matchup with the Americans, but by the time it was over head coach Mike Babcock was convinced the experience would be beneficial, much as it was four years earlier. "Did I want to win 7-1? Absolutely,” said Babcock after a nervous 2-1 win in the quarter-finals against Latvia. “Do I think its better for my team that we won the way we did? For sure." It took every bit of mustard his team could find to finally get past the unlikely challengers from Latvia – a team they had never lost to in either the Olympics or World Championships – and avert disaster. Kristers Gudlevskis, an unheralded 21-year-old draft pick in executive director Steve Yzermans Tampa Bay Lightning organization, stopped 55 shots and held the Canadians to just a single goal for the first 53 minutes of regulation. Patience was tested and tested again and again with every chance, opportunity and flurry squashed by the apparent back-up Latvian netminder, starting with a Sidney Crosby breakaway in the opening moments and continuing right on through the rest of the night. "Obviously when youre talking about 10 minutes left in the third and you look up and youve got 50-some-odd shots you dont want it to be one of those nights," said Crosby after the win. "I think that you just try to trust that eventually those chances will go in, stick with it." Patrick Sharp became just the fourth Canadian forward to score, his first goal in the middle frame matched minutes later on a mildly shocking Lauris Darzins breakaway. From there the Gudlevkis show rolled on in ever-surprising fashion, some of the most gifted offensive talents on the planet stonewalled by a goaltender who was starting for the American Hockey Leagues Syracuse Crunch as recently as Feb. 5. There was the stop on Jeff Carter in alone in the second period, a blocker save on Rick Nash in the third, a jam attempt by Chris Kunitz just a few minutes later. For a forward contingent struggling to score these were familiar troubles building in a game that Canada had no business not winning. "If you look at tonight besides picking the puck up and throwing it in the net what could you tell someone to do in those situations," said Crosby, who still has yet to score in this tournament. "We had some great chances. Youre getting chances like that theres not a lot you would change. Its not like you were going in there adjusting and trying to figure something out. I think its just the ultimate test of your patience when youre getting chances like that and you need to find a way too score.dddddddddddd" Its ultimately that persistence and push through the wall of a hot goaltender that Babcock believes will benefit his team moving into a 2010 gold medal game re-match with the Americans on Friday. Though they had only mild difficulties against Norway and Austria, the Canadians really only faced a stiff test from Finland in the final game of the preliminary round, a tilt they scratched out in overtime on the second of two goals from Drew Doughty. On this night it was another defenceman proving the hero. Shea Weber fired a cannon past Gudlevskis with less than seven minutes remaining in regulation, easing the nerves of a tense nation on the other side of the globe. "We just talked about the hockey gods," Babcock said. "You just keep doing things right, youre going to be rewarded. We had some chances. So we just thought if we kept doing it, wed get our chances, wed get a break, wed score a goal." Though they inched closer to it in the close win over Latvia, Canada has yet to truly resemble the powerhouse it was expected to be here in Sochi. But they have, true to Babcocks word, gotten better with each day gone by. They enter the semifinal, however, as an unlikely underdog, squaring off against an American squad thats stomped all of its competition here in Sochi. With the hottest player on the planet in Phil Kessel – who has nearly as many goals here in Russia (five) as the entire Canadian forward group (six) – and a battle-tested Jonathan Quick between the pipes, the U.S. has the look of a favourite in what should be an enticing rematch of the gold medal game in Vancouver. "Its what its all about," said Jonathan Toews of the matchup. "Canada-USA, I think has become a bigger rivalry than Canada-Russia. Theres a lot of animosity, lot of feelings like theres something to prove between both teams. Its for the chance to go play for a gold medal. It doesnt get any better than that." It took a few bumps and a similar crescendo for Canada to top the U.S. in Vancouver in 2010. There were familiar stumbles along the way – including a preliminary round loss to the U.S. – but ultimately, the Canadians got their game together as the tournament stretched on, dominating the Russians in the quarter-final before edging the Slovaks and Americans en route to gold. Babcock is mindful of that path when he looks at the winding road thus far in 2014. "The Olympic Games isnt supposed to be easy,” he said. “They dont just give the medals out. You earn the medals. Now wed like to put ourselves in a situation to compete for one and we have another day to prepare [on Thursday]." China Jerseys? 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