Dein erstes Forum » McClellan had 20 points and Marcin Go

December has traditionally been a time for revelry in Chennai. There is the kaarthigai deepam (festival of lights), Christmas, and the annual Margazhi festival, a resplendent celebration of classical music and dance during the ninth month on the Tamil calendar.But the ravaging floods in early December last year, which claimed hundreds of lives, scarred conventional considerations. Memories of the Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004 were quickly revisited, and people began to suspect Chennai was in an abusive relationship with the last month of the calendar. December 2016 has already given enough heft to such theories.There was the death of J Jayalalithaa, the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, on December 5. About a week later, Cyclone Vardah unleashed itself, and although not in the same magnitude of the floods in 2015, the storm system did considerable damage. Cricket, like the other December festivities, wasnt a priority when people were still grappling with the aftermath.But, for a cricket-starved city - since 2008, Chennai has hosted only three Tests, among the lowest for a traditional Test centre - its first Test in nearly four years was a chance to heal. And so the MA Chidambaram Stadium was restored on a war-footing - the crumpled chairs and tree debris were cleared up, bulbs were replaced and sight-screens mended. Just when congratulatory back-slaps were in order, nature allowed itself some schadenfreude: the skies had opened up with less than 12 hours to go for the Test match. The ground staff insisted these would be short, sharp showers, and that the pitch and outfield would remain unaffected.The rain relented soon after, but some things wouldnt change. Like the mysterious impasse over the locked I, J and K stands - phrases like structural soundness and setback space have been added to our vocabulary, but we are none the wiser; and the murmurs over how Chepauk isnt allotted many international games because N Srinivasan, the former BCCI and ICC boss and president of the host state association, isnt a favourite of the current establishment.There will likely be endless debates on the rights and wrongs of things, but this much is certain: Chennai hasnt been denied the pleasure of hosting a Test match. Not this time.*****Knowledgeable Chennai crowd. The phrase is cliché to a point where it is best used as a hashtag at the end of a snarky punchline. However, more than the knowledgeable part, its Chepauks remarkably non-partisan approach to consuming cricket that has been fascinating.As a ten-year-old, I was in thrall of Wasim Akram, Saeed Anwar and Saqlain Mushtaq during That Test in 1999. A cousin and I were the only people in the stands who wildly cheered Sachin Tendulkars dismissal in the second innings, even adding for good measure: Jeetega bhai jeetega, Pakistan jeetega (Pakistan will emerge victorious). But, instead of any hostility - it helped we were children - all we got were benign smiles. The shared appreciation of Akrams perseverance and Mushtaqs wiles eventually culminated in a most gracious ovation from the crowd after Pakistans thrilling heist.But I have never watched a Test match from the stands of Chepauk in the post-IPL era. There was the India-England game in December 2008 when Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh masterfully gunned down a total of 387, but the IPL was still in its infancy then. Having watched quite a few Chennai Super Kings games since, fan partisanship - as you would expect in the IPL - has become a lot fiercer, especially against big-ticket rivals like Royal Challengers Bangalore or Mumbai Indians.It is also not uncommon to see Indian fans remain aloof to the visiting teams successes these days. In Mohali, for instance, during the recent India-New Zealand ODI, the crowd turned mute whenever New Zealand scored runs or took wickets. There was curiosity to see which Chennai fan would turn up for the first-day, first-show of this Test match - the archetypal cricket tragic or the CSK die-hard.As R Ashwin had predicted ahead of the match, the decibel levels hit the roof whenever he made contact with the ball, while M Vijay, the other local boy, duly received his share of applause as well. The crowd, having nicely warmed up, revved up their vocal chords once England lost their openers within the first hour in the morning. Joe Root, however, was quickly changing the narrative - when he cracked a square cut and a late steer off a yorker, the claps were just as resounding.A number of characters that form the staple at a Chepauk Test could be found. There was the middle-aged gentleman jumping up and down, and calling out players by their nicknames - Ash…Ash, Cooky - and waving his hand furiously, hoping to catch their attention. There were the pundits - a father and son, and two elderly gentlemen - who were animatedly dissecting Amit Mishras lack of bite and Roots ability to pick the length - respectfully. With India making more than one DRS referral, they had more than one occasion to debate the merits of the umpires call.And then there were the group of youngsters that countered the Barmy Armys singing with a fired-up rendition of the chant that is unmistakably Chennai, and Chepauk: Gumthalakadi gala gala gala, hoo haa, hoo haa.But, as the afternoon wore on and Root, Mooen Ali and Jonny Bairstow piled on the runs, each landmark was celebrated with a standing ovation. Once Moeen completed his hundred, both Indian and English fans rose spontaneously to hail his effort and didnt take their seats for the next couple of minutes. By the time the days play neared its conclusion, a few local fans had already exchanged numbers with their English counterparts and promised to keep in touch.Surely, there will be no let-up in the Gumthalakadi... chants , and they will only grow louder over the weekend. Just as relentless will be those eager enquiries about Yorkshire cricket or Haseeb Hameed. The cricket-crazy ghost of the Chepauk past is alive and well. Gregor Blanco Jersey . JOHNS, N. Darryl Strawberry Mets Jersey .5 million, one-year contract on Friday. Hawkins, who turns 41 in December, will compete with Rex Brothers for the closers role at spring training. http://www.metsbaseballauthentic.com/steven-matz-mets-jersey/ . A lawyer for MLB, Matthew Menchel, confirmed Wednesday the league dropped its case against Biogenesis of America, its owner Anthony Bosch and several other individuals. The lawsuit had accused Biogenesis and Bosch of conspiring with players to violate their contracts by providing them with banned performance-enhancing substances. Brandon Nimmo Mets Jersey . The judges scored it 48-47, 48-47, 49-46 for Jones (19-1). It was the champions closest call. Despite the loss, it was a remarkable show by the confident Swedish challenger, who had the best of the early rounds and then hung on in the fourth and fifth. Jacob deGrom Mets Jersey . -- Jakob Silfverberg is making himself right at home with the Anaheim Ducks, scoring four goals in his first four games. NEW YORK -- Dwight Howard and Jeremy Lin got off to winning starts with their new teams.Change is also working perfectly for the Indiana Pacers, who are delivering the type of offense Larry Bird wants.Howard had six points and seven rebounds in about 18 minutes of his Atlanta debut, helping the Hawks to a 104-83 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday night.Howard is now playing for his hometown team, while Lin is back in the city where he was a breakout star with the New York Knicks. Now playing for the crosstown Nets, he scored 21 points in 17 minutes of Brooklyns 101-94 victory over Detroit.The Pacers became the first team to start 2-0 by beating Chicago 115-108. Bird sought a higher-scoring, faster-playing team when he fired coach Frank Vogel and replaced him with Nate McMillan, and Indiana is averaging 114 points thus far.HAWKS 104, GRIZZLIES 93MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Walter Tavares had 15 points and 10 rebounds for Atlanta, going 7 for 8 from the field.Troy Williams led Memphis with 15 points.HAWKS: Howard was 3 for 7 from the field. ... Rookie DeAndre Bembry scored 12 points in his debut. ... With Al Horford gone and Paul Millsap recovering from knee surgery, Howard and Mike Muscala started in the frontcourt with Kent Bazemore.GRIZZLIES: Zach Randolph, now coming off the bench, had 10 points in 16 minutes. ... Marc Gasol finished with seven points and one rebound in 15 minutes of his second game since returning from a broken foot. ... DJ Stephen scored 13 points.UP NEXT: Atlanta (1-0) visits San Antonio on Saturday. Memphis (1-1) hosts Philadelphia on Tuesday.NETS 101, PISTONS 94NEW YORK -- Lin made five 3-pointers and shot 7 for 11 from the field as the Nets won their opener under new coach Kenny Atkinson.Andre Drummond finished with 17 points and 21 rebounds in Detroits opener.PISTONS: Ish Smith had four points starting for injured point guard Reggie Jackson, who has left knee tendinitis. The Pistons hope there will be a treatment plan for Jackson in the coming days, after which they could determine how long he will be sidelined. ... Marcus Morris scored 17 points and Tobias Harris had 15. ... Drummond played 24 minutes, likely keeping him from a 20-point, 20-rebound game. He led the NBA with five last season. Nobody else had more than two.NETS: Joe Harris scored 12 points and Luis Scola had 10, making his first three 3-point attempts. ... The Nets made 10 of their first 14 shots. ... Sean Kilpatrick shot 0 for 7. ... The Nets will visit the New York Knicks on Saturday and host them on Oct. 20 in their exhibition finale. Its the first time the city rivals have played in the preseason since Oct. 24, 2012, when they met at the Nassau Coliseum.UP NEXT: Detroit (0-1) hosts San Antonio on Monday. Brooklyn (1-0) visits New York on Saturday.PACERS 115, BULLS 108INDIANPOLIS -- Rodney Stuckey came off the bench for 20 points and seven assists to lead Indiana.Al Jefferson finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds, also coming off the bench.Rajon Rondo had 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting, adding five reboundds and five assists.ddddddddddddBULLS: Dwyane Wade shot 3 for 9, finishing with 10 points. ... Nikola Mirotic was 1 for 7 for the second straight game, missing all five 3-point attempts. He was 0 for 3 behind the arc in the opener against Milwaukee. ... Spencer Dinwiddie led the Bulls with 19 points.PACERS: Thaddeus Young scored 20 points on 8-for-12 shooting and added eight rebounds and four assists. ... Paul George was just 3 for 11, finishing with seven points and six rebounds. ... The Pacers beat New Orleans 113-96 in their opener.UP NEXT: Chicago (0-2) and Indiana (2-0) meet again Saturday in Chicago.CELTICS 107, HORNETS 92GREENBORO, N.C. -- All-Star Isaiah Thomas scored 15 points and Al Horford had 13 as the Celtics got their first preseason victory.Avery Bradley and Terry Rozier both scored 14 points in the first of two straight neutral-site games between the teams.Kemba Walker scored four points in 9 minutes of his preseason debut.CELTICS: No. 3 pick Jaylen Brown scored 12 points. ... Thomas and Bradley had five assists each.HORNETS: Jeremy Lamb led Charlotte with 16 points and 10 rebounds, going 7 for 11 from the field. ... Nicolas Batum was just 3 for 11 from the field. ... Frank Kaminsky had 10 points and six rebounds.UP NEXT: Charlotte (0-2) and Boston (1-1) meet Saturday in Uncasville, Connecticut.WIZARDS 125, 76ERS 119, 2 OTPHILADELPHIA -- Kelly Oubre scored 24 points as Washington outlasted Philadelphia for its first preseason victory under Scott Brooks.Dario Saric had 14 points for Philadelphia and fellow rookie Joel Embiid had five points and three rebounds.WIZARDS: Sheldon McClellan had 20 points and Marcin Gortat scored 17. ... Bradley Beal missed nine of his 12 shots.76ERS: Richaun Holmes led Philadelphia with 20 points and 12 rebounds. ... Jerami Grant scored 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting. ... Hollis Thompson scored 15.UP NEXT: Washington (1-1) visits New York on Monday. Philadelphia (1-1) visits Cleveland on Saturday.WARRIORS 105, KINGS 96SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Kevin Durant scored 25 points on 8-for-11 shooting and Golden State pulled way to the victory over its Northern California rival.The Warriors have won two straight since dropping their first preseason game after Durant left Oklahoma City to sign with them.DeMarcus Cousins had 20 points for Sacramento, which has dropped both games under new coach Dave Joerger.KINGS: Cousins was 8 for 11 from the field and grabbed six rebounds and had four steals. ... Matt Barnes had 12 points and eight rebounds but struggled with his shooting (4 for 12), as did Rudy Gay (1 for 7).WARRIORS: Stephen Curry had 13 points, five assists and four steals. ... Ian Clark scored 16 points, making four 3-pointers. Durant also made four. ... Golden State is off for more than a week before traveling to Denver for a game on Oct. 14.UP NEXT: Sacramento (0-2) hosts Maccabi Haifa on Monday. Golden State (2-1) visits Denver on Oct. 14. ' ' '