ave overtaken the Indiana Pacers

[lw789]

The Oklahoma City Thunder have overtaken the Indiana Pacers for the top spot in the TSN.ca NBA Power Rankings. While the Thunder have won four of six, and added veteran wing Caron Butler to their rotation, they could have been passed by the Los Angeles Clippers, if not for the Clippers missing Jamal Crawford and J.J. Redick due to injuries. Even so, the Clips jumped from five to two. Healthy, and winners of eight straight, the San Antonio Spurs are up from eight to five; the Minnesota Timberwolves are healthy and have won eight of 11, lifting them up from 16 to 12. Even if their five-game winning streak came at the expense of non-playoff teams, that was enough for the New York Knicks to vault from 26 to 19. The Portland Trail Blazers have lost four straight and star power forward LaMarcus Aldridge is hurt again, so they fall from 10 to 15. Further down the chart, the Detroit Pistons sink from 19 to 23 and the Los Angeles Lakers drop from 23 to 28. The Toronto Raptors, who have one regulation loss in the past nine games, remain at nine. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Cheap Shoes China . -- Scottie Wilbekin sat on the bench for the final minute, holding a bag of ice against his left knee. Cheap Shoes . A better question yet may be this: How many times has the same player been involved in both? Morneau hit a two-run homer in the 10th inning and helped the Colorado Rockies turn the third triple play in team history as they beat the San Diego Padres 8-6 on Sunday. http://www.shoeschinacheap.com/. And theyre pointing to the NHLs biggest market: Toronto. With Gretzky paid out for what is believed to be $7 to 8 million, Gretzky may be eager to get back into the NHL and TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reports that the Maple Leafs are very much interested in The Great Ones services. Cheap Nike Shoes China . -- Oakland Athletics starting pitchers Jarrod Parker and A.TAMPA, Fla. - The Tampa Bay Rays couldnt resist adding Grant Balfour to solidify the back end of their bullpen, giving the closer a $12 million, two-year contract Thursday about a month after his $15 million agreement with Baltimore fell through. The Orioles said they had concerns with his physical. Balfour proclaimed hes healthy and looking forward to helping Tampa Bay get back to the playoffs. "Im 100 per cent healthy," Balfour said, adding he had more lucrative offers from other teams but was eager to play for a perennial contender and return to the Tampa Bay area, where he still resides after spending time with the Rays from 2007-10. "Ive had an eventful off-season to say the least," he said. "Its always been a place on my radar. Ill be honest, I never wanted to leave here." Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg made the announcement at a news conference held following a team sponsorship event at the Tampa Museum of Art. He called it a significant move for the budget-minded Rays, who have made the playoffs four times in the past six seasons despite one of the lowest payrolls in baseball. Sternberg noted the team did not enter the off-season expecting to be in a position to pursue the 36-year-old, who was 62 for 67 in save opportunities the past two seasons with the Oakland Athletics. &quuot;Weve have had some exceptional teams," Sternberg said, explaining the decision to spend above the teams projected payroll.dddddddddddd"We want to give this organization the best chance to win, and we know its going to cost us more than we can afford to pay." In his first stint with the Rays, Balfour was part of an improbable run to the 2008 World Series, where Tampa Bay lost to Philadelphia in six games. Sternberg called him a "known quantity" for the Rays. Manager Joe Maddon added the signing will make an already impressive bullpen even more formidable. "He wants to go back to the World Series," Maddon said. "So do we, so do I." Balfour was a first-time All-Star in 2013, when he had a 1.63 ERA while going 25 for 25 in save opportunities the first half of the season. The right-handers 383 appearances, 380 1-3 innings and 410 strikeouts over the past six years are the second-most among AL relievers. Hes first Australian-born pitcher to make an All-Star team and has been a part of five teams that made the playoffs, including two with Tampa Bay. "I want to win a World Series," he said. "We got really close here in 2008, and Im really hoping here in the next two years, or whatever it is I get to play here, that I can win one it would be awesome." ' ' '