Mercedes drivers this season -- Rosbergs victory in Baku is the only time either he or Hamilton have not won two or more races in a row. Prost believes the pair are so close in terms of performance the title

LAS VEGAS -- The NBA is taking a step toward trying to reduce the hack-a strategy on poor free throw shooting players.The NBAs board of governors approved rules changes for the 2016-17 season that apply to deliberate fouls that occur away from plays.We had a discussion about so-called Hack-a-Shaq, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said. We adopted a new rule there. I would say it is not everything that some people were looking for us to do and it was a compromise.With the rhythm and flow of some games bogged down by teams using strategy to foul poor free throw shooters like the Los Angeles Clippers DeAndre Jordan and the Detroit Pistons Andre Drummond, the NBA has decided to extend the current rule for away-from-the-play fouls applicable to the final two minutes of the fourth quarter and any overtime to the last two minutes of each period.Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban told ESPN he voted against new deliberate foul rules.Rewarding incompetence is never a good business strategy, Cuban said.And on inbounds situations, any defensive foul that occurs before the inbounder releases the ball will be whistled in the same fashion as an away-from-the-play foul committed during the last two minutes of any period (i.e., one free throw and possession of the ball).Flagrant foul rules will also be used to protect players from any dangerous or excessively hard deliberate fouls, including if a player tries to deliberately foul an opponent by leaping on an opponents back. Before these types of fouls were subject to flagrant fouls but not automatic.Silver said the new rules changes will have a real impact on games, and there will be a reduction of roughly 45 percent of the incidents of the away-from-the-play fouls right now.?I definitely do not accept [the] premise that it is cosmetic and we wouldnt have done it if it was only a cosmetic change, Silver said. ... Remember the change of a playing rule requires two-thirds of our teams. I would say the vote was not unanimous today but obviously in order to make a change we did get two-thirds of the teams. ... Nobody suggested that we will never have to discuss this again.[But] the data shows that it is often used at the end of quarters to foul players who arent even particularly bad free throw shooters to try to gain another possession, Silver added. Incidentally, some of those plays we want to make sure we eliminate, some plays that are more dangerous such as jumping on players backs. But we will see.The NBAs competition committee recommended the new rules changes at the offseason meetings.Information from ESPNs Tim MacMahon contributed to this report.Steve Blass Jersey . "Were just throwing s--- at the wall hoping something sticks," said Tortorella about the possible line combinations for Fridays game against Columbus. The Canucks have lost five straight games and six of their last seven, leaving them in a logjam in the Pacific Division, currently sitting fifth - good for ninth in the Western Conference. Blake Cederlind Jersey .C. - The Carolina Hurricanes have placed backup goalie Anton Khudobin on injured reserve with an unspecified lower-body injury. https://www.cheappiratesjerseys.us/802e-bob-johnson-jersey-pirates.html . Louis. To which I would say two things: 1. Where there is smoke, there is or perhaps has been a little fire. Or, in other words, the two teams would appear to have at least spoken. And spoken is defined as one calling the other to inquire, no more, no less. Ed Ott Jersey . Now that hes hitting streaking teammates with pin-point passes for easy layups, Love is asserting himself as one of the true superstars in the league. Gregory Polanco Jersey .Y. -- Syracuse has turned up the defence at the right time all season, and when High Point threatened to pull off a monumental upset the second-ranked Orange did what they do best with their quick hands and savvy play.Four-time world champion Alain Prost reckons Nico Rosbergs answered a lot of his critics with the manner of his Singapore Grand Prix victory as he had to fight for it.Rosberg claimed a third straight win, and eighth of the season, at Yas Marina, holding off a late surge from Daniel Ricciardo to win by 0.4s. The win moved him ahead of Lewis Hamilton and into the lead of the championship by eight points with six races to go.Though some have ?questioned the nature of Rosbergs other wins this season, Prost thinks the Germans drive in Singapore proved he can win when hes under pressure.?Nico delivered a fantastic weekend in Singapore with an incredible pole position on Saturday followed by a very mature drive on Sunday, Prost told French broadcaster Canal. You could feel him very much in control all weekend, whereas Lewis Hamilton was not. He did not really perform and looked a bit shaky.Rosberg took a commanding win but still had to fight for it, something that had been awaaited of him for a while.ddddddddddddMomentum has swung dramatically between the Mercedes drivers this season -- Rosbergs victory in Baku is the only time either he or Hamilton have not won two or more races in a row. Prost believes the pair are so close in terms of performance the title will be decided on small details.You can see the momentum shifting often at Mercedes. When one driver if performing, the other looks a bit off. We have yet to see them compete wheel-to-wheel but I think it will happen before the end of the season.The title will be decided on small details, like the starts, another car splitting the Mercedes - one place can make a big difference in the end -, but it will also be a mental fight.Before Singapore, youd have thought Hamilton had the upper hand in that area but Rosberg has showed us he can be really solid as well. ' ' '