News & Neuigkeiten » 4:31 left. Bojan Bogdanovic and Kilpa

NYON, Switzerland -- New UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin wants to protect Europes national leagues from the threat of breakaway competitions.Ceferin was elected last month amid talk of a future closed-shop Super League and breakaway cross-border divisions, as some clubs seem ready to chase bigger commercial deals by moving beyond the bounds of national leagues.I am against killing national leagues. That is out of the question, Ceferin told The Associated Press.He spoke ahead of Fridays annual meeting of the group of European leagues, which revived recent tension with UEFA, and could become the new presidents most difficult stakeholders.The former Slovenia soccer federation leader said he was open to innovation -- such as creating regional leagues -- but within limits and inside UEFAs control.There are some new ideas and not necessarily bad, but UEFA should be involved in that, Ceferin said in his first major interview at UEFA headquarters on Thursday. It should not hurt national leagues because without national leagues I think football is dead.Radical change looked possible this year as UEFA was without a president during talks with clubs on Champions League entries and distributing billion-dollar annual prize money for the three seasons from 2018.Some wealthy and influential clubs exploited FIFAs ban of Ceferins predecessor, Michel Platini, by framing the negotiations around threats to break away, or forcing UEFA to lock a cartel of storied clubs into Europes top competition without the need to qualify via domestic competitions.Ceferin took office three weeks after UEFA sealed a compromise deal that favored the big-four countries: Spain, Germany, England, and Italy. It left mid-ranked clubs doubting where they fitted in the Champions Leagues future as broadcasters demanded more high-profile match-ups.Moving quickly to build relations with European Club Association leaders, Ceferin believes the Super League threat is over for now.It would create a war, he said. We are on the same side with the big clubs. They dont want to do it without UEFA. Clubs also know they would have problems if they would break away. If it would be easy, they would be already gone.The latest trend is exploring regional leagues where neighboring countries each provide some teams. The North Atlantic and Balkans are options, creating more compelling and higher-standard competition than the individual national leagues.Ceferin said cross-border leagues could supplement national leagues, not replace them.As an additional competition its a good idea. (I)t should be played for those who dont qualify for the Europa League and Champions League, maybe from the New Year on, he said.We cant kill the national leagues. If you take, for example, two clubs out of the Slovenian league (into a Balkan league) then the Slovenian league is over.Elected in a landslide with a mandate to help the smaller UEFA member federations, Ceferin also wants to defend tradition.People like revolutions, they like to speak about big changes, but you should be clever, the criminal lawyer said. You should take into consideration everything, and national leagues are too important.On Friday, the group representing leagues in most of Europes 55 member federations stated its claim to be treated by UEFA with more importance.Angered at being left out of recent Champions League talks as a deal neared, the European Professional Football Leagues ended its working agreement with UEFA and set a March 15 deadline to negotiate a new one.The current accord means European top-tier matches have not been played in direct clashes with the Champions League on midweek evenings protected by UEFA for its signature club competition.Asked about his negotiating and leadership style, Ceferin said: The important thing is that you are ready to listen. Discount Nike Shoes China . -- When the Florida Panthers fell behind by two goals in the first period to the top team in the NHL, it appeared they were on their way to yet another loss. Nike Shoes Outlet . 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NEW YORK -- LeBron James scored 25 points, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love also surpassed 20, and the Cleveland Cavaliers crushed the New York Knicks 126-94 on Wednesday night.James had nothing to say Wednesday morning about Knicks President Phil Jackson and not much more about his decision to not stay with the team in a Donald Trump-branded hotel, but he and the Cavs made a loud statement at Madison Square Garden.It was their second straight win after a three-game skid, and they handed the Knicks their worst loss of the season. Irving led Cleveland with 28 points, and Love scored 21, 16 in the first quarter.Brandon Jennings scored 16 points for the Knicks. He started for Derrick Rose, who missed his first game of the season with lower back pain.It was the first meeting since James was angered when Jackson referred to his friends and business partners as a posse last month in an ESPN interview. James refused to answer questions at the Cavs shootaround about Jackson, who watched the game from his usual seat a few rows back of center court.New York had its four-game winning streak snapped and lost for just the third time in 10 games.BUCKS 115, TRAIL BLAZERS 107MILWAUKEE -- Giannis Antetokounmpo had his second triple-double of the season to lead Milwaukee past Portland.Antetokounmpo had 15 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists for his seventh career triple-double -- second-most in franchise history -- and is the only NBA player averaging at least 20 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two blocks and two steals this season.Jabari Parker added 27 points for Milwaukee.Damian Lillard had 30 points, seven rebounds and six assists for Portland.ROCKETS 134, LAKERS 95HOUSTON -- Eric Gordon made a career-high eight 3-pointers and scored 26 points to help Houston rout Los Angeles.James Harden added 25 points in three quarters for the Rockets. They scored a season high and extended their winning streak to a season-best four games.Lou Williams led the Lakers with 24 points. They have lost four in a row, their longest skid of the season.HAWKS 103, HEAT 95ATLANTA -- Dwight Howard had 23 points and 17 rebounds, Paul Millsap added 21 points and Atlanta beat Miami to snap a seven-game lossing streak.ddddddddddddThe Hawks had lost 10 of 11 and had gone 14 days without a victory.Tyler Johnson scored a career-high 27 points for Miami, and Goran Dragic added 21. The Heat have lost three straight.HORNETS 87, PISTONS 77CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Kemba Walker scored 14 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, and Nic Batum had 14 points and 14 rebounds for Charlotte.The Hornets won for the third time in four games despite being held to 38 points in the first half on 27 percent shooting. Marvin Williams returned to Charlottes starting lineup after missing the last six games with a hyperextended knee. He had 12 points and five rebounds.Andre Drummond had 26 points and 20 rebounds for the Pistons.NETS 116, NUGGETS 111NEW YORK -- Brook Lopez scored 24 points, Sean Kilpatrick had 22 and Brooklyn held off Denver.Brooklyn led by as many as 29 points midway through the third quarter, but Denver closed to 103-99 on Kenneth Farieds layup with 4:31 left. Bojan Bogdanovic and Kilpatrick each made two foul shots in the final 13 seconds to help secure the win for the Nets.Wilson Chandler led the Nuggets with 27 points and 15 rebounds.CELTICS 117, MAGIC 87ORLANDO, Fla. -- Avery Bradley scored 23 points to help Boston rout Orlando.Terry Rozier added 16 points, Jae Crowder had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Amir Johnson, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart each had 13 points. D.J. Augustin scored 15 points for Orlando.PACERS 109, SUNS 94PHOENIX -- Paul George had 25 points and 13 rebounds and Indiana pulled away to beat Phoenix.Myles Turner added 20 points, and Jeff Teague had 19 points and 11 assists. Indiana had a 9-0 run midway through the fourth quarter to open a 97-87 lead.Eric Bledsoe led Phoenix with 15 points. The Suns shot 40 percent from the field and made only 9 of 33 3-pointers. They have lost five of six.KINGS 120, MAVERICKS 89DALLAS -- DeMarcus Cousins had 24 points and 14 rebounds, and Sacramento snapped a three-game losing streak with a victory over last-place Dallas.Rudy Gay added 19 for the Kings. Deron Williams led Dallas with 20 points. ' ' '