MIAMI -- LeBron James says his new protective mask is hot, uncomfortable and prone to fogging up. Youth Mike Tolbert Jersey . Plus, as teammate Dwyane Wade pointed out, it looks weird. So James is in the market for design suggestions. "Ive been talking to Marvel Comics for the last couple of days, and DC Comics, to try to come up with one of the greatest masks of all time," James said with a chuckle Wednesday. "So well see what happens." James spoke after trying out his new mask for the first time in practice. He plans to use it Thursday when the Miami Heat play the New York Knicks. The game will be the first for James since he broke his nose last Thursday in a victory at Oklahoma City. He and his mask took part in contact drills Wednesday, and coach Erik Spoelstra was encouraged by James progress. "Hell give it a shot Thursday," Spoelstra said. "He was able to go through today without any hiccups. But he also didnt take a hit today." Given James aggressive style of play, hes bound to receive an inadvertent blow to the face sooner or later. Thus the mask. "It lessens the impact," said James, who wore a mask 10 years ago to protect a broken cheek. "You can still feel it, because the nose is still tender. But it definitely lessens the pain." James had removed his clear mask by the time media were admitted to the gym for the end of practice, but teammates provided a description. "He looked like every other player in a mask -- it looks weird," Wade said. "He looks like the LeBron that wore a mask the first time, only about 30 pounds heavier, a little more muscular, a little less hair." Said Shane Battier with a grin: "As long as No. 6 is in uniform, he looks all right to me." James was on a roll when hurt. On Thursday hell try for his fifth consecutive 30-point game, which would be the second-longest such streak in Heat history. The Heat have won five consecutive games and trail Eastern Conference leader Indiana by one game. But theyve been prone to stumble against weak opponents, and their next three games are at home against team with losing records -- the Knicks, Magic and Bobcats. Nine of the Heats 14 defeats, including one against the Knicks, have come versus teams that are below .500. "You dont want to lose to the good teams. And you dont want to lose to the teams that arent as good," Wade said. "So then you would be 82-0. Youve got to lose to somebody. You cant play your A game for 82 games, so you have some of those moments. It happens to every team. Were no different." Lately the two-time defending NBA champions have been consistently on their A game, in part because of stout defence. They held Oklahoma City to 81 points, which tied the Thunders season low, then held Chicago to 79 in a victory Sunday as an antsy James watched from the bench. The injury-plagued Knicks have lost their past three games, and in their season of upheaval, the latest jarring development came Tuesday. Point guard Raymond Felton was arraigned on two felony weapons possession charges following an early-morning arrest. After going 54-28 last season, the Knicks are 21-36. "They havent forgotten how to play," Spoelstra said. "Theyve been injury-riddled all year long, and thats tough to deal with. That adversity coming into our game is irrelevant. Im sure theyll be ready." The Knicks split two games earlier this season against Miami, and theyre one of the few teams with a player who can match James basket for basket. Carmelo Anthony has scored more than 40 points in three of the past four games. James said hes sorry to see his friend endure such a difficult season in the standings. "I want him to win, and I want him to succeed," James said. "Obviously he has been playing great basketball, but I definitely dont like seeing him lose the way theyve been losing." Carolina Panthers Amini Silatolu Jersey . Ed Soares, the former middleweight champions longtime manager, has told MMAJunkie. Stephen Hill Jersey .J. Burnett found out he had a hernia, hes been at his best.PHILADELPHIA - Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff wasnt looking for one specific way to improve his team at the 2014 NHL draft. Instead, he focused on acquiring depth, of both players and picks, casting a wide net over the two days in Philadelphia. "We had a smattering of everything," said Cheveldayoff. "We got some high skill in the first round, we got a big two-way defenceman early today, and we picked up some more skill, some grit on the wing and then we got some big centremen at the end as well." The Jets made two trades as well, sending the 159th pick and the rights to goalie Eddie Pasquale to the Washington Capitals for the 164th and 192nd picks in this years draft and a seventh-round pick in 2015. The Jets also acquired Ottawas sixth-round pick in 2015 for their 189th pick this year. "We came in with seven picks, and we ended up picking seven players," said Cheveldayoff. "We stockpiled some picks for next years draft, and we did come in saying that if we felt we were going to get our players later in the draft that we could get to see if we could move down. "We ended up acquiring an extra pick when we moved the rights to Eddie Pasquale, so we had some picks that if we could find a way to move into next year to have those assets moving forward, that was something we were looking forward to." The Jets took Jack Glover from the United States under-18 team with the 69th overall pick, their highest pick on the second day of the draft. "Hes got good size, he moves very well, and hes a good two-way defenceman," said Cheveldayoff. "Getting him in the third round is something we were very excited about, becausee where we had him on our list was not in that realm. Youth Byron Bell Jersey. When he was available we actually looked at trying to package something to move up into the later parts of the second round, but we couldnt find a match, so we were happy to get a player that we liked." "I like to push the pace," said the six-foot-three, 190-pound Glover, "and to get the puck to the forwards. I definitely think that Im a guy that relies on my skating and my vision, and I think those are my two biggest assets. Im not a big hitter, Im not a big bruiser, but I take great pride in my defensive game." With their fourth-round picks, the Jets took two players from the WHL: centre Chase De Leo from Portland and defenceman Nelson Nogier from Saskatoon. The team used its lone fifth-round pick on left wing Clinston Franklin of the USHL, and wrapped its activity in the sixth and seventh rounds with centre Pavel Kraskovsky from the Russia-Jr. team and centre/left wing Matt Ustaski from the BCHL. De Leo will join his childhood best friend and WHL rival, goalie Eric Comrie, as a Jets prospect. Comrie is the half-brother of NHL players Mike and Paul Comrie. "When we were 10 years old we had a piece of paper and we both signed it, saying that we were going to be teammates in the NHL one day," said De Leo. "Its pretty special and very exciting." Cheveldayoff likes the familiarity between the two prospects. "Its great to see the players in our organization have a bond already even before they get to development camp or training camp," said Cheveldayoff. "We are trying to build one family here, and its great to have a head start on it." cheap jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '
