WASHINGTON -- John Wall was waving his towel as time expired. Julio Dominguez Mexico Soccer Jersey . He joined his teammates at centre court and did a little dance in the middle of a celebratory huddle. He gave Bradley Beal a bear hug from behind and also hugged and thanked coach Randy Wittman. Wall will soon be making his playoff debut, and the Washington Wizards will be there for the first time since 2008, having clinched an Eastern Conference berth Wednesday night with a 118-92 win over the Boston Celtics. "Its everything Ive been waiting for," said Wall, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 draft, "as being a point guard, and trying to learn how to lead in this league, and become a better player. But also I think the fans deserve it. I mean, the tough times theyve been through, booing us and us feeling bad when were not playing good or playing the right way." Wall had 13 points and 10 assists in one of the Wizards easiest wins in recent history. It was their biggest margin of victory this season, and their 62.5 shooting percentage was their best in a game since 2001. The Wizards playoff position had been relatively secure for several weeks in the weakened East, but the formality of seeing the magic number reach zero was a milestone worth noting for a franchise whose win totals since their last post-season appearance have been 19, 26, 23, 20 and 29 -- never finishing better than 24 games below .500. Washington sits in sixth place in the conference. "Were still learning the process of what it takes to be a really good team," said Wittman, who will be in the playoffs for the first time as a head coach. "But I couldnt be more happy for those guys." Marcin Gortat scored 22 points on 10-for-13 shooting, and Beal went 7 for 8 to finish with 19 points. All five Wizards starters scored in double figures, rendering superfluous the customary off-the-bench burst from Wittmans "AARP group" of Al Harrington, Andre Miller and Drew Gooden. Jared Sullinger had 25 points, and Rajon Rondo had 13 to lead the Celtics, who have lost six in a row and 11 of 12 -- and also 11 straight on the road. They never led the Wizards, trailed 19-4 after barely more than five minutes and allowed Washington to shoot 61 per cent in the first half. They shot 4 for 18 with six turnovers in the third quarter and 3 for 24 from 3-point range for the game. "We laid an egg. Its pretty obvious," Boston coach Brad Stevens said. "We didnt provide any fight tonight." The Wizards last playoff appearance ended a streak of four in a row with coach Eddie Jordan and franchise point guard Gilbert Arenas. More was expected, but Arenas brought guns into the locker room and became a felon, precipitating a stunning decline for himself and the franchise. Team president Ernie Grunfeld got rid of Jordan and went through two more coaches before settling on Wittman, whose career record is 141 games below .500. Grunfeld misfired on draft picks and other signings, but the Wizards miserable records allowed him to land two cornerstones: Wall and 2012 No. 3 overall pick Beal. Gortat, Nene, Trevor Ariza and the AARP trio have added the right veteran mix this season to keep the team hovering around .500. All of it happened not a moment too soon: Both Grunfeld and Wittman are in the last year of their contracts and were operating under a playoffs-or-else mandate from owner Ted Leonsis. "We were in a desperate spot not too long ago," said Wittman, who was promoted to head coach after Flip Saunders was fired in January 2012. "When I took over, I just tried to keep not only telling our guys, but Ted and Ernie, Lets do this the right way and lets build this and teach, and one day were going to get here." NOTES: Celtics G Avery Bradley missed the game with a strained right Achilles. He was hurt in the first half of Mondays loss to the Chicago Bulls. ... ... It was the largest margin of defeat for the Celtics this season. Giovani Dos Santos Mexico Soccer Jersey . Fourth-place Liverpool came from behind twice to maintain its three-point lead over Tottenham, which won 4-0 at Newcastle. Liverpools last-gasp win, secured by a Steven Gerrard penalty, left Brendan Rodgers side just four points behind league leader Chelsea. Jose Corona Mexico Soccer Jersey . The Toronto slugger stole second base without a throw with two outs in the ninth inning and scored when Dioner Navarro hit a go-ahead single, lifting the Blue Jays over the New York Yankees 5-4 Sunday for their first series win in the Bronx in nearly two years.With the NHL regular season right around the corner, TSN.ca profiles each team leading up to puck drop. Next up are the Philadelphia Flyers, hoping they have enough to at least maintain last years playoff position. Catch up on their summer moves and the issues they face this season, as well as Craig Buttons analysis of their top prospect and an analytical breakdown by TSNs Scott Cullen. Division: Metropolitan GM: Ron Hextall Head Coach: Craig Berube 2013-14: 42-30-10 (3rd in Metropolitan) Playoffs: Lost in conference quarter-finals Goals For: 233 (8th) Goals Against: 227 (20th) Powerplay: 19.7% (8th) Penalty Kill: 84.8% (7th) That Was Then: Losing seven of your first eight games is never a desirable way to begin a season, but thata€?s the reality the Flyers made for themselves in 2013-14. The losing streak, which extended to nine of the teama€?s first 12 games, set off a trend that unfolded for the entirety of the campaign. The start cost Peter Laviolette his coaching job (after just three games!), with Philly handing Craig Berube the reins on an interim basis on Oct. 7. The former grinder was eventually able to turn the team around, but the shift was not instantaneous. It took until after Christmas for the Flyers to get their first handle on playoff position and that turnaround was largely thanks to two factors. The first was that the Metropolitan Division was not very competitive in the early-going, with the third spot in the division taking fewer points to get hold of than the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. The second was Claude Giroux playing out of his mind in December and continuing his hot play throughout the second half. The Flyers captaina€?s nine-game point streak began in Chicago and wasna€?t snapped until New Yeara€?s Eve, including six multi-point games over the span. The Olympic break provided an opportunity for a lot of the Flyersa€? top talent to get a breather with its Canadian core a€“ including Giroux a€“ left out of the nationa€?s Sochi plans. Philly finished strong, securing points in 16 of its final 22 that amazingly includes a stretch that saw them lose six of seven. Finishing third in the Metropolitan, the Flyers earned a first-round date with the team theya€?d battled in the standings for much of the spring: the New York Rangers. The team suffered an untimely injury, though, in their final meeting of the season with their intrastate rivals from Pittsburgh as netminder Steve Mason sustained an upper body injury on Apr. 12. The injury a€“ which Mason later revealed was a concussion a€“ kept him off the ice for the first three games of the first round. He came back with the team in a 1-2 hole but despite holding the Rangers to two goals or less in three of the four games he played, the Flyers were sent packing in seven. Scott Cullens Analytics Predators 2013-14 Stats by Quarter Games GPG GAA SH% SV% SAF% PTS% 1-20 2.00 2.45 6.1% .940 49.3% .450 21-41 3.00 2.90 8.3% .915 50.0% .619 42-62 3.24 3.10 9.3% .909 47.0% .619 63-82 3.10 2.60 8.2% .927 51.6% .600 NHL AVG 2.67 2.67 7.8 .922 50.0% .562 Key: GPG= goals per game, GAA= goals-against per game, SH%= even-strength shooting percentage, SV%= even-strength save percentage, SAF%= score-adjusted Fenwick percentage (differential of shot attempts faced vs. shot attempts, excluding blocked shots, adjusted for game score), PTS%= percentage of available points. Analysis: Games 1-20: Couldnt score early, with Giroux starting slow, and great goaltending wasnt enough. Games 21-41: Goaltending regressed, but shooting was on the mark, improving record. Games 42-62: Poor possession and goaltending were both offset by high-percentage shooting, . Games 63-82: Best goaltending and possession stretch of the year. Key 2014 Additions: D Michael del Zotto, F Andrew Gordon, C Blair Jones, D Nick Schultz, F Zack Stortini, F R.J. Umberger, F Ryan White Key 2014 Subtractions: F Sccott Hartnell, F Steve Downie, F Tyle McGinn This Is Now: The Flyers brought in a familiar face to take charge of the roster, bringing in their last great netminder and one of the gamea€?s most sought-after executives in Ron Hextall as general manager. Marco Fabian Mexico Soccer Jersey. Luckily for Hextall, there was not a lot of heavy lifting to be done in terms of shaping the roster. The forwards were a balanced group, with seven scoring 20 or more in 2013-14, including first-timer Brayden Schenn and nearly-old-timer Vincent Lecavalier. Hextall moved one of those seven out in his biggest off-season move, trading popular vet and one of the gamea€?s best combinations of grit and skill in Scott Hartnell to Columbus to reacquire R.J. Umberger, who broke into the NHL with Philly in 2005. The Flyers now have a couple years to work with the existing roster, since the majority of the current club has at least two years contract remaining, highlighted by the eight-year extension Giroux signed in the middle of last season. Six years may have been a long term to give Andrew MacDonald, but the team got an up-close look at him down the stretch and seems to have liked what it saw. With Kimmo Timonen out indefinitely, there will be some pressure on MacDonald, along with veterans Braydon Coburn and Mark Streit, to handle big minutes on the Flyers blue line. Hextall also rolled the dice on a low-risk addition, signing Michael del Zotto to a $1.3 million free agent deal in hopes that the 24-year-old can regain the form that had many projecting him as an elite offensive blue liner earlier in his career. DEPTH CHART Forwards Left Wing Centre Right Wing Brayden Schenn Claude Giroux Jakub Voracek Matt Read Sean Couturier Wayne Simmonds Michael Raffl Vincent Lecavalier R.J. Umberger Jason Akeson Pierre-Edouard Bellemare Zac Rinaldo Jay Rosehill Blair Jones Petr Straka Taylor Leier Scott Laughton Ryan White Defence Left Right Andrew MacDonald Braydon Coburn Mark Streit Nicklas Grossman Michael Del Zotto Luke Schenn Nick Schultz Samuel Morin Kimmo Timonen Shayne Gostisbehere Goaltenders Steve Mason Ray Emery Anthony Stolarz Craigs List TSN Director of Scouting Craig Buttons Top Prospect: Scott Laughton If there is a prototypical Flyer center, surely Scott would meet all the criteria. Flyer great Bob Clarke to current star Claude Giroux, embody requisite qualities of skill, fire and an indomitable will to win. Scott has no less of these qualities. Hes an excellent playmaker and his vision and anticipation allows him to be dangerous with the puck. He plays in the guts of the action, is not deterred in any way and he will do whatever is necessary to help the team win regardless if it may stretch the boundaries of the rules. A player Flyers fans will come to love. Fantasy - Cullens Player to Watch - Vincent Lecavalier This may qualify as wishful thinking, considering that Lecavalier is a 34-year-old coming off a season that was his least productive, on a points-per-game basis, since he was an 18-year-old rookie. Its not typical to get bounce-back years in a players mid-thirties, and Lecavaliers underlying numbers have been headed in the wrong direction for a while, but there is room in the Philadelphia lineup for Lecavalier to play a supporting offensive role. Given his contract, that may not be the ideal, but better to find a way to get 20-plus goals out of Lecavalier while using him in favourable matchups, in the hopes of trying to recapture some value. Cheap Soccer Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys cheap jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China ' ' '
