so much of last season

Those 36-year-old legs of Manu Ginobilis have been feeling pretty spry this season. Stitched Cheap Jerseys . That spring in his step that had been missing for so much of last season was back, helping the Argentine magician become a game-changer again for the San Antonio Spurs. So when the lane opened up in the third quarter Tuesday night against the Houston Rockets, Ginobili decided to go for it. He rose up, cradled the ball in his left hand and threw down a solid, one-handed dunk. And with that, Ginobili joined the growing list of injured Spurs. The team said Wednesday that Ginobili strained his left hamstring on the dunk and will miss the next three to four weeks. Ginobili joins Danny Green (broken finger), Kawhi Leonard (broken left hand) and Tiago Splitter (sprained right shoulder) on the teams injured list, a run of bad luck that has torn apart the teams depth, particularly on the wing. "You play the guys on the bench," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "We cant play the guys on the other team. I know that." The team is hopeful Splitter, who hasnt played since Jan. 4, will return in time for the teams annual rodeo road trip, a 10-game stint that begins Monday in New Orleans. That would help out Tim Duncan and the big men up front, but the problems on the perimeter remain. After struggling for much of last season, Ginobili signed a two-year contract to remain in San Antonio. He has rebounded this season to resume his role as the Spurs playmaker off the bench, averaging 12.1 points, 4.5 assists and shooting 52 per cent on his 2-point shots. During a monthlong stretch from the middle of December to the middle of January, Ginobili scored at least 20 points five times in a 16-game span to help the Spurs once again establish themselves among the NBAs elite teams. Hes been pretty healthy as well, missing two games earlier in January because of a sore left hamstring before injuring it more severely on Tuesday night. Ginobili, who has long been the emotional centre of this close-knit team, was dejected as he limped off the court. His injury puts even more responsibility on the shoulders of veteran Marco Belinelli, who has been a reliable shooter in a supporting role after coming over in free agency from the Chicago Bulls. Belinelli is averaging 10.9 points and shooting 46.7 per cent from 3-point range for the Spurs. With the injuries to Leonard and Green, Belinelli had become a starter on the wing and seen his playing time steadily increase. Belinelli played 38 minutes in the loss to Houston, and the Spurs recently signed NBDL standout Othyus Jeffers to a 10-day contract to give them another warm body on the perimeter. Thanks in large part to Ginobilis return to form, the Spurs entered Wednesdays game against the Bulls at 33-12, good for second place in the hyper-competitive Western Conference. But theyve lost three of their last four games, are 1-11 against the top seven teams in the league and now face the daunting challenge of that long road trip without Ginobili, and with Portland (33-13) and the Clippers (32-15) right on their heels. Chicago is facing its own injuries woes. All-Star point guard Derrick Rose was lost for the season with a knee injury for the second consecutive year and starting centre Joakim Noah (illness) and guard Kirk Hinrich (right hamstring) are game-time decisions for tonights game against San Antonio. So, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said he has little empathy for the Spurs, not because Chicago is also battling injuries, but because of how deep San Antonio is. "Its the nature of the league. Its the grind of an 82-game season. Youre going to take injuries on. Its how you respond and the Spurs have always done a good job with that. Its the way the Spurs are built." Buzz Sawyer Jersey Retro . Formula One Teams Association secretary general Oliver Weingarten says the organization collapsed over unpaid subscription fees and a failure to strike an agreement for 2014 with all 11 teams. Joe Francis Jersey Retro .ca look back at each of the Top 10 stories of 2013. Today, we look back at LeBron James and the Miami Heat winning their second straight NBA championship.NEW YORK -- The New York Yankees are outpitching some of baseballs best pitchers. Facing the third successive Cy Young recipient in the last three games, the Yankees rode a superior performance from starter Chris Capuano and Adam Warren to a 5-1 victory over Justin Verlander and the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday night, their second win in the series. Capuano allowed five hits and an unearned run with eight strikeouts in 6 2-3 innings, leaving with the game tied at 1. Warren (2-5) worked out of an eighth-inning jam created by a walk and two errors after the Yankees had taken a 2-1 lead on Brian McCanns homer in the seventh. "Ive seen him do this before and that was one of the reasons we went and got him," manager Joe Girardi said of Capuano, who has gone at least six innings in all three of his starts since being acquired from the Rockies on July 24th. "If Im not mistaken, he did it to us last year here. He does know how to pitch, and he gave us a great performance tonight." Chase Headley also homered for the Yankees, whose streak of 16 consecutive games decided by two-or-fewer runs ended when they broke out for three runs in the eighth against reliever Blaine Hardy. Mark Teixeira injured his hand when he was spiked by catcher Bryan Holaday while scoring the Yankees final run on a slide at home plate. Teixeira, called out by home plate umpire Tom Woodring but ruled safe on a review, sustained a deep cut near his left pinky and will not play in Thursdays matinee finale of the four-game set. "It (the cut) was pretty bad," said Teixeira, who was replaced at first base in the ninth by Headley. "I took one look and looked away. Steve (trainer Steve Donohue) rushed me up here, we got it cleaned up and got the stitches in there. "You play hard, thats what happens. Im just happy about the win. It was a great team win." As they did in Tuesdays 4-3 victory, the Tigers scored in the first inning via the sacrifice fly, with Rajai Davis reaching on Derek Jeters error. That was all Detroit could generate against Capuano, Warren and David Huff, who pitched a perfect ninth. "He was changing speeds, heights, location," Tigers third baseman Nick Castellanos said about Capuano. "He wasnt really giving anybody the same looks two times in a row. If he thought you were leaning, kind of diving for that changeup, youd gett a heater in. Myron Pryor Jersey Retro. Both McCann and Capuano had a great night tonight." Verlander (10-10) retired the first 11 Yankees he faced before surrendering a two-out single to centre by Jacoby Ellsbury in the fourth. Headley deposited a 2-2 fastball into the right-field stands with out in the fifth for his ninth homer and second as a Yankee to tie it at 1, and it remained deadlocked until McCann belted his 13th homer on a 1-2 pitch with one out in the seventh. "Im not going to dwell on two homers," said Verlander, who allowed five hits and one walk with five strikeouts in seven innings. "Headleys was gone anywhere. McCanns probably not in a lot of places, but, overall it was a good game." The Yankees committed four errors -- two by Stephen Drew in just his sixth game at second base -- but both Capuano and Warren picked up their fielders with key outs. Jeter singled in the sixth inning and needs one hit to tie Honus Wagner (3,430) for sixth place on the career all-time list. TRAINERS ROOM Yankees: Michael Pineda, who has missed exactly half the season with a right shoulder muscle injury, will make his second rehab appearance Friday at Scranton. Girardi indicated Pinedas return might be accelerated. "Hes probably available to go somewhere between 75 to 80 (pitches). Then well see where were at," Girardi said. Tigers: Right fielder Torii Hunter was listed as day-to-day after being hit on the left hand by Dellin Betanaces pitch in the ninth inning Tuesday night. X-rays taken after the game were negative. Hunter said he had a ruptured blood vessel and had a difficult time sleeping last night, but was relieved nothing was broken. "Id rather deal day-to-day than have a couple weeks off," he said before Wednesdays game. "It (the pitch) just backed up. I guess it just slipped out of his hand or something like that and stayed in on me. Thats baseball. You cant do anything about that. None of that was intentional." ON DECK The Yankees go with rookie right-hander Shane Greene (2-1, 3.68 ERA) in the finale of the four-game set Thursday. Detroit sends right-hander Rick Porcello (13-5, 3.18 ERA to the mound. FIVE OCLOCK SHADOW: C.C. Sabathia, sporting a full beard and walking with the aid of a metal crutch, joined his teammates for the official team photo before Wednesdays game. The Yankees have a long-standing policy against beards. ' ' '