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Larry Bird still believes in the power of basketball diplomacy. The Hall of Famer sat down with ESPN.com recently and opened up about the impact playing for Team USA had on his life and his feelings on Paul Georges resurgence.For you personally, what does it mean to see Paul George not only back but also representing Team USA after his gruesome leg injury in 2014?Bird: Its a pretty good situation for him because he came back [and] had a pretty good year last year. No pain. Got through all that. And I think that his goal was always to go back and play for his country and be around the guys [who] are the best in the league, or some of them are. Just get back involved in USA Basketball because it has been a long couple years for him.Was there ever a doubt in your mind that he would be back at this level on that stage?Bird: Well, you never know. But we had every indication from the doctors that he was going to be just fine. Just let the bones heal and get him back out there. When you go through something like that, I think its more mental than it is physical. ... But it was a horrific injury. It took him time, but he worked hard and did the things necessary to get back.You always stood behind USA Basketball after the injury. Why were you strong in your support of the program?Bird: I had an opportunity in high school to play against the Russians, and I thought that was the neatest thing in the world. I got in college, I played overseas, and it was over a month, and [I] got to see the world and play the game I love. And had an opportunity there at the end of my career to get into the Olympics and play for my country. Even though it was the end of my career, its still an honor. And I just wish everybody had that feeling. If you love your country and you get to represent them and you can win, its one of the greatest feelings, and I wanted Paul to have the same feeling. And I know he cares, he wants to play and he wants to win, and I think its awesome.Youve had that experience at every level of the USA program. If down the line, they came to you and said, Larry, we want you to have more of an active role within USA Basketball, is that something youd be interested in?Bird: I dont know. Im getting at an age now where everythings starting to slow down for me. But its like I said: Going back to high school, I got to play against the Russians. And that was when the Cold War was really going on, you know? And I said, Man, Im playing against the Russians. I couldnt believe it. They were very talented, very good, and I was always mesmerized by how they did things over there. My high school coach sort of gave us ... Even though it wasnt my high school team, it was an All-Star team, he was telling us about it and how they train, and they take the best [players] and put them together. It caught my eye, so I was always interested in international basketball because I liked their style. I liked how they played. I like the up-tempo, I like the 40-minute game, and theres really no interruptions. If you go over and watch a team over in Italy, wherever its at, international rules, theyve got a flow to it. Theres no stoppage all the time, and I really like that. So I always enjoy playing it.As far as the Dream Team goes, as you look back all these years later, what do you think of that team and its impact on the game?Bird: It changed everything. From coaching to training, its really interesting. Dave Gavitt ... told me the importance for Magic and Michael and I to go over there with this team because its going to change the game forever throughout the world. And what he meant by that was once we kicked their butts so bad, a lot of their coaches are going to come over and see our training and how we do things. If you think about international training, you think about two workouts every day and a lot of shooting, and their bigs come out and take a lot of shots from the outside. And he was right. If you look at the NBA from then to now, we have probably more than 100 international players in our league, so theyre getting better. Its pretty awesome to me to see the change over that period of time.When you see Magic and Michael over time, how often does your Barcelona Olympic experience come up? Bird: We dont bring it up. I dont see Michael. I see Magic a little bit more. We had a sit-down -- I dont know when it was, time flies, it could have been a few years ago. Well, they had most of us in a circle talking about [the Olympics]. Thats the first time I think I ever really talked about it with another one of my teammates. Great memories, great time, we had a lot of fun. Our families were with us. And youre playing for your country, how can you beat that?So much was always made out of the Dream Team practices. Out of all three of you guys, who do you think was the most competitive out of that group?Bird:?Oh, I dont know. Everybodys competitive in their own way. Its hard to say one guys more competitive than another. I always said its easier to be competitive when Michael Jordan can run and jump as high as he does, as quick as he is. So I think me and Magic had to be more competitive because we didnt have that speed and we couldnt jump that high. Nike React Sale . After Mondays hard-fought loss, the wait seemed longer than usual. Getting set to go their separate ways for a short Christmas break, the Raptors coach credited his team for their effort on a seemingly impossible three-game road trip, urging them to build on that success when they get back to work at the end of the week. Wholesale Nike React .875,000, avoiding arbitration. Clippards deal Monday means all eight Nationals players who filed for arbitration wound up settling before a hearing. http://www.nikereactcheap.com/ .Y. - Detroit goaltender Jonas Gustavsson has earned NHL first star of the week honours after winning in his first three appearances of the season. Nike React Discount .4 million title. Ryan Riess emerged with the title after a session in which he started behind, but used expert skill to gather the chips to his side amid the unpredictability of no-limit Texas Hold em. Riess put his final opponent Jay Farber all-in with an Ace-King. Nike React On Sale .Y. -- Paul Byron and Matt Stajan scored as the Calgary Flames started a five-game road trip with a 2-1 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon.(Sports Network) - The Blue Jays will send Brandon Morrow to the mound for a matinee against the Atlanta Braves today as Toronto seeks a third straight victory. The Jays opened their four-game set with the NL East leaders with a 9-3 win on Monday night. Edwin Encarnacion hit a three-run homer and matched a career high with five RBI, while Colby Rasmus and J.P. Arencibia added two-run homers to lead the Blue Jays to their ninth victory in 14 games. Mark Buehrle held the Braves to a run on five hits over six solid innings. The veteran left-hander walked two and struck out six, none bigger than Dan Uggla staring at strike three with two runners in scoring position to end the sixth. Gattis launched a two-run homer in the eighth for Atlanta, which has lost two straight on the heels of an eight-game winning streak. Tim Hudson was tagged for six runs on eight hits and two walks in six frames. "It was just not a very good night," Hudson admitted. "A night where I was battling a little bit with my delivery. My pitches werent very crisp." The Blue Jays hope to get a consistent outing from Morrow today, something the right-hander has struggled doing this season. Morrow has yielded 11 runs, five homers and 17 hits over his last two starts, but has managed to split the two decisions. Offensive support helped him beat visiting Baltimore on Thursday even though he allowed six runs on 10 hits over seven-plus innings. Morrow allowedd three home runs in the outing, but each was of the solo variety.dddddddddddd The 28-year-old is 2-3 with a 5.50 ERA in nine starts this season and will face the Braves for the first time. Toronto third baseman Brett Lawrie is day-to-day after suffering a sprained left ankle while stealing a base in the sixth inning on Monday. Following todays game, the Braves will host the Blue Jays for two straight beginning on Wednesday. Braves starter Paul Maholm has consecutive victories after a 1-4 stretch and he was charged with just one unearned run over 7 1/3 innings of an 8-3 victory over Minnesota on Wednesday. All eight of Atlantas runs were scored before the fifth inning, giving the left-hander a nice cushion to work with. "Just mixing speeds," said Maholm on Atlantas website of how he found success. "We put up some runs early and got ahead by eight in the fourth, so I just tried to mix speeds and get outs. (Backup catcher Evan Gattis) called a great game. Weve worked well together." Maholm improved to 6-4 with a 3.38 earned run average through 10 starts this season, but holds a 4.98 ERA over six road outings. The 30-year-old has split two previous starts versus the Blue Jays with a 3.21 ERA. Maholm will try to reverse Atlantas troubles in Toronto, where the club has lost nine of its last 11. The Braves came into Mondays opener having won eight of the last nine between the clubs -- all in Atlanta -- before suffering a 9-3 setback. 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