OAKLAND, Calif. DeAndre Yedlin Jersey . -- At the beginning of training camp, Andrew Bogut set a goal to play all 82 regular-season games and regain his place among the NBAs best centres. Hes on pace to come awfully close. With his health no longer holding him back, Bogut has been a force in the middle for the Golden State Warriors (29-19) entering Tuesday nights home game against the Charlotte Bobcats. He ranks near the top of the league in blocks, rebounds and defensive ratings, and he has begun to silence the chatter that hes a player who is always hurt. "I havent felt this great in while," Bogut said after Mondays practice, then quickly asking not to jinx his good fortune. "Touch wood," he said. The 7-footer from Australia, who has a well-documented history of injuries, has played in 47 of 48 games -- with his lone absence stemming from a suspension handed down by the NBA for his role in a scrum against Portland. Bogut had played in only 44 games the past two seasons combined. Boguts presence has been especially big considering his primary backups, Jermaine ONeal and Festus Ezeli, have been out most of the season. "Hes been spectacular, protecting the paint, setting screens, rebounding the basketball, being a leader, being durable," Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. "If hes not here, youre asking basically a power forward to be a (centre), and to do it for a lengthy period of time is a recipe for disaster. But hes been awesome, and certainly should be in the discussion for Defensive Player of the Year." The Warriors took a big risk by signing Bogut to a three-year, $36 million extension in October that could be worth up to about $42 million with incentives. They also took a gamble when they acquired Bogut in a trade-deadline deal in March 2012 that sent guard Monta Ellis to Milwaukee. Bogut did not play for Golden State that season while recovering from a fractured left ankle. Bogut battled back and knee injuries while averaging a career-low 5.8 points to go with 7.7 rebounds last season, but he was at his best in the playoffs, making a major difference on defence to help the Warriors advance to the second round. Bogut missed the end of the 2009-10 season with the Bucks when he dislocated his right elbow, sprained his right wrist and broke his right hand in a hard fall to the floor. He also missed significant time with an injured lower back in the 2008-09 season. Bogut has repeatedly called both injuries "freak accidents." "People that label me injury-prone, its fair enough, I understand it," Bogut said. "But to say that theyre chronic injuries, those people are idiots. Two injuries that have hurt my career and probably shortened the length of my career and probably a little bit of my playing ability are completely out of my control." Even still, the setbacks have taken a toll -- physically and mentally. At one point while rehabbing his ankle last season, Bogut said he was in a "dark place" and even considered retirement. Instead, Golden States surprising playoff run -- and his big role in it -- left him rejuvenated. He lost about 15 pounds this off-season, and the only real injury scare cost him some practice time in January after he strained his right knee. Bogut is averaging 10.6 rebounds and two blocks per game, and he has the NBAs third-best defensive rating -- which is calculated by how many points are given up per 100 possessions while a player is on the floor. Offence is still something that has eluded Bogut since his elbow injury, though on a Golden State team stacked with shooters, hes not asked to score much. Bogut is averaging 8.2 points, which is sixth on the team, but he leads the Warriors with 64 per cent shooting -- with most of his points coming on pick-and-roll dunks or put-back rebounds. Hes also rediscovering his passing ability -- once considered among the best for NBAs centres -- lately, including tying his season high with five assists in Fridays win at Utah. "Hes talented, man," point guard Stephen Curry said. "Its not often you see a big man get the rebound, push in transition, change directions a couple times, read the defence and make behind-the-back passes and one-handed passes for a backdoor cut. That creativity he has, Ive rarely seen it for a guy his size." Bogut, now 29, has concentrated on becoming a more versatile defender. Hes not just guarding centres near the rim, but often going out against power forwards, including holding down All-Star starter Blake Griffin in a win over the Clippers last week. Bogut believes hes "close" to playing the best defence of his career, and hes making a strong case to be on the first or second All-NBA Defensive teams. The only time Bogut could remember playing this well was before his injury in the 2009-10 season, when he finished second behind Orlandos Dwight Howard in blocks per game but didnt even get a vote for the defensive teams that season. "Hopefully, I can make up for that this season," Bogut said. "But awards are predicated on how the team is, how the success of the team is, so if we go to the playoffs and make some noise, I think all that stuff will take care of itself." Shaquell Moore Jersey .S. Olympic hockey management team have been making what he called "ghost rosters" since August. USA Soccer Shirts . The best round belonged to Pat Perez. Tiger Woods didnt come close to claiming either Thursday in the Farmers Insurance Open, where the seven-time champion failed to break par in the opening round for first time in his career. https://www.cheapusasoccer.com/561j-darlington-nagbe-jersey-usa.html BROSSARD, Que. -- The NHL Eastern Conference final will be more than just a rematch of the Sochi Olympic final between goaltenders Carey Price and Henrik Lundqvist. But thats where much of the attention will be when the best-of-seven series opens Saturday afternoon at the Bell Centre. Price completed a majestic Olympics as he allowed only three goals at the Winter Games in February and backstopped Canada to a 3-0 victory over Lundqvist and Sweden in the final to claim gold. He hopes to do it again in the battle of Original Six teams. "A big reason those two teams got to the gold medal game at the Olympics and why both these teams are here is goaltending," Brandon Prust, a former Ranger now skating on right wing for Montreal, said Friday. "Theyre two of the best goalies in the league, so its a great matchup there." It has been an uneven matchup in recent years however, which has to be a concern for the Rangers. The man they call King Henrik has a dreadful record when he plays in Montreal. In his career, Lundqvist is 4-5-2 at the Bell Centre with a whopping 3.87 goals-against average and .876 save percentage. He has been so bad, successive coaches John Tortorella and then Alain Vigneault have not given him the starting assignments at the Bell Centre. Lundqvists last game in Montreal was Jan. 15, 2012, when he let in four goals and was subbed by Martin Biron. Vigneault has confidence in his No. 1 goalie, however. "I cant comment on what happened in the past," he said. "All I can say is that Lundqvist is one of the best goalies in the NHL. "Hes a goalie that excels under pressure and as far as I know, there is no place in the NHL where he doesnt play well." This season, Cam Talbot started both meetings at the Bell Centre, earning his first career shutout in a 1-0 win on Nov. 16 and losing 1-0 in the regular-season finale for both clubs on April 12. Lundqvist started at home on Oct. 28 and lost 2-0 to Montreal backup Peter Budaj. "I dont think he ever played here when I was with the Rangers," said Prust. "Marty Biron always played here. "I dont think its going to be a big factor in the series. Hes a top goalie for a reason. Weve just got to make sure were getting on him right away, getting lots of shots, getting lots of traffic and just causing some havoc around there to keep that confidence away." Lundqvists last win in Montreal was a 4-3 shootout victory on March 9, 2009. His troubles seem to go back to a wild game in 2008 when the Canadiens stormed back from a 5-0 deficit to defeat the visiting Rangers. Then again, the entire Rangers team has struggled in Montreal, scoring only four goals in their last nine visits. Montreal winger Max Pacioretty isnt counting on Lundqvist crumbling at this point of the post-season. "Hes obviously a world-class goaltender and that whole mental block that you mentioned can change with one save in the first period of Game 1," said Pacioretty. "If we get worried about things we cant control, thats when we start to get away from our game." When hes not facing Montreal, Lundqvist is spectacular. He leads playoff goalies witth a . Jackson Yueill Jersey. 931 save percentage to go with a sterling 1.99 GAA. He was especially solid as the Rangers came back from a 3-1 series deficit in their conference semifinal against Pittsburgh, allowing one goal in each of three straight wins. Price pretty much matched that as Montreal overcame a 3-2 deficit against Boston, allowing one goal in the final two games. He has also matched Lundqvists 1.99 average, to go with a .928 save percentage. "Its not always making the amount of saves, its making saves at the right time and I think hes really figured that out," Pacioretty said of Price. "In that series, every game you could say he made huge saves at the right time and it changed the momentum of the game." In Game 7 in Boston on Wednesday night, Price took the unusual initiative of standing up in the dressing room after the second period with Montreal leading only 2-1 to deliver a speech about staying calm. "Careys a leader," added Pacioretty. "Hes a man of few words, but when he speaks he knows the right things to say. "Hes been a leader since Day One that Ive been here, but right now its at a whole other level. I want to play for a guy like that and Im happy to see him step up like this." The Rangers and Canadiens will meet for the 15th time in the post-season. The teams are 7-7 against each other so far, with New York taking their last meeting in 1996. On the ice, they are similar teams, relying on speed, skill and goaltending to win, so it could make for entertaining, end-to-end hockey even if all three regular-season meetings were low scoring. The Rangers only goal against the Canadiens this season was from Ryan Callahan, who was dealt at the trade deadline to Tampa Bay for Martin St. Louis. "Theyre a lot like our team," said Montreal winger Dale Weise, another former Ranger. "Theyve got a lot of skill and speed up front and their small guys really compete, so its going to be a great matchup." For Montreal, it will be a second straight Original Six matchup against a team with a former Canadiens coach. They beat Boston and coach Claude Julien in the conference semifinal and now face New York and Alain Vigneault, who coached in Montreal from 1997 to 2001. The Rangers lineup features ex-Habs Dominic Moore, Benoit Pouliot and Raphael Diaz. And their top defenceman Ryan McDonagh was drafted by the Canadiens in 2007 but dealt to New York as part of a trade that brought the since-departed Scott Gomez to Montreal. The Canadiens look like theyll start the series with the same lineup they had in Boston, with rookie Nathan Beaulieu on the third defence pair with veteran Mike Weaver. They will soon have the option of using gifted young forward Alex Galchenyuk, who missed the opening two rounds of playoffs with a knee injury. Galchenyuk was cleared for contact practices and was on the ice Friday, but coach Michel Therrien said he will need more practice time before he can be used. "Its obviously tough not to play in the playoffs," said Galchenyuk. "You wait the whole year to be in this position, but Ive got to deal with it." ' ' '