MIAMI -- It was arguably the signature moment of Alonzo Mournings career.
Jarvis Landry Womens Jersey . He blocked a shot in the final minutes of Game 6 of the 2006 NBA Finals, then wriggled on the floor in what appeared to be celebration for a few seconds. Turns out, it was anger. Mourning was unimpressed by his chase-down block of Dallas Jason Terry with 8:55 left in the game where the Miami Heat would clinch their first NBA title. Instead, his memorable air-punching, arms-flailing reaction was borne from how Heat teammate Gary Payton had thrown the ball away seconds earlier and then argued with a referee at such a critical moment in the game. His fire was on full display in that moment. And it was that fire that led him to the Basketball Hall of Fame "So I had to sprint back to try to cover his butt for making that mistake, and I was mad," Mourning said. "Then I got up and I was like, Gary, what are you doing, man? Oh, I was mad. Maybe like two people really know why I was acting that way. The thing is, I was cursing Gary out. Thats what happened." After a career where he averaged 17.1 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.8 blocked shots, the 6-foot-10 Mourning will be part of the class enshrined in Springfield, Massachusetts on Friday night, when the surest bet in sports will be that his speech will exceed the 10-minute recommendation he was given for his remarks. "I think I deserve it," Mourning said, laughing. Few would disagree. He was a seven-time All-Star, is one of only eight players to win the defensive player of the year award at least twice, an Olympic gold medallist and has already had his No. 33 jersey retired by the Heat in a star-studded ceremony that went way longer than planned, slightly raising the ire of an Orlando Magic team that wasnt planning on a never-ending halftime that night in 2009. "He had to be the first one to have his jersey retired by this franchise," Heat President Pat Riley said. "He earned that, many times over." But Mournings story is more about the journey than any statistic or award. He was raised by a foster mother who took him and 48 other kids into her home. From there, Mourning became a star at Georgetown, then an NBA icon who couldnt even be derailed by a kidney disease that necessitated a transplant while still in the prime of his career, and finally a champion with the Heat. "You dont think about going to the Hall of Fame. Its your reward," Mourning said. "This was the last thing on my mind. I had an amazing career. The journey was spectacular for me, personally. If no one else saw it that way, then so be it." Mourning, 44, will be presented by John Thompson, his coach at Georgetown, and Riley, his coach with the Heat. Thompson and Riley are two of the people who Mourning credits most for making him what he is. The other is Fannie Threet, the foster mother who died last year at the age of 98 and the person who Mourning speaks with more reverence for than anyone else. Thompson, Riley and the woman he still calls "Miss Threet" might seem like three wildly different people, but Mourning sees parallels in them all -- mainly discipline, devotion and a balance between toughness and compassion. Add them up, you get Mourning, who plans to spend his speech thanking just about everyone he can remember. "Its the pinnacle of the sport," Mourning said. "And outside of the birth of my children and winning a championship, its the pinnacle of it all."
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Austin Seibert Browns Jersey . Watch the action live on TSN and listen on TSN 1050 Radio beginning at 7pm et/4pm pt. The Raptors maintained their spot atop the Atlantic Friday after defeating the Wizards, 96-88, for their second win in a row.SEATTLE -- With one swing, Kyle Seager hopes he ended his personal skid at the plate and the Seattle Mariners slide. "Any time you see the ball hit the ground, its obviously a big confidence booster," Seager said. "It has felt better the last couple of days and today it showed up. Thankfully." Seager hit a three-run homer with one out in the bottom of the ninth, his second of the game, and the Mariners rallied for a 5-3 win over the Houston Astros on Wednesday to stop an eight-game losing streak. With Seattle on the verge of getting swept for the second straight series, Seager hit a two-run homer in the seventh off starter Jarred Cosart. Then he capped the biggest hitting day of his big league career with his drive on the first pitch from closer Josh Fields (0-1) in the ninth. It was the third multihomer game of Seagers career, and the five RBIs were a career high. Seager had not homered since Sept. 3 of last season at Kansas City. "He has a track record and Ive said all along that he is going to hit," Seattle manager Lloyd McClendon said. "Obviously, when youre in a losing streak and the guys you expect to hit dont hit, its a little frustrating but in that case you have one of two options: you can sit him or you can play him. I chose to play him and he didnt disappoint." Seager had been one of Seattles few consistent hitters the past two seasons, establishing himself as a lock in the Mariners lineup. That made his struggles to start this season so surprising. Seager entered Wednesday hitting just .156 with two RBIs. He had more strikeouts (17) than hits (10) at the start of the day. His final three at-bats against the Astros were more like what Seager had shown in the past. He drew a leadoff walk to open the fifth, then homered on a 3-2 pitch from Cosart in the seventh to cut Houstons lead to 3-2. Seattle already had a rally going in the ninth. Robinson p;Cano dropped a single in front of an outfield playing deep to open the inning, and Corey Harts sharp single put two on with no outs.
Denzel Ward Womens Jersey. . Fields rallied to strike out Justin Smoak, but Seager went to the plate aggressively looking for a first-pitch fastball. He got it. And Seattles had a chance to celebrate for the first time in more than a week. "Nobody was really stressing," Seager said. "Weve been all right. We know what we have here. Obviously nobody wants to lose, but we know what we have here and we havent been panicking." Seattles late rally spoiled what was looking to be a sweep for the Astros. Cosart took a shutout into the seventh after failing to make it out of the first inning in his previous start. The Astros got a two-run double from Jason Castro in the third inning and Chris Carters second homer of the series in the seventh to take a 3-0 lead. Still, Houstons batting average for the season dropped to .199 after managing just six hits. Chris Young struggled with his control early and walked five, three of those coming in the third. But he retired 11 of 12 batters before Carters homer and lasted seven innings to help save Seattles taxed bullpen. Young struck out six and threw 113 pitches. Fernando Rodney (1-1) got the victory, pitching the top of the ninth in relief. "The most demoralizing loss in baseball is a late inning loss, when you have the game won," Houston manager Bo Porter said. "Since Ive been here weve had our share of them." NOTES: Seattle RHP Taijuan Walker (shoulder) and LHP James Paxton (back) will begin recovery throwing programs within the next week. McClendon said Paxton has been cleared to start throwing Friday and Walker next Monday. ... Carter has hit seven career homers at Safeco Field. ... Seattle won on a walkoff homer for first time since last June 23 vs. Oakland. ' ' '