previous meetings with the Wild this season and nine straight

SAN ANTONIO - At 38, Tim Duncan admits a few more days rest might be better for him rather than playing in the All-Star Game.But there is no way he would pass up the chance to razz a former teammate.The San Antonio Spurs forward will make the 15th All-Star appearance of his 18-year career after being selected as a reserve for the Western Conference. The Feb. 15 game is at Madison Square Garden in New York, which was the site of Duncans inaugural All-Star appearance in 1998.Its an honour to be there, Im happy to go, Duncan said. Would I have loved a couple of days off? Maybe, but it is what it is. It will be fun. My kids will love the experience and they will enjoy it.Perhaps not as much as Duncan, though.Duncan is stoic on the floor and in dealing with the media, but he is extremely mischievous behind the scenes. He loves playing practical jokes on teammates and teasing them, comparing his wicked sense of humour to that of Will Hunting in Good Will Hunting.Get ready for that, Steve Kerr. Kerr is coaching the West after leading Golden State to the leagues best record in his first season with the Warriors. Kerr and Duncan were teammates in San Antonio for four seasons, winning NBA championships in 1999 and 2003.Thats the best part, Duncan said, smiling. Im just going to give him all kinds of (ribbing) the entire time, just make his life hell the entire game, in every huddle, in every play. Im going to work him the whole time.If dealing with Duncans shenanigans isnt enough for Kerr, there is also the ominous threat of displeasing his mentor, San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich.Popovich was asked if he requested Kerr limit Duncans minutes.If he plays him at all, Im never speaking to him again, Popovich said with a chuckle.The caution is understandable. The Spurs have struggled to find the consistency they showed last June in steamrolling the Miami Heat in five games to win their fifth NBA title. They have been plagued by injuries to key players including Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Kawhi Leonard. The one player to escape injury thus far is also its oldest.Ive been blessed, Ive been healthy, Duncan said. The last couple of years Ive made it through an entire season healthy. My role has changed over the years. Im just trying to be a positive on the floor thats all I want to be and be consistent at what I have to do for the team as possible.Duncan is averaging 14.7 points and 10.1 rebounds and has 22 double-doubles in 42 games. He is also averaging 30.3 minutes, third most on the team.Hes having a good year, Popovich said. Weve been a little up and down, but hes been really steady. Hes carried us to this point with his consistency, which is whats really impressive. Im really thankful to the coaches for seeing that and putting him on (the All-Star team).After Thursdays games, San Antonio was just 2 1/2 games behind the Portland Trail Blazers for third place in the West. The Spurs have won three straight and eight of 11 and have three straight home games before their annual nearly monthlong rodeo road trip.Its a good stretch, a really good stretch, Duncan said. Kind of needed right now. Weve had kind of grind this first half of the season. I know a lot of the guys are looking forward to it, but were not there yet and were not looking forward to that just yet. Weve got these games to finish out before the break and well do just that. Jessie Bates III Bengals Jersey . Beckham says "nothing has been confirmed yet, but its something I am very excited about." He adds that "Miami is something that really excites me because there is a great energy down there. A.J. Green Bengals Jersey . According to a report from ESPN, Lynch wants a new contract from the Seahawks, and will likely skip all off-season workouts until he can renegotiate his deal with the Seahawks. http://www.bengalsrookiestore.com/Bengals-Anthony-Munoz-Jersey/ . Although head coach Randy Carlyle jokingly wondered how much actual training Bolland got done while in London. "I dont know how much training goes on when you go back to the junior team that you played for so I wouldnt read too much into that," laughed Carlyle after the Maple Leafs were put through an up-tempo practice that concluded with a 10-minute bag skate on Thursday. Anthony Munoz Womens Jersey . Nikolai Khabibulin was yanked in the second period, and the Ottawa Senators looked ready to put away a big road win. Custom Cincinnati Bengals Jerseys .com) - The Miami Heat stopped a four-game losing streak last time out and thats the same length slide their opponents Wednesday night, the Denver Nuggets, will try to halt when the two teams meet at the Pepsi Center.The Los Angeles Kings will try to salvage the finale of a four-game road trip on Thursday night as they visit the Edmonton Oilers. Catch the game on TSN starting at 9pm et/6pm pt. The Kings are 0-2-1 on their final trip of the regular season. They end the campaign at home on Saturday versus the Pacific Division-champion Anaheim Ducks before kicking off a first-round playoff matchup with the second-place San Jose Sharks. Following consecutive 2-1 regulation losses to San Jose and Vancouver, Los Angeles rallied from a three-goal deficit in an eventual 4-3 shootout setback to the Calgary Flames on Wednesday. Anze Kopitar scored the 199th goal of his career, while Jarret Stoll and Dwight King also lit the lamp. Marian Gaborik recorded the 700th point of his career with an assist, while Jonathan Quick made 15 saves. "We hung in there, got some goals and got a point," LA head coach Darryl Sutter said. The Kings have lost four of their last five overall and are likely to start backup Martin Jones tonight. The rookie Jones has faced the Oilers once before this season, a 24-save shutout in a 3-0 decision at home on Dec. 17. The Kings have won five in a row and 11 of their last 14 meetings with the Oilers, including the first three matchups of this season. Los Angeles also has claimed two straight and nine of its previous 11 trips to Edmonton. The Oilers had a two-game winning streak snapped with Tuesdays 4-1 setback to the Colorado Avalanche. David Perron had a goal and Ben Scrivens yielded four tallies on 33 shots. "We couldnt get into the rhythm of the game," said Edmonton head coach Dallas Eakins. "The biggest thing for me was it was almost like we couldnt work because we couldnt make two passes in a row. Our execution was just terrible tonight for whatever reason and it happens." Scrivens fell to 8-11-0 with a 3.06 goals against average and one shutout with the Oilers since being acquired from the Kings on Jan. 15 in exchange for a 2014 third-round pick. That includes a loss to his former club on March 9, when Scrivens yielded four goals on 50 shots. Edmonton will start Viktor Fasth tonight and he has gone 3-2-1 with a 2.68 GAA in six starts since being acquired from Anaheim. Fasth is 1-2-0 lifetime versus the Kings with a 2.95 GAA. The Oilers wrap a season-ending four-game homestand on Saturday versus Vancouver and sit last in the Western Conference with 65 points. St. Louis Blues at Minnesota Wild The St. Louis Blues will try to snap their longest losing streak of the season and keep their chances at the top seed in the Western Conference alive on Thursday night when they visit the playoff-bound Minnesota Wild. Catch the game on TSN2 starting at 8pm et/5pm pt. The Blues have lost three in a row for the first time this season, putting them a point back of the Anaheim Ducks for the most in the conference. St. Louis does have a game in hand over idle Anaheim. However, the Blues current skid also has them just two points aheadd of the Colorado Avalanche for first place in the Central Division with three games to play for both teams.dddddddddddd The Avs are in action on Thursday as well as they visit the Vancouver Canucks. St. Louis offensive funk continued with Tuesdays 4-1 setback to the Washington Capitals. It marked the sixth straight game that the Blues were held to a pair of goals or fewer. "The last few we havent been scoring but weve had guys scoring all year," said Blues forward Alexander Steen, who returned from a three-game absence caused by an upper-body injury and leads the club with 33 goals. While Steen doesnt sound too worried, the Blues will be without another key offensive contributor in David Backes, who suffered a lower-body injury versus the Capitals. He traveled with the club to Minnesota, but wont play tonight and his status for Fridays road contest with the Dallas Stars is unknown. Backes is second on the Blues with 27 goals and third in points with 57. Ryan Miller gave up four goals on 22 shots versus the Capitals and will try to help St. Louis avoid posting its longest losing streak since a five-game slide from Feb. 1-11 of last year. Miller is 4-2-0 with a 2.08 goals against average and one shutout in six previous meetings with the Wild. Minnesota would probably like to avoid a first-round playoff matchup with St. Louis, though that is who the Wild would play if the season ended today. The Wild are locked into the first of two wild card spots after beating the Boston Bruins 4-3 in a shootout on Tuesday. The Wild are 5-0-1 in their last six, with their last regulation setback coming on March 27 with a 5-1 defeat in St. Louis. T.J. Oshie highlighted the Blues victory with his first career hat trick, while Miller stopped 27-of-28 shots faced. The Blues have won all four of their previous meetings with the Wild this season and nine straight overall. The Wild have not won in this series since a home victory on Nov. 19, 2011, dropping four straight as the host since. Minnesota, though, could make a statement tonight with a victory and is coming off a hard-fought win over the NHL-leading Bruins. Defenseman Ryan Suter netted a game-tying goal with 1:05 remaining in regulation, while Mikko Koivu had the lone shootout tally. Koivu matched an NHL record with his 15th game-winning shootout tally and also had a pair of assists on regulation. Jason Pominville tallied twice and Ilya Bryzgalov posted 21 saves. "We played ourselves into the playoffs the way that you want to. It says a lot about the guys in here, and hopefully we can keep this thing going here," Suter said. Bryzgalov, who was coming off back-to-back shutouts, improved to 7-0-3 with a 1.78 goals against average and .923 save percentage since being acquired from the Edmonton Oilers. He is 6-11-2 with a 3.14 GAA and two shutouts lifetime versus the Blues. Miller is 10-5-1 with a 2.27 GAA and .910 save percentage in 16 starts since the Blues acquired him from the Buffalo Sabres. ' ' '