OffTopic / Fun » after recording back-to-back wins last week

The Miami Heat will hang a third NBA championship banner, and second in a row, when they kick off their title defense tonight against the Chicago Bulls. Commissioner David Stern will be on hand to dole out some fancy jewelry. The Heat players will receive the championship rings pre-game as Miami will begin its quest for a third consecutive title. Listen to the game live on TSN Radio 1050 starting at 8pm et. "Its an exciting time for us, for our fans, for our franchise," two-time reigning MVP LeBron James said after practice on Monday. "But, we cant prepare for it." And what about the fact that the Heat get their rings and banner ceremony, on opening night, at AmericanAirlines Arena, and against the Bulls, a team several pundits picked to usurp the Heat in the Eastern Conference? "It didnt matter who it was," said James, ever the diplomat. "But, we like the fact that it is the Bulls. It makes us stay on our toes. Its exciting. Its great for the league." Its definitely great for the NBA, pitting arguably the two best teams against each other on opening night. Its also great that James will battle Derrick Rose, the former MVP, who missed all of last season when he tore his ACL in the playoffs in 2012. Rose took his fair share of criticism for sitting the entire season, despite the Bulls announcing he was medically cleared to play. Rose didnt feel ready, but he does now and has had this day circled on his calendar. "Its just going to be an emotional day," Rose said back in September about this night. "Just playing again and being around my teammates and being in the atmosphere of an arena, playing in front of people...I havent had that in a long time." Roses return should propel a Bulls team that lost to the Heat in the Eastern Conference semifinals last season. Chicago knocked off the Brooklyn Nets in Game 7 at the Barclays Center last season, but Miami then dispatched the Bulls in five games. That was all without Rose. The two seasons prior to last, the Bulls were the No. 1 seed in the East. Rose won the MVP in 2011 and Tom Thibodeau was named Coach of the Year. Yet, the Bulls never made it past the Heat. This season, the Bulls still boast an incredible defense (third last season in points allowed), a great starting unit with former All-Stars Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer and Luol Deng alongside Rose and Jimmy Butler, who emerged in the postseason. But, all roads to championship banners run through Miami. James is the best player by miles and is the odds-on favorite for a fifth MVP. At 28, James is still in the prime of his career, although this season might be taxing at times. He can opt out of his contract with the Heat and become a free agent, but James doesnt want to discuss that during the season. (Good luck.) Dwyane Wade had an awesome regular season last season and an awful playoff run. Same goes for Chris Bosh. Both can also vacate their contracts, but both should be much improved from their disastrous postseason performances. The biggest additions in Miami this offseason came in the form of Greg Oden and Michael Beasley. They went first and second in the 2007 and 2008 NBA drafts, respectively. Odens career seemingly ended due to bad knees and Beasleys looked to be over thanks to poor decisions, but the Heat are giving them a chance. The two teams have been evenly matched the last seasons, going 4-4 against each other. Chicago did win in Miami on Jan. 4 and the two sides wont meet again until Dec. 5 in the Windy City. Cheap Seattle Mariners Jerseys .A. Happ is coming off his first start of the year, a win at Philadelphia Monday. The former Phillie allowed three hits in five scoreless frames of a 3-0 triumph. Felix Hernandez Jersey .Y. -- Dwane Casey admitted hed been concerned about his young Raptors team who had zero experience playing in close-out games -- what awaited them with the vastly-experienced Brooklyn Nets, and how theyd react. http://www.cheapmarinersjerseys.com/?tag...n-segura-jersey. -- Henry Josey watched helplessly from the sideline last fall, rehabbing from a serious knee injury, while Missouri was getting pushed around in its first SEC season. Edwin Diaz Jersey . Lack replaced an injured Roberto Luongo late in the first period then watched defenceman Chris Tanev score the winning goal midway through the third as the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Jets 2-1 in a tight NHL game. Robinson Cano Jersey . With Washington teammate Nene drawing double-teams coming off his big game against the Lakers, Gortat scored 25 points on 11-of-12 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Wizards to a 100-92 win in overtime over Milwaukee on Wednesday night.Winning last Fridays showdown between the top two teams vaulted the San Jose Sharks past the St. Louis Blues and back into top spot of the TSN.ca NHL Power Rankings. The Sharks had been ranked No. 1 for the first three weeks. The Detroit Red Wings jumped, from 18 to 12, taking advantage of a soft spot in their schedule to win four straight, even with star centre Pavel Datsyuk injured. 6-3-1 in their last 10 games, the Winnipeg Jets climbed from 19 to 15 and the Tampa Bay Lightning are up, from 20 to 16, after recording back-to-back wins last week. Heading the other way, the Dallas Stars have one win in their last five games and lost centre Tyler Seguin and defenceman Stephane Robidas to injury, so they dropped from 14 to 19. The Toronto Maple Leafs have hit a rough patch, recording fouur wins in 13 November games -- a month that was supposed to be relatively easy for them -- and dropped from 12 to a season-low 20th in the rankings.dddddddddddd Among other Canadian clubs, the Montreal Canadiens have moved into the Top 10, on the heels of a 7-1-2 record in their last 10 games, up from 11 to nine. The Vancouver Canucks hold steady at 13 and Ottawa Senators drop three spots from 21 to 24. The Battle of Alberta is being waged in close quarters in the lower tier of the rankings, with the Edmonton Oilers dropping one spot, from 25 to 26, yet staying one ahead of the Calgary Flames, who fell from 26 to 27. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '