ERST LESEN! » mpton, I can talk to him anywhere I am." Both Br

Mikey Garcia was near the top of boxing 2? years ago. Entering his prime, he was making headway on most pound-for-pound lists, had won a world title in a second weight division, was an HBO headliner, and was on the verge of his first seven-figure purse.Top Rank promoter Bob Arum even talked him up as a possible opponent for Manny Pacquiao. Garcia was going places. And then suddenly he was going nowhere.Since outpointing Juan Carlos Burgos to retain a junior lightweight world title for the second time on Jan. 25, 2014, Garcia has not had a fight. Unhappy with his career-long promoter, Top Rank, Garcia, believing his promotional contract had expired, sued the company. The ensuing legal wrangling has kept him on the sidelines all this time. Finally, the issue was settled out of court a few months ago and Garcia was free to resume his career.Top Rank, of course, promoted many big fights while Garcia sat out. Garcia, on the other hand, was a man without a fight -- other than the one between his lawyers and Top Ranks.But even though there was no end in sight on the contract beef, Garcia, a former featherweight titleholder who relinquished his junior lightweight title because he was idle and unable to make a mandatory defense, trained regularly at the Oxnard, California, gym of his brother and trainer Robert Garcia.As much as he trained, however, he was spinning his wheels, with his career direction entirely uncertain. But at least he stayed in shape.Even though its been 2? years, I stayed in the gym almost the entire time, Mikey Garcia said. I probably took maybe two to three weeks off throughout the entire two-year period. I was always active, always in the gym, and I was doing a lot of sparring, actually.Robert Garcias gym is filled with talented young fighters, and Mikey Garcia figures he sparred with almost all of them during his sabbatical.I helped out a lot of the guys in my brothers gym, starting with Marcos Maidana when he fought [Floyd] Mayweather, Garcia said. I was his primary sparring partner, and we worked a lot of rounds with him. And then the fights [of] my other gym members, like Saul Rodriguez -- I was helping him, I was helping Max Perez, and the new guys that my brother has. Theyre fighting frequently, very, very frequently.So I kept helping them in the gym and that allows me to stay in shape because, even though its been 2? years, really, honestly, it seems like it was six, nine months for me because I stayed in the gym. I stayed active. I stayed in shape. And I never really took too much time out of the gym.All that training should finally come in handy as Garcia prepares for his return. He will take on former featherweight titlist Elio Rojas, himself saddled by a 23-month layoff, in a 10-round junior welterweight fight on Saturday night (Showtime, 9 p.m. ET with preliminary bouts on Showtime Extreme beginning at 7 p.m. ET/PT) at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.I expect to pick up right where I left off, Garcia said. I was a world champion, I was undefeated, and I still am. I didnt leave because I was injured. I think Ill come back even better. Im hungrier now than I was before.Said Robert Garcia: Its been a while. We might see a little bit of rust, a little bit of adjustment to timing. But the way hes been in the gym, against top-quality fighters, hes been looking so good that I wouldnt be surprised if he put on one of his best performances.Garcia-Rojas is the co-feature of the three fights being televised on Showtime, a card headlined by featherweight titlist Leo Santa Cruz (32-0-1, 18 KOs) defending his belt for the second time when he faces former unified junior featherweight titleholder Carl Frampton (22-0, 14 KOs). The telecast will open with a junior middleweight-title-elimination bout between Ricky Hatton-trained Sergey Rabchenko (27-1, 20 KOs) and Tony Harrison (23-1, 19 KOs).Rojas (24-2, 14 KOs), 33, of the Dominican Republic, who held a featherweight title from 2009 to 2010, has not fought since a lightweight bout in August 2014. But that was his only fight in the past four-plus years. His inactivity was caused by a grand slam of problems: a contract dispute with former promoter Don King, management contract issues, injuries and a visa problem.Rojas, too, is happy to be back.Were both coming off of long layoffs, Rojas said. I see the fight pretty even. Garcia might have some advantages of being the bigger guy, but Im not worried about that. I feel like I can beat Mikey Garcia. I have some things that I think will give Mikey Garcia a lot of trouble. I have the tools.We know that Mikey is the favorite. Everyone thought LeBron James was going to lose in the [NBA] Finals when he was down 3-1, but this is a sport and anything can happen.Robert Garcia said he and his brother are not taking Rojas for granted.Elio is a fighter that has been off for a while and hes a former world champion. Hes also trying to come back and make a statement, he said. We have to be prepared for the opponent to be at the top of his game.Mikey Garcia said that other than the deal to fight Rojas, he remains a free agent with no ties to any network or promoter, although Showtime Sports general manager Stephen Espinoza has made no secret of his hopes that Garcia will remain on his network.It is a very positive thing in the sport for someone of Mikeys caliber to be returning, Espinoza said. Were excited to see what he has planned for a new division. And as is typical for Mikeys career, he never takes the easy way out.Garcia (34-0, 28 KOs), 28, of Riverside, California, said he is also talking to adviser Al Haymon, who helped put together the fight. Business entanglements aside, Garcia said he is simply looking forward to getting back into the ring.I dont feel any pressure at all. To me, its just another day at the office, he said. I have faith in my abilities and confidence in what I can do as a boxer. Im excited to be back. Im going to go in there and take care of business like I always do. I want to give the fans something to talk about.Im more motivated than I ever have been before. Its been a long time of working hard in the gym every day. Im very happy to be back and I want to accomplish a lot more. I think youre going to see a better Mikey on Saturday. My will to win is higher than its ever been.Garcia is fighting at junior welterweight but has not ruled out the possibility of moving down to lightweight. Whichever division he fights in, his goal is to win a world title in a third weight class.I want to fight at 135 and fight for a title there, he said. Im going to see how my body feels after this fight, but thats the plan as of now. Were not looking past Elio. I definitely want to get back in the ring soon if everything goes right.And he certainly has no plans for another 2?-year layoff, which he said he has put behind him.I have no regrets, Garcia said. Ive got to enjoy myself more than I had in the last 10 years. When youre in boxing, its a year-round sport. You dont have time to yourself, for your family or friends. You miss out on a lot. I learned a lot in my time away, about boxing and more.Atletico De Madrid Tienda .ca! Hi Kerry, Heres an interesting one. I know its common knowledge that all players are responsible for their sticks. We witnessed that when Zack Kassian hit Edmontons Sam Gagner in the face after a missed check. Camiseta Atletico De Madrid Niño .C. Lions has come to an end. Banks told TSN on Jan 2 that he had no interest in playing out the option year of his contract with the Lions in 2014, and he again made that clear in a conversation with Lions GM Wally Buono last week. http://www.atleticomadridtiendaonline.es/camiseta-antoine-griezmann-atletico-de-madrid.html . Louis Blues teammates who would also be participating in the Olympics, Alex Pietrangelo felt right at home, no different in some ways to the travel experience of any old road trip – save for the length of the journey, that is. Camiseta Griezmann Atletico 2018 . Coach Tom Thibodeau says the former MVP will probably start travelling with the team in the next few weeks. Rose tore the meniscus in his right knee at Portland in November and was ruled out for the remainder of the season by the Bulls. Thomas Partey Camiseta . The 18th player to shoot 60 on the tour, Jamieson settled for par on the final hole when his 15-foot birdie chip grazed the edge of the hole and stayed out. After opening with rounds of 66 and 73 to make the cut by a stroke, he had 11 birdies in the bogey-free round.INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- Anthony Bennetts path to the NBA began on a couple of basketball courts in north Torontos hardscrabble neighbourhood of Jane and Finch, and was paved by a mom who takes hard work to an entirely different level. The 20-year-old Bennett made history on Thursday when he became the first Canadian selected No. 1 overall in the NBA draft. And when he was introduced by the Cavaliers in Cleveland on Friday, Bennett and his mom talked about a journey that may have seemed improbable. But to them, nothings impossible. "Anyone who sets a goal for themselves and wants to achieve it, you work hard, you can accomplish anything," Edith Bennett said. "So thats what he did." Basketball for Bennett began as a way to keep busy in Jane and Finch, a neighbourhood that has a notorious reputation for its poverty, guns and drugs. "Jane and Finch is what they say is a ghetto but its not," Edith Bennett said. "It depends on the individual. You could grow up in the worst part of the community, that wont stop you. It depends on the person." The single mom moved the family to Brampton when Bennett was 10 to give them a "better life" and get him away from certain friends All the while, Edith Bennett was working two full time nursing jobs, beginning her days at 7 a.m. at a Toronto rehab hospital, and finishing at 11 at night at a psychiatric facility. Her work ethic obviously rubbed off on her son. "Hes a hard worker," Edith said. "Its in the family because I am a hard worker and he saw me work hard and then he said he wanted to do the same, so it motivated him to never stop working, push to the extreme and achieve what he wants." There were no basketball courts where they moved to in Brampton, a newer community of just houses and dirt lots. So it wasnt until six or seven years ago, when his mom signed him up for a club, that he began taking the sport seriously. "I just started growing," Bennett said, through a wide grin. "And everyone said, You should probably play basketball. So I said, All right. Ill give it a shot. Look where it got me now." Look indeed. The six-foot-seven power forward from UNLV topped fellow Brampton native Tristan Thompson -- they grew up less than five minutes from each other -- for top Canadian. Thompson went fourth overall two years ago, also to Cleveland. "Canada basketball is really on the rise right now," Cavs general manager Chris Grant said. "I have a feeling there will be another Canadian picked rather high next year too (Andrew Wiggins). "So theyve done a nice job, kids have grown and become talented, and were excited to be part of tthat.ddddddddddddTristan has grown amazingly the last two years and we expect Anthony to do the same thing." Bennetts accomplishment comes in the midst of heady days for Canadian basketball, with Wiggins being touted as the top pick next year -- and more where Wiggins came from. "Its huge," Bennetts agent Mike George said on Thursday nights historical event. "It just shows how far weve come. Weve come from a hockey country, and having this growth within basketball, and you can see by the different guys who are successful in college, and obviously by the pros who are in the NBA now, and this is kind of the pinnacle part where youve got a No. 1 draft pick, first time in Canadian history. "And that could be repeated next year, which is incredible." Bennett, who was the Mountain West Conference player of the year and averaged 16.1 points and 8.1 rebounds for the Runnin Rebels, said his strengths are his versatility, his rebounding and his unselfishness. Hes a decent dunker too. The Canadian laughed when asked about a list he used to keep of players hed dunked on. "I just though it was pretty fun to do," Bennett said. "It was between me and my friends growing up in Canada. It went up every game, every game, it kept going. I think I gave it to a year and a half, until I got to like 100. Then I stopped." Hes looking forward to playing alongside Thompson -- although theres a chance he could wind up being the other Canadians backup. "I feel like me and Tristan will become best friends," Bennett said. "Hes going to be my go-to guy just because hes from Canada. Im sure there are lot more guys on that team I can go to, but just because even if Im here in Cleveland or back home in Brampton, I can talk to him anywhere I am." Both Brampton players attended Findlay Prep in Las Vegas, Bennetts mom sending him to the elite basketball school when he was just 16. "To let your son leave, it was very hard, very difficult," Edith Bennett said. Shes happy shell finally be able to make most of his games. "Just a four-hour drive," she said, smiling. Edith Bennett still works two nursing jobs, but only one of them is fulltime now. "Im not going to stop," she said. "I like working, taking care of patients and to see the expression on their face when you do something nice for them." For Anthony Bennett, the next few months will be continuing his gruelling rehab from his shoulder surgery in May. Bennett will miss summer league, but is expected to be back in time for training camp. As for his mom, she still works two nursing jobs, one full-time and the other part-time. ' ' '