Gästebuch » yet digestible for a mass audience.

BEIJING -- James Harden is quickly getting comfortable running his new coachs offense.Harden had 14 points and 8 assists in 24 minutes, leading the Houston Rockets to a 116-104 win over the New Orleans Pelicans in a preseason game Wednesday.The Rockets beat the Pelicans twice in China behind Hardens passing. He collected 15 assists in Sundays game in Shanghai. In Beijing, Harden greeted the crowd before the game with Nin hao! -- Chinese for hello! -- and looked at ease the rest of the game as the focal point of new coach Mike DAntonis system.Very comfortable, he told reporters afterward. My role really doesnt change. Just got the ball in my hands a little bit more.Houston built a 17-point lead after the first quarter and never relinquished it, though the Pelicans closed to within eight points in the fourth quarter.The Pelicans played most of the game without star Anthony Davis, who suffered what the team called a right ankle sprain in the first quarter. Davis fell to the court holding his ankle after appearing to trip while attempting to drive to the basket against Houstons Nene. After a timeout, he returned to the game briefly before heading to the locker room. Pelicans guard ETwaun Moore also left the game in the first half with a right heel contusion.Ryan Anderson had 11 points and 7 rebounds and Sam Dekker came off the bench to score 14 points for the Rockets. Montrezl Harrell scored 11 points, blocked two shots and made a 3-pointer from the corner in front of the Pelicans bench, after which he turned backward and smiled as he jogged back. Harrell missed his only three-point attempt during his rookie season but shot more threes during Summer League play this year.The Pelicans, meanwhile, missed several shots near the basket and made just 7 of 24 three-pointers.Four players scored in double figures off the bench: Quinn Cook had 20, Langston Galloway had 16 and Dante Cunningham and Cheick Diallo each had 12.Cook added eight assists in 21 minutes.You could see it in practice, Lance Stephenson said of Cook, who went undrafted last year out of Duke. He took what he was doing in practice and turned it into the game.TIP-INSTwo of Chinas basketball luminaries got loud ovations: retired Rockets center Yao Ming, recently inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, and Stephon Marbury, the ex-NBA player who has gone onto stardom in the Chinese Basketball Association. Also sitting courtside were Hall of Famers Gary Payton, whose son Gary II had 1 point in 18 minutes for the Rockets, and Dikembe Mutombo, who was shown on the arena screens shaking his head and performing his signature finger wag.SILVER SPEAKSNBA Commissioner Adam Silver said before the game that he will resume discussions on the collective bargaining agreement soon after he returns from China, with two months left before a crucial deadline. Silver said he planned to hold meetings next week in an ongoing process that will eventually include several team owners, National Basketball Players Association executive director Michele Roberts and Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul, the players association president. Silver described all sides as very engaged and eager to get a deal done.UP NEXTRockets: Host Grizzlies on Saturday.Pelicans: Visit Hawks on Tuesday. Dwight Clark Super Bowl Jersey . Two pressure cooker bombs exploded near the finish line of the April 15 race in an area packed with fans cheering the passing runners. Three people were killed and more than 260 injured, including at least 16 who lost limbs. 49ers Super Bowl Jerseys .Y. -- Leading 3-0 with only 11:25 left, the Colorado Avalanche committed a seemingly meaningless penalty to give the New York Islanders a power play. https://www.49ersrookiestore.com/49ers-Mike-Person-Jersey/ . Halifax beat the Saint John Sea Dogs 7-5 on the strength of two goals apiece from Nikolaj Ehlers, Matt Murphy and Brent Andrews. Jonathan Drouin also scored and had three assists while Zachary Fucale made 17 saves for the Mooseheads (16-8-0), who led 6-1 after two periods. C. J. Beathard Super Bowl Jersey . Mitch Holmberg added a goal and three assists. Connor Chartier also scored for the Chiefs (3-0-0). Luke Harrison spoiled Garrett Hughsons shutout bid with a power-play goal at 13:17 of the third period. The Spokane goaltender finished with 28 saves, including a Brandon Fushimi penalty shot in the second period that would have tied the game 1-1. Nick Mullens Super Bowl Jersey . As he recorded his 23rd and 24th points of the evening, a segment of the sellout Air Canada Centre crowd expressed their appreciation for the Raptors point guard with a smattering of MVP chants. Within the first few minutes of Issa Raes new scripted comedy Insecure,?which premieres Sunday on HBO, shes boldly confronted by assumed societal expectations placed on the modern woman. Which are: You should be married with children, settled in your career and of course, have it all figured out before turning 30 years old.Her character, also named Issa, is 29 and doesnt have it all figured out. She lives in Los Angeles with her loafer boyfriend Lawrence (Jay Ellis), and works at We Got Yall, an education nonprofit that does academic outreach for inner-city youth. And is unfulfilled in general.In the opening scene, the children of We Got Yall instantly recognize her insecurities the moment she steps into the classroom, and force her to face them. One-by-one, they shout out: Why do you talk like a white girl? Whats up with your hair? Why arent you married? And the most biting statement of all: Aint nobody checking for bitter ass black women anymore.Her character quips back black women arent bitter. We are just tired of settling for less -- meaning settling for lesser education, jobs and/or relationships.Rae, a 31-year-old Stanford grad, and the shows co-creator, executive producer and protagonist, refuses to settle. [As black women], we dont get to be completely human with flaws and boring moments [on television]. We dont get to sit in the minutiae of just being black. Its always high stakes and we dont really get to see a real slice of life. Thats something that was important for me to depict, said Rae. I dont have constant drama. My issues ... on a scale, are very minor.But, just because the show is loosely based on Raes day-to-day interactions, doesnt mean they are only relatable to a specific audience. I am completely open and honest about my life and being a black woman [in the series]. But, the show is not the voice of all black women. Its about my very specific experience, but has elements that are relatable for all.?Having cut her teeth as the star and creator of the Awkward Black Girl?web-series (debuted in 2011 and wrapped in 2013), Rae is accustomed to creating authentiic stories that are crafted on her own terms.ddddddddddddHowever, Insecure, a full Hollywood production, is more polished, without being watered down.Co-created with Larry Wilmore of the now defunct Comedy Central news-talk program The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore -- Insecure feels genuine, yet digestible for a mass audience. And Rae thinks the diversity of her writers room has something to do with that. Our writers room looks like this country. We have young people and old people. People from the LGBTQ community. Theres black, white and Latino people. It was important for me to have that diversity on the team. It should be relatable to all people, she noted.?As a coming-of-age tale for metropolitan professional women, Insecure can be lazily compared to Lena Dunhams Girls.?But, according to Rae, the two series have very difference voices. I dont see the comparison. We have a different perspective. I love [Lenas] take, but our show is more grown-up. Lena and I are just both young women with shows on HBO, Rae added.However, as accomplished as Rae is, she still battles her own set of insecurities. And of course, shes afraid of the show being misunderstood, or worse ... failing. I want people to embrace the show. I dont want people to think that its risky to take on a show that focuses on women, or even black women. I have to campaign for others to have opportunities in future, she said.A line from LA-based rapper Kendrick Lamar s 2015 song Alright rings out in the shows introduction. The lyrics: All my life I has to fight ... Hard times like yah ... But if God got us then we gon be alright, which seems fitting. Issa Rae is going to be alright.Shes bringing quality content to a mass audience that just happens to feature black women in lead roles. There no social justice spin, no soap box statements, its just a funny and smart-as-hell show, thats relatable for all.Ericka N. Goodman-Hughey is a senior editor at espnW. Follow her on Twitter @ericka_editor ' ' '