men after Marek Suchys straight red in the ninth

OKLAHOMA CITY - For the first time, the Oklahoma City Thunder will be forced to play without Kevin Durant for more than a handful of games.The team announced Sunday that the leagues reigning MVP would be out for an undetermined length of time with a fracture in his right foot, at the base of the small toe. Typically, the injury requires surgery and six to eight weeks of healing.The Thunder havent officially determined whats next, although general manager Sam Presti said surgery would be likely.The Thunder will play without Durant on Tuesday night in a preseason game against Memphis.No ones feeling sorry for us, Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks said. I can honestly say I did not receive any text messages from coaches around the league looking to postpone the season.Opponents have seen more than enough of Durant. Since he entered the league in 2007, he leads the league in points and minutes played. He has missed just 16 regular season games in his seven-year career and has never missed more than eight games in a season.His longest absence was a seven-game stretch during the 2008-09 season because of a sprained right ankle. He missed one game last season, one game the season before, played in all 82 games during the 2009-10 season and all 66 games during the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season.When you look at Kevin, you see all the great offence of abilities and leadership qualities, but you never really think about the toughness, for him to be able to play all those years and play just about every game at a high level, and he continues to get back up, Brooks said.Point guard Russell Westbrook, who has missed significant time the past two years with a knee injury, admires how durable Durant has been over the years.Very, very impressive, Westbrook said. Hes probably one of the hardest working guys Ive seen. He comes in every day and does what hes supposed to do. He doesnt take days off in practice. He tries to compete every day. Its definitely unfortunate, but hes a strong guy mentally and physically, and hell get back to his better form.Brooks said Durant is struggling with the idea of missing games, even though its the preseason.Hes about as good as anybody can possibly be, Brooks said. One of the things I love about Kevin is he loves to play. He loves the game of basketball. Hes very passionate about it. Its not a hobby for him.Durant felt discomfort in the foot on Saturday and told the Thunder staff, leading to the diagnosis. Brooks said the injury could have been much worse if Durant had waited to get help.This is a minor, minor setback in the big scope of things, Brooks said. Hes going to come back in no time, and like I said, our goal is to be a better team when he gets back from where we are today without him.The injury puts more of the focus on Westbrook, an explosive scoring point guard who averaged 26.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 8.1 assists during last years playoffs. This season on media day, Brooks called Westbrook the best point guard in the NBA.Westbrook said his role wont change.Its not about me, its about our team, he said. I cant win games by myself. I cant do anything by myself, so I kind of want to take the attention off of me and put it on more of the team. Everybody keeps asking what Im going to do and how Im going to change. I think its more about our team, and what we can do to get better.Westbrook said while he fought through injuries, he learned a lot from the way Durant stepped his game up. With Westbrook sidelined after Christmas until the All-Star break last season, Durant took control of the MVP race by averaging 35 points, 7.5 rebounds and 6.3 assists while leading the Thunder to a 19-7 record.He did what he needed to do to help us win games, Westbrook said. He continued to have confidence in his teammates.___Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CliffBruntAP Johnny Pesky Red Sox Jersey . The unrestricted free agent agreed to terms with the club on Thursday on a one-year, two-way deal worth $700,000. Steven Wright Jersey . - Pete Rose didnt want it to be about him, not on a day when four new members were elected to baseballs most exclusive club. https://www.cheapredsox.com/1311z-hanley-ramirez-jersey-red-sox.html .com) - American Madison Keys grabbed a first- round victory on Sunday in a rainy start to the Apia International Sydney tournament. Steven Wright Red Sox Jersey . The three Calgary natives will compete after the sport was skipped by the Vancouver Games in 2010 but later included on the program for Sochi, Russia. The fight to include womens ski jumping prior to Vancouver went to the courts only to have the Supreme Court of Canada rule against the athletes appeal in 2009. Rafael Devers Red Sox Jersey .The long-haired pivot, who joined the Alouettes midway through the CFL season and put up a 9-3 record as a starter, will be listed as the top quarterback in training camp next spring.With a full training camp under his belt, the Alouettes will see if he has what it takes to get them back to the Grey Cup game after a four-year absence.Andrea Pirlos sumptuous free kick earned Juventus a place in the Europa League quarterfinals, where the competition favourites were joined in an attractive lineup by Sevilla after its penalty-shootout win over fierce Spanish rival Real Betis on Thursday. Portuguese sides Benfica and Porto also advanced to the last eight while Basel overcame an early red card to win 2-1 at Salzburg and progress from a last-16 second leg that was briefly suspended because of crowd trouble. Lyon, Valencia and AZ Alkmaar will also be in Fridays draw in Nyon, Switzerland, where the team to avoid will be Juventus -- even though the Italian champions made heavy work of their all-Italian last-16 match against Fiorentina. Having drawn 1-1 at home in the first leg, Juve was staring at elimination on the away-goals rule until Fiorentina defender Gonzalo Rodriguez was dismissed in the 69th minute for a second booking. From the resulting free kick at the edge of the area, Pirlo stepped up and whipped a brilliant strike into the top corner to seal a 1-0 win. The classy Italy midfielder shows no sign of decline at the age of 34 -- he scored a similarly sublime free kick for his team in a last-gasp league win over Genoa on Sunday, which kept Juve 14 points clear in Serie A and on course to defend its title. Juventus will be hosting the Europa League final on May 14 and the runaway Italian league leader may yet be playing in the showpiece match in front of its own fans. Sevilla overturned a 2-0 first-leg deficit courtesy of goals by Jose Antonio Reyes and Carlos Bacca, earning a 2-0 win that sent the match to penalties. Sevillas first spot kick by Vitolo was saved but Alfred NDiaye and Nono failed to find the target with Betis last two attempts, putting the two-time winners through 4-3 on penalties. Benfica remained on course for a return to the final after surviving a late fightback by Tottenham to draw 2-2 in their second leg and advance 5-3 on aggregate. Two goals in less than two mminutes by Nacer Chadli put Spurs 2-1 ahead on the night and gave them 11 minutes to score another, which would have forced extra time.dddddddddddd The English team missed a number of chances before conceding a penalty deep into injury time, converted by Lima. There was no repeat of the touchline spat between rival coaches Jorge Jesus and Tim Sherwood form the first leg -- Sherwood opted to sit in the stands and stay out of trouble. Portos 1-0 lead from its first leg against Napoli was wiped out by Goran Pandevs deft finish in the 21st minute. The Italian side dominated but was picked off on counterattacks through goals by Nabil Ghilas in the 69th and Ricardo Quaresma in the 76th. Quaresma, the mercurial playmaker, finished off a flowing move by jinking between two defenders and slamming a shot high into the net for the goal of the evening. Duvan Zapatas consolation goal earned Napoli a 2-2 draw but it exited 3-2 on aggregate, denying coach Rafael Benitez the opportunity to retain the title he won when in interim charge of Chelsea last season. Players were taken off the pitch by the referee for about 10 minutes midway through the first half of Salzburg-Basel after missiles, including fireworks, were thrown onto the field of play by Basel fans. The score was 1-0 to Salzburg at the time after Jonatan Sorianos competition-high eighth goal in the Europa League, while Basel was down to 10 men after Marek Suchys straight red in the ninth minute. However, Marco Streller and Gaston Sauro scored headed goals in the second half for the Swiss team and Salzburg also ended the match with 10 men after Alan received a second yellow card for trying a bicycle kick and hitting Basel defender Philipp Degen in the face. Lyon lost 2-1 at Viktoria Plzen but advanced 5-3 on aggregate, Valencia beat Ludogorets Razgrad 1-0 thanks to Paco Alcacers 59th-minute goal and advanced 4-0 on aggregate. AZ Alkmaar drew 0-0 at Anzhi Makhachkala for a 1-0 aggregate victory. ' ' '