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FIVE QUICK HOOPS THOUGHTS 1. LEBRON JAMES (Heat): Totally agree with his stance to take a little family vacation and get away from the noise and reflect on what his next step should be in his career. Also allows Heat president Pat Riley to assess his roster and the prospects for improving his club. Im sure the two will have another in-depth conversation when he returns to set the stage for the next Decision. As we all know, too often were so busy that we dont take enough time to truly size up where were at in our lives and careers and get swept up in the busy nature of our daily existence. James has lots to think about. Five Finals appearances with the Cavs and Heat and two NBA titles. Not a bad run so far. The next step will be a huge one to say the least. 2. SAM MITCHELL (TWolves): Hired as an assistant coach by his longtime coach when he played there, Flip Saunders. Great move by Saunders. Love this hire for their team. Sam will have his back and do a terrific job for him. Sidney Lowe is another top notch hire for Saunders. Flip is a terrific coach, yet isnt the most domineering personality and needs strong assistants to "put out fires" on occasion. Mitchell and Lowe are excellent and both have head coaching experience, which really helps. Obviously, mixed emotions on my part - had a lot of fun working with Sam the past few years at TSN and in the years he was the Raptors head coach. Will miss him yet Im thrilled for him - hes an outstanding coach and leader and Im happy for his sake that hes back where he wants to be - on the sidelines. 3. KAWHI LEONARD (Spurs): MVP of the NBA Finals getting lots of attention in the past few days and deservedly so. Hes got an outstanding future ahead of him and by all accounts is a big time worker who is very coachable. Those are wonderful traits to have. No surprise coming from a Spur. They do a really nice job sizing up guys and their character. Hes in the right environment to grow considerably as a player in the years to come. Moments like these usually cause a player to take that next step and give them a true sense of what they can accomplish. Sometimes as a coach, you see it in them and they dont. I think he realizes now what he can/cant do and will develop further. Id sure love to have his future. 4. LIONEL HOLLINS: Only the Cavs and Lakers still have head coaching openings and well see if hes lucky enough to get one of them. If not, there are rumours that folks would like him to serve as an assistant coach. Im sure this is a tough time for him after doing such a great job in Memphis to still not be able to land a head coaching job. Very humbling business for such a proud man to deal with this. Hell get through it. I have no doubt that somewhere down the road a very smart GM will give him another chance that he both deserves and will thrive in. 5. NBA DRAFT and FREE AGENCY: I laugh so much this time of year with all of the lies and misinformation that both agents and teams put out there to steer folks in the wrong direction. Id love for someone to track what ends up being fact and fiction in the next 15-17 days. I assure you most of what we hear and read ends up being planted nonsense and other times its some media members thoughts and opinions that end up taking on a life of its own and becoming fact until it ends up being pure speculation. Fun time of year. Custom Carolina Hurricanes Jerseys . -- Andy Granatelli, the former CEO of STP motor oil company who made a mark on motorsports as a car owner, innovator and entrepreneur, has died. Carolina Hurricanes Jerseys . The England international had both goals in TFCs season-opening 2-1 win over the Seattle Sounders on Saturday. http://www.hurricanessale.com/authentic-justin-faulk-hurricanes-jersey/ . The St. Louis Cardinals were scheduled to arrive in Boston in time for a workout on Tuesday afternoon. Much of Mondays discussion focused on Bostons lineup considerations as the series progresses, specifically when the venue shifts to St. Rod Brind Amour Jersey . Each day, TSN.ca provides the latest rumours, reports and speculation from around the NHL beat. Defensive Depth TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun is reporting the Toronto Maple Leafs have considerable interest in unrestricted free-agent defenceman Dan Boyle.NEWARK, N.J. -- With the New Jersey Devils fighting for a playoff spot, Jon Merrill picked the perfect time to score his first NHL goal. The rookie defenceman connected 2:34 into overtime, and the Devils snapped a two-game skid with a 2-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Friday night. "You always dream of this kind of stuff when youre a little kid," the 22-year-old Merrill said. "After 20 games went by and I hadnt scored, I think those dreams went away a little bit. I knew it would come when it came. Tonight was a good opportunity." The goal came in Merrills 31st NHL game and was set up by Adam Henrique winning a battle in the corner and Michael Ryder getting the puck and finding Merrill all alone above the left circle for an uncontested shot against Ilya Bryzgalov. "I saw that four guys kind of collapsed on Ryds," Merrill said. "I was calling for it and he made a great play. I was walking in all alone and fortunately it went in." The win was the second in six games for New Jersey (2-2-2), and it ended a slide that saw the Devils lose the last two games in overtime after giving up the lead late in the third period. "It was awesome for him to get his first goal in overtime," said Henrique, who might have gotten away with a holding-the-stick penalty just before the goal. "Its such an important win for the team. Thats one hes going to remember for the rest of his career." Cory Schneider made 19 saves and Andrei Loktionov scored in regulation for the Devils, who play Saturday night at Washington in their final game before the Olympic break. Taylor Hall had the goal for the Oilers, who lost for only the second time in seven games (5-1-1). Ilya Bryzgalov made 22 saves for Edmonton, which wont play again until Feb. 27. "We found different ways to get points in this stretch," defenceman Justin Schultz said. "We got some solid goaltending. Weve improved our game against these teams that are battling for playoff spots." The Devils hit three poosts in the game, with Ryder clanging a shot off the crossbar with 9:20 to play.dddddddddddd Both teams went for the win in the final minutes of regulation. Henrique had two chances in close with just more than 4 minutes to go, and defenceman Andrew Ference and Matt Hendricks had chances for Edmonton a minute later. Schneider stopped a chance in close by Jordan Eberle early in overtime. With the Devils struggling to score, coach Pete DeBoer shook up his lines for the game and that led to the teams first goal. Loktionov, who was put at centre on Jaromir Jagrs line, opened the scoring at 11:01 with his first goal since Dec. 4. Jagr and defenceman Bryce Salvador set up the goal. Jagr carried the puck into the Oilers zone and found Salvador on the other side of the ice. He skated toward Bryzgalov and sent a cross-ice pass to a wide-open Loktionov for a shot into an open net. Jagrs assist was the 1,039th of his career, putting him one behind Marcel Dionne for ninth in NHL history. The public address announcer had not finished giving out the assists when Edmonton tied the game 29 seconds later. Hall skated the puck into the Devils end and worked a perfect give-and-go with Nail Yakupov for his 20th goal of the season. Schneider never had a chance to stop the shot into an open net. New Jersey had plenty of opportunities to take the lead in the second period. Devils defenceman Marek Zidlicky hit the post on a power-play shot and Ryane Clowe hit a post on a breakaway after an Oilers turnover. Mark Faynes shot from the point was past Bryzgalov and heading into the net when Ference swept it away from the crease. NOTES: Schultz played in his 100th NHL game. ... Martin Brodeur has been the Devils backup goalie the past five games. He has not played since giving up six goals in two periods during the outdoor game against the New York Rangers at Yankee Stadium. ... Devils D Anton Volchenkov missed his second straight game with a lower-body injury. ... Russian Olympian Anton Belov did not play on the road trip. ' ' '