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Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. This week, they discuss the ongoing Redskins name debate, a truly dominant pitching performance, the bargain basement standards of the LPGA and MLBs latest fine import. Bruce Arthur, Toronto Star: My thumb is down to the Washington Redskins name debate, and not just because theres any debate at all over the most clearly racist name in sports. No, its because the debates getting dumber by the second, as it ratchets up. A sitting U.S. Congressman - low bar, I know - compared Barack Obama to Kim Jong-Il, or -Un, after a federal trademark case declared the name derogatory. A Fox News host - low bar, I know - compared the name to the New York Giants offending tall people. This happens often, and its always, always stupid, people. Its like the Yankees, or the Lakers, or the Dallas Cowboys of stupid. Calling Dallas the Cowboys, of course, should only be offensive to competent and/or humble cowboys, one and all. Steve Simmons, Sun Media: My thumb is up to Clayton Kershaw, superstar pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who brought the no-hitter back into vogue with a performance for the ages Wednesday night at Coors Field. And I know what youre thinking: another no-hitter, big deal. Theres been so many of them in recent seasons that weve all grown a little bored of pitchers we didnt know or care about throwing another no-no. But it was different against the Colorado Rockies. This is a big name - Kershaw - striking out 15 batters, walking no one, in total command, only reaching the count of three balls on one batter and had it not been for an error by Hanley Ramirez, were talking perfect game here. Add Vin Scully broadcasting to the occasion and baseball doesnt get any better than that. Michael Farber, Sports Illustrated: My thumb is down not to 11-year-old Lucy Li, who qualified for the U.S. Open, but to womens professional golf, whose thimble-deep talent pool made it possible for an 11-year old to qualify. The sixth-grader, who looked like she should be entered in a hopscotch tournament and not slugging it out on Pinehurst no. 2, shot a pair of credible 78s, a score that matched marquee names Natalie Gulbis and Laura Davies but left her far off the cut. Nice two-day story. But rather than celebrate the presence of a sprite in the event, shouldnt the USGA, and by extension the LPGA, be mortified a novice qualified? The kid is precocious, but she isnt exactly Mozart. Dave Naylor, TSN: And my thumb is up to Masahiro Tanaka of the New York Yankees for proving that sometimes a player really is worth all the hype. You may remember how Tanakas transfer from Japan was the major story of the MLB off-season. You may also remember that when the first Major Leage hitter he faced in Melky Cabrera took him deep … some were wondering if the Yankees had just uncovered the next “Dice-K” Matsuzaka. Well right now Tanaka leads the American League in wins and ERA and is among the leaders in innings-pitched, as well as strikeouts and walks per nine innings. And hes looking like a good bet to win both the Cy Young and Rookie of the Year honours. Coming off a perfect 24-0 record in Japan last season, experts cautioned not to expect the same thing from Tanaka in the major leagues. And they were right. After all, on May 20th against the Cubs he did something he never did all of last season in japan. He took the loss. JuJu Smith-Schuster Steelers Jersey .com) - Manu Ginobili capped off a 26-point night with a go-ahead layup with 24 seconds left in overtime, with the basket giving the San Antonio Spurs a much-needed 95-93 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans. Alejandro Villanueva Jersey .DeMarco Murray got his 20th carry late in the fourth quarter with a 10-point lead, not long after Dez Bryant made his final catch of the day.Sure enough, a 44-17 win over Washington didnt change Dallas post-season position. http://www.steelersrookiestore.com/Steel...n-Swann-Jersey/. "Last year we were in a ton of situations, late-game situations we couldnt pull out. Wed kind of fold under the pressure, get frustrated or let a big shot frustrate us," guard DeMar DeRozan said. Mike Wagner Jersey . Arsenal had already scored its goals in the third round fixture when the fierce rivalry turned ugly in the final ten minutes as Walcott was being carried off on a stretcher. Jack Lambert Steelers Jersey . Kelli Stack and Alex Carpenter also scored for the Americans, who avoided a repeat of Finlands upset at the Four Nations Cup in Lake Placid, N.Y., in November. Finnish goalie Noora Raty made 58 saves in that one, but the three-time Olympian could stop just 40 of 43 U. HOUSTON -- Dwight Howard is happy again. He says he has put his disappointing and drama-filled season in Los Angeles behind him. He seems ecstatic about joining the Houston Rockets and helping the young team compete for a championship -- and maybe, just maybe, he will return to form as the NBAs most dominant big man. "Im in a better place mentally, physically and spiritually now," Howard said. His delight is evident in watching him interact with his new teammates. He wears a broad smile and fits of laughter are common as he chats with his fellow Rockets. Howard spurned the Lakers to sign an $88 million deal with Houston, joining James Harden and a team that made the playoffs last season for the first time since 2009. He wouldnt get into specifics about the problems in his short stint with the Lakers after he was traded there in August 2012 from Orlando as part of a four-team trade. But most agree that he had a strained relationship with Kobe Bryant in a season where he has admitted that he wasnt having fun at times. The Lakers struggled all season and was swept in the first round of the playoffs. The Lakers could have offered him a five-year contract worth $118 million, but he chose to make the move to Houston with a four-year deal. "The situation in L.A., what happened is over with," Howard said. "It didnt work out on both sides. So we have to move on. It happens in everyday life. People decide to do different things with their lives. Its just that when youre NBA and at the top of your game everybody wants to know what youre doing." Howard lights up when asked about his new teammates and talks endlessly about the fun theyve had in bonding both on and off the court. When asked if that aspect of the move was the most important to him after last season, his response was telling -- even if he wouldnt specifically address the Lakers. "For any team to be successful you have to have a great environment," he said. "You dont want to work in a bad place." Whether simply perception or reality, his feud with Bryant had some wondering if he was the problem. There were questions if he might mess up the chemistry of a team that made marked improvement in the first year with James Harden on the roster. The Rockets brushed off that notion, and everyone has raved about Howards personality and work ethic. "Dwights a great guy," coach Kevin McHale said. "Plays hard, likes to have fun, so its just been pretty seamless to add him to the team." Harden, who was the fifth-leading scorer in the league last season, rolled his eyes when asked if hed be able to coexist with Howard when Bryant couldnt. "Its my job to make it work," the 24-year-old Harden saidd.dddddddddddd "Hes going to teach me some things that I dont know and Ill teach him some things he doesnt know. Thats the kind of partnership and friendship were going to have in order to be successful. Thats the only way you can be successful is if you be 100 per cent with each other." Howard struggled last season after back surgery. He now knows that he came back too soon and said he never felt like himself. An entire off-season of rehabilitation and training has him feeling like the player he once was. He wasnt as dominant in 2012 as he has been, but still averaged more than 17 points per game and led the league in rebounding with 12.4 an outing. Though hes left L.A., he knows that the glare of the spotlight probably wont dim much with the expectations surrounding the Rockets. Thats OK with him. After last year, hes more equipped to deal with it. "If you get caught up in the good, bad and the ugly, it messes you up as a person and as a player," he said. "I think some of that happened with me last year. I allowed the bad stuff that happened to really sit in my head, push myself away from people in different situations and thats not who I am. So you have to step away from all the negativity or whatever it might be and just focus on the task at hand." Howard is just 27, but hes one of the older players on a Houston team that was the NBAs youngest a year ago. He enjoys the energy of his younger teammates, but joked that when theyd want to play 10 or 12 pickup games in a row, hed beg them to slow down. "Im like, Guys, Im almost pushing 30. I need a break," he said. "But I love it." Howard stayed away from talking Lakers, but he couldnt stop talking about his other former team, the Magic. He referred to Orlando often when discussing why he likes the Rockets and how theyve made him feel at home. Howard specifically talked about the bond he and his Magic teammates had in 2009. "Theyre full of life and after practice everybody is together talking and I just love that feeling," he said of the Rockets. "It reminds me of the team in Orlando when we went to the Finals -- we were always together. Everything that we did was together. It really makes the team better on the floor when you have that great chemistry off the floor." Now, hes made the Rockets contenders after several lean years for the first time since Yao Ming and Tracy McG