Clan-Members » elp Brazil win the soccer gold meda

DENVER -- The thinking is big around the Denver Nuggets this season. As in, pairing towers Jusuf Nurkic and Nikola Jokic on the court more often.Thats a counter move in a copycat league where teams are trying to be fast and free-shooting like the Golden State Warriors. The way Nuggets coach Michael Malone sees things, the Nuggets have two talented big men -- dubbed the Balkan Bigs -- so why not utilize their particular niche.Anything to get back to the postseason for the first time since 2012-13. By Malones estimation, the Nuggets (33-49) need to find a way to capture 12 more games in order to end their playoff drought and woo back disenchanted fans.Thats what I love about our roster -- we have versatility, Malone said. We can play a lot of different ways.It will help to have a healthy Wilson Chandler (hip surgery) on the floor. Same with Danilo Gallinari (ankle). Point guard Emmanuel Mudiay has an improved jumper and a year of experience under his belt, along with another offensive weapon in Jamal Murray, the seventh overall pick in the June draft.The talent is different, but the talent is there, Golden State coach Steve Kerr said. This is a good young team and theyre going to cause problems for people.Especially up front with the 7-foot Nurkic of Bosnia and the 6-10 Jokic of Serbia. Nurkics a bruiser inside and capable of putting up some big numbers, as he demonstrated down the stretch a year ago. Jokic is riding a wave of confidence after helping Serbia to a silver medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics over the summer.The real dilemma for Malone will be finding minutes for everyone. He can easily go 10 deep, including a smaller lineup that features Will Barton, Gary Harris (once he recovers from a right groin strain) and Murray.Were not here to finish six-to-eight (in the Western Conference), general manager Tim Connelly said. Thats not the goal. We know it wont be easy sledding. The wins and losses will take care of themselves if we keep doing the right things every day.Things to know about the Nuggets as they prepare to honor Dikembe Mutombo during the home opener by retiring his No. 55 jersey:MANIMALS ROLE: There are rumors flying around that Kenneth Faried is on the trading block after a season in which he averaged 12.5.points and 8.7 rebounds. For now, he may come off the bench with Nurkic and Jokic getting more playing time.He hasnt gotten caught up in, `Whos starting? Am I not starting? Why am I not starting? Malone said. Hes, `Let me go out there and do the best job I can do to help this team win games.HIP CHECK: The pain from Chandlers surgically repaired hip was nothing compared to watching night in and out from the sideline. Chandler thinks it made him a better basketball player because, I got to see the game from the coachs perspective. It made me a stronger person.MIKE AND HIS MECHANICS: For veteran leadership, the team brought back Mike Miller. The 36-year-old guard/forward knows that playing time will be sparse for him. His true role will be as a leader at practice and on the bench.Listen, theres no beating around the bush -- Im old, Miller cracked. You can say it. ... The guys in the locker room, the best way you can lead and be a part of it is by doing it with action, by not missing practice and getting through it when its tough. I can definitely help.SILVER LINING: Jokic has been teased about his Olympic silver medal. He played well before his squad lost to the Americans in the final. He averaged 9.1 points and six rebounds for the Serbians.Theyre saying Im changed now -- I need a red carpet, Jokic joked. Crazy.NO ALPHAS NEEDED: Darrell Arthur doesnt believe a team needs an Alpha leader to make a run at a title. He cites the Boston Celtics as a perfect illustration.They really dont have that Alpha player, said Arthur, whos working his way back from left knee surgery. As far as their team, they all play for each other. It doesnt matter who is scoring. Its going out there and competing and playing hard. If we come out with that mindset, we can do the same thing.Darius Leonard Jersey . Now that hes hitting streaking teammates with pin-point passes for easy layups, Love is asserting himself as one of the true superstars in the league. Darius Leonard Womens Jersey . Brazilian national coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has confirmed that the veteran goalkeeper is set to join Toronto on loan, saying it will help him be ready for the World Cup. http://www.officialindianapoliscoltspro.com/Kenny-moore-colts-jersey/ . -- Derrick Rose shook off poor shooting early to hit clutch shots late and Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 104-95 preseason victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night. Peyton Manning Jersey . On Tuesday, Ottawa placed forward Cory Conacher and defenceman Joe Corvo on waivers as trade rumours swirl around the Senators. Kenny Moore Womens Jersey . -- Stanford squashed Oregons national championship hopes again, schooling the Ducks in power football.RIO DE JANEIRO -- Singapore swimmer Joseph Schooling left Rio de Janeiro known as the man who defeated Michael Phelps. And as a millionaire.In addition to winning the gold medal after beating Phelps with an Olympic record in the 100 meter butterfly, the 21-year-old Schooling also took home a reward of 1 million Singaporean dollars (about US $750,000) from his national Olympic committee.Singapore was among the many countries offering hefty cash prizes to their medalists at the Rio Games, a practice that has become more common as nations continue to give greater importance to the final medal count.Few pay nearly as much as Singapore, but almost every country has been awarding at least some sort of prize money to medal winners in an attempt to improve their position in the medal table. The bonuses usually come through the national committees, sponsors or national governments. Some also give out non-cash prizes such as cars and apartments.Twenty percent of Schoolings prize will go to the local swimming association for future training and development, Singapores national committee said. Schoolings gold was the first ever for Singapore at the Olympics.Phelps returned home with more gold than Schooling, but less money. The American great earned $25,000 for each of his five gold medals and $15,000 for the silver, earning $140,000 from the U.S. Olympic Committee.By the end of Friday, the USOC had spent about $1.8 million in prizes after 105 medals were won by its athletes.Britain, second in the medal standings, did not award any prize money to its medalists.Italy was ninth in the medal count by Friday, but with the equivalent of nearly $170,000 awarded to each gold medalist in Rio, it had already spent about $2.6 million in prizes with 25 medal winners. The amount paid for each medal was the same even for athletes in team sports.Other top payers at the Olympics included Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Malaysia, each disbursing about $250,000 for gold medalists. Kazakhsstan also gave out prizes to athletes finishing up to sixth place, while Malaysia awards a lifelong monthly pension that can reach about $1,200.ddddddddddddOf course the money helps, said Patimat Abakarova, who won a bronze for Azerbaijan in Taekwondo and took home more than $60,000. But any athlete will tell you that this is not why we are here. We dont think about the money, thats not why we compete in the Olympics.Azerbaijan also gives its coaches half of the amount awarded to the medalists.Russias federal government is giving out about $60,000 for gold, and this time there is no word on whether it will also award luxury cars to all of its medalists, as it did at the Sochi Winter Games.Host Brazil is paying roughly $11,000 for its medalists, regardless of the color of the medal. The winners in team sports earn half of that amount. The Brazilian soccer federation reportedly is also expected to hand out $100,000 to Neymar and all of his teammates if they help Brazil win the soccer gold medal for the first time, although it doesnt officially confirm or deny the bonus amount.Sweden is among the few countries that dont reward athletes with money if their athletes win. The Swedish national committee said there was no medal bonus because we spend all our commercial money on preparation for the athletes, which means that we usually support them for six to eight years to reach world class.Some countries apparently didnt give any support at all.The national committee of the South Pacific islands of Vanuatu, which competed with four athletes, said the local government did not give even a cent to help our team participate in Rio 2016.---AP Sports Writers Gerald Imray and James Ellingworth contributed to this report.---Tales Azzoni on Twitter: http://twitter.com/tazzoni. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/tales-azzoni ' ' '