Kritik und Lob » Hornacek said F Lance Thomas, who has no

Following a battle that lasted nearly two decades, mixed martial arts has been legalised in the state of New York. It is a major boost for the UFC, which has been leading the fight to be able to hold events in New York, and has already committed to heading there at least four times each year.The New York State Assembly voted 113-25 in favour of approving the return of MMA, which was banned in 1997 by then-governor George Pataki. Back then, MMA was still largely unregulated, and it was not until more rules and safety considerations were brought into effect that many of the 50 states that permit the sport gave it the green light.Nevada, the state in which the UFC holds the majority of their major events, did not authorise it until 2001. Irish star Conor McGregor could soon be fighting in New York This has been a long time coming, and on behalf of our New York UFC, I want to offer heartfelt thanks to those who voted for this bill, said Lorenzo Fertitta, UFCs chairman.Through letters and phone calls, rallies and social media, New Yorks MMA and UFC fans have lent their voices of support. It took a while, but their voices have been heard.We look forward to hosting our first New York event in the worlds most famous arena, Madison Square Garden, home to so many epic sporting events throughout the decades. McGregor & Rousey: What now? What is next for the UFC superstars? The UFC had attempted to push the issue late last year, when they announced the scheduling of UFC 197 for Madison Square Garden, despite the MMA ban still being in place.They had also filed for a preliminary court injunction to allow it to take place, although this was ultimately unsuccessful. UFC could now make its debut at Madison Square Garden The event, which takes place on April 23, was subsequently booked for the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.A number of local fighters will likely feature when the first New York card is held, and one of those could be Chris Weidman.Weidman, a former UFC middleweight champion from Long Island, says that the news is a dream come true. Chris Weidman is excited about the prospect of fighting in his home state Ive been fighting now for seven years, and missing out on opportunities to fight in front of my family, friends and the fans here in New York, he said.Every year you hope and it kept falling through. So for it to finally happen, its a dream come true for me, and its a dream come true for all these New York fans.All that remains is for governor Andrew Cuomo to sign the bill into effect. Cuomo had already included MMA in his proposed state budget for 2016-17, meaning it would be a surprise should he not do so. Also See: McGregor & Rousey: What now? McGregor-Diaz talking points UFC 196 recap Cheap Asics Shoes Canada Fast Shipping . -- Five former Kansas City Chiefs players who were on the team between 1987 and 1993 filed a lawsuit Tuesday claiming the team hid and even lied about the risks of head injuries during that time period when there was no collective bargaining agreement in place in the NFL. Asics Shoes Canada Sale . Siddikur, whose previous win on the circuit came in Brunei three years ago, finished his bogey-free round with a birdie on the 18th for a total of 17-under 199. Indias Shiv Chowrasia, who has finished runner-up in this tournament twice, was in second place after a 66. http://www.asicsoutletcanada.com/ . Vettel was 0.168 seconds faster than Red Bull teammate Mark Webber around the Suzuka circuit. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was two tenths of a second off Vettel. "The car balance is decent, but I think we can still improve," Vettel said. Discount Asics Shoes Canada .C. at the helm of the top team in the Eastern Conference. His tenure as the GM in Vancouver was all too brief. Though he led the Canucks to what was then a franchise record-shattering campaign in just his second season, Nonis was gone and replaced one year later. Asics Shoes Canada Outlet . PETERSBURG, Fla. MINNEAPOLIS -- Kristaps Porzingis and Karl-Anthony Towns are building a tantalizing rivalry for the NBAs new age.Carmelo Anthony let the kids have their fun until it was time to go home.Porzingis had 29 points and eight rebounds and Towns had 47 points and 18 boards, but Anthony hit the winning jumper with 2.3 seconds left, lifting the New York Knicks to a 106-104 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night.I mean the skys the limit for those two guys in this league, said Antony, who had just 12 points on 4-for-15 shooting before splashing the winner over Andrew Wiggins outstretched hand. With Towns, the way hes playing, Kristaps getting better and better each day, theyll be around for a long time and, you know, theyll be the face of this league in a couple years.The 21-year-old Towns is the third-youngest player in the last three decades to have at least 45 points and 15 rebounds in a game.The Wolves used a 20-3 run to tie it at 102 with under a minute to play, but Porzingis threw Gorgui Dieng aside for a putback slam and Anthony tipped the inbounds pass on Minnesotas final possession to thwart the comeback.I think it was a good show for everybody, Porzingis said. But the most important is we got the win.Brandon Jennings scored 12 points off the bench and Porzingis had a big block against his friend and draft classmate Towns to help the Knicks weather the loss of Joakim Noah, who sat out with a sprained left ankle. New York made 13 3-pointers to Minnesotas four.After the Timberwolves lost to Utah on Monday, a despondent Towns vowed to do more to help his team win. He came out a man on fire, scoring 22 points on 8-for-8 shooting and grabbing seven rebounds in the first quarter.Im so proud of all of my teammates, said Towns, whose Wolves fell to 5-13. The fight that we have every time were down to comeback and find a way to put ourselves back in a game is the reason why I think so many find the potential in us to be great.TIP-INSKnicks: SG Courtney Lee only played eight minutes because of a sprained left ankle. ... Coach Jeeff Hornacek said F Lance Thomas, who has not played yet because of a sore left ankle, had a good workout during shootaround and will practice on Friday in the hopes of playing in the next game or two.ddddddddddddTimberwolves: Wiggins had 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists. ... Towns 22 points in the first quarter were two off of Chauncey Billups franchise record of 24. ... G/F Brandon Rush was inactive with a sore big toe that has bothered him for much of the season.SLAM SWATTEDThe two young stars rarely guarded each other, but Towns did go at Porzingis late in the second quarter, rising up to try to dunk on him only to have the Latvian emphatically stuff him for Towns first missed shot in 11 attempts.He tried, Porzingis said. He was being super aggressive. He was driving to the basket, shooting from the outside, playing in the post. He was doing everything. He was playing an overall game, and it was really hard to stop him.FOND MEMORIESThe Bulls made the playoffs all five seasons with coach Tom Thibodeau leading Derrick Rose and Noah. Rose and Noah were two players Thibodeau, now with Minnesota, deeply respected for their competitive drive and determination.You dont realize what you have with him until hes not around, Noah said. He used to tell me that when I played for him because we used to butt heads all the time. Hes definitely one of the tops in the business.FAMILIAR FACESTwo Knicks assistants have Minnesota ties, with Kurt Rambis a former head coach and Jerry Sichting spending a total of 13 years in two separate stints as an assistant.Its still special, Sichting said. I still know a lot of people in the organization and around town. I dont miss the winters around here, but I always enjoy coming back.UP NEXTThe two teams meet again in two days, this time in Manhattan on Friday night for a game in which Thibodeau will return to the arena he called home for seven seasons as a Knicks assistant. ' ' '