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SAN ANTONIO -- The team attempted to keep it private, but San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is doing more than just speaking to reporters about social issues, according to a couple of Twitter posts Monday from scholar and activist Dr. Cornel West and The Nation sports editor Dave Zirin.Over the summer, Popovich reached out to youth from disadvantaged backgrounds. On Sunday, the coach invited West to speak in San Antonio to approximately 350 kids at the Jo Long Theatre of Performing Arts at the Carver Community Cultural Center. The event lasted 3 or 4 hours, Popovich said, and included the entire Spurs team and basketball staff, as well as owners Peter and Julianna Holt.Zirin served as the moderator for the event, which covered the gamut, Popovich said.It was big time. Cornel West is amazing, Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said. Hes been fighting that fight for a long time. Hes very clear, very well-spoken, had a lot of examples and names. He was right there. I had listened to a few of his interviews, and its just mesmerizing to listen to him. So it was good to get to meet him and to listen to him face to face. And if you add that to the fact that there were 350 kids from Sam Houston High School learning and listening, I think it was very powerful. It was a great, great move.Popovich has been outspoken over the years regarding social issues, and he hasnt shied away in recent days from expressing his views regarding the presidential election. This event, however, had been planned well in advance of the election, and the team took its time putting it together because Popovich wanted Sundays town hall with the local youth to be more substantial than a one-time visit.It was about the kids, Popovich said. In todays environment, one can talk a good game about we need this or we need that. We need fewer disparaging remarks. We need more attention to healing the atmosphere for a lot of minority groups, whether its racial or things that have been said about women or handicapped people or any such talk is just talk. But at some point, theres got to be follow-through where people are engaged.The Spurs plan to conduct more outreach activities with local youth. Much of the discussion during Sundays town hall focused on what young minorities face on a daily basis.The purpose of it was to show the kids that even though the environment is as it is, and weve heard some pretty rough talk through the election, that there are people, many people at all levels who value them greatly, Popovich said. They dont need to be as fearful or feel less than because we know who they are. We depend on them for the future.Popovich said the town hall conversation touched on a variety of topics, including race in America, sports, economics and the fatal shooting of a San Antonio police detective during a traffic stop Sunday.Of course that was pretty poignant considering the tragedy we had losing a police officer (Benjamin Marconi) through just horrible violence. But thats what it was all about, Popovich said. The kids were great. It was as simple as that. We just wanted to be there for them so that they know we want to interact with them, and that a lot of people care. Jim Lee Hunt Jersey . The Vancouver coach and an announced sellout crowd of 18,910 watched in dismay as the Canucks lost 7-4 to the New York Islanders on Monday night by squandering a 3-0 lead in the third period. Richard Seymour Jersey . At a Manhattan federal court hearing, attorney Jordan Siev said his law office has gotten more evidence nearly every day to support its lawsuit accusing MLB and Selig of going on a "witch hunt" to ruin Rodriguezs reputation and career. He said the defendants went "way over the line. http://www.custompatriotsjersey.com/custom-george-mira-jersey-large-781f.html . At a news conference Tuesday where it was thought that the fiery Schallibaum may be shown the door after a dismal finish to the Major League Soccer season, team president Joey Saputo said no decision has been made on whether the Swiss Volcano will be back in 2014. Ken Willard Jersey . -- Catcher Brett Hayes has agreed to a $630,000, one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals, avoiding salary arbitration. Custom Patriots Jersey China .com) - The game was all punts and field goals before Kodi Whitfields catch.DENVER -- The Vancouver Whitecaps certainly arent ready to hit the panic button. They realize, however, that they let an opportunity get away on Saturday night as they lost 2-0 to the Colorado Rapids and dropped in the Western Conference standings. "Obviously tonight was a chance to really put Colorado in a really tough spot because were running out of games," Whitecaps head coach Martin Rennie said. "What it does, it keeps everybody in it and keeps it really interesting." Coming into the night, Colorado and Vancouver were tied for second place in the jam-packed conference. The Rapids now have sole possession of second place. The Whitecaps slipped all the way to fifth with the Los Angeles Galaxy and Portland Timbers also picking up wins and passing them. "Definitely it was an opportunity tonight to cement a place in the playoffs, come to a tough place against a good team," Whitecaps forward Kenny Miller said. The Whitecaps, however, were unable to keep the momentum going after picking up four points (1-0-1) in their previous two games. Colorado keeper Clint Irwin helped stop that momentum. He saw just three shots on goal -- stopping them all -- but also made solid plays to halt other Vancouver chances. "The man of the match tonight was their goalkeeper and probably rightly so," Rennie said. "We had three or four great chances. We had one when it was nil-nil that was a great opportunity. We had another at nil-nil and in the end we lost a bad goal which changed the game a little bit." The game-changing goal came in the 36th minute, when the Rapids Deshorn Brown scored on a header. Vicente Sanchez lofted a crossing pass to Brown, who tucked the ball inside the left post, just above the head of Whitecaps keeper Daviid Ousted.dddddddddddd Rennie said the Whitecaps lost Brown on the back side and it was an easy crossing pass for the Rapids. "We havent lost many goals like that, which is a good thing," he said. Browns goal came just two minutes after the Whitecaps best scoring chance of the night. Russell Teibert delivered a pass to Miller, but Irwin was there for the save. "I tried to angle it back across the goal so (teammate Camilo Sanvezzo) could tap it in," Miller said. "I think the keeper got a left leg on it to stop it going past. We had a couple of opportunities like that where we could have maybe played someone and the pass just wasnt there." The Rapids added an insurance goal in the 80th minute as substitution Edson Buddle drilled a shot that deflected off the inside part of the legs of Whitecaps defender Johnny Leveron. That deflection was enough to change the direction of the shot and get it past Ousted. Miller said the Whitecaps have had a lot of games this year in which theyve rallied to get a win or draw, but against the Rapids, he said, "There didnt seem to be that reaction and that belief that we could do it." Rennie added: "Id like to have seen us be more direct and put them under more pressure." Colorado tallied 17 shots, five of those on net, while the Whitecaps had just nine shots, with three on net. Still, with 10 games to play -- including the last two against the Rapids -- and weekly movement in the standings, the Whitecaps said they simply need to bounce back against the Galaxy on Aug. 24 at B.C. Place. "Its an off night," Miller said. "Weve not had too many off nights in the last three, four months, so well just have to regroup and make sure were back next week." ' ' '