to New Orleans, as their assistant and head coach

PARIS -- Top-seeded Maria Sharapova of Russia maintained her dominance over Daniela Hantuchova, thrashing the Slovak player 6-0, 6-1 to reach the Open GDF Suez quarterfinals on Wednesday. The four-time Grand Slam champion has beaten Hantuchova nine straight times, with the Slovaks only win coming when they first played 10 years ago. "I had a tough first opponent who can play extremely good tennis," Sharapova said. "I wanted to start the match off well. It was extremely important to put that pressure on her from the beginning. I think I did that really well today." Sharapova hit 10 aces, saved all seven break points she faced, and broke Hantuchovas serve six times. She awaits eighth-seeded Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium or Yvonne Meusburger of Austria in the next round. Fourth-seeded Angelique Kerber of Germany and Russias Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova also reached the last eight. Kerber beat Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 7-5, while Pavlyuchenkova had a tougher time getting past seventh-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. In remaining first-round matches, there were two upsets as and Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic beat No. 5 Simona Halep of Romania, 7-6 (1), 6-4, and Elina Svitolina of Ukraine ousted sixth-seeded Roberta Vinci 6-3, 0-6, 7-5; Also, Flipkens beat Mona Barthel 6-3, 4-6, 6-2; while Galina Voskoboeva rallied to beat Stefanie Voegele 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (3) in nearly three hours. Cheap Jordan Uk Online . The Thornhill, Ont., native, who is ranked 11th in the world, said hed hoped he would be ready when Canada begins its World Group first-round tie against Japan in Tokyo on Friday. Jordan Shoes Uk Online . That was OK with him. He was just happy his team came away with two points. Letestu redirected Jack Johnsons shot from the point with 2:38 left, lifting the Blue Jackets past the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 on Monday night. http://www.cheapairjordanuk.com/ . -- The Grand Rapids Griffins scored three goals in 33 seconds of the second period en route to defeating the Hamilton Bulldogs 6-1 in American Hockey League action on Friday. Wholesale Air Jordan Uk .com) - Oklahoma quarterback Trevor Knight was carted off the field in the fourth quarter of 16th-ranked Sooners 48-14 loss to No. Cheap Jordan Uk Sale .C. -- Jackson Whistle made 26 saves for his first shutout of the season as the Kelowna Rockets blanked the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes 5-0 on Saturday in Western Hockey League action.FIVE QUICK NBA THOUGHTS: 1. NBA FINALS PREDICTION - Spurs in 7: A major percentage of folks are rooting for the Spurs - so am I - yet, I feel that when its all said and done, both of these teams are pretty even when you compare/contrast their strengths and weaknesses. I do think the Spurs have a preparation edge, having had to play the tougher competition all season on a more nightly basis in both the regular season and playoffs in the Western Conference, and it helps that theyve gone through the fire on a more consistent basis. The Heat have the better "Big 3" from a talent perspective and the best player on the planet in LeBron James. Tony Parkers health status concerns me for San Antonio. So many variables that you can toss around and argue over, which Ive done, but Im just going to go with my gut here and take the Spurs. Last years series was terrific and I hope and think that this one will be even better. Enjoy! 2. RANDY WITTMAN (Wizards): A job well done in getting his team to the second round and figuring out how to win which led to a well deserved contract extension. This team was always a bit of a tease the past few years, yet Wittman pushed them to the next level and got nice buy in from them on how the game should be played. Now, they have to try and keep Marcin Gortat and Trevor Ariza who are both free agents. Regardless, I think the future is bright and on solid ground due to the leadership of Wittman. 3. CHANDLER PARSONS (Rockets): Houston has apparently declined to pick up the option on his contract. I love this guys game and hes still really improving. Parsons shoots it and plays with great energy and awareness. Hell be a restricted free agent and it will be interesting if they can make a run at another big free agent to team with Dwight Howard and James Harden and then try to match Parsonss offer sheet that hell surely get in the open market.dddddddddddd Hes a guy that I consider a glue guy who you can win with and has lots of value because he backs it up with production as well. Its going to be a delicate situation to navigate for GM Daryl Morey and coach Kevin McHale with an important piece of the puzzle. Im quite curious to see how it unfolds. 4. JEFF BOWER (Pistons): Stan Van Gundy hired him as his GM and I really like this hire. Ive known Jeff for over 25 years and hes a good basketball man. Hes paid his dues as a NCAA Div. 1 assistant and head coach and has spent a great deal of time in the NBA with the Charlotte Hornets, as well as their move to New Orleans, as their assistant and head coach, scout, assistant GM and finally GM. He knows all the ins and outs of the business and is someone that Van Gundy can trust to handle the front office responsibilities for him. Van Gundy will have final say on all basketball matters, but you need someone to look after lots of details while youre busy coaching. This really makes sense to me. 5. LaMARCUS ALDRIDGE (Blazers): Aldridge was named to All-NBA Third Team today, but I really feel he should be on Second Team ahead of Kevin Love at the power forward spot. I strongly believe that winning should and does matter. You could argue that Aldridge has a little better supporting cast in Portland, yet when I give the eye test, I see Aldridge perform consistently at a high level against all competition and I see Love as a guy who gets nice numbers within the structure of the game, but Im still just a bit skeptical about what he brings to the table in terms of competitive production in the major moments of the game. I think Aldridge is a Second teamer and Love is a Third. Just my opinion, but winning has to mean something. ' ' '