Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. [url=http://www.thevikingsshoponli

Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. Dru Samia Jersey . This week they discuss the Philadelphia 76ers, Gregg Popovich, Royal and Ancient Golf Club and Bill Belichick. Bruce Arthur, National Post My thumb is up to the Philadelphia 76ers, proud possessors of a win streak for the first time since two weeks before the Olympics began. Any task worth doing is worth doing with commitment, and while you can argue whether tanking to get a good draft pick should be worth doing, thats the system, and the Sixers have been crafting a masterpiece. Before Saturday night they had lost 26 in a row, 29 of 30, and 36 of 39, and 27 straight losses would have a set a new record for consecutive defeats. But Saturday in Philly, the Sixers pulled one out, blowing out the hapless Detroit Pistons by 25 and getting a standing ovation. It was a raft in an ocean, a blip in the sky. But now, no matter what, they can say this: it could have been worse. Steve Simmons, Sun Media My thumb is up to Gregg Popovich, who just might be the greatest coach in the history of professional sport. And I dont say that lightly with terrific respect for the work done by Scotty Bowman and Phil Jackson and Bill Belichick, and yeah, certainly Vince Lombardi. Put your championships aside for a moment - this is the 15th straight season in which Popovichs San Antonio Spurs have won between 50 and 63 games in the NBA. To put that into perspective, thats the same number of 50-win seasons combined over that time that the Knicks, Celtics, Bulls, Warriors, Nets, Wizards, Pacers, 76ers, Bobcats, Hawks, and Raptors have won. Having Tim Duncan helps. But Duncan at 37 is slowing down. Heading to another 60 win season, Gregg Popovich doesnt seem to be. Michael Farber, Sports Illustrated My thumb is up to the R&A, for finally entering a new century. The 20th. The Royal and Ancient is urging its membership to allow women to become members of the venerable St. Andrews golf club in Scotland when it votes in September. This is a mere 260 years after the home of golf was founded, which qualifies as progress. Two other courses in the Open Championship rotation, Muirfield and Royal St. Georges, have yet to tiptoe down this perilous path to equality. By comparison, the nice gentlemen at Augusta National, which started accepting female members in 2012 - hello, Condoleeza Rice! - look like wild-eyed progressives. Dave Hodge, TSN My thumb is up to New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, for making me seem less crazy than others think I am. I have been saying for years that the complexities of video review are confusing and unnecessary, and that a better system would be a very simple system that allows anything to be challenged. And no less an authority than Belichick is leading a push in this direction in the NFL. Never mind "this can be challenged under certain circumstances, but not that under any circumstances"--as Belichick says, "if a coach thinks his team has been victimized by a bad call, he should be able to question it, and its up to him to use the limited number of challenge flags with that in mind." As I say, "challenges might actually be fewer--same with wrong calls--and replay rules would be simpler. You can challenge those assumptions, but Bill Belichick wont. Brett Favre Jersey . The Detroit Tigers closer blew a three-run lead in the ninth inning Wednesday night against the Dodgers. Fran Tarkenton Jersey . The Mets made the announcement Sunday night. Parnell blew a save on opening day against Washington and the next day it was revealed he had partially torn right elbow ligament. http://www.thevikingsshoponline.com/Youth-Brian-ONeill-Vikings-Jersey/ . Nix is a career .218 hitter in 425 games over six seasons. The 31-year-old right-handed hitter batted .270 with a homer this spring for Tampa Bay.(SportsNetwork.com) - The struggling Toronto Maple Leafs are hoping for a fresh start Wednesday when they emerge from the NHLs All-Star break to visit the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center. The Maple Leafs limped into the break on a six-game losing streak and dropped all six outings in regulation. Torontos offense has been shut out three times during the slide and the club is 1-7-0 since head coach Randy Carlyle was fired and replaced by Peter Horachek on an interim basis. If there is a bright spot for the Leafs, who are 10 points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, its that they managed to score three goals in their most recent outing. The three markers came in last Wednesdays 4-3 loss in Ottawa and the offensive output gives Toronto five total goals during this 0-6-0 slide. Leafs forward Nazem Kadri is one guy who believes the team is heading in the right direction despite the current win drought. There are signs of good things here, Kadri told his teams web site on Tuesday. Obviously were getting losses and it overshadows everything else that were doing. There are a lot of positives and I feel like, despite the results, weve taken steps in the right direction. With some help from Kadri, the Leafs were able to get themselves back in last Wednesdays game after falling behind 3-0 to the Senators in the first period. Kadri tallied a power-play goal early in the third period to make it a 3-2 game, but Toronto was never able to even the score. Erik Karlsson potted the eventual game-winner for Ottawa with 4:40 left in the third. James van Riemsdyk made it a one-goal game for Toronto again with 1:23 remaining, but the score would remain 4-3. David Clarkson also scored for the Maple Leafs, while James Reimer gave up all four goals on 26 shots in the loss. Toronto is just 1-9-0 in January and has lost 14 of 17 dating back to the middle of December. The current six-game swoon is the clubs longest losing streak since a 0-8-0 stretch from March 16-29 of last season. The Devils, meanwhile, have seen bettter results since firing head coach Peter DeBoer in December, going 5-5-1 since the coaching change. Chuck Foreman Womens Jersey. Still, New Jersey finds itself five points in back of Toronto in the East and 15 points out of a playoff spot. New Jersey entered the break on a positive note, completing a 2-1-0 road trip with a 5-2 win in San Jose on Jan. 19. The Devils hope to carry some momentum from the successful swing back home, as they kick off a five-game homestand tonight. Jacob Josefson scored a short-handed goal and added an assist to help Jersey slam the Sharks last week. Cory Schneider made 34 saves for the win and Steve Bernier, Travis Zajac, Jordin Tootoo and Mike Cammalleri all lit the lamp for the Devils. I thought everyone stepped up, said Schneider. We played unselfishly, we played together. Devils forwards Jaromir Jagr and Tuomo Ruutu missed all three games of the recent trip due to illness, but both players were at practice on Tuesday and are expected to play tonight. However, centerman Travis Zajac is questionable for Wednesday after missing Tuesdays practice with an illness of his own. Schneider will get the start in net tonight for the Devils and he boasts a 2-0-2 record and 1.93 goals against average in four career games against Toronto. New Jerseys workhorse goalie picked up a win in Toronto on Dec. 4 by stopping 29-of-32 shots in a 5-3 victory. With the Leafs also scheduled to play tomorrow night against visiting Arizona, Reimer and Jonathan Bernier are likely to split starts over the next two games. Reimer is 4-2-2 with a 2.35 GAA in his career versus New Jersey, while Bernier is 2-2-0 with a 2.67 GAA in this matchup. The Devils have won two in a row over Toronto and have earned a point in their last four outings (2-0-2) against the Leafs. Jersey also halted a three-game home slide versus Toronto with a 3-2 win at Prudential Center on March 23 of last season. Toronto has lost seven straight on the road overall and is just 7-13-3 as the guest this season. New Jersey is 7-7-6 as the host. ' ' '