PHILADELPHIA -- Philadelphia 76ers oft-injured center Joel Embiid could potentially play in both ends of back-to-back games this season.Sixers coach Brett Brown also says Jahlil Okafor should be ready for opening night on Oct. 26 in his recovery from surgery on his right knee. Brown says Nerlens Noel may not be ready for the opener as he recovers from a groin injury.Embiid sat out the past two seasons because a broken right foot and had been on a minutes restriction in the preseason. Brown has increased Embiids minutes and says he may be ready to handle the grind of back-to-back games. The Sixers first set of consecutive games is Nov. 1 and 2.Embiid caused a scare when he landed awkwardly on his right foot in the first half of Saturdays 97-76 loss to the Detroit Pistons, but he played in the second half for the first time in six preseason games and wowed the crowd by faking a spin before a left-handed layup and emphatic first pump for part of his team-high 15 points.I like the pressure, I like the responsibility, said Embiid, who was 5-of-8 from the floor with five rebounds and an ugly seven turnovers before a crowd that cheered his every move.We all see how good we think he can be, Brown said.Brown, in his fourth season, said he would take a cautious approach with Embiids minutes.There are some times just with normal aches and the other parts of his body that you pay attention. Its still a 275-pound, 7-foot-2 man going up and down the court, he said. How about his motor, when he puts his mind to it? How about his lateral quickness, when he puts his mind to it? To get that stuff, just harder, longer, makes you think we have to take this course.Okafor has been sidelined since he had surgery to repair a meniscus tear in his knee in March. Noel says he was hurt in the first week of training camp and has not played in the preseason.The Associated Press contributed to this report.? Andrew Luck Jersey . Louis Cardinals. Victorino is batting sixth and playing right field after missing two games because of back tightness. Pat McAfee Jersey . Jay Feely kicked a 41-yard field goal in overtime, and the Cardinals edged the Tennessee Titans 37-34 in overtime after blowing a 17-point lead late in the fourth quarter. http://www.coltsfansshop.com/Colts-Clayton-Geathers-Draft-Jersey/ . Fernandez, coached in Toronto by former two-time Olympic silver medallist Brian Orser, scored 267.11 points and is the first champion to successfully defend since Russias Evgeny Plushenko in 2005 and 2006. Braden Smith Jersey . The defending champion beat Gael Monfils of France 7-6 (6), 6-3, while second-seeded Andy Murray of Britain dispatched Edouard Roger-Vasselin, also of France, 6-3, 6-3. Making his first appearance since injuring his wrist a month ago, Del Potro had difficulty with his service games in the first set. Adam Vinatieri Jersey . They had already blown a double-digit lead, fans were hitting the exits, and a long seven-game road trip waited at the end.BARCELONA, Spain -- Former Barcelona president Joan Laporta defended Lionel Messi against allegations of tax fraud on Thursday, a case that experts say could carry a prison sentence for the Argentina star. A Spanish state prosecutor filed a fraud complaint on Wednesday alleging that Messi and his father Jorge avoided paying 4 million euros ($5.3 million) in back taxes through illegal overseas tax havens. "I am convinced that neither Leo nor his father have committed any infraction," Laporta told Cope radio. "The situation could be that they dont have any responsibility in these events. There can be third parties who are responsible. "I know them and they have always wanted to act within the law, and thats how they acted with the club, at least when I was president." Laporta said that Messi and his family lacked the financial know-how necessary to have set up the network of shell companies and tax havens in countries including Belize and Uruguay described in the prosecutors complaint. "They were always careful, lets say even wary, when faced with these situations that were over their heads because they didnt have the knowledge of a lawyer or a tax expert, and so they went out and got advisers," he said. Messi has denied any wrongdoing and his lawyers issued a statement on Thursday saying that he "has always punctually attended to his fiscal obligations." The case was submitted at the court in Gava, near the Mediterranean coastal town where Messi lives. A judge at the court must accept the prosecutors complaint before charges can be brought against Messi and his father. A court official told The Associated Press that a decision should come in a matter of days. If found guilty and barring an out-of-court deal with the tax office, Messi and his father could face 2-6 years in jail, according to Professor Sandalio Gomez, a sports finance analyst at the IESE Business School. In the complaint, state prosecutor Raquel Amado alleges that from 2006-09 Messi "obtained significant revenue derived from the transfer to third parties of his image rights, income which should have been taxed." Gomez told the AP that the prosecutors complaint appeared to be strong, while noting that hiring or establishing a company-- even overseas--- to manage players image rights was legal as long as they met their tax burdens in Spain.dddddddddddd "(The complaint) is well argued," he said, adding that it reminded him of the investigation of Inaki Urdangarin, the son-in-law of Spains King Juan Carlos who is under investigation for possible tax fraud and money laundering. Laporta, who was Barcelonas president from 2003-10 and is considering running again in 2016 after his foray into politics, said that under his mandate Messi directly controlled 100 per cent of earnings from his image rights. But, Laporta said, Barcelona did follow a common practice of paying 15% of Messis salary to a company that controlled his image rights. He said that he didnt remember where that company was based. "If it was a company based outside Spain it would have been a registered company and in that sense a lawful company," Laporta said. Messi is not the first athlete to be investigated in Spain for taxes. Last year former Portugal star Luis Figo was forced to pay 2.45 million euros in income tax pertaining to image rights from 1997-99 while playing for Barcelona. In 2009, former top-ranked womens player Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario had to pay millions in back taxes. The 25-year-old Messi is widely considered the best player of his generation and one of the best in history after winning an unprecedented four straight FIFA world player of the year awards. He has scored 133 goals for Barcelona over the last two seasons and helped it win its fourth Spanish league title in five seasons this year. Messi, who is rated by Forbes as the worlds 10th highest-paid athlete, reportedly earned $41.3 million to June this year; with $20.3 coming from his club salary and $21 million in endorsements. Messi leads an apparently quiet life focused on his family-- he became a father last year-- and has never been linked to any unsavoury episodes, making him a universally liked figure in Spain and abroad. Spain has been cracking down on tax evasion as it fights to repair the countrys public finances amid recession and the collapse of its once-booming real estate sector. The country has been further hurt by a series of corruption and financial fraud cases which until now had been limited to the worlds of business and politics. Cheap Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys China Nike NFL Jerseys China Discount NFL Jerseys Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Wholesale China NFL Gear Stitched Jerseys Discount Jerseys Cheap NFL T-shirts Cheap Jerseys 2019 Black China NFL Jerseys Discount NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys 2020 ' ' '