NEW YORK -- In the past they always could hold on to the idea that there might be another tomorrow for the three of them to be together again -- back in the gym, back chasing another big title of some sort and reveling in the wisecracking, blunt, demanding relationship theyve had since they were all at the University of Connecticut and coach Geno Auriemma was the unquestioned boss.But point guard Sue Bird is 35 now and contemplating retirement. Diana Taurasi is 34, and she skipped the 2015 WNBA season to recover from the burnout of playing year-round in the U.S. and overseas. They agree the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro are surely the last time theyll play for Auriemma, who is 62. And all three of them are determined to give this last ride together the reverence -- and irreverence -- it deserves.He likes to talk a lot -- dont pay attention to what he says, Bird needled earlier this summer at a pre-Olympic event in New York City that she and Auriemma attended.The common trait that all three of us share is none of us ever thinks were wrong -- but Sue is the most passive-aggressive, Auriemma countered.Hes right -- see there, I agreed with you. Which technically makes him wrong, Bird said with a laugh.Told that Taurasi had recently claimed that every team shes ever played on, including Auriemmas, has been dysfunctional, Auriemma smirked and said, Sometimes theyre dysfunctional because shes on the team. Thats the common denominator, right?Then he laughed again.Dee and I had a conversation on the phone just the other day about this being our last time together, Auriemma added, using Taurasis nickname. And it was a moment where we both kind of told each other, I wouldnt be where I am without you.Its going to be sweet and bittersweet, Taurasi said of this Olympic run during a recent phone interview.If the measure is winning, Auriemma, Bird and Taurasi are unmatched as a trio in womens basketball history.Bird is in the conversation for best point guard who ever lived alongside Dawn Staley, Theresa Edwards and Nancy Lieberman.Taurasi, even now, is still considered one of the best players in the world. Auriemma said what her brash exterior hides is that shes the best teammate that ever lived. And I say that knowing she and Sue are 1 and 1A.Since turning pro in 2004, Taurasi has won three Olympic gold medals with Bird and the U.S. team, three WNBA titles with the Phoenix Mercury, and six international titles in the EuroLeague. Three of those were with Bird, as well.Bird, also a four-time Olympian, has won two WNBA titles with the Seattle Storm since turning pro in 2002 and played seven years with Taurasi in Russia.At UConn, Auriemma won four of his record 11 NCAA titles with Bird and/or Taurasi in the backcourt. Some folks still argue the Huskies undefeated 2002 title team was the most talented squad ever assembled.So when Auriemma reunited with his former stars for the 2012 Olympics after a long break as their head coach, it seemed like bonus time. Taurasi cried on the podium in London after the American team won its fifth straight gold medal. Bird admitted she was unsure shed be back to the Summer Games. Auriemma (who had also been an assistant for the 2008 Olympics) was convinced he was done as a national team coach.The top job was, he said back then, the most pressure-packed situation hed ever found himself in.If you lose at Connecticut, everybody at Connecticut has a heart attack, Auriemma said. If you lose with the U.S. national team, the whole country that follows womens basketball wants to kill me.Their relationship has changed a lot since Auriemma regularly rode Bird in practices and games, telling her that as his point guard she was responsible for everything that happened on the court, even when it was a UConn teammate who made the wrong cut or threw the wrong pass. On a trip back to UConn this spring, Bird said it was the best and worst advice she got from Auriemma because she saw, in time, that he wasnt gratuitously picking on her. (Im easy to play for -- just do everything I say, Auriemma cracked.) Rather, Bird said Auriemmas prodding forced her to concentrate even more on running the team, anticipating and navigating situations, thinking on the fly, and controlling every aspect of the game.Asked now for an anecdote that might illustrate what those formative days were like, Bird said, Is it OK if its not G-rated? You know he cant be miked for TV games, right? He swears too much.Bird wondered if UConn was the right place for her when Auriemma gave scholarships to two other guards the same year she was recruited out of Christ the King High School in New York City. She said when she discussed her concerns with him, his response was, Follow your heart.Follow your heart? Thats it?Actually, it was the best advice he couldve given me, she insisted. UConn is different. He doesnt beg anyone to come. Saying that made me ask myself if I was the kind of person who could accept the challenge.Taurasi and Auriemmas relationship has a different tenor. Theyre so much alike -- both the children of immigrant Italian fathers, both stubborn, opinionated, cocky and insatiably driven to win/dominate/succeed -- and their clashes were often like an irresistible force hitting immovable object. Which only made them love each other more, of course.Just not at first.Taurasi was the nations No. 1 recruit in 2000, but she said she truly believed she wasnt going to survive her first year at UConn. She dreaded going to practice. An incident where Auriemma stopped a scrimmage and accused her of refusing to take a charge was typical. Taurasi essentially said, Did not! Auriemma countered, Did so!So he stopped practice and lined up the full team -- Shea Ralph, Svetlana Abrosimova, Sue Bird, everybody -- and told them to just go at me, Taurasi said. But I wouldnt fall. I took about 30 blocks or collisions and I still wouldnt fall down. Then he threw me out of the gym.Auriemma said his mission with Taurasi was the same as it is with every player: I didnt want her to cheat her talent.Taurasi said, Hopefully Im a lot more mature now.When Taurasi or Bird talk now, Geno-isms routinely leak into their conversations. Birds take on how the U.S. again isnt necessarily taking the 12 most talented American players to the Olympics, but the players who will hopefully meld into the best team, is a line straight out of Auriemmas playbook. So was Taurasis response when asked before the London Olympics if the American teams dominance had become boring.Her retort: I dont give a s---. Im trying to win a gold medal. Which sounded like something Auriemma would say.Bird has since said of Taurasi, Whether its deaths in the families or winning championships -- and, of course, heartbreaking losses as well -- weve experienced it together. When its all said and done, the majority of my fond basketball memories will involve her. Absolutely.Taurasi said she and Bird have been together so long, We can almost finish each others sentences. Shes the best point guard Ive ever played with. Shes also one of my best friends.When Auriemma was waffling after the London Games about returning for a second stint as head coach of the U.S. Olympic team, Bird and Taurasi double-teamed him and worked on him until he agreed to return for Rio. Bird lobbied him over the phone. Taurasi -- who said she typically speaks to Auriemma three times a week, whether shes overseas or in the States -- called, texted and met with Auriemma to pitch why he should join them for another gold-medal chase.The two of them have come a long way from when Taurasi left UConn for the WNBA in 2004 and Auriemma banned her from campus until she finished her degree.Not long ago, Taurasi divulged in a podcast that she played one of her UConn championship seasons at 185 pounds (or about 30 more pounds than she s carrying now), which later prompted Auriemma to crack, Yeah, I know. I remember telling her the best thing that happened to her before her freshman year here was she got food poisoning and lost about 10 pounds.And they are back to needling each other again.One thing Bird, Taurasi and Auriemma independently mention about their Olympic runs is the noticeable role reversal that has happened over the years. Auriemma said that since taking over as national team coach he has routinely sought out both players and asked, Am I going down the right path here?The partnership worked like a dream in London. And the U.S. is a heavy favorite to defend its gold medal in Rio.If this is indeed the UConn trios last ride together, it has been a remarkable, sport-changing run. In the 16 years since they first played together, Bird and Taurasi have gone from being girls to women to basketball legends. And Auriemma is the womens basketballs equivalent of John Wooden. Best. Coach. Ever.Sometimes I look and I cant believe everything hes accomplished, Bird said.Without him, Taurasi affirmed, I definitely wouldnt be in the position Im in, in basketball or life.For me, its a very conscious thing that for us its coming to an end, Auriemma admitted. I think about it a lot.Auriemma said that among the things hes valued the most over the years is how he, Bird and Taurasi have stuck together, and the affection they share.Like, I remember one time they Skyped me from Russia, Auriemma said. It was real late wherever they were, and Dee just went off and said this, that and whatever, and I was just like, pffttt, and I hung up.You hung up?I hung up, Auriemma repeated. I said, I cant listen to this. I just cant do it. At least Sue gets a little bit embarrassed when they do something dumb like that. Dee? Zero.When he is told that right about here Taurasi might remind him theyre grown-ass women, Auriemma nodded and laughed again.You know how when your kids move away from home and whatever theyre doing, you dont really want to know? he asked.With them, I really dont want to know.Then his smile suggested its the biggest lie hes ever told in his life. Jordan 5 China For Sale . Ryan Garbutt had a goal and two assists as Dallas snapped a six-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. Air Jordan 5 Cheap Wholesale . -- The proud fathers huddled near the Dallas Stars dressing room, smiling, laughing and telling stories while wearing replica green sweaters of their sons team. http://www.airjordan5cheap.com/ . Following a lopsided 5-2 loss against the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night, Paul MacLean told reporters that "theres a lack of focus, theres a lack of leadership and theres a lack of preparation" with his struggling team. That came on the heels of Bryan Murray taking the unusual step of going into the locker room at the Prudential Center and addressing the players himself. Cheap Air Jordan 5 Online . The giant slalom world champion slipped during her first run in the morning, landing on her back and then twisting forward before getting her leg caught in the protective material on the side of the slope. Cheap Air Jordan 5 China . Catch all the action on TSN2 at 11pm et/8pm pt. The nine-time Big 12 champion Jayhawks are positioning themselves for another title, as they have run out to a flawless 6-0 mark in conference play thus far. Christian McCaffrey?will sit out Stanfords bowl game to focus on his NFL draft preparation, the star running back announced Monday on Twitter.Very tough decision, but I have decided not to play in the Sun Bowl so I can begin my draft prep immediately, McCaffrey wrote on Twitter. Thx to all my teammates for their 100% support -- It means a lot to me. Go Cardinal!No. 18 Stanford will face?North Carolina in the Hyundai Sun Bowl on Dec. 30.McCaffrey announced Dec. 7 that he will forgo his senior season to enter the draft.LSU running back Leonard Fournette?and McCaffrey are two high-profile players who will sit out the bowl season. Top draft prospect Fournette, also a junior,?announced Friday?he would not play for No. 20 LSU in the?Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl on Dec. 31 against No. 13?Louisville?and instead end his college football career.We understand that this was a very difficult decision. For three years, Christian has not only been a great player, but a great teammate, as well, Stanford coach David Shaw said in a statement. We wish him great success at the next level, as we continue our preparation for the Sun Bowl.McCaffrey has a $5 million disability policy if he became injured and unable to play, which means he would collect a tax-free $5 million, a source told ESPNs Darren Rovell. He also has a $3 million?loss of value policy and could start collecting if an injury caused him to slip past the 40th overall pick, according to the source.Cowboys linebacker Jaylon Smith, who was seen as a possible top-five pick in the 2016 draft before suffering a knee injury in his final college game -- the Fiesta Bowl -- that pushed him out of the first round, expressed his disappointment with the players skipping their bowl games.Star running back?Ezekiel Elliott, another Cowboys rookie, disliked the players decisions.Marcus Lattimore, the former South Carolina running back who suffered a career-threatening right knee injury in his junior year just one year after tearing ligaments in his left knee, also weighed in on Twitter by supporting McCaffrey:Another likely first-round draft pick, Texas A&M star defensive end Myles Garrett, released a statement on Monday saying he is preparing to play in the AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl on Dec.dddddddddddd28.Garrett, a junior who is projected as a top-10 pick and potentially the No. 1 overall pick, hasnt yet publicly declared for the draft.Stanford sophomore wide receiver Trenton Irwin tweeted that the team supports McCaffrey.In a statement, Sun Bowl executive director Bernie Olivas said he was disappointed but understood McCaffreys decision.[McCaffrey] was hurt earlier this year, so I am sure that weighed on his decision, Olivas said. He has a tremendous NFL career ahead of him, and that might be sitting in the back of his head.McCaffrey gained 3,864 yards in 2015, breaking Barry Sanders NCAA single-season record for all-purpose yardage. He won the Associated Press National Player of the Year award and finished second in that seasons Heisman Trophy voting, behind Alabamas Derrick Henry. McCaffrey led Stanford to a 45-16 walloping of Iowa in the Rose Bowl, racking up a record 368 all-purpose yards.McCaffrey entered 2016 as a faster and stronger player than the year before. Despite a midseason injury, he again led the nation with 2,327 all-purpose yards and posted 1,603 rushing yards. His rushing average actually improved -- despite the overall decline of Stanfords offense -- from 6.0 yards per carry in 2015 to 6.3 yards per carry this season. This, combined with an increased role in the Cardinals short-yardage attack, allowed McCaffrey to showcase his full range of skills to NFL observers.He is ranked No. 28 on Todd McShays latest top 32 prospects list and is the No. 4 running back in Mel Kipers positional rankings.ESPN staff writers David Lombardi and Sam Khan contributed to this report. China NFL Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Online Stitched Hockey Jerseys Wholesale Baseball Jerseys Football Jerseys Outlet College Jerseys For Sale Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys For Sale Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '