When LeBron James sprinted the length of the Oracle Arena floor and soared to meet Andre Iguodalas breakaway layup attempt at the glass in Game 7 of last seasons NBA Finals, he was playing in only his 23rd game over a span of 75 days.The Block has been immortalized as one of the signature plays in NBA history, but it wasnt the first glimpse of vintage LeBron the world witnessed during Clevelands run to the title. James 43 dunks during the postseason eclipsed his previous high of 30. At age 31, he consistently appeared to be the spryest player on the floor against younger opponents on Golden State, Toronto and Detroit.Theres little mystery as to why a transcendent superstar subjected to playing as many as five games in a week during the regular season would enjoy a spring revival: In the postseason, that workload was reduced to fewer than a single game every three days. Under the current playoff format, a team never plays on consecutive days, and that format is an admission by the league that at the moment when all eyes are on the NBA and its best talent, the more rest, the better.The poor methodology tolerated in crafting the regular-season schedule -- the lockout-shortened 2011 postseason notwithstanding -- doesnt fly when the world is watching.Now the league seems ready to take action in the new collective bargaining agreement with players. Sources told ESPN that going forward, NBA teams will play two or three fewer preseason games. In turn, the regular season will begin a week to 10 days earlier, which will allow NBA teams to stretch 82 games over a more generous span of time.This measure could eliminate blocks of four games in five nights and drastically reduce the number of back-to-back sets. In implementing these reforms, the NBA has come closer than ever to codifying what modern science, the leagues players and coaches, and commissioner Adam Silver have all publicly acknowledged in recent years:Playing 82 regular-season games over a period of 170 days is an impediment to optimal athletic performance and world-class basketball on a nightly basis.Playing a four-in-five or a five-in-seven is a different kind of feeling, says Portland Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum. Its mentally draining. Its physically draining. Youre not getting a lot of sleep. Youre exhausted and the other team knows it.McCollum made a point to mention a dreaded upcoming trip when the Trail Blazers will play in nine different cities in four different time zones over a 15-day span. The trip includes a five-games-in-seven-days bundle that concludes with a jaunt to Portland for a single game after playing the previous night in Los Angeles. After that, the Trail Blazers head right back out on the road for three more away games. The reform should ameliorate some of the madness.Players will be sharper, McCollum says. Execution will be better. There will be fewer DNP-Rests and scheduling losses. Fans want to see opponents when both teams are fresh. Players want that too. Its better basketball.The fact that scheduling loss is a term of art in the NBA underscores how necessary a schedule overhaul is. Though much of the attention in executive suites around the league will focus on the new CBAs more aggressive revenue sharing and the cap implication of its revised salary structure, the stipulations for the schedule are a nontrivial concession by the league. Dozens of preseason dates that generate revenue for ownership -- to the chagrin of season-ticket holders who have to fork over their money for tasteless aperitifs -- will be wiped away.But in exchange, the league and its owners are investing in the health and well-being of the athletes who drive the value of the NBA. As Silver told McCollum in an interview for The Players Tribune last summer, The science is [telling us] that the No. 1 correlation between play and injuries is fatigue.The San Antonio Spurs have been incorporating this science into their workflow for years, with Tim Duncan as basketballs ultimate case study. Consulting with top performance specialists, breaking down the data, and collaborating across the basketball operations staff, the Spurs created best practices that included routinely sitting their best players when the schedule demanded it -- even if it meant eliciting the ire of the league office.Less than four years after hitting the Spurs with a $250,000 fine for resting their players at optimal times, the NBA is implementing the Spurs philosophy as official league policy.Back-to-backs are the scourge of an NBA teams calendar. Not only do consecutive games deny world-class athletes prime recovery time, but in the vast majority of instances, players are required to board flights late and arrive at their destinations at ungodly hours. Rarely a week goes by in the NBA without a play-by-play announcer noting that a team arrived at the hotel at 3 a.m. the morning of the game.When you hear that announced, youve already sort of resigned yourself to feel like, Well, this isnt what I paid for, says W. Chris Winter, a neurologist and sleep specialist who has consulted numerous teams across professional sports, including the Thunder and Wizards.A team wouldnt play wearing uniforms that were too restrictive to shoot the basketball or a with a rim whose height wasnt adjusted properly. No one would stand for any of that. Yet having players get into their hotel rooms after 3 oclock in the morning has become a strange accepted part of the sport. We all but guarantee that these athletes arent playing at an elite level.Winter noted that he attended a recent NHL game featuring the New York Rangers, a team he works with, who were playing their fifth game in eight days. From the start, you kind of got the impression watching them play, Yeeeeah, probably not the best were going to see them play this year, Winter says.The Rangers were blanked by Ottawa 2-0, the first time all season theyd been shut out.The drive to reduce the load for NBA players has never been a gesture of sympathy. A more sparing schedule isnt coddling an NBA player any more than a driver not riding the clutch is coddling a manual transmission. The objective isnt altruism -- its performance. Thats always been the NBAs strongest selling point. The NFL revels in its ritual Sundays and pageantry, while baseball offers nostalgia and mythology.But the NBA is where the athletes rule, and the league will ascend only as high as its superstars can soar.Theyd soar higher if the NBA reduced the overall docket of 82 games in addition to the back-to-backs, but the nature of progress is incremental, especially when money is at stake. And after two decades of contentious CBA negotiations that produced a couple of work stoppages and perpetual grumbling, NBA players and owners are in the process of assembling a new contract that, for the first time, considers empirical scientific evidence when formulating its schedule.Next season, the choice between putting the best product on the floor in January and playing to win in June wont stand in such stark contrast. Andrew McCutchen Jersey . 10 Texas Rangers jersey for one last time. Young formally announced his retirement Friday after returning to Rangers Ballpark, his baseball home for all but the last of his 13 major league seasons. Will Clark Jersey . The return match will take place next Wednesday. Udinese leads Fiorentina 2-1 in the other semifinal. Napoli staged a second-half comeback from two goals down after Gervinhos opener and a stunning strike from Kevin Strootman. http://www.cheapsanfranciscogiantsjerseys.com/ . Aaron Harrison scored a 22 points for Kentucky (6-1), which has won four in a row following a Nov. 12 loss to current No. 1 Michigan State. Julius Randle overcame a scoreless first half and added his sixth double-double in as many games with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Cheap Giants Jerseys China . Self was acquired from the Buffalo Bandits in a trade for Alex Hill midway through last season, and made his debut in Rochester on March 16, 2013. Brandon Belt Jersey . -- In a span of seven Washington Redskins offensive plays, Justin Tuck sacked Robert Griffin III four times.McLaren caused a major surprise in Bahrain as Jenson Button finished third behind the dominant Mercedes drivers, who set a scintillating pace in Practice Two. On the weekend Fernando Alonso has been sidelined by a rib injury sustained in his high-speed Australian GP accident, Button delivered McLarens most eye-catching Friday performance since their reunion with Honda 16 months ago.Buttons best lap on supersoft tyres proved the closest anyone could get to Mercedes, although the laps of expected closest challengers Ferrari were compromised by traffic and driver errors. Sebastian Vettels SF16-H later stopped on track. When is Bahrain Qualy on? 4pm starts for both qualifying and the race in Bahrain on Sky F1. The Scuderias problems meant Mercedes were able to streak away by over 1.2 seconds as Nico Rosberg completed a perfect Friday of timesheet-topping laps.The German clocked a stunning 1:31.001 time on supersoft tyres, with Lewis Hamilton unable to get within 0.241 seconds of his on-form team-mate.When is the Bahrain GP on Sky Sports this weekend?Vettel had been half a second behind Mercedes on the soft tyres, but was already 0.9s adrift of Mercedes through the first two sectors of what should have been his quickest lap on supersofts before running wide at the final corner.He finished sixth, one place behind team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, who encountered traffic on both of his qualy-style laps. Sebastian Vettel was forced out of second practice at the Bahrain Grand Prix because of a mechanical problem Ferraris problems then increased in the final 15 minutes when what Vettel suspected was an incorrectly fitted left-rear wheel forced him to pull into the run-off area, cutting short his race simulation.Mercedes are the benchmark, they have looked really competitive this afternoon and this evening, but hopefully we can be a bit closer, Vettel told Sky Sports News HQ. The car feels alright, there is bits and bobs we can improve.Like McLaren, it was a more encouraging P2 for Toro Rosso too as Max Verstappen finished a promising fourth between Button and the Ferraris.dddddddddddded Bull and Williams continued to be closely-matched on pace, with their respective drivers Daniil Kvyat, Valtteri Bottas, Daniel Ricciardo and Felipe Massa filling out the final four positions in the top 10. Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel practice their starts during P2 at Bahrain Jensons pace was surprising - not him but the teams! Hes alright for an old man! joked Ricciardo. Even if Jenson was on five kilos of fuel that was a decent lap time.Haas had occupied a top-10 berth in the early session but slipped to 12th to 14th before running into more structural problems with their VF-16 car.The right-hand side of Romain Grosjeans front wing partially flew off when the Frenchman ran over the kerb at Turn 13.Stoffel Vandoorne, meanwhile, ended his first day in Alonsos race seat in 11th place, 0.7s adrift of Button. However, the Belgian lost most of his time relative to his team-mate in the Bahrain circuits first sector on his best supersoft lap. Practice Two timesheet1. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1:31.0012. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:31.2423. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1:32.2814. Max Verstappen, Toro Rosso, 1:32.4065. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1:32.4526. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1:32.6507. Daniil Kvyat, Red Bull, 1:32.7038. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 1:32.7929. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, 1:32.87010. Felipe Massa, Williams, 1:32.87311. Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren, 1:32.99912. Esteban Gutierrez, Haas, 1:33.12913. Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso, 1:33.17714. Romain Grosjean, Haas, 1:33.38415. Sergio Perez, Force India, 1:33.40616. Kevin Magnussen, Renault, 1:33.44717. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, 1:33.57018. Jolyon Palmer, Renault, 1:33.64019. Pascal Wehrlein, Manor, 1:33.95320. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 1:34.22421. Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 1:34.47722. Rio Haryanto, Manor, 1:34.562 Also See: Practice One Report: Rosberg fastest Whens the Bahrain GP on Sky? ' ' '