Releases » NASCARs vice-president for competition and

MILWAUKEE -- If Monta Ellis was wondering what to expect in his first trip back to Milwaukee, he found out pretty quickly. Boos during introductions and, for a while at least, every single time he touched the ball against the team he played for last season. Ellis got the best of his former team and its fans, shaking off the boos to contribute 18 points and five assists to help the Dallas Mavericks hold off the Milwaukee Bucks 91-83 Saturday night. "I knew I was going to get something out there," Ellis said. "When they called my name and they booed, I knew what (kind of) night it was going to be. Like I said, Its part of it. Im not worried about it." Dirk Nowitzki had 16 points and Shawn Marion added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Mavericks, who blew a big lead with sloppy offensive play in the third quarter. O.J. Mayo had 28 points and Caron Butler added 19 for the Bucks, who were playing their second straight game without forward Larry Sanders. Like Ellis, Mayo also was getting his first shot at the team he played for last season. "Guys definitely do get jacked up for it," Bucks coach Larry Drew said. "When youre going against your old team, you play to try to prove something. Sometimes it can work for you, sometimes it can work against you." For his part, Mayo insisted playing the Mavericks wasnt anything special to him. "Nothing," Mayo said. "Just another game on the schedule." Ellis signed with Dallas as a free agent in the off-season after playing for the Bucks last season and a portion of the 2011-12 season. So far, Mavs coach Rick Carlisle says the team is getting exactly what it expected -- a player who can challenge defenders and provide a strong scoring punch alongside Nowitzki. "He and Dirk are our two best players," Carlisle said. "We expect a lot out of those guys every night. Tonight, they both came up big." Ellis did have some big games in Milwaukee, but fans apparently recall inconsistency and his inability to meld with then-fellow Bucks guard Brandon Jennings. "When I laced up here, I did everything I could to help this team win," Ellis said. "The fans, theyre going to feel the way they feel anyway." Milwaukee struggled on defence from the outset, falling behind 55-40 at halftime as the Mavericks shot 50 per cent from the floor. But the Bucks began forcing turnovers and went on an extended 17-4 run to finish the third quarter, cutting the lead to 68-64 going into the fourth. After a hot first half, Ellis had only six points and no assists after halftime. "We kind of let him get away from us in the first half," Drew said. "And Montas a good player. Hes very explosive." The Bucks stayed in the game, trailing by four with 2:23 remaining. But Mayo lost the ball and Nowitzki hit a turnaround jumper with 1:46 left to give the Mavericks an 87-81 lead. Carlisle was pleased with his teams defence, something that has been an issue on the road early this season. "We talked about it this morning," Carlisle said. "We talked about how our chemistry on the road hasnt been good. The guys made a stand tonight." Drew, meanwhile, has had enough of watching his team dig big holes early and then try to climb out of them. "Im tired of playing comeback basketball," Drew said, citing earlier games against Boston and New York. "I really am. It just takes too much out of you." The Bucks were again without Sanders, who missed his second straight game with a right thumb sprain. It has been a difficult week for Sanders, who issued a public apology after he was involved in an altercation at a nightclub. No charges were filed, but it was a hit to the image of a player whose popularity and play both have been on the rise. The Bucks have said his thumb injury happened in a game, not during the altercation. NOTES: Drew said there is no specific timeline for guard Luke Ridnour to return from back spasms. Drew said Ridnour recently received a second cortisone shot. ... Carlisle said guard Devin Harris has been cleared to do some light workouts. He had surgery on his left foot Aug. 6. ... Knight returned from a right hamstring strain for Milwaukee. Miami Dolphins Jerseys . Speaking with TSN 1050 following Brendan Shanahans introductory press conference, the Leafs GM also addressed the clubs perceived leadership issues and the type of working relationship that can be expected within Torontos front office. Mark Clayton Dolphins Jersey . Pretty good hitting, too. Dan Haren pitched six innings and sparked the go-ahead rally with a single, leading Los Angeles to another win over the skidding Atlanta Braves, 4-2 on Tuesday night. http://www.authenticdolphinspro.com/Reshad-jones-dolphins-jersey/ . The Raptors have to get through the pesky New York Knicks Wednesday at Madison Square Garden and can lock up the third spot in the Eastern Conference with a win or a Chicago loss in Charlotte. Nat Moore Youth Jersey . - Ronda Rousey realizes shes finishing up one of the biggest years for any fighter in the young history of mixed martial arts at UFC 168, and the UFCs bantamweight champion intends to go out on top. Durham Smythe Youth Jersey . The lightning strike was in the parking lot of Crew Stadium on Saturday night, but its not known if the off-duty lieutenant was struck directly, Columbus Fire Department Battalion Chief Tracy Smith said. The firefighter, identified as Lt.AVONDALE, Ariz. -- A few drivers, like Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano, raced onto the track to get in their qualifying sessions. Others waited, some nearly 10 minutes, before heading out for the first time. There were long stretches with almost no activity followed by mad scrambles to get runs in before time ran out. Cars raced past each other at close to a 100 mph difference. No doubt, this first round of NASCARs new knockout qualifying was a little strange and will take some getting used to. Brad Keselowski earned the first Sprint Cup pole under NASCARs new format, edging Joey Logano with a track-record top speed of 139.384 mph at Phoenix International Raceway on Friday. "Its a lot more nerve-racking," Keselowski said. "Usually a pretty good rule of thumb is that If its more nerve-racking for the drivers, its a lot more fun for our fans and partners and all those things, and thats a good thing. Im more interested in feedback from our fans to see if they liked it." Keselowski was one of the first drivers to go out in the first session and finished behind Logano. He trumped his teammate in the shorter, second session to earn his fourth career pole and a spot on the front row for Sundays 312-mile race. Jamie McMurray qualified third, defending Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson was fourth and Daytona 500 champion Dale Earnhardt Jr. will start fifth, next to Greg Biffle. "The qualifying format was before because I felt like I was one of those guys it was exciting for me because I wasnt in, I made another run, I got in," McMurray said. "The excitement was there." NASCAR made numerous changes for this season, including a tweaked qualifying process in an effort to liven up what had become a monotonous part of race weekend. Instead of going out one at a time, the entire field gets a 30-minute session to post their fastest lap, with the top 12 moving on to a 10-minute second round. On bigger tracks, the qualifying will have three sessions, with the field cut to 24 then 12. NASCAR got a glimpse of the new system at Daytona last week, but it didnt last long; the Nationwide series was able to get inn one round before rain washed out the rest of the qualifying and for the Truck Series.dddddddddddd The Daytona 500 didnt use the new qualifying process, so Phoenix was the inaugural go-round. No one knew quite what to expect and there was a bit of concern about drivers intentionally blocking each other to prevent fast lap times, something NASCAR officials planned to keep an eye on. Instead, the action on the track was sparse for long stretches, with some drivers racing out to get qualifying laps in right away while several others waited several minutes to get their first lap in. One issue while there were multiple cars on the track were the speeds. NASCAR decided against allowing teams to have cool down units in their pit stalls, so most of the drivers in the field put in one fast lap and one that was much slower to cool their engines, creating differences of up to 100 mph between the cars. "Weve got a really good dialogue with all of our competitors," said Robin Pemberton, NASCARs vice-president for competition and racing development. "They dont want to force us to do something thats wrong. They weigh in because they think things can be better. Its our job to take and balance all that out and remove the agenda part of that a team may or may not have. Right now, its working pretty good." For the first session, Logano and Keselowski were at the front of the pack along pit road -- by random drawing -- and raced to get out in front on the track so theyd have a clear path. Logano put up the fastest time early and Keselowski was right behind him in second. Despite teams coming in for adjustments -- one crewmember was allowed to come over the wall to make minor changes -- those two stayed out front for the entire first session. For the final session, Keselowski put up his fast time relatively early in the 10-minute window and swapped places with Logano for the pole. "Unfortunately, we won the wrong one," Logano said. "We won the first one and our teammate got the second one, but either way we both had a chance to win something. He just got the trophy to take the pictures with." ' ' '