EL SEGUNDO, Calif. cheap jerseys from china . -- Mike DAntoni circled the court 2 feet at a time, moving smoothly on crutches while his Los Angeles Lakers went through drills orchestrated by his assistant coach and brother, Dan. Although DAntonis surgically replaced knee is slowing him down a bit, he couldnt wait any longer to get the Lakers rolling. DAntoni formally took over the Lakers on Thursday, four days after the slow-starting club hired him to replace Mike Brown. The former Knicks and Suns coach is still on crutches and pain medication after surgery earlier this month, but thinks hell soon be back to normal while he attempts to transform the Lakers into his vision of an up-tempo, high-scoring team. "Im really happy to be here -- excited," DAntoni said. "(Were) starting to put stuff in now. Might take a little bit, but ... were built to win this year. This is not a five-year project. We have a window, and were going to try to get through it." Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak welcomed DAntoni after practice at a news conference packed with dozens of media members. Given his limited mobility, DAntoni isnt likely to make his sideline debut until Sunday night against Houston, with interim coach Bernie Bickerstaff probably manning the bench again Friday night against Phoenix. "This is a great city to have an up-tempo, exciting game that has a legitimate shot to win a championship," DAntoni said. "I cant ask for anything more." DAntonis affable charm immediately worked on the Lakers, who praised their new coachs demeanour during their first few hours together. The coach acknowledged few qualms about taking over the star-studded roster that got off to a 1-4 start to the season, speaking instead of the limitless possibilities of the Lakers talent within his creative style of coaching. DAntoni said he rooted for Jerry Wests Lakers while growing up in 1960s West Virginia, and he wont have any problem transferring his allegiances after trying to beat L.A. for so many years in Phoenix. The coach also realizes his up-tempo style of play will mesh nicely with the Lakers heritage under Magic Johnson -- who has already criticized DAntonis hire. "We would love to be able to play Showtime-type basketball," DAntoni said. "Now, they might have done it the best that you can do it. We would like to get some place close to that. I think that would be awesome." Los Angeles has gone 2-1 under Bickerstaff since Browns firing, and the veteran coach was in practice Thursday along with Browns entire staff. They finished their workout with a huddle around DAntoni, followed by a one-word cheer: "Championship!" DAntoni isnt likely to have much trouble meshing with Steve Nash and Kobe Bryant. Nash became a two-time NBA MVP running DAntonis offence in Phoenix, while Bryant has played for DAntoni on the U.S. national team. The coach also recalls the 12-year-old Bryant hanging out at his games in the Italian league. "He can come over and cuss me out in Italian, and you guys might not even know it," DAntoni said. DAntoni also has ties to Howard, who has been on U.S. national teams with DAntoni on the coaching staff, and backup forward Jordan Hill, who briefly played for the coach in New York. How quickly that familiarity translates into wins will decide how quickly DAntoni is comfortable in his new job. His greatest task might be forming a bond with Howard, the defence-mindedcentre who will be the Lakers top star for many more years if he re-signs with the club next summer. Howard was intrigued by his first practice under DAntoni, but realizes the process takes time. "We cant just expect for him to come in and we have one day of practice, and then the next day were scoring 150 points," Howard said. "I dont think it works like that." DAntoni ran his first practice without his top two point guards: Nash is still out with a small fracture in his leg, while Steve Blake missed the Lakers last game with a minor abdominal strain. DAntoni is excited for his reunion with Nash, but hes also thrilled by his first chance to coach Blake, a player he identified as an ideal fit for his system a decade ago. "He said we should be scoring 110 points a game, or something like that," said Bryant, who isnt worried about how the veteran Lakers will play defence. "How many defensive players do you need on one team? At some point, you just throw the ball out there and let us figure things out on our own, which is really what we do best, and thats what were going to do." Kupchak also shed more light on the Lakers decision to choose DAntoni over 11-time champion coach Phil Jackson, who seemed interested in a third stint on Los Angeles bench. Kupchak and Lakers owner Jim Buss wanted to see more aggression and freedom for the Lakers, identifying DAntoni as their top choice early in their search, but strongly considered Jackson after the Lakers crowds chants of "We want Phil!" last weekend. "We just felt there was so much public support that we felt it might be difficult not to hire him," Kupchak said. "My feeling (before Saturdays meeting with Jackson) was that he didnt want to coach any more, and when he left two years ago, he felt he stayed a year too long. We gradually got to the position where we could do what we think is right for the team. It took us a couple of days to sort through that, and we knew there would be a ridiculous amount of criticism for making this decision, but it was clearly and only a basketball decision." 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Seven straight wins to get into the playoffs under midseason replacement Bruce Boudreau in 2008. Winning eight of 10 last year under Dale Hunter after Boudreau was fired. TORONTO -- Last season he was shooting down suggestions of steroid abuse. This season hes defending his team against allegations of sign stealing. Jose Bautista wonders what he and the Toronto Blue Jays will have to answer for next. In the latest twist in what has become an ongoing saga, an ESPN report says at least four members of an opposing team -- identified by Bautista as the Chicago White Sox -- claim the Blue Jays stole signs from outside the field of play during games at Rogers Centre. "This is just ridiculous and fictitious," Bautista said. "Im intrigued to see what theyre going to come up with next week or next year to try to decipher why were playing good or why were doing good or something," the Toronto Blue Jays right-fielder said before Wednesdays game against the Oakland Athletics. Bautista has 33 homers this season, tops in baseball, and led the majors with 54 last season. As his home run total mounted last year he had to listen to suggestions that steroids might be involved. "Doing things that are illegal in the game of baseball, this has not happened here and it wont happen," Bautista said. "Thats not the way I do things. Thats the same answer I gave last year about the whole steroid thing." Players in the visiting bullpen noticed a man dressed in white in the outfield at the Jays stadium in April of 2010. According to the websites report, the players said the man made signals from the outfield stands to Toronto batters, apparently alerting them to what pitch was coming. "I dont see how you can look at the ball and look at that at the same time," Bautista said. "Its impossible in my head. From reading the article, I have no idea how they claim this is done. ... It would help anybody to know whats coming. Of course it does." The all-star was supported by Torontos front office. "This is stupid," said Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos who denied that his team stole signs in the article and did so again before Wednesdays home game against the Oakland Athletics. "Theres zero truth to this," Anthopoulos told reporters. "No ones ever contacted me. No GM has picked up the phone and called me. "The way I was raised, if I have an issue, if I had a concern, if I think someone on the other side is doing something Im going to call, Im going to walk across the field (and) go talk to someone. Im going to do something like that. No there hasnt been anything like that at all." New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi suggested last month that the Blue Jays might be stealing signs at Rogers Centre. Yankees catcher Russell Martin of Chelsea, Que., said at the time he suspected the Toronto players were stealing signs from second base. Girardi had little to say when asked to comment on the latest allegations against the Blue Jays. "People have been stealing signs since the beginning of time," Girardi said before the Yankees hosted the Angels. "Its your job as a club to protect your signs." Asked about the matter before his game at Baltimore, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen acknowledged being aware of Torontos reputation for sign stealing. "People talk about it," Guillen said. "If it works, they should be in first place." The Blue Jays entered play Wednesday at 58-57, fourth in the AL East and 14 games out of first place. Theyre 28-27 at home, where they were no-hit by Detroits Justin Verlander in May, and 30-30 on the road. Verlanders May 7 no-hitter was one of four times the Blue Jays have been shutout this season, with three of those coming at home. Both Guillen and Girardi said protecting signs is the responsibility of the catcher. Joe Greene Elite Womens Jersey. . "If you have stolen signs, you have a dumb catcher," Guillen said. "If you see guys stealing signs, change the signs." Blue Jays fans and players had some fun with the allegations during Wednesdays game. Several fans in the outfield seats wore white shirts, with one holding a sign that read "FASTBALL." Another a few rows back held one that read "Im stealing your signs." Seated in the bullpen, reliever Casey Janssen fashioned a pair of binoculars out of two paper cups and a roll of tape, and wore them around his neck. Still, not everyone was laughing. Anthopoulos wondered why former Blue Jays players or personnel werent contacted for the story. "To do something like this would take a whole lot of work by this organization to keep everybody quiet," he said. "I just wish people would look at the common sense component first and say Is this really realistic? "Think of what would have to go into all this stuff. Really thats as far as it goes. I dont think its fair. I dont think its fair to our players, I dont think its fair to the organization." Added Bautista: "This is sad, funny and ridiculous at the same time," The right-fielder could not recall any past issues with the White Sox. "To me its unprofessional," Blue Jays catcher J.P. Arencibia said. "Its a joke. Its somebody discrediting our success. As a baseball player, I think theres zero chance of it working. Im very upset about it, because I take it personally." Catchers often use multiple signs to try to eliminate any chance of an opponent picking up on something -- usually a runner at second base -- and using it to their advantage. Stealing signs from outside the field of play is generally deemed to be unacceptable. According to the ESPN report, some visiting teams have started using multiple signs between catcher and pitcher at the stadium, even when no Blue Jays are on base "First of all I think that the statements that were made -- and all I can speak to were the recent statements -- theyre completely misguided," Blue Jays manager John Farrell said. "And its to suggest that if a player does well its for other reasons rather than hard work and making adjustments. Players change. We see it all the time, Players will make fundamental adjustments and theyll reap the rewards of those adjustments and the work." Michael Teevan, the public relations director for Major League Baseball, said there are no electronics allowed in dugouts or team areas. However, when it comes to sign stealing, there are no clear rules on the issue. "In terms of sign stealing, Im not aware of anything thats in our rules about it," Teevan said. "Traditionally as the old saying goes, its something that teams kind of police themselves. "But in general I would say that if a club calls us with something to look into, then wed look into it." Teevan added that MLB has not received a complaint. Farrell, who was the Boston Red Sox pitching coach for the previous four seasons, said there were no suspicions that the Blue Jays were doing anything abnormal in attempting to steal signs when he was with Boston. "Nothing outside the norm of location might be being relayed from second base or something that I would venture to say to a certain extent every team does," Farrell said. "Its the same reason why we equip our pitchers either there or here with multiple sets of signs." "Its a story for today," Anthopoulos said Wednesday. "But for me its, a non-story." With files from The Associated Press. ' ' '