Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. . This week they discuss the return of Stephen Strasburg, a new Canadian to keep an eye on in London, a not-so stellar report on Vancouvers Stanley Cup riot, and a tale of two twins. Dave Naylor, TSN: My thumb is up to Stephen Strasburg - remember him? - last years rookie pitching phenom who tantalized us for a few weeks before snapping a ligament in his throwing elbow last July. It was one year ago yesterday that Strasburg underwent Tommy John surgery and began his long road back. The fact that he is due back to start for the Washington Nationals on Tuesday is testament both to his perseverance and the advances in sport medicine that have sped recovery times. Strasburg, with his great control, fastball and ability to rack up strikeouts was the most exciting player to enter the majors in years - at least until a guy named Brett Lawrie came along. We can only hope hes able to pick up where he left off. Steve Simmons, Toronto Sun: My thumb is up to Dylan Armstrong, the shot putter from Kamloops who made Canadian history this week in winning a silver medal at the World Track and Field Championships in South Korea. Just how rare was his podium performance? Well, put it this way: in the entire history of the World Championships, Canada has won just 17 medals in track, four of them by the great Donovan Bailey. This was the first by any Canadian athlete in a field event ever. And Armstrong came within one throw of winning gold. With a year to go the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Canada now has a new name to follow, a reason to watch field events, a new sport to care about. Bruce Arthur, National Post: My thumb would be down to John Furlong and Douglas Keefe, the authors of the 396-page report on the post Game-7 Vancouver riot, but since they didnt blame anybody other than the rioters, why should I be any different? The report does helpfully establish what happened that night, what went wrong, and offers a raft of recommendations. But it studiously avoids blaming anybody official, despite pointing out all the different ways that authorities failed to properly plan for, and later prevent the spread of, the riot. The people who broke the law should be blamed - and maybe even charged, eventually - but the mayors office bore some responsibility and the police bore some responsibility. And the people writing the definitive history of that night should probably have said so. Dave Hodge, TSN: My thumb is down to the promotional company in Minnesota that held back a $50,000 prize that had apparently been won by 11-year-old Nick Smith for successfully shooting a puck from centre ice through a small hole in a board 90 feet away. The reason: it was nicks twin brother Nate who actually took the shot, because Nick was outside the arena at the time the winning ticket was drawn. Pat smith, the twins father, revealed the truth the day after Nate, doubling as Nick, had been congratulated for his marksmanship. The promotional firm deliberated and then offered a $20,000 donation to youth hockey in the boys names. Chintzy. Pay out the full amount to the kids, to charity, whatever, and pay it in honour of the truth being told. Thats worth more than a lucky shot. Wonder if the Sedins ever switched numbers? [url=http://www.stitchednflcheapjerseys.com/Nike-nfl-jerseys_Buffalo-bills-jerse... Buffalo Bills Jerseys . Parker had 22 points in his return from an eight-game absence, Tim Duncan added 19 points and 16 rebounds and the San Antonio Spurs escaped with a 104-97 overtime victory against the Utah Jazz on Friday night. Cheap Buffalo Sabres Jerseys . Avery, the Orioles second-round pick in the 2008 draft, was poised to make his major league debut in Sundays game against Tampa Bay. He hit leadoff and was in left field. The 22-year-old Avery hit . ht... . Ray Allen and Shane Battier combined for 24 points in the fourth quarter, and the Heat scored the first 13 points of the period to erase Atlantas 10-point lead and beat the Hawks 103-90 on Wednesday night for their eighth straight win. [url=http://www.orgcheapjerseys.com/]wholesale jerseys ." Briefly out of the league, he is indeed back again -- this time with his fourth team, hoping to bring stability to the reeling Browns. jerseys from china . 1 Lleyton Hewitt rallied past Michael Russell of the United States 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 in the first round at the Queens Club on Monday.DENVER -- Al Harrington doesnt want to sit out with a sore right knee when the Denver Nuggets are very much in the thick of the playoff chase. So, the teams top reserve plans to play through a torn meniscus Wednesday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Harrington hurt the knee in a win over the Orlando Magic on April 1 and has been fighting through the persistent pain ever since. He will wear a protective brace when the Nuggets face Kevin Love and the Timberwolves. After the morning practice, Harrington said the knee will limit his explosiveness and he may not be able to box out and rebound with the same energy he typically does. But he wants to give it a go, especially since the Nuggets are clinging to the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. "Aint no time (to be hurt)," said Harrington, whos averaging 14.5 points a game and 6.2 rebounds. Still, hes going to be smart about his balky knee, chatting with team doctors just to make sure he can hold off on potential surgery until the off-season. "My biggest concern is making sure I cant make myself worse from this, put myself in danger to hurt something else," Harrington said. "Thats the biggest thing Im going to through with the doctors, to make sure I can continue to play at a high level without putting myself at a risk." The Nuggets have come to rely on Harrington not only for his offensive contributions, but his leadership on the floor as well. Although Harrington enters the game off the bench, he still averages nearly 28 minutes a game, which is on par with the starters. Hes certainly earned the respect of coach George Karl, who counts on him, along with Arron Afflalo and Ty Lawson, to keep the Nuggets running smoothly in an injury-plagued season. "Doesnt Al get some votes this year?" Karl said of the teams MVP race. "I think he does. Ty, Arron and Al would probably be the threee guys you throw onto the list of votes. cheap jerseys from china. They sound like three guys Id go for." Harrington has played four games on his sore knee since the ailment first surfaced. The discomfort is something he can handle -- for the most part. "If I can keep playing, I want to keep playing," Harrington said. "I want to finish this thing out. I think weve had a good season. This is the best part of the season, when youre in the hunt like this. I really dont want to leave the guys hanging." Karl said he will keep a close watch on Harrington. "Some games maybe we extend him, some games maybe we sit him," Karl explained. Given Harringtons fickle knee, Karl could be leaning on rookie Kenneth Faried even more. Faried, whose nickname is "Manimal," is coming off a monster night in a 123-84 win over Golden State on Monday. He finished with 27 points and 17 boards. "We all thought he was going to be a good player," Karl said of the Morehead State standout. "To get him playing at this level and be as important and responsible to how successful we are, I dont think anyone couldve expected that." The health of Harrington is the latest setback the Nuggets have had to deal with this season. Forward Wilson Chandler remains questionable with a hip strain, an injury thats sidelined him for the last five games. However, Danilo Gallinari was back in the lineup Monday after sitting out 10 games because of a broken left thumb. He played 30 minutes and scored 15 points. "Injuries are a difficult area for any coach. It becomes very frustrating when weve had a lot of them," Karl said. "I get kind of annoyed because I listen to all these other games and everybody talks about their injuries. It seems like they (broadcasters) never talk about our injuries. "I dont think were underachieving this year. I think were overachieving." ' ' '