CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook had arthroscopic knee surgery Friday and will be sidelined until after the All-Star break. Westbrook will miss at least 27 games. "He will be missed," coach Scott Brooks said before Oklahoma Citys game Friday night against the Charlotte Bobcats. "Obviously we are a very good team with him, and without him were still going to be a very good team." General manager Sam Presti said in a news release earlier in the day that Westbrook has been playing pain-free, but "recently had experienced increased swelling" in his right knee. "After consultation and consideration by his surgeon in Los Angeles, a plan was established to monitor the swelling that included a series of scheduled MRIs," Presti said in the release. "On the most recent MRI it was determined by the surgeon that there was an area of concern that had not previously existed, nor was detectable in the previous procedures, and it was necessary to evaluate Russell further. The consulting physician determined that arthroscopic surgery was necessary to address the swelling that was taking place." Brooks said Reggie Jackson, who is averaging 12.5 points, will start. Jeremy Lamb will also see increased playing time in Westbrooks absence. "Guys believe in what he does for our team," Brooks said of Jackson. "Hes only going to get better. Hes a young point guard in this league." Westbrooks knee problems began in April when he tore his meniscus in the second game of the Western Conference playoffs, sidelining him for the remainder of the post-season and all but ending Oklahoma Citys chances of reaching the NBA Finals. He had a second arthroscopic surgery as the Thunder were preparing for training camp after developing inflammation in the knee. However, Westbrook missed only two regular-season games before returning to the floor. Oklahoma City has since gone on a 21-3 tear with Westbrook in the starting lineup. The five-year NBA player is averaging 21.3 points, seven assists and six rebounds for the Thunder, who entered Friday nights game with a 23-5 record, a half-game behind the first-place Portland Trail Blazers in the Northwest Division. Oklahoma City has won 10 of its last 11 games. In his last game on Christmas, Westbrook didnt look like a player who was in pain, finishing with 14 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in a 123-94 rout of the New York Knicks. Brooks said he didnt know the knee was an issue until after Wednesdays game. "Hes passed every medical benchmark and he was playing great basketball, probably some of the best basketball in the entire league," Brooks said. "Were looking forward to him coming back and getting back to the level that he has played at -- and he will." Nike Air Max 90 Sale Ireland . Louis Cardinals. Victorino is batting sixth and playing right field after missing two games because of back tightness. Adidas Originals Superstar Ireland . Three came down to the fourth quarter while quarterbacks continued to shine in all four games; so important to the overall quality of the game. . Any real chance at payback wont come until the playoff. Still, Pittsburgh knows its taut 3-2 win over the Bruins on Wednesday night is a pretty good place to start laying the groundwork. "They are a very good defensive team," Penguins forward Brandon Sutter said. [url=http://www.max90ieshoes.com/nike-air-max-90-ireland-online/nike-air-max-90-... Air Max 90 Jcrd Gold .com) - Christian Ponder will get another chance to prove himself for the Minnesota Vikings, with head coach Leslie Frazier announcing Wednesday that the struggling quarterback will start this weekends game against the Green Bay Packers.PITTSBURGH -- Forget the 0-4 start. Forget the remarkable finish, the one that kept the Pittsburgh Steelers in the playoff picture until the final minutes of the regular season. Theres no such thing as partial credit in the NFL. "We were an 8-8 team," safety Troy Polamalu said. One that will spend January at home for a second straight year. LeVeon Bell ran for 90 yards and a touchdown as the Steelers drubbed the lifeless Browns 20-7 on Sunday, though Pittsburghs bid to become the second team in NFL history to go winless in September and make the playoffs ended when San Diego edged Kansas City 27-24 in overtime. "We are going to build on this," quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. "I think we have put together a good foundation." One that went 6-2 over the final eight weeks, recovering from a potentially franchise-altering 55-31 loss to New England on Nov. 3 to play perhaps the best football in the AFC by someone not named Denver over the second half. Or, the exact opposite of what happened in Cleveland, which fired first-year coach Rob Chudzinski hours after the game. The Browns (4-12) lost their final seven games and 10 of their last 11. Not exactly the step forward new owner Jimmy Haslam was looking for with a roster littered with five Pro Bowl players. "We needed to see progress with this football team," the Browns said in a statement after firing Chudzinski. "We needed to see development and improvement as the season evolved and, unfortunately, we took a concerning step backward in the second half of the year. "Our fans deserve to see a consistently competitive team. We have high standards, and theres an urgency for success. When we believed we were not positioned to achieve significant progress in 2014, we knew we had to admit that a change was needed, and move forward." Chudzinskis players did something after the game they failed to do during it: rally around their coach. "Its just absurd to me that a report would be out like that, about a good coach like that," Browns linebacker DQwell Jackson said. "Its crazy, and that (ticked) me off when I heard that." Cleveland didnt exactly play angry while letting the Steelers roll to victory for the 26th time in 31 meetings since the Browns were revived in 1999. Roethlisberger passed for 179 yards and a touchdown against two interceptions as Pittsburgh won its third straight to avoid the franchises first losing season since 2003. "Guys just kept fighting," Steelers defensive end Cam Heyward said. "Wasnt anything glorious or something beautiful, we just came out of nowhhere.dddddddddddd" Jason Campbell completed 23 of 41 passes for 240 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Josh Gordon caught seven passes for 82 yards to finish with an NFL-high 1,646 yards receiving, a first for the franchise. It proved little solace on a wet, miserable day at Heinz Field in which Cleveland looked very much like the same old Browns. Cleveland was largely noncompetitive over the seasons final three months, with seven losses by a touchdown or more, including two to the Steelers by a combined 47-18. There is no sense of panic in Pittsburgh. A season that appeared teetering on embarrassment after the record-setting loss to the Patriots ended up with a decidedly rosier finish. The Steelers scored on the opening drive, a 9-yard strike from Roethlisberger to Jerricho Cotchery, and it was more than enough. Whenever the Browns threatened, they found a way to botch it. Twice they failed on fourth-down attempts in Pittsburgh territory and didnt reach the end zone until Campbell found Fozzy Whitaker on a 35-yard pass with 2:46 remaining. By then most of the attention had turned to the scoreboard, where the biggest roars were saved for scores by the Bengals and Jets, who then won to boost Pittsburghs playoff chances. Kansas City nearly did the same, but Ryan Succop missed a 41-yard field goal with 4 seconds left in regulation and San Diego survived. Still, the Steelers remain convinced better days lay ahead, thanks in part to Bells rapid development. He broke Hall of Famer Franco Harris team record for total yards from scrimmage by a rookie by combining for 96 yards in the muck at Heinz Field. Bell finished with 1,259 total yards in just 13 games, 24 more than the mark of 1,235 Harris set in 1972. Bells 5-yard touchdown burst in the second quarter, which included a nifty spin move in the backfield, gave the Steelers a 14-0 lead at the break. It capped an 87-yard drive in which he touched the ball 10 times in 14 plays. That was plenty for a rejuvenated defence that sacked Campbell three times, including a strip fumble by defensive end Brett Keisel, likely playing his final regular-season game of his 12-year career with Pittsburgh. Despite the outcome, Keisel isnt closing the door on a return. "I still feel like I can play," Keisel said. "You know, well see." Just not until 2014. NOTES: Brown caught nine passes for 97 yards to finish with 110 receptions on the season, narrowly missing the club mark of 112 set by Hines Ward in 2012. ... Roethlisberger finished with 4,261 yards passing, the second-highest total in team history to his 4,328 in 2009. Cheap China Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China China NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China ' ' '