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LAS VEGAS -- Rarely have meaningless games felt so important. The takeaway from this years Las Vegas NBA Summer League wasnt the winners and losers -- it was the interest. It helped carry the leagues momentum forward from a highly watched NBA Finals and another news-heavy free-agency period.The NBA has dominated the sports landscape for 2 ? months, ever since the final name was called in the NFL draft at the end of April. Other events pop up and fade away -- golf majors, tennis grand slam events, Major League Baseballs All-Star Game -- and the NBA keeps carving out its spot in the news cycle. It helps that the NBAs summer leagues provide the quickest turnaround from draft-to-action of any sport; Orlando summer league participants were in uniform a mere nine days after commissioner Adam Silver called their names. In addition to filling a gap in the sports schedule, these games serve to pre-sell the next season, as Las Vegas league founder Warren LeGarie puts it.The night of the heavily hyped UFC 200 fight card, which packed 18,202 spectators into the new T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip, there were 16,000 NBA fans in the Thomas & Mack Center/Cox Pavilion complex to watch top draft picks Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram square off in the Philadelphia 76ers-Los Angeles Lakers game. Its far from playoff-caliber basketball, but the mixture of rookies eager to show their chops and well-traveled veterans still pursuing their NBA dreams keeps things competitive. I was a sideline reporter for eight games, and three of them were decided on last-second plays, including that 76ers-Lakers matchup.It all points to the overall health and relevancy of a league thats awash in lucrative television-rights money and rich in social-media currency, though that doesnt mean there arent concerns.Its a young league ... and an inexperienced league, said one team executive as he watched the action at Thomas & Mack. For two decades now the top talent has entered the NBA after just one year of college or straight from high school. Casual fans might not notice the impact on the game, but former players and longtime executives worry about the quality of play suffering.Theres also concern about a lack of competitive fire when stars are so quick to team up. Kevin Durants name came up every day in Las Vegas -- especially when the NBAs board of governors met last Tuesday. Small-market teams remain concerned that theyll be left out of future star alignments, so there are rumblings of tightening player movement if the leagues collective bargaining agreement is reopened after the 2016-17 season. Still, there isnt a consensus feeling that a work stoppage is inevitable, as there was ahead of the 2011 collective bargaining negotiations.If the league is reluctant to radically change the Hack-a-Shaq policy because it affects so few players, why should it fundamentally alter the collective bargaining agreement just to control an even smaller number of players? Durant and LeBron James are the only players who can single-handedly tilt the balance of power right now ... and if Durant doesnt roll off a string of trips to the NBA Finals with the Golden State Warriors, then it means were really only talking about James.Players are making too much money and the owners franchise values have risen too high for there to be a protracted fight over dollars. But the other lesson from all this prosperity is that fans will forgive lost games for a work stoppage. There sure doesnt seem to be any leftover hard feelings from the 16 games that were dropped from the schedule in 2011-12.Everythings better once theres ball again. The crowds in Las Vegas, even the decent ones that showed up on weekday afternoons, show theres interest in any basketball that carries the NBA brand. When games came down to the last possession, the crowds stood and cheered as if the Larry OBrien trophy was on the line.Fans got to see for themselves how Ben Simmons combined a power forward physique with a point guards passing skills. They saw Brandon Ingram score over people, even if he had difficulty powering through them. They saw Kris Dunn show that the Minnesota Timberwolves have the makings of another budding star to go with Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins (while Tyus Jones will be either a useful reserve or valuable trade candidate). Bobby Portis looked like a player the Chicago Bulls can pair with Jimmy Butler for a long time, once they decide what direction they want to team to take. And Tyler Ulis looked ready to continue the Phoenix Suns new tradition of small guards.Theres an eye-glazing amount of basketball in Las Vegas -- 67 games over 10 days. Theres an audience thats willing to watch it, though. In the reality TV show era, presence matters just as much as product. The NBA has plenty of both. Under Armour Cheap Online .com) - The Montreal Canadiens will try to halt their longest losing streak of the season when they host the struggling New York Islanders in tonights clash at the Bell Centre. Cheap Under Armour China . "We have always prided ourselves on the way we play defence. Having two big pieces back is going to be a key for us moving forward for years to come," said Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen. http://www.underarmourcheap.net/ . The 29-year-old from Port Colborne, Ont., has nothing but good things to say about former U.S. marine Liz (Girlrilla) Carmouche ahead of their co-main event Wednesday on the UFCs "Fight for the Troops" televised card in Fort Campbell, Ky. Wholesale Under Armour . Aside from the trilogy main event title fight, there are a number of intriguing matchups in the heavyweight, welterweight and lightweight divisions. Under Armour Shoes Clearance . - Levi Browns tenure at left tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers is over before it even began. BARCELONA, Spain -- Carlos Vela scored one goal and set up another Saturday as Real Sociedad picked up where it left off last season by outclassing Getafe 2-0 with its exquisite flowing attack to inaugurate the Spanish league at Anoeta Stadium. The Mexico forward netted the first goal of the 2013-14 season from a pass by Gonzalo "Chori" Castro in the 42nd, and then assisted Haris Seferovic for the new signing to get a deserved goal in the 70th. Later, Ernesto Valverde began his second stint as the coach of Athletic Bilbao with a 2-1 win at Valladolid, while Valencia marked coach Miroslav Djukics first game in charge with a 1-0 victory over visiting Malaga. Sociedad showed no signs of the transition from former manager Philippe Montanier to promoted assistant Jagoba Arrasate as it maintained its passing style that last season earned it a playoff for the Champions League group phase beginning Tuesday at Lyon. "It was important to start off on the right foot," said Arrasate. "This reaffirms that this team knows how to compete. Without a doubt it gives us confidence. We know the game on Tuesday will be difficult but we are excited to play what will be a historic game for Real Sociedad." Seferovic was particularly active early on in San Sebastian, going close several times and passing for Castro to force goalkeeper Miguel Moya to push his rising shot onto the bar. Castro helped Sociedad convert its dominant possession into the opener when he used one touch to play Vela clear of the defence. Vela did the rest by coolly chipping the ball over the onrushing Moya to record the first goal of the season. Moments after Diego Castro had Getafes best scoring opportunity, Vela picked out Seferovics run and slipped the ball through for the Swiss to dink it over Moya from a tight angle and secure the three points. Valverde first coached Bilbao from 2003-05 and returned on a two-year contract after the Basque club didnt offer Marcelo Bielsa an extension following a disappointing second campaign under the Argentine last season. And while Bilbao still showed some frailties in defence, it was sound enough to hold off Valladolids late surge to give Valverde a bright second start. MMarkel Susaeta finished off a brilliant combination of one-touch passes from a corner kick to put Bilbao ahead in the 28th.dddddddddddd Bilbao worked the ball away from Valladolids area before new arrival Benat Etxebarria used a no-look pass to serve Susaeta inside the box for the forward to fire home. Patrick Ebert drilled in Valladolids equalizer three minutes later when Oscar Gonzalez spotted him arriving late to the area unmarked by the visiting defence. But Iker Muniain was quick to pounce and knock in a ball sent off the post by Valladolid defender Marc Valiente to restore Bilbaos lead for good five minutes after halftime. Ander Herrera nearly extended the advantage when he hit the goal frame in the 75th. Valverde said his side lacked pace in the first half but he was pleased with its performance, above all in being efficient in attack. "We came from a preseason where we created a lot of scoring chances but lacked the precision to finish them off," he said. "Today it was the opposite. We didnt have too many but scored twice. The first was a beautiful goal, by the way. I was convinced that we had players of sufficient quality up front not only to create chances but to convert them as well, and today we did that." After a dull 63 minutes at Mestalla Stadium, Ricardo Costa took what proved to be the winner for Valencia when Malaga goalkeeper Willy Caballero fumbled his attempt to catch a looping high ball, with the ball falling for the defender to stab in. While Djukic enjoyed his first win, Malagas Bernd Schuster saw his new team struggle to produce scoring opportunities. The former Barcelona and West Germany midfielder took over Malaga from Manuel Pellegrini this off-season and has received a squad depleted of its main players following the exit of Francisco "Isco" Alarcon and Jeremy Toulalan, among others. Barcelona opens its title defence on Sunday at home against Levante, while Real Madrid hosts Real Betis, Atletico Madrid visits Sevilla, and Granada is at Osasuna. On Monday, both the promoted Villarreal and Almeria face one another, while Elche-- the third newcomer to the topflight-- visits Rayo Vallecano, and Celta Vigo hosts Espanyol. ' ' '