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RIO DE JANEIRO -- Like so many kids, Kyrie Irving dreamed about putting on the uniform of his home country and playing in the Olympics.For Australia, mate.Born in Melbourne, where his father played professionally, the starting point guard for the heavily favored U.S. mens team was still considering the possibility of playing for the Aussies just a few years ago.I was very serious, man, he said.But as fate would have it, Irving followed the advice of his college coach, the one who mentors him to this day and the one who once told him he could be the guard of your era and chose to play for the Americans.Im glad that he decided to do that, said Mike Krzyzewski, the U.S. coach who had Irving for a short time at Duke.Irvings surface roots Down Under will be just one of the subplots Wednesday when the U.S. team, which has barely broken a sweat during its first two games in Brazil, faces unbeaten Australia. The Aussies are the surprise squad of the Rio Games and are a group loaded with NBA talent, championship rings and big game-experience.They have great camaraderie and theyre talented, Krzyzewski said. Theyre all NBA players so they understand what it is to play against our guys.Along with his unique connection to the Aussies, Irving will be going head-to-head with Matthew Dellavedova, his former teammate in Cleveland with whom he now shares a lifelong bond after they won a title together earlier this summer.Cavaliers teammates for three seasons, theyre friends turned foes for one day.Irving expects the hard-nosed Dellavedova, a tenacious defender with a knack for getting under an opponents skin, to come at him from the outset. Hes ready.Just like I should be worried about him, he should be worried about me, Irving said Tuesday before practice. It goes both ways. Hes a great defender as well, but my job is to win the basketball game for the U.S. and Im going to do everything possible to do that. So when we step on the floor, theres no friendships. That goes out the window automatically.After he turned pro following an injury-shortened freshman year, Irving could have played for Australia, which has been competitive in the Olympics but has yet to win a medal in the games or FIBA championships. He understood it would be a long climb for him to be recognized as one of the top point guards in the U.S. with Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry and Deron Williams among those ahead of him in the deep American pool.At Krzyzewskis urging, Irving had declined an invitation to play for Australia as a 17-year-old but was now giving it more consideration.And thats when Krzyzewski swayed him to join Team USA.He had a choice, the coach said. I just wanted him to always think of the very best that could happen for him and obviously playing for the United States and maybe being the starting guard on the Olympic team, thats the highest. And he had the capability of doing that. I knew that at a young age.But it wasnt like you had to put any pressure on him. I think he just needed to know that once you make the decision, then thats the country youre going to play for.Irving has felt at home from the moment he first slipped on a USA jersey. He impressed coaches and players with his quickness and ball-handling during scrimmages for the U.S. Select Team against the team that went to London in 2012, and two years later was named tournament MVP while leading the Americans to gold at the Basketball World Cup.If not for Krzyzewski, Irving could be wearing green and gold, not red, white and blue.He was a huge part of the decision, Irving said. I mean, hes Coach K. As a young fella, he definitely did tell me I had a chance to be a part of something bigger than myself and ultimately being the starting point guard on the U.S. Olympic team. I never thought it would happen as soon as it has.Its crazy to see how it has worked out.Its worked out to this point in these games for Australia, which has beaten medal contenders France and Serbia to open the tourney. The Aussies, who have five NBA starters and received a huge lift from center Andrew Boguts quick recovery from a knee injury, have a chance to show they can stand with the worlds basketball powers.As for Irving, Dellavedova, who signed with Milwaukee earlier this summer, said he didnt have anything special planned for their reunion.Ill say, gday, he said, But well probably catch up more when everything is finished. Landon Collins Youth Jersey . Meanwhile, there were huge victories for Sunderland and West Ham over fellow relegation rivals, leaving the battle to avoid the drop up for grabs with the bottom 11 teams separated by just six points. Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres scored second-half goals to seal a fourth straight victory for Chelsea, which climbed above Arsenal and Manchester City in the standings ahead of their games on Monday and Sunday respectively. Sam Huff Redskins Jersey . -- Ryan Getzlaf grabbed the three pucks wrapped in tape and held them up to his chest in the Anaheim Ducks dressing room for a celebration nine seasons in the making. https://www.redskinssportsgoods.com/Womens-Earnest-Byner-Inverted-Jersey/ . With the first unit struggling of late and Amir Johnson - one of the teams iron men - hobbling on an injured right ankle, Patterson knew he could get the nod in a challenging matchup against one of the leagues up and coming players at his position. Russ Grimm Redskins Jersey . Barcelona also left injured defenders Carles Puyol, Javier Mascherano and Jordi Alba out of its squad for the trip to Glasgow. That means that Marc Bartra will probably start again in the centre of the defence alongside Gerard Pique. Sammy Baugh Womens Jersey . LOUIS -- Mike Smith is used to facing plenty of shots, so this was nothing new. PHILADELPHIA -- The day after allowing six goals in a lopsided loss, Steve Mason was supposed to be given the night off.Instead, he was thrown into injury relief duty and helped the Flyers pull out a 3-2 win over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night.Brayden Schenn scored the tiebreaking goal at 8:43 of the third period, and Brandon Manning and Michael Del Zotto also scored to help the Flyers snap a three-game skid.Mason finished with 19 saves after replacing Michael Neuvirth, who stopped six of seven shots before leaving after the first period due to an apparent injury.Its tiring being embarrassed game after game, said Mason, who was in goal in a 6-3 loss at Toronto the previous night. So you just try to find something to build off of. I just have to keep working here. You get two points here and you focus on the next task at hand and thats exactly what Im going to do.Masons last stop was a left pad save on Eric Staal in the closing seconds.It was a great save coming across, Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said, but that sense of urgency shouldnt happen just in the last 3 minutes of the game.Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said Mason, who had not won since Oct. 25, needed a game like this.I hope it continues to boost his confidence, but Mase has nothing to be embarrassed about, Hakstol said. He shows up and he battles hard every day. Things might not have gone as well as he would have liked early on, but thats the game. When one part of the team isnt going great every other part has to pick that piece up a little bit.Nino Niederreiter and Mikael Granlund scored for the Wild, who lost for the third time in four games. Devan Dubnyk had 33 saves.On the go-ahead score, Wayne Simmonds put a between-the-legs pass from behind the net onto Schenns stick and Schenn waited for Dubnyk to go down before firing the puck over him for his third of the season -- all on the power play.The goal snapped Schenns seven-game scoring drought and came with Wild captain Mikko Koivu in the penalty box for tripping Flyers left wing Michael Raffl behind the net. The Wild entered the game with the NHLs fifth-ranked penalty kill, but the Flyers, ranked second on the man-advantage, connected.Dubnyk said the Wild missed an assignment on Schenns goal.dddddddddddd Theyve now allowed three power-play goals in the past three games.You usually arent going to go at a guy behind the net there, Dubnyk said, referring to defenseman Jared Spurgeon chasing Simmonds behind the net.The Wild had a chance to tie it when Flyers center Pierre-Edouard Bellemare took an interference penalty on Koivu, but Minnesota did not record a shot on the man-advantage and fell to 2 for 25 on the road this season.The Wild grabbed a pair of one-goal leads in the opening two periods, only to see the Flyers tie the score.Niederreiter, who had 20 goals last season, opened the scoring just 21 seconds in when he lifted a pass from right wing Charlie Coyle over Neuvirths right shoulder. Neuvirth stopped the next six shots before pulling himself out of the game after the first.The Flyers tied it with 7:33 left in the period as Manning wristed a shot from the blue line past a screened Dubnyk for his third.With Mason in, the Wild scored on their fourth shot of the second period to take a 2-1 lead. Koivu started the play by carrying the puck into the offensive zone and making an outside-inside move on Del Zotto. Koivu backhanded a shot off the crossbar and Granlund deposited the rebound for his third.The Flyers tied the score again with 2:15 remaining in the second on a strong rush up the ice by Del Zotto, who passed it to Michael Raffl and then saw Raffls return pass go off his left skate and behind Dubnyk.Game notes Minnesota finished 0 for 2 on the power play and Philadelphia was 1 for 3. ... The teams conclude their season series at Minnesota on March 23. ... Wild F Joel Eriksson Ek left the game early in the first period after taking a puck to the chin but returned for the second period. ... Wild F Zach Parise sat out his fifth straight game with a lower body injury. He is expected to miss Sunday nights game in Ottawa but is skating on his own in Minnesota and could return on Tuesday against Calgary or Thursday against Boston.UP NEXTWild: At Ottawa on Sunday night.Flyers: Host Ottawa on Tuesday night. ' ' '