been allowed in the ring after a brutal loss to Gene Fullmer

Anthony Davis coronation as the Next Big Thing was over last season before the save-the-dates could be distributed. After a summer of MVP hype and heavy promotion by the NBA, most notably via booking the Brow for all three of its marquee regular-season slates, what was supposed to be The Year of AD began with the budding superstar starting next to Nate Robinson against the reigning champs and rolled, rather unmercifully, downhill from there. Davis potential at one point seemed limitless, but by the end of the New Orleans Pelicans slide from 45 to 30 wins, even his first big payday fell short of expectations.A year after Alvin Gentrys champagne-soaked entry, the hangover lingers. Davis received just two third-place votes in ESPNs early MVP projections for the 2016-17 season, and his Pelicans, after an offseason spent identity-shifting the supporting cast with a group of self-made grinders, are expected to finish three spots below the postseason cutoff.So while New Orleans deservedly celebrates its winning bid for the 2017 All-Star Game, its possible that Davis, who finished ninth last season in fan voting among Western Conference frontcourt players, may again need to sweat out a spot in the main event instead of automatically assuming the role of unofficial host.Or maybe everything is aligning for All-Star weekend to serve as some scaled-down version of that long-awaited coming-out party.A leap all the way back to the front of the line is unlikely. MVP recipients teams have won 61.5 games on average, meaning the Pelicans, who finished 30-52 last season, would have to double their win total in 2016-17. Which is possible, but not probable: A turnaround of 30 wins or more has happened just five times before and twice in the past decade-plus -- the 2004-05 Phoenix Suns and 2007-08 Boston Celtics, both of which were spurred by the addition of an MVP in free agency.The Pelicans have taken quite the opposite approach, swapping high-profile scorers for high-level role players to space the floor and finally plug a defense that has ranked among the leagues bottom third throughout the Davis era. While a far cry from the fever dream of adding Kevin Durant, the hope is that a few able bodies more befitting coach Alvin Gentrys preferences -- plus a prayer for improved health after last seasons prodigious body count -- will be enough to unleash the MVP-caliber player already in house.Thats whats so often lost in the discussion of Davis: The historic production at such a young age elicited all sorts of wild fantasies for the future, but his reality already warranted Executive Platinum status. While the Brow brand took off in earnest at some point during the 2014-15 season -- likely while suspended in air for that double-clutch, game-winning 3-pointer in Oklahoma City -- talk of Davis emerging as the leagues top player can be traced back as early as the start of his sophomore season. Even last season, his raw production was eerily similar to the season prior, when he finished fifth in MVP voting:The difference, of course, lies in the details: Davis played a career-low 61 games, shot a career-worst 49.3 percent and turned in the 16th-best defensive real plus-minus at his position as the Pelicans slunk to their lowest win total since Davis rookie season.The downshift in outlook, both for Davis and the Pelicans, has certainly been a disappointment; with the NFLs Saints mired last year in a repeat 7-9 season, fans and staffers quietly savored the opportunity to finally carve out their own place in the sports hierarchy. But this summers purge of Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon, the last vestige of a time before Davis, has at least provided the team with something of a clean slate. While team brass may fret over the repercussions of another season in the draft lottery, the unburdening of external expectations could possibly lead to a renewed appreciation of some of the feats -- the League Pass Alert performances, the athleticism and ferocity unleashed on lobs, the touch and skill of a guard from a gangly giant -- that helped push Davis to the precipice to begin with.If anything, the recalibrated roster could provide more of a platform than ever before. Amid the league-high 42 different starting lineups New Orleans trotted out last season, Davis and Jrue Holiday utilized more offensive possessions than at any point in their careers. With Anderson and Norris Cole out, Tyreke Evans on the outs, and ball-moving, tertiary options like Buddy Hield, Solomon Hill, ETwaun Moore and Langston Galloway in, the onus should be on, and thus a greater opportunity to rack up numbers will be present for Davis.Maybe he cant regain the overwhelming momentum for his MVP candidacy or even get back on the ticket next season, but there will be plenty of chances to remind everyone of why such outsized expectations were placed upon Davis in the first place. Air Max 90 Outlet Store . Burris threw two TD passes, including a key 15-yard fourth-quarter strike to Bakari Grant that effectively countered a Toronto comeback bid and led Hamilton to a 33-19 victory. Air Max 90 Cheap Online . And follow TSN.ca right through Deadline Day for all the updates. 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On a day filled mostly with qualifying matches, fifth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain also entered the second with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, while Guido Pella of Argentina defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6 (6), 6-4 to advance. Inside the smaller theatre at Madison Square Garden about five years ago, shortly before a world title fight, Emile Griffith was introduced one more time to the crowd. He rose shakily from his seat, waved ever so briefly and then sat down. The applause kept going. Revered in retirement perhaps more than during his fighting days, Griffith died Tuesday at 75 after a long battle with pugilistic dementia. The first fighter to be crowned world champion from the U.S. Virgin Islands, Griffith required full-time care late in life and died at an extended care facility in Hempstead, N.Y. "Emile was a gifted athlete and truly a great boxer," Hall of Fame director Ed Brophy said. "Outside the ring he was as great a gentleman as he was a fighter." An elegant fighter with a quick jab, Griffiths brilliant career was overshadowed by the fatal beating he gave Benny "The Kid" Paret in a 1962 title bout. The outcome darkened the world of boxing, even prompting some network television stations to stop showing live fights. It also cast him as a pariah to many inside and outside the sport. He went on to have a successful career after that fatal fight, but Griffith acknowledged later in life that he was never the same boxer. He would fight merely to win, piling up the kind of decisions that are praised by purists but usually jeered by fans hoping for a knockout. Griffith often attended fights in his later years, especially at the Garden, where he headlined 23 times. He was also a frequent visitor to the boxing clubs around New York City, and made the pilgrimage most years to the sports Hall of Fame in Canastota, N.Y. "He always had time for boxing fans when visiting the hall on an annual basis," Brophy said, "and was one of the most popular boxers to return year after year." That outpouring of love that he received late in life stood in stark contrast to the way he was received after March 24, 1962, when he fought Paret before a national TV audience at the Garden. Griffith knocked out his bitter rival in the 12th round to regain his own welterweight title, and Paret went into a coma and died from his injuries 10 days later. Sports Illustrated reported in 2005 that Griffith may have been fueled by an anti-gay slur directed at him by Paret during the weigh-in. Over the years, in books and interviews, Griffith described himself at various times as straight, gay and bisexual. "People spit at me in the street," Griffith told The Associated Press in 1993, recalling the days after Parets death. "We stayed in a hotel. Every time there was a knock on the door, I would run into the next room. I was so scared." The Paret fight left a cloud over the sport for many years. NBC halted its live boxing brroadcasts, and then-New York Gov.dddddddddddd Nelson Rockefeller created a commission to investigate the bout and the sport. The referee that night, Ruby Goldstein, never worked another fight. The fight became the basis for the 2005 documentary "Ring of Fire: The Emile Griffith Story." One of the final scenes shows Griffith embracing Parets son. "I was never the same fighter after that. After that fight, I did enough to win. I would use my jab all the time. I never wanted to hurt the other guy," Griffith said. "I would have quit, but I didnt know how to do anything else but fight." And fight he could. Known for his overwhelming speed and slick style -- certainly not his punching power -- Griffith was a prodigy from the moment he stepped in Hall of Fame trainer Gil Clancys gym in Queens. Griffith had been working in a hat factory when, as the story goes, he took off his shirt on a hot day and the factory owner realized noticed his muscles. Under the watchful eye of Clancy, Griffith blossomed into a New York Golden Gloves champion and eventually turned professional. He easily defeated the likes of Florentino Fernandez and Luis Rodriguez during an era when it was common to fight every couple of weeks. He quickly earned a title shot against Paret in 1961, winning the welterweight belt with a knockout in the 13th round. Griffith would lose it to Paret in a rematch five months later. After winning back the title during their controversial third fight -- many believe Paret never should have been allowed in the ring after a brutal loss to Gene Fullmer three months earlier -- Griffith would eventually move up to middleweight. He knocked down Dick Tiger for the first time in his career and claimed the title with a narrow but unanimous decision. Griffith would go on to lose twice during a thrilling trilogy with Nino Benvenuti, his lone victory coming at Shea Stadium in 1967, and lost two bouts against the great middleweight Carlos Monzon. Griffith would finally retire in 1977 after losing his last three fights. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1990 with a record of 85-24-2 and 23 knockouts. Griffith would go on to train several champions over the years, including Wilfred Benitez and Juan Laporte, among the most popular boxers in Puerto Rican history. His humour and generosity buoyed those close to him as his health deteriorated in later years. He would regale fans young and old with tales of his fights, even though details often became hazy, the result of the many blows during his career. Griffith had four sisters -- Eleanor, Gloria, Karen and Joyce -- and three brothers -- Franklin, Guillermo and Tony. He is also survived by his adopted son, Luis Griffith. Funeral arrangements are pending. ' ' '