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INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- Like most kids growing up near Boston, David Blatt lived and breathed the Celtics. They were his team, the only team. Pressing a transistor radio against his ear, Blatt listened as legendary announcer Johnny Most described how Bill Russell grabbed rebounds and when John Havlicek "stole the ball!" At an early age, he was hooked on hoops. "I kind of had that NBA dream in my ear and in my heart," Blatt said. And now, its back in his life. Blatt was introduced Wednesday as the new coach of the Cavaliers, a team in transition as it prepares to select first in the NBA draft and make a strong run at LeBron James, the soon-to-be free agent who has several other teams making moves to try and get him. Blatt spent the past two decades in Israel, where he developed into a top international coach. Now, after winning numerous titles across Europe and guiding Russia to a bronze medal in the 2012 London Olympics, Blatt is ready to take on the challenge of coaching on pro basketballs biggest stage. It was time to make the jump, and the Cavs helped Blatts overseas leap. "Absolutely its a challenge," Blatt said of his upcoming transition. "But Ive got to tell you, the game is not so different as people think it is. Its a little bit longer here. Perhaps the level of athleticism and speed all around the court is different. But its not like playing baseball and soccer. Its still the same game." Blatt isnt hung up on labels or perceptions. He doesnt consider himself an Israeli coach, European coach or any type for that matter. He doesnt favouroffence over defence. "Im a basketball coach," he said, "someone who through teaching and working with people and getting the most out of my players and staff has always seen the success of the team as paramount." The Cavaliers spent nearly six weeks looking for their third coach in three years before hiring Blatt, who recently resigned as coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv, a squad he led to this years Euroleague title. Cavs general manager David Griffin said Blatt was one of "five or six" candidates who had full-blown interviews and the club contacted as many as 11 coaches. "Hes truly the embodiment of every characteristic we most sought in a coach," Griffin said. "Hes a guy who has passion, creativity and intelligence. As a coach, hes able to adjust in ways that make him special because of those things. He lives those things as a man as well. Because of all that, the players all feel him in a very powerful way. David is an authentic leader." The team hired finalist Tyronn Lue as an associate head coach under Blatt. Blatt understands theres a responsibility that comes with being the first at anything. He believes other European coaches are as qualified to coach in the NBA, but hes the one getting the chance. "I know Im carrying the torch, and I hope like hell I dont drop it," he said. "I dont plan to. It does mean a great deal." Blatt was charming, convincing and self-effacing during a 30-minute news conference at Cleveland Clinic Courts. Blatt said he had previous chances to come to the NBA, but the timing wasnt right. "Somebody told me the reason I did it is because I missed Boston lobster and macaroni and cheese," he cracked. "Theres something to that, honestly." Blatt is taking over a team that went 33-49 last season and underachieved for Mike Brown, who was fired on May 12, ending his second stint in Cleveland. Blatt believes the Cavs have the pieces to be a contender, and that its up to him to put them together. And that would be the case in any country. "I find a group of guys that want to be coached, that want to learn, that care about winning," he said. "Those are things I have to emphasize with them, that I have to strengthen and help them understand the right way to do it. "Ive coached enough great players in my life to know when guys are happy playing together and are seeing that doing it the right way brings and fosters the spirit you need to win, it doesnt make a difference where you coach." Blatt feels hes finally where he belongs. He had a great run overseas, but it was time to come back to where he started. It was time to come home. "I was happy and fulfilled in what I was doing," he said. "But I never, for a moment, lost the hope that I would come full circle and make my way back to the places where I grew up and to be part of something that was so much a part of me." Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys .The Canadiens will visit the Boston Bruins at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., on New Years Day 2016, taking hockeys oldest rivalry outside.It was special in 2010 just to be there with the history behind Fenway Park and all that, Bruins centre Patrice Bergeron said. Cheap Adidas Panthers Jerseys . 1. CAVALIERS: At 19-20, theyre a mess. Watched the game Tuesday night vs. Phoenix and their defence was poor (107 points and 52 per cent for Suns). Where is the high level play from Kyrie Irving and LeBron James (13 turnovers!)? Kevin Love looks like a man thats wondering what he got himself into. http://www.cheapfloridapanthersjerseys.com/. After a 99-97 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night, his Celtics coaches and teammates have only positive things to say about the Toronto-born rookie. Cheap Florida Panthers Jerseys .com) - Real Madrid claimed its 20th consecutive win across all competitions by cruising to a 4-1 victory at Almeria on Friday. Cheap Panthers Jerseys Authentic . The Blue Jays lost to the New York Yankees 3-1 Tuesday night, their seventh defeat in 10 games. Rasmus was put on the 15-day DL on May 15 because of a sore right hamstring. Hes hitting .222 with nine home runs and 19 RBIs.MONTREAL -- Old rivals Montreal and Boston are going to a decisive seventh game once again. The Canadiens kept up a furious pace and produced their best effort of the playoffs as Max Pacioretty had a goal and an assist and Carey Price made 26 saves in a 4-0 victory over the Bruins that staved off elimination on Monday night. The NHL Eastern Conference second-round series is tied 3-3 going into Game 7 on Wednesday night in Boston, where the Bruins will no doubt be looking for the same boost from their fans that the singing, chanting and generally deafening 21,273 at the Bell Centre gave the Canadiens. "Its sudden death now," said Pacioretty. "Everything in the past will be forgotten once Game 7 rolls around. "They like playing in their building. We have to find a way to come out the same. Were a frustrating team when everyones skating like that and everyones on board. We have to find a way to do that again." Pacioretty, who had only one assist in the first five games, scored and set up Thomas Vaneks goal in the second period. Lars Eller scored in the first for Montreal and Vanek added his second of the game into an empty net with 3:56 left in regulation time. "I was just waiting for my time to pitch in offensively," said Pacioretty. "Obviously you wanted it to happen more often in the playoffs. But I feel confident. You want to feel youre helping the team win and I think I did that." It is the same scenario as the last time the teams met in the post-season in 2011, when the Canadiens won at home to force a Game 7. That year, they lost the decisive first-round game in overtime. It is the 34th time overall the teams have faced each other in the playoffs. The game turned in the second period after the Canadiens, leading 1-0, held off a ferocious Boston attack through a five minute 11 second stretch without a whistle. It included killing a minor penalty to P.K. Subban and was highlighted by a Price stop at the doorstep on Milan Lucic. Defencemen Mike Weaver and Josh Gorges shared a nearly three-minute shift in the midst of it. "Youre just buying time," said Weaver. "I think guys at that point, youve just got to be positionally sound. You cant be chasing all over the ice." Not long after, rookie Nathan Beaulieu threw a pass up the middle that Pacioretty chased down and went in alone to score. Boston coach Claude Julien felt that stretch was his teams best chance to make a game of it. "The second goal probably hurt us the most because we were spending a lot of time in their end and we had some great chances to tie the game, but that kind of turned the tide around," said Julien. "I didnt like the way they got their goals tonight. "But we had more lines going than weve had this whole series. We spent a lot of time in the offensive zone, but if you hit posts and miss open nets. . . Youve got to bury those chances. Tonight they came back to haunt us." Asked what he expects from game 7, Julien said: "I expect us to win." When Montreal coach Michel Therrien was asked the same question, he said: "Anything can happen in a Game 7. Thats the beauty of it." The TD Garden crowd in Boston is especially hostile to Subban, but the flashy Canadiens defenceman denied feeding off it even if he has had some big moments in that rink, including a late goal in a 4-2 loss in Game 5 on Saturday.dddddddddddd. "I dont give them that credit," he said. "I go and play the game. "I play to win, I dont care whos there. I dont care if theres nobody in the stands. Im going there to win. Its irrelevant to me. I hope that its a hostile environment. It makes it all better." Montreals big move was to bring 21-year-old Beaulieu in to replace the slow-footed Douglas Murray on the third defence pair. The teams 2011 first-round draft pick responded to his first-career NHL playoff start with an assist and a plus-2 performance in only 9:36 of ice time. "I never played at a pace like that before," he said. "It was incredible. It was good to get the first period under my belt and I felt I settled down after that." Montreal busted out of the gate after a rousing pre-game show and the teams played at a frantic pace through the first two periods. Despite having the best of the play in the opening 20 minutes, the Canadiens needed a freak play for the only goal. Kevan Miller lost the puck off his stick behind the Boston net and then inadvertently tripped goalie Tuukka Rask as he tried to smother it, leaving Eller free to score unassisted 2:11 into the game. Beaulieu flipped the puck up the centre of the ice and saw it go off Loui Eriksson to Pacioretty, who won a race with Zdeno Chara and beat Rask between the pads at 15:24. Pacioretty kept a puck alive with his feet amidst a crowd in front of Rask during a power play and saw the puck slide to Vanek for a shot into an open side at 17:39. The Bruins came close at 11:05 of the third when a Chara shot went off Price and dropped behind him, but with Jarome Iginla digging in the crease David Desharnais was on his knees to stop the puck with his stick just as it had almost crossed the goal-line. The no-goal call stood up to video review. There were some nasty moments near the end, including a clash that saw Montreals Andrei Markov jab his stick between Charas legs. Chara, Iginla and Weaver were assessed penalties when the skirmish ended. In Game 5, Bostons Shawn Thornton got fined for squirting water from the bench at Subban. Julien said it wasnt all his teams fault this time. "Were perceived as the bad guys and theyre the good guys," he said. "When Markov trips Chara and then puts his stick between his legs and nothings going to be called, eventually somebodys going to react. "Whether its right or wrong. Zdeno reacted and then everything else started. There was a slew foot before, Desharnais on (Brad) Marchand. A slew foot. Those are things we keep talking about that are dangerous in our game. "Its a rivalry and theres some things going on on both sides. Im not portraying ourselves as innocent here. Im just saying it takes two teams to tangle and thats what happened." Notes: Daniel Briere returned to the lineup for Travis Moen. . . Eller scored during Beaulieus first career NHL playoff shift, making him plus-1 only 2:11 into the game. . . Boston made no changes. . . Shawn Thornton played his 100th career playoff game. 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