addition to sitting out Fridays home game against the Grizzlies, co

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- While Amrit Gill was growing up in a Vancouver suburb, watching Hockey Night in Canada was a family staple that brought three generations together. Her parents and grandparents were immigrants from India, but ice hockey -- with its similarities to field hockey, one of their native countrys most popular sports -- connected them all, despite the language barrier of the broadcasts.My grandmother did not speak a word of English, Gill said. But she could tell you what a goal was and who was winning or not because the game was just so electric that you do get revved up watching.One day in 2009, the then-teenage Gill heard there was a television broadcast of hockey in the Punjabi language. She didnt quite believe it at first, but it was true. There was a Punjabi ice hockey broadcast -- not English, not French, Punjabi.I turned it on, and for all of us sitting there, it was a moment of shock and almost disbelief because we were watching our favorite sport on TV but hearing it in a language that everybody in the room could understand, Gill said. And my grandmother, who could only understand the word goal in English, could now tell you the difference between a major penalty call and a minor penalty call. So because of Harnarayan Singh and the rest of the broadcasters who were able to explain the intricacies of this beautiful game, I could now have a postgame analysis with my grandmother. And those are some of the best memories for me.Gill now is the social media host for Hockey Night in Canada Punjabi Edition, which is creating and spreading great memories for many more fans with -- and without -- Punjabi backgrounds. They also are helping extend hockey nights beyond Canada.In the last year, the online streaming has really opened it up to global audience as well, Punjabi hockey broadcaster Randip Janda said. Weve got people who are watching in India. Thats great because Canada is associated with hockey, and certain parts of the United States understand and love hockey too. Whereas in India, unless youre in the Himalayan mountains, you dont really [have a place to play ice hockey].There is a rich history of field or grass hockey in India, so thats a link, but there has never been an association between the Punjabi community and [ice] hockey in India. So hopefully this is helping to bridge the gap and show maybe there is a reason to pay attention to the sport.Especially -- as you might have heard during last seasons playoffs -- when Pittsburghs Nick Bonino (Bonino! Bonino! Bonino!) scores a goal.Punjabi, the native language of the Punjab region in northern India and eastern Pakistan, is spoken by nearly half a million residents of Canada, including 20 members of Parliament. Only English and French are spoken by more Canadians, and more than 100,000 are estimated to speak Punjabi in the Vancouver suburb of Surrey.Hockey games in Punjabi began on the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. (CBC) in 2008, along with broadcasts in Mandarin and the Inuit language of Inuktitut. The other language broadcasts did not catch on, but the Punjabi version did.Rogers Communications took over the Punjabi broadcast three years ago and now shows a doubleheader every Saturday on the multicultural Omni Television system, with announcers Singh, Janda, Bhupinder Hundal and Harpreet Pandher providing play-by-play and insightful commentary from a Vancouver studio. All four were born and raised in Canada and learned to speak English and Punjabi fluently. They were passionate hockey fans but never considered that the games would one day be broadcast in Punjabi.As Hundal said of watching a Punjabi broadcast for the first time, Its got Hockey Night branding, and theyre speaking our language: Whats going on here? Oh, my God. Really? That was the first thing. Youre sitting there, Oh, my God. I cant believe this has happened. Now its just a regular thing, but initially it was, I cant believe this. I never thought I would see the day. Who would have thought?It worked. After nearly a decade of broadcasts, the Punjabi show gained enormous attention last year during the Stanley Cup playoffs, thanks to Singhs calls of goals by Bonino. Singh excitedly repeated Bonino! Bonino! Bonino! and then howled Nick Buh-Nee-Noooooooooo!! after key tallies by the Penguins center against the Washington Capitals in the Eastern Conference finals and the San Jose Sharks in the Stanley Cup finals.It was simply awesome. Singhs calls went viral on social media and drew widespread media attention, including from non-sports outlets such as NPR. #BoninoBoninoBonino became a trending hashtag and a battle cry during the Penguins championship run.It was really revved up, Gill said. It was almost like a connecting point. Yes, it was done in Punjabi, but since the call was so elaborate, everyone just jumped on.The calls received so much attention that Penguins coach Mike Sullivan told Singh the team started playing it to fire up the players, who began shouting the call as well. Bonino even suggested that his family should start using it as their ring tones.It was very special, Singh said. When we actually made the call I dont think myself or anyone on the show realized we were going to get that type of reaction from the fans or from the media. I would say it was very memorable and very special for sure. There is nothing more you can ask for as a broadcaster than to have your work appreciated so much, especially considering how the Pittsburgh Penguins players themselves were using the calls in the dressing room. For me, it really hit home during one of the Stanley Cup finals [when] one of the first questions asked of Sullivan was, What are your thoughts on the Bonino call?How incredible was it? Hockey legend and Penguins co-owner/chairman Mario Lemieux told the announcers they were part of history and the Stanley Cup run.Pandher says that when he was still a kid playing video games with his brother, he would provide vocal commentary, mostly in English but sometimes in Punjabi. The current Punjabi hockey broadcasts he and the others deliver have some English wording as well. Team names are in English, of course, as are traditional hockey terms such as icing, power play, offside, cross-checking, goal, puck and others.There are certain things you cant directly translate into Punjabi, Janda said. Like puck. There is no Punjabi word for puck. Sometimes on the previous shows, Harnarayan would use a food item, a thing made out of potatoes called tikki, that he used as a term because it kind of looks like a hockey puck. But we say puck now.Said Hundal: Well use those terms with a nice, fine balance. Well say the word in English and have a little description that also describes it a bit for people who dont know it.The crew provides commentary while watching the live broadcasts of games on their studio monitors. They strive to be as informative, entertaining and energetic as possible, occasionally using Punjabi cultural references. They also are certain to be very fun. For instance, when Tampa Bays Nikita Kucherov scored a goal last year, Singh began singing a popular Punjabi song that rhymed with the players name.He made a reference to The Simpsons in a game, calling San Joses Brent Burns Mr. Burns and using the word excellent, a catchphrase of the animated shows rich tightwad. When a player beats a goalie up high, Singh uses a phrase that translates into English as, He fired it top shelf -- where grandma keeps the treats!We have to be cognizant of the audiences tuning in, Hundal said. There are people who in the past would be like, Ill watch it in Punjabi for a few minutes, but Ill go back to English. Or, [the other guys] are pros, and these guys are just doing it on the side. Thats why we try to focus on being as good and up-to-snuff on the world of hockey as anybody else. Yeah, we might be fun, you might tune in for the novelty -- but youre going to get a good hockey broadcast. And were going to dump information on you. And we know what were talking about.That is important. We want to make sure that we are being the masters of both of those domains. Its important that we have our pulse on what people are feeling and saying.The announcers say the broadcasts are helping grow hockey -- not only in fan interest, but also with Punjabi parents who have their children playing the sport now that they can watch and understand it on TV.The broadcasts are helping connect the Punjabi community with the broader community. When Singh was a growing up in Alberta, his passion for hockey provided an important connection with schoolmates. Hockey Night in Canada Punjabi Edition is helping to create that dynamic on a larger scale.One example was the Bonino phenomenon. Pittsburgh does have not a significant Punjabi community, but the call was so popular that the broadcasters were invited to the Penguins Stanley Cup championship celebration. The four were recognized and cheered by hordes of fans when they took the stage with the Penguins players and did the Bonino! Bonino! Bonino! call.Its just amazing. The whole city knew who we were, Pandher said. Were based in Vancouver and can walk down the street there and nobody knows who we are, but everybody in Pittsburgh knew who we were. We felt like rock stars for the weekend.Thats the amazing thing. In the time that were living, the thought crossed my mind that we might run into this or that. But it just goes to show you there are good people in this world anywhere you go.Hundal says the Pittsburgh celebration showed that he and his partners are playing an important role in breaking down barriers and misperceptions.As they say, If you assume, you make an ass of you and me, he said. We can break a lot of assumptions by doing what were doing. Yes, were broadcasting hockey and were having a lot of fun, but by no means does it stop there.Its not just about us. Its about much more than that. What were doing means so much more to so many more people on a much deeper level. And I think that makes what were doing really special. Its not just another show. I think weve gone into the realm of meaning something important to people. People can appreciate that we enjoy the sport, and they enjoy the sport, and its fantastic. We can all enjoy the sport.No matter your language, no matter your background, sport unites -- even when someone other than Bonino scores the goal. Ernie Stautner Womens Jersey . You can watch the game live on TSN at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. The Flyers had won seven of eight before dropping their last two outings on consecutive days over the weekend. Philadelphia was handed a 6-3 loss by the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon before dropping a 4-1 decision to the Rangers the following night in New York City. Terrell Edmunds Youth Jersey . Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night. http://www.steelerspronfl.com/Youth-Dermontti-Dawson-Elite-Jersey/ . Traditional contenders Brazil, Greece and Turkey drew the other three spots to complete the 24-team field for this summers tournament in Spain, basketball governing body FIBA announced Saturday at its meeting in Barcelona. T. J. Watt Youth Jersey . The CFLs leading rusher kept adding to his gaudy numbers this season and scored the winning touchdown with just over two minutes to play. The New Westminster, B.C., native plowed three yards into the end zone for the last score of a heated, see-saw battle between the two teams with the best records in the CFL. Jack Butler Jersey . - Derek Wolfe says hes finally healthy after suffering a seizure in November that doctors now believe was related to the spinal cord injury he suffered in the preseason. A week ago, the Orlando Magic were in dire straits.The team was struggling at 3-5, dropping two after winning three games in a row. Their supposed defensive identity was falling apart as they ranked 29th in the league in defensive rating, giving up 109.0 points per 100 possessions. With one of the worst offenses in the league too and the worst field-goal shooting to boot, the Magic were sinking fast.Magic coach Frank Vogel took the drastic change of sending prized youngster Aaron Gordon to the bench in favor of veteran Jeff Green, hoping to add some stability. The results were not immediate, and that change may not be the root cause, but something happened for the Magic in the week since.In four games, the Magic defense has suddenly come alive. Orlando has given up 96.1 points per 100 possessions in the past week, the sixth best in the league in that time. They have risen from 29th in defensive efficiency to a much more respectable 15th overall.Defense has taken hold.We are creating habits, Evan Fournier said after practice Friday. Its not second nature yet. But we are definitely creating habits. It is encouraging. But on both ways. We have good players offensively as well. We have times where we really move the ball and find the open shooter. At times we do it, but we have to be more consistent. It is obvious we are getting better.The Magics offense remains much more of a work in progress than the defense at this point. But they have held three of their last four opponents to less than 90 points and have held opponents to worse than 40 percent shooting in the past two games. That helps the offense do just enough to win games -- two of the past three.Orlando has slowly begun to formulate a defensive identity that has propelled thee team to five wins despite its anemic offense.dddddddddddd.The Dallas Mavericks are in much the same boat, without the same kind of success.Dallas has just two following an 80-64 home loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. The Mavericks have seen injuries hit the teams roster hard. Deron Williams, Devin Harris and Dirk Nowitzki have all missed time so far this season.Both Nowitzki and Williams will miss Saturdays game in Orlando, in addition to sitting out Fridays home game against the Grizzlies, coach Rick Carlisle said Friday.(Nowitzki is) making progress, but were going to be cautious and were going to be smart about it, Carlisle told Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas. Hes played hurt a lot in his career. This situation is different, though. Were early in the year. Theres something that has hung around that needs to be addressed and be expunged, so were working on it.Harrison Barnes and Wesley Matthews have had to carry the offensive load. And have struggled to do so. The Mavericks shot 28.8 percent from the floor in Fridays loss, the lowest single-game field-goal percentage in the NBA this season.But like the Magic, the Mavericks have thrived on defense while struggling on offense. Dallas has the second worst field goal percentage in the league at 41.8 percent entering the game (the Magic are last at 40.8 percent).That defense has not translated to wins yet though.Both teams have had to settle into the season, integrate new pieces and discover their identity. Injuries have hurt the Mavericks offense while their defense has played well enough to keep them in most games. The Magic appear to be rounding into form. ' ' '