Dannell Ellerbe and defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins have resulte

Although it isnt written in stone, Paul Pierce has decided to return to the NBA for a 19th season, league sources told the Orange County Register.Pierce, 38, has debated whether to retire or play a second season with the?LA Clippers. His coach, Doc Rivers, has said that if Pierce decided to walk away, plans are in place for him to?retire as a member of the Boston Celtics. He played the first 15 seasons of his career in Boston, nine of them for Rivers.Rivers brought in Pierce last season as a veteran presence with knowledge of how to win an NBA championship, hoping he would be the final piece to push the Clippers over the top. But injuries to Blake Griffin and Chris Paul led to a first-round postseason exit.Pierce has averaged 20.6 points and 5.7 rebounds per game in his career. After his Boston tenure, he spent one season with the Brooklyn Nets, another with the Washington Wizards and last year with the Clippers. He posted only 6.1 points and 2.7 rebounds per game last season. Nike Air Max 270 Triple White Womens .com) - The women will also have a new champion at the Australian Open. Nike Air Max 270 React Discount . Kiriasis and brakeman Franziska Fritz finished two runs in one minute 55.41 seconds -- a mere 0.01 seconds ahead of Meyers and Lolo Jones, who likely bolstered her Olympic hopes by helping give USA-1 a huge push in the second heat. http://www.max270cheap.com/air-max-270-womens-sale.html . Now, with Game 6 set for Fenway Park and an 8:07 p.m. ET first pitch, the Detroit Tigers face the unenviable task of having to beat the Boston Red Sox twice, on the road, to advance to the World Series. Nike Air Max 270 Black And White . -- The proud fathers huddled near the Dallas Stars dressing room, smiling, laughing and telling stories while wearing replica green sweaters of their sons team. Nike Air Max 270 Triple Black For Sale . Roman Josi had a goal and an assist to lead the Predators to a 4-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Monday night. TAMPA, Fla. -- Welcome to the NFC South, where two games over .500 gives the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a share of first place, and two under has the New Orleans Saints in position to make up ground in a hurry.Talk about playing meaningful games in December.The surging Bucs (7-5), and explosive, but inconsistent Saints (5-7) meet in a key divisional matchup Sunday, then play again in New Orleans in two weeks.In between, the Bucs travel to Dallas for a prime-time date against the NFL-best Cowboys (11-1). The Saints, meanwhile, visit Arizona (5-6-1), which is trying to stay in playoff contention, too.Tampa Bay closes the regular season against Carolina (4-8) and New Orleans finishes at NFC South co-leader Atlanta (7-5), meaning the Bucs and Saints both play three of their remaining four games within the division.The way our division is so tight right now, these games are huge, Tampa Bay coach Dirk Koetter said. Us and Atlanta sitting there at 7-5, New Orleans at 5-7. Just do the math for New Orleans, and were not too far ahead. So, its going to be huge.Part of the challenge for Koetter down the stretch will be keeping one of the NFLs youngest rosters even-keeled.With second-year quarterback Jameis Winston leading the way, the Bucs have won four straight -- six of eight overall -- to overcome a slow start. Tampa Bay hasnt made the playoffs since 2007, and the winning streak is the teams longest in four years.Koetter, whos in his first year as a NFL head coach, said hes not 100 percent sure of the best approach to helping the players cope with the mounting pressure of a playoff chase.Im feeling my way through, the coach said, adding that he tries to tell it to them straight.They know where they are, they know how important this game is. ... But how you gauge the team and how you feel even-keeled, thats a hard thing to figure exactly, Koetter said. I also count on the leadership of our players to help out with that.The Saints relish the opportunity to get back in the race, though it wont be easy playing three of their final four games on the road. Coach Sean Payton feels its imperative New Orleans focus on Sunday -- nothing beyond.We cant play all four Payton said. Weve just got to play this one.Some things to know about the Saints and Bucs:PUT IT ALL OUT THERE:: Payton and Koetter both call offensive plays and insist they arent tempted to hold anything back on Sunday.ddddddddddddI dont think youd ever go into a game saying lets hold this for the second game. Certainly were not in a position to save or hold anything, Payton said.Koetter agreed: Ive never been like that, I dont believe in that. Shoot. Who knows where were going to be in two weeks? Our most important game is right now.BRINGING PRESSURE: The overlapping returns from injury of linebacker Dannell Ellerbe and defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins have resulted in considerable improvement by the New Orleans defense in quarterback pressure. Theyve combined for seven sacks in the past four games. Ellerbe, who has been featured in blitz packages, has a sack in each of the Saints past four games. Rankins, a rookie drafted 12th overall last spring, has three sacks in that span.FAMOUS JAMEIS: Winstons steady progress has been a big part of Tampa Bays surge. The first overall pick from last years draft has thrown 15 touchdown passes versus four interceptions over his past eight games. Hes on pace to top 4,000 yards passing again, as well as set a franchise record for TD passes in a season.CHEMISTRY QUESTIONS: New Orleans lack of rhythm on offense last weekend against Detroit begged the question whether there was a carry-over from the dissatisfaction receiver Brandin Cooks expressed after not having a pass thrown to him during a Week 12 win over Los Angeles. Drew Brees threw to Cooks nine times against the Lions, and the third-year receiver had seven catches for 73 yards. Nevertheless, New Orleans struggled to convert third downs -- and, ultimately, to score in a 28-13 loss.GREAT BREES: Brees, who leads the NFL in passing yards, completions, attempts, completion percentage and TD passes, is 87 yards shy of throwing for at least 4,000 yards in 11 consecutive seasons. The Bucs, by comparison, have had just two 4,000-yard seasons (Winston 2015, Josh Freeman 2012) in team history.---AP Sports Writer Brett Martel in New Orleans contributed to this report.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL. ' ' '