INDIANAPOLIS - The Indiana Pacers bizarre season came to a familiar end Friday night. Another embarrassing loss at Miami. Now Larry Bird must spend the off-season trying to figure out what went wrong and what must be fixed to finally beat the Heat in the playoffs. "You just have to go into the off-season with the mindset that were going to reload. We have a core, a system, a culture thats going to give us a chance every year," coach Frank Vogel said after Fridays 25-point, season-ending loss. "Weve got to make whatever adjustments we have to make to come back and be here again next year." There are plenty of questions heading into what could be a turbulent off-season. Will Vogel be back after leading the Pacers to 42, 49 and 56 wins in his first three full seasons as coach, capturing back-to-back Central Division titles, reaching the last two conference finals and earning the No. 1 seed for only the third time in franchise history? Will the Pacers re-sign free agent Lance Stephenson, their 23-year-old energizer, whose erratic behaviour became a major distraction in the Eastern Conference finals? Could Hibbert be on the trading block after struggling through Indianas confounding second-half swoon and nearly disappearing, at times, during the playoffs? Might Bird make other moves to cope with the NBA trend of spreading the floor, add scorers or rebuild the bench yet again? Or do the Pacers simply need more time to mature? While those answers might not come for months, one thing is clear: They must find a way to get past Miami after three straight playoff series losses, the last two in the Eastern Conference finals. "Obviously, theyre more prepared, theyre more seasoned for this moment," David West said. "Theyve been able to embrace these moments to get to a level that we, for some reason, cant compete." Bird spent last summer revamping the bench, and Indiana responded with a 33-7 start — the best in the NBA. But after signing Andrew Bynum in February and trading Danny Granger for Evan Turner at the trade deadline, the Pacers went into a confounding second-half swoon in which they looked disengaged and disinterested. Two-time All-Star Paul George acknowledged Friday that the Pacers seemed to hit a wall, thinking they could turn it on whenever they needed it. Somehow, they still managed to finish with the best record in the East, rallied to win the final two games against eighth-seeded Atlanta after twice giving away home-court advantage and rallied again against a young Washington team after giving away home-court advantage in Game 1. When they did it again by failing to close out the Heat at home in Game 2, Miami responded by winning all three of its home games decisively to clinch the series. "You know at times it feels like were there, and then theres games where it still feels like were not at that point yet," George said when asked if he thought the Pacers had closed the gap on Miami. "Coach says it, I mean, in order for us to beat this team, weve got to play like champions. More times than not, we didnt do so." Most of the problems were self-inflicted. Indiana struggled with infighting, prolonged slumps, unseemly rumours and constant criticism. Hibbert epitomized much of it. In late March, he complained about "selfish dudes" in the locker room, a barb directed at Stephenson, later apologized and was so bad, at times, in the playoffs that fans and analysts called for his benching. And its unclear what the Pacers will do after a second straight blowout in an elimination game at Miami. Bird acknowledged the Pacers were going "all in" this season when they re-signed David West, gave George a max deal and traded away their first-round pick to get Luis Scola from Phoenix. Stephenson could be the next Pacers player to strike it rich. But after calling out LeBron James publicly before Game 4, blowing in his ear in Game 5 and tapping James on his chin early in Game 6, some wonder if the Pacers even want Stephenson back. It all depends on whether Bird thinks Stephenson can help beat the Heat. "I dont know what the future holds for us," West said. "Obviously, everything starts and ends with the Miami Heat. You have to have a team that can get through a tough regular season but ultimately, you have to be able to beat Miami to get to the finals." Air Max Free Shipping Online . The defending champions’ roller coaster season included trading offensive star Percy Harvin in the midst of the team’s 3-3 start. That move that reportedly irked several Seahawk players, but one management saw necessary to save the team’s chemistry. Cheap Air Max Authentic . Then again, he really was at his home away from home. "It was nice to sleep in my own bed last night," Shields said after pitching Kansas City past the San Diego Padres 8-0 Wednesday. http://www.cheapairmaxshoesfreeshipping.com/. The Toronto Blue Jays general manager made a series of bold moves that reshaped the club ahead of what would turn out to be a disastrous 2013 campaign. Cheap Air Max China . -- Even as Chris Paul remained evasive about his future, he did what team leaders are expected to do. Cheap Air Max Free Shipping . The D-Backs came into being in 1998 and appear destined to finish second in the AL West after the Tsunami that is the Los Angeles Dodgers swept over them. I thought it might be interesting to see what the D-backs have done over their 16 years compared to what the Blue Jays have done over their past 16 campaigns.LANGLEY, B.C. -- Denise Watkins is banking on Canadas rich lacrosse history making a difference as the National Lacrosse League ventures into Vancouver for a second time. Watkins is the co-owner, along with her husband Bill, of the new Vancouver Stealth, which has relocated to suburban Langley, B.C., after it could not find its niche in Everett, Wash. "I dont think anything per se went wrong," Watkins said Tuesday following an introductory news conference. "The difficulty in the United States, still, is that the sport is not well known." Lacrosse in Canada dates to the 1850s and is the countrys official summer sport, although the NLL season covers winter months. Watkins, a California native who lives in San Jose, got involved in the sport because of her son T.J., who is now a player with a Burnaby, B.C.-based junior team. Bill Watkins is a retired Silicon Valley tech company CEO who is now involved with an LED lighting company. The couple bought the Stealth in 2007 while the team was still located in San Jose, Calif. They moved the Stealth to Everett in 2010. Things did not go right for the former Vancouver Ravens franchise, either. The club, which operated from 2002-2004, was forced to fold after its ownership ran out of money. Efforts to revive the team in subsequent years were unsuccessful. The Ravens operated out of what is now known as Rogers Arena, the home of the NHLs Vancouver Canucks. But Watkins believes a shift to the Langley Events Centre, which seats 5,276 and is smaller than the homes of other NLL teams, will make a difference. Operators of the LEC, which is owned by a local municipality, have agreed to share some of the teams costs, said Watkins. LEC offered plenty of incentives to move after the former Washington Stealth played before sellout crowds at LEC in an exhibition game against the Toronto Rock and last winters NLL championship game against Rochester, because the clubs arena in Everett was not available.dddddddddddd "The challenge of a big arena is, you have to fill it," said Watkins. "And, the bigger arenas are more expensive. So, I think, the advantage of the smaller arena is that its a bit more cost-effective." Watkins also expects to save money because most of the clubs players are from B.C., and the club will be able to reduce travel expenses. "Its been a long wait for me to be back here, and I couldnt be more thrilled," said Stealth coach Chris Hall, a Victoria native. He suggested the clubs on-floor success will also pay off at the box office. Despite its financial troubles, the Stealth reached the NLL championship game in three of the past four years and won the title in 2010. "The great thing for the Vancouver Stealth is that were not an expansion team," said Hall. "Weve got a championship pedigree." NLL commissioner George Daniel said the Stealth will increase rivalries within Canada as it competes against the Calgary Roughnecks, Edmonton Rush and Toronto. The league, he added, also has a chance to increase its TV revenues now that it has a coast-to-coast presence in Canada. Daniel said Calgary and Edmonton had a regional deal with Rogers Sportsnet while Toronto had an agreement with TSN, but the yearly contracts have expired and the league as a whole plans to negotiate a new arrangement. Noting the Watkins are "terrific owners," he contended the club is in Vancouver to stay this time. The NLL also wants to expand elsewhere in Canada. "Were not done," said Daniel. "Wed like to have more Canadian cities." ' ' '
