ANAHEIM – One of the things Bruce Boudreau did after taking over as Anaheim Ducks coach was have some inspirational quotes painted on the teams dressing room walls at the Honda Center. Words from Muhammad Ali, Jack Nicklaus, John Wooden, Jerry West, Vince Lombardi and Roy Williams are now there to be viewed by players on a daily basis. Does Boudreau have a favourite saying? "No, I think theyre all good. I think theyre all inspirational and the whole goal of those quotes was, quite frankly, who wrote them," he explained. "It wasnt some normal guy. These guys were champions and they talked about hard work and they were willing to do the hard work and thats how they became champions." Winning has not come easy to Boudreau in the NHL playoffs. His teams have won six division titles and posted a .663 winning percentage in 517 regular-season games, but never advanced past the second round of the post-season. His record in the playoffs as a NHL head coach is 27-28 entering Wednesday nights Game 6 showdown with the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center. On Tuesday, the 59-year-old bench boss was asked whats the biggest challenge he faces coaching at this time of year. "Winning," he responded immediately. "The competition is so picked up from the regular season. You watch the pre-season and you go, Wow, this is a really good game, and then the regular season goes on and you go, How can it get any tougher than this? The playoffs come and you think the regular season is a piece of cake compared to what youre going through here. "Its knowing when to practise hard and when not to practise hard, when to make it easy and just keep building them up. Usually youre saying the same message so theyve heard the same message for eight months so you dont want them to get tired of it." The message may be the same, but Boudreau has made a number of changes that have helped turned the tide in his teams second round series against the Kings. "Hes a coach who isnt afraid to make moves in terms of personnel," said Ducks forward Andrew Cogliano. "Hes not a coach that gets set in his ways in terms of the lineup or guys playing in certain positions. He has confidence in guys and hes good with the players in terms of giving them confidence. If hes going to move guys around, hes good at communicating with guys about that. Hes a coach that makes adjustments to other teams." After the Ducks lost the first two games of the series, Boudreau called up defenceman Sami Vatanen from the American Hockey League and played him 20 minutes a night, including on the power play. The Ducks have scored four man-advantage goals in the three games since the Finn was recalled from Norfolk. In general, Vatanen has given the Ducks blue line a different dimension and helped them move the puck more easily against the notoriously stingy Kings. But the adjustments didnt end with Vatanen. In Game 4, Boudreau made the bold decision to start 20-year-old John Gibson, a goalie with zero NHL playoff experience and only three games of regular season experience, over veteran Jonas Hiller, who had won Game 3 in relief of the injured Frederik Andersen. Gibson posted a 28-save shutout in his debut and followed that up with a steady 39-save win on Monday night. After first-line winger Matt Beleskey went down with an injury, Boudreau elevated 21-year-old Devante Smith-Pelly, who had generated some quality chances, but failed to register a point in the series through three games, to the top line alongside Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry. Smith-Pelly has since scored three goals and fired eight shots on net over the last two outings. "I think two things come to mind," said Ducks defenceman Ben Lovejoy when asked what makes Boudreau a good coach. "Just the confidence he gives his players. I know when I first came here that was just eyeopening for me. He puts players in a position where they can be successful and more often than not, playing for him, they are." Lovejoy was traded by the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Ducks for a fifth-round pick during the 2012-13 season. Under Boudreau, he has moved into a top pairing role alongside Cam Fowler. "Then theres his ability to roll four lines and three sets of D," Lovejoy continued. "I think that when youre a defenceman playing nine to 12 minutes a night, you get out there to not make a mistake. Its impossible to have a tight gap when you dont play a lot so we roll four lines, we roll three sets of D and I really think that helps. And, I think, come crunch time, Getzlaf and Perry havent played 26 minutes. Theyre fresh. Theyre ready to go and to carry the rest of the team when the time comes." And while Boudreau is easy for players to like, he is not afraid of making tough calls. In the first round of this years playoffs, Boudreau benched beloved future Hall of Famer Teemu Selanne in Game 4 against the Dallas Stars. It was move that, considering Selannes stature in the game and the dressing room, could have backfired. Instead, the move seemed to spark Selanne, who has two goals against the Kings and picked up an assist in the Game 5 win. "He cares," said Getzlaf, the Ducks captain. "Thats the biggest thing with him. He cares about each of us individually and that makes you want to play harder for him." But the knock against Boudreau has been that he cant get it done in the post-season. Boudreaus Washington Capitals came close to making the conference finals in 2009, pushing the Penguins to Game 7 before ultimately being blown out in the decisive game. "Well, the difference last time was we were down 3-2 going into Game 6 in Pittsburgh and had to win and we did," Boudreau said. "This time, were up 3-2 so I keep telling my wife, Its a different circumstance, so hopefully a different result. "As you go on, the steps get harder and harder and harder and the one thing I have learned in a very brief time is that when they talk about the Cup being the hardest thing to win [theyre right]. I mean, were not even halfway there and [were] realizing how tough it is. This is a heck of a journey you have to make and, again, [youre] trying to keep it fresh, because were not even out of the second round." Last year, the Ducks squandered a 3-2 first-round series lead against the underdog Detroit Red Wings before losing Game 7 on home ice. Getzlaf has noticed that Boudreau has made a subtle change in his approach. "Hes evolved," Getzlaf explained. "Hes done a great job in calming himself down. Bruce tends to get a little wound up at times, emotional in the game and thats good at times." And while Boudreau has managed his emotions better, he is still the same fun-loving guy, who always seems willing to talk hockey with reporters long after the formal media session ends. "I get asked this question a lot and I maintain that youre not going to tell quirky stories about your boss on camera so Im not going to tell them about mine," Lovejoy said with a laugh. "Ive loved playing for Bruce. I think everybody in the locker room does too, but you can ask somebody else for those stories." "At the end of the day, Bruce is a players coach," Cogliano said. "A coach you can approach, talk to and hes up front with you and I think thats why a lot of guys like him." Steven Wright Red Sox Jersey . -- Novak Djokovic benefited from an erroneous call and claimed he didnt realize he had broken the rules. David Price Jersey . The alley-oop looked easy -- just like everything else after halftime for the Miami Heat. James scored 32 points, Wade added 22 points and eight assists, and the Heat trailed by 11 early in the second half before running away to a 107-88 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. https://www.cheapredsox.com/2221z-tony-c...ey-red-sox.html. This week they discuss Russias mens hockey team, the ineptitude of the IOC handling the Nicklas Backstrom situation, John Tortorellas many apologies, and Canadas strong showing in curling. Luis Tiant Jersey . LOUIS -- The St. Rich Gedman Red Sox Jersey .com) - The NFL is investigating whether the New England Patriots intentionally deflated balls during Sundays AFC Championship Game against Indianapolis. SAN ANTONIO -- Coming off their most exhilarating victory of the season, the San Antonio Spurs admitted they had a letdown against the Orlando Magic. A veteran roster enabled San Antonio to make that admission after escaping with a 121-112 victory over Orlando on Saturday night. Tony Parker scored 30 points, Manu Ginobili added 24 points and Kawhi Leonard had 17 points along with two key steals late to help the Spurs win their sixth straight. Two nights after an emotional 111-87 victory over the Miami Heat in an NBA Finals rematch, the Spurs were listless against the Southeast Divisions last-place team. "Its always hard after a big win against Miami, the emotions," Parker said. "We wanted to make sure we didnt come out flat, and Orlando, they came out firing. They were shooting the ball very well from outside. They are young and they wanted to prove something. They made it hard on us but its a big win for us." Tim Duncan added 11 points and 10 rebounds as San Antonio (46-16) tied Indiana and Oklahoma City for the leagues best record. Led by former San Antonio player and assistant Jacque Vaughn, the Magic gave his former team a tense evening before the Spurs closed it out late. "I thought Orlando played really good basketball," said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who let out a deep breath after the game. "They were aggressive. They shared it. They were in attack mode all night. I thought their defence was good. We picked our defence up and got a little more physical in the second half." Orlando was within 101-97 with 7 minutes remaining before San Antonio began a late run. Ginobili lured ETwaun Moore into hitting his right triceps, as he rose for an off-balance, fallaway, 14-foot jumper. The Argentine guard made the free throw to complete the three-point play and give San Antonio a 114-104 lead with 2:34 remaining. Leonard followed with a steal that led to his breakaway dunk and Parker nailed a 3-pointer to put the Spurs up 119-104 with just under 2 minutes left to essentially seal the victory. Leonards first steal came with San Antonio up 103-97 and Orlando coming out of a timeout. He made one of two free throws after Arron Afflalo was assessed a clear path foul. "Those two steals were huge," Ginobili said. "One because it was right after timeout and they ran a good play, but Kawhi with those long arms and great hands got a steal and then a fragrant foul and then a couple plays later, he basically closed the game..dddddddddddd." Prior to that closing run, the Magic gave the Spurs fits. Tobias Harris scored 23 points, Nikola Vucevic added 19 points and 13 rebounds, and Afflalo had 17 points for Orlando (19-45). Maurice Harkless added 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Magic, who were swept in the season series. The Magic led by as many as seven points and last led 67-66 with 8:15 remaining in the third quarter. But they were able to stay within 10 points for much of the game. "Just overall our mental toughness," Vaughn said. "Thats what you have to lean on, on the road is being able to fight through." San Antonio struggled to contain seven-foot centre Nikola Vucevic, who hit a series of short jumpers, layups and hook shots against Splitter and Duncan. The third-year pro out of Montenegro was 8 for 16 from the field. After attacking the paint in an explosive start against the Heat in their previous game, the Spurs were less aggressive and effective against the Magic. San Antonio started 2 for 6. A timeout by Popovich midway through the first quarter changed that. Parker drove the lane on three consecutive possessions following the timeout, scoring consecutive layups and having his third attempt trickle off the rim. "Pop was a little bit worried we would have a slow start after such a big win against Miami," Parker said. "We just wanted to make sure we didnt come out flat. So, I was very aggressive from the get-go to make sure I had a good start." NOTES: Spurs P Jeff Ayres (sprained hand) was originally listed on the pregame roster as not playing, but was cleared later in the day. He did not play, however. . Magic rookie G Victor Oladipo (sore left ankle) missed his second straight game after playing in the teams first 62. ... Vaughn played for the Spurs from 2006-09 and was an assistant under Popovich for two seasons beginning in the 2010-11 season prior to becoming the Magics coach. Before the game, Popovich walked over to the Orlando bench to greet Vaughn. . Popovich was asked if he would consider becoming a studio analyst once his coaching days are over. "Just watch one of my end-of-quarter interviews and I think that will answer your question concisely and accurately," Popovich said, attempting to stifle a chuckle. ... San Antonio celebrated the 31st anniversary of its mascot, the Coyote, throughout the game. On hand for the celebration were the Portland Trail Blazers mascot, Blaze, and Rocky of the Denver Nuggets. ' ' '