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SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Joe Pavelski was happy with the San Jose Sharks power-play production even if it lacked artistic value. Pavelski scored two power-play goals, and the Sharks ended a four-game losing streak by beating the Minnesota Wild 3-1 on Thursday night. Tomas Hertl also scored on the power play for the Sharks, who earned their first regulation victory at home since Nov. 29. Antti Niemi stopped 28 shots to record his 17th victory. "Its doing better," Pavelski said of the power play. "We found a work ethic. Its not exactly pretty, but we got more shots off and got some pucks back." Jonas Brodin scored for the Wild, who lost their fifth straight on the road. Niklas Backstrom made 36 saves. "Thats not the way you want to start a game," Wild forward Jason Pominville said. "Theyve drawn the most penalties in the league, and they showed it tonight. We put ourselves behind the eight ball, and its tough to come back when teams have leads." Backstrom fell to 1-9-1 in San Jose, and his 3.68 goals-against-average there is his second worst in any arena. The Sharks went 3 for 7 on the power play after going 0 for 4 in a 3-1 loss to the Wild on Sunday. They scored four times in their previous 39 power plays. "We went through a stretch where we were losing some games, and the power play was the reason we werent winning," Sharks centre Logan Couture said. "Now were starting to score some goals, and its good to see." San Jose took a 1-0 lead just 5:54 into the game. Pavelski got the puck from Dan Boyle on the left side and bounced a shot past Backstrom and into the net. "It must be nice to draw penalties like that," Wild coach Mike Yeo said. "The other team goes stick on puck and just kind of holds their head. The first penalty . . . to me, that was embarrassing. I guess we have to ask our players to embellish more." The Sharks added another power-play goal with 5:17 left in the first. Tommy Wingels drove down the right side, drawing the defence toward him, before dropping the puck off for Hertl, who had a clear shot into the net. "This is why Im upset," Yeo said. "Our guys battled hard. We didnt do enough, theres no question. We were in the box too much. We didnt finish well enough. Penalty kills, it doesnt matter how many times they dive or embellish, we have to make sure we kill them off." During their four-game slide, the Sharks gave up a pair of two-goal leads, including Tuesdays shootout loss to the New York Islanders. Pavelski made it 3-0 at 3:42 of the second period on another power play. Matt Irwins shot bounced free, and Pavelski was there to drive it home. "Even 3-0 is not safe," Niemi said. "We had to stay on our toes, get some offence, and play hard on both ends." Joe Thorntons second assist of the game put him in sole possession of 26th place on the NHL career list with 816. "That third goal was big for us," Pavelski said. "It gave us that cushion we havent been able to get lately." Brodin scored with 7:24 remaining to bring the Wild within 3-1. His shot hit Sharks defenceman Brad Stuart and caromed past Niemi. "Obviously, he wasnt trying to do that," Couture said. "It was knuckling and I didnt have my eyes up to see it. We still saw a couple of Niemi highlight saves." Ryan Suter recorded an assist for the second straight game after going the previous eight without one. NOTES: The Wild recalled F Brett Bulmer from the Iowa Wild. ... The Sharks held their opponent scoreless in the first period for the sixth straight game. ... The Wild dropped to 1-8 in their last nine games in San Jose. ... Thornton moved into a tie for 49th place on the NHL career points list with Michel Goulet with 1,152 points. ... Pavelski has 11 goals in 17 games against the Wild. ... Sharks D Scott Hannan missed his second game because of an upper-body injury. ... The Wild have allowed the first goal in eight consecutive road games. Ozzie Newsome Browns Jersey . 25 against Miami. Hillis left Browns Stadium about two hours before kickoff, a decision that has led to speculation he was upset over ongoing negotiations with the club on a contract extension. Baker Mayfield Womens Jersey . (AP) -- The head of the committee that developed Major League Baseballs plan to expand instant replay says he is optimistic the system will be in place this season, even though owners and unions for players and umpires have yet to approve. http://www.brownsrookiestore.com/Browns-Joe-Thomas-Jersey/ .L. - Defending womens champion Alberta improved to 3-0 at the Canadian junior curling championships with a 10-3 win over Ontario in Sundays afternoon draw. Greedy Williams Browns Jersey . Both moves were announced Tuesday. The Titans had waived Matthews on Saturday when they promoted wide receiver Michael Preston from the practice squad. Austin Seibert Browns Jersey . Hollis-Jefferson went 5-for-6 from the field and added six rebounds, while Stanley Jefferson contributed 14 points for the Wildcats, who used their trademark tough defense to dominate the games final 24 minutes and advance to Tuesdays winners bracket matchup with Kansas State.Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - The Orlando Magic are the only team in the NBA who have reached the halfway point in the season. So, if its good enough for one team out of 30, then we shall declare it the midpoint of the 2014-15 NBA season. In doing so, lets examine where the awards would go if the campaign was drastically shortened, which, no one would cry a single tear about. MVP - JAMES HARDEN, HOUSTON ROCKETS Almost every other pundit has tabbed Steph Curry from the Golden State Warriors for this honor and I get it. Curry is the best player from the best team in the league, and, in the absence of a runaway contender, that formula is a solid means to an answer. However, I believe Harden has been a more valuable player for the Rockets. The statistics bare out pretty equal seasons. Harden is ahead in scoring, but Curry is up in assists. Pretty standard stuff since one is a shooting guard and the other is a point guard. (Although, I love that Harden is averaging a career-high 6.6 assists per game, which is second to LeBron James among non- point guards, and a near 90 percent clip from the foul line while leading the league in attempts.) Here are the three things that give Harden an edge for me: First, the Warriors are a much better, more complete team. Sounds like a plus for Curry, but Harden has done most of the heavy lifting in keeping the Rockets within four of the Warriors for the best record in the league. Curry is magnificent, but his team is loaded with two-way athletes in a manner that the Rockets are not. The overall talent is stronger in Golden State than in Houston, thus, making Hardens achievements this season more impressive. Second, when you are literally the butt of social media jokes about how horrendous a defender you are, it shows something to improve. Harden is not quite Gary Payton, but his defense has improved tremendously. Hes 12th in defensive rating and second in defensive win shares. Granted, those numbers changed with the arrival of Trevor Ariza and the continued solid defense from Dwight Howard, but Harden went from punch line to serviceable. The Rockets are third in opponents scoring and fourth in opponents field goal percentage. Last season, they were 23rd and seventh in those same categories. Harden isnt at the heart of the turnaround, but hes no longer weighing them down defensively like an anvil chained to the leg of a mob informant. Finally, during an 11-game stretch when Howard was down with a knee injury from mid-November to mid-December, Harden kept the Rockets afloat, going 8-3 in the process. During that stretch, Harden averaged 29 points and 6.1 assists per game. Curry hasnt had to deal with anything like that. Adversity shouldnt translate into automatic MVP victory. Its not the Oscars, where an actress will win if she plays an alcoholic, single-mother stripper, whose daughter is a piano prodigy and mom must find a way to work a third job to pay for a good teacher as well as trips abroad so the daughter can perform in recitals. Harden has kept the Rockets near the top of the league without a supporting cast like Currys. While Ariza has been a revelation, Howard is averaging nine- season lows in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots. Harden has taken a team, Ill admit, I had missing the playoffs, and got them the fourth-best record in the NBA. With less around him, I go Harden over Curry. COACH OF THE YEAR - STEVE KERR, GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS This is possibly the closest competition for an award I can remember. How could you not like Mike Budenholzer of the Atlanta Hawks? With a stunningly similar roster that finished under .500 last season, Bud has the Hawks atop the Eastern Conference by four games (Al Horford is really important, too). However, Kerr gets my nod for the simple fact that he made extraordinary coaching decisions that paid massive dividends. He started Harrison Barnes andd Draymond Green over Andre Iguodala and David Lee.dddddddddddd Kerr put two infants in there at the expense of 21 combined seasons, three All-Star appearances and $27 million in 2014-15 salary. And its worked unbelievably. His lineup changed meant the Warriors starters can switch almost any time without massive consequence. Kerr had the hard job of replacing Mark Jackson, who is not quite Phil Jackson, but had the eternal respect of his players. Kerr erased any doubts, and quickly. I will fault no one who votes Budenholzer, but I think Kerr has done just a little more. ROOKIE OF THE YEAR - ANDREW WIGGINS, MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES Since Jabari Parkers injury, Wiggins was destined to pull away some. He has, but he would have even if Parkers ACL didnt tear. Over the last 10 games, Wiggins is averaging 21 ppg. Granted, they are all Timberwolves losses, but Wiggins game is rounding out nicely. Remember, he started slowly at Kansas, then emerged. As the T-wolves continue to be terrible, Wiggins is getting a chance to develop greatly. Shabazz Mohammeds insertion into the starting lineup, thus moving Wiggins to the shooting guard, paid off handsomely for the No. 1 pick as well. DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR - DRAYMOND GREEN, GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS Know who leads the league in Defensive Rating and Defensive Win Shares? Draymond Green. Know how to calculate either of those? (Not rhetorical, please help me.) The Warriors rank first in opponents field goal percentage. Green is one integral piece of that team-oriented puzzle. Andrew Bogut is a top-five defensive big man. Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala are both upper echelon wing defenders. Steph Curry is underrated and leads the league in steals. But heres why I like Green so much for this award - hes a wonderful combination of all of those things and that versatility is what makes the Warriors a stout defense. Golden State can constantly switch anything because players like Green can cover all five positions. To have that kind of flexibility is huge. Green is the best demonstration of that. SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR - LOU WILLIAMS, TORONTO RAPTORS Jamal Crawford of the Los Angeles Clippers, Ryan Anderson of the New Orleans Pelicans, Williams, Reggie Jackson of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Isaiah Thomas of the Phoenix Suns are all close in scoring. I feel like Williams and Thomas have done more for their teams in terms of helping them win games. I feel like Williams did more when DeMar DeRozan was gone to help Toronto keep pace. Thomas missed a few too many games. MOST IMPROVED PLAYER - JIMMY BUTLER, CHICAGO BULLS Ill say it - I hate this award. Its too hard to figure out the meaning of a three-word award. Too many people vote for someone who gets more playing time than the season before. Is that technically improvement or did that player just receive a mountains worth of more run? Or did the player improve so much during camp, that he forced his way into this new-found time? Ive always favored the player who improves, not the one who receives more playing time, although, Ive softened on that. There is a reasonable argument to be made that a player like an Alex Len of the Suns improved enough to crack the rotation. But, Im going with a player who didnt receive a bump in minutes. That wouldve been next to impossible considering Jimmy Butler shared the league lead in minutes per game last season. Hes first again this season. In literally ONE MORE MINUTE of playing time per game this campaign than last, here is the tale of Jimmy Butler: 2013-14 2014-15 Points per game: 13.1 20.9 Assists per game: 2.6 3.4 Rebounds per game: 4.9 6.2 3-point percentage: 28.3 34.2 field goal percentage: 39.7 46.4 free throw percentage: 76.9 83.0 Thats with ONE MORE MINUTE a game. Theres not a better example of improvement in the league. ' ' '