Kommandozentrale » The Spaniard had the daunting task of making

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Kobe Bryant will make his long-awaited return from a torn left Achilles tendon when the Los Angeles Lakers host the Toronto Raptors on Sunday night. In a dramatic video posted on his Facebook page before the Lakers played at Sacramento on Friday night, Bryant set his much-anticipated comeback date. The video, which was also uploaded to the teams Facebook page, was titled: "Seasons of Legend. Lakers announce Kobes return." The video shows Bryants No. 24 jersey flapping in the wind. There is rain, sleet, snow and lightning for nearly 2 minutes. At one point, his jersey tears. Sunshine breaks through the clouds, and the video fades to black. Finally, words flash across the screen that read, "The Legend Continues...December 8." "Thats something special right there," Lakers teammate Nick Young quipped when a reporter showed him the video on his smartphone in the locker room. How effective Bryant will be against top-tier competition is the last lingering question in his return. Lakers coach Mike DAntoni said Bryant will likely be eased back into the lineup, though he declined to discuss how many minutes he will play in his first game. Asked what his expectations are for Bryant this season, DAntoni said, "That hell be a dominant player." "He can play any way," DAntoni said. "He can play below the rim, above the rim, the side of the rim. The guy can play any way. Hell figure out how hell be effective and hell come at you with everything hes got." Bryant did not travel with the team to Sacramento. The 15-time All-Star hasnt played since he was injured April 12 in a home win over the Golden State Warriors. He had surgery the following morning and was projected to take six to nine months to recover. Bryants return has seemed imminent since he began practicing last month. The 35-year-old guard has said that he could adjust his game and contribute something to the Lakers even if hes not fully healthy when he finally steps on the court for his 18th NBA season. His teammates expect the same. "Hes the biggest competitor that there is. Happy to have him back," guard Jodie Meeks said. "Hes looked great. Obviously he has to get his timing back and his legs, but I know hes probably been training pretty hard. I dont think it will take him long at all." Los Angeles signed the fourth-leading scoring in NBA history to a two-year contract extension last week. Bryants new deal is reportedly worth $48.5 million and takes him into his 20th season with the Lakers. Bryant hasnt given up hope of adding a sixth championship ring to his trophy case, even while the Lakers struggle to keep up with the NBAs best teams. Los Angeles entered Friday nights game with a 9-9 record. Thats still slightly better than most Lakers fans expected this season after the departures of Dwight Howard and Metta World Peace coupled with the injuries to Bryant and 39-year-old point guard Steve Nash, who could return next week from the nerve root irritation in his back. "Weve developed some guys that are really going to contribute a lot, and it might not have happened if (Bryant) was here," DAntoni said. "You have to look at the bright side of it. Now we just have to get him back to the level that hes capable of playing." Wholesale China Jerseys Free Shipping .J. -- Jaromir Jagr has hit so many NHL milestones this season for the New Jersey Devils that he is starting to downplay them. Cheap Authentic Jerseys 2020 . They know how difficult it is to beat the San Antonio Spurs. George scored 28 points and Indiana defeated San Antonio 111-100 on Saturday night, snapping an 11-game skid against the Spurs. https://www.wholesalejerseysreview.com/ . 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McIlroy cant wait to get there. Two weeks after his wire-to-wire win at Royal Liverpool, McIlroy took his game from the links of Britain to the parkland of America and made the game look just as easy. With another powerful performance, he wiped out a three-shot deficit to Sergio Garcia in three holes, closed with a 4-under 66 and returned to No. 1 in the world with a two-shot victory in the Bridgestone Invitational. He looked just as good as the last time he reached No. 1 in the world during his torrid stretch at the end of 2012. "This is better," he said. "Mentally, Im really sharp. I didnt start to think about score. I didnt think about where I was in the tournament. I just playing shot after shot after shot. So yeah, its good." Garcia wasnt at his best and closed with a 71. Hes not sure it would have mattered. "Everybody saw it," Garcia said. "He played very, very well. He drove the ball miles and very, very straight for the most part. He gave himself a lot of birdie looks." McIlroy finished the third round with two straight birdies, and not even one day and a rain delay slowed him. He punched an 8-iron out of the rough, under the trees and up the slope to an elevated green to 3 feet to open with a birdie. He drilled a 4-iron from 219 yards into 25 feet for a two-putt birdie at the second, and then followed with a gap wedge to 8 feet for a third straight birdie. Garcia made bogey from the rough, and just like that, he was trailing. The Spaniard never caught up. McIlroy became the 13th player with a major and a World Golf Championship, and he joined Tiger Woods as the only players to win them in consecutive starts. Woods wasnt around to see it. Four months after back surgery, and in his third tournament since his return, Woods injured his lower back when he landed with a thud in the stand from an awkward stance atop a bunker on the second hole. He withdrew after a tee shot on the ninth hole, bending over slowly and struggling to remove the tee from the ground. It was not clear he Woods could play in the PGA Championship next week. McIlroy heads south to Valhalla with a full head of steam. After a brief celebration with the claret jug, he was determined to move forward and chase more titles over the final four months of the year. He backed it up with a powerful performance on a soggy Firestone course to take the top spot in the world from Adam Scott.dddddddddddd "Thats the most pleasing thing about this week is not dwelling about what happened at Hoylake," he said. "Thats what Ill have to do after this, as well. Ive just got to keep moving forward. Its great to have a chance to try to go there to win three in a row. But if youd have asked me what Im proudest of this week, its the mindset that I took into here of not being complacent. I wanted to come here and really contend." McIlroy finished at 15-under 265 and won $1.53 million, leaving him $765 short of Bubba Watson on the PGA Tour money list. More important was the world ranking. He lost the No. 1 position in March 2013 when his game was in a downward spiral as he was adjusting to a new equipment deal and going through another management change. But since winning the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth at May, his game looks as strong as ever. "Obviously, Rory is in incredible form at the moment," Scott said. "Hell be the man to beat next week by the look of things. And Ill be gunning for him, for sure." Garcia was a runner-up to McIlroy for the second straight time. The Spaniard had the daunting task of making up a seven-shot deficit at the British Open, and Garcia put up a great fight until finishing two shots behind at Hoylake. Staked to at three-shot lead at Firestone, it didnt go much better. Garcia missed a 6-foot birdie on the par-5 second hole with a putt that never looked as if it was going in. His lead down to one, Garcia pulled his tee shot into the gallery on the third hole, striking a woman on the hand and knocking the diamond out of her ring. The diamond was found, about the lone bright spot in his day. Garcia made bogey, and McIlroy rolled in another birdie putt to take the lead. Garcia made only one birdie, on the ninth hole to share the lead. McIlroy answered with an 8-foot birdie on No. 11 and was on his way. Marc Leishman (67) finished alone in third. Patrick Reed holed out for eagle on No. 17 in his round of 65 and gave him a tie for fourth, enough to move him up to No. 7 in the Ryder Cup standings and boost his hopes of making his first team with only the PGA Championship left in the qualifying period. Phil Mickelson made 10 birdies for a career-best 62 at Firestone. None of that could top McIlroy, who put on another exhibition and looked every bit the part of the worlds best player. ' ' '