ct with him in a while knowing the transition is still fresh for Jackson

OAKLAND, Calif. - There will be a lot of people looking at the man sitting courtside when the Golden State Warriors host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night at Oracle Arena.No, not injured star LeBron James.Mark Jackson is sure to draw a lot of attention when he returns to the building for the first time since the Warriors fired him as coach after last season. Jackson will be part of ESPNs national telecast, sitting on the opposite sideline of the court he called home the previous three years — and not far from Warriors owner Joe Lacob.The evening promises to be an interesting spectacle for viewers, an emotional reunion for players and possibly awkward for Jackson, his former bosses and his successor.It will (feel strange) at the beginning, but then everybodys doing their job, said Warriors point guard Stephen Curry, who strongly opposed Jacksons firing last May. Im sure hes happy to be covering basketball and commentating and at peace with where hes at. Im sure the fans will give him a great reception, which he deserves for the work he did while he was here.I hope that happens, and well get to the business of playing basketball like usual. Obviously, when were on the court, we wont be hearing what hes saying on the telecast, but Im sure guys will appreciate having him there and honour him for what he was able to do while he was here.New coach Steve Kerr has been through a similar scenario. He returned to Phoenix as a TNT broadcaster during the 2010-11 season after serving as general manager of the Suns the previous three years.It felt very strange. It was awkward. Im sure therell be some weird feelings for Mark, Kerr told reporters following Thursdays practice. The biggest thing is we want to welcome him. He did a lot of great things for this team. Hes got a lot of strong relationships with people on our roster and in our organization. So I want Mark to come in here and enjoy himself and visit with old friends. It should be a good night for everybody.Jackson did not respond to a message from The Associated Press seeking comment on his return.Most players said they have stayed in contact with their former coach, regularly communicating through text messages. Others said they havent had contact with him in a while knowing the transition is still fresh for Jackson and the organization.What just about everybody on the roster — and the coaching staff — has regularly acknowledged is that Jackson played as big a role as anybody in helping the perennially losing franchise become a winner.Jackson took the Warriors from 23 wins to 47 to 51 in his three seasons. He became the first coach to lead the franchise to consecutive playoff appearances since Hall of Famer Don Nelson in 1991 and 1992.He taught us a lot. He really helped turn this organization around, forward Draymond Green said. He really helped build that foundation defensively, offensively, and coach Kerr has come in and hes taken it to a different level.The Warriors enter the game with an NBA-best 28-5 record. And while many have used the strong start as vindication for Jacksons firing, players said its a credit to what their former coach helped start.He knows how we feel about him in the locker room. Those three years meant a lot to us, Curry said. He set the tone and changed the identity of what it meant to be a Warrior, play Warrior basketball and be a relevant team in the playoffs. I would say he was very successful at his job for those three years.Obviously, it didnt end the way he expected or the way most of us expected. But he can hold his head high that he did his job the best way he knew how and made an impact on a lot of guys on and off the court.___Antonio Gonzalez can be reached at: www.twitter.com/agonzalezAP Fake Padres Jerseys . Arsene Wenger reportedly wants to convert the player into an attacking force, much like he did with Robin Van Persie. San Diego Padres Store .com) - Guard Greivis Vasquez and forward Patrick Patterson, two key pieces to the Toronto Raptors run to an Atlantic Division title in 2013-14, were both given qualifying offers by the team on Saturday. https://www.cheappadresjerseys.us/ . Greece was on the wrong end of a 3-0 rout to Colombia in its first game of the tournament. They surrendered a goal in just the sixth minute of the contest, and despite some promising attacking play, failed to crawl back into the match. Japan, on the other hand, struck first in its match with Ivory Coast, with Keisuke Honda putting his side into the lead in the 16th minute. Stitched Padres Jerseys . Vonn had another scary moment at Saturdays World Cup downhill in Val dIsere, ending up clutching her knee in pain after losing her balance and missing a gate. But she gave a reassuring answer shortly afterward, saying no new damage had been done to the surgically repaired knee, and that her plans for the Sochi Olympics were still intact. San Diego Padres Pro Shop . Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, the Houston Texans No. 1 pick in the draft, was on the field Tuesday for the first time with former NFL Defensive Player of the Year J.2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 1996 | 1995 | 1994 | 1993 | 1992 | 1991 | 1990 1989 | 1988 | 1987 | 1986 | 1985 | 1984 | 1983 | 1982 | 1977-1981 Canada: 5 W - 0 T - 2 L, Silver Medal The Czech Republics bid to win a third straight championship on home ice was foiled as Russia rebounded from a terrible tournament to win in 2002, edging Canada 5-4 in the gold medal game. Any complaints about a lack of offence from recent Canadian squads were erased by this group. The top three scorers in the tournament were Canadian: Mike Cammalleri, Brad Boyes and Jared Aulin. In fact, eight of the top 20 scorers wore the Maple Leaf jersey. After dispatching France and Switzerland by a total of 21-1, Canadian hopes were boosted by a 5-2 win over Russia. A 4-1 loss to Finland deflated the balloon slightly, but the Canadians forged ahead into the gold medal game with convincing wins over Sweden and Switzerland. The Russians stumbled into the championship game despite a less than stellar showing. A 2-2 round-robin record included losses to Finland and Canada and an unimpressive win over France. After dominating the United States 6-1, Russia needed overtime to beat Finland in the semifinals. In the gold medal game, Canada scored on the opening shift and built 2-0 and 3-1 leads. Russia responded by replacing goaltender Andrei Medvedev with back-up Sergei Mylnikov, and he provided a spark. The Russians rallied for three straight goals to take the lead. Chuck Kobasew tied the score early in the third period on a powerplay but, a few minutes later, Anton Volchenkov scored what proved to be the winner on a long slapper. The Finns, led by the tournaments top goaltender, Kari Lehtonen, claimed the bronze with a decisive victory over the Swiss. The outcome, and previous Finnish wins over Russia and Canada, had many of their fans wondering what would have happened if they had been able to score an overtime goal in the semifinals. Group A COUNTRY GP W T L GF GA PTS Slovakia 4 2 2 0 14 7 6 United States 4 2 2 0 14 9 6 Sweden 4 2 2 0 11 5 6 Czech Rep.dddddddddddd. 4 1 0 3 11 7 2 Belarus 4 0 0 4 4 26 0 Group B COUNTRY GP W T L GF GA PTS Finland 4 3 0 1 14 5 6 Canada 4 3 0 1 27 7 6 Russia 4 2 0 2 12 8 4 Switzerland 4 2 0 2 12 10 4 France 4 0 0 4 1 36 0 MEDAL GAMES Gold - Russia 5, Canada 4 Bronze - Finland 5, Switzerland 1 Team Canada Roster (GP - G - A - Pts) Mike Cammalleri (7 - 7 - 4 - 11) Brad Boyes (7 - 5 - 4 - 9) Jared Aulin (7 - 4 - 5 - 9) Chuck Kobasew (7 - 5 - 1 - 6) Brian Sutherby (7 - 3 - 3 - 6) Steve Ott (7 - 3 - 3 - 6) Scottie Upshall (7 - 3 - 3 - 6) Garth Murray (7 - 3 - 3 - 6) Jarret Stoll (7 - 2 - 4 - 6) Stephen Weiss (6 - 3 - 1 - 4) Jason Spezza (7 - 0 - 4 - 4) Rick Nash (7 - 1 - 2 - 3) Dan Hamhuis (6 - 0 - 3 - 3) Carlo Colaiacovo (7 - 0 - 3 - 3) Jay McClement (7 - 1 - 1 - 2) Nick Schultz (7 - 0 - 2 - 2) Jay Bouwmeester (7 - 0 - 2 - 2) Nathan Paetsch (7 - 0 - 1 - 1) Mark Popovic (7 - 0 - 1 - 1) Jay Harrison (7 - 0 - 1 - 1) Team Canada Goaltending (W-L-T - GAA - SO) Pascal Leclaire (4-1-0 - 1.80 - 2) Olivier Michaud (1-1-0 - 2.50 - 0) Tournament All-Stars G - Pascal Leclaire (CAN) F - Mike Cammalleri (CAN) D - Jay Bouwmeester (CAN) F - Marek Svatos (SVK) D - Igor Knyazev (RUS) F - Stanislav Chistov (RUS) Top Scorers PLAYER GP G A P Mike Cammalleri (CAN) 7 7 4 11 Brad Boyes (CAN) 7 5 4 9 Jared Aulin (CAN) 7 4 5 9 Ales Hemsky (CZE) 7 3 6 9 Marek Svatos (SVK) 7 7 1 8 ' ' '