advocate of outdoor hockey in Los Angeles. "Id love to see

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Nik Stauskas and Glenn Robinson III are skipping their last two seasons at Michigan to enter the NBA draft and chase a dream theyve had since they were kids. Stauskas, who is from Mississauga, Ontario, set his sights on joining in the worlds best basketball league when he started playing the game in an organized way at the age of 7. "From that point on, I pretty much committed myself to doing whatever it took to get to this point," he said. "I dont think many Canadian kids had that same dream. I think most of them were trying to go to the NHL, but I think the rise of Canadian basketball has been unbelievable. You see a lot of kids now making that jump from Canada and Im glad to be a part of that group." Robinson, meanwhile, might have looked at the league a little earlier because his father -- nicknamed "Big Dog" -- was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1994 NBA draft. "My dad has been through this whole process, so that was definitely a big help," he said. "He stayed an extra year in college when he thought he wasnt ready." Robinson, who is from St. John, Ind., said the NBAs undergraduate advisory committee informed him he would be a first-round pick if he entered the draft and he chose to make the leap Monday night. Stauskas wouldnt say what he was told, but he obviously liked the feedback. "I heard from the advisory board in the middle of last week, a couple days after that I really decided," he said. "The information I got from them was kind of what I wanted to hear." Mitch McGary has not announced his future plans. "Mitch is still gathering information," coach John Beilein said. "He has all the way until the 27th to make a decision, so hes looking at all the possibilities right now." McGary was not made available for interviews after his teammates had a news conference. He turned down a chance to enter the draft last year as a likely first-round pick and ended up having back surgery last season, putting his standing as an NBA prospect in doubt. The Wolverines lost Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway to the NBA last year as underclassmen, but retooled well enough to win the Big Ten title and advance to an NCAA tournament regional final. Stauskas said hes confident Michigan is strong enough to keep winning next season. "I think were leaving this program in great hands," Stauskas said as he looked toward his former teammates, who gathered to show their support for him and Robinson at their news conference. The 6-foot-6 shooting guard became one of the nations most well-rounded offensive players, averaging 17.5 points and improving defensively and earning Big Ten player of the year honours last season. The 6-6 Robinson came on strong toward the end of the season and finished with a 13.1 point average. The pressure will now be on improving guard Caris LeVert to have another big season for Michigan next season. Derrick Walton and Zak Irvin -- who both had their share of impressive moments as freshmen -- will also have a chance to take on more leadership. The Wolverines also will lose fifth-year senior Jordan Morgan, and Jon Horford is transferring. Early departures have become the norm at Michigan now that the program has become a Big Ten power again. After going without a regular-season conference title since 1986, the Wolverines tied for first in 2012 and went on to reach the NCAA finals. Thanks in part to Stauskas and Robinson, Michigan won a school-record 59 games over the last two seasons and lost just 17 times. Masahiro Tanaka Jersey .Y. -- The Detroit Red Wings had just enough time to salvage a point. Paul ONeill Jersey . Pace had a career-high 10 sacks for Rex Ryans defence-- second only to Muhammad Wilkersons 10 1/2 -- in his sixth season with the Jets. The 33-year-old outside linebacker was an unrestricted free agent. http://www.authenticmlbshopyankees.com/S...-Castro-Jersey/. George Hill had 13 points and seven rebounds for the Pacers, who stayed atop the overall NBA standings despite losing twice on their West Coast trip. Los Angeles kept it close into the second half before the Pacers finished an easy win over the injury-riddled Lakers, who have lost five straight. Bernie Williams Jersey . But history aside, theyre still happy to participate in the Par 3 contest, traditionally held on the day prior to the first round of the Masters. Brett Gardner Jersey . The 31-year-old, a two-time CFL lineman of the year, was among the most coveted free agents on the market. The Windsor, Ont., native will be especially important to a team that has lost veteran quarterback Anthony Calvillo to retirement and is expected to go with the less experienced Troy Smith and Tanner Marsh this season. Before the hockey town that Wayne Gretzky built hosted its first outdoor game at Dodger Stadium, The Great One made a rare Hollywood move by going on "Conan" to promote it. In an 11-minute interview on the late-night show with host Conan OBrien, Gretzky reflected on his trade from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings, his guest appearance on "Saturday Night Live" and several aspects of his on-ice playing career. Beyond all his records and his place in hockey history, Gretzkys Hollywood persona wouldnt have been as pronounced if it were not for that trade 25 1/2 years ago. "It was hard for especially people in Edmonton because they werent just fans, they were friends of mine. A lot of the people that go to all the games, I knew from all the years of being in Edmonton," Gretzky said of the deal. "So it was difficult for everyone. But you look back at it now and everything happens for a reason and we love it here in L.A. and the NHL is thriving here and everyone seems to be doing OK." The Oilers won their fifth Stanley Cup in 1990 without Gretzky and made it to the final in 2006 before losing to the Carolina Hurricanes. The Kings made it to the final in 1993 with Gretzky before losing to the Montreal Canadiens, then won their first title in franchise history in 2012. Edmonton hasnt made the playoffs since 2006 and is still in a rebuilding stage. Just now is a new downtown arena under construction. But Gretzky was on "Conan" for the NHLs Stadium Series debut, which is Saturday between the Kings and the league-leading Anaheim Ducks. He called the game happening at Dodger Stadium a "real big dream." Even before this promotional tour, the "Great One" said he was an advocate of outdoor hockey in Los Angeles. "Id love to see an outdoor game in L.A. because we see the Winter Classic and the Heritage Classic with the snow and thats all wonderful. But a big part of our game, too, now and the success of the National Hockey League is California and places like that," Gretzky said before the Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremony in November. "Its going to be wonderful to see people sitting at Dodger Stadium when its 65 degrees (F) and theyre sitting there in shorts and T-shirts and enjoying a National Hockey League game. I think its going to be wonderful for our sport." It should be roughly 19 C (66 F) when the puck drops around 6:30 Pacific time Saturday night. When Gretzky and the Kings faced the New York Rangers in an exhibition game in Las Vegas in 1991, temperatures ranged between 29 and 35 C. Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said after a California heat wave last week he was looking forward to cooler temperatures for this game. "I think its going to be completely unique and its going to be tremendous playing in 60-degree weather outside under the stars," Boudreau said. "I think a lot of people will be real interested to see how that works." Ice technology has improved drastically in the 22-plus years since that Las Vegas game. As Gretzky acknowledged during his appearance on "Conan," so has the NHL, in general. OBrien asked Gretzky about a so-called unwritten rule that opponents wouldnt hit him, which the former Kings captain refuted. "I didnt get hit as much as people probably wanted me to get hit, especially on the opposing teams," Gretzky said. "I knew it was time to retire when I was playing my last year and people I was playing against before they wouuld hit me, they would scream my name or say, Hey, heads up or, Wayne, get out of the way, or Here we are.dddddddddddd I remember thinking, Wow, somethings not right about this." Gretzky then told a story about going to a game with his wife and two sons and sitting in the front row when one of them said to their mother: "Be really honest, did dad really play in this league?" When Gretzky did play in the NHL, he set career records with 894 goals, 1,963 assists and 2,857 points and single-season ones along the way, including 92 goals in 1981-82. OBrien asked if Gretzky thought "some punk kid" was going to come along and score 93 in a season. "Records are made to be broken," Gretzky said. "When I grew up my idol was Gordie Howe, and he couldnt have been any nicer, couldnt have been any better. He was just a really good man. When I broke his records, he was always the first guy there. "So if anybody ever breaks my records, Ill be the first guy to shake his hand. The players are good today, theres a lot of good players. Nevers a long time." Gretzky went on to say his record he believes will be the hardest to break is 50 goals in 39 games, "because 50 goals in 38 games is a lot of goals." "Yes," OBrien responded. "Thats pretty good. Well see." Gretzky said that being the smallest but never the fastest or toughest player at any point of his hockey-playing career made him consistent in his style. When OBrien brought up the topic of "Gretzkys Office," and his penchant to control the flow of play from behind the net, Gretzky credited Philadelphia Flyers Hall of Famer Bobby Clarke. "I had a coach when I was 14 years old that said: Go watch this guy Bobby Clarke play and watch how he plays. Hes not very big, hes smart, he passes the puck and he plays sort of from the corner and a little bit behind the net," Gretzky recalled. "So at the age of 14 I started watching him day in and day out. "He probably had the most influence on my career as far as learning how to play the game and the style of game that I played. I learned to play behind the net, and when I started doing that, it was so unique. Nobody had ever tried to defend that. And so I was able to really master it and become really good at it, and that was sort of my forte." Hockey sense, Gretzky said, was also a strength. Singing, not so much. OBrien mentioned that the first time he met Gretzky came in 1989 on the set of "Saturday Night Live." Although Gretzky originally turned down the appearance, his wife, Janet, accepted for him. On the show, Gretzky had to sing a song called "Waikiki Hockey," despite being, in his words, "tone deaf." "The funny part of the scene was they had this little piece of meat and I was sort of supposed to hit it," Gretzky said. "And I hit it right into a garbage can. I think everybody was shocked that I put it in the garbage can. It was just completely by accident." OBrien, who served as an extra in that scene 25 years ago, joked that "Everyone thought, He is the great one, he can fire meat at will." But that was acting, which Gretzky wasnt trying to be great at after going to Los Angeles. "Athletes come here and they want to be actors sometimes," Gretzky said. "But I never wanted to act, I wanted to be a hockey player." Follow (at)SWhyno on Twitter. Its a real big dream for me. hockeys come a long way. Jerseys Wholesale Wholesale NFL White Jerseys Stitched NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Outlet Cheap NFL Autographed Jerseys ' ' '