pool. Through these purchasable in-game items, Dota 2 fans can support their teams and earn

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- On the best playoff run in their short history, the Memphis Grizzlies refuse to be satisfied with just reaching their first Western Conference final. The San Antonio Spurs? Well, they know time is running out for a team that has done so very much in the NBA playoffs yet last celebrated a championship in 2007. Blowing a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals a year ago to Oklahoma City has driven the Spurs since training camp, and now they are back with Game 1 on Sunday against Memphis determined not to waste another chance. "We understand as a team that those opportunities are very rare, and we have another great one right now," Spurs guard Tony Parker said Saturday. "We have home-court advantage against a very good team, so we have to take full advantage of it." The Grizzlies are the former expansion franchise that started off in Vancouver before moving to Memphis, and they started by setting the NBA record for post-season futility while losing their first 12 playoff games. Coach Lionel Hollins, who won an NBA title in 1977 as a player with Portland, has his Grizzlies believing they can win one, too. The No. 5 seed in the West ousted first the Clippers, then the Thunder by winning eight of its last nine games, including three of four on the road. "Were just worried about going forward," Grizzlies guard Mike Conley said. "Were happy to be here, but were still focused on bigger things, and we got another tough opponent." That would be the Spurs with Tim Duncan, Parker and Manu Ginobili who swept the Grizzlies out of their first post-season in 2004. When Memphis finally won a post-season series, they beat the Spurs in six games in 2011, kicking off that series by winning the first game in San Antonio. Ginobili said the Spurs were not at their best that series and struggled to stop the Grizzlies big men in Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph. "We started with the wrong foot, we lost the first one and they got stronger and confident, and thats how they beat us," Ginobili said. This conference final pits Southwest Division rivals, with the Spurs as the dominating big brother with their four NBA championships and the fifth-best all-time winning percentage in the league since this franchise moved to the NBA in 1976. No coach and player have more post-season games than San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich and Duncan with 200 over 16 seasons. The Spurs clinched the No. 2 seed in the West winning just two more games than the Grizzlies. This should be a defensive showdown between teams built around big men with Memphis countering Duncan with 7-foot-1 Gasol and Randolph down low. Memphis held teams to an NBA-low 89.3 points during the regular season, and the Spurs tied for third in defensive efficiency. The Grizzlies also were second defending the 3, which could slow down Parker and Ginobili. "Finding ways to score is going to be very difficult," Popovich said. "Just playing against their defence is enough of a concern right off the bat." Hollins said beauty will be in the eye of the beholder for this series. "Some people think its ugly, some people think its beautiful," Hollins said. "I dont know. Dont really care." Home court mattered during the regular season as these teams split with each winning on their own floor. Remember when Popovich sent Duncan, Parker, Ginobili and Danny Green home to avoid playing the Heat in Miami on Nov. 29th? Well, that rest at the end of a six-game road trip cost the Spurs an unprecedented $250,000 fine. But the move paid off when the Spurs hosted the Grizzlies on Dec. 1 when Memphis was off to an NBA-best 12-2 start with a 99-95 win by San Antonio. Three of the teams matchups came before Memphis traded away Rudy Gay on Jan. 30. Memphis won the last game April 1 when Conley drove the lane for a layup and a 92-90 win on a night where Kawhi Leonard stayed in San Antonio with a sore left knee, Duncan sat out and Ginobili was out with a strained hamstring. "Its going to be a tough series," Randolph said. "Every time weve played them its a tough series. They got Ginobili, Parker, and they got a lot of other guys who do great things for the team." San Antonio went 35-6 at home in the regular season, then swept the Lakers to open the playoffs. The Warriors tested that home-court advantage forcing the Spurs to go to overtime to pull out the first game of that series and did win Game 2. The Spurs won Game 5 at home before closing out the series Thursday night. That forces the Spurs into a quicker turnaround, even though they do get to start at home. "I dont think you need any more challenge than playing in the conference finals and having the opportunity to go to the NBA Finals," Ginobili said. "Not that we needed that. It is big enough." Memphis has been on a bit of a revenge tour this post-season. The Grizzlies ousted the Clippers in six after losing to Los Angeles in seven last year, then they made up for their 2011 Western semifinal loss to Oklahoma City by knocking off the defending Western champs in five games. A key in this series will be Parker and Conley. Parker is averaging 22.4 points a game this post-season, while Conley is averaging a career-best 17.6 points while handing out 7.6 assists a game. "Hes the real key to their basketball team," Popovich said. "Everybody just thinks about Zach and Marc, who are sufficiently wonderful as players. But Conley is very, very important to that group." They got an extra day of rest after Wednesday nights 88-84 win over the Thunder. Now they have geared up again focusing on defence, rebounding and trying to outscore an opponent in the paint, which already has worked so well this post-season. "Its the same recipe," Gasol said. "Its just a little tougher." Clearance Nike LeBron Shoes .C. -- Al Jefferson joked that he feels he can score from anywhere on the court. LeBron Shoes From China . Oyama had six birdies and two bogeys at Kintetsu Kashikojima in the event also sanctioned by the Japan LPGA Tour. "I have been having this neck ache thats been affecting my golf recently," Oyama said. http://www.lebroncheap.com/ . Two pressure cooker bombs exploded near the finish line of the April 15 race in an area packed with fans cheering the passing runners. Three people were killed and more than 260 injured, including at least 16 who lost limbs. Cheap Lebrons From China . 4 Villanova with a 96-68 drubbing on Monday. Wragge hit 9-of-14 from behind the arc, matching Kyle Korvers school record for 3-pointers in a game set in 2003, as Creighton (16-3, 6-1 Big East broke a conference record with 21 treys in the rout. Wholesale LeBron Shoes . -- The plastic that was taped across the lockers in Oaklands clubhouse came down and the champagne that was on ice went back into the cooler. At over $20 million and climbing, the sixth International has the single largest purse in esports history. The International, Dota 2s premier tournament, is essentially an esports World Cup. Teams gather from around the world to compete for the top prize -- almost $9 million this year -- and TI6 continues the tournaments record-breaking tradition. How does Dota 2 developer Valve, and the Dota 2 scene, continue to increase its enormous payout?In effect, the Internationals prize pool relies largely on crowdfunding. Each year since 2013, Valve has debuted an interactive Compendium, putting a quarter of the profits toward The Internationals prize pool. Through these purchasable in-game items, Dota 2 fans can support their teams and earn prizes.What wonders do these Compendiums hold? They contain digital goods, like new cosmetic items and in-game effects, to allow owners to stand out in their matches. Later years added fantasy features, not unlike fantasy football or baseball; with these features, Compendium owners can set roosters for each day to earn points, create March Madness-esque brackets, and theorize who the standout players will be for bragging rights and extra digital goods.ddddddddddddEach year, the community around the free-to-play title has grown and potential contributors to the pool have increased. With every new feature addition and cosmetic release comes another spike in the prize pools growth chart, and its no surprise that TI6 is the biggest yet.In a year when professional Dota 2 is at its most competitive and, arguably, most engaging, the numbers speak for themselves. Millions of active players, teams and fans engage with the years highly anticipated capstone event from every region. With the Compendium, spectators have a chance to help build and grow the scene with every purchase. The Internationals prize pool isnt just an eye-catcher, but a reflection of the support of passionate Dota fans. ' ' '