COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio State held its homecoming over the weekend when it named its king and queen.But the real homecoming for basketball fans was Monday night when The King came back to Columbus with the Cleveland Cavaliers.LeBron James received a thunderous ovation during the pregame introductions from the sellout crowd of 19,049 in Value City Arena on the OSU campus and the Cavaliers went on to defeat the Chicago Bulls 107-98.The excitement was there from the time we walked in the building, he said. It was a school night; we had a lot of kids, a lot of college kids here. That shows the support there is. The least we can do is try and put on a show.The two Eastern Conference rivals did and it was the dueling guards who stole the spotlight from James.Kyrie Irving led the Cavaliers with 20 of his 28 points coming in the second half while Derrick Rose continues to show hes well on his way back from a torn medial meniscus in his right knee that caused him to miss last seasons playoffs.He had 30 points in 24 minutes of play and said he liked the challenge of playing the Cavaliers.Im used to playing with very good people and very good talent, he said. Thats all theyve got on that team, is talent. You know when you play against them; you know youve got to come out here and ball.Irving took control in the third quarter when he scored nine points during an 11-0 run for a 75-65 lead in his second game back from an ankle injury.James had 18 points in 31 minutes before exiting to a standing ovation with 6:29 to play and the Cavaliers ahead 92-81.The ballyhooed trio of James, Irving and Kevin Love (nine points, 13 rebounds) played together for only the second time in six games.What I really liked obviously tonight is we had Kevin, Kyrie and LeBron on the court at the same time Cleveland coach David Blatt said. We got a fair view of that. I thought it went fairly well.Centre Anderson Varejao added 22 points for the Cavaliers.Were not the Big 3, James said. Were a team.TIP-INSIrving missed three games while recovering from a right ankle sprain. He played 38 minutes Monday after going 29 minutes Friday against the Dallas Mavericks ... Despite never attending college, James has an affinity for Ohio State and the school has given him a locker in the Buckeyes mens basketball locker room. ... Bulls forward Joakim Noah was the target of boos throughout the game. He helped the Florida Gators win NCAA championships in 2006 and 07, the latter by defeating Ohio State 84-75 in the title gameUP NEXTThe Cavaliers complete exhibition play Wednesday at the Memphis GrizzliesChicago plays its final preseason game Friday vs. Minnesota in St. Louis.THUMBS DOWNChicago coach Tom Thibodeau said starting guard Jimmy Butler, who did not play Monday, will have an MRI Tuesday on his sprained left thumb. Butler left the game Sunday after 11 minutes vs. the Charlotte Hornets. The Bulls are at 14 players, one below the maximum for the regular season.TAKE A SEATJames played his fifth preseason game Monday and is not expected to play Wednesday. I want my guys coming in healthy and happy and if LeBron needs to sit another game, hell sit another game, Blatt said. Thats the priority.QUOTESAs a basketball person, its great to see him back. He means something to this league. Its good for the NBA. I dont know if its good for us — Blatt on the return from injury of Rose. Air Max Schweiz Günstig . Canadas 5-1 loss to Finland in the semifinal ranks as the tournaments most-watched game with a record 2.7 million viewers, the largest ever for a World Juniors game played outside of North America, and winning Saturday as the most-watched program on Canadian television. Air Max Günstig Online Kaufen . They say things like "stress is when you dont know what youre doing" and "I wasnt hired to motivate players, I was hired to coach motivated players." They ring as true now as they did when Mularkey heard them the first time playing tight end for the Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame coach 25 years ago. http://www.airmaxoutletschweiz.ch/. DArnaud hit one of three doubles for the Mets as they took a 4-0 lead in the first. Then the catchers seventh home run of the season broke the game open in the fifth. The 41-year-old Colon (10-8) retired the first 20 batters in his last outing Wednesday against Seattle, eventually allowing two runs on three hits in 7 1-3 innings in a 3-2 win. Air Max Schweiz . Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas appeared to be on track to gain election from the Baseball Writers Association of America on Wednesday, and Craig Biggio could join them. Nike Air Max Günstig Herren . Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports that the Raptors have traded forward Steve Novak along with a second-round pick to the Utah Jazz in exchange for guard Diante Garrett - who will then be waived.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Chicago Blackhawks have struggled with inconsistency at the start of the new year but they hope to regain some momentum in Sundays home clash against the sliding Minnesota Wild. Chicago is 2-3-0 in January, alternating losses and wins since the start of the month. The rough patch began with a loss in the Winter Classic at Washingtons Nationals Park on New Years Day, and, after Chicago managed to win two out of three, it continued with Fridays 5-2 setback in Edmonton. Of the Blackhawks two wins in January, however, the most recent one came against tonights opponent. Chicago recorded a 4-2 win Thursday in Minnesota despite being outshot by a wide margin. Corey Crawford stole two points for the Blackhawks in St. Paul, making 42 saves to anchor the win. Minnesota outshot Chicago 37-10 after the first period and 44-20 for the game. Chicago received a pair of goals from Bryan Bickell in the third period to pull away. Patrick Sharp and Patrick Kane also scored in the win. It was the Blackhawks third straight win over the Wild, as they improved to 2-0 in the five-game season series between the Central Division rivals. Chicago has won two straight and five of the past seven encounters in the Windy City. Chicago was unable to win the other tilt on its recent two-game road trip, as it fell Friday night to the Oilers. The Blackhawks entered the game with 29 more points than lowly Edmonton, but Derek Roy finished with a goal and two assists to help the hosts pull off the surprising 5-2 victory at Rexall Place. The Blackhawks had won the three previous meetings in Edmonton by a 16-3 margin, including a 7-1 rout at Rexall on Nov. 22. Brandon Saad scored both goals for Chicago, while Antti Raanta stopped 17 shots in the loss. We had enough chances tonight.dddddddddddd We didnt give up a ton, said Chicago coach Joel Quenneville. Chicago, which is four points behind Nashville for first place in the Central, begins a four-game homestand tonight. The Hawks are 14-5-1 at United Center this season and wont play the second tilt of the residency until Friday against Winnipeg. The Wild are mired in a four-game losing streak and have posted just two wins over their last 12 games (2-6-4). The rough stretch has Minnesota seven points out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference as it kicks off a three-game road trip with Sundays clash in Chicago. Minnesota lost a 3-1 decision Saturday against the visiting Nashville Predators. The Wild fired 37 shots on net, but Pekka Rinne made the difference for the Preds with 36 saves. Charlie Coyle potted the lone goal for the Wild, while Niklas Backstrom made 24 stops in the loss. When youre losing games the way we are, everything is an issue, said embattled Minnesota head coach Mike Yeo. Its been something different every game. Were just spinning our tires. Minnesotas Zach Parise returned after a two-game absence to deal with the death of his father, former NHLer J.P. Parise, who died Wednesday at the age of 73 from cancer. Another loss tonight would give Minnesota its second five-game skid of the season. The Wild set a season-high losing streak with a 0-2-3 drought from Dec. 16-27. The Wild, who will play seven of their next nine away from home, are 8-11-0 as the road club this season. Crawford will start for Chicago and owns a 6-3-2 record and 2.35 goals against average in 12 career games against the Wild. Backstrom is 6-11-1 with a 2.90 GAA in 19 career games against Chicago, while backup John Curry has never faced the Blackhawks. ' ' '