Lightning D Mark Barberio assisted on Stamkos goal for his first NHL point.

Dennis Rodman has named a team of former NBA players to participate in an exhibition basketball game in Pyongyang, North Korea. Jarrett Culver Jersey . Rodman leads a team that includes former NBA All-Stars Kenny Anderson, Cliff Robinson, and Vin Baker. Craig Hodges, Doug Christie and Charles D. Smith are on the team, as well. They will play against a top North Korean Senior National team on Jan. 8, marking Kim Jong Uns birthday. Rodman is the highest profile American to meet Kim since the leader inherited power from his father in late 2011. Rodman calls the game his version of "basketball diplomacy." "My previous travels have allowed me to feel the enthusiasm and warmth of fans," Rodman said. "The positive memories and smiles on the faces of the children and families are a testament to the great efforts we have put into fulfilling our mission wherever we go voiding any politics. We are all looking forward to arriving in Pyongyang, meeting the citizens, visiting various charities and using the opportunity to develop new relationships that result in our annual return." Rodman made his latest visit to North Korea shortly before Christmas to train the North Korean basketball team, though he did not meet with Kim. Rodman, known as much for his piercings, tattoos and bad behaviour as he was for basketball, travelled to the secretive state for the first time last February with the Harlem Globetrotters for an HBO series produced by New York-based VICE television. Rodman has called Kim a "friend for life." Rodman said his trips would not be affected by the recent execution of Kims uncle. Smith, who played for the New York Knicks, said he was looking forward to the game with Rodman. "Dennis and I are total opposites but we work very well together," Smith said. "Dennis is one of the few people I know that doesnt just talk but actually lives a culturally diverse life. We have travelled everywhere together so I was not surprised with his first visit to North Korea. "Cultural exchange is about sharing. Sharing ideas and thoughts on education, culture and life." Rodman has been criticized for not talking about North Koreas human rights record, described as one of the worlds worst by activists, the U.S. State Department and North Korean defectors. The defectors have repeatedly testified about the governments alleged use of indiscriminate killings, rapes, beatings and prison camps holding as many as 120,000 people deemed opponents of authoritarian leader Kim Jong Un, the third generation of his family to rule. Doug West Jersey . - Maynor Figueroa headed in a late goal to give Honduras a 1-1 draw with the United States in an international friendly Tuesday. Jeff Teague Jersey . Or how his team has defended Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. Or just about anything that has happened on the court in the first-round playoff series. Instead, Rivers and his players spent Saturday talking about how they would respond to an audio recording of a man identified as Clippers owner Donald Sterling telling his girlfriend not to bring black people to games. https://www.cheaptimberwolves.com/730j-zach-lavine-jersey-timberwolves.html . Keenum will make his first appearance in a regular-season game against the rugged defence of the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, where the fans just set a Guinness record as the noisiest outdoor stadium in the world. TAMPA, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Lightning are having great success against the Western Conference. Brett Connolly and Valtteri Filppula scored in the third period, lifting the Lightning to a 4-2 win over the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night. Alex Killorn had a goal and two assists and Steven Stamkos also scored for the Lightning, who have won all five games this season against West teams. Tampa Bay, which has made the playoffs once over the previous six seasons, is off to a 10-4-0 start. "I think progress is probably the correct word because weve played some of these upper echelon teams," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. "I thought we earned the victory against an extremely good opponent. Thats the progress because were playing an elite team and I think we more than hung with them." Two of Tampa Bays out-of-conference victories have come against the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks. "Are we the perfect hockey team? Not even close," Cooper said. "But are we a team that doesnt quit and responds to challenges? They do." Connolly, playing in his second game since being recalled from Syracuse of the AHL, put Tampa Bay ahead 3-2 when he redirected Radko Gudas shot at 8:37 of the third. Filppula made it 4-2 with 3:59 remaining. Tampa Bays Ben Bishop turned aside a shot by Chris Stewart during a late first-period breakaway. He finished with 28 saves in his first game against the team that drafted him. "I thought it was a little bit of a measuring stick," Bishop said of beating the Blues, who are 8-2-22. Kevin Love Jersey. "We want to be in the same category as those guys." St. Louis got goals from Alex Pietrangelo and Jaden Schwartz. "We need to reset the dial and get more participants," Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said. "This is a real good evaluation, because weve had opponents where weve played kind of average and won, and now we had to play really good and we were still just above average." Stamkos scored his 11th goal of the season to give Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead 1:43 into the second during a 2-on-1. The centre, who has a goal in four consecutive games, briefly dragged the puck before putting an in-close shot past Jaroslav Halak. "We cannot find any excuses," Halak said. "They just outplayed us." Halak stopped 21 shots, including nice saves on Stamkos and Martin St. Louis while the Blues were short-handed in the second. Schwartz got St. Louis even at 2-2 from the slot 2:02 after Stamkos goal. Pietrangelo extended his goal-scoring streak to four games and put the Blues up 1-0 at 7:50 of the first. Killorn tied it at 1-all with 9:16 left in the first. It was the first even-strength goal allowed by St. Louis in 225 minutes, 55 seconds. NOTES: St. Louis Alexander Steen, who picked up an assist, had his six-game goal streak end. He scored eight of his 12 goals this season during the stretch. ... Stamkos has six goals and 10 points during a six-game points streak. ... Lightning D Mark Barberio assisted on Stamkos goal for his first NHL point. ... Blues D Vladimir Sobotka was minus-3 in the game. ' ' '