likewise, Bhullar had not played this season either be

The XV Paralympic Games open in Rio on Wednesday night with 10-time gold medallist Lee Pearson leading Great Britain into a full to capacity Maracana Stadium.The Rio 2016 organising committee admitted as the Olympics came to a close last month that only 12 percent of the 2.5 million Paralympic tickets had been sold, while International Paralympic Committee president Sir Philip Craven admitted it was the worst build-up to a modern Games.However, it seems Rio has turned things around. Sales passed the 1.5m mark on Sunday and Rio is expected to be behind only London in terms of tickets sold. The London 2012 Paralympics saw 2.7m tickets sold.Wednesdays opening ceremony has been sold out, with 159 nations, plus two refugees in an Independent Paralympic Athletes team, represented, while unlike in the Olympics Russia is banned for state-sponsored doping.Rio 2016 spokesperson Mario Andrada said: We passed 1.6million tickets sold. The opening ceremony is sold out.We are following very much the same pattern that we have seen in the Olympic Games. Right before the Olympic Games we were selling around 40,000 tickets a day and we are selling around 40,000 tickets a day now for the Paralympics.We had peaks of selling 146,000 tickets (a day) for the Paralympics. The day that we sold most tickets was for the Paralympics.If you count the tickets sold we expect more people in the Paralympic Park next Saturday and Sunday than we could have seen during the Olympic Games.Britains chances of surpassing their target of 120 medals won at London 2012 and finishing second on the medal table, behind China, are boosted by Russias absence. Russia were second in the standings four years ago.Pearson will lead ParalympicsGB into the Maracana Stadium at the start of his fifth Games.The 42-year-old equestrian rider from Staffordshire describes himself as a colourful character.He believes the fact a gay bloke has been selected as flag bearer by his 263 teammates shows the strength and diversity of the team and the nation.The selection follows Kate Richardson-Walsh, who won hockey gold alongside wife Helen, being chosen to carry the flag at the Olympic closing ceremony last month.It just shows how diverse, how accepting, how lovely and how strong our team is, Pearson said.Thats why Im so proud of my fellow athletes. What an amazing nation to have - weve got so many diverse characters, different religions and races... To vote a gay bloke to be in that position is a massive honour.The first of 11 days of competition takes place on Thursday and the Games run until September 18.Irelands Jason Smyth is expected to be the fastest performer at the Games.The 29-year-old partially sighted sprinter from Londonderry set the fastest time in Paralympic competition in winning gold at London 2012 in 10.46 seconds.He competes on Friday morning, while the eagerly anticipated T44 100m final featuring amputee sprinters and defending champion Jonnie Peacock takes place later on the same day.Smyth is a four-time Paralympic champion and has been nicknamed the Paralympics Usain Bolt.Smyth, whose personal best is 10.22secs, said: Everyone in the world knows Usain Bolt and how incredible an athlete he is. To be put in the same sentence as him is a great honour and hopefully the main thing is for me to continue and run fast.Usain Bolt didnt break a world record this year either so maybe I can get away with not doing it.Major championship running is about trying to win. At the end of the day its about trying to make sure youre the first person across the line and thats my main target. Custom Chicago White Sox Jerseys . Self was acquired from the Buffalo Bandits in a trade for Alex Hill midway through last season, and made his debut in Rochester on March 16, 2013. Chicago White Sox Pro Shop . Varlamov made 33 saves and Ryan OReilly had a goal and scored in the shootout as the Avalanche beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 on Thursday night. https://www.cheapwhitesox.com/ . Zvonareva, who won the tournament in 2009 and 10, couldnt handle her opponents big groundstrokes in only her third event back after 17 months out with a shoulder injury. Zvonareva made her comeback in January in Shenzhen and played in the Australian Open but lost her first matches at both tournaments. Cheap White Sox Jerseys . Bryzgalov stopped 25 shots on Saturday in the Oklahoma City Barons 4-1 victory over the Abbotsford Heat. The Oilers signed Bryzgalov to a one-year $2 million contract last Friday after shedding payroll by dealing defenceman Ladislav Smid to the Flames. Stitched White Sox Jerseys . LOUIS -- Roman Polak was celebrating even before Alexander Steen scored the winning goal in Saturdays 4-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- New Mexico forward Tim Williams had 20 points and Elijah Brown scored a season-high 19 points with eight rebounds as the Lobos pulled away late Friday to beat downstate rival New Mexico State 72-59.New Mexico (3-0) forced 20 turnovers, turning them into 20 points, and gave it up only three times in the second half. The Lobos rallied from 30-29 halftime deficit after the Aggies finished the first half with a 13-6 run.I thought our defense was a lot better, New Mexico coach Craig Neal said. I thought their focus was a lot better, just because of how hard they played. If you play that hard, they can be really good.Ian Baker scored 25 for the Aggies (2-2) and Sidy NDir added 14, but the pair of guards combined to go 13 of 30 from the field.New Mexico overcame a poor shooting effort after going 1 for 10 on 3-pointers and 24 for 54 overall (44 percent). The Lobos made 23 of 37 free throws (62 percent), led by Williams, who was 10 of 13 from the line.Sam Logwood added 12 points and four assists for the Lobos.BIG PICTURENew Mexico: Brown and Williams are New Mexicos best players, but both were having off nights until the game was on the line. With the Lobos leading 44-42 after a 9-0 Aggies run, Williams and Brown combined to score 20 of the Lobos next 22 points in a 22-8 run that decided the game.I dont we had great execution in the first half then we slowed down and let the game come to us, Neal said. And then we had really good execution in the second half. We were able to Tim Williams and Elijah and some guys going.New Mexico State: The Aggies were unable to capitalize on a size advantage inside with 6-10 forward Johnathon Wilkins fouling out without any contributions and 7-2 Tanveer Bhullar finishing with nine points and 10 rebounds.The defensive rebounding still has a long way to go, New Mexico State coach Paul Weir said. We went to a small lineup which hurrt us a little bit.dddddddddddd. But were just not rebounding well enough right now to win games.THIS JUST INNew Mexico junior forward Joe Furstinger, who had not played a minute in the first two games of the season, made his first appearance with 5:36 left in the in the first half and had an immediate impact, forcing a turnover on the ensuing inbounds play, then drawing an intentional foul on a drive on the other end of the floor. He finished with six points.He turned zero minutes into 12 because he did exactly what I asked him to do, Neal said. He didnt take any bad shots. He played with intensity. He played post defense. .He came in and did a heck of job. If I had an MVP of the game, it had to be him. He was outstanding.Likewise, Bhullar had not played this season either because of fitness issues, but he also made his presence felt.We kind of have some physical standards in place for these guys to meet in order to play, Paul Weir said. And Tanveer just met his. He wasnt going to play until he met them. I thought he looked pretty good for his first game. Hes trimmed down quite a bit. Hes moving a lot better. But he made an impact.QUOTABLEI think Tim thinks he can score on a guy whos eight-foot tall, Neal said of his power forward, who is averaging 23 points a game.UP NEXTNew Mexico heads to California to face Virginia Tech on Thanksgiving in the Wooden Legacy Classic in Fullerton. The Lobos are hoping to reach the championship round in the event and a possible matchup with former coach Steve Alford and his son, Albuquerque prep star Bryce Alford.New Mexico State goes home for a Sunday meeting with Bethune-Cookman as part of the University of San Diego Classic tournament. The Aggies continue that tournament at home Tuesday against Nicholls State. ' ' '