(SportsNetwork. Sony Michel Jersey .com) - The Oklahoma City Thunder and Memphis Grizzlies will play a decisive Game 7 Saturday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena for the right to move on in the Western Conference playoffs. "This is Game 7," Kevin Durant said. "And Im looking forward to it." Game 7 will be contested without Grizzlies All-Star forward Zach Randolph. He was suspended one game for punching Oklahoma Citys Steven Adams in the jaw in Game 6. The Thunder staved off elimination on Thursday with a 104-84 victory in Memphis at FedExForum. On the same day The Oklahoman ran a headline which read "Mr. Unreliable," Durant made the paper look foolish. Durant, who is expected to be named the NBAs MVP, scored 36 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Durant posted 14 points in the first quarter and finished with 18 on 7-of-13 efficiency in the first half as Oklahoma City headed into the break with a healthy 56-41 advantage. The headline by The Oklahoman was in reference to Durants recent poor play in the series. He had been shooting just 40 percent in the series and 15-of-45 over the past two contests before Thursday. Durant was 11-of-23 from the floor, despite misfiring on all six of his attempts from beyond the arc, and finished 14-of-15 from the charity stripe for the second-seeded Thunder, who have not lost a first-round playoff series since 2010. Russell Westbrook provided 25 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three steals, while Reggie Jackson netted 16 points off the bench in the triumph. "That was 48 minutes of possession-by-possession defensive mentality type- game," OKC head coach Scott Brooks said. "Thats what we wanted to have happen going into this game. We knew we were playing in a tough place to play against a very good team. "That was the only focus for tonights game, to give your teammate everything you have and well live with the results." The Thunder are 1-0 in Game 7s since relocating to Oklahoma City. That lone victory came in 2011 when they dispatched the Grizzlies in the conference semifinals. That game was in OKC. The Grizzlies are 0-2 in Game 7s all-time with the Thunder loss and a first- round exit the following season to the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers loss was in Memphis, but the Grizzlies are on the road for this Game 7. Memphis has won two games in Oklahoma City this series. "Weve won there before, we believe that we can win there again," said Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger. "Obviously we need to get off to a quick start in their building for Game 7." Marc Gasol tallied 17 points and Randolph added 16 points and eight rebounds for Memphis, which can still become the second seventh seed to beat a No. 2 seed in a best-of-seven series on Saturday, joining the 2010 San Antonio Spurs, who beat the Dallas Mavericks. James Johnson scored 15 points in 18:14 of action and Tony Allen managed 13 points. Mike Conley only netted five points in less than 28 minutes. He left with a right hamstring injury in the fourth quarter and his availability for Saturday is unknown. "I play on playing," he said after Thursdays loss. Tedy Bruschi Patriots Jersey . The football club recently announced an increase in season ticket prices in five of the seven categories at Investors Group Field for 2014. While most increases are in the two to three per cent range, the clubs most affordable season tickets will jump from $199 to $250 — a 26 per cent leap. Julian Edelman Womens Jersey .J. -- The New York Jets have promoted Tony Sparano Jr. https://www.patriotssportsgoods.com/ . At times during a solid but not spectacular season, they looked all three. Still the defending AFC champions persevered, riding their top-ranked defence and key contributions from younger players to a 12-4 record and their eighth playoff appearance since 2000, remarkable consistency in a league where change is the only constant.Theres a reason there hasnt been a meaningful work stoppage in pro football for almost 27 years, and its not because this is a sport where the players have nothing to complain about. The very nature of the sport makes it difficult - some might say near impossible - to keep players united during a work stoppage because work stoppages are always about making sacrifices in the short term to benefit in the long. And for a great number of players in a sport with short careers and non-guaranteed contracts, there is no long term. But perhaps even more difficult to overcome is the fact that in football a small number of players on every team are paid far more than the rest, especially the large number of players on every team who will earn at or near the league minimum. And it is those star players, who already enjoy the biggest paydays and the most job security, wholl gain the most as the result of a successful work action. Look at any roster in either the CFL or NFL and youll probably be surprised to earn how many players are earning at or near the league minimum, which this NFL season will ranges between $420,000 and $645,00 for players from zero to three years of service in the league. In the CFL, that figure will go from $45,000 to $50,000 for this season based on what the parties have agreed to so far during current CBA negotiations. Since payrolls for CFL teams arent public, lets use an NFL team as an example to illustrate the payroll dynamics in pro football, which are similar in both leagues, albeit on a different scale. Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers enters this season with an average salary of $22 million, nearly double that of anyone else on the team. Among Packers currently under contract, there are only four with an average salary of more than $7 million season, and another four at more than $4 million. There are eight players listed at between $2 million and $4 million, and 67 whose average salary is less than $1 million, 49 of whom are due to earn less than $600,000. The numbers in the CFL are obviously smaller but the manner in which they compare to one another is similar, with star quarterbacks earning roughly $500,000 per season while a large portion of each roster earns less than $60,000 per season. The truth is that whatever gains are made for the players in either league usually mean the rich will get richer. For example, the NFL will operate this season with a salary cap of $133 million dollars. But if that figure was suddenly increased to $200 million, the primary beneficiaries would be the Peyton Mannings, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Bradys and Richard Shermans of the world, while the leaggues rank and file would essentially remain un affected. Irving Fryar Jersey. Same thing in the Canadian Football League - where if the CFLPA were to get its wish and have the salary cap jump immediately from $4.4 million to $5.8, the benefits would go to players such Ricky Ray, Darian Durant and the rest of the players whom fans pay to see. Of course theres another dynamic in the CFL game that doesnt exist south of the border. And thats that starting Canadian players - the ones mandated by the leagues quota system - also stand to benefit handsomely from any increase because of the laws of supply and demand. But the question becomes how do you convince the great number of players earning at or near the league minimum - young American players or backup Canadians - to commit to a work stoppage when theres little or no chance many of them will benefit from it? Standing up for a much higher minimum salary might help boost support among the rank and file, but that never seems to be the priority in either league. And therein lies the challenge of trying to keep a union full of professional football players all on the same page during a negotiating process. Consider that, despite having the leverage of being able to shut down the most profitable sport in North America, NFL players werent much interested in testing the resolve of their membership by missing paycheques when the league locked out its players during the off-season three years ago. They settled before that could happen. In Canada, the CFLPA has made a lot of noise about being disappointed in the leagues various offers this spring. But it hasnt said anything about having all of its membership on side, or being unbreakable, or being willing to miss game cheques in order to reach their goals in negotiation. The truth is that if the CFLPA were to strike a portion of the season, a great number of players will never get that money back - even if the owners were to capitulate completely. Many would simply be out of the league before they could benefit or would be left to watch the windfalls go to star players while they continue to earn similar amounts. All of these dynamics play to the owners advantage. And in the CFL, where were talking about players needing money to simply pay for the cost of living, the advantage is even greater. Will we see a CFL players strike later this month? Perhaps while its just training camp being missed, when no one has to make a true financial sacrifice to benefit the group for the long term. But in a sport where the rewards of such an action are likely to wind up in the hands of a select few, expecting anything more may be asking too much. ' ' '