LOS ANGELES, Calif. Wojciech Szczesny Jersey . - Kobe Bryant isnt happy about spending Christmas Day on the sideline, unable to help the struggling Los Angeles Lakers. Its a place hes unaccustomed to being on the holiday. Bryant leads the NBA with a record 15 appearances on Christmas Day, but hes out an expected four to six weeks with a fracture in his left knee. "Its strange to be coming in on Christmas and not playing," he said before the Lakers hosted the streaking Miami Heat on Wednesday. "Its a foreign feeling, but Im here to support my guys." LeBron James and Co. has won five in a row; the Lakers have dropped two straight. "We need you tonight," Lakers guard Nick Young told the crowd before tipoff. Bryants injury was diagnosed last week, his second major one of the season. He didnt play his first game until Dec. 8 after nearly eight months away while recovering from a torn Achilles tendon. Then he got hurt again Dec. 17 at Memphis while playing his fourth game in five nights. "I was fortunate that it was not a meniscus," he said. Initially, Bryant didnt think he was seriously hurt against Memphis. He went down late in the third quarter, but returned to finish out the victory in which he logged a season-high 21 points in 32 minutes. "I didnt know it was fractured," he said. "I was expecting a bone bruise more than anything else. I thought (the doctor) was joking when he told me." Bryant has been limited to riding a bike; he isnt supposed to put any pressure on his knee. "Its just been slow in terms of laying off it and letting it heal," he said. "When you dont have activity, you got to watch the other parts like nutrition." Typical of Bryants attention to detail, he said hes been reading critical comments that suggest he wont return this season. "Its the same old tune, just being sung a little more loudly now," he said. "These type of things just help me lock in more." Asked if theres any chance he wont be back, Bryant replied, "Not that Im aware of." Los Angeles signed the 35-year-old guard to a two-year, $48.5 million contract extension in November. James, along with other NBA players, tweeted out well wishes to Bryant, although the two superstars havent talked. "Especially games like today, you want to have the best guys out there," James said. After the Achilles injury, Bryant expressed rare self-doubt. He hasnt felt any this time. "The knee is not really a concern to me," he said. "The biggest question was would the Achilles respond to my game. It felt fine. It was strong." Bryant was looking forward to playing against the defending NBA champions as a way to see where he was physically with his Achilles. "This was a really big measuring stick," he said. Instead, he sat at the end of the bench wearing a black suit and print T-shirt. "My spirits are fine," he said. "I feel more locked in now than my entire career." Paulo Dybala Jersey .com) - Edmonton Oilers forward Taylor Hall left Saturdays game against the Senators in the second period with a left knee injury. Claudio Marchisio Jersey . And follow TSN.ca right through Deadline Day for all the updates. From Pierre LeBrun While Anaheim GM Bob Murray said earlier this season he was not going to trade Jonas Hiller despite the fact hes an unrestricted free agent on July 1, some sources have told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun that Murray might be willing to move another goalie. http://www.juventusfcpro.com/Kids-Mattia-Perin-Jersey/ . Speaking on TSN Radio 1050s TSN Drive with Dave Naylor on Monday, Colangelo said he had no intention of tanking the shortened 2011-12 season, but definitely wanted a high pick in the draft. "I wish that word wasnt used for headline reasons," said Colangelo, "but the story behind it was: how can we fix the system? How can we tweak the system to make it less likely that teams are rewarded for losing records? "I do believe that if youre as transparent as we were at the time - with our season seat holders, our fans, the market place and the media - everybody knew what the plan was and what we were going through.PITTSBURGH -- Jim Rutherford doesnt believe the Pittsburgh Penguins need to undergo a massive overhaul to regain their spot among the NHLs elite. One thing is for certain: Dan Bylsma wont be part of the process. The Penguins fired the franchises all-time winningest coach on Friday while hiring Rutherford away from the Carolina Hurricanes to replace Ray Shero as general manager. Rutherfords first decision was to end the three weeks of limbo for Bylsma, whose star-laden teams had fallen well short of the Stanley Cup since winning it all in 2009. "What ownership wants here is a complete change in direction, one with the GM and one with the coach," Rutherford said. Bylsma won 252 games behind the bench and was the Jack Adams Award winner in 2012 as the NHLs Coach of the Year but failed to produce a bookend to the championship he captured with stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin in 2009. The Penguins were just 4-5 in playoff series since raising the 2009 Cup, with each loss coming to a lower-seeded team. Pittsburghs latest defeat came last month when the Penguins fell to the New York Rangers in seven games in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Rutherford met with Bylsma on Friday morning as part of an organization-wide shake-up. In addition to dismissing Bylsma, the Penguins promoted Jason Botterill to associate general manager, named Bill Guerin and Tom Fitzgerald assistant general managers. The 65-year-old Rutherford takes over for Shero, who was fired on May 16. The new gig is a homecoming for the former goaltender. Rutherford played for the Penguins in the 1970s before spending 20 years with the franchise that began as the Hartford Whalers, moved to North Carolina in 1997 and won the Stanley Cup in 2006. The Hurricanes struggled maintaining that success, missing the post-season each of the last five years. It led to Rutherford stepping down in April when the Hurricanes promoted Ron Francis -- who helped Pittsburgh win consecutive Cups in 1991 and 92 -- to the GMs job. Rutherford took on an advisory role in Carolina with a small ownership stake in the team, a position he will relinquish in the near future. The Penguins, meanwhile, plan to get their moneys worth out of a man closer to the end of his career than the beginning. Rutherford allowed he will likely only be around "two or three years" andd will serve as a mentor to his new staff, adding he will give Botterill and company "big roles with a lot to say. Custom Juventus Jerseys. ." Rutherford hopes to find Bylsmas replacement by the time free agency begins in July. Considering the talent at the top of the roster, the job will certainly be attractive. Finding the right fit, however, may be challenging. "With some changes, they dont have to be sweeping changes, we can (win another Cup) in the near future," Rutherford said. While its unlikely Rutherford will do much to mess with the core of Crosby, Malkin and defenceman Kris Letang, there are some serious depth issues, particularly along the bottom two lines. "Our supporting cast needs to be improved," Rutherford said. "I look at our fourth-line players and some of those guys are in double-digit minuses and we cant have that." What the Penguins do have is arguably the leagues best player in Crosby and one of its most dynamic in Malkin. The duo has dominated during the regular season when healthy -- with Crosby the favourite to pick up his second Hart Trophy as league MVP after leading the NHL with 114 points this season -- but that success hasnt translated into deep playoff runs. Crosby struggled in the post-season. He scored just once in 13 games while maintaining he was not injured. Rutherford will try to find the right kind of role players to take some of the pressure off his high-wattage stars. Coincidentally, the Hurricanes are also looking for a new coach -- Francis first big decision in his new job was firing Kirk Muller after three years -- and Carolina has been mentioned as a possible landing spot for Bylsma. The move by Rutherford -- who won 44 games in net for the Penguins from 1971-74 -- is the latest in a series of significant ties between the organizations. Carolina has the longest active playoff drought among Eastern Conference teams. Its last post-season appearance came in 2009 -- when the Hurricanes were swept in the East final by a Penguins team that went on to win its only Stanley Cup under Sheros leadership, the crowning achievement of his eight years as Pittsburghs GM. Rutherford and Shero orchestrated the blockbuster trade of the 2012 NHL draft when forward Jordan Staal was sent to Carolina and reunited with big brother Eric in exchange for Sutter and prospects. Cheap Baltimore Orioles Gear Cheap Boston Red Sox Gear Cheap New York Yankees Gear Cheap Tampa Bay Rays Gear Cheap Toronto Blue Jays Gear Cheap Chicago Cubs Gear Cheap Milwaukee Brewers Gear Cheap Pittsburgh Pirates Gear Cheap Cincinnati Reds Gear Cheap St. Louis Cardinals Gear Cheap Arizona Diamondbacks Gear Cheap Colorado Rockies Gear Cheap Los Angeles Dodgers Gear Cheap San Diego Padres Gear Cheap San Francisco Giants Gear ' ' '