OAKLAND, Calif. -- At the beginning of training camp, Andrew Bogut set a goal to play all 82 regular-season games and regain his place among the NBAs best centres. Hes on pace to come awfully close. With his health no longer holding him back, Bogut has been a force in the middle for the Golden State Warriors (29-19) entering Tuesday nights home game against the Charlotte Bobcats. He ranks near the top of the league in blocks, rebounds and defensive ratings, and he has begun to silence the chatter that hes a player who is always hurt. "I havent felt this great in while," Bogut said after Mondays practice, then quickly asking not to jinx his good fortune. "Touch wood," he said. The 7-footer from Australia, who has a well-documented history of injuries, has played in 47 of 48 games -- with his lone absence stemming from a suspension handed down by the NBA for his role in a scrum against Portland. Bogut had played in only 44 games the past two seasons combined. Boguts presence has been especially big considering his primary backups, Jermaine ONeal and Festus Ezeli, have been out most of the season. "Hes been spectacular, protecting the paint, setting screens, rebounding the basketball, being a leader, being durable," Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. "If hes not here, youre asking basically a power forward to be a (centre), and to do it for a lengthy period of time is a recipe for disaster. But hes been awesome, and certainly should be in the discussion for Defensive Player of the Year." The Warriors took a big risk by signing Bogut to a three-year, $36 million extension in October that could be worth up to about $42 million with incentives. They also took a gamble when they acquired Bogut in a trade-deadline deal in March 2012 that sent guard Monta Ellis to Milwaukee. Bogut did not play for Golden State that season while recovering from a fractured left ankle. Bogut battled back and knee injuries while averaging a career-low 5.8 points to go with 7.7 rebounds last season, but he was at his best in the playoffs, making a major difference on defence to help the Warriors advance to the second round. Bogut missed the end of the 2009-10 season with the Bucks when he dislocated his right elbow, sprained his right wrist and broke his right hand in a hard fall to the floor. He also missed significant time with an injured lower back in the 2008-09 season. Bogut has repeatedly called both injuries "freak accidents." "People that label me injury-prone, its fair enough, I understand it," Bogut said. "But to say that theyre chronic injuries, those people are idiots. Two injuries that have hurt my career and probably shortened the length of my career and probably a little bit of my playing ability are completely out of my control." Even still, the setbacks have taken a toll -- physically and mentally. At one point while rehabbing his ankle last season, Bogut said he was in a "dark place" and even considered retirement. Instead, Golden States surprising playoff run -- and his big role in it -- left him rejuvenated. He lost about 15 pounds this off-season, and the only real injury scare cost him some practice time in January after he strained his right knee. Bogut is averaging 10.6 rebounds and two blocks per game, and he has the NBAs third-best defensive rating -- which is calculated by how many points are given up per 100 possessions while a player is on the floor. Offence is still something that has eluded Bogut since his elbow injury, though on a Golden State team stacked with shooters, hes not asked to score much. Bogut is averaging 8.2 points, which is sixth on the team, but he leads the Warriors with 64 per cent shooting -- with most of his points coming on pick-and-roll dunks or put-back rebounds. Hes also rediscovering his passing ability -- once considered among the best for NBAs centres -- lately, including tying his season high with five assists in Fridays win at Utah. "Hes talented, man," point guard Stephen Curry said. "Its not often you see a big man get the rebound, push in transition, change directions a couple times, read the defence and make behind-the-back passes and one-handed passes for a backdoor cut. That creativity he has, Ive rarely seen it for a guy his size." Bogut, now 29, has concentrated on becoming a more versatile defender. Hes not just guarding centres near the rim, but often going out against power forwards, including holding down All-Star starter Blake Griffin in a win over the Clippers last week. Bogut believes hes "close" to playing the best defence of his career, and hes making a strong case to be on the first or second All-NBA Defensive teams. The only time Bogut could remember playing this well was before his injury in the 2009-10 season, when he finished second behind Orlandos Dwight Howard in blocks per game but didnt even get a vote for the defensive teams that season. "Hopefully, I can make up for that this season," Bogut said. "But awards are predicated on how the team is, how the success of the team is, so if we go to the playoffs and make some noise, I think all that stuff will take care of itself." Niklas Sule Jersey . Mladenovics quick hands at the net made the difference while Bencics inexperience in doubles showed. "We took a lot of pleasure," Mladenovic told Sport Plus television. "Its extremely difficult to play in such conditions, but our doubles team showed a lot of quality. Sebastian Rudy Jersey . Hernandez (3-0) struck out 11 and shut down Oakland for the second time in a week, becoming the first Mariners pitcher to win three times in the first nine games of a season. 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Julian Brandt Germany Jersey .com) - The Oklahoma City Thunder will try to get back on track Monday night when they welcome the Minnesota Timberwolves to Chesapeake Energy Arena.As college football prepares for the final Bowl Championship Series, featuring a Florida State-Auburn championship game, its easy to see why the coming four-team playoff wont solve all the post-season problems. Heck, we might just miss the BCS. Maybe? It sort of worked out this season. Top-ranked Florida State (13-0) was the only team to get through the regular season unbeaten, and the Seminoles did it in dominating fashion. Auburn (12-1) won the Southeastern Conference, and among the teams with imperfect records the Tigers resume is best. "We all complain about the BCS, but isnt it funny how often they get it right," Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher said. The pairings became official Sunday night when the final BCS standings came out. There was no question about 1 and 2. Itll be the Noles and Tigers at the Rose Bowl on Jan. 6 for the national championship. In the other marquee bowls: -- Alabama will play Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl. -- Clemson will play Ohio State in the Orange Bowl. -- Michigan State will play Stanford in the Rose Bowl. -- Baylor will play UCF in the Fiesta Bowl. Of course, Big 12 champion Baylor (11-1) and Big Ten champion Michigan State (12-1) might argue with that top two. But over 16 seasons college football fans have built up what can be called BCS acceptance, learning to live with the fact that there is only room for two. Fans of particularly aggrieved teams (2000 Miami, 2004 Auburn, 2008 Texas, just to name a few) still burn over the slights. Generally, though, by the time the championship game kicked off, most everybody was on board. And only eight times before the BCS did No. 1 play No. 2 in a bowl game. "Its been a remarkable seismic change for this sport," executive director Bill Hancock said. "That was unthinkable before the BCS." Now think about this season playing out under next seasons format. In the new world order known as the College Football Playoff, a selection committee will pick four teams to play in national semifinals. The winners play for the championship. So how would a panel that includes Tom Osborne, Archie Manning and Condoleezza Rice sort out this seasons top four? Florida State and Auburn, of course. And ... Baylor and Michigan State? But what about Pac-12 champion Stanford (11-2)? Sure the Cardinal have two losses, but as Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs said Saturday at the end of a week in which he and the rest of the SEC practically begged voters to overlook the number in the loss column and focus on quality of opposition: "I have nine words.dddddddddddd Strength of schedule. Strength of schedule. Strength of schedule." Among this seasons best teams, Stanford played the toughest schedule. And then there is two-time defending champion Alabama (11-1). "Were not a natural playoff sport," said Duke coach David Cutcliffe, who was the offensive co-ordinator at Tennessee when it won the first BCS championship game against Florida State in the 1999 Fiesta Bowl. "I think we can make this work with four. "And the reason I think well make this work is I think what were all going to find out is the arguments are going to get bigger. Were going to go from a few schools being angry to a lot of schools being angry, and maybe thats going to be a good thing. I just want to be in the argument." Florida State showed Cutcliffe how far away Duke is from being in the argument in a 45-7 victory Saturday night in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game. In a season defined by blowouts, the only drama for Florida State came off the field, when quarterback Jameis Winston was investigated for sexual assault. The state attorney said there was not enough evidence to charge the redshirt freshman with a crime two days before the Seminoles played Duke. Winston is the runaway favourite to win the Heisman Trophy next Saturday. Auburn completed its worst-to-first run with a 59-42 victory in the Southeastern Conference championship game against Missouri. The Tigers didnt win a conference game last season. "This time last year, we were home, hanging out watching other guys play ball," running back Tre Mason said. "Thats not really what you want to be doing." Mason ran for 304 yards and four TDs against Mizzou to make a late Heisman push of his own. The Tigers have had some good fortune, including improbable plays to beat Georgia and Alabama. That left Auburn to try to extend the SECs BCS championship game winning streak to eight games against the school that played for the first three BCS titles under Bobby Bowden. ' ' '