lor tripped up 30th-seeded Czech Klara Koukalova 7-6 (7-4), 6

DeMarcus Cousins is going to the All-Star game, after all.NBA Commissioner Adam Silver selected the Sacramento Kings centre to replace injured Lakers star Kobe Bryant on the Western Conference All-Star team Friday.Silvers choice leaves Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard as the games biggest snub. Lillard could still be picked if another player drops out before the Feb. 15 game at New Yorks Madison Square Garden.Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who is leading the West, will decide who replaces Bryant in the starting lineup. Kerr will choose from a roster that includes Houstons James Harden and Golden States Klay Thompson.Cousins is headed to the All-Star game for the first time in his five-year career. He becomes Sacramentos first All-Star since Brad Miller and Peja Stojakovic in 2004.Im extremely excited to play in my first All-Star game, Cousins said. I appreciate the recognition and want to also thank my teammates and the fans for their support throughout the season. Representing the Kings and the city of Sacramento is a great honour.Last season, Cousins was passed over as an injury replacement — also for Bryant. New Orleans Pelicans big man Anthony Davis was chosen instead. Cousins had better traditional statistics, while Davis defensive numbers and efficiency ratings ranked higher. It also didnt hurt that New Orleans hosted the event.Portland already had an All-Star this time in forward LaMarcus Aldridge, who was picked by the coaches as a reserve. Sacramento wouldve had no representation at All-Star weekend if Cousins hadnt been selected. That may have helped his campaign over Lillard, who made the All-Star team last season.Everyone in the Kings organization is thrilled for DeMarcus and happy that his diligence and commitment to becoming the best player he can be has been recognized, Kings general manager Pete DAlessandro said.Cousins entered Friday nights contest at Cleveland fifth in the NBA in scoring (23.8 points) and third in rebounding (12.3) per game, both career highs. He also was averaging career-bests of 3.2 assists and 1.6 blocks.The biggest thing hurting Cousins cause — besides the competition — was his teams worsening record.After starting 9-5 this season, the Kings (16-28) have collapsed since Cousins came down with viral meningitis in late November. They went 2-8 during his sick leave — which coincided with Michael Malones stunning firing as coach — and have failed to pick up the pieces under short-term replacement Tyrone Corbin.Lillard began Friday averaging 21.8 points, 6.2 assists and 4.6 rebounds. The Northwest Division-leading Blazers (32-14) were tied for the third-best record in the difficult Western Conference.___Antonio Gonzalez can be reached at: www.twitter.com/agonzalezAP Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic .com) - Hassan Whiteside scored 20 points with nine rebounds in the Miami Heats 83-75 win over the Boston Celtics on Sunday. Cheap Nike MLB Jerseys .Y. - Brooklyn Nets centre Brook Lopez has a strained lower back and will miss at least a week. https://www.mlbjerseyschina.us/ . - The Pittsburgh Pirates plan on keeping promising left fielder Starling Marte playing alongside National League MVP Andrew McCutchen for years to come. Cheap MLB Jerseys Nike 2020 .C. -- Tony Stewart will not race Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, the third Sprint Cup race hes skipped since his car struck and killed Kevin Ward Jr. Wholesale Nike MLB Jerseys . PAUL, Minn.PARIS - The surprises continued Tuesday at the French Open. A day after mens Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka was eliminated in the first round, the womens winner in Melbourne was shown an early exit at Roland Garros as Frances Kristina Mladenovic knocked out second-seeded Li Na in three sets. The big-hitting Mladenovic sent the 2011 French Open champ home with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-1 win on Court Lenglen. This marks the first time in history that both the mens and womens Grand Slam singles champions have lost in the first round at the next major. "The problem is myself," Li said. "I dont think Im doing well on the court. And also, even during the match, I dont think totally about what I should do, like especially I didnt follow the game plan. In my mind, I didnt have any idea how to play the match." Li piled up 37 unforced errors. "I gave it away," she said. Li had a strong start to 2014 when she followed a victory in the season-opener in Shenzhen with a triumph at the years first major championship back in January. She was also was the runner-up in Miami, but had played only two of the French Open tune-up events and was a quarterfinal loser in both Madrid and Rome. It was the third straight early exit at Roland Garros for Li, who lost in the fourth round as the defending champ in 2012 and fell in the second round last year. Other than her championship run in 2011, Li has never been past the fourth round in seven other French Open appearances, including Tuesdays ouster. She is the first reigning womens Aussie Open champ in 14 years to lose in the first round at the French (Lindsay Davenport, 2000). Fourth-seeded Simona Halep of Romania had no trouble Tuesday in a 6-0, 6-2 rout of Russias Alisa Kleybanova, while sixth-seeded former world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic completed a suspended match from Monday by overcoming Canadian Sharon Fichman 5-7, 6-1, 6-3 and 10th-seeded 2012 French Open runner-up Sara Errani held off promising Amerrican Madison Keys 7-5, 3-6, 6-1.dddddddddddd. In more action involving former No. 1 stars, 11th-seeded Ana Ivanovic whipped Frances Caroline Garcia 6-1, 6-3 and Belgian Yanina Wickmayer ousted 13th- seeded Caroline Wozniacki 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 6-2. Ivanovic is a former French Open champ and runner-up. Meanwhile, 15th-seeded American Sloane Stephens topped Chinese Peng Shuai 6-4, 7-6 (10-8) on Day 3. Also on Tuesday, 21st-seeded Belgian Kirsten Flipkens beat Montenegros Danka Kovinic 7-6 (8-6), 6-2; 22nd-seeded Russian Ekaterina Makarova mauled American Shelby Rogers 6-2, 6-3; 27th-seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, the French champion in 2009 and runner-up in 2006, eased past Sofia Shapatava, of Georgia, 6-3, 6-1; 26th-seeded Romanian Sorana Cirstea advanced past Canadas Aleksandra Wozniak 6-7 (3-7), 7-5, 6-2; 24th-seeded Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova outlasted 43-year-old Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm 6-3, 0-6, 6-2; and Spaniard Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor tripped up 30th-seeded Czech Klara Koukalova 7-6 (7-4), 6-2. Several other women reached the second round, including Brit Heather Watson, rising Italian Camila Giorgi, Aussie Casey Dellacqua, last weeks Strasbourg runner-up Silvia Soler-Espinosa, and Americans Coco Vandeweghe and Alison Riske. Vandeweghe beat Czech Iveta Melzer 7-6 (8-6), 6-2, while Riske doused Croat Mirjana Lucic-Baroni 7-6 (7-2), 6-3. The second round will commence Wednesday, including matches for top-seeded reigning champion Serena Williams, third-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska, seventh- seeded former world No. 1 and former French Open champ Maria Sharapova, and 29th-seeded Venus Williams. The two-time French champion Serena will face Spaniard Garbine Muguruza, while Radwanska will meet last weeks Nuremberg runner-up Karolina Pliskova, Sharapova will face Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova, and Venus will encounter Slovak Anna Schmiedlova. Serena bested the then-reigning champion Sharapova in last years Roland Garros finale. ' ' '