hes been copping a fair bit of unfair criticism. Theyve been parked outside his house

NEW YORK -- Paul Pierce stared straight ahead, an occasional smile or laugh interrupting the otherwise distant look on his face. Now a Net, its clear hes still getting over not being a Celtic. "Its tough when youve been in a situation like me for 15 years," Pierce said. But hes getting used to it, and he and Kevin Garnett are ready to make the most of their new surroundings. Traded from Boston to Brooklyn, the duo was introduced along with Jason Terry on Thursday at a news conference at Barclays Center, their new home. Pierce said it was difficult to leave the city where hed spent his entire career. He appeared dazed at times while listening to questions and answers, even having to ask for one to be repeated while trying to fight his way out of a fog. "You saw the trade and its like, OK, theres a trade. But for me to actually be here now, looking for a place to live, being in this arena, trying to get to know my way around the city, its really starting to sink in now that its become real," Pierce said. "Im no longer a Boston Celtic, Im a Brooklyn Net and thats what it is right now," he continued. "Its a business. At some point we all have to move on and Im here to try to create some kind of legacy here in Brooklyn." The crowd applauded, appearing more excited about having Pierce in Brooklyn than he was about being here. Thats understandable given his history in Boston, where he is the Celtics No. 2 career scorer and was the NBA Finals MVP when they won the last of their NBA-high 17 championships. "Hell yeah, hes been with Boston his whole life," Garnett said. "Youve been in a system, been in a city, especially its the Celtics. Yeah, its very difficult." But Pierce realized it would be coming, saying he thought "the writing was on the wall" in June when the Celtics negotiated a deal with the Los Angeles Clippers to let coach Doc Rivers out of his contract in Boston. "Its sinking in and Im liking what I feel right now," Pierce said, adding he got a jolt when he saw his new white-and-black uniform in the locker room. The Celtics and Nets agreed to the blockbuster trade on draft night and it became official last week. Garnett waved a no-trade clause to accept the deal -- after some urging from Pierce during a lengthy phone call -- and while saying it was "unfortunate" they had to move on, he seemed to have a little easier time embracing it, greeting the audience with "Whats up, Brooklyn!" before his first remarks. "I dont know anyone that loves change, but change has to happen for things to (get) better," he said. The three newcomers were joined on the podium by general manager Billy King and first-year coach Jason Kidd, who at 40 is a longtime rival, a former teammate of Terrys and just a few years older than his new players. And they got a visit at the end from Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov, who made a late decision to attend the news conference and meet the players whose salaries helped the teams payroll soar so high that the club will pay about $80 million in luxury tax next season. "I think theyre still counting money in the back office, but frankly speaking, I just hope the check doesnt bounce," Prokhorov joked. The Russian billionaire has said his goal was to win a championship within five years of buying the team in 2010. Including the signing of Andrei Kirilenko this summer, Brooklyn has now gotten into position to contend. "For me, its not the way to wait 10, 15 years for results," Prokhorov said. With Pierce and Garnett joining the trio of Deron Williams, Joe Johnson and All-Star centre Brook Lopez, the Nets will have one of the NBAs most potent lineups. But they will have to win soon, as Pierce will be 36 by opening night and Garnett is 37 -- though his refusal to answer to question about how much he has left showed he believes the answer is plenty. The Celtics won a title in the first year that Garnett and Pierce were together, and they believe the Nets have the talent to compete for one this season. "This is like mirror images," Garnett said. "You see the talent thats already here, you see us coming into it, now its about how well we gel." It will be strange trying to do it in jerseys that dont have any green. Garnetts even has an unfamiliar number, now in No. 2 in honour of his friend and former Minnesota teammate, the late Malik Sealy. Pierce always envisioned them playing together, but not anywhere else. He figured when he signed his last contract that he would retire a Celtic, and felt even more certain after Garnett later re-signed. "I thought we were going to be linked together pretty much the rest of our careers in Boston," Pierce said. "As you can see we are pretty much linked together, but just not in Boston anymore."Jeff Bagwell Jersey Large . -- San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks was fined $15,570 by the NFL on Wednesday for his hit on Saints quarterback Drew Brees last Sunday. Craig Biggio Jersey Large . 10 VCU 85-67 on Thursday night at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. The Seminoles (4-0) have scored at least 80 points in each of their games. http://www.customastrosjersey.com/custom-roy-oswalt-jersey-large-296y.html . Now tied for second in the league in shootout goals, the 24-year-old likes to see what the opposing goaltender has in store before he ultimately lands on a move. Custom Jose Cruz Jr. Jersey .Y. -- Knicks coach Mike Woodson said Wednesday that J. Custom Andy Pettitte Jersey . But by the time the game started, the Toronto Raptors forward felt even worse. And, for three quarters, it showed as Gay shot a woeful three-for-13 from the field.Parramatta fullback Michael Gordon has jumped to the defence of embattled teammate Semi Radradra, saying criticism of the star winger has been unfair.Radradra is due to face court on Tuesday after last week being charged with three counts of domestic violence against his ex-partner.Despite his future up in the air, the 24-year-old turned out for the Eels in a close NRL loss to Cronulla on Saturday night after declining an offer from coach Brad Arthur to stand down.Gordon hit out at the medias treatment of Radradra since returning late from a club-sanctioned trip to Fiji last week, where he was arrested by police upon arrival.I think hes been copping a fair bit of unfair criticism. Theyve been parked outside his house and bombarding him everywhere, Gordon said on Monday.I thought people are innocent until proven guilty and hes just been slammed left, right and centre, which I tthink is very unfair.ddddddddddddRadradra was present for a routine video review at Old Saleyards Reserve on Monday, and is still expected to appear for the club in their next NRL fixture against the Sydney Roosters on Friday night.Gordon said the Fijian flyer put in a good performance against the Sharks.He had a lot of tough carries and the Sharks (did) a really good job on him, he said.He cant score length of the field tries every week but I thought he (did) a lot of hard work. Hes a great player and the Sharks (did) a really good job on him.Radradra is slated to appear at Parramatta Local Court on Tuesday, where he is expected to plead not guilty to domestic violence charges of assault causing actual bodily harm and two counts of common assault. ' ' '