TURNSGuard Josh Reaves returned after missing the first five games with a lower left leg injury and played 17 minutes. Voted the teams MVP by his peers in training camp, Reaves was p

Luke Bateman started the year playing in front of only a few hundred people.So does the prospect of making his NRL finals debut with more than 28,000 watching on at GIO Stadium on Saturday faze him?Ill be fine, laughed the Canberra forward, who has become a first-team regular since being plucked from reserve grade in April.The Raiders are expecting a record turnout for their qualifying final against Cronulla, with almost all seats sold by Tuesday afternoon.So high was demand that the club decided to release a small number of standing room tickets.They are also exploring the option of adding temporary seating for the highly anticipated clash.Its the first time since 2012 the Raiders have hosted a qualifying final - which was also against the Sharks.They attracted 24,450 fans to that game, a couple of thousand short of the grounds rugby league record (26,746) set in their 2010 semi-final loss to Wests Tigers.Cross-code rivals the Brumbies have held the stadium record of 28,753 since their victorious 2004 Super 12 final.Its pretty exciting if anything - not daunting, Bateman said on Tuesday.Im not nervous. A home crowd, theyll be behind us so therell be plenty of support.Im pretty pumped up for it, actually.Batemans confidence is palpable across Raiders HQ, following the clubs run of 10 wins to secure second spot on the ladder and a home final.Winger Jordan Rapana said the expected crowd would have a massive impact on the team, who he believes have been feeding off the support.Our last home game against Parramatta, they eventually got us over the line, so having a big crowd supporting us will mean a lot, he said.Hooker Josh Hodgson will be among those experiencing NRL finals footy for the first time, after just two seasons in Australia.But the star rake is confident the outside pressure or hype about the Raiders title chances wont overwhelm him or his younger teammates including Bateman.I think theyll be absolutely fine, he said.Theyve got great guys around them and they know all they have to do is their job.It doesnt matter what game it is, whether youre playing for nothing or to win a comp, youve just got to do your own job every week and be consistent at doing that.Balenciaga Shoes Online Australia . Westbrook has missed 27 games since having a procedure on Dec. 27 to deal with swelling in his injured right knee — the third operation on the knee in nine months. Balenciaga Sneakers Sale Australia .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres have placed centre Cody Hodgson on injured reserve and recalled two players from their AHL affiliate in Rochester. http://www.wholesalebalenciagaaustralia.com/ . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91. Wholesale Balenciaga Sneakers .C. at the helm of the top team in the Eastern Conference. His tenure as the GM in Vancouver was all too brief. Though he led the Canucks to what was then a franchise record-shattering campaign in just his second season, Nonis was gone and replaced one year later. Balenciaga Sneakers Australia . "Thank you for the warm welcome," Beckham said on an 80-degree February morning. In this case, it was soccer weather. The sport moved a step closer to returning to South Florida on Wednesday, when Beckham confirmed he has exercised his option to purchase a Major League Soccer expansion franchise in Miami.STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Patrick Chambers wants his Penn State team to imagine a shorter shot clock and attack the hoop fast.Maybe not as fast as they did in Wednesdays 72-59 win over Colgate, however.Weve got to slow down a little bit inside, in the paint. We missed some point-blank shots, the Nittany Lions coach said. But overall it was a really, really good step for us.Payton Banks scored 20 points, Terrence Samuel added 16 and Tony Carr had 14 for the Nittany Lions (3-3) who snapped a two-game slide and relied on 3-pointers when high-percentage shots wouldnt fall.Banks drained four of his teams six first-half 3-pointers which came in handy as Penn State made just 11 of 39 2-pointers and were just 7-for-20 on tip-ins or layups. They made just 3 of 13 of those shots in the first 20 minutes.As Penn State sputtered, the Raiders used a 21-9 run to take a 21-15 lead, their largest of the game with 5:31 left in the first half. Penn State snapped out of its funk and regained control with eight points in less than a minute. Banks hit his fourth 3-pointer to put Penn State up for good, 23-21, with 4:22 left.Will Rayman led Colgate with 28 points. He made 10-of-16 field goals and drained five 3-pointers as the two teams combined for 21 3s in a game Penn State controlled after leading 30-23 at halftime.Rayman scored his teams first seven points of the second and the Raiders cut Penn States lead to 36-33 when OBrien drained a 3-pointer 4:37 into the second. But Penn State steadily pulled away.Im a little bit disappointed in the game, Colgate coach Matt Langel said. I thought we had a chance there if we had a little bit more urgency about us and made a feww smarter plays.ddddddddddddTHE BIG PICTUREColgate: The Raiders havent beaten a current Big Ten team since the 1973-74 season when they beat Penn State, before the Nittany Lions joined the league. Despite their lack of success against Power 5 teams, the Raiders continue to build experience and have the pieces they need to improve on last seasons 9-9 Patriot League finish.Penn State: The Nittany Lions got back in the win column after dropping back-to-back games against Top 25 opponents. Penn State played hard against No. 1 Duke in a 78-68 loss over the weekend but followed that up with an inconsistent performance in a 71-50 defeat to then-No. 24 Cincinnati.REAVES RETURNSGuard Josh Reaves returned after missing the first five games with a lower left leg injury and played 17 minutes. Voted the teams MVP by his peers in training camp, Reaves was pegged as a starter before he suffered the injury late in camp.Right now, Chambers said, the speedy sophomore might be the ideal spell coming off the bench. His infectious style certainly had an effect on his teammates when he entered just as Colgate took its only lead. It wouldnt last long.Josh is a huge spark guy and hes not even at 100 percent and hes still flying around, Banks said. I feel like we came out a little dull and when he came in the game it was like automatic life.Reaves finished with five points, four rebounds, an assist and a steal.UP NEXTColgate plays its fifth-straight on the road, visiting Columbia on Saturday.Penn State visits George Washington on Saturday. ' ' '