Solomon Hill missed the game to be with his wife after the birth

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed goaltender Curtis McElhinney and defenceman Ilari Melart to one-year contracts. McElhinney, who turned 30 on Thursday, has appeared in 69 career NHL games with the Calgary Flames, Anaheim Ducks and Ottawa Senators. He has a 19-26-4 record, with a 3.09 goals-against average and an .899 save percentage. In 2012-13, he went 29-6-3 with nine shutouts in 49 games with Springfield of the American Hockey League. The 24-year-old Melart, signed to an entry-level contract, spent the past several seasons playing in Europe. Last year, he was with HIFK of the Finnish Elite League. The club has begun to work on a new deal with top goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who will be a restricted free agent this summer. Buy NMDs Canada . NBA officials ruled the court unplayable in the Bucks final exhibition game on Oct. 25 because players were slipping, and the game was cancelled midway through the first period. Adidas Prophere Canada . -- Nathan Pancel scored twice as the Sudbury Wolves defeated the North Bay Battalion 4-2 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. http://www.nmdshoescanada.com/ultra-boost-cheap-canada/4.html .ca. Kerry, Just watched the shootout in the Coyotes/Leafs game and I have to ask, why was the James van Riemsdyk goal allowed to count? All of the video replays we were shown on TV were inconclusive about whether the puck had entirely crossed the line or not. y-3 Shoes Canada .Y. -- Paul Byron and Matt Stajan scored as the Calgary Flames started a five-game road trip with a 2-1 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon. Adidas Neo Lite Racer Canada . The head of USA Boxing came out swinging Tuesday with an open letter to Tyson -- a former Olympic hopeful himself -- that accuses the former heavyweight champion of trying to poach fighters who might be candidates for the U. SAN ANTONIO -- Before retiring Tim Duncans No. 21, the San Antonio Spurs paid tribute to their longtime teammate by playing the game as he did for 19 seasons.LaMarcus Aldridge had 22 points and the Spurs turned in a fundamentally strong performance in a 113-100 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday.It was a game that we had to win, that we wanted to win badly, San Antonio veteran Manu Ginobili said prior to the ceremony that followed the game. Even if we would have lost, this is way beyond it.Todays celebration is very, very important for his teammates, coaches and the whole franchise, the city. That guy is special. Even if we would have lost, it would have been an emotional night. Im emotional now and it hasnt even started.Duncan retired in the offseason after winning five championships and two MVPs in 19 seasons, all with San Antonio.For us, its harder for us to stay focused for this game, Spurs guard Danny Green said. Coming in, we knew it was going to be a lot of fun, but we wanted to be focused and respect New Orleans.Duncans style of play earned him the nickname The Big Fundamental, and the Spurs honored him with their own rather seamless performance against the Pelicans.San Antonio had six players score in double figures, got 31 assists on 42 baskets, committed just 13 turnovers and shot 49 percent from the field.Our physical effort was pretty good, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. Our mental effort was better than it has been. A lot of people participated and got involved, so that was good.Ginobili and Tony Parker, who combined to form The Big Three with Duncan, combined for 29 points, seven assists and five rebounds.San Antonio won its fourth straight overall and fourth consecutive at home after a slow start at the AT&T Center.Aldridge got the Spurs first points on a 20-foot jumper. San Antonio signed Aldridge to play alongside Duncan last season and eventually replace him at power forward.He was very aggressive tonight, PPopovich said.dddddddddddd He wanted the ball. He demanded the ball, and he got the ball. He was very aggressive going to the hole. Taking shots that were open.Aldridge shot 6 for 15 from the field in 26 minutes.Alexis Ajinca led New Orleans with 16 points. Anthony Davis was limited to 12 points on 5-of-12 shooting.The Pelicans lost for the eighth time in 10 games.Were very inconsistent, Davis said. One game we play well offensively, defensively were talking, and another game were not. Weve got to figure out what team we want to be identified as. We cant keep going game from game with a different identity. Weve got to come out the same way.TIP-INSPelicans: F Solomon Hill missed the game to be with his wife after the birth of their first child. ... Quincy Pondexter has not played this season after having arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in March 2016. ... The Pelicans are 13-41 against the Spurs in franchise history, including just four wins in 28 games in San Antonio.Spurs: San Antonio retired Duncans jersey following the game. Among his former teammates in attendance to honor Duncan were David Robinson, Bruce Bowen, Sean Elliott, Malik Rose, Antonio Daniels and Will Perdue. ... The Spurs are 10-0 this season when Tony Parker scores in double figures. Parker had 12 on 6-for-12 shooting against the Pelicans. ... San Antonio has 30 alley-oop dunks in 26 games this season. They had 18 all of last season.IS THERE A PATENT?Popovich was asked if the Spurs played harder to ensure they didnt put a damper on Duncans retirement ceremony. Popovich responded in typical Popovich fashion.I brought my `I want to play for Timmy Duncan tonight gauge, Popovich said, but I left it in the locker room so Im not exactly sure how fired up they were.UP NEXTPelicans: At New Orleans on Tuesday night.Spurs: At Houston on Tuesday night. ' ' '