Kevin Durant withdrew Thursday from the U. Austin Bryant Jersey .S. national team, the biggest loss yet for a weakening American squad that will go to Spain without the leading scorer on its last two gold medal winners. The NBAs MVP took part in the Americans training camp in Las Vegas last week, but then informed team officials that he wasnt going to continue. "Kevin reached out to Coach K and myself this afternoon and expressed that he is just physically and mentally drained from the NBA season and his attention to his many responsibilities, USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo said in a statement. "He tried to give it a go at our recent Las Vegas training camp but felt coming out of camp that he was not prepared to fulfil the commitment he made to the team." Durant was the MVP of the world championship in 2010, leading the Americans to that title for the first time since 1994. The Oklahoma City star also started on their gold medal-winning team in the 2012 Olympics and led the Americans with 19.5 points per game. His withdrawal comes less than a week after Indianas Paul George was lost to a broken right leg and follows previous withdrawals by All-Stars Kevin Love, Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge, and NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard. "This was an extremely difficult decision as I take great pride in representing our country," Durant said. "I know that I owe it to my USA Basketball teammates to be totally invested in the experience. After going through training camp with USAB, I realized I could not fulfil my responsibilities to the team from both a time and energy standpoint. "I need to take a step back and take some time away, both mentally and physically in order to prepare for the upcoming NBA season. I will be rooting for USAB and look forward to future opportunities with them." The U.S. roster is down to 15 players. The Americans resume practicing next Thursday in Chicago and have to finalize a 12-man roster before the World Cup of Basketball begins in Spain on Aug. 30. The Americans may still be the favourites, but are increasingly beatable with the losses of Durant and George, who were expected to fill the two starting forward spots. Durant carried a young U.S. to the title four years ago in Turkey with a series of sensational performances, averaging 22.8 points and shattering a number of team offensive records. He set the American mark with 38 points in a semifinal victory over Lithuania. At 6-foot-10, Durant is big enough to play as a power forward internationally, creating a matchup nightmare for opponents who cant defend him on the perimeter. He led the tournament in 3-pointers attempted and made in the 2010 worlds. He has averaged 19.9 points in 31 games in a U.S. jersey, shooting 48 per cent from 3-point range. But Colangelo said the Americans understood his need for time off. "Coach K and I fully support Kevin," he said. "His well-being is the most important thing to us and we support him taking the time to get ready for next season. Hes been part of the national team program for eight years and a big part of the success we have achieved, and we look forward to him being part of our success in the future as well. "We are excited about the opportunity ahead of us and to getting back to work in Chicago on Aug. 14," Colangelo added. "All 15 players are committed to the USA Basketball standard, which is to come together to win gold medals." Calvin Johnson Jersey . -- San Francisco 49ers offensive co-ordinator Greg Roman is a finalist to replace Joe Paterno at Penn State, his agent said Monday. Cheap Authentic Lions Jerseys . LOUIS -- St. http://www.cheapdetroitlionsjerseysauthentic.com/ . - Jayden Hart scored once and set up two more as the Prince Albert Raiders downed the host Red Deer Rebels 5-3 on Tuesday to clinch the final Western Hockey League playoff berth.The Philadelphia Flyers will try to get by without their No. 1 goaltender when they visit the New York Rangers on Thursday for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. The Flyers announced Wednesday that Steve Mason will not suit up for the opener of this best-of-seven series. Ray Emery will get the start instead and Cal Heeter, who made his NHL debut Sunday in a loss to Carolina, will serve as the backup. Watch the game on TSN and TSN GO at 7pm et/4pm pt. In 36 career playoff games, Emery is 20-15 with a 2.57 goals-against average, .903 save percentage and three shutouts. He led Ottawa to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2007, but hasnt seen action in the postseason since playing for Anaheim in 2011. Emery was the backup to Corey Crawford in Chicagos run to a Stanley Cup title last spring, but didnt get into a game. "I get excited to play in these situations, especially the playoffs, especially with a group like this," Emery said. Of course, Henrik Lundqvist will be the goaltender across the rink from Emery. The Rangers undisputed No. 1 netminder had another solid campaign in 2013-14, setting club records for regular season wins and shutouts along the way. Although the 32-year-old Swede was 33-24-5 with a 2.36 goals against average and .920 save percentage it still was a down season by Lundqvists lofty standards. His GAA was the highest its been since Lundqvist posted a 2.38 in 2009-10 and the netminders save percentage was his worst effort since finishing the 2008-09 campaign at .916. New York only has made it out of the second round once since Lundqvist took over the starting role in 2005-06, but its hardly been his fault. In 67 playoff games, Lundqvist has posted a 2.28 GAA and .920 save percentage. The Flyers and Rangers have been divisional rivals for decades, but this series marks the first playoff meeting between the clubs since 1997 when Philadelphia downed New York in five games for the Eastern Conference title. Overall, Philadelphia has won six of the 10 playoff series between the franchises and has claimed three straight and four of the past five encounters. The Flyers and Rangers split four meetings in 2013-14, with each team winning twice at its home arena. New Yorks home-ice advantage could loom large in this series, as the Blueshirts have claimed eight in a row at home against the Flyers, who last won at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 20, 2011. The Rangers finished second in the Metropolitan Division and two points ahead of Philadelphia to capture home ice in this series. Flyers captain and star centerman Claude Giroux only managed two assists in the four meetings with the Rangers this season and thats certainly not a good sign for Philadelphia. Cheap Lions Jerseys. Forward Matt Read and defenseman Mark Streit were the best offensive players for the Flyers in the season series, posting one goal and two assists apiece. Meanwhile, New Yorks best weapon against the Flyers this season was speedy forward Chris Kreider, who had two goals and two assists in three games against Philly but does not expect to play in this set. Brad Richards had one goal and two assists over four games, while Rick Nash had a goal and an assist in three outings. Lundqvist went 2-1-0 with a 2.03 GAA against the Flyers this season. Emery did not face New York this season, but is 7-2-0 with a 1.87 GAA in 10 career regular-season games against the Blueshirts. One concern for New York heading into the opening round is the health of No. 1 defenseman Ryan McDonagh, who sat out the last five games of the regular season with a bruised left shoulder. Although McDonagh expects to play in Game 1, it will be interesting to see how his shoulder holds up against the postseason grind. McDonagh led New Yorks blue line this season in goals (14), assists (29), plus-minus (plus-11), penalty minutes (36) and shots (177). He also led the club with an average ice time of 24 minutes, 59 seconds and finished fifth on the teams overall scoring list with 43 points. Rangers forward Derick Brassard left practice on Tuesday with a back issue, but expects to play tonight. Brassard was fourth on the team this season with 45 points off 18 goals and 27 assists. Philadelphias Steve Downie is out with an upper-body injury, but fellow forward Zac Rinaldo could play Thursday after completing a four-game suspension. Rinaldo received the ban for delivering a head shot against Buffalo defenseman Chad Ruhwedel on April 6. New York will host the second tilt of this series on Sunday before the venue shifts to Philadelphia for Games 3 and 4. The Rangers were 20-17-4 as the home club this season, while Philly was 18-16-7 as the guest. 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