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NEW YORK -- Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki said Monday he is getting closer to returning from sore right Achilles.Nowitzki missed his fourth straight game in the Mavericks 93-77 loss to the New York Knicks. He had a lengthy pregame workout, but by then it was already decided that he wouldnt play.The biggest issue is still running, Nowitzki said after the game. Im not a big runner at this stage in my career but I cant really go up and down yet. I havent run in full practice. So its not quite there yet but the good thing is its getting better. I dont have the soreness I had last week obviously. Ill be doing more and more.Nowitzki sat out the second half of Dallas loss in Portland on Nov. 4 and hasnt played since. Though the Mavericks are 2-7, they dont want the 38-year-old forward back until hes ready.I think hes really close. Hes feeling a lot better and we just dont want to rush anything, owner Mark Cuban said. Theres no reason to rush anything with him.The Mavericks also are playing without injured guards Deron Williams and Devin Harris, and on Monday shot under 39 percent against a Knicks team that had been struggling defensively. Nowitzki, the No. 6 scorer in NBA history, knows the offense will return once he does.We cant score enough. Obviously thats the one thing I can sort of do, Nowitzki said. I might not be any good at any other thing anymore but I can still score a little bit and help the team score, just helping offensively as much as I can. So its tough. It is tough to sit over there and watch. Air Max Plus Saldi Sconti . Rinne played two periods in his first game since left hip surgery in early May. Gabriel Bourque scored 3:07 into the second period and Austin Watson tallied 5:15 later for Nashville. Nike Air Max Classic Bw Scontate . Having already announced that the race will start May 9 with three stages in Northern Ireland and Ireland and finish in Trieste on June 1, the rest of the route was unveiled Monday. http://www.airmaxitaliascarpe.it/scarpe-air-max-180-scontate.html . With the first unit struggling of late and Amir Johnson - one of the teams iron men - hobbling on an injured right ankle, Patterson knew he could get the nod in a challenging matchup against one of the leagues up and coming players at his position. Air Max Scontate . Barcelonas entertaining victory ensured the defending Spanish champions retained their share of the league lead with Atletico Madrid two rounds ahead of their meeting in the capital. Real Madrid needed a late goal by substitute Jese Rodriguez to earn a 3-2 victory at Valencia to stay in third place and three points behind its title rivals. Air Max 270 Scontate Uomo . -- Jimmie Johnson held off a teammate, passed a pair of Hall of Famers, and dominated once more at Dover. COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Contrary to human nature, Ohio State coach Urban Meyer is doing his best to find the bad in what seemed to be a pretty good situation.Despite the No. 6 Buckeyes breaking school records for offense in Saturdays 77-10 rout of Bowling Green, Meyer wasnt dealing in hyperbole on Monday. He knows Tulsa, visiting Saturday, likely will put up a grittier fight than Bowling Green.Its time to move on, a subdued Meyer said. I would not take any more (away) than guys played pretty good. Weve got a tough one coming up this week.Tulsa, an American Athletic Conference team, enjoyed a blowout of its own on Saturday, beating San Jose State 45-10. The teams top rusher last year, DAngelo Brewer, ran for 164 yards on 22 carries with three touchdowns.Two NFL prospects at wide receiver, a returning veteran at quarterback, Meyer noted.Meyer said there were some disappointments in his team, including the play of wide receiver Corey Smith, who didnt have a catch, and the technique of some of the other receivers. He also called out the offensive line, saying they have to get much better.J.T. Barretts performance against BG earned him Big Ten Player of the Week honors.Barrett accounted for a school record seven touchdowns -- six passing and one on the ground. He was 21 for 31 for 349 yards before leaving with 6+ minutes left in the third quarter. The passing yards total was a personal best for him, and he improves to 16-2 as a starter at Ohio State.We had a good day, but there are still things we can improve on, Barrett said Monday.Among the other stars was H-Back Curtis Samuel, who caught nine passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns, and also rushed 13 times for 84 yards and a touchdown.INJURY UPDATEStarting defensive tackle Tracy Sprinkle had surgery Sunday on a torn tendon in his knee and will miss the season. Defensive line coach Larry Johnson said DreMont Jones or Davon Hamilton will replace Sprinkle. Both are freshmen. Linebacker Chris Worley sprained an ACL and is questionable for Saturday.GOOD DEBUT FOR WEBER, BUT...Redshirt freshman Mike WWeber ran for 136 yards on 19 carries in his first game as a Buckeye, a performance that was sort of lost among the many other superlatives from Saturdays game.dddddddddddd But considering that All-American Ezekiel Elliott had just 44 yards on 12 carries in his 2014 debut against Navy, maybe Ohio State really has something here.Still, Meyer said Weber could have been better.A couple of runs Id like to see him pull through. The kid who played for us last year, I cant remember his name, probably would have pulled through a couple more, Meyer said in a joking reference to Elliott, now with the Dallas Cowboys. But (Weber) is young.Weber agreed with Meyers assessment.I got a couple of shoestring tackles I could have broken for a lot more yards, but Ill go back to the drawing board and work on it, he said.FIRST SACK? NO PROBLEMFreshman defensive lineman Nick Bosa got his first quarterback sack in the fourth quarter, and after some urging from his teammates, gave the shrug that his brother Joey made famous at Ohio State.Earlier in the week, Joey ended his holdout and signed a $25.8 million contract with the San Diego Chargers, which had drafted him the first round. Joey didnt get his first sack until the sixth game of his freshman year.BACKUPS GET A SHOTThanks to the romp, backup quarterback Joe Burrow got about a quarter and a half of mop-up duty and responded well. He was 6 for 8 for 68 yards and tossed a 36-yard touchdown pass to backup running back Demario McCall, one of the 30 Buckeyes who were making their college football debuts. McCall also ran for a 16-yard touchdown and had 54 yards on the ground.Freshman defensive back Rodjay Burns returned an interception for a 75-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. His name wasnt even listed on the two-deep depth chart before the game.---Follow Mitch Stacy at http://twitter.com/mitchstacy . For some of his other recent stories: http://bigstory.ap.org/content/mitch-stacy ' ' '