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ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Blues acquired Russian forward Nail Yakupov from the Edmonton Oilers on Friday for forward Zach Pochiro and a conditional draft pick next year.The No. 1 pick in the 2012 draft, the 23-year-old Yakupov had eight goals and 14 assists in 60 games last season. In 252 NHL games with the Oilers, he had 50 goals and 61 assists.The Oilers are first team in NHL history to trade away two of its own first-overall picks in the same year after sending 2010 No. 1 Taylor Hall to New Jersey in June.The 22-year-old Pochiro had nine goals and 17 assists in 44 games last season for Quad City in the ECHL. He was drafted 112th overall by the Blues in 2013.The draft pick is a third-rounder that would become a second-round choice if Yakupov reaches 15 goals. Patrick Onwuasor Jersey .J. -- Pitcher Carl Pavano is retiring after 14 major league seasons. Willie Snead IV Jersey . Peter Gammons, an analyst for Major League Baseballs network and website, drew the ire of hockey fans on Sunday when he criticized the two NHL teams on Twitter for their physical game the night before. http://www.customravensjersey.com/custom-priest-holmes-jersey-large-923d.html .Y. - New Orleans forward Anthony Davis was chosen Friday to replace the injured Kobe Bryant in the NBA All-Star game that will be played in his home city. Anthony Averett Jersey .C. -- Charlotte Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said after all of these years in the NBA hes still amazed at some of the things LeBron James does. Mark Clayton Jersey . Reassurance came from Paul Tesori, his caddie and close friend whose newborn son is in intensive care in a Florida hospital. "Paul sent me a text this morning, just told me he loved me and wanted to go out and fight as hard as I would any other day," Simpson said Sunday after doing just that. GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Most NBA observers probably wouldnt label Derrick Rose as elite at this stage of his career. But Rose believes he fits that description and that its only a matter of time before he shows it to others.Rose was asked after Knicks practice on Monday if he wants to show this season that he still is an elite point guard.Yeah, but I know I am, he said. Thats no surprise to me. Its only a matter of time until I put it together. All the hard work I put in, everything how I dedicated my whole life to this game, what I sacrificed. Its only a few that did it and thats doing it. So its all about just putting it together.Its only natural for players to have confidence in their abilities, but Roses production in recent seasons has fallen short of elite levels. Last season, Rose averaged 16.4 points on 42 percent shooting and handed out 4.7 assists per game for a Bulls team that missed the playoffs.Knicks president Phil Jackson traded for Rose in June and would, obviously, love to see the guard return to the elite form he showed earlier in his career, when he was named the youngest MVP in league history in 2011. Since that season, Rose has dealt with several significant knee injuries; due to those injuries and various others, the 28-year-old and has played in less than 40 percent of his games in the last five seasons.Rose missed a little over two weeks of training camp earlier this month while attending a civil trial in Los Angeles over allegations that he and two friends gang-raped an ex-girlfriend. He returned to the Knicks on Friday after a jury found Rose and his two friends not liable of the accusations. Rose has spent the last four days working with coaches and teammates ahead of the Knicks season opener Tuesday against the Cleveland Cavaliers.Im very excited. We got a lot of great pieces, Rose said after practice Monday. Were learning how to play together. Were learning chemistry. But it comes from experience and it comes wwith playing with each other.ddddddddddddKnicks coach Jeff Hornacek said Rose has looked strong in recent workouts. But Hornacek would also like to see Rose look for his own shot more often in certain situations.I think theres going to be times when Im going to have tell Derrick be more aggressive, Hornacek said Monday. There are times hes trying to set his teammates up, which is great for a point guard. But a lot of the early offense in the open court hes a hard guy to guard. Hell be on the attack.... He feels hes got great players on his team that he can rely but theres going to be times that hes going to have the advantage and were going to want him to attack.Rose believes that the Knicks will be difficult to guard in the pick-and-roll with players like Joakim Noah, Carmelo Anthony, Kristaps Porzingis, Courtney Lee and Brandon Jennings.Its pick your poison, Rose said. My job is to create a double team so the weak side has a hard time closing down on shooters.Hornacek has said Rose may need some time to get used to the offense after being away during the civil trial. Knicks doctors have been keeping a close eye on him over the past few days to monitor his stress levels following the trial.Anthony expects Rose to grow more comfortable with repetition after being away for the civil case. He also believes Rose will benefit from expectations in New York that are different than those he faced in his hometown of Chicago.I dont think hes playing with any type of load on his shoulders, hes not thinking about injuries, Anthony said Monday. Whereas before he was coming into training camp rehabbing, now he got a chance to just practice and put everything behind him and focus on basketball. So when you have a talent like that who is coming into the season with a clear mind and a focus that he has, it can be exciting. ' ' '