Boxengasse » BASKETBALLThere were plenty of hugs for Self in th

When the Toronto Maple Leafs selected Auston Matthews with the No. 1 pick of the 2016 draft, the center -- widely considered the best American prospect in a decade -- instantly became the presumed savior of the Original Six team, which is looking to end its 49-year Stanley Cup drought.Those are weighty expectations for anyone, never mind an 18-year-old. But Matthews has never shied away from defying expectations. Born in Northern California and raised in Scottsdale, Arizona, he blazed a non-traditional path to the league and starred for the U.S. national under-18 team. Then, rather than play college hockey or in the?Canadian junior leagues, he signed a one-year contract to play in the Swiss?National League A?for the?ZSC Lions and test himself against professional players.Matthews, who has also been named to Team North Americas roster for the upcoming World Cup of Hockey, understands well the expectations hell face as the franchise center of the future for the Leafs. Hes an otherworldly talent, to be sure. Hes also a pretty interesting guy off the ice. Here, in his own words -- and impeccable handwriting -- Matthews dishes to ESPN.coms Craig Custance about his secret fear, favorite athlete, celebrity crush and more.If I could change one thing about hockey it would be ...The actor Id want to play me in a movie is ...Id do anything to avoid ...The best advice I ever received was ...If could go to dinner with one person, dead or alive, it would be ...My dream job (if I wasnt an athlete) would be ...My favorite athlete growing up was ...My favorite sports memory is ...My favorite sports movie is ...My celebrity crush is ...My last meal on earth would be ...The last thing I read was ...I never leave the house without ...If I could give my younger self one piece of advice, it would be ...My secret talent is ... My biggest regret is ... Air Jordan Discount .C. -- After a listless first half, the Washington Wizards used a big third quarter run to beat the Charlotte Bobcats Bradley Beal scored 21 points and the Wizards used a 17-0 run in the third quarter to take control of what had been a close game and beat the Bobcats 97-83 on Tuesday night. Air Jordan China . The incident occurred at 19:56 of the second period of the Kings 4-2 road win over Edmonton on Sunday. Nolan punched Oilers forward Jesse Joensuu in the jaw in front of the Kings goal during a scrum. https://www.jordanchina.us/ . After taking two big hits this week -- losing at home and dropping back-to-back games for the first time all season -- Indiana struck back by playing its most complete game of the year. Cheap Jordan From China . After slipping from the summit during the week, the Gunners overcame struggling Crystal Palace 2-0 on Sunday thanks to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlains second-half brace. Wholesale Air Jordan .S. -- Nikolaj Ehlers registered a hat trick for the third straight game and Jonathan Drouin had a goal and five assists as the Halifax Mooseheads hammered the host Cape Breton Screaming Eagles 10-1 on Tuesday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Just as the video celebrating his first 600 wins was wrapping up, Kansas coach Bill Self turned to his left and saw Frank Mason III, extending a ball to him to commemorate the milestone.It was fitting: Nobody did more to deliver Selfs most recent victory.The sparkplug point guard poured in 30 points to match his career high, Devonte Graham and Josh Jackson also had starring roles, and the third-ranked Jayhawks cruised to a 105-62 victory over Missouri-Kansas City on Tuesday night to give their coach a win 24 years in the making.Its really cool to see all the guys who have been a part of this before and been before me, said Jackson, who had 19 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. To be part now feels good.Indeed, more than a dozen of Selfs former players appeared on the video, ranging from Cole Aldrich and Mario Chalmers to Tony Heard, one of the coachs early stars at Tulsa.We tried to get him to cry, Jackson said, but he was like, `Nah, not happening.Self is the ninth-fastest coach to reach 600 wins, just behind Phog Allen, whose name adorns Kansas building. The former Oral Roberts, Tulsa and Illinois coach is 394-84 with the Jayhawks, and Selfs mark of 212-9 at Allen Fieldhouse is downright absurd considering the Jayhawks typically rugged schedule.The video was really good. I had no idea, Self said. Seeing some of those men, those guys were just kids when we had them, and some of them are over 40 years old now. Seeing some of those guys up there, that was very meaningful. That was very cool.Graham was 6 of 8 from beyond the arc and finished with 18 points for the Jayhawks (8-1), while Svi Mykhailiuk added 10 points and seven rebounds off the bench.LaVell Boyd had 17 points for the Roos, who have never beaten Kansas in seven tries.Of course, this game against UMKC (6-4) was essentially over the moment the contract was signed.Kansas opened a 10-point lead before the 4-minute mark, extended the advantage to 51-35 by the break, then reeled off the first 10 points of the second half to put it away.Thats not to say Self enjoyed every minutte of his milestone win.ddddddddddddThere was the pass that Jackson threw to the second row of seats late in the first half. There were the missed block-outs by Landen Lucas that gave the Roos extra opportunities. And there was a turnover that prompted Self to let rip a PG-13 tirade that could be heard almost everywhere in an otherwise quiet gym.What are you guys doing? he asked. What are you frickin doing?Hardly missing a shot. The Jayhawks were 15 of 27 from beyond the arc, shot 57 percent for the game and rolled to their nation-leading 45th consecutive victory at Allen Fieldhouse.Not to mention a memorable win for their coach.I cant even fathom that, Roos coach Kareem Richardson said of Selfs 600th victory, but thats an awesome feat. And hell have a heck of a lot more wins to go with that.NO CRYING IN BASKETBALLThere were plenty of hugs for Self in the locker room, and Jackson said some of the players tried to get their coach to cry. Success? Nah, they werent going to do that, Self said. All Ive got to do is think about how we shoot free throws -- I cry when Im that mad.UMKCS MAIN GOALThe Roos hardly planned to roll over, but they also kept things in perspective. I mean, at the end of the day, we still want to get better as a team as well. Thats all we wanted to do tonight is get better, Boyd said. Asked whether that happened, he replied: Not really.BIG PICTUREUMKC could sorely use senior guard Martez Harrison, the teams second-leading scorer. He missed his fourth consecutive game while serving an indefinite suspension due to a violation of school policy.Kansas has not been tested through the first four games of a six-game homestand. The closest anybody has come to the Jayhawks was Stanford, which lost 89-74 last weekend. That was also the only time Kansas has been held under 90 points during those four games.UP NEXTUMKC plays Division II school William Jewell on Saturday.Kansas plays former Big 12 rival Nebraska on Saturday. ' ' '