base," he said. The Rockies made it 4-0 in the third when Tulowitzki

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Bobcats centre Al Jefferson said that while his left foot remains extremely sore, he plans to play in Game 2 of the best-of-seven playoff series Wednesday night against Miami Heat. "Im suiting up," Jefferson said Monday. "Its going to take more than that to make me sit out. We have worked too hard to get to this point." Jefferson injured his foot in the first quarter of Sundays 99-88 loss to the two-time defending NBA champions. Charlottes leading scorer skipped a light team workout Monday and said he doesnt plan to practice Tuesday. That means he wont test out the foot until the shoot around period on Wednesday morning. His left foot remains in a walking boot and hell continue to receive treatment for the next two days. First-year coach Steve Clifford said the medical staff informed him Jefferson doesnt run the risk of serious injury if he continues to play on the injured foot. Clifford also said the injury wont require surgery this off-season. "There would be no long term effects, nothing that could be permanent going forward. So that part were not worried about," Clifford said. In essence, the injury is all about the 6-foot-10, 289-pound Jefferson managing the pain, something the 10-year NBA veteran said he didnt do well in Game 1 even though he finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds in the loss. "I have to adjust to the pain," Jefferson said. "I have to go out there and know that its going to be there and have that mindset. To me that will make me handle it a lot better. Last game it came out of nowhere and I didnt know what I was limited to and what I could and couldnt do. Now I know." Jefferson received two pain killer injections during Sundays game after injuring the foot in the first quarter while coming off a double screen. He said he will continue to receive injections to handle the pain throughout the series. "They are going to be my new best friend," he said with a laugh. After Sundays game, Heat centre/power forward Chris Bosh said Miami went after Jefferson to test his injured foot. The Bobcats are expecting the Heat will run plenty of pick and rolls at Jefferson to test his mobility in Game 2. But Clifford seems more worried about Jeffersons play on the offensive end, rather this ability to adjust on defence. "I thought it hampered him a lot more offensively than defensively," Clifford said. "We watched on film a couple of the pick and rolls and he defended them fine. His problem is he cant pivot hard off that foot and that is such a big part of his game -- the quick spins, going one way, faking and going back the other way. I thought it hurt his offence a lot more than his defence." Point guard Kemba Walker, who led the Bobcats in scoring in Game 1, said he and his teammates are going to have to help pick up the slack if Jefferson is limited. "I definitely think I have to increase my level of play and be a lot more aggressive offensively," Walker said. "Other guys as well. I think everyone is looking forward to that challenge." Cliffords other concern heading into Game 2 is limiting turnovers. Charlotte turned it over 15 times leading to 20 points for the Heat. "They dont need 20 points," Jefferson said. Said Clifford: "We need maximum concentration and maximum intensity, starting with the turnovers. You have to concentrate on the reasons you win and you play well. I think we can do better." Cheap Phil Niekro Jersey . Ferrer will play Mikhail Youzhny on Sunday after he defeated Dmitry Tursunov 6-2, 6-4 in an all-Russian semifinal. "Youzhny is a good player," Ferrer said. Cheap John Smoltz Jersey . 5 Trade Deadline isnt that far away and teams will be making decisions on whether to buy, sell and decide which players can make the biggest difference and hold the greatest value. http://www.cheapbravesjerseys.com/ . The Brazilian international goalkeeper was beaten twice in the first 12 minutes of his Reds debut in a 3-1 preseason loss to Columbus Crew in Florida earlier this week. Cheap Atlanta Braves Jerseys . -- Washington Capitals forward Brooks Laich is expected to miss the rest of the regular season after having an operation on a groin muscle. Wholesale Braves Jerseys . The Redblacks host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (7-9) Friday night in their last home game of the year and as of Thursday afternoon, the team was anticipating a ninth consecutive sellout. You can watch all the action on TSN1, TSN3, TSN4, and TSN5 beginning at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt.DENVER -- Tyler Matzek was nervous and wild in his bullpen session before his first major league start. When he took the mound he was nearly unhittable. Matzek pitched two-hit ball for the first seven innings of his big league debut before faltering in the eighth, and the Colorado Rockies beat the Atlanta Braves 8-2 on Wednesday night. The left-hander retired the first 13 hitters and 21 of 23 before allowing three straight singles to start the eighth. His strong start to the game masked the jitters catcher Mike McKenry helped ease. "The first inning was really, really nervous," Matzek said. "Mac was calming me down, telling me it was the same thing as Triple-A, just go out there and play your game. I let it be a positive thing, not a negative thing. If I try to fight it, it turns into a negative thing so I was just embracing it." Matzek (1-0) allowed two runs on five hits and struck out seven in seven-plus innings. He also had his first hit and run scored. The Rockies had lost 11 of 12. He is the third Colorado pitcher in the last six days to make his debut and the first to get a win. "A masterful performance by Tyler. An explosive fastball and his slider looked like it disappeared," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. "He had it all working. He commanded it. Very impressive." It was what the Rockies needed after they had lost 15 of 18. They broke out against Braves starter Julio Teheran, who had blanked them over six innings in Atlanta on May 25. Teheran (6-4) entered Wednesday with a 1.89 ERA, best in the majors, but Colorado scored three in the first on Drew Stubbs RBI double and Corey Dickersons two-run triple. Troy Tulowitzki and Justin Morneau had three hits each for Colorado. "It wasnt my day from the first inning," Teheran said. "I didnt have a problem with the grip and with my pitches. I think I got my good stuff. A couple bloopers that happened and they got me on a couple base hits." Matzek breezed through the first four innings on 39 pitches. Atlanta hit three balls hard, including a line drive by Teheran snared by Morneau to end the third. Morneau couuldnt come down with Justin Uptons single with one out in the fifth to give the Braves their first baserunner.dddddddddddd. The Coors Field crowd acknowledged Matzeks early work with applause after Uptons hit. Chris Johnson followed with a single to right but Matzek retired the next two batters to get out of the inning. "He has good stuff, 94-95 mph fastball," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "The whole day youre talking to guys, Hey, this guy sprays it around a little bit. Be patient. Im not sure how many three-ball counts he got into, if any." Matzek didnt walk a batter and threw 71 pitches through seven innings before the Braves got to him. Johnson, Tommy La Stella and Andrelton Simmons singled to start the eight and make it 8-1.Franklin Morales came on and gave up a two-out RBI single to B.J. Upton before getting Freddie Freeman to fly out. Matzek received another ovation as he walked to the dugout when Weiss pulled him in the eighth. "It felt amazing. Great fans, great fan base," he said. The Rockies made it 4-0 in the third when Tulowitzki scored on a sacrifice fly by Stubbs. Josh Rutledge scored from third when Tulowitzki, who singled, was caught in a rundown between first and second in the fifth. Stubbs and Dickerson led off the sixth with consecutive doubles to give Colorado a 6-0 lead. Tulowitzki and Morneau had RBI singles in the seventh. Teheran allowed seven runs on 10 hits and struck out five in 6 1-3 innings. "I know it was a tough day for me. Im just glad that I was able to compete and get through six innings," Teheran said. NOTES: Atlanta C Evan Gattis singled in the eighth to extend his hitting streak to 12 games. ... Gonzalez was named one of the coaches for the NL at the All-Star Game in Minnesota next month. ... The Rockies optioned RHP Chad Bettis to Triple A to make room for Matzek. ... Justin Upton returned to the lineup after being removed in the first inning Tuesday because of a left hamstring injury. ... Atlanta will send Ervin Santana (5-2, 3.69) against Colorados Jhoulys Chacin (0-4, 5.35) on Thursday. ' ' '