Wichtiges » to score a pair of first- period goals that set the tone in

PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns have traded small forward Caron Butler to the Milwaukee Bucks for point guard Ish Smith and centre Viacheslav Kravstov. The move sends Butler to his hometown team. The 11-year NBA veteran is from nearby Racine. The Suns acquired Butler and point guard Eric Bledsoe from the Clippers on July 10 in a three-team trade that sent the Suns Jared Dudley and Milwaukees J.J. Redick to Los Angeles. Milwaukee got two second-round draft picks in the deal. Butler signed a three-year, $24 million contract with the Clippers in December of 2011. A starter for the Clippers the last two seasons, Butler has averaged 15.5 points in stops that included Miami, the Los Angeles Lakers, Washington, Dallas and the Clippers. "Were very excited to welcome Caron back home," Bucks general manager John Hammond said in a statement. Hammond said Butler "gives us depth at the small forward position and will be a mentor for our younger players." Suns general manager Ryan McDonough said the trade "gives us significant cap space as well as the flexibility to trade for another exciting player." It also could provide some money that would make it easier to swallow the $9 million hit the team would take if it waives Michael Beasley, who was arrested in early August on suspicion of marijuana possession and had been a disappointment on and off the court in his one season with Phoenix. Finding someone who would take him in a trade seems unlikely, given his long history of marijuana problems. Smith has played for five teams in three NBA seasons after making the Houston roster as an undrafted free agent in 2010. He appeared in 52 games last season, 36 with Orlando before he was traded to Milwaukee and played in 16 games there. The 6-foot-11 Kravstov enters his second NBA season and will join fellow Ukrainian centre Alex Len, the Suns first-round draft pick. They are the only two Ukrainians on an NBA roster. Moments after the trade was confirmed, the Suns announced they had signed Len, the fifth overall pick in the draft. Kravstov appeared in 25 games with the Detroit Pistons as a rookie. He went to the Bucks on July 31 as part of the trade that sent Brandon Jennings to Detroit. The trade is the latest in a series of efforts by the new general manager McDonough and new coach Jeff Hornacek to rebuild the Suns after the team endured its second-worst finish in franchise history. Butler had expressed satisfaction with the role made for him in Phoenix, even serving as one of the models at a local shopping mall when the Suns unveiled their new uniforms. But he undoubtedly will love the move back to his home area. Butler, a two-time All-Star, started 78 games for the Clippers last season, averaging 10.4 points per game, shooting 39 per cent from 3-point range. After two seasons at UConn, Butler was selected by Miami as the 10th overall pick in the 2002 draft. His uniform numbers have been retired by the two high schools where he played, Racine Park, Wis., and Maine Central Institute. Freddie Freeman Braves Jersey . -- Once again, Carlos Santana was a huge hit in Kansas City. Chipper Jones Braves Jersey . A question that was repeatedly posed last season, and the season before that and in the 2011 campaign before that. http://www.baseballbravesproshop.com/hank-aaron-braves-jersey/ . The Oilers jumped into the free agent market early by signing defencemen Keith Aulie (six-foot-six, 228 pounds) and Mark Fayne (6-3, 210 pounds) and left-winger Benoit Pouliot (6-3, 197-pounds). Two days earlier MacTavish traded lightweight forward Sam Gagner to Tampa Bay for 6-3, 203-pound right winger Ted Purcell. Chipper Jones Jersey .com) - The Toronto Maple Leafs will try to play spoiler as the Los Angeles Kings will try to match their longest winning streak in over four years in Thursdays battle at Staples Center. Matt Joyce Braves Jersey . -- Arkansas didnt need a spectacular dunk to beat No.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Edmonton Oilers will seek to cool off the red-hot New York Rangers on Thursday night when they visit Madison Square Garden. The Oilers, who currently are in last place in the West, have won four of their last five games and recently posted a 3-2 regulation decision in Buffalo. After losing 4-0 in Boston on Saturday to begin its four-game road trip, a swing that will carry the club into the Olympic break, the Oilers bounced back with Mondays win over the Sabres. Matt Hendricks scored the winner in the third period to help Edmonton edge Buffalo at First Niagara Center. Jeff Petry and Justin Schultz also scored for the Oilers, while Ilya Bryzgalov stopped 42 shots in the win. "He played great because we put him behind the eight ball a lot with all the penalties we took and shots we gave up," said Schultz of Bryzgalov. "He really came up big several times tonight." The Oilers went 0-for-5 on the power play, but killed off five of Buffalos six chances with the extra man. Ben Scrivens is expected to be back between the pipes for the Oilers on Thursday. Scrivens is 2-3-0 with a 2.21 goals against average and .944 save percentage in five games with Edmonton since coming over last month in a trade with Los Angeles. The 27-year-old netminder set an NHL record for saves in a regular-season shutout with 59 stops in a 3-0 win over San Jose on Jan. 29, but he yielded four goals on 41 shots in Saturdays setback in Boston. Edmonton improved to 9-19-4 as the visiting team this season. The Oilers will close their pre-Olympic schedule with Fridays game in New Jersey. The Oilers have won three of the last five meetings in the series with the Rangers overall, but New York has taken two of three and six of the last eight encounters in the Big Apple. The last time Edmonton visited MSG was on Nov. 14, 2010, when the Rangers picked up a victory with an 8-2 rout. The Rangers have earned four straight victories and the current winning streak gives New York wins in seven of nine and 10 of its past 13 games.dddddddddddd The Blueshirts have won three of the four tilts during their recent hot streak by three or more goals and are outscoring the opposition by an 18-6 margin during that span. New York hasnt won five in a row since the 2011-12 season when it went 5-0 from Dec. 30-Jan. 10 of that campaign. Despite their recent hot play, the second-place Rangers still find themselves 17 points behind Pittsburgh for the Metropolitan Division lead. New York is three points in front of Columbus for the divisions second spot and also three clear of the eighth and final playoff spot in the East. Ryan Callahan played a standout role for the Rangers in their most recent win, as the team captain shook off recent trade rumors to score a pair of first- period goals that set the tone in Tuesdays 5-1 home rout of the Colorado Avalanche. Callahan, mentioned as a possible candidate to be moved prior to the upcoming trade deadline due to his unrestricted free agent status at seasons end, also added an assist on Brad Richards late tally to help the Rangers record their longest win streak of the season. Richards and Derick Brassard each posted a goal and assist and Anton Stralman also lit the lamp for New York. Henrik Lundqvist did his part as well between the pipes, turning back 27-of-28 shots in the triumph. "We had a real strong start," Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault remarked. "Obviously we were meeting a team that was tired and we were fresh. It was their third game in four nights, but we came out the way I thought we needed to come out and that was a determining factor tonight." The Rangers, who are 14-13-3 at MSG this season, will try to complete a three- game homestand tonight with a perfect record. New York will play its final tilt before the Olympic break Friday night in Pittsburgh. ' ' '