for the job for a long time, he understands the business

Melbourne, Australia (SportsNetwork.com) - Maria Sharapova cruised to a win over Peng Shuai on Sunday to set up a marquee meeting with rising star Eugenie Bouchard in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. The second-seeded Sharapova, who is chasing her second career Australian Open title at the age of 27, needed just 75 minutes to knock off the 21st-seeded Peng 6-3, 6-0. Well, when youre playing the match youre not thinking about the next one, said Sharapova. Youre thinking about the current match. I wasnt thinking to try to finish it out as fast as I can. I just wanted to do the right things and play the right way. I thought I did a good, solid job of that. Bouchard, seeded No. 7, had a tougher time against Irina-Camelia Begu but overcame a 61-minute second set to win 6-1, 5-7, 6-2. The 20-year-old Canadian was runner-up at Wimbledon last year and has been the focus of some attention this week after a male interviewer asked her to give us a twirl following a second-round win. The request drew wide criticism, including from tennis great Billie Jean King, who called it sexist. Sharapova is 3-0 all-time against Bouchard, with each of their meetings coming in the past two seasons, including a three-set battle in the semifinals of the French Open last year. Yeah, well, I would definitely look forward to that match. I think its always great to play the best players in the world, said Bouchard. Weve had a couple matches, and a good match last year. You know, I think I was close. It was just a tough battle. But I think Ive progressed a lot since then, and, you know, I definitely want to keep playing my game no matter what. Also Sunday, No. 3 seed Simona Halep cruised past Belgiums Yanina Wickmayer 6-4, 6-2 to set up a quarterfinal meeting with 10th-seeded Russian Ekaterina Makarova, who defeated Germanys Julia Goerges 6-3, 6-2. Halep, who has yet to drop a set, will play in the Australian Open quarterfinals for the second straight year. Yeah, a lot of confidence I have now because I didnt lose a set, said Halep. I had good matches here in first week, so Im really happy that Im in second week now like last year. Here I started to play my best tennis in Grand Slams. So means a lot for me. I really have more confidence now to play the quarterfinals. It is the third time Makarova has made the quarters in Melbourne after strong runs in 2012 and 2013. She also reached the fourth round in 2014 and 2011. Puma Shoes Discount Sale . Simon (10-3) allowed three runs on five hits and three walks in 6 1-3 innings to break a tie with the Dodgers Zack Greinke and Cardinals Adam Wainwright for the NL lead in victories. Simon went to spring training as a relief pitcher and moved into the starting rotation when Mat Latos was recovering from elbow and knee surgeries. Cheap Puma Shoes Online Australia . Philippe Desrosiers stopped 42 shots through overtime and three more in the shootout to pick up his third shutout of the season for Rimouski (31-15-7). Zachary Fucale made 28 saves for Halifax (34-17-3) in the loss. http://www.cheapaustraliapuma.com/. Louis Cardinals a hard-fought victory. The Colorado Rockies intentionally walked Yadier Molina with one out and runners on first and third to load the bases for Kozma. Cheap Puma Shoes Australia . In mens doubles, Vancouvers Vasek Pospisil and American Jack Sock reached the quarter-finals with a 7-6 (3), 7-6 (3), 6-4 win over Croatian Mate Pavic and Andre Sa of Brazil. Puma Shoes Australia Sale . Catch all the action on TSN2 and TSN GO at 9pm et/6pm pt. San Antonio took the series lead Monday night with a 122-105 home victory in Game 1. The Spurs used a balanced scoring attack and clamped down defensively late in the third quarter to claim the win.NEW YORK -- His name is already on the ball. Now Adam Silver can put his stamp on the NBA. On All-Star Saturday in New Orleans, Silver will deliver his first state of the league press conference as commissioner, a chance to tell a worldwide viewing audience how he plans to make the NBA bigger and better than it was under David Stern. Dont expect anything major. After working so closely with Stern during his 22 years at the league, Silvers fingerprints were already all over the $5.5 billion business long before he became in charge of it 10 days ago. "Im not coming in with a five-point plan," Silver told The Associated Press during an interview in his office at NBA headquarters. "Im not an outsider coming into the league. Ive been part of this league for a long time and if there was something that I thought shouldve been done markedly different than the way its done now, I think David and I would have pushed each other to do it. "My priority is the game and thats what Ill be telling people next Saturday." He has been at the NBA since 1992, overseeing the leagues entertainment empire, helping negotiate collective bargaining agreements, and on Feb. 1, he replaced Stern. He is liked by owners and respected by players, all believing Silver is the person to continue the massive growth the league saw under Stern. "Hes someone who has the same kind of feel that we have, in the sense of how can we make this pie bigger? How can we make this game bigger? Miami Heat All-Star Dwyane Wade said. "Hes going to be a good commissioner I believe. Strong in what he believes in. He was in the (CBA) meetings as well, so we know what kind of guy he is and we respect him." Silver, 51, ended up at taking Sterns old job after ignoring his advice early in his career. He laughs now when recalling the path that led to him becoming the NBA commissioner. "It never even was a consideration of working at the NBA," Silver said. "I dont think I understood what that meant. I truly stumbled into working at the NBA." Silver began his career in the legal field but was interested in transitioning to business, the same move Stern had so successfully made. So he wrote to Stern, who had worked at the same firm where Silvers father, Edward, was a lawyer. Silver had handled some media cases and was aware of Sterns accomplishments in negotiating cable TV deals. Stern gave him the number of someone to call, but the job was outside New York. Silverr wasnt interested in moving, which he explained to Stern when they spoke again.dddddddddddd "He said, Why didnt you tell me? Ive got some other ideas," Silver said. "It was happenstance," he added. "I dont think I quite understood what I was getting into at the time." He doesnt plan on changing much, insisting that he and Stern would have already made whatever changes they felt necessary. But while the NBAs international growth is frequently considered Sterns greatest achievement, Silver seems focused on boosting the games popularity in the United States. Silver has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to basketball. He attended Duke in the early 1980s before the Blue Devils became a powerhouse, when nobody camped out outside Cameron Indoor Stadium because you could just get into games with a student ID. He moved to Chicago to attend law school and began going to games with friends in the early days of Michael Jordan, before the Bulls became the biggest thing in basketball. Now Silver is following one of sports greatest commissioners. He acknowledges there will be times it will feel "lonely" without Stern there to face big decisions together, but Silver has worked so closely with Stern and been involved in so many aspects of the league that the transition should be a natural one. "Adam has been preparing for the job for a long time, he understands the business and I dont see him having much difficulty shifting into the role of commissioner," former NBA Players Association executive director Billy Hunter said. But Silver, designated as Sterns successor in October 2012, knows that doesnt mean it will always be easy. "I didnt have the same appreciation for what he was going through on a daily basis as the commissioner until I really thought about, What if that were I and I had to make that decision?" Silver said. "And its very different being sort of the voice in the ear of the guy making the decision as opposed to the guy making the decision." Nonetheless, he believes the league is in a good place and ready to grow. He met with executives from Facebook and Twitter while visiting Sacramento and Golden State during his first week as commissioner, seeking ways to bring the NBA to a larger audience than ever. "To me," Silver said, "the game is fantastic. The challenge is to use these new technologies and platforms to help more fans discover the game." ' ' '