07.05.2016, 03:17
MILAN, Italy -- Italy striker Pablo Osvaldo completed a loan move to Juventus on Friday after a troubled spell in England, while Inter Milan signed Brazil midfielder Hernanes from Lazio. Matt Cullen Jersey . "Im very happy," Osvaldo said of his return to Serie A. "Everything happened very fast and I still cant believe it ... Its been a hectic three or four days." Juventus has the option to buy the 28-year-old before May 31, for 19 million euros ($25.6 million). Osvaldo joined Southampton from Roma in August for a club-record 15.1 million euros (then $20 million). The forward scored four times for the Premier League club but was suspended for two weeks on Jan. 23 following a training-ground incident. Osvaldo was kicked out of the Confederations Cup squad last year for insulting his club coach at Roma in a breach of national team coach Cesare Prandellis code of ethics. Juventus is on course for a third straight league title and is six points clear of Osvaldos former club Roma -- its closest challenger. Another player also returned to Serie A on loan from the Premier League, with former Lazio defender Modibo Diakite signing for Fiorentina from Sunderland. Meanwhile, French winger Gael Kakuta moved to Lazio on loan from Chelsea. Hernanes left Lazios training ground in tears on Thursday, amid reports he was on the verge of signing for Inter. The 28-year-old midfielder -- who joined Lazio in 2010 -- had a medical at Inter on Friday before penning a four and a half year deal. Hernanes has scored two goals in 23 appearances for Brazil and helped his country to Confederations Cup success last summer. Earlier, Saint-Etienne defender Faouzi Ghoulam signed for Napoli until 2018. The 22-year-old Algeria international, who played for France at Under 21 level, made 87 league appearances in four seasons at Saint-Etienne. Ghoulam is Napolis third signing this month, following the arrivals of Jorginho and Henrique. Napoli also confirmed it allowed Pablo Armero to join Premier League club West Ham on loan until the end of the season. The club has also loaned out Paolo Cannavaro to newly-promoted Sassuolo, which has the option to buy the veteran defender at the end of the season. Cannavaro -- the younger brother of Italys retired World Cup-winning captain Fabio -- has been Napolis captain, but has struggled for playing time under Rafa Benitez. Sassuolo has signed goalkeeper Ciro Polito from Atalanta and forward Antonio Sanabria from Barcelona on permanent deals. Elsewhere, Roma signed Rafael Toloi from Sao Paulo on loan until the end of the season. Roma has paid the Brazilian club 500,000 euros ($700,000) for the loan and will pay a further 5.5 million euros ($7.4 million) if it decides to buy the defender in the summer. Roma also announced Marquinho has moved on loan to Hellas Verona. Several other deals are expected to be completed before the transfer window shuts on Friday night, with Lazios Hernanes having a medical at Inter Milan. Paul Martin Jersey . Fisher, one ahead overnight, carded a 5-under-par 67, including seven birdies and two bogeys, at Copperleaf to lie at 18 under after three rounds. His fourth and last tour win was the Irish Open in 2010, when he also played in the Ryder Cup. Pascal Dupuis Penguins Jersey .com) - Hall of Fame forward Jean Beliveau, who led the Montreal Canadiens to 10 Stanley Cup Championships, died on Tuesday.NEW ORLEANS - Something about Terrence Ross in the spotlight still seems unnatural, though he has proven that hes worthy of the attention. On Saturday night hell only take up a third of it when he aims to defend his Slam Dunk title in the new-look contest, taking place at New Orleans Smoothie King Center. A year ago, Ross defeated reigning champion and little-known Jazz forward Jeremy Evans in a fan vote, breathing some new life into a floundering competition. But does he see himself as the defending champ? "I only do that just because thats what everybody calls me or they always ask me if Im going to defend my championship," said the Raptors modest and soft-spoken sophomore, who was reluctant to re-enter the contest this season, though he felt obligated to. "I have to. I just feel like if you win a championship you have to defend it." This year hell share the court with a few more familiar faces. For the first time in 26 years, the Slam Dunk contest will feature three All-Stars, two of which compete on a team with Ross as the event takes on a controversial new format. Teaming up with a couple of Eastern Conference All-Stars in Paul George and John Wall, Ross squad will oppose All-Star Swiss Army knife Damian Lillard and the Wests Harrison Barnes and Ben McLemore. The contests first round, a 90-second freestyle showcase, will force the teams to work together and assist on each others dunks. Ross met with his teammates Thursday evening to rehearse and formulate a strategy. All three say theyre ready to go. "We got our game plan ready," said the Pacers George, an All-Star starter. "Were all going to have fun with it, were all going to be a part of one anothers dunks so itll be a fun game." In the second round the East dunkers will go head-to-head with the competitors from the West until a team of three is crowned champion. Fans will then vote for the "Dunker of the Night" from the winning team. Intended to spice up an event thats lost its luster, the twist is one that may take some getting used to, one that not everyone is on board with. The participants, as you would expect, have high hopes for the new format. "I personally like [the new format]," Ross said. "A lot of people dont like it but after they see whats going to happen, how the dunks are going to turn out everybodys going to like it." "I think it makes it more fun," Lillard agreed. "Its a little bit less pressure on each individual dunker, its a little more of a group thing and a team thing." Howwever, not everyone is so optimistic. Evgeni Malkin Jersey. "I just feel like the dunk contest from back in the day has always been pretty simple and thats what made it good," said All-Star forward Blake Griffin, who won the 2011 competition after jumping over the hood of a Kia. "So I dont know how I feel about putting in a lot of extra stuff. I think it should just be get out there and let them dunk. I think theyve made it a little too rigid. Just kind of make it more free and let guys have more fun with it and I think theyll get better results out of it." Whether you love it, hate it, sit somewhere in between or are reserving judgment, the NBA will take another stab at reinventing an event that is still haunted by the memory of Vince Carters iconic performance in 2000. 14 years after that fateful night in Oakland, Carters show-stopping dunks remain a hot topic of conversation at All-Star weekend. At the time it was exactly what the dunk-off needed, problem is Carter set the bar too high. "It was almost like he made it feel like it wasnt a dunk contest," said Ross, who was just nine years old when he watched Carter make history. "It was kind of like a clinic or like a tutorial, how he just went out there and every dunk he did was like first try, done, 50. It was unreal to see because you havent seen anybody shut down a dunk contest since." No one has topped it and perhaps no one ever will. All the format changes in the world wont change that but an infusion of young talent and star power could. With Ross, the defending champ, facing off against three brand-name players, theres more excitement going into this weekends event than there has been in years past. Still, everyone is clamouring to see a certain MVP throw his hat in the ring. "LeBron (James) would make the Dunk Contest so much more exciting," Ross admitted. "He would have people hanging from the ceiling just to try to get in and watch it. The atmosphere would probably be unreal and thats something I would like to experience. If he ever does it I would sign up again for it. Hopefully one day he does it." He has a Dunk Contest trophy on his shelf and a 51-point game on his resume, yet Ross is still getting comfortable with the attention. It took him a little while to allow his excitement to build up and come out but with a new format and fresh competition, the 23-year-old finally has his game face on. Better late than never. "Thats even more incentive for me to go in now and try to do it again," he said. "Its like a new contest." Cheap China Jerseys