AUBURN HILLS, Mich. Tony Parker Jersey . - The New Orleans Pelicans brought the hot Detroit Pistons back to earth.The Pistons came in having won of nine of 10, but were never competitive with New Orleans. Anthony Davis had 27 points and 10 rebounds as the Pelicans beat the Pistons 105-94 on Wednesday night.That was a bad performance, and we have to make sure it stops tonight, said Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy. We didnt do anything. We didnt rebound and we didnt protect the paint, which were two big areas of emphasis. We brought absolutely no energy whatsoever to the game.The Pelicans (19-19) were missing Jrue Holliday (ankle), but easily picked up their second win in five games. Tyreke Evans added 18 points, nine assists and eight rebounds for the Pelicans, while Ryan Anderson came off the bench to score 17.Brandon Jennings had 19 for the Pistons (14-25), while Greg Monroe had 16 points and eight rebounds and was the only other starter to reach double figures.The Pistons only managed three offensive rebounds in the game, usually a strength.That was unacceptable, said Monroe, who led the team in both rebounds and assists (five). We just gave them an easy win. We have to be a lot better than that.The Pelicans dominated the first half, with the exception of Detroits 6-0 run to end the first quarter. New Orleans led 58-36 at the intermission, helped in great part by a 36-point second period that saw them outrebound Detroit 14-2.We played the right way, said New Orleans coach Monty Williams. Thats the only way I can sum it up. We shared the ball; we defended the ball; we played in transition.The Pistons only managed 10 rebounds in the first half to 24 for New Orleans, and had just one second-chance opportunity despite missing 13 of their 15 jumpers in the opening two quarters. Andre Drummond struggled for Detroit, scoring only two points in 17 minutes and saw his team outscored by 21 points while he was on the floor.He didnt get better in the second half, and spent most of it on the bench.This is four games in a row where he hasnt had any energy, Van Gundy said. Tonight, he didnt even rebound. Thats why I didnt bring him back in the second half. He wasnt bringing us anything tonight.New Orleans stayed in control in the third quarter, and even when the Pelicans made mistakes, the Pistons couldnt capitalize. After one turnover, Kyle Singler led a Detroit fast break, only to pass the ball directly to New Orleans forward Dante Cunningham. Singler didnt hustle back on defence, leading to an open 3-pointer for the Pelicans. A furious Van Gundy yanked him from the game.The Pistons scored the final seven points of the period to pull within 83-66, but never posed a serious threat in the fourth.That was fun, said Pelicans guard Eric Gordon. Everyone was scoring and everyone was contributing.TIP-INSPELICANS: Nate Wolters joined the Pelicans on a 10-day contract, but did not play as Monty Williams stayed with his rotation until the final 25 seconds. Wolters had several memorable duals down the street at Oakland University while attending North Dakota State, and ended his college career at the Palace in an NCAA Tournament loss to Michigan.PISTONS: With Detroit playing its sixth game in nine nights, and both Spencer Dinwiddie and Gigi Datome in the D-League, it didnt take long for Van Gundy to empty his bench. Cartier Martin was the only player who hadnt gotten into the game by the end of the third, and he finished the game, but did not score.NEXT UP:Pelicans: Visit the 76ers on Friday.Pistons: Visit the Pacers on Friday. Hornets Jerseys 2020 . Founding members of the Genie Army, a group of Eugenie Bouchard supporters who cheered for the rising tennis star during the Australian Open in January, will be in the city for the Rogers Cup, beginning this weekend. D. J. Augustin Jersey . - The infectious smile was missing from Nam Nguyen last week. https://www.cheaphornets.com/785l-caleb-martin-jersey-hornets.html . The Oilers will try to get back in the win column on Monday when they continue a four-game road trip with a battle against the Buffalo Sabres. Edmonton won its third straight game last Wednesday against visiting San Jose, beating the Sharks 3-0 as Scrivens stopped 59 shots to set an NHL record for saves in a regular-season shutout.NEW YORK -- Years before Michael Sam was born, gay-rights activists Kate Kendell and Paul Guequierre were already die-hard National Football League fans. Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, grew up in Ogden, Utah, far from any NFL city, and became a fan of the Los Angeles Rams because shes an Aries and liked their uniforms. For Guequierre, raised in Whitewater, Wisconsin, and now a spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, it was a family affair. Treasured season tickets for the Green Bay Packers were acquired by his grandfather, passed on to his father, and now are his. The cover photo of his Facebook page shows the towering statue of a Packers wide receiver. For Kendell, Guequierre and other gay fans of the NFL, their passion for pro football was rewarded May 10 with a moment they describe as thrilling: the decision by the Rams -- now of St. Louis -- to make Sam the first openly gay player drafted by an NFL team. "I feel like my support for the NFL now doesnt have an asterisk come with it," Kendell said. "Its now truly Americas game." The milestone has made gay fans more enthusiastic and already is drawing newcomers into the fold. Many may become Rams fans or -- like Guequierre -- henceforth consider St. Louis "my second favourite team." The NFL says it hasnt done any marketing research to gauge the size of its gay and lesbian fan base. Gay sports fans surveyed by Outsports said pro football was their favourite sport by far. Outsports co-founder Cyd Zeigler said that Sam -- if he makes the Rams roster -- will further boost the NFLs popularity among gays. "People who have never liked football are buying Michael Sam jerseys," he said. "People who have never watched a game watched the draft." As of midweek, Sams Rams jersey was the No. 2 seller among rookies at NFLShop.com, trailing only Johnny Manziel, the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback drafted by the Cleveland Browns. Sam -- although drafted 249th out of 256 players -- also was among just 10 draftees selected by the league to be featured on special bronze and silver commemorative coins, according to NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy. Howard Bragman, a public relations expert who has been working with Sam, expects the NFL and advertisers to capitalize on fans excitement over Sams debut. "The first time he plays, youre going to have huge numbers watching," said Bragman, the vice chairman of Reputation.com. "The NFL is a business," Bragman added. "It understands very well that LGBT fans are passionate, they have good incomes, theyre concentrated in NFL cities." Sam already has done a nationally televised ad for Visa. "The tide has turned," Bragman said. "Martina Navratillova said she lost endorsements after she came out. Wholesale Hornets Jerseys. Youll find that Michael will do very well." That doesnt mean the NFLs advertisers will shift their focus away from heterosexual young males, nor are sexy female cheerleader squads likely to disappear. But gay fans may be all the more at peace with such things. "We know who theyre marketing to with those ads," said Guequierre. "Most (gay) people I know are OK with that. We dont feel like were being left out." Now based in Washington, D.C., Guequierre, 36, tries to attend at least one Packers home game per year, and makes his tickets for the other games available to relatives and friends, including a lesbian couple who are devoted fans. Guequierre said gay fans, like gay athletes, increasingly feel less pressure to conceal their sexual orientation while at games. He recalled an incident at a Packers game a few years ago, when he stood up and vocally scolded a fan behind him who had called a Chicago Bears player a homophobic slur. "No one else gave me a hard time," Guequierre said. "The guy looked embarrassed. ... He came across as the bad guy." Guequierres passion for football extends to the playing field -- hes an avid competitor in the D.C. Gay Flag Football League, which has 20 teams and about 275 players. One of the main sponsors is Nellies Sports Bar, one of a wave of gay sports bars that have opened up in cities nationwide. Doug Schantz, co-owner of Nellies, says there are now 25 TVs in the bar, all tuned to sports, with pro baseball and the NFL neck-and-neck as the most popular. "With the Redskins, it doesnt matter if theyre bad or good," Schantz said. On the other side of the country, Kate Kendell has settled into San Francisco, and is a zealous 49ers fan -- though her girlhood love of the Rams is now rekindled. She has raised her 17-year-old son to share her football passions. "On Monday nights, we break with tradition of sitting around the table as family," Kendell said. "We all watch the game. I leave office early to make sure were there for kickoff." Kendell expressed delight that gay youths would now be able to grow up with openly gay sports stars as role models. "Many of my gay male friends are not sports fans -- not because of lack of interest, but because their earliest introduction to sports made them feel stigmatized and shamed," she said, evoking epithets such as "You throw like a girl." "While surely there will continue to be homophobic remarks, there is a sense of a corner being turned," she said. "What I feel more than anything is a sense of elation and joy, that the game I loved since I was a kid I can now embrace without reservations." ' ' '