LOS ANGELES -- Blake Griffin has withdrawn from playing for the U.S. national basketball team this summer. The Los Angeles Clippers star was one of 19 players selected to the roster from which the World Cup team will be chosen. Griffin said Thursday that he wants to dedicate all his energy on improving and preparing for the upcoming NBA season. Griffin joins Oklahoma City guard Russell Westbrook in not participating. Westbrook dropped out to rest previous knee injuries. The Americans begin training camp Monday in Las Vegas, a month before the World Cup of Basketball opens in Spain. Doug Kotar Youth Jersey . Five straight losses (and six in the past seven) now dot the schedule – matching their longest skid of the year – after they fell again in New Jersey on Sunday night, topped 3-2 by Cory Schneider and the Devils. Daniel Jones Cheap Jersey . 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. http://www.giantsonlineteamshop.com/phil-simms-jersey-cheap.html . She was 30. The former British No. 1 died peacefully surrounded by family and friends, the Womens Tennis Association said on its website. The Kyiv-born Baltacha, who represented Britain at the 2012 London Olympics, was diagnosed with the illness in January, two months after retiring from tennis and only weeks after she married her long-time coach Nino Severino. Mark Bavaro Cheap Jersey .C. -- When Michael Jordan speaks, people still listen. Lawrence Taylor Jersey . Observant Muslims avoid food and liquids from dawn to dusk during Ramadan but can, and often do, skip it if travelling or doing hard physical labour. Some devout Muslim athletes choose to fast during training or competition, but it can create selection difficulties for the coaches in team sports. MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The Memphis Grizzlies signed Vince Carter on Saturday, looking to bolster their outside shooting with an eight-time All-Star who spent last season as a Dallas Mavericks reserve. The 37-year-old guard agreed to a multiyear contract. Financial terms were not disclosed. The Grizzlies lacked 3-point threats last season. The 6-foot-6 Carter gives the Grizzlies a replacement for free agent Mike Miller, who said on Twitter on Friday night he was "just informed the Grizz are going in another direction." Carter averaged 11.9 points in 81 games, all off the bench, last season for Dallas. He has averaged 20.2 points over his 16-year career. He averaged at least 20 points for 10 straight seasons from 1999-09. Memphis averaged 4.9 3-pointers a game during the regular season, low in the NBA. The 34-year-old Miller shot 45.5 per cent from 3-poinnt range and averaged 7.dddddddddddd3 points last season as one of the Grizzlies top outside threats. Carter moved into 25th place on the NBAs career scoring list last season, and the player once known best as a dunker is now seventh all-time in 3-pointers made (1,809). His 146 3-pointers last season were the most of any NBA player off the bench. In Dallas first-round playoff loss to eventual champion San Antonio, Carter shot 15 of 31 from beyond the arc and made a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to give Dallas a 109-108 victory in the third game of the series. Carter has averaged 4.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 1,148 career regular-season games with Toronto, the Nets, Orlando, Phoenix and Dallas. He averaged 24.4 minutes a game last season. He ranks eighth in career 3-point attempts (4,788), 20th in field-goal attempts (19,045) and 31st in minutes (39,240). ' ' '