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RIO DE JANEIRO -- The winds of change are blowing at the Rio badminton arena. Actually, those are just the gusts from the air conditioning vents: Theyre cold and theyre strong and they could pose a problem for some of the best players on the planet.After all, Olympic glory will be determined by a few feathers -- more precisely, by the flight of the 16 goose feathers stuck to the light, leather-covered round cork of the shuttle.Badminton players call these winds drifts, caused by strong air conditioning and currents that arise when hot, humid air enters from open doors and meets colder air inside an arena.Drifts can swirl in from the side, above and below. They can stop and start or blast away steadily, and do funny things to a badminton shuttle, spinning it out of a rackets path or causing a shot that should have landed in to land out.Simply turning off the air conditioning doesnt work because sweat -- on the racket, in the eyes, on the floor -- can be as big a problem as drifts.No venue is perfect, and theres no way to completely kill drifts, although players change sides during a match to try to compensate. Gripes about drift are part of badminton, even at the last Olympics in England, where the modern version of the game was developed in the 19th century.One complaint in Rio is that the multipurpose Riocentro pavilion where the badminton matches are being held wasnt built with the sport in mind. Dedicated badminton stadiums, like the ones the superstars are used to playing in, usually do a better job dealing with drifts, placing AC vents and doors in a way that minimizes air currents.Players say the drifts in Riocentro change depending on which side of the court they play on. Drifts also vary from court to court, with some saying the middle of the pavilions three courts is worse than the side courts.Experience might be the best antidote to drifts.Veteran players, especially those who play the professional tour in Asia, where heat and humidity often mean high AC in the stadiums, tend to handle drift better.They compensate for it, they get used to it, Estonian Raul Must, world No. 45, said after a loss to Jan O. Jorgensen, the world No. 5, from Denmark. The drift made it harder for me. One side, it was slow; the other side was faster. So it can be one meter shorter than what you think on the slow side, and one meter longer on the other side.Others also acknowledged the drifts in Riocentro, but noted that everyone had practiced in the venue for days before the competition started and so knew how to adjust to the bad spots.Perhaps the best strategy for drifts? Just dont think about them.I would be lying if I said it wasnt a factor. It is, but its the same everywhere, Jorgensen said. I dont want to worry about something that I cant control a single thing about.Drift is much more of a factor when top players face each other because the margins of error between the elite are so narrow, said Soren Opti, a 19-year-old from Suriname who was crushed early on by world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei, of Malaysia.The drifts in Rio were tough but by no means the worst hes seen, said Opti, ranked No. 318 internationally.During one tournament in the Dominican Republic, he said, a passing thunderstorm was so strong that rain leaked inside from the arenas roof.When I hit the shuttle, it would blow back at me, Opti said.---Follow Foster Klug at www.twitter.com/apklugCustom Charlotte Hornets Jerseys . On Saturday night, the normally free throw-challenged centre did just that. Howard scored 18 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, including 13 of 19 free throws in a 2 1/2-minute stretch, and the Houston Rockets beat the Denver Nuggets 122-111. Stitched Hornets Jerseys . The phone hearing is scheduled for 4:30pm et/1:30pm pt. Winchester, who was not penalized for the hit, appeared to make contact with Kellys head early in the first period of Thursdays game in Boston. https://www.cheaphornets.com/ .Y. - New Orleans forward Anthony Davis was chosen Friday to replace the injured Kobe Bryant in the NBA All-Star game that will be played in his home city. Cheap Hornets Jerseys . -- The Magic have their first victory of the new year. Wholesale Hornets Jerseys . World champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov of Russia won the gold medal with 237.71 points, Moore-Towers and Moscovitch followed at 208.45 and Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov of Russia were third at 187.INDIANAPOLIS -- Nate McMillan learned a lot the last three seasons as an Indiana Pacers assistant.Working with a more mature team and established leaders, McMillan shed the drill-sergeant label he earned in Seattle and Portland. Working with a defensive-minded team, he found it to be OK to loosen up the reins on offense. And because he wasnt the head coach, McMillan had time to rethink his coaching philosophies.All the new Indiana coach has to do now is stay true to those lessons and keep winning.What we have to do this year, including me, is reinvent ourselves, McMillan said. The style of play has changed and a lot of teams have gone small ball. I think Golden State and Memphis really changed the way people developed their teams. You saw, not long ago, it was big versus small. Small won.Now everyone is trying to adapt.A year ago, Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird promised fans a faster, more entertaining style of basketball. Instead, it got scrapped because Indiana didnt have enough pieces to make it work consistently. Indiana made a first-round playoff exit and Bird hired McMillan to replace Frank Vogel.Bird continued the transition this offseason, acquiring point guard Jeff Teague and power forward Thaddeus Young in trades and signing free agent center Al Jefferson to go with three-time All-Star Paul George and budding second-year center Myles Turner.And suddenly, the future looks bright.I think its back, George said when asked about the Pacers title hopes. Having David (West) and having Roy (Hibbert), that was a great unit. I dont want to jump the gun and say this is the best team Ive played on, but it certainly could be.McMillan just has to find a way to embrace the new style and win games in ways most people never envisioned in his first two head coaching stops.This is a different team. We have a lot of guys in their prime and I hope we have a lot of hungry guys, McMillan said. I think they want to be part of a winner and, hopefuully, they want to win big.ddddddddddddHere are some other things to watch for from the Pacers:RATED PGIn his first full season back from a broken leg, George led the Pacers in scoring (23.1 points), was second in rebounding (7.0) and third in assists (4.1). He was even better in the playoff (27.3 points, 7.6 rebounds) despite acknowledging he wasnt completely healthy. How much better can George be this season?Ive always kind of seen myself at that next (elite) level of talent, and I think this is really my first opportunity to prove Im the best player on the court every night, he said.BACK HOME AGAINTeague returns to his hometown, and the former All-Star is a more natural point guard than his predecessor (George Hill). Teague also is quicker and better at getting to the basket than Hill, all of which will help smooth the transition. But without Hill, the Pacers lose a versatile defender. Teagues contract also expires at the end of the season.TURNERS TURNTurners rookie season was first slowed by an injury, then by his inability to crack the starting lineup until midseason. Yet the 6-foot-11, 20-year-old showed so much promise that the Pacers wasted no time naming him the starting center, and they expect the progression to continue this season.My approach didnt change, the quality of my work changed, Turner said of his offseason. I was really able to hone in on what I wanted to work on.SHOOTING STARSThe biggest question is whether the Pacers have enough 3-point shooters to make the spread offense work. Bird and McMillan discount those criticisms, figuring Teague, George, Monta Ellis, Rodney Stuckey, C.J. Miles and potentially Turner can all shoot 3s.BUSY FIRST WEEKThe Pacers are busy right away: The opener comes at home Oct. 26 against Dallas, followed by back-to-back road games against Brooklyn (Oct. 28) and Chicago (Oct. 29). ' ' '