PORTLAND, Ore. -- Trail Blazers forward Meyers Leonard has found himself after the hardest year of his life.It started at the beginning of last season, when Leonard gambled by turning down Portlands $40 million contract extension offer. Then he dislocated his shoulder twice, finally succumbing to surgery and watching as his team went to the playoffs.Now, he views the adversity as a victory of sorts -- because it brought him to the place hes at today.I believe that everything happens for a reason, he said. And Im flat-out excited for what the future holds.Portlands 7-footer is poised to return from the shoulder injury that finally caught up with him last season. His rehab is ahead of schedule and hes been practicing with the team during training camp. Theres no timetable yet for his return to games.The Blazers, who defeated the Utah Jazz 98-89 on Monday night in the preseason opener, are looking to build off of last seasons success when they surpassed expectations by going 44-38 with a second-round playoff appearance.Leonard, who turned down that initial extension offer last October, embarked on last season hopeful that hed make a statement in his fourth NBA season. He had already turned heads with his 3-point shooting ability, a rarity for a big man.He would go on to play in 61 games, including 10 starts, with a career-high 8.4 points and 5.1 rebounds a game. He also had 86 3-pointers.But he dislocated his shoulder in November during a game against the San Antonio Spurs and missed seven games. He dislocated it again during a practice in March and about a week later it was determined hed need surgery for a torn labrum.Leonard knew all along something was wrong and it just added to his anxiety. For the first time in his life he feared failure, he said.It was the hardest year of life. Not even close. I lied to my entire family the whole year. I told them I was OK. I wasnt. I come from nothing and I turned down $40 million, he said.His outlook started to shift this summer after he signed a four-year, $41 million deal with the Blazers.Leonard said he keeps two journals each day, one to record all that he is thankful for, and another to keep him focused on his life goals. He said his faith has also grown.Hes not self-conscious about revealing his foibles or the transformation.I think a lot of times listening to other players speak, listening to myself speak in the past, it feels like a lot of times its scripted answers, kind of giving you guys what you want to hear. Certainly, sometimes thats just the way it is, he told reporters when training camp opened. But I like to be a little more open, be honest, with things. Thats just the way I am, I guess.Leonard has already been at work this summer on his game. Hes looking to do different things in the post this season and be more of a threat outside of spacing the floor. Hes good with whatever role falls his way, too.My goals and my thoughts going into this season is to do to whatever I can to help the team, he said. Im in a really good place in my life right now, on and off the court. Im very confident, my mind is clear. Im excited for this year. Jimmy Butler Jersey . The 43-year-old closer, in his 19th and final big league season, has said hed like to play the outfield. Yankees manager Joe Girardi says hes thinking about allowing Rivera to do it this weekend, when the Yankees finish their season with a three-game series at the Houston Astros. Cheap Timberwolves Jerseys Authentic . -- Whether Jeremy Hill deserves a prominent role in LSUs offence this early in the season is a matter for debate. http://www.cheaptimberwolvesjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-marcus-georges-hunt-jersey . "Hes going to have hip surgery on Jan. 7, and hell be expected to rehabilitate for four to six months beyond that," Canucks general manager Mike Gillis said Friday in an interview. Andrew Wiggins Jersey . Roman Josi had a goal and an assist to lead the Predators to a 4-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Monday night. Nemanja Bjelica Jersey . Any real chance at payback wont come until the playoff. Still, Pittsburgh knows its taut 3-2 win over the Bruins on Wednesday night is a pretty good place to start laying the groundwork. "They are a very good defensive team," Penguins forward Brandon Sutter said. Editors Note: You can still vote below if you feel so inclined, but we finalized the tallies and have moved on to the Sweet 16.How will you best remember Big Papi?As David Ortizs final regular season hits its home stretch, were asking fans to select the Boston Red Sox sluggers signature achievement.Today, we begin the Big Papi Bracket with an opening round of 32 moments. On Thursday, well reveal the Sweet 16. Next Monday, its the Elite Eight. On Sept. 15, the Final Four.And two weeks from now, the championship round.All you have to do is vote.Green Monster RegionNo. 1 seed: Oct. 17, 2004 -- Down 3-0 in the ALCS, Ortiz hits a 12th-inning, two-run, walk-off home run off Paul Quantrill to beat the New York Yankees and spark Bostons historic series comeback.No. 8 seed: Jan. 22, 2003 -- Ortiz signs with the Red Sox as a free agent -- launching a legendary run in Beantown and marking one of the best moves in franchise history.No. 2 seed: Oct. 20, 2004 -- His two-run home run off Yankees starter?Kevin Brown in the first inning of Game 7 of the ALCS starts the scoring in a Curse-breaking blowout in the Bronx. Ortiz is named MVP of the series after hitting .387 with three home runs and 11 RBIs.No. 7 seed: July 31, 2006 -- With a three-run walk-off homer in the ninth, Big Papi helps Boston beat the Cleveland Indians 9-8 -- and hold onto first place in the AL East.No. 3 seed: April 27, 2003 -- His first home run with the Red Sox shows shades of whats to come. In other words, its clutch -- a pinch-hit, go-ahead, 14th-inning solo blast in a 6-4 win over the Anaheim Angels.No. 6 seed: May 14, 2016 -- Thirteen years later, in his farewell season, more extra-inning heroics for Ortiz. Papi crunches a walk-off double with two outs in the 11th inning to seal a 6-5 win over the Houston Astros. As if that wasnt enough, he had laced a game-tying triple (!) in the ninth, and earlier took 20th place on the career home run list with a solo homer off Collin McHugh.No. 4 seed: July 12, 2010 -- Ortiz slugs a then-record 11 homers in the final round to bounce former -- and now current -- teammate Hanley Ramirez and win the Home Run Derby at Angel Stadium.No. 5 seed: July 29, 1996 -- In The Greatest Home Run Derby Youve Never Heard Of in Appleton, Wisconsin, a minor leaguer, then known as David Arias, steals the show from Seattle Mariners superstars Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez in an impromptu showdown.Pesky Pole RegionNo. 1 seed: Oct. 13, 2013 -- Ortiz sends Torii Hunter tumbling over the right-field wall at Fenway Park -- and turns a celebrating Boston cop, Steve Horgan, into a celebrity -- with a grand slam that turns the tide in Game 2 of the ALCS against the Detroit Tigers.No. 8 seed: Dec. 16, 2002 -- After hitting 58 home runs in parts of six seasons in Minnesota, Ortiz is given his release by the Twins, in one of the worst moves in franchise -- and perhaps baseball -- history.No. 2 seed: Oct. 8, 2004 -- ALCS, here we come! Ortizs two-run, 10th-inning home run off Jarrod Washburn sweeps the Angels out of the ALDS and sets up an all-time classic series with the Yankees.No. 7 seed: Sept. 29, 2005 -- If youve read this far, youll start to notice that Ortizs dramatic moments are so numerous they almost start to seem mundane. How about, with the Red Sox battling the Yankees for first place late in the season, a game-tying home run against the Toronto Blue Jays in the bottom of the eighth inning, followed by a walk-off single in the ninth? Wait, the walk-off isnt a home run? Next!No. 3 seed: Sept. 21, 2006 -- Ortizs 51st bomb of the season breaks Jimmie Foxxs Red Sox record, set 68 years earlier. Even better? He hits it against his former team, the Twins.No. 6 seed: April 11, 2004 -- Months before the 2004 season becomes legendary in Red Sox lore, Ortiz launches a two-run, walk-off home run in the bottom of the 12th inning to beat the Blue Jays in the seventh game of the year.No. 4 seed: July 12, 2016 -- At Petco Park, Big Papi is lifted for a pinch runner and greeted by teammates on the field in honor of his 10th and final All-Star Game.No. 5 seed: Aug. 16, 2014 -- With his 27th home run of the season, Big Papi joins Hall of Famers Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski as the only players to hit 400 homers while playing with the Red Sox. For good measure, Big Papi punishes the Astros with another home run later in the game en route to a 10-7 victory.The Triangle RegionNo. 1 seed: April 20, 2013 -- The only No. 1 seed not in October, but its a contender for the crown nonetheless. Otherwise known as The Speech, Ortiz addresses the Fenway faithful, the city of Boston, and really, the entire country, in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing. All right, Boston, Big Papi says. This jersey that we wear today, it doesnt say Red Sox. It says Boston. We want to thank you, Mayor [Thomas] Menino, Governor [[Deval] Patrick, the whole police department for the great job that they did this past week.dddddddddddd This is our f---ing city. And nobodys going to dictate our freedom. Stay strong.No. 8 seed: 2008 -- In a far more lighthearted moment, Ortiz puts on a Yankees hat in a SportsCenter commercial called Betrayal with Jorge Posada -- causing some considerable distress.No. 2 seed: Oct. 27, 2013 -- Since were on the subject of speeches, Big Papis Game 4 pep talk in the dugout helps rally his teammates to a 4-2 win, tying the World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals after Boston had dropped Games 2 and 3.No. 7 seed: Sept. 13, 1996 -- Ortiz is shipped by the Mariners to the Twins as the player to be named later in a trade for Dave Hollins. This turns out to be, as if we needed to tell you, one of the worst deals in MLB history.No. 3 seed: Oct. 5, 2003 -- Ortiz wont help lead Boston to a pennant until the next season, but he contributes some postseason heroics in Game 4 of the 2003 ALDS. His two-run double off Keith Foulke of the Oakland As drives in?Nomar Garciaparra and Manny Ramirez in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Red Sox a 5-4 lead they wont relinquish. The win, in the second of three straight elimination games, ties the series; Boston goes on to win Game 5 before falling to Aaron (Bleepin) Boone and the Yankees in the ALCS.No. 6 seed: Aug. 16, 2005 -- The Tigers are two outs away from a win when Ortiz steps to the plate in the top of the ninth and goes yard to tie the game at 3. He then hits a three-run home run with two outs in the 10th as part of a seven-run Red Sox rally. The home run is especially important, as Detroit answers with four runs in the bottom of the inning. But its not enough. Ortiz & Co. win 10-7.No. 4 seed: July 26, 2003 -- Ortizs first walk-off hit as a member of the Boston Red Sox comes against the hated Yankees at Fenway Park -- a single to center off Armando Benitez that scores Jeremy Giambi.No. 5 seed: Sept. 6, 2005 -- Ortiz swats a walk-off home run off Angels reliever Scot Shields -- then is presented with a plaque that reads The Greatest Clutch Hitter In The History Of The Boston Red Sox by owner John Henry and president/CEO Larry Lucchino.Yawkey Way RegionNo. 1 seed: Oct. 18, 2004 -- Down three games to one in the ALCS (following his walk-off home run in Game 4), Ortiz smacks a two-out, game-winning single in the 14th inning off Yankees reliever Esteban Loaiza to bring Boston within a game of tying the series.No. 8 seed: 2015 -- Sorry, Gronk, were going to sacrifice you here. Barring some ingenious ballot-stuffing -- which we will veto -- Ortizs first commercial with New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, in which Big Papi plays a Dunkin Donuts coffee cup solo as the two duet on a song called Sippin,?will go down like the Yankees did in 2004.No. 2 seed: Oct. 27, 2004: Is this an upset in the making? Its more a team moment than an Ortiz moment, but Big Papi celebrating the Red Soxs first World Series title in 86 years -- after hitting .308 with a home run and four RBIs in a sweep of the Cardinals -- could give the No. 1 seed a run for its money. Assuming, of course, it can knock off No. 7 first, and go from there.No. 7 seed: June 2, 2005 -- You might not remember this, but Baltimore Orioles reliever B.J. Ryan is in the midst of a dominant three-year stretch -- in which he saves 77 games, posts a 2.04 ERA and strikes out 308 batters over 210 appearances -- when Ortiz steps to the plate with two outs and two runners on in the bottom of the ninth and the Red Sox trailing 4-3. Guess what? Yup, three-run, walk-off home run.No. 3 seed: April 4, 2014 -- On Opening Day at Fenway, Ortiz receives his third World Series ring, plus an additional MVP ring, after hitting .688 with a 1.948 OPS during a World Series win over the Cardinals in which he was named Most Valuable Player.No. 6 seed: June 11, 2006 -- OK, see if you can guess the ending here. Texas Rangers lead 4-2. There are two outs and two runners on in the bottom of the ninth. Akinori Otsuka toes the rubber and tosses two strikes and two balls at Ortiz. Where does his final pitch land?No. 4 seed: Sept. 12, 2015 -- At Tropicana Field, Ortiz belts his 500th career round-tripper in the fifth inning off Tampa Bay Rays starter Matt Moore, becoming just the 27th player to do so. In typical Big Papi excess, its actually his second home run of the game; he had cracked No. 499 off Moore in the first.No. 5 seed: April 5, 2016 -- Ortiz starts his season-long farewell tour with -- what else? -- a home run on his final Opening Day. Ortiz takes Indians righty Trevor Bauer deep in the ninth inning, a two-run blast that pads Bostons lead in a 6-2 win in Cleveland. ' ' '