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NEW YORK -- The best thing young players can do for their basketball careers is not play too much basketball.They should participate in other sports and delay specializing in just basketball until they are at least 14 years old. They should also take at least one day off from organized competition each week and extended time off at least once a year for proper physical and mental recovery.Those were among the guidelines announced Monday by the NBA and USA Basketball to begin Jr. NBA Week. The Jr. NBA is the leagues youth basketball participation program for boys and girls ages 6-14. The research and recommendations come from panels of medical experts, former players, and coaches and administrators throughout basketball.They found that athletes who have the most success played multiple sports at a young age and didnt focus on a specific one until late adolescence.The idea of sampling and participating in other sports does not mean youre getting behind, said Dr. John DiFiori, NBA director of sports medicine and UCLA team physician. They actually provide a strong foundation for success in your sport.LeBron James, perhaps the NBAs best player, played football through his junior year of high school. But those who focus on basketball too soon face some risks that can last well beyond their teen years.Theres a concern that single sport specialization may contribute to injuries and may also contribute to basically loss of interest in the sport from sort of the repetition of incessant participation in one activity, DiFiori said, adding there are cases of young athletes developing overuse injuries specific to a certain sport.NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has made player health one of his biggest concerns, working to create a schedule that allows more time for rest and recovery. The league went further earlier this year by looking into the youth levels.Working groups were created in the areas of health and wellness, playing standards, and curriculum and instruction. Their guidelines stressed the importance of time away from the court, with recommendations on amount of practice and game time, and even amount of sleep.I think sometimes parents and coaches can forget that there are only so many hours in the day and that when you have someone whos going to high school and theyre at school from 8 oclock to 2 oclock, or to 3 oclock and then theyre at practice for a couple of hours and they need time to study, they need time to eat, they need time to commute back and forth to school and practices, they need time to sleep, DiFiori said. They need time to recover and its important that people actually look at that and realize that you cant pack everything into one day and still necessarily have a healthy situation.The guidelines suggest limiting high-density competition, such as tournaments that feature multiple games in a short period of time.DiFiori noted the guidelines apply only to organized competition, saying that individual practice time or pickup games are beneficial. They have been endorsed by numerous youth organizations, athletic apparel companies and supported by the NCAA.Were sending a message to families, young athletes, coaches about rethinking how we do things at the youth level, he said.---Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Briancmahoney Fielder Jones Jersey White Sox . Houston won 3-0 to advance to face New York in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Last in the game, Di Vaio and Romero got into a shoving match with several Houston players. Romero appeared to elbow and kick Houston defender Kofi Sarkodie. David Bote Jersey Cubs . -- New England Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis is retiring after a 16-year career to become the goalie coach for the Los Angeles Galaxy. https://www.discountjerseysonline.com/ted-lyons-jersey-white-sox-829 . Datsyuk will miss Tuesdays game against New Jersey and could be sidelined longer, while Cleary will likely miss at least the next three games. Its been an injury-plagued season for Datsyuk, who has suited up for just 39 games. Mark Grace Jersey Cubs .J. -- Pitcher Carl Pavano is retiring after 14 major league seasons. Joe Cronin Jersey Red Sox . -- Washington Redskins tight end Fred Davis was charged Thursday with driving while intoxicated, a day after he was suspended for an NFL substance-abuse policy violation. FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Devin McCourty had a quick answer for how the New England defense can settle the nerves of fans after last weeks poor performance.Its simple. Weve just got to play better, the defensive captain said Wednesday.Theres nothing I can say to calm that or anything, weve just got to go out there and play better. I think thats what everyone in the locker room and everyone on the defense wants to go out there and do. Theres nothing to say, youve just got to go do it.While attention is being paid to the physical condition of Rob Gronkowski, it is almost easy to forget the defense played so poorly in a 31-24 loss to Seattle on Sunday night. The loss dropped the Patriots to 7-2, and perhaps provided a lesson on what has to be done to keep things on track heading toward the likely postseason berth.It can (be a positive), said McCourty, whose team visits the 49ers (1-8) on Sunday. I think its all up to the players. I think it falls on us to go out there and play better after a loss. I think any type of game, anything you go through adversity-wise, can help you, but its all on how you respond; how you go out there and come back from it.I think that falls on us. Weve been in games where weve won, but we havent particularly played well, and weve learned from those games and the different things we didnt do well in them, and proved that the next week. Now, coming off a loss, its something that we have to improve on, go out there and win and just play better football.This weeks task could be easier -- on paper, anyway. The Niners have lost eight straight after an opening win.But the Niners, with mobile Colin Kaepernick at quarterback, can present another interesting problem for a defense thats been anything but stellar. The 49ers are 29th in the NFL in total offense. But they are seventh in rushing.The Patriots, who allowed 348 passing yards to Russell Wilson last weekk, saw Kaepernick in 2012, and lost to Chip Kellys Eagles last season, giving them some insight on the 49ers.ddddddddddddThey run the ball as much as any team in the league, so that sets up their play action and some of the quarterback movement plays that hes good at, as well as their third-down package, New England coach Bill Belichick said.He has a good group of skill players to work with. The receivers are good, the tight ends are good, the backs are very good. They can move the ball.Still, it all comes down to the Patriots playing better on defense.The club traded linebacker Jamie Collins on the first day of the bye week, and then saw the defense struggle against the Seahawks. Something to prove perhaps?I mean, if wed have played well wed still have something to prove, defensive end Chris Long said. Every week we have something to prove. If you have a mindset any different in this league youre going to get embarrassed because theres good teams every week that you have to play that has weapons. San Francisco certainly has that.Game notes TE Rob Gronkowski sat out Wednesdays practice with what the team said was a chest injury. Gronkowski was briefly staggered in the second quarter Sunday night after taking a hard hit to his chest from safety Earl Thomas, but was able to return to the game. On Monday, Thomas sent best wishes to Gronk via Twitter, calling him One of the best Ive lined up against. Gronkowski responded in his own tweet , saying, The respect is mutual man, you got the best of me on that one. The grind is real, you showed the fans a real football hit.In other Gronkowski family related news, Robs brother, Glenn, was re-signed to the practice squad.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '