This preseason, the NBA is hosting NBA Europe Live presented by BBVA, during which the Boston Celtics will play Fenerbahce Ulker in Istanbul, Turkey and EA7 Emporio Armani in Milan, Italy and the Dallas Mavericks will play Alba Berlin in Berlin, Germany and FC Barcelona in Barcelona, Spain.

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The San Francisco 49ers will likely be the favorites when they host the Minnesota Vikings in the first preseason game this year.

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Replacement refs, which have been culled from lower-tier college leagues (and maybe even the Lingerie League), went through their first series of preseason games this past weekend.

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Creaky Candlestick Park has endured more embarrassment than joy in recent seasons even this year, a preseason game versus Oakland was marred by violence, and the lights conked out during Monday Night Football against Pittsburgh but rookie coach Jim Harbaugh has conjured a trace of that long-dormant magic.

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But given that teams can start their preseason camps later this week and all parties want to ensure close to a complete roster when their camps open, expect a mosh pit.

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This year Mr. Donellan will be limited in some of the base-line preseason testing that is especially critical to hockey.

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This means potentially 2, 880 helmets would need to be equipped to cover every single player during the preseason, and 1, 696 during the season.

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