IRVINE, Calif. -- Christian Cirese and Cam Fowler have known each other for about 20 minutes, but the NHL player and the 8-year-old Orange County resident have already formed a bond that is as heartwarming as it is unexpected.The Anaheim Ducks defenseman peers intently at racks of socks and shoes in a local Target.What size does Christian wear?Does he like this brand? The color?If not, they can look at another, Fowler insists as they move from aisle to aisle.Later, while Fowlers girlfriend, Jasmine Maggard, and Christians 17-year-old sister, Heather, are checking out gifts for Heather, a high school senior, Fowler waits patiently outside the changing room door to make sure all of the articles of clothing picked out by and for Christian fit him perfectly.Fowler just turned 25. He does not have any kids. He has two younger sisters who are in their teens but, generally speaking, doesnt usually have much to do with youngsters.So he was surprised to find himself so immersed in the experience of shopping with his new pals.I ended up having more of a relationship with them maybe than I expected, Fowler said. They kind of opened up, and Christian was making me laugh the whole time. What was cool to me was the relationship that Heather and Christian had. He was picking out clothes for her, she was making sure he was OK, fixing his hair and stuff. That was very cool.Maggard agreed. It was like we had known these kids forever. But we just met them, she added.This outing is the first time that Fowler, the 12th overall pick in the 2010 draft, has taken part in the Ducks annual shopping excursion with The Wooden Floor, a nonprofit organization in Orange County that provides after-school programs to help low-income kids prepare for higher education through the arts.By the end of the day, Fowler is sharing tips with Heather about how she might relieve stress before a dance performance, and Christian is holding a microphone for an interview Fowler does with the Ducks in-house media group.I told her I listen to some music. I like to take deep breaths, Fowler said. It really seemed to resonate with her.In some ways Heather and Christian are unusual among the kids connected to The Wooden Floor. Theirs is a two-parent family, and their father works two jobs to support the familys four children. All six members of their family share a two-bedroom apartment in the Anaheim area.Next spring, Heather -- who is in her eighth year at the program -- will graduate from Valencia High School in Placentia and, with assistance from The Wooden Floor, will attend college. She will be the first in her family to do so.At first it was definitely scary, she said of the prospect of heading off to college. But now Im excited. Im planning to go to a community college first and then transfer into a four-year [program]. The medical field has always been my favorite thing, so I want go into that.NHL players have a long history of giving back to their respective communities, and frankly, their efforts often fly under the radar. But if you peek behind the curtain and see how these events come together and the impact they have, youll learn quickly that oftentimes its not the financial commitment of players -- although that certainly is important -- but the investment of time, effort and, on a day like this, emotion, that shows how meaningful these kinds of moments can be for everyone involved.Us doing it as a team is very cool, but I think that should be the back end of the story, Fowler said. It should be about the kids and the experience for them. So my main focus was on them today.In some ways, the Target store in this Irvine shopping mall had the look of a demolition derby-turned-scavenger hunt as the kids from The Wooden Floor paired up with Ducks players and their wives or girlfriends and other volunteers to fill out shopping lists that included necessities -- and, of course, a few toys.Other shoppers craned their necks to see what was causing the commotion, as red plastic Target shopping carts brimming with goodies careened around the store, piloted by?Kevin Bieksa, Ryan Kesler, John Gibson, Jakob Silfverberg and Fowler.The shirts, shoes, Lego Star Wars and Nerf weaponry that ended up in the various shopping carts might well be the only gifts these children get this holiday season, said The Wooden Floors CEO Dawn Reese, who also noted that the shopping spree and the programs holiday party are sometimes the only fun activity on many of the kids holiday schedules.More than 90 percent of the 375 kids The Wooden Floor helps annually with tutoring and college-prep assistance -- as well as crisis intervention and counseling six days a week -- come from low-income or extremely low-income families.They have to navigate a lot of challenges, especially toward higher-education goals that we have for them, Reese said.And so, sure, getting some cool things is a part of the equation.But will the kids remember the Batman caps or will they recall instead veteran Antoine Vermette regaling them with stories of having to cover his ears and eyes because former teammate Anton Volchenkov insisted on watching horror movies all night long when they were on the road?[The players] really uplift them and really empower them. We do that too, but this is just something special, when a stranger goes into your life and puts focus and attention on you. Theyre kind of like, Wow, whats this all about, Reese said. It makes you feel very proud, so we hope that pride then follows them in all parts of their life when they leave today.As the kids get ready to jump back on the bus that ferried them to the mall, there are hugs and pictures and autographs from the players. Its been only a couple of hours since they met, but somehow it seems like theyve been friends much, much longer. Cheap Air Jordan 3 Retro . Its an influence in football and a big part of the game. Discount Air Jordan 3 Retro . Cuban testified Thursday that he was upset when the companys CEO told him news that would reduce the value of his shares, for which hed paid $7.5 million. But he said he did nothing improper when he sold those shares over the next two days. http://www.cheapairjordan3retro.com/ . -- An ugly goal by Nick Bonino helped the Anaheim Ducks overcome the defensive-minded Phoenix Coyotes on a night when their ragged power play continued to struggle. Pink Air Jordan 3 Retro . Laudrup revealed Thursday he was notified of his dismissal in "the briefest of letters which gave no reasons why such hasty and final action was deemed necessary. White Air Jordan 3 Retro . With the short-handed Warriors needing help from someone -- anyone -- to stop a three-game skid, ONeal returned from right knee and groin injuries that had sidelined him for four games and put up season highs with 18 points and eight rebounds. It was just enough to help lift Golden State to a 102-101 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night.Svetlana Kuznetsovas hard-fought 3-6 6-2 7-6 victory over Karolina Pliskova maintained her winning run at the WTA Finals in Singapore. Despite having never progressed past the group stage of the season-ending tournament on five previous occasions, a second victory of the week has given her the best possible chance of progress to the last four. Most of those following the season finale of the WTA Tour will have given this match only a cursory glance, awaiting the more tempting fixture of Garbine Muguruza and Agnieszka Radwanska, but those who tuned in were rewarded with a lengthy battle, and compelling comeback story. This year, Kuznetsova qualified at the last possible moment, scraping into the draw with a title defence in Moscow and arriving as an outsider. Just as she did in her opening match of the event, during which she came from a match point down to topple reigning champion Agnieszka Radwanska, the Russian discarded the form book, and fought hard for a well-deserved victory. Kuznetsova secured qualification for the Tour Finals by retaining her title at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow After a poor start, allowing Pliskova to tear into a one set lead, Kuznetsova could have gone one of two ways: clearing her mind and staging an improbable comeback, or crying at the change of ends and hacking off her own hair. She chose the former, levelling the pairs head-to-head with a win which places her at the top of the White Group in Singapore. In case you missed it Kuznetsova cuts off her own hair en route to Radwanska upset Over three sets of wonderful shot-making, the pair traded blows, their similar games producing some big serves, deft finishes at the net, and intelligent wrong footing of the other.Pliskova, in particular, was reading the game beautifully, frequently setting up an open expanse of court into which to play an easy winner. Elsewhere in Singapore Kerber remains undefeated, and Keys records maiden victoryy The world No 5 has matured significantly over the past couple of seasons, most notably in developing fluid movement belying her height, and a fearsome weapon in her cross-court forehand.ddddddddddddliskova dominated the first set, Kuznetsova the second, and - as both players noticeably tired - the third became a draining affair, littered with errors, double faults, and misdirected net play. The Russian was swiftly up 4-1 in the final set, before her opponent wrested the match back under control, gifting herself the chance to level the fixture.A lengthy deuce - punctuated with several crucial net cords - was eventually seized by Kuznetsova, breaking down Pliskovas game with a series of unreturnable shots down the line. Karolina Pliskova of Czech Republic won just two fewer points than Kuznetsova in a hard-fought match Just when the result appeared settled, the youngster broke back, lashing several breathtaking groundstrokes past her flagging opponent to level the match at five all.A break, and then a break back: as the clock showed two hours, the match segued into a war of attrition, the scores levelled, and a tie break was ushered in. Watch NOW TV Watch Sky Sports for just ￡6.99. No contract. Two match points slipped from Kuznetsovas grasp, as she faltered at 6-3, before an unrelenting Pliskova took the scoreline to 6-6 - levelling, not only the tie break, but the entire match at 94 points apiece.Experience told, however, and the Russian - who had fought so very hard to appear in Singapore at all - was not prepared to relinquish the victory. With a startlingly accurate cross-court backhand, she secured the tiebreak 8-6, falling to the ground in elation. 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