Vorstellungsrunde » Chicagos rout here on Christmas Day. "We

AUSTIN, Texas -- A Texas appeals court has rejected Lance Armstrongs attempts to block an arbitration panel from reviewing $12 million in bonuses paid to him by a company that wants its money back, a setback for the cyclist who is fighting multiple legal battles that could strip him of his personal fortune. The Dallas-based Fifth Court of Appeals temporarily halted the case at Armstrongs request in March, but ruled on Thursday it doesnt have jurisdiction at this stage of an arbitration matter. A spokesman for SCA Promotions said the ruling will allow the arbitration to proceed. The ruling was a defeat for Armstrong but not a final one. State law will allow him to appeal any final judgment if the panel rules against him. SCA Promotions wants to reopen a 2006 settlement it paid to Armstrong, and sued the cyclist after his 2013 admission to doping during his career to win the Tour de France. The arbitration panel that first approved the settlement agreed to reconsider the case, prompting Armstrong to ask the state courts to intervene. Armstrong attorney Tim Herman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursdays ruling. SCA and Armstrong have been battling since 2005, when the company first tried to withhold the bonus money and sought to prove he doped. Despite producing some of the most serious doping allegations at the time, SCA ultimately agreed to pay Armstrong. Armstrongs attorneys insist state law doesnt allow SCA to reopen the original settlement, which included a clause that said "no party may challenge, appeal or attempt to set aside" the payment and that it was "fully and forever binding." But given Armstrongs doping admission and SCAs claims that it reached the settlement only because of fraudulent efforts by Armstrong, the arbitration panel agreed to consider the companys case for repayment. The appeals court said it cant step in until there is a final judgment from the arbitration panel. "As a general matter, an arbitration must be complete before appellate review is appropriate," the court wrote in its opinion. Armstrong has faced several lawsuits since admitting last year that he used steroids and other performance-enhancers to win the Tour de France every year from 1999-2005. He has settled cases with the London-based Sunday Times and Nebraska-based Acceptance Insurance. Armstrong settled with Acceptance, which paid him $3 million in bonuses similar to SCA, hours before he was scheduled to be questioned under oath. He also is facing a federal whistleblower lawsuit, as the government wants to recover more than $30 million the U.S. Postal Service paid to Armstrongs teams. Potential penalties in that case could be as high as $100 million. Penguins Jerseys China . Now, he might be their hottest pitcher. Lobstein earned up his first major league victory Sunday night, allowing one run in 5 2-3 innings in the Tigers 6-1 win over the San Francisco Giants. Cheap Penguins Jerseys . Aaron Hill and Cliff Pennington hit home runs in the first inning for the Diamondbacks, who beat the Miami Marlins 3-2 on Friday night. https://www.cheappenguinsjersey.com/ .Y. - Everyone expected Clayton Kershaw to pitch a shutout, and he did — a unanimous choice for the NL Cy Young Award. Pittsburgh Penguins Shirts . No pretty goals on this night, just get to the front of the net and fight for a chance. Pittsburgh Penguins Gear . Bayern winger Franck Ribery marked his league return after recovering from a cracked rib by scoring two goals and setting up two more as the league leaders inflicted the heaviest home defeat on Bremen in the Bundesliga.NEW YORK -- Jason Collins started walking from the bench to the scorers table, fans rising out of their seats all around Barclays Center. He committed a foul five seconds after entering. His only shot barely hit the rim. Collins performance may not have been pretty, but everything else was great. Collins played the final minutes of a winning home debut with the Brooklyn Nets, who cooled off the Chicago Bulls with a 96-80 victory Monday night. "It was cool. It was a lot of fun to go into the game," Collins said. "The most important thing was that we got the win. Chicagos been playing really well as of late and for us to come out and really be -- I think we played more physical than they did tonight." Finally playing at home more than a week after returning to the NBA as the leagues first openly gay player, Collins checked in to a standing ovation from a sellout crowd of 17,732 that included former NBA Commissioner David Stern with 2:41 remaining. He grabbed a rebound and had one of the Nets NBA season high-tying 19 steals in their third straight victory. Deron Williams scored 20 points and Joe Johnson had 19 for the Nets (29-29), who got back to .500 for the first time since they were 2-2 after beating Utah on Nov. 5. D.J. Augustin scored 16 points off the bench for the sloppy Bulls, who turned it over 28 times, leading to 30 Nets points, and had their four-game winning streak snapped. The Bulls had a franchise-low three turnovers in their 109-90 victory over the New York Knicks on Sunday and had won nine of 10. But the Nets were too good in this one, building a series of comfortable leads and making the only intrigue down the stretch whether Collins would get in during his first home appearance for the Nets since Jan. 29, 2008, against Milwaukee in East Rutherford, N.J. A chant of "Jason Collins! Jason Collins!" broke out while Williams was shooting a free throw with the Nets leading 90-73 with 3:27 remaining. Fans finally got their wish less than a minute later -- though not because coach Jason Kidd was listening to them. "No, the game was out of hand, so I wanted to get those guys some rest," he said. "D-Will was shooting free throws. Couldnt put Twin in at that time, so I told him after the free throws that he would come in." Collins original 10-day contrract will expire Tuesday and the Nets plan to sign him to a second deal on Wednesday.dddddddddddd A Nets player from 2001-08, he has appeared in all five games since he signed on Feb. 23. Paul Pierce and Shaun Livingston each scored 14 points for the Nets, who were without starting centre Kevin Garnett for a second straight game because of back spasms. "Mentally, the Bulls have really had our numbers," Pierce said. "To be honest, if I was them Id feel like when they come play the Nets, they feel like they could beat us every time. I think the guys really had pride tonight to say, You know were tired of getting pushed around by the Bulls." Joakim Noah managed just 10 points, six rebounds and one assist for the Bulls, a day after finishing with 13 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds in his fifth career triple-double. The All-Star centre rolled his right ankle early in the second half of that game and said it hurt after the game, but he was determined to play Monday in his hometown. The Bulls had dominated the first two meetings and beaten the Nets four straight times, but Brooklyn controlled this one most of the way in improving to 12-2 at home since Chicagos rout here on Christmas Day. "We smashed them in the mouth twice, its never going to be easy to come in to tough-minded team and do it again," Bulls forward Taj Gibson said. The Nets scored the first eight points, the last one on Williams free throw after Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau screamed his way to a technical foul after calling time. Their lead grew to 15, but the Bulls trimmed it to 27-18 by the end of the first quarter. Brooklyn led 50-42 at halftime, and Chicago started the second half just as bad as the first. The Nets scored the first seven to take a 57-42 lead when Williams set up Mason Plumlee for a dunk. "I think we had all intentions to play hard, but like I say, it didnt show," Augustin said. "Being down early, you cant come start the game down, you cant start the second half down, so that was our big mistakes, and then the turnovers killed us." NOTES: The Nets 19 steals were their most since finishing with 20 against Indiana on March 21, 1989. ... Brooklyn hadnt scored more than 23 points in a period against Chicago this season and surpassed that in both the first (27) and third (26). ' ' '