around periods, particularly in China, where tampons are hard to come by. Never mind the cultural taboos about

MINNEAPOLIS -- Brandon Roy gave it everything he had to try to resurrect a playing career derailed by chronic knee problems. He had platelet-rich plasma therapy on his knees last summer to get himself in position to sign a deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves. He worked hard in training camp to get his body in shape for the NBA after missing the previous year when he retired from Portland. And when the knee issues came up again early in the season, Roy had one more arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in a last-ditch effort to get on the court one last time. In the end, his knees wouldnt co-operate. And now his career may have come to a painful close once and for all. The Timberwolves waived Roy on Friday, which could mark the end of an All-Star career that was shortened by knee problems. "We wish Brandon and his family all the best in the future," new Timberwolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders said in a statement issued by the team. Roy retired before last season when he couldnt alleviate the bone-on-bone pain in his knees that stopped the three-time All-Star from being the smooth, playmaking shooting guard that made him a franchise cornerstone in six seasons with the Blazers. But after getting some time to rest and trying the same advanced procedure that Kobe Bryant and others have used in the past, Roy felt good enough to try a comeback. He signed a two-year deal worth more than $10 million to join the Timberwolves, who were desperately in need of a big, shot-making shooting guard to play alongside Ricky Rubio in the backcourt. After a promising training camp, the knee issues quickly returned. Roy first was hurt again in a collision in a preseason game with the Indiana Pacers. He played five games at the start of the regular season, but that was all he could manage. He had arthroscopic surgery in December and tried several other methods of rehabilitation and therapy as the season progressed. Each time he thought he was getting close to returning, the pain would return. The 28-year-old Roy averaged 5.8 points and 4.6 assists in his five games with the Wolves. The second season of his deal was not guaranteed, making Roys release inevitable. The Wolves will get roughly $5.3 million in salary cap room by making the move, which will help Saunders pursue other alternatives for shooting guard this summer, which remains the teams biggest need. Free agents like O.J. Mayo or Kevin Martin, who played for coach Rick Adelman in Houston, could be possibilities, and the Wolves will also consider trading for a veteran and using their two first-round draft picks to improve its shooting from the perimeter. The Wolves will be looking to add size to the position after using Luke Ridnour, J.J. Barea and Alexey Shved, all on the smaller side, at shooting guard for most of the season.Buddy Hield Jersey . Now, correct me if Im wrong but I saw one official distinctly pointing at the net indicating a good goal but after an inconclusive review they overturned the goal. Shouldnt the ruling on the ice (good goal) stand after an inconclusive review? Why was this overturned? James Veaudry Pembroke, ON -- Hey Kerry, Youll get a lot of these, but why was the Montreal goal against Nashville Saturday night overturned? Eller puts the puck on net and the on ice ruling from the ref behind the net is a Montreal goal. Buddy Hield Kings Jersey .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres have recalled forward Kevin Porter and defenceman Chad Ruhwedel from the minors as part of a five-player roster shuffle made by the NHLs worst team. http://www.nbakingsonline.com/Customized/ . Louis Blues. Shane Hnidy joins Brian Munz for the broadcast on TSN 1290 Radio at 7pm ct. Marvin Bagley III Jersey . Barcelona also left injured defenders Carles Puyol, Javier Mascherano and Jordi Alba out of its squad for the trip to Glasgow. That means that Marc Bartra will probably start again in the centre of the defence alongside Gerard Pique. Oscar Robertson Jersey . Woodson said during a radio interview Thursday that the Knicks Carmelo Anthony doesnt get the same calls as other superstars.In November, espnWs weekly essay series will focus on giving.I first heard of Chinese Olympic swimmer Fu Yuanhui when someone on Facebook posted an article about her with the caption: I want to be her best friend. I winced and moved on. For days, I did not click on the link, until I saw even more people posting about her -- always with the same words. Shes amazing. I love her. Too real.Oh, no, I thought. Oh no. I knew exactly where this was going. But I clicked anyway.When I was in elementary school, I was the only Asian in my grade. On the playground, my classmates pretended to be Chinese, saying things like ching-chong-chaw and doing kung-fu. At my desk, I seethed but could not explain why -- only that it came from some deep feeling that my classmates were pretending to be Chinese the way kids pretend to be aliens or superheroes.One afternoon, my classmates had gathered around me, fascinated by my eyes. Theyre different, one of them announced, and then they all stepped in closer. I wondered if I had became a caricature by being fully Asian and half-Chinese.When I grew older, the narrative changed. After college, I spent some time studying Chinese in China, in an attempt to understand my mothers culture. The majority of my male classmates had arrived on a different quest: They wanted a girlfriend.Chinese women are beautiful, one of my classmates told me. He handed me his phone. The contacts list was filled with the names of women hed met clubbing. The album was packed with photographs of him wrapped around each of the women hed met, their faces green and silver from the flashing lights of the clubs.I cant speak the language, I hate the food here and I miss my family, he told me as he swiped through each picture so quickly the faces blurred together, but Im not going home until I get a girlfriend.Theyre different from American women, my apartment mate explained when I asked him about the allure. Theyre more feminine and more submissive. Perfect wife material.Chinese women had evolved to mean sexy. I couldnt decide if that was better or worse. Really, it was just about the same as being a caricature, but now served with a side of submission and breaasts.ddddddddddddith all of that in mind, I read all the stories and watched interviews of Fu Yuanhui, expecting a celebrity swimmer who was polite and poster beautiful.The unexpected happened: I too fell in love. I, too, wanted Fu Yuanhui to be my best friend. She wasnt poster-pretty. She was something far better: She was human.When Fu Yuanhui heard shed come in third at the 100-meter backstroke finals at the Rio Olympics, she gasped for air, stuttered and then mangled her lanyard from the sheer joy of winning. Her bubbling, over-the-top delight with life was infectious. In the photographs, while other athletes posed for the camera, smiles frozen in place, she clutched her medal mouth open in a silent roar of happiness. She made faces, grinned maniacally.The moment I truly fell for her was during the womens 4x100-meter medley relay when she emerged from the pool doubled over in pain. Her period left her feeling weak, she told the reporter, and she didnt swim her best. Then, she apologized for her performance and moved on.Never mind the cultural taboo that exists around periods, particularly in China, where tampons are hard to come by. Never mind the cultural taboos about periods that exist around the world. Fu Yuanhui swam in pain; she felt like she underperformed; she apologized; and that was all simply all there was to it.Fu Yuanhui didnt give us pretty, she gave us joy so fierce you could feel its power blasting through the camera lens. She didnt give us pitch-perfect celebrity-speak molded to showcase her best self to the press. She gave us herself, her incandescent happiness, her earthly pain.She showed us its possible to be loved by the world for simply being yourself. And for this, we loved her, for this we continue to love her: Fu Yuanhui, champion swimmer, champion human.Shalene Gupta is currently working on a novel about growing up Chinese-Indian in Minnesota. A former Fortune reporter, with an M.S. from Columbia Journalism School, she is currently a freelance writer living in Boston. Follow her @ShaleneGupta ' ' '