Hawks center Dwight Howard was ejected late in the fourth quarter of a key early-season Eastern Conference game in Charlotte?after throwing an elbow at the head of Hornets center Cody Zeller.Friday nights game, a 100-96 Hawks loss, turned with 5:38 remaining when Howard delivered an intentional elbow to Zellers face and received a flagrant foul 2.Howard, who had 10 points and 18 rebounds after missing the previous game due to a quad injury, had been a key factor up until that point, but the Hawks seemed to collapse without him. Atlanta led by three at the time of Howards ejection. The Hornets scored the next nine points and went on to snap Atlantas six-game winning streak.Before the possession that ended with the hit on Zeller, Howard appeared to get frustrated with him at the other end of the court when he got boxed out on a free throw.It wasnt like I tried to hit him in the face, Howard said after the game, but my job is to protect my house at all costs. I am making no apologies for it. I cant do nothing but live with it.Asked if he thought the foul was flagrant, Howard responded, Its basketball.Zeller said after the game he didnt think Howards elbow to the face was a dirty play.I have taken a lot of hard hits with two older brothers, Zeller said. I knew it was going to be a physical game. But it was a huge play in the game because they couldnt go to him late in the game and we went on a run.Paul Millsap, who led the Hawks with 22 points and 13 rebounds, said the ejection fueled the home crowd.Plays like that are momentum shifts, Millsap said. It kind of sparked them. They took that and added fuel to the fire.Information from The Associated Press was included in this report. St.Louis Blues Gear . Sgt. Eric ONeal says most of the arrests at Monday nights game were for public drunkenness, though one person was taken into custody on suspicion of trying to steal a seat from the stadium. Stitched Blues Jerseys . Nigeria beat surprise package Ethiopia 2-0 in the second leg of their playoff for a comfortable 4-1 aggregate victory. Victor Moses converted a 20th-minute penalty after an Ethiopian handball, and Victor Obinna made certain of Nigerias place in Brazil with his powerful free kick in the 82nd at UJ Esuene Stadium. https://www.cheapblues.com/ . The Dutchmans tenure got off to a poor start when referee Guido Winkmann awarded a penalty within two minutes for Niklas Starks clumsy challenge on Alexandru Maxim. Blues Jerseys 2021 .J. -- Pitcher Carl Pavano is retiring after 14 major league seasons. St.Louis Blues Shirts . Kiriasis and brakeman Franziska Fritz finished two runs in one minute 55.41 seconds -- a mere 0.01 seconds ahead of Meyers and Lolo Jones, who likely bolstered her Olympic hopes by helping give USA-1 a huge push in the second heat. CLEVELAND -- Coco Crisps return to Cleveland moved him from last place to first and brought him back to where he began his career.Cleveland acquired Crisp from Oakland for a minor leaguer Wednesday. The Indians lead the AL Central while the Athletics are last in the West -- but the trade means much more to the switch-hitting outfielder.The 36-year-old Crisp is returning to the team he broke into the majors with in 2002, a day he says, seems like it was just yesterday. He remembers where his old locker was located and where his former teammates had their lockers.Crisp arrived at Progressive Field at 11:30 a.m. Friday for the Indians night game against Miami.Coming back in here and not feeling out of place is great, he said. You walk in here and youre familiar with the way the clubhouse is laid out, where everythings at. Its not like I have to walk around here and search out new areas.Crisp is even staying at the same hotel in downtown Cleveland he lived in when he was first joined the Indians, which brought back another memory.There was a guy out front who said, `as it should be, Crisp said. Every time I lleft the hotel hed open up the door and hed say that to me.dddddddddddd Im back there again, just like when I got called up. The only bad part is that guys not there. I wanted to know what hes saying nowadays. I kind of miss that guy.Crisp had no idea at the time what those wise words meant, but may have finally figured it out 14 years later.Being older I can probably make some sense out of it, he said. Im here and this is exactly where youre supposed to be. Everything is how it should be.Crisp is feeling like a rookie again. The Indians have led the division since June 4 and own the second-best record in the AL.This is a special case in its own because theyre playing so well -- I should say we now, he said. To be involved in a playoff run and a team thats playing so well like this is special, especially coming from a team that hasnt done so well this year. It brings a little bit of light to this year for me.Crisp batted .234 with 11 homers and 47 RBI in 102 games with Oakland. ' ' '