EL SEGUNDO, Calif. - Kobe Bryant is officially done for the season after having surgery to repair his torn right rotator cuff Wednesday.The Los Angeles Lakers also made it official that their superstar doesnt believe his career is finished.Bryant is expected to need nine months to recover from his third straight season-ending injury. If Bryant meets that timetable, he could return to basketball shortly before the start of the 2015-16 season — and the Lakers expect to see him in purple and gold again.Neal ElAttrache and Steve Lombardo performed the two-hour surgery at the Kerlan Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles.I expect Kobe to make a full recovery, and if all goes as expected, he should be ready for the start of the season, ElAttrache said in a statement provided by the Lakers.The Lakers formally declared Bryant out for the year by acknowledging the expected recovery time from his injury, but also effectively confirmed he wont retire and will attempt to play his 20th season in the fall. Bryant, who will be 37 years old this summer, is the NBAs highest-paid player at $23.5 million this season, and he is under contract for $25 million next year.In my mind right now, hes coming back next year, unless he tells me something different, coach Byron Scott said at practice Wednesday.Scott already had acknowledged Bryant was highly unlikely to play again this season for the flailing Lakers (12-34), who will match their franchise record for futility if they lose their 10th consecutive game when the Chicago Bulls visit Thursday. But if Los Angeles finishes with a top-five draft pick, the club wont have to give its first-round choice to Phoenix until next year to complete its brutal trade for Steve Nash in 2012.Bryant hurt his right shoulder while dunking last week in New Orleans, deciding on surgery shortly afterward. He is the third-leading scorer in league history and a five-time NBA champion.Bryant averaged 22.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.6 assists in 35 games, but made a career-worst 37.3 per cent of his shots in a wildly inconsistent 19th season. He also passed Michael Jordan for third place on the NBAs career scoring list, trailing only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone.Bryants popularity hasnt waned during his injury-plagued stretch. He was voted to the All-Star game for the 17th time this month, and he is still the Lakers public face despite his recent prolonged absences from the court.Bryant missed the 2013 playoffs after tearing his Achilles tendon late in the regular season, and he played in just six games last season before breaking a bone near his left knee. Although he has played through innumerable injuries in the past, the accumulated wear from nearly two decades in the NBA has caught up to him.Bryant sat out eight games to rest in the past month, and he played under a strict minutes limit. It wasnt enough to protect him from another major injury.Bryant joins Nash, first-round pick Julius Randle and swingman Xavier Henry with season-ending injuries already for the Lakers. Tampa Bay Rays Shirts . Algeria led 3-0 at halftime, but withstood a stronger South Korean second half performance to claim its first World Cup win since 1982 and move into second place in Group H with one match left to play. Defeat for South Korea means it must now beat already-qualified Belgium to stand a chance of progressing to the knockout stages. Emilio Pagan Jersey . It will be their 15th head-to-head meeting and fourth in the post-season (Sunday at 2pm et/11am pt on CTV) and for his part, Brady isnt downplaying just how big the game is for him. "Im excited - Its everything you could ask for as an athlete," the New England Patriots quarterback told WEEI Radio in Boston on Monday. https://www.cheapraysonline.com/1096i-bl...ersey-rays.html. -- Theres something about playing on Orlandos floor lately that seems to bring out the best in the Dallas Mavericks. Brent Honeywell Rays Jersey . LOUIS -- To stay a step ahead of goaltenders, T. Charlie Morton Rays Jersey .com) - The Miami Heat will try to close out the Charlotte Bobcats Monday night in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference first round series. ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Someone has to score first and for the first time in eight games the Minnesota Wild beat their opponent to the punch. Jason Pominville and Charlie Coyle scored goals 57 seconds apart early in the third period to break open a defensive standoff and lift the Wild to a 2-0 victory over the Philadelphia on Monday night. "Wed been giving up the first goal so many times lately," Wild coach Mike Yeo said. "I figure if were not going to score it, dont let them." Josh Harding made 21 saves for this third shutout of the season. "Better start," Yeo said. "And again, thats something weve talked about." In their previous seven games, the Wild had immediately fallen behind and were outscored 15-4 in the first two periods. They were 2-4-1 in those games. Although it took a while for the Wild to get anything going offensively, they effectively kept the Flyers locked down. Playing without leading goal scorer Vincent Lecavalier (back spasms), Philadelphia had only six shots on goal and no real scoring chances in the first 33 minutes. The Wild didnt really, either, until Pominville collected Mikko Koivus pass in the crease and flipped it past Ray Emery 3:52 into the third period. Koivu was skating around the back of the net when he spun and passed behind his defender. "I didnt know if it was Poms or Zach (Parise), but once I saw someone was there, I tried to get it on tape and I did," Koivu said. "Obviously he made a good shot, getting it up high. It was pretty tight for him. Good shot." On the ensuing shift, Coyle tapped a rebound off Jared Spurgeons slap shot into an empty corner at 4:11 to make it 2-0. "It took a while, but we know if we stick to our system, were going to break them down, and thats what happened," Coyle said. It was an impressive and unexpected flurry in a game that had played out as the statistics predicted. When the puck droppped, the Wilds 17 even-strength goals allowed in 21 games led the NHL; and the Flyers had allowed two or fewer goals in 10 of their past 14 games.dddddddddddd Plus, the Wild had scored only six goals in their five previous games (1-3-1). But Minnesota controlled most of the action, even if its chances were minimal, to improve to 11-3-2 at home. Harding improved to 11-1-0 at Xcel Energy Center this season and 32-10-2 all-time despite playing at a disadvantage for much of the third period. He faced down two power plays to nurse a 2-0 lead - once going corner to corner to dive in front of a point-blank shot by Jakub Voracek - then stopped two shots after Flyers coach Craig Berube pulled Emery with 3:22 left in regulation. "Its unbelievable this year, so many chances," Voracek said. "I hit a couple posts, a couple good saves. Last year everything went under the bar. ... This year I think its going to go in and then something happens. That was a great save by Harding." The Flyers were trying to crack .500 for the first time this season after rebounding from a 1-7-0 start. Theyre 11-6-2 since a 4-1 victory over the New York Rangers Oct. 24, but fell to 1-10-1 this season when the opponent scores first. NOTES: Flyers C Vincent Lecavalier (back spasms) was a scratch Monday. He entered the game with a team-leading nine goals. ... Wild D Mathew Dumba, 19, was one of 25 players invited to Canadas Junior National Team camp on Monday. The only invitee on an NHL roster, Dumba would have to be loaned out by the Wild. Thats likely barring an injury on Minnesotas blue line. Camp is scheduled to begin Dec. 12. ... Peter Luukko left his job as president and chief operating office of Comcast-Spectacor, which owns the Flyers, on Monday. Luukko will be replaced on an interim basis by Dave Scott, who recently retired as executive vice-president and CFO. ... The Flyers have killed 14 consecutive power plays. ' ' '