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HOUSTON -- Jeremy Lin figured hed be having this kind of news conference in New York. Instead, he was talking about his new deal with the Houston Rockets on Thursday on the same practice court where he worked in virtual anonymity seven months ago before he was waived. Lin became a Rocket again when the Knicks decided not to match Houstons three-year, $25 million offer. "Its been an unbelievable ride," Lin said. "Just a lot of things I didnt expect to happen, in terms of just the way last season went. I still have to kind of remind myself that this is all actually happening, sometimes. But its a huge blessing. I cant believe how it all shaped up and for me to be here right now. Im definitely excited and thankful." Lin said he expected to be re-signed by the Knicks after he electrified the Big Apple last season before he was sidelined by a knee injury. Shortly after the Knicks officially declined to match, Lin was quoted on SI.com as saying, "Honestly, I preferred New York." Lin said the question he answered was set in the context of before the start of the free agency period. "The question was, Going into free agency, which team did you prefer?" Lin said. "Before July 1, I didnt even know what teams were interested in me. But all I was hearing was, Youre going back to New York. At that time, before free agency started, I preferred New York. By the time it came to the offer sheet, I was just excited about both opportunities. "Houston and New York," he said, "I was definitely excited about the possibility to go to both." But probably not as excited as the Rockets were to get him. Houston has missed the playoffs the last three seasons, and when Linsanity skyrocketed in New York, general manager Daryl Morey was kicking himself for waiving him on Christmas Eve. When Lin hit a winning 3-pointer in Toronto on Valentines Day, owner Leslie Alexander called Morey to tersely ask him again why Lin was no longer a Rocket. "He was killing me," Morey said with a smile. "I think one of the reasons Mr. Alexander is a great owner is because were constantly evaluating our past decisions and deciding what did we know at the time? What could we have done better? How can we improve? "People are making a lot of us admitting to our mistake," Morey said. "But the only way to get better is to quickly say, That was a mistake. How can we do better next time?" At the time Lin was released, the Rockets had Goran Dragic and Kyle Lowry on the roster -- two point guards with NBA experience. And who knew what Linsanity would become? "We had very fair reasons to waive him," Morey said. "But the reality is, we shouldnt have." The Knicks didnt initially see his potential, either, dropping him briefly to the developmental league in January. He was recalled in early February and with team floundering at 8-15, coach Mike DAntoni turned to Lin. The 23-year-old undrafted point guard from Harvard scored 25 points in a 99-92 win over New Jersey and a global phenomenon was born. He proved to be more than a one-game wonder, becoming the first player in league history to average 20 points and seven assists in his first five games. Lin jerseys became the leagues top sellers, he made the cover of Sports Illustrated in consecutive weeks and had drinks named for him in New York. He was initially overwhelmed by the media glare. Now, he takes it in stride. He went to dinner with new teammate Chandler Parsons in Houston on Wednesday night and Parsons estimated they were interrupted 15-20 times by fans asking for autographs and photos. "This past year, it took me by surprise and it was just this huge storm," Lin said. "It was kind of baptism by fire. You get thrown into it and youve just got to make adjustments and learn. Thats a lot of what I had to do." While Alexander said the decision to pursue Lin was "all basketball," he acknowledged that he could potentially impact on the Rockets brand in the way that Yao Ming did, expanding its reach in Asia. But hat, Alexander, depends on how good Lin becomes and if the team improves along with him. Lin is American-born, but of Chinese and Taiwanese descent, and the number of Chinese media at the press conference was about equal to the American contingent. "If you dont win, what difference does it make?" Alexander said. "If you get him, and hes not a very good player, you look like a fool. How does that help you in any way?" Theres an added caveat for Lin and the Rockets this season -- the All-Star game will be played in Houston on Feb. 17. Yao was named to eight All-Star teams, largely on the strength of Chinese fans who voted online. "Its great for the city, its great for the fans, its great for everybody," Alexander said of getting Lin. "The sponsors, everybody associated with the team." On the court, though, all Houston really needed was a point guard. The Rockets lost the unrestricted free agent Dragic to Phoenix, then dealt Lowry to Toronto for a first-round pick, made more valuable because it has lottery protection. Lin averaged 14.6 points and 6.2 assists in 35 games (25 starts) for the Knicks last season. His aim is to improve his statistics every year -- and how good they get, not even he would venture to guess. "I dont know what my ceiling is, I dont know what my potential is," he said. "We dont know what the ending is going to be. But Im excited to find out." With Lin in place, the roster is still taking shape. Morey says the team plans to sign Bulls centre Omer Asik to a three-year, $25 million offer sheet on Friday. cheap jerseys . The HSBC Champions, which was won by Ian Poulter on Sunday, is currently the only one of the four World Golf Championship tournaments that isnt fully recognized by the PGA Tour. cheap jerseys us . The referee issued a red card to Camara, so he will be suspended a total of two games. Earthquakes defender Victor Bernardez received a one-game suspension and was fined for endangering the safety of Montreal midfielder Lamar Neagle in the 25th minute of the Impacts 3-1 victory Saturday. BOSTON -- David Ortiz returned to the lineup, Adrian Gonzalez left it and the Red Sox broke a four-game losing streak. It was an eventful night for Bostons top two hitters. Ortiz was back after missing 35 games with a right Achilles strain and had two hits and two RBIs on the first two pitches he saw, sparking Boston to a 4-3 win over the Kansas City Royals on Friday night. But Gonzalez was pulled from the lineup minutes before the game amid reports that he was part of a major trade being discussed with the Los Angeles Dodgers. "We talked for a little bit," Ortiz said. "Hes shocked, like we are a little bit. Adrian wants to be here, thats why he came here, and help this ballclub to win a World Series." Ortiz already has done that twice, in 2004 and 2007. But the Red Sox went 13-22 while he was sidelined as they dropped to 59-66 before beating the Royals "David was awesome," said Andrew Bailey, who earned his first save after being sidelined all season until Aug. 14 following right thumb surgery. "You cant say enough about that guy. And for him to come off the DL and to be such a sparkplug in our offence, he was huge tonight." Pedro Ciriacos two-run double in the seventh inning put Boston ahead 4-3, and Jon Lester continued his surge from a poor first-half of the season with seven solid innings. Lester (8-10) has won his past three starts and seemed fine after leaving with a cramp in his left hamstring with no outs in the top of the eighth. He had thrown three pitches in the inning, all balls. "I should have said something after pitch one or my warmups," he said. Lester, who allowed three runs and six hits, felt improvement in his pitching even before his current winning streak. "Im just winning. Winning cures everything," he said. "Ive been feeling good with the adjustments that weve made. ... I feel like I was headed in the right direction probably five or six starts ago." Ortiz started the Red Sox scoring with a two-run single in the first off Bruce Chen that drove in Ciriaco and Jacoby Ellsbury, who both singled. Then he doubled with two outs in the third but was stranded. "Hes looking good," Chen said. "I just try and make good pitches, but, obviously, hes one of the best hitters in the American League." The Red Sox needed Ortiz with Gonzalez not playing. "I had 10 minnutes" before the game to redo the lineup, Boston manager Bobby Valentine said.dddddddddddd In Los Angeles, first baseman James Loney was pulled from the lineup against the Miami Marlins. Gonzalez was leading the Red Sox with 86 RBIs, 145 hits and 37 doubles and was first in the majors with a .398 batting average with runners in scoring position. They would be involved in a trade that was being discussed that would send right-hander Josh Beckett, left fielder Carl Crawford and infielder Nick Punto to Los Angeles, a baseball official informed of the discussions said, speaking on condition of anonymity because no announcements were made. Beckett (5-11) was scheduled to pitch for Boston in the second game of the four-game series Saturday night. Ciriaco continued his surprisingly hot hitting since being called up on July 6 from Triple-A Pawtucket. He went 4 for 6 in a 14-13 loss on Thursday night to the Los Angeles Angels, his third four-hit game of the season, and went 2 for 4 on Friday night. Trailing 3-2, Boston began the seventh with a walk to Mauro Gomez, who started in place of Gonzalez. Kevin Herrera (1-2) replaced Chen and gave up a single to Mike Aviles, sending Gomez to second. Scott Podsednik than sacrificed the runners to second and third before Ciriaco blooped his double into short left field. "The leadoff walk in the seventh and then two 0-2 hits did us in," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "The pitch to Ciriaco was actually not a bad pitch, but its 0-2, you just threw him a good fastball and you come back with a changeup down and in and he hit it." The Royals had tied the game at 2 in the third on a leadoff homer by Eric Hosmer, his 12th of the year, and an RBI double by Alex Gordon. They went ahead 3-2 in the fourth on a bases-loaded infield single by Johnny Giavotella after a walk to Mike Moustakas, a single by Bryan Pena and a walk to Hosmer. "Hes obviously not having his kind of a year but hes still got great stuff," Gordon said of Lester. "I thought putting up those runs against him was pretty impressive. We just couldnt finish it." Notes: Jeremy Guthrie (2-3) is scheduled to pitch for Kansas City on Saturday night. ... In their past 16 games, Boston is 5-11 and Kansas City is 10-6. ... The win was Bostons first in a one-run game at home since June 21 when it beat Miami 6-5. ' ' '