| Category | Men |
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| Created | 2014-12-19 | ||||
| Owner | krstking2 | ||||
| Title | The New York Giants are not only back in the playoff hunt | ||||
| About me | TORONTO – There is still a long ways to go for a Raptors team that drew rave reviews following their first full day of training camp. Nate Allen Black Jersey. There is nearly a month left in camp, eight exhibition contests around the corner and 82 regular season games ahead of them. This was one day. Still, after a 2012-13 season laden with disappointment, the team will happily take the small victories wherever and whenever they come. The end goal is far greater, but this is a start. "Very high level," coach Dwane Casey said of his teams effort following the first of two practices Tuesday afternoon. "We had a lot of little mistakes but guys are playing hard, diving on the floor, knocking the crap out of each other and thats what we need. "Well clean up the little things." Although the majority of Caseys team has been in Toronto for a few weeks now participating in individual and player-organized workouts, Tuesday marked the first day that coaches could facilitate an actual practice. Not wasting any time, they held two. Despite the long day, the team got through it unscathed and Casey was impressed with the conditioning of his players, although he did note some expected fatigue throughout the afternoon. As expected, there was an immediate emphasis placed on defence after the team regressed on that end of the floor a year ago. "[Defence] was a big focus," said Rudy Gay, who is in camp with the Raptors for the first time after opening the previous seven seasons with Memphis. "Its just picking up your level. Defence is all about competitiveness and as long as we stay competitive and also stay true to our principles well be a good defence team." Casey estimated that 90 percent of the days contact drills were defensive in nature and anticipates that will mostly be the case for the remainder of this week and perhaps into next. Not surprisingly, the tone was set by one of the newest Raptors: spark plug Tyler Hansbrough who comes to Toronto with a reputation for getting after it in games and in practice while also getting under the opponents skin. "Tyler Hansbrough, I call him Freddy Krueger," Casey said, comparing the forward to the fictional horror movie character. "Thats what made him such a great monster, every once and a while you think you have him dead and here he comes back again, thats Tyler Hansbrough." "Hes added that to our team, so either you stay with it, with that effort, or you get your butt kicked and thats one thing thats really amped up the effort and the intensity in practice and we need that." Passion, as Casey put it, is contagious and has spread around this organization quickly, seemingly from the top. The Raptors held a team meeting last night, prior to the start of training camp and the person leading the charge was the very man who put this group - or at least some of it - together. "Masai gave a passionate speech last night about what he expects [and] the passion guys have to play with," Casey said. "Leaving all the complaining and all the problems, all the issues, check them at the door and then set the tone. Hes empowered everybody to do their job." "Our new GM is very passionate and were taking his lead," point guard Kyle Lowry added. "It starts at the top and we all take his passion, his ferocity and take it on the court with us and to practice with us. The intensity that Masais bringing to us is definitely a ramp up from anything Ive ever seen." The hope for Casey and this organization is that the passion that filled the Raptors practice gym on day one will stick around for the remainder of camp and throughout the season. For now, the vibes are all positive but maintaining that togetherness through the inevitable adversity of a long NBA season will be the clubs real challenge. "The copouts are gone so now its about playing [and] having fun," said Casey. "How you have fun is kicking peoples butt and competing and I think thats what were seeing. "I hope thats what were seeing." Zach Ertz White Jersey.J. -- The New York Giants are not only back in the playoff hunt with a four-game winning streak, theyre calling the plays that get them those wins. LeSean McCoy White Jersey. -- The basic role that Jonathan Martin and Richie Incognito shared as offensive linemen for the Miami Dolphins was protecting quarterback Ryan Tannehill.SOFIA, Bulgaria -- Ana Ivanovic wasted a 5-2 lead in the third set to lose 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (1) to Elena Vesnina in their last group match at the season-ending Tournament of Champions, but still advanced to the semifinals at the expense of her opponent. Samantha Stosur and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova also secured spots in the semis, joining already qualified Simona Halep. Vesninas victory meant both she and Ivanovic finished round-robin play with 2-1 records, but Ivanovic advanced because of more sets won. Malcolm Jenkins Green Jersey The sixth-seeded Pavlyuchenkova swept past Alize Cornet of France, 6-2, 6-2, while Stosur defeated Bulgarias Tsvetana Pironkova 6-1, 6-4. In Saturdays semis, Ivanovic will play Halep, and Stosur will face Pavlyuchenkova. wholesale jerseys ' ' ' | ||||
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| About the partner | Torontos Philip Blake will have another opportunity to impress NFL officials. Zach Ertz Jersey. The six-foot-three, 320-pound centre with the Baylor Bears was one of three Canadian players invited to the 2012 NFL scouting combine. Blake will be joined Feb. 22-28 in Indianapolis by Regina defensive tackle Akiem Hicks and Boise State defensive end Tyrone Crawford. Last month, Blake took part in the Senior Bowl, the U.S. college all-star game featuring many of the top blue-chip prospects for the NFL draft. Blake did more than hold his own, improving his draft stock with solid performances during the week of practice before representatives from all 32 NFL teams. Blake heads to the combine projected to be selected between the third and fourth rounds of the April 26-28 draft in New York. And thats bad news for the Montreal Alouettes, who own his CFL rights after choosing him in last years draft. The six-foot-five, 300-pound Hicks spent two seasons at Regina after playing for the Sacramento City College Panthers in 2007 and 2008. Hicks, a California native, was one of three Canadian university players to participate in last months East-West Shrine game in Florida. The top lineman in Canada West last season, Hicks also earned first-team all-Canadian and Canada West honours. He had a team-high 35 1/2 tackles and a school-record 6 1/2 sacks last season and is projected as a potential fifth-round NFL draft pick. The six-foot-four, 285-pound Crawford, a native of Windsor, Ont., led Boise State with 13 1/2 tackles for a loss last year. He also took part in the East-West Shrine and heads to the combine projected as a late-round draft pick. Riley Cooper White Jersey. -- The new starting quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs is a former first-round draft pick on a one-year deal whose career thus far has been a disappointment. LeSean McCoy Green Jersey. No way, absolutely no way. If you do, where do you go from there? If you want to progress as a team and as a club you have no chance if you sell players like that. BERLIN -- Bayern Munich defeated Eintracht Frankfurt 5-0 to restore its 13-point advantage in the Bundesliga on Sunday, while Nuremberg climbed out of the relegation zone by beating Hertha Berlin. Mario Goetze opened the scoring after 11 minutes of concerted pressure from Bayern, and Franck Ribery, back in the starting lineup after recovering from his back problems, made it 2-0 a minute before halftime. Bayern began the second half as it ended the first, with Frankfurt keeper Kevin Trapp deflecting Goetzes effort onto the post, then denying Rafinha, before Ribery struck the crossbar with a delicate chip. Goetze pulled the ball back for Arjen Robben to score off the underside of the crossbar in the 67th, two minutes after the Dutchman came on as a substitute, and Dante made it 4-0 with a header two minutes after that. It got worse for the visitors when Trapp hobbled off with a knee injury. Replacement goalkeeper Felix Wiedwald came on for his Bundesliga debut but was helpless to prevent Mandzukic scoring in the 89th, when the Croatian beat a defender before curling his effort inside the far post. "We talked before the game of a miracle, but when Bayern are like that you cant do anything. I think even Barcelona would have lost here today," Frankfurt midfielder Pirmin Schwegler said. Bayern stretched its record league unbeaten run to 44 games and the win was its 17th from 19 games this season. The other two games were draws. "Everyone always wants to beat the top team in the league. We have to stay alert," Robben said. Frankfurt coach Armin Veh left out regulars Sebastian Rode and Carlos Zambrano because they were in danger of suspension for a fifth yellow card. "We need them more against (next opponent Eintracht) Brraunschweig," Veh said. Casey Matthews Jersey Earlier, Nuremberg claimed only its second win of the season, its second in succession, by winning 3-1 in Berlin. It started badly for Gertjan Verbeeks side when a poorly defended corner allowed Hertha striker Adrian Ramos to score with a header at the near post in the fourth minute. The Colombian missed two good chances to score again before Markus Feulner equalized with a 16-meter shot in the 20th after a botched clearance, and Josip Drmic scored from a rebound in the 68th, after Daniel Ginczek struck the post. Hertha had a goal ruled out in the 90th minute when it might have had a penalty after Ondrej Petrak used his hand to stop Ronnys long-distance effort on the line. Ramos tucked the rebound away but was judged offside for Ronnys initial shot, while Petrak escaped the red card. "It was the right decision from the referee, luckily for us," said Drmic, who made sure of the victory in a frenetic finale with a penalty after he was fouled by Marcel Ndjeng four minutes into injury time. "We knew they were a good team," Hertha general manager Michael Preetz said. "They didnt get the results they deserved in the opening half of the season. They played with courage. Still, I found we created holes in their defence that we should have made more use of, particularly in the first half." Nuremberg coach Verbeek was relieved the referees decision went his sides way in the final minute. "He could have decided differently," the Dutchman said. "We had a lot of bad luck in the first half of the season. Today it was the other way around." Nuremberg climbed above Freiburg on goal difference and pushed Hamburger SV into a direct relegation place. wholesale jerseys ' ' ' | ||||
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