Off Topic » season, and they are reapin

TORONTO - The Toronto Raptors will try to shake off a pair of losses tonight when they host the struggling Detroit Pistons. Toronto has dropped games to Indiana and Miami since a five-game winning streak and closed out a three-game road trip at 1-2. In Tuesdays 86-79 loss at Indiana, DeMar DeRozan led the way with 28 points and Patrick Patterson added 20 for the Raptors, who shot 37 percent for the game and received 16 points from Kyle Lowry. "Down the stretch, you cant beat a team like that by trading baskets with them," said Patterson. "You have to get stops and we just couldnt do that." The 79 points were a season low for the Raptors, who managed just 80 in a loss to Chicago on Nov. 15. DeRozan has scored 20 or more points in six of his last seven games. Toronto will open a three-game homestand Wednesday versus Detroit, Brooklyn and Milwaukee, and is 6-8 at Air Canada Centre. For their part, the Pistons are caught in a funk and will resume a three-game road trip tonight. Detroit has dropped five in a row and three straight on the road, including Tuesdays 89-85 setback at New York in the opener of the trek. Josh Smith led the Pistons with 21 points and 12 rebounds, while Greg Monroe ended with 19 points and Andre Drummond added 12 and 17 rebounds. The Pistons fell to 8-9 on the road, shot 37.2 percent and made just 3-of-19 3-pointers. "It was a very good effort," said Pistons coach Maurice Cheeks. "(We) got down 17 and was able to fight back. We just didnt make any shots in the end to get over the hump. We played hard though." Detroit will close the trek Friday at Philadelphia. The Raptors and Pistons split four meetings last season. Jared Dudley Jersey .com) - The Minnesota Twins made it official on Wednesday, announcing the signing of outfielder Torii Hunter to a one-year contract. Drazen Petrovic Jersey . What they did need, the Devils got from Patrik Elias. Elias scored a power-play goal 40 seconds into overtime to give the New Jersey Devils a 3-2 victory over the Dallas Stars. http://www.cheapnetsjerseys.com/?tag=che...-carroll-jersey. -- Atlanta Braves pitcher Tommy Hanson is being checked for a possible concussion after blowing a tire on his way to the first workout of spring training. Cheap Nets Jerseys Authentic .D. Martinezs ninth-inning sacrifice fly scored Torii Hunter with the winning run and the Detroit Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins 4-3 Sunday. Julius Erving Jersey . Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema scored two goals each Wednesday night in a 6-1 rout of Schalke in the first leg of their second-round matchup. "We played a very, very good match," Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. "We got well into the match, scored two early goals and that opened the game and left us able to counter and to use the speed of our players.The Vancouver Whitecaps got back to winning ways last weekend, defeating the league-leading Seattle Sounders 1-0 on Saturday at BC Place. While the Sounders fielded a depleted lineup - they were missing five players who would otherwise be named in their starting lineup - Vancouver did what was needed to win the game. Defensively, the partnership of Johnny Leveron and Carlyle Mitchell comfortably dealt with everything the Sounders threw their way, while David Ousted turned in another strong performance in goal. The central midfield duo of Matias Laba and Gershon Koffie controlled the area in front of the back four, while attacking midfielder Pedro Morales returned to his customary role as the Whitecaps maestro. Had Erik Hurtado managed to convert a second-half breakaway, Vancouvers victory would have been more emphatic. With Vancouvers victory, many will believe that normal service has been restored. Led by players like Morales, Laba and Koffie, the Whitecaps have played entertaining football at BC Place this season. A 2-1 loss to the Colorado Rapids – where Laba was sent off for two yellow cards with the Caps leading 1-0 – is the only home defeat of the season for Vancouver. However, it can also be argued that Vancouver has perhaps punched above their weight this season. Just look at the Sounders. If the roles had been reversed and Vancouver – minus its top five players – played a full-strength Sounders lineup in Seattle, it is reasonable to expect the margin of victory for Seattle to be much more comfortable than 1-0. The Sounders have a much deeper squad than Vancouver – deeper than virtually every other team in MLS, in fact. Vancouvers reality is this: they do not yet have the depth to challenge the top sides in MLS over the course of an entire season. ‘Yet being the key word. Vancouvers head coach, Carl Robinson, knows that he needs to address this shortcoming. However, his hands are tied – or at least his salary cap space is - to three players. Injured skipper Jay Demerit, central defender Andy OBrien and midfielder Niggel Reo-Coker have all played a role in Vancouvers solid start to the season.dddddddddddd But it is difficult to see a future in Vancouver for any of the three beyond this season. In the case of Demerit and OBrien, age is simply not on their sides. 34 and 35 respectively, they are coming to the end of their outstanding careers. Reo-Coker, on the other hand, has seen his playing time decrease considerably this season, due in large part to the impressive form of both Laba and Koffie. Collectively, the salaries of Demerit, OBrien and Reo-Coker tally over $1 million – a third of Vancouvers salary cap space. The club simply cannot afford to have so much cap space tied up in three players whose roles are diminishing with time. This is the harsh reality of professional soccer; players are commodities to be bought, sold, bartered for and traded. Teams that are successful know that they have to constantly be searching for additions and upgrades to make their squad stronger. It is what Seattle did in the offseason, and they are reaping the rewards this year; the Sounders sit atop the MLS standings with 35 points from 17 games. If the Whitecaps are going to continue to move forward and build on their impressive start to their campaign, they need to add quality signings to their squad of promising young players. A central defender, a wide midfielder and a proven goal scorer are all on the shopping list, but unless Vancouver can create cap space, those signings might have to wait until the offseason. For now, Vancouver goes into Saturdays home game against Chivas USA (TSN2, 10pm ET, 7pm PT) in buoyant mood. With just one loss in their last 10 games, the Whitecaps have every right to be confident taking on the visitors. However, Erick ‘Cubo Torres is one of the hottest strikers in MLS right now – his fantastic stoppage-time goal sealed a 1-0 win for Chivas over the Montreal Impact last weekend – so Carlyle Mitchell and Johnny Leveron will need to keep a watchful eye on the Mexican front man if the Whitecaps are to keep another clean sheet. ' ' '