As 2013 winds to a close, TSN.
John Jaso
Jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year
memorable. TSN.cas writing staff reflects on the best basketball moments from
the past 12 months including the return of Kobe, the fall of the Raptor, D-Roses
poor luck and more! The Kobe Bryant Saga By: Isaac Owusu The year for the LA
Lakers went from bad, to worse to maybe optimistic, back to bad again. With
their star studded lineup that included Dwight Howard, Steve Nash,
Metta World Peace, Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant they fell way below expectations.
The team created in 2012 with aspirations of an NBA Finals appearance opened the
calendar year with a 24-28 record. As the team found themselves pushing for the
eight seed in the western conference, Bryant willed himself to lead the Lakers
until his body wouldnt allow him to do it anymore. On April 12 facing the Golden
State Warriors, he finished with 34 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists but it was
the final two points that are mostly remembered. He limped to the free throw
line and made his final two free throws under obvious pain in his legs. and
after the game it was revealed that he had torn his Achilles. The NBA and sports
community took a morose tone when news hit and the immediate question was if
Kobe could return and at what capacity. The Lakers never wavered in their belief
of Bryants return, extending him to a two-year, 48.5 million dollar contract
extension. On December 8, He made his triumphant return to the court against the
Raptors. He started the game, logging 28 minutes and finished with 9 points and
8 rebounds. But on December 17, in his sixth game of the season, he seemed to be
coming back to form. He finished with 21 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists
against the Memphis Grizzlies. There was a scary moment in the third quarter
when he appeared to have been favouring a hurt left leg but came back into the
game. It was announced on December 19 that he would have to miss 6 weeks going
forward due to a fracture in that knee. Surgery is not required, but this is
another chapter, in possibly the finality of his Hall of Fame career. Toronto
Raptors lose their beloved mascot to injury By: Ryan Horne Toronto Raptors fans
have said goodbye to some crowd favourites over the years. Jerome "The Junk Yard
Dog" Williams, Morris Peterson, Matt Bonner, Jose Calderon. But when their
beloved mascot - The Raptor - went down with a torn Achilles tendon in October
that will likely cost him the season, it was as if they had lost their franchise
player. And thats not too far from the truth. The Raptor has been with the
organization since 1995 and has arguably become the most popular mascot in the
Association (and maybe the best thing about going to a Raptors game),
entertaining crowds with acrobatic slam dunks, eating referees and rollerblading
down stairs. Not often does a head coach talk about the teams costumed
cheerleader during a presser, but Dwane Casey did. "The Raptor will be back," he
said after a pre-season game. When Casey told his daughter of the bad news, she
cried. Stripes - The Raptors younger cousin - stepped in to replace the fallen
hero for the 2013-2014 season, but will be in tough to provide half the joy of
his predecessor. Now we must wait until next season when The Raptor hopefully
makes his return. Sadly this could be the most exciting thing Raptors fans have
to look forward to. Derrick Rose cant catch a break By: Ken Rodney At this point
it doesnt even really seem fair. Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose is not
only one of the most dynamic and talented players in the NBA, but is by all
accounts also a very well-liked teammate and member of a community where he not
only plays but was born and raised. It was with league-wide excitement that Rose
finally returned to the court to start the 2013-14 season after missing the
entire 2012-13 campaign recovering from a torn ACL in his left knee. On Nov. 22,
Just as his game was starting to show sparks of returning to the form that
already has one MVP trophy in his cabinet case, the 25-year-old point guard
suffered a torn meniscus in his right knee once again causing him to go under
the knife, ending his season prematurely and stealing more games from the prime
of his career. Those around Rose - former and current teammates and coaches -
believe that he will make it back from this latest injury just as he did the
previous one, but how much of this promising career was lost on that November
night in Portland? Jason Kidd says "Hit Me!" By: Isaac Owusu Theres often an
idea of a coach "dropping the ball" in regards to a bad job, but dropping the
cup? Thats a brand new low. Theres no denying that Jason Kidd will be a Hall of
Famer for his contributions in the NBA as a point guard. NBA Champion, 10-time
NBA All-Star, perennial All-NBA team member, second on the all-time assist list,
second on the all-time steals list, third on the all-time three pointers made
list and Olympic gold medalist Kidds coaching career however hasnt been as
glorious, and can be exemplified by one night in Brooklyn. During the late
stages of losing a game to the Lakers inside the Barclays Center, and out of
timeouts Coach Kidd executed probably the most creative play of his career. Who
knew spilling some diet soda on hardwood would cost you $50,000! Stephen Curry
torches the Knicks, then loses By: Shane McNeil In the grand scheme of things,
Stephen Currys night at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 27 wasnt really that
historic. After all, whats 54 points in a game where Wilt Chamberlain can drop
100 or Kobe Bryant can torch the Raptors for 81? But what was impressive was how
Curry racked up his points. The Knicks kept giving him open looks and he kept
draining threes, winding up with 11 on 13 attempts. As if that wasnt enough,
when he wasnt launching from behind the arc, he was driving the lane or hitting
pull-up jumpers. Yet, in the dying minutes, J.R. Smith and Carmelo Anthony come
through and the Knicks win by four, 109-105. Its one thing to have a career
night. Its oddly exceptional to do it and not even get a W out of it. Raptors
blow 27-point lead against the Warriors By: Ryan Horne There have been plenty of
moments in Toronto Raptors history that fans wish they could forget. Kobe Bryant
dropping 81 points in 2006, trading Vince Carter for spare parts in 2004 and the
drafting of Rafael Araujo are all memories that sting. On Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2013,
the Dinos added to that list in sunny California. The Raptors led the Golden
State Warriors 75-48 with 9:20 remaining in the third quarter. Up 27 points with
less than half of the game remaining. Surely theyd be able to close it out,
right? Nope. After an onslaught of three-pointers, Toronto was outscored 42-15
in the final quarter and lost by nine. It was arguably the worst - most
miserable loss - in franchise history and may or may not have led to the trading
of the trigger-happy Rudy Gay a week later. The pill was made even tougher to
swallow when it was reported former Raptor, Jermaine ONeal, apparently made an
inspirational halftime speech that led to the dramatic and historic comeback.
Just more salt in the wound. The supporters of Canadas lone NBA franchise must
be wondering how many more years of suffering will they have to endure before
things improve. Heres hoping 2014 is the start of something better.
Kent
Tekulve Jersey . Pinch-hitter Tommy Medica singled in the go-ahead run in
the eighth inning and the Padres beat the Seattle Mariners 2-1 in their first
home game since Gwynn died of cancer Monday.
Sean
Rodriguez Jersey . Wall made the comment in a speech to a Regina business
crowd that included Lesnar. The U.S. wrestler and retired mixed martial artist
says he was visiting his brothers farm in Saskatchewan and decided he wanted to
hear what the premier had to say.
http://www.pittsburghpiratesprostore.us/Matt-Joyce-pirates-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. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Robinson Cano delivered
the biggest hit of the day for the Seattle Mariners, but not before a perfectly
executed drag bunt set up things against one of the best pitchers in baseball.
James Jones went 3 for 4, including a bunt single that wound up in the middle of
three converging players and loaded the bases for Cano, whose third-inning,
opposite-field double drove in two runs in Mondays 3-0 victory over David Price
and the sputtering Tampa Bay Rays. "Were a team that has to do anything to win a
game," Cano said. "We dont have three or four or five guys thatll hit 30 home
runs, so weve got to play the little game, do the little things." Five Seattle
pitchers combined on a five-hitter, blanking the punchless Rays for the second
straight days. The Mariners extended their scoreless streak to 19 innings and
won for the eighth time in nine games. "Our last seven or eight starts have been
pretty darn good. Our starters have given us everything weve asked them and
probably a little bit more," manager Lloyd McClendon said. "With that our
bullpen is even better." The Rays, whove made the playoffs four or the past six
seasons, have lost 13 of 14 and are saddled with the worst record in the major
leagues at 24-41. The last time they were 17 games under .500 was the end of
2007, the final year they were known as the Devil Rays. "Right now, were the
worst team. I dont anticipate finishing like that ... but right now, weve earned
that position," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. "Do I believe we can turn
this around? Absolutely," he said. "But right now, if youre a baseball fan
watching us, and you look at everything, you have to consider us the worst
team." Canos big hit came on an 0-2 pitch during a three-run third inning
against Price (4-6), who struck out 10 in eight innings. The 2012 AL Cy Young
Award winner has dropped three straight decisions and hasnt won in nine starts
since beating Minnesota on April 22. "It just goes to show you how good this guy
is," McClendon said of Cano. "Against one of the toughest lefties in baseball
and down like that. ... That was a huge hit for us..
Jung-ho
Kang Jersey. quot; Mariners starter Erasmo Ramirez didnt allow a run, but
failed to get through the fifth inning to qualify for the victory. The
24-year-old right-hander allowed four hits and walked five in 4 2/3 innings.
Joe Beimel (1-1) retired the only two batters he faced to get the victory, and
Fernando Rodney worked a perfect ninth for his 18th save in 20 opportunities.
The Rays were shut out for the AL-high ninth time overall. Seattle finished a
6-1 road trip. The Mariners won three straight over Tampa Bay after dropping the
opener of the four-game series. Price allowed three runs and seven hits and
walked one. He has the best strikeout to walk ratio in baseball, but has also
yielded a major league-leading 105 hits 99 2/3 innings. The Rays stranded seven
runners and were 0 for 5 with men in scoring position through four innings
against Ramirez, who entered the game with a 6.82 ERA. The frustration continued
in the fifth, when Ramirez gave up a two-out double to James Loney and walked
Ben Zobrist before McClendon turned to his bullpen. Beimel fanned pinch-hitter
Jerry Sands, ending the threat and eliciting smattering of groans and boos from
the crowd of 10,400 at Tropicana Field. "At some point, we have to get our bats
alive," Maddon said. "The effort is wonderful. The work is great," the manager
added. "The hits arent there." NOTES: Struggling Grant Balfour is out as the
Rays closer. Maddon said the team instead will close games by committee. ...
Mariners 1B Justin Smoak (sore left leg) and OF Michael Saunders (sore right
shoulder) were out of the starting lineup for the third consecutive game. ...
Rays rookie right-hander Jake Odorizzi (2-6) will go against St. Louis ace
Adam Wainwright (8-3) in the opener of a two-game interleague series Tuesday
night. Odorizzi grew up 35 minutes from St. Louis and called his start against
the Cardinals a "special occasion." ... In a matchup of former teammates with
Rakuten of Japans Pacific League, Mariners RHP Hisashi Iwakuma (4-2) and Yankees
RHP Masahiro Tanaka (9-1) will start in the opener of a three-game series in
Seattle.
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