Gästebuch » e. Hes too rationale and too patient. He knows Casey,

PHOENIX - As his team endured what turned out to be their most disheartening loss of the young season, Masai Ujiri followed along on his iPad. Accompanied by a couple of his scouts, the Raptors general manager was returning from a road trip to Syracuse, where he watched the Orange defeat the Hoosiers Tuesday evening. All the while he kept an eye on what was unfolding on the opposite end of the country. With the Raptors on the verge of a historic collapse, all he could do was watch the score, as a 27-point lead morphed into a nine-point loss in 21 minutes of game time. Ujiri watched the game in its entirety when he got back home, not because hes a glutton for punishment but because he has work to do, which is becoming more and more clear with each passing loss. "Obviously, theres something that we have to fix," Ujiri told Macko and Cauz in a Thursday morning interview on TSN Radio 1050. Listen to the entire interview here. "One thing Ill tell you and the fans," he said, "we will not be caught in no-mans land in the NBA. We all know what no mans land is. Were going to really evaluate this team and see how we can go forward." To the dismay of the reigning NBA Executive of the Year, the Raptors have been and continue to be in the centre of no-mans land. Theyve been trapped there for half a decade - or longer depending on your definition of "no-mans land" - without a clear or easy way of escaping. At 6-12 they sit comfortably in 10th place, exactly where they finished last season. Theyre too good to be bad in a truly terrible Eastern Conference but theyre a long ways from being good enough to compete. So what now? Tuesdays loss - as painful as it was - is just one game. As Dwane Casey put it, "Its a long season and one game doesnt define us." The game doesnt but what it represents does. The roster is fundamentally flawed. A loss like Tuesdays makes Ujiris decision easier, while making his job that much more difficult. Whether hes watching from the stands, the tunnel or his iPad, Ujiri has been watching closely, and waiting. For lack of a more prudent solution at the time he took the gig, he gave this group - mostly assembled by his predecessor - an opportunity to sink or swim. Now, over a month into the season, hes seen what he needs to see. "Its not rocket science," he said. "Im not trying to deceive anybody here. Were evaluating our team and well continue to field calls, make calls [and] see how we can make our team better or figure out what direction we go with this team." Theres no question Ujiri has been and will continue to be a busy man (he and his wife welcomed their first child on Saturday). December 15th is a date most, including Ujiri, have circled on their calendar. That will be the first day in which offseason signees are eligible to be traded, widening the market and thus increasing Torontos options. At that point, the clock starts and its only a matter of time before Ujiri pulls the trigger. Who goes, what comes back and when does it all happen? Ujiri may not even have those answers yet. Its important to remember that wanting to dance is not enough, you need a willing partner. Not surprisingly, the primary areas of evaluation for Ujiri and his staff leading up to Dec. 15 are focused around redundancy in the roster and a general lack of chemistry amongst this group. "For me, guys should be willing to play with each other, for each other," Torontos GM insisted. "I dont think our guys are selfish, its not something in terms of, I dont want to pass to that guy, or I wont pass to that guy, I dont really think its that. I think its the style of player, the way they are constructed as players." Two players who are under the microscope, largely because of their hefty salaries and similarities to one another on the floor, are Rudy Gay and DeMar DeRozan. That duo, both high-volume scorers and subpar defenders, account for the bulk of Torontos usage offensively. Both players tend to operate best in isolation, which has practically flatlined the teams offence this season. It has become clear to the organizations primary decision-makers that this pair has to be broken up, regardless of the path the franchise chooses to take going forward. Although theyd prefer to part ways with Gay, according to a team source - not a surprise, given his on-court regression and the $19.3 million hes owed next year (assuming he opts in) - that may prove to be an impossible task. Gay is shooting 39 per cent from the field and committing 3.4 turnovers per contest, both marks are the worst of his career, and his league-wide value is believed to reflect that. Meanwhile DeRozans value is trending upwards, averaging career-highs in points (21.8), assists (2.8) and three-point shooting (39 per cent). Therein lies the conundrum for Ujiri and company; sell high on player with optimum value, or take whatever you can get for the other. At least for now Casey appears to be safe. Using the coach as a scapegoat is often the easiest answer but its not one that fits Ujiris style. Hes too rationale and too patient. He knows Casey, like the rest of the team, is handcuffed by the roster, a flawed group, pieces that just wont and never will fit together. With each passing game Ujiri is reminded of that. Theyre not good enough. Theyre not bad enough. They are precisely where he refuses to be; in no-mans land. The day of reckoning for this team, as we know it, is just around the corner. Ender Inciarte Jersey . Toronto (11-12) gave up leads in 10-8 and 11-4 losses to the Baltimore Orioles this week. It was never close Friday as the Boston Red Sox got to Mark Buehrle early en route to an 8-1 win. Babe Ruth Jersey . Tokarski, a somewhat controversial choice -- with his 10 games of NHL experience and all -- to replace an injured Carey Price in Game Two had a night to remember, turning back a Rangers team that was dominating play from the get-go, outshooting the Canadiens 14-4 in the first period and 37-25 overall. http://www.baseballbravesproshop.com/jul...-braves-jersey/. -- Stanley Johnson scored all 18 of his points in the second half, T. Sean Newcomb Braves Jersey .com) - Marc Gasol and the Grizzlies withstood 18 Dallas 3-pointers, as Memphis took control in the third quarter and fended off a Mavericks rally en route to a 114-105 win in a Southwest Division showdown. Josh Donaldson Jersey . -- Andrew Wiggins is from Canada, Wayne Selden from Massachusetts and Joel Embiid from the African nation of Cameroon.Canadas rugby sevens team faces more challenges this season than finding a replacement set of size 15 boots for Adam Zaruba, whose luggage did not join him upon touching down in Australia this week.The Canadian men arrived at the Gold Coast Sevens with the weight of expectations after a record sixth-place finish in last seasons IRB World Series. They will likely surprise no one this season.I think thats one of our big challenges this year, acting Canadian coach Ben Herring said Wednesday from Australia. Maybe last year teams didnt treat us as seriously as they should. I think people will be under no illusions that we can perform at a good level.It makes it harder for us in that teams will be making sure they put on their best performances here. But thats great for us because thats where we want to be. We want teams to take us seriously and play with an intensity that they would treat any of the top sides. Weve got to deal with that. Were prepared and we come ready for that. Herring, Rugby Canadas technical coach and performance analyst, is in charge of the team while newly hired coach Liam Middleton of Zimbabwe goes through immigration red tape. Kieran Crowley, coach of the national 15-man team, had been guiding the sevens squad in the interim but he is back in B.C. for the IRB Americas Championship, which starts Saturday in Langford.Geraint John, the Welsh coach who took Canada to new highs last season, is now at the Australia helm.Under John, Canada reached the final in Glasgow and placed third in Las Vegas in 2013-14.For Herring, sixth overall is Canadas benchmark. We want to improve on that for the season.The opening Australian stop on the nine-event circuit is a one-off. The other eight are split in four sets of two a week apart, starting with stops in Dubai on Dec. 5-6 and South Africa Dec. 13-14.That may help a Canadian team that is hurting at the moment. Nanyak Dala, Nathan Hirayama, Phil Mack, Mike Scholz and Sean White were all unavailable to Herring due to injury.Despite the injuries, Canada has depth that was carefully nurtured under Johns tenure. Herring has also brought the uncapped Zaruba — who got new boots thanks to resourceful team manager Brian Hunter — and Jack Smith to Australia.The senior guys are surrounded by some guys who are just super-pumped up to here, said Herring. So the energys actually been really high.New Zealand is the defending World Series and Gold Coast tournament champion heading into play Saturday and Sunday at the Cbus Super Stadium.Canada opens in a group with Argentina, England and the U.S. England placed fourth in the 2013-14 season standings while Argentina was ninth and the U.S. 13th.There is more at stake on the circuit this season with the top four teams qualifying for the 2016 Olympics where the sport will make its Games debut. One team will advance from each of six IRB regional competitions, with another coming from a world playoff. Brazil, as host country, qualiifies automatically.ddddddddddddI dont think anyone here needs any extra incentive when we play the U.S. but there are those extra things there, Herring said. Ideally we want to strive to not take it down to a one-off (qualification) game but if thats what it comes down to, thats further down the track I think.First and foremost for us is to just keep performing on a regular basis on the circuit and part of that is beating U.S.A. consistently.Herring, 34, is a New Zealand native who played for the Highlanders and Hurricanes in New Zealand from 2001 to 2007, and for the Leicester Tigers in England from 2007 to 2009. He was an assistant coach at Leicester before moving to Japan to coach the NEC Green Rockets.While Canada enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2013-14, its campaign started poorly with rocky performances in Australia, Dubai and South Africa.Other teams have the advantage of longer pre-Series sevens camps while Canada splits its players with the 15-man squad. While Herring says he had two good weeks to prepare with his squad, at one stage ahead of the tournament Canada had just four fit players available for training.The Canadian womens sevens team will also be Down Under, playing three weekend games against Australia as part of its preparation for the Women’s Sevens World Series, which opens Dec. 4 in Dubai.The Canadian women, third on the circuit last season will spend most of October training in Australia.---Canada MenJustin Douglas, Abbotsford RFC, Abbotsford, B.C.; Sean Duke, UVIC Vikes, Vancouver; Mike Fuailefau, Castaway Wanderers, Victoria; Lucas Hammond, Toronto Nomads, Toronto; Ciaran Hearn, Castaway Wanderers, Conception Bay South, N.L.; Harry Jones, Capilano RFC, North Vancouver; John Moonlight (capt.), James Bay AA, Pickering, Ont.; Jack Smith, James Bay AA, Lakefield, Ont.; Conor Trainor, UBCOB Ravens, Vancouver; Jake Webster, James Bay AA, Lindsay, Ont.; Jordan Wilson-Ross, James Bay AA, Alliston, Ont.; Adam Zaruba, Capilano RFC, Vancouver.Canada WomenElissa Alarie, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue Rugby Club, Trois-Rivieres, Que.; Emily Belchos, Markham Irish RFC, Barrie, Ont.; Hannah Darling, Peterborough Pagans, Warsaw, Ont.; Arielle Dubissette-Borrice, Toronto Scottish RFC, Toronto; Bianca Farella, Town of Mount Royal RFC, Montreal; Paige Farries, Druid RFC, Red Deer, Alta.; Julia Greenshields, Sarnia Saints, Sarnia, Ont.; Magali Harvey, Club de Rugby Quebec, Quebec City; Sara Kaljuvee, Toronto Scottish RFC, Pickering, Ont.; Jennifer Kish, Edmonton Rockers RFC, Edmonton; Ghislaine Landry, Toronto Scottish RFC, Toront