LOS ANGELES - For the Raptors, Saturday mornings flight back to Toronto couldnt come soon enough. [url=http://www.authoritychief

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LOS ANGELES - For the Raptors, Saturday mornings flight back to Toronto couldnt come soon enough. Chiefs Jerseys . Its that time of the year. Players are tired, or hurting, or both. Some are looking ahead to the events theyll be participating in during All-Star Weekend, others are looking forward to their midseason vacation time. Its been nine days since the Raptors set out on a five-game West Coast trip and the fatigue was evident as they backed into a 2-3 record on the excursion. "We cant use that as an excuse," Dwane Casey said after his team suffered their third loss in the last four games, falling 118-105 to the Clippers in LA Friday. "We knew that coming in, that were getting ready for the all-star break, mental fatigue is setting in, everybody is preparing for the break but its not here yet, we have games to go and business to take care of." After taking care of business in two of their first three games on the trip, Caseys team lost themselves in a pair of losses to the Kings - a bottom dweller in the West - and the Clippers, one of the conferences elite. The Raptors fell behind early, giving up 67 points in the first half of each game, committing a total of 70 fouls and putting their opponent on the line 105 times over the course of three days. The commonality, according to Casey, was a lack of mental and physical toughness against the likes of DeMarcus Cousins Wednesday and the duo of Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan two days later. "The guys are down because they know that we physically didnt take care of business," he said. "The physicality of the game is something we have to get ready for, especially if were thinking about the playoffs because its a physical game in the paint, setting screens, rebounding, going to the basket. All those things are there if youre serious about making the playoffs." Overall, a 2-3 record on the trip is hardly disappointing, its probably on par with what was expected of them going in, realistically. However, they should lose some sleep over the way they ended the road swing. No one expected them to win on Wednesday, not against a scorned Clipper team coming off a tough loss at home to the defending champion Heat. After coming out flat again, Casey was forced to get creative midway through the third quarter, opting to deploy the hack-a-Jordan strategy, a maneuver designed to extend the game by putting a poor free throw shooter - this case, DeAndre Jordan - on the line. Jordan, a 44 per cent free throw shooter, made just 10 of his 22 tries from the line, 14 of those attempts were gift wrapped and delivered to him from Casey. The move was not popular amongst the hometown crowd but for a coach on the verge of defeat, why not take a shot? Although it shaved just two points off the Clippers 20-point lead, directly, it slowed the game down and took the home team out of their rhythm. "We had to do something," Casey said. "Physically they were just manhandling us in the paint. I thought that changed the game a little bit." Toronto would cut its deficit to nine going into the fourth quarter. By that point the Raptors had run out of gas, understandably so. Less than a week before All-Star Weekend, the Raptors are a beat up team. Kyle Lowry is battling a knee injury while both DeMar DeRozan and the slumping Amir Johnson are playing on sprained ankles. DeRozan was the one Raptor who looked at home in LA, in actuality he was. The Compton-born guard scored 36 points, the most hes ever had in nine career games at Staples Center, knocking down a career-high 17 free throws. After averaging 10.0 points on 31 per cent shooting in his first five career games back home, DeRozan has scored 28.5 on 52 per cent over his last four contests in LA. Its yet another sign of DeRozans growth on and off the floor in his fifth season. "Its always good to come home and see the family, or whatever, but I dont put as much pressure on myself as I did my first year or even my second year," said the first-time all-star. "I dont try to come out here and prove a point that Im from here or whatever, I just come here and play." Johnson spent most of Friday night chasing down Blake Griffin, who scored 36 points on 13-of-18 shooting in 28 minutes. It was an impossible task for a player that has been slowed by the injury for a week and a half. The nine-year vet is used to playing through pain and plans to continue doing so but he couldnt hide his frustration after the loss. "That nagging pain is just bothering me," said Johnson, who had eight points in 24 minutes against the Clippers. "I want to but there are just some plays I really cant get to the ball or make a play because my ankle just holds me back." "I feel like I can do a lot better. Im trying to baby it but at the same time Im trying to go hard out there. Once the schedule turns and I can rest it a little bit, Ill definitely come through. Lucky for Johnson and the rest of the ailing Raptors, theyll be en route back to Toronto Saturday after spending one more night on the road. There, theyll host the Pelicans and the Hawks before going their separate ways for the weekend, NBA all-star festivities. The schedule eases up the rest of the way. The Raptors - who have played 28 games on the road, most in the East - only have 13 more to go away from the Air Canada Centre. Fridays contest against the Clippers marked their last road game against a winning Western Conference team. "We want to compete every time we walk out but the main thing is were building and were getting better in some areas and some areas were not," said Casey. "The physicality department, thats going to take some more time for guys to figure that out. My thing is competing, you go out and compete and fight physically and then you let the chips fall where they may and there were some situations where I didnt think we competed physically." Chiefs Hoodie . Infante hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning and had an RBI single in a four-run fifth against former teammate Justin Verlander, helping the Kansas City Royals beat the Tigers 11-8 Monday night. Travis Kelce Womens Jersey . "Well over 50 (per cent)," coach Claude Noel said Tuesday after practice, where the Jets were looking at ways to cut down the scoring chances theyve been giving away. http://www.authoritychiefsshop.com/travis-kelce-chiefs-jersey-c-27/ . CEO Steve Koonin on Tuesday told the Hawks flagship radio station that he made the decision to discipline Ferry but allowed him to keep his job managing the team. He did not say what the punishment was, but noted that he relied on a law firms three-month investigation of Ferry and him describing Deng as someone who has a little African in him. BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Sabres centre Mikhail Grigorenko was back in Buffalo on Wednesday after the NHL blocked the teams attempt to send the rookie to the minors on a two-week conditioning assignment. In reaching its decision, the league cited its agreement with the Canadian Hockey League preventing teams from assigning players with junior eligibility to the American Hockey League. "We determined that the assignment would not have been consistent with our obligations under the leagues agreement with the CHL," NHL spokesman Frank Brown wrote in an email to The Associated Press. Interim coach Ted Nolan accepted the leagues ruling, which came a day after the Sabres demoted Grigorenko to their AHL affiliate in Rochester N.Y., for conditioning. "We thought we were doing it by the rulebook, but unfortunately we werent," Nolan said. "Now hes back with us. Well have to sit down and evaluate what the next step is." Players remain on their NHL teams roster and are paid their full salary during conditioning stints, which last no more than 14 days. The question became whether the 19-year-old Grigorenko qualified for assignment. The ruling limits the Sabres options in determining how to develop a player who has had difficulty earning regular ice time in Buffalo. Grigorenko has two goals and one assist in 15 games this season and had missed two straight games and five of seven as a healthy scratch before being assigned to AHL Rochester. The Sabres must now choose between keeping Grigorenko on their roster and returning him to his Canadian junior team in Quebec. Christian Okoye Chiefs Jersey. Rather than preparing to play against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Wednesday, Grigorenko practiced with the Sabres in Buffalo before the team travelled to Philadelphia for a game against the Flyers on Thursday. Nolan said he had not yet determined whether Grigorenko would play. The NHLs ruling was the latest twist in whats become an unsettled professional career for the Russian-born player, who was selected by Buffalo with the No. 12 pick in the 2012 draft. Grigorenko is now playing for his third coach in Buffalo, after Nolan replaced Ron Rolston, who was fired last week. After opening last season playing in Quebec, Grigorenko earned a spot on the Sabres roster at the end of the NHL lockout. He had a goal and four assists in 22 games before the Sabres elected to return him to Quebec. Grigorenko then came back to Buffalo to play the final three games of the season and two more for Rochester in the playoffs after Quebecs season ended. The Sabres would prefer Grigorenko develop in the AHL rather than the juniors. "Hes a real nice young man. Hes just put in this predicament," Nolan said. "Now we have to go back to the drawing board and see what else might work, and what the best situation is for him to develop his skill and be the dominant player we all think he could be in this organization." On Wednesday, the Sabres also recalled centre Luke Adam and defenceman Brayden McNabb from Rochester. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '