illegal drugs, and that FAU did nhange, and I dont think the

NEW YORK - The basketball gods have spoken, with an assist from Jason Kidd. The Toronto Raptors will open their first playoff series in six years at home to the Brooklyn Nets at 12:30 PM et Saturday afternoon. The Raptors learned their fate early in the second half of Wednesdays season final - a 95-92 loss to the Knicks - when Chicago fell to Charlotte in overtime, assuring Toronto would finish with the third seed in the Eastern Conference. Brooklyn had been red-hot, winning 33 of 46 games - the second best record in the East since Jan. 1 - until they dropped four of the last five contests, conceding a division title to the Raptors and ultimately falling to sixth place. Their last stand in Cleveland suggests that the late-season collapse, or at least the latter half of it, may not have been an accident. Kidds Nets squandered a couple of opportunities to lock up the fifth seed, setting up a likely matchup with the surging Bulls, on the final two nights of the campaign. On Wednesday evening, with four teams jockeying for playoff seeding, the Nets rookie head coach opted to sit all five of his starters, suiting up only seven players in a winnable game against the lowly Cavaliers. They would go on to lose by 29. "In my experience, youve got to be careful what you wish for," Dwane Casey cautioned ahead of Wednesdays finale. "You think you want to play a certain team then you start preparing for them and say, wow that teams pretty good. Then youve got a dogfight. I think the best way to approach it is let the basketball gods decide." Faced with a similar decision, Casey - who was an assistant in Dallas when he and Kidd won a championship together in 2011 - chose to play his stars against the Knicks and compete to win. Thats just one of the factors that separate these two teams, that creates a trace of animosity going into this weekends first-round matchup. Whether they care to admit to it or not, the Nets took their foot off the gas in the hope of maximizing the odds of facing an inexperienced Raptors team. Whether Torontos players or coaches care to admit it, thats a slap in the face, or at least it should be. Do they feel slighted? "No, man," Lowry responded, after the game. "They rested their players. Thats what they did." They shouldnt need added motivation, Casey wisely posted out. The Raptors have been underestimated and theyre about to be again. They will be lost in a sea of publicity surrounding the compelling storylines of a big market team with a payroll exceeding $100 million. "Weve played all season as the underdog, as the small guy trying to come up, whatever you want to call it," said DeMar DeRozan, who is one of three Raptors starters slated to make his postseason debut Saturday. "We always play with a chip on our shoulder and we understand going into the playoffs, we havent done nothing. We havent made it to the playoffs in six years. So weve got to go in there with a chip on our shoulder and understand its going to be a dog fight every single game, just like the season was." Their starting lineup goes into the series with 24 games of playoff experience to Brooklyns 399. The average age of the Nets first unit - complete with veterans and future hall of famers - is eight years older than Torontos. Its a clash of old and young, the battle-tested versus the unproven soldiers. "Experience is one thing but youve got to go play," said Casey, who is also venturing into uncharted waters, his first postseason as a head coach. "You have to go out and compete, its why they play the games. Our guys are going to be ready." "Theyve got a lot of older veterans that have been in the league 10-plus years so thats an advantage that we have," DeRozan said. "We understand that theyre experienced and everything but hey, who isnt? Once you come in this league youre going against players all season that are experienced in some way. You just have to find a way to win." The Raptors and Nets split a four-game season series, with each team winning one on the road. Perhaps it was fate. In a redditt AMA chat last month, Terrence Ross identified the Nets as a preferred playoff matchup, to which Brooklyns Andray Blatche took issue and responded, "Ross asked for this, so theyve got to back up their words." These teams faced off in the 2007 playoffs - Toronto the third seed, the Nets, then in New Jersey, the sixth - after the Raptors won their first and only other division title. It was the first postseason experience for the likes of Chris Bosh, Jose Calderon and Anthony Parker, among others. That inexperience against a veteran Nets team - led by Kidd, Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson - proved costly, as inexperience tends to be in the playoffs. This Raptors team believes theyre different, that they have something special. They may be right. As most observers - both devoted and casual alike - are aware and will continue to be force-fed ad nauseam ahead of their first postseason game since 2008, the Raptors rapid return to relevance in the East was unexpected. Generous prognosticators billed them as a conference wild card, a fringe playoff team, at best. Division winner? No chance. Not with a pair of entitled New York-area giants and their gargantuan payrolls occupying the Atlantic. Internally, expectations were being tempered, justifiably so. After years of false promises, the word "playoffs" was quickly dismissed in place of a new goal; "growth". They were indeed a wild card in the East. A newly structured front office, an expiring head coach and starting point guard, an $18 million experiment inherited from the previous regime. "We didnt go into the season thinking we were going to be division winners," Casey admitted. "That was our goal but we knew that was going to be a lofty goal. We always go in trying to swing for the fences. Once the trade happened, no one knew. The guys kept working, kept working, kept working and [it] kind of came together." The Raptors were 6-12 before that fabled evening in Los Angeles, the night Rudy Gay was shipped to Sacramento and the fortunes of a long-suffering franchise began to turn. From that point on they would finish the season with a record of 42-22, tops in the East. Some will shrug them off as the poster team of a historically weak Eastern Conference and at one point, early in the season, that may have been the case. However, they made it here on their own merit. Theyre one just four teams, in either conference, to finish in the top 10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency. Their 22 road wins, a franchise record, tied Miami and Washington for the best mark in the East and they finished with 16-14 against the superior Western Conference. Their individual and collective accomplishments seem countless. Their starting five has won more games than any other in team history, each player putting up career highs in minutes logged and scoring. On Monday they hung their second division championship banner and set a new franchise mark in wins. Six months ago that would have been more than enough. Now, its an appetizer. Theyve tasted success and they want more. No one is satisfied. "When I first got here that was one of my biggest goals, to get this team back to the playoffs," said Kyle Lowry. "Im happy to be there but Im not satisfied. I want to go out there, I want to make some noise and show that were really a good team." Wholesale China Jerseys . A receiver doesnt make the catch on a passing play and instantly motions to the ref – and everybody else – for a pass interference flag. Wholesale Jerseys . Austin Watson, Scott Ford, Filip Forsberg and Mark Van Guilder had the other goals for the Admirals (30-21-12). Scott Darling made 30 saves for his 10th win of the season. http://www.jerseysnflchina.net/. Solomon Elimimian did not make the trip with the team after suffering what appeared to be a right leg injury in the teams regular season finale against the Calgary Stampeders. Cheap Jerseys China . Sources tell TSN that union executives travelled to select CFL cities Monday to open dialogue with players and answer questions. After the tentative deal was reached Saturday night, several players posted messages of frustration and disappointment on social media - and that carried over into Sunday on both the web and the field. Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys . The third-ranked Lewis, a three-time winner this year on the LPGA Tour, had a 9-under 135 total at Emirates Golf Course in the Ladies European Tours season-ending tournament.With Randy Carlyle returning with an extension in hand behind the Leafs bench, the culture change Tim Leiweke promised at Brendan Shanahans introductory press conference may come in the form of a trade of the teams captain. TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger addressed the Dion Phaneuf rumours on TSN Radio 1050 Monday, saying although the Leafs may not be “shopping” their No. 1 defenceman, he is not considered untouchable and GM Dave Nonis would be willing to listen to offers. “The Toronto Maple Leafs are not shopping him,” Dreger said. “Theyre not shopping Jake Gardiner and Nazem Kadri, but teams know that if theres an offer made – or the right offer made – that Toronto would consider that.” Dreger noted he had spoken with Nonis over the weekend, with the GM saying the team isnt engaged in active conversations regarding Phaneuf, and have not done so since this past trade deadline. Fellow TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie also weighed in on the Phaneuf rumours, saying that although there have not been any recent conversations, the Leafs would not be opposed to a trade. “I think under the right circumstances, the Leafs would move him, and I think at various times over the course of the year they flirted with that notion, but I dont think right at this moment, the Toronto Maple Leafs are in a hard-sell on weve got to get rid of Dion Phaneuf and go in a different direction, but theyre all ears if somebodys interested,” McKenzie said. Comparing Phaneufs situation to the Jason Spezza rumours that have surfaced recently, both Dreger and McKenzie agree that of the two captainns, Spezza is the more likely candidate to be dealt as the longtime Senator is reportedly open to a change.dddddddddddd Despite owning a seven-year, $49-million deal that kicks in next season, the Leafs captain does not have a no-movement clause, giving GM Dave Nonis the flexibility to potentially unload him. In reference to the culture change comments made by Leiweke, The Globe and Mails James Mirtle said whether its a deal involving Phanuef or some other pieces on the Leafs roster, change is likely to happen. “If youre keeping the coach, then something else has to change, and I dont think theyre just going to change the assistant coaches,” Mirtle told TSN Radio 1050. “It makes sense to look at what kind of value he has on the market.” Despite having his detractors, Mirtle said Phaneuf is still a valuable piece that has misused by the Leafs. “Phaneufs got limitations certainly, and the Leafs dont particulary work around those limitations that well,” Mirtle said, referencing how Phaneuf has been successful being a second-pairing defenceman that can contribute in an offensive way. “It seems in Toronto theyve tried to recast him as this defensive stalwart – Shea Weber-type – that can kill penalties and play against other teams top lines, 25-26 minutes a night and Ive never understood why thats the case. “You can have a six or $7-million defenceman that doesnt do it all and still get value out of him.” Mirtle mentioned Edmonton, Dallas and Minnesota as potential landing spots for Phaneuf, saying he would fit in nicely in a No. 2 role behind Ryan Suter with the Wild. ' ' '