Dein erstes Forum » Europe thats part and parcel of the game,

SALT LAKE CITY - Just four days after becoming one of the most disputed all-star omissions, Kyle Lowry received his consolation prize from the NBA. The Raptors point guard has been named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played Monday, Jan. 27, through Sunday, Feb. 2, the league announced ahead of Torontos meeting with the Jazz on Monday. Lowry led off the week topping 30 points in back-to-back games for the first time in his career - including a season-high 33 points in Wednesdays win over the Magic - carrying his team to a pair of victories without injured leading scorer DeMar DeRozan. Overall, the eighth-year guard averaged 25.0 points and 8.0 assists as Toronto finished the week with a 3-1 record. For Lowry, the recognition is long overdue. "He is one of the best point guards in the league right now," Dwane Casey said in Denver Thursday evening, hours after the all-star reserves were announced and Lowry, despite his body of work this season, was left off the list. DeRozan, a first-time all-star, was voted in by the coaches and will deservedly represent the Raptors in New Orleans later this month but Lowrys case should have been just as, if not more, compelling. Since the early-December trade of Rudy Gay, Lowry has come out of his shell, emerging as the teams leader. Hes been the Raptors most reliable contributor and a big part of the post-trade resurgence. Toronto has won 19 of 29 games since moving Gay, recording 20 or more assists in 23 of those contests. "Me personally, I thought he should have made [the All-Star team]," DeRozan said Thursday. "Especially [with] what he means to this team. There are not too many players that are doing the things he is doing." Lowry, sincerely happy for his teammate, shrugged off the coaches oversight, concerning himself with team success over individual accolades. Similarly, he downplayed a couple nominations for earlier Player of the Week awards and will likely do the same after winning one, but after putting the team on his shoulders this past week, the honour comes well deserved. With DeRozan sidelined for the first time this season, nursing an ankle injury, Lowry engineered a thrilling victory over the surging Nets in Brooklyn to begin the week. In that game, Lowry become the first player this season to record at least 30 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals, something only LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant accomplished last year. The 27-year-old is also having a career year from beyond the arch, connecting on 16 of his 36 attempts from three-point range last week. Lowry goes into Mondays game in Utah needing nine more threes to match his career-high for treys in a season (129). Hell also chase down Morris Petersons franchise record for most three-pointers made in a single campaign (177). Lowry became the fifth Raptor to win Player of the Week, joining Chris Bosh, Vince Carter, Mike James and Jalen Rose. Also left off the All-Star squad, Suns guard Goran Dragic - Lowrys former teammate in Houston - captured the award in the West. Tommy La Stella Angels Jersey .com) - Real Madrid claimed its 20th consecutive win across all competitions by cruising to a 4-1 victory at Almeria on Friday. Garret Anderson Jersey . I kept my eyes focused up on the camera during each approach. I just tried to stay focused on my form, as I didnt know what the ball reaction was. I was quite emotional at the end. I did not actually see any of the shots in the game until I got home and watched the video. https://www.cheapangels.com/2143j-whitey-herzog-jersey-angels.html .Chanathip Songkrasin opened the scoring in the sixth minute before Kroekrit found the target twice in the 57th and four minutes from fulltime.Vietnam and Malaysia play their second leg on Thursday. Vietnam won the first leg 2-1. Felix Pena Jersey . -- Once again, Carlos Santana was a huge hit in Kansas City. Brian Downing Jersey .Y. - The NFL has fined Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch $20,000 for making an obscene gesture during last Sundays NFC championship game, a person with knowledge of the fine told The Associated Press on Thursday.VANCOUVER -- The Vancouver Whitecaps know they have to be more ruthless in front of the goal. They nearly ran the Seattle Sounders out of B.C. Place Stadium in the opening 30 minutes last weekend with their attacking style, but couldnt capitalize on a number of clear-cut chances and settled for a 2-2 draw. Creating those opportunities is one thing, but the Whitecaps understand they must be better finishers in order to climb up the Major League Soccer standings. "We have to continue to try to take our chances," said Vancouver captain Jay DeMerit. "Over the past couple weeks weve really created a lot of them, now the final step in that is to put a few more in the net." The Whitecaps (4-2-5) will be looking to do just that on Sunday when they travel south to Oregon to take on the rival Portland Timbers (3-3-7). You can see all the action on TSN beginning at 9pm et/6pm pt. "Its part and parcel of our DNA as a team now to start on the front foot, be a forward-thinking team and try and go for the throat," said Whitecaps assistant coach Martyn Pert. "Weve got the surprise element at the moment because people are looking at us and probably werent tipping us to play that offensively. "(Head coach Carl Robinsons) philosophy is to be on the front foot and play attacking football. Youre going to create chances." But burying those chances has been a problem. Vancouver could have had at least four goals in a 1-0 road victory over the Columbus Crew on May 10, and also wasted a number of opportunities in the second leg of the Amway Canadian Championship semifinal four days later against Toronto FC. Then last week, the Whitecaps could have easily been up 3-0 on the Sounders after half an hour, but they were betrayed by their final touch on numerous occasions. "Weve just got to focus on doing what weve been doing," said Whitecaps striker Erik Hurtado, who has three goals in three games in all competitions. "Were attacking ... we just have to finish our chances more often." Vancouver currently occupies the fifth and final playoff spot in the West, a point up on Portland with two games in hand. The L.A. Galaxy, meanwhile, are two points back, but have a game in hand themselves and are also in action Sunday. Looking up in the standings, the Whitecaps are also just a single point behind both the Colorado Rapids and FC Dallas, with games in hand on both clubs. "Theres a good team spirit, and I dont use the term loosely because there is a general feel-good factor about the place," said Whitecaps defender Andy OBrien. "The chances that weve created, and with a little bit of luck the results could have been a little bit different. But taking everything into consideration were pleased with how weve done so far." Sunday will also mark the second game for both Vancouver and Portland in the Cascadia Cup, a mini-touurnament played between the Whitecaps, Timbers and Sounders for bragging rights in the Pacific Northwest.ddddddddddddThe team with the most points in games between the three clubs is crowned champion, something that Vancouver has accomplished four times, including last season. "Weve got to start well. We know to expect a battle against Portland, especially at their ground," said DeMerit. "Theyre a big, physical team. They like to get the ball down and play as well so were going to have to stay up and not give their good players time and space because they can hurt you." While the Whitecaps have not lost in MLS competition in their last five (2-0-3), the Timbers enter the derby clash unbeaten in six (3-0-3), including back-to-back road victories. "Were looking forward to Vancouver, we know with a win there we can jump them in the table," Timbers head coach Caleb Porter told the clubs official website. "And with our fans behind us, the boys will be flying." Portland, which will be playing its third game in eight days, got two goals from six-foot-four striker Fanendo Adi in a 2-0 midweek victory over Chivas USA, his first two with the club. "Hes a big, athletic guy. He gives a different element for them," said DeMerit. "Most of the guys that play up front for them are tricky guys or guys that have a bit of flair. "Were going to have to battle him, stick with his pace and make him play." The atmosphere inside B.C. Place last week against Seattle was electric and OBrien said the Whitecaps expect the same in Portland. "Its one of the beauties of where we located that we get that because coming from Europe thats part and parcel of the game," said OBrien, a veteran of the English Premier League. "I must admit the abuse that you get from away supporters is not as bad as in Europe, but its certainly one of the fixtures that you look for when theyre released because you know theyre going to be great games." DeMerit said it will be crucial for the Whitecaps to continue to play the attacking, aggressive style that made them successful through 11 games this season if theyre going to pick up their second road win of the campaign. "(The Timbers) will make it hard for us, especially in the beginning with the crowd on their side," he said. "Its up to us to make sure we battle that back but still try to stay expressive on our end and not sit back and give them the ball. "Weve got to make sure we continue to stay at a high tempo both offensively and defensively to give ourselves the best chance." Notes: The Whitecaps have never beaten the Timbers in MLS play, including three draws last season. ... Vancouver plays at the Philadelphia Union on June 7 before MLS goes on its World Cup break. The Whitecaps dont play at home again until June 25 against the Montreal Impact. ' ' '