winning that spot. "Im just trying to do my best every day. Im going to try an

TORONTO - With six weeks remaining before his teams likely return to the playoffs, Dwane Casey is hoping to manufacture some late-season rest for the Raptors two leading scorers. Shoes Canada Cheap . Although DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry have shown no sign of wearing down, each logging more playing time than they have previously in their careers, Casey would like to keep them as fresh as possible for the stretch run, something that may be easier said than done. Sitting 9 1/2 games ahead of ninth-place Detroit in the Eastern Conference standings, Toronto - the Easts third seed - is poised to make its first postseason appearance in six years. With that comes another rarity for the franchise, playing meaningful games in March and April. The challenge for Casey and the Raptors coaching staff will be in managing the rotation, loosening it enough to give the guards a breathier - together or separately - without sacrificing important games. "Thats the hard thing," Casey acknowledged following Wednesdays practice. "Weve got to buy them a few minutes here and there but every possession - not only every game, every quarter [but] every possession - is meaningful." "When you start looking at scoring, we hit a drought the other night against Golden State right before the fourth quarter but we were just trying to buy minutes for those guys off the floor. Its a catch-22." DeRozan is fourth in the league, averaging just over 38 minutes per game, behind only Carmelo Anthony, James Harden and Kevin Durant while Lowry is 14th, logging roughly 36 a night. Amongst NBA duos, only Houstons pair of Harden and Chandler Parsons as well as Golden States Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson play more. In February, DeRozan played over 40 minutes a night, with Lowry nearly hitting 38. Since the early-December trade, Casey has been rolling out a strict nine-man rotation, using primarily Greivis Vasquez and John Salmons to spell Lowry, DeRozan and Terrence Ross. Getting reliable contribution from his reserves and piecing together the right combinations will be essential for the Raptors coach to expand the rotation enough to buy his backcourt duo more downtime on the bench. One player hed like to see more of, who could help in taking the burden off Lowry and DeRozan, is newcomer Nando De Colo. The versatile guard has played just eight minutes since being acquired from the Spurs in a deadline day trade two weeks ago. Although Casey has had trouble pinpointing where exactly De Colo fits in his lineup, he anticipates using the 26-year-old as a secondary ball handler, likely at the two or three position. "Weve got to make sure we have the right combinations on the court, that way we dont sacrifice scoring, but he knows how to play, he has a feel for the game," Casey said of De Colo. "You cant really put your finger on his position or what he is, a two, a three or a point [guard], but hes a basketball player. He just knows how to play." The Raptors got back to work Wednesday after taking a couple days off to satisfy a league mandate. "I thought we had decent focus," Casey said, "the usual first day back to school-type start, but I thought once guys got into it we ramped the intensity a little bit. "There was no resistance as far as the drills were concerned whatsoever, so I could sense they were anxious to get back. As a coach you dont want to lose that rhythm, thats the biggest fear. I didnt sense any of that today." While Jonas Valanciunas used the time off to get away from the game, spending the day ice fishing on Lake Simcoe (he returned home empty handed, without a fish), Terrence Ross took advantage of a rare mid-season opportunity for rest. Ross has been nursing a sprained left ankle, keeping him out of Sundays win over Golden State, but was able to practice in full Wednesday. "It happened at the best time," said Ross, who expects to be in uniform when the Raptors host Sacramento on Friday. "I got a few days off to stay off it and rest. Im feeling back to normal. Ive still got to do treatment on it but right now it feels good." Shoes Canada Nike . David Perron had a career high four-point night with two goals and two assists as the Oilers experienced an offensive explosion, blasting the Columbus Blue Jackets 7-0 to record a rare home win for their second victory in a row. Shoes Canada Sale . Inter Milan ended its five-match winless streak in all competitions by beating 10-man Bologna 3-1 on new manager Claudio Ranieris debut, while injury-plagued AC Milan edged Cesena 1-0 with an early goal from Clarence Seedorf. https://www.shoescanadaonline.com/ . Rico dove horizontally to meet Andoni Iraolas precise long cross from the right to score his second league goal of the season in the 33rd minute. Two minutes later, Aritz Aduriz netted Bilbaos second when he raced forward and pounced on a poor clearance by Villarreal defender Mateo Musacchio, sending a low shot rolling past goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo.WINNIPEG -- If a labour dispute does derail the start of the CFL season, new Winnipeg Blue Bomber quarterback Drew Willy says hes "100 per cent behind the players" and knows just what to do. He was with the New York Jets in 2011 when the NFL locked out their players after they failed to agree on a new contract. Willy went undrafted but was given a look by four NFL teams before heading north. "If there was something to happen, Id make sure we were getting the guys together in Winnipeg . . . getting our work in, obviously not in the building but somewhere around Winnipeg," he said Wednesday as the Blue Bombers rookie camp got under way. Thats what quarterback Mark Sanchez did with the Jets during the four-month NFL lockout in 2011. "Whoevers in the area, well make sure we get all the leaders, a lot of guys that are in the area." Not that Willy, 27, is looking forward to running a makeshift camp as he prepares to take the field for the first time as a starting quarterback in the CFL, after spending two seasons as a backup with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. "Being a first-time starter, I need all the reps I can get but also I understand it is a business and I back the players," he said. Things still remained very much up in the air Wednesday as the clock ticked down and talks resumed. The collective bargaining agreement between the league and the players ends Thursday at midnight ET, and a possible strike looms before the start of main camp Sunday. Willy said he was looking forward to throwing his first passes as a Blue Bomber on Investors Group Field as rookie camp got rolling Wednesday evening. "Quarterbacks, we dont get hit in practice, so Ive always loved practice." He had already spent a couple of days in the teams quarterback school with the Bombers other three pivots, Robert Marve, Brian Brohm and Max Hall, the only active quarterback from last season the team elected to keep on their roster. Brohm was signed last season but went straight to the injured list. Hall took over mid-season and finished as Winnipegs most consistent quarterback in 2013, starting nine of Winnipegs 12 final games. But the team still floundered and finished at 3-15 in thhe CFL cellar. Shoes Canada From China. Offensive co-ordinator Marcel Bellefeuille is also back after taking over last August when Gary Crowton was sacked, and he has been putting the teams quarterbacks though their paces. "We pretty much started with what coach Bellefeuille expects from us as a unit, as individuals. Just mentally doing the right things, watching a lot of film," said Willy. "You get towards the installation period where we put in different aspects of the offence." The one good thing that came out of last season was the ability to pick second in the CFL draft (behind expansion Ottawa, which traded its pick to Calgary), and the Bombers also announced Wednesday that they had signed their top 2014 pick, offensive lineman Matthias Goossen. The team is hoping Goossen might even be able to start this season, perhaps at centre. The six-foot-four, 294-pound lineman was a conference all-star the past two seasons at Simon Fraser and was also on the world team that defeated the U.S. for the first time ever at the 2012 IFAF International Bowl. After his first practice Wednesday, Goossen said it was exciting, tiring and also the first time the Vancouver-area native has lived away from home. Hes bunking in a University of Manitoba dorm. "You only have one first practice and it was a lot of fun, very fast and very physical," he said after lining up at centre, although he said he isnt necessarily counting on winning that spot. "Im just trying to do my best every day. Im going to try and get better and contribute to the team in any way possible." Coach Mike OShea was happy Goossen made it for the start of camp and sounded a lot more positive about his chances. "We drafted him at that spot for a reason because we like him a lot," said OShea. "Hes going to be just fine." The Bombers are hanging a lot on Willys shoulders as they prepare for their second season in a new $200-million-plus stadium that carries a hefty mortgage they must pay. But Willy isnt short on confidence. "Ive been around some good coaches and players. I just need to take everything Ive learned here and there, put it all together and go out there," he said. ' ' '