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DeRozan rallies Raptors CAREER-HIGH 40 POINTS NABS VICTORY OVER MAVERICKS BY THE CANADIAN PRESS TORONTO — With teammate Kyle Lowry ailing, DeMar DeRozan put the Toronto Raptors on his shoulders Wednesday night. DeRozan had a career-high 40 points to rally the Raptors to a 93-85 home win over the Dallas Mavericks, their first victory in three games. And with fellow guard Lowry struggling with the stomach flu — he went 0-for-10 from the field, including 0-for-6 from beyond the arc — it was DeRozan who led Toronto to its third straight decision over the Mavs. “Once I saw Kyle with his head hanging down and holding his stomach, I knew he wasn’t feeling too well,” DeRozan said. “This loss would’ve hurt and we didn’t want to lose three in a row. “I just told myself to try do as much as I can to win, try to pull this one off and keep my team in it.” DeRozan finished 15-of-22 from the field, nine-of-14 from the freethrow line and hit the only threepointer he tried. He put an exclamation point on his outstanding performance by
recording the steal and going the length of the court to score and give Toronto (21-20) a 92-85 lead with 1:48 remaining. “He got into the flow of the game,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. “In the first quarter we weren’t getting those flow shots. “After that we started getting into our offence, we ran the pick and rolls. They started blitzing them and he (DeRozan) did a good job finding others and the ball found him. It was growth on his part from being double-teamed and being patient enough to get the ball back and be able to score.” Although Lowry only managed three points — off free throws — Casey praised his guard’s contributions in other areas of the game. “Kyle didn’t stop playing,” Casey said. “He dove on the floor, go his hands in there defensively on loose balls. “He affected the game without scoring. You don’t expect him to go 0-for-10 but he affected the game.” Grievis Vazquez scored 17 points and Jonas Valanciunas added 12 for Toronto, which re-
bounded from a horrid start as Dallas stormed out to a 34-15 firstquarter lead. “After the first quarter I thought it was going to be a blowout,” Casey said. “But in the second half we got the game back under control and got defence in the game. “You get in a free-flowing game with a great offensive team like that and you’re in trouble. Our starts are concerning . . . but for us to score only 15 points is alarming.” Monta Ellis had 21 points for Dallas (25-19) while former Raptors Jose Calderon and Vince Carter had 13 and eight points, respectively. Brandan Wright also had 13 points as all-star forward Dirk Nowitzki (rest) was inactive despite scoring 17 points in a 10297 road win over Cleveland on Monday night. Dallas head coach Rick Carlisle said DeRozan was tough to pin down. “He was doing a little bit of everything,” he said. “He was driving and he was making shots. “They got in transition a lot because of turnovers and he’s a really good transition player.”
NHLers voice concern over security in Sochi BY THE CANADIAN PRESS
OLYMPICS
VANCOUVER — Roberto Luongo won’t have any family joining him next month when he suits up for Canada at the Winter Olympics. The same goes for Sweden’s Daniel Sedin. The Vancouver Canucks teammates are both concerned over security at the Games in Sochi, Russia, after a series of threats and terrorist attacks in the region. Two suicide bombers killed 34 people in the southern Russian city of Volgograd in December, and officials say they are hunting three more potential attackers — including one believed to be in Sochi. “It’s definitely on my mind, I’m not going to lie,” Luongo said after practice on Wednesday. “I think we’re all a little bit concerned. We’re definitely going to keep an eye on it over the next few weeks.” Sedin, who is set to compete for Sweden along with his twin brother Henrik, said he was “absolutely” concerned about the news coming out of Russia, including email threats on Wednesday against a handful of European countries set to participate at the Olympics. The threats were largely dis-
missed as a hoax, but the concern over security in Sochi is serious. “We talk about it quite a bit. It’s nothing you can really joke about,” said Sedin. “It’s in the back of your head for sure.” Luongo, the odds on favourite to start for Canada in its first game Feb. 13 against Norway, and Sedin both said safety is the main reason their families won’t be travelling to Russia. Sedin added that if family members wanted to join him and his brother, he would discourage them from making the trip. An Islamic militant group in Dagestan — which is located about 500 kilometres from Sochi — claimed responsibility for the bombings in Volgograd in a video posted on Sunday. The video also contained a threat to strike the Olympics. Penguins captain Sidney Crosby voiced similar concerns to those of Luongo and Sedin to reporters in Pittsburgh on Sunday. “Obviously everybody watches the news and knows that there’s been things happening fairly close to there,” said Crosby, who will captain the Canadian team. “From what we’ve been told, I think they’re going to do every-
thing they can to make sure it’s safe and secure. We’re going over to play and focus on that. “It’s not something everyone’s totally worried about, but I think it’s hard not to think about it when things are happening kind of close to there.” Toronto Maple Leafs forward James van Riemsdyk, who will suit up for the United States in Sochi, said back in December that American hockey officials told him that security will be “very tight.” “I know they mentioned things about different actions they were going to take as far as making sure everything’s secure,” he said. “It seemed like they were on top of all that.” Minnesota Wild defenceman Ryan Suter, who will also play for the Americans, said after practice Wednesday that his wife and two young children won’t be travelling to Russia. The long trip is part of the reason, but Suter said recent news about terrorist threats made the decision “a little bit easier.” Another American Olympian, Suter’s friend and Wild teammate Zach Parise, also advised his parents and relatives not to come. He said the situation is “nerve wracking, that’s for sure.”
Reborn Jets tie longest winning streak this season after coaching change BY THE CANADIAN PRESS As far as mid-season turnarounds go, this one is starting to look pretty good. With their longshot 3-2 win over first-place Anaheim Tuesday night, the Winnipeg Jets have strung together four in a row for only the second time this NHL campaign. They have a shot at hitting a high-water mark of five when they visit San Jose Thursday night to play the Sharks, also formidable at home with a record in their own building of 17-2-3. Not since November have the Jets managed to win four in a row in a season that has seen a fivegame losing streak cost former coach Claude Noel his job. But since Paul Maurice took over Jan. 12, they haven’t lost a game. They’ve even started talking with straight faces about making the playoffs once more, despite their current last-place position in the Central Division. Although, with Tuesday’s win, they at least now sit tied with Nashville. If they were looking for another
Julia de Vos and Gwen Tiggelaar dropped in 16 points each to lead the Xpress to a 67-18 victory over the Rampage in Red Deer Women’s Basketball League action Monday. Beth Townsend and Kaitlin Rye had four points each for the Rampage. ● In other action the Spartans go 13 points from Jaci Horvath in a 59-40 victory over Triple Threat. Tamara Steer had 12 points in a losing cause.
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vious 10. Little has always been a strong playmaker for the Jets but they’ve come to rely on him even more this season as others have struggled. With 42 points and 31 games remaining, he’s well on track to break his NHL careerhigh 51 set in Atlanta in 2008-09. ● Right winger Blake Wheeler has also boosted his output with six points in his last five games, only two fewer than he managed in his previous 10. ● Rookies Mark Scheifele at centre and Jacob Trouba on defence have started to perform consistently at a high level. Scheifele continues to climb in the NHL’s rookie scoring race, sitting in fourth spot Wednesday with 28 points. ● Left winger Evander Kane returned from his latest injury Tuesday to score, short-handed, what proved to be the game winner. As he left town on the road swing, Kane said it was his turn to show Maurice what he could do. ● And Dustin Byfuglien has managed the Noel-inspired transition to forward well and still holds the point on power plays.
Yankees ink Tanaka BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK — The Yankees talked frugality, then reverted to their high-spending ways. New York capped an off-season spending spree by agreeing Wednesday to a $155 million, seven-year contract with prized Japanese pitcher Masahiro Tanaka. Following just the second season in 19 years that didn’t include a playoff appearance, the Yankees flexed their economic might and committed $438 million to four free agents. Tanaka joined catcher Brian McCann and outfielders Jacoby Ellsbury and Carlos Beltran on a revamped roster missing long-time All-Stars Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte and Robinson Cano. And in addition to the deal with the 25-year-old right-hander, the Yankees must pay a $20 million posting fee to Tanaka’s Japanese club, the Rakuten Golden Eagles. “Anybody that questioned our commitment to winning is going to have to question themselves,” Yankees co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner said during a telephone interview with The Associated Press. Big league teams had until Friday to reach an agreement with Tanaka, who was 24-0 with a 1.27 ERA last year as the Golden Eagles won the Japan Series title. Arizona, the Chicago Cubs and White Sox, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston all said they were among the failed bidders. Still, the Yankees have ample uncertainty — especially in an AL East where they compete with World Series champion Boston. And especially with a veteran team that saw 21 players go on the disabled list last year. David Robertson appears set to inherit the closer’s role from the retired Rivera, and New York must try to make up the offence lost when Cano left for a $240 million, 10-year deal with Seattle. Alex Rodriguez is suspended for the entire season and 39-yearold shortstop Derek Jeter has played just 17 games since October 2012. “I think the entire infield is certainly something that people will focus on,” New York general manager Brian Cashman said. “What’s Brian Roberts going to be? What’s Derek Jeter going to be as he comes back from his injury? What’s Mark Teixeira going to be at first base as he comes back from his wrist? Can Kelly Johnson secure and handle on a consistent basis third base?” New York went 85-77 last year, its worst record since 1992. Attendance and television ratings dropped. The pinstriped response was similar to the Yankees’ behaviour after they missed the playoffs in 2008. They spent $423.5 million on CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Teixeira, then won their 27th World Series title. This off-season included big deals for McCann ($85 million for five years), Ellsbury ($153 million for seven) and Beltran ($45 million for three). Combined with agreements to re-sign Hiroki Kuroda and Brendan Ryan, and to add Roberts, Johnson and Matt Thornton, the Yankees’ off-season spending on free agents totals $471 million. Add the posting fee, and the cost was nearly a half-billion dollars.
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confidence booster, they certainly got it in Anaheim. The Jets handed the Ducks their first regulation home loss this season and it made Maurice look more prophet than cockeyed optimist when he said earlier this week that, on a onegame basis, any team can beat any team in the NHL. At 23-23-5, the Jets are still just barely back in .500 territory. To make the playoffs, something the franchise has managed only once in its entire history in Atlanta or Winnipeg, the current winning streak pretty well has to continue, or at least not see many long interruptions. But there is at least a glimmer of hope for fans who just two weeks ago were raining boos down on the home team. Some of the good things: ● Ondrej Pavelec’s save percentage has finally crept back above the .900 mark. His goaltending (40 saves) was a big reason the Ducks were stymied in their bid to extend their winning ways at home Tuesday. ● Centre Bryan Little is on fire with eight points in five games, after managing just three in his pre-
Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS
Toronto Raptors’ forward Kyle Lowry, right, drives past Dallas Mavericks’ forward Shawn Marion, left, during first-half NBA basketball action in Toronto on Wednesday.