TORONTO - Fresh off one of his most impressive outings of the season, DeMar DeRozan sat by his locker and spoke about carrying his suddenly injury-ridden team while a small piece of gauze soaked up the blood on the hand he used to carry them. Cheap Ray Ban Sunglasses . Theres some irony there, somewhere. DeRozan needed "four or five" stitches to close a gash in the webbing of his left hand following Wednesdays surprising 107-103 win over the Houston Rockets. "I didnt even notice," he said. It happened late in the fourth quarter as he tried to rip the ball away from Omer Asik. "I looked down and my whole hand was soaked." "It wouldnt stop bleeding. But its cool." Next to Terrence Ross, the Raptors healthiest starter might be the guy with the bloody mitt. They had been fortunate to avoid the injury bug for most of the season but, as they say, when it rains, it pours. Suddenly, its hit them like a monsoon. Missing Kyle Lowry for the first time this season, out with soreness in his left knee, Toronto lost another indispensable cog when Amir Johnson was removed three minutes into Wednesdays game, having tweaked a lingering right ankle ailment. Just a few minutes later the Raptors fell behind by 12 points. With eight games left in their feel-good, Cinderella season the sky was falling, or so we thought. Fact is, this wouldnt be the first time theyve been written off, left for dead. They havent followed the script to this point, so why would they start now? "Guys stepped up," Dwane Casey said. With Patrick Patterson leading the charge in his second game back from an elbow injury, the second unit immediately captured momentum. John Salmons played his best basketball in months while Nando De Colo and Tyler Hansbrough both gave Toronto a lift with their energy off the bench. Greivis Vasquez, starting in place of the injured Lowry, filled in admirably at the point, recording eight assists without committing a turnover in a season-high 40 minutes of action. But no one was quite as impressive as DeRozan. The all-star guard faced all the additional defensive attention you would expect without Lowry in the lineup but after a 12-minute adjustment period he put the team on his shoulders and got to work. "I had to pick up the slack with [Lowry] out," said DeRozan, making just one of his five shots in the first quarter. "I havent really played without Kyle, hes played every game. It was an adjustment for me tonight but I figured it out there after the first quarter." DeRozan scored 15 of his game-high 29 points in the second quarter, connecting on all six of his attempts in the frame, including a 32-foot bank shot to end the half. Rising to the occasion, DeRozan was at his best when his team needed him most; the mark of a true all-star. The Raptors have two players that fit that description. With DeRozan sidelined for a couple games in late February, Lowry led Toronto to a pair of victories, scoring over 30 points in each contest. Now it was his turn to carry the load. "Theyve been doing it the whole year," Vasquez said of the teams star backcourt. "Both [of them]. Its not hidden that theyre our leaders. We go as they go and everybody understands that. This is why we have a healthy locker room. Were not fighting egos. We know whats going on. Those two guys are going to score, those two guys are going to make winning plays for us and weve just got to feed off their energy. Whenever those guys go down weve got their back, thats what this team is all about." Lowry originally sustained the injury colliding with LeBron James in Mondays loss to the Heat. Although there was no structural damage to his knee, it was still swollen on Wednesday and the teams medical staff decided it was best to hold him out, much to the dismay of Lowry, one would imagine. "If it were up to him he would go one leg," Casey joked before the game. "But you dont want to risk his future health for one game." Even in his absence, Lowrys tendencies seemed to rub off on his teammates. DeRozan took a rare charge. Vasquez tried to do the same, though he was called for a blocking foul. "I know he was laughing," Vasquez said of Lowry, who leads the league in drawing charges. "He knows I dont take charges." The good news for the Raptors is that neither Lowrys knee injury or Johnsons bum ankle appears too serious. Both players will benefit from some much-needed rest during Thursdays off day and hope to be ready for Fridays home tilt with the Pacers, Torontos final game against a winning opponent this season. "Weve been very lucky not to have had some major injuries, knock on wood, throughout the year," Casey said. "The little injury bug has hit us a little bit. The schedules not going to stop. Weve got to keep going. Next man up." Casey reaches milestone With the victory, Casey notched his 100th win at the helm of the Raptors, becoming the third coach in team history to reach that plateau, joining Sam Mitchell and Lenny Wilkens. Asked about the accomplishment after the game, the Raptors third-year bench boss shifted the focus to his players, as expected. "All I know is its [win] number 43 for us this year," he said. "Its not about [me]. Its about the team, its about the organization, its about the players that have been here the three years and the process that weve gone through." "To start where we did and kind of build, and were still building, is a tribute to the young guys and the players that have been through here." The stat The Raptors will finish the year with a 16-14 record against Western Conference teams, their first season above .500 versus the West since 1999-00. The quote "Ever since I was in New Orleans I wanted to start my whole career," said Vasquez, who made his second start as a Raptor after doing so in all 18 games with the Kings this season and all 78 he appeared in with New Orleans last year. "But when I came here I really humbled myself and understood that its about winning more than about putting up numbers. I can go out there and play 36 minutes and put up crazy numbers but what about the playoffs? What about making winning plays?" "So Im going to be ready, man. I love this team and Im willing to do whatever it takes." Ray Ban Sunglasses Wholesale USA . The union filed a grievance late Thursday, one day after Goodell suspended four players who participated in bounties from 2009-11. The complaint says Goodell is prohibited from punishing players for any aspect of the case occurring before the new collective bargaining agreement was signed last August. Ray Ban Sunglasses Discount .com) - SirDominic Pointer posted career highs of 24 points and seven steals to lead No. http://www.raybancheap.us/ . His apology came before a pregame ceremony in which the team honoured its 2004 team that won Bostons first World Series championship since 1918. "I realize that I behaved bad in Boston," Ramirez said.EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. - From the moment the Minnesota Vikings traded back into the first round to take Teddy Bridgewater, it was only a matter of time before he took over as the teams starting quarterback. When Bridgewater makes his first start on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons, he will be in line for something even bigger a€” the new face of the franchise. With Adrian Peterson away from the team while he faces child abuse charges, the Vikings are searching for a new identity while the chaos from Petersons legal troubles and injuries to several high-profile players threaten to derail the team less than a month into the season. In steps Bridgewater, the unflappable rookie, and all he has to do is pull the Vikings out of a spiral and step into the void left by Petersons departure. No pressure, Teddy. Its no pressure on me and its not all about me, Bridgewater said Wednesday. It takes a team effort to win football games and we have 11 guys on defence who are going to play their tails off. We have 11 guys on special teams and 10 other guys on the offensive side of the ball that are going to be out there competing for one another. Theres no pressure for me to have to fill the needs or anything. ... Its just all about the team. With quarterback Matt Cassel lost for the season with a foot injury and Peterson out indefinitely while the legal process plays out, the Vikings have become Teddys team much faster than anyone expected. The Vikings traded back into the first round on the opening night of the draft to snag Bridgewater in hopes that he could finally become the long-term answer at quarterback the team has been searching for ever since Daunte Culpepper went down with a knee injury in 2005. Peterson was expected to continue to be the teams star player for at least another season or two, providing a cocoon for the young quarterback while he got his feet underneath him. That all changed two weeks ago with Petersons stunning arrest in a child-abuse charge in Texas. Ready or not, its Teddy Time in Minnesota. Honestly, coach Mike Zimmer said, I think hes been ready since the day he walked in. The Vikings started the season with the veteran Cassel, hoping to ease Bridgewaters transition and give him some time to get acclimated to NFL life. While Cassel was running with the starters, Bridgewater distinguished himself by not diistinguishing himself at all. Ray Ban Sunglasses Outlet. Earlier on draft night, Minnesota attempted to trade up to No. 22 to grab Johnny Manziel, the flamboyant Texas A&M quarterback. But Cleveland outbid the Vikings, who then set their sights on Bridgewater. While Manziel has drawn headlines for his party-hearty lifestyle off the field, Bridgewater has been whisper quiet in the meeting rooms and sound bite-proof in his interactions with the media. He doesnt really get overwhelmed, fullback Jerome Felton said. He works hard. Hes humble. He comes prepared. So I think thats the biggest thing. He prepares himself well. Hes in here early, leaves late, so hell be just fine. Bridgewater stepped in for the injured Cassel on Sunday and completed 12 of 20 passes for 150 yards against a New Orleans defence that played the pass very aggressively with Peterson gone. The offence didnt score a touchdown with him in the game, but his ability to handle the heat carried over from his turns in the huddle during the preseason. I remember the first preseason game I asked Teddy whether he was nervous or not and of course he said no. And I thought, you know, hes just a liar, backup quarterback Christian Ponder said. But the guy doesnt get nervous. The guy has a ton of poise and played extremely well. I expect that to continue the next game and so on. When Bridgewater takes the field for his first game as a starter on Sunday against Atlanta (2-1), he wont have Peterson to take his handoffs. He wont have tight end Kyle Rudolph, who will miss about six weeks after having sports hernia surgery, to catch his passes and he wont have starting right guard Brandon Fusco, who is out for the season with a torn pectoral muscle, to block for him. He also wont have a big entourage in the stands. Bridgewater said earlier this season a€” while he was still Cassels backup a€” he put six people, including his mother, girlfriend and agent, on a list to watch the game. Now that hes starting, the number hasnt changed. I gave myself a moment Monday morning, Bridgewater said. I woke up and told myself, Hey, your dream is finally here and its coming true. Its not the way that I wanted it to happen, but Im still going to have to take advantage of this opportunity. Its one thing to be named the guy, but for me I want to continue to just be the guy for a long time. 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