Optik » better team and continue to get

Willie Desjardins will be meeting with the Canucks in Vancouver this weekend and according to TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie, the team will introduce him as their new head coach next week assuming all goes as expected in the hiring process. Desjardins, 58, led the AHLs Texas Stars to Calder Cup victory win over the St. Johns IceCaps this past season. He has served as the Stars head coach for the past two seasons, following a three-year stint as an assistant coach with Dallas. The native of Climax, Sask. also won a WHL championship in 2004 as coach of the Medicine Hat Tigers. The Canucks fired both general manager Mike Gillis and head coach John Tortorella at the end of last season. Canucks alumnus Trevor Linden was named President of Hockey Operations in April and hired Jim Benning as general manager last month. Wholesale Shoes From China . The first of the three games will be played in Week 4, when the Oakland Raiders will take on the Miami Dolphins on Sept. Replica Shoes Wholesale China . The kind he has every so often. The kind he has when Dwyane Wade sits. James scored 43 points -- 25 in a bewildering first-quarter shooting display -- and Chris Bosh added 21, leading the Miami Heat to a 100-96 win Tuesday night over the Cleveland Cavaliers, who played their first game without injured All-Star guard Kyrie Irving. http://www.wholesaleshoes.us.org/ . -- John Fox will coach the Denver Broncos from the sideline and not the booth upon his return Sunday five weeks after heart surgery. Wholesale China Shoes Free Shipping . Although head coach Randy Carlyle jokingly wondered how much actual training Bolland got done while in London. "I dont know how much training goes on when you go back to the junior team that you played for so I wouldnt read too much into that," laughed Carlyle after the Maple Leafs were put through an up-tempo practice that concluded with a 10-minute bag skate on Thursday. Cheap Shoes China Free Shipping . The Maple Leafs handed their embattled head coach a two-year contract extension on Thursday, while at the same time announcing that assistants Dave Farrish, Greg Cronin and Scott Gordon will not be back.NEW YORK - As the Knicks were on their way to an embarrassing 29-point Christmas Day defeat, the Madison Square Garden faithful chanted the name of their saviour, who just so happens to be the Raptors starting point guard. Their 9-19 record remains identical to the crosstown rivals in Brooklyn and trails both Toronto and Boston in the Atlantic Division. Raymond Felton, their declining point guard, is back on the sideline nursing his third injury of the season. Their owner James Dolan has reassured his team that no one is being traded or fired, at least for the time being. Still, some Knicks fans are holding out hope that help is on the way. "Thats very humbling," Kyle Lowry said, flattered by the thought of Knicks fans chanting his name. "Thats humbling, I appreciate it. Its kind of one of those things where you just dont know what to say, you just are like, wow thats pretty cool but at the end of the day, I play for the Raptors." Exactly two weeks ago, Lowry stood in front of the Toronto media and addressed multiple reports that had surfaced the day prior, connecting him to trade talks with the Knicks. The rumour mill has dried up since then, for the most part, but the Raptors guard found himself answering the same questions prior to Fridays game at MSG, the first in a home-and-home set with the Knicks. Catch both contests against the division-rival Knicks - Friday at 7:30pm et and Saturday at 7pm et - live on TSN2 and listen to Saturdays rematch on TSN 1050 Radio. "That wasnt in my mind," Lowry said, asked about the possibility of playing in New York. "My mind [said] to keep playing and be a competitor and play hard, try to win as many games for the Raptors. If something happens, then it happens, until that day Im a Raptor and I play hard for the Raptors." Reconvening in New York following a brief two-day break for the holidays, the Raptors are feeling good about their place in the putrid Atlantic Division. Despite the trade of Rudy Gay earlier in the month and ongoing speculation that Lowry and/or others could be moved next, no one is panicking. Quite the opposite in fact. The team is as harmonious as ever and thats a credit to their flood general, who hasnt been shaken by the off-court noise and is playing the best basketball of his career. Lowry is averaging 15.dddddddddddd points and 7.0 assists this season, both career-highs. He has recorded six or more assists in a career-best 18 consecutive games, obliterating his previous high, which was eight straight contests. The Raptors sit atop the division, a half game ahead of the Celtics and three games in front of the Knicks and Nets. Although theyve won five of eight since the trade of Gay - including two of three during an exceptionally difficult Western Conference road trip - the Knicks are closing in. New York has won six of its last 12 and has Tyson Chandler, the heart of its defence, back in the lineup. With two straight games against the Knicks and four of the next 11 against Atlantic Division opponents, this stretch could go a long way in mapping out the Raptors next step, as well as the future of Lowry and his expiring contract. "We all want to win, we all want to make the playoffs, we all want to be a better team and continue to get better," said Lowry. "I think guys are just out here, were having fun, were taking advantage of every time we can step on the floor together and just trying to win games." "I just want to keep playing. No matter what, I want to try to win games. I made a commitment to the city of Toronto, to myself and to the fans to get the Raptors to the playoffs so thats what Im here to do." Much-needed rest for DeRozan For the second straight season, DeMar DeRozan is among the league-leaders in minutes played. The Raptors guard has logged 38.5 minutes per night through the teams first 26 games with only the Knicks Carmelo Anthony and Rockets guard James Harden averaging more playing time. The two-day break couldnt have come at a better time for Torontos best player. "I think we just needed that," he said following shootaround at Baruch College in New York Friday afternoon. "Just to have two days to relax, get your mind off things, I think it was definitely needed for us, especially with this push were trying to make to stay on top of the division and win the next couple games." Raptors coach Dwane Casey said he is planning to monitor DeRozans minutes closely and could deploy John Salmons or the sparingly used Landry Fields and Steve Novak to spell him more as the season goes on. ' ' '