Dein erstes Forum » against this season, it was South Dakota. Bob Nielson

TORONTO -- After the Toronto Raptors were pushed to the limit before defeating the depleted Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday, coach Dwane Casey is urging his team to put up a defensive presence from the start of their game Friday against the visiting Los Angeles Lakers.If the Raptors were caught underestimating a Grizzlies team that was hit by absences to key players, they plan to be ready for the Lakers, who are coming off a 96-90 win over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday.Theyre playing well right now with a lot of confidence, Casey said of the Lakers on Thursday. A very talented offensive team.Our guys have proven that when their backs are against the wall they can step up for a challenge, Lakers coach Luke Walton said. They did it (Wednesday night). Thats a great win against a very good team. Held them to I think 35 percent from the field shooting, which is all we talked about pregame, was defense. Thats it. Defense. If youre committed to the defensive end on basketball, you always give yourself a chance.Both teams are in the middle of busy schedules. The Lakers (10-10) are playing their third game in four nights during a stretch in which they will play four games in five days, all on the road.The Raptors (12-6) are playing the second in stretch of three games in four nights, all at home as they enjoy a six-game homestand.Los Angeles will be without shooting guard Nick Young, who suffered a strained right calf muscle in the loss to the Pelicans in New Orleans on Tuesday. He will be out from two to four weeks.Young likely would have been guarding Torontos top scorer, shooting guard DeMar DeRozan.We put Nick on the other teams best player a lot this year, Walton said. And hes done a great job making them work. So its not just the shooting were going to miss. Were definitely going to miss his defense, the energy he brings. The confidence his teammates get when he hits good shots. Were going to miss a lot.Rookie Brandon Ingram played in Youngs place in Chicago.Lakers point guard DAngelo Russell is expected to miss at least another week with a left-knee injury.The 120-105 score in the Raptors win over the Grizzlies does not indicate the way the game played out. Memphis pulled within one point of Toronto with 9:10 to play before it began to miss shots and turn the ball over.The Raptors were given a boost by 16 points and eight rebounds off the bench by guard Cory Joseph as they won their fourth game in a row.I thought his energy rubbed off (on his teammates) late in the game, Casey said Thursday. Because the first part of the game we were in a malaise as far as focus and energy. I think he came in a got us going. And Pat (Patrick Patterson, who had 14 points and 13 rebounds) came in and got us going ... with his defense and energy.Los Angeles brings familiar faces in former Raptors guards Jose Calderon and Lou Williams.Williams leads the Lakers in scoring at 16.7 points while DeRozan is averaging 28.9 to pace Toronto.The Raptors are 6-3 a home and Los Angeles 4-8 on the road. Cheap Nike Jerseys . LeBron James and Chris Bosh didnt need any more. Williams scored 11 points in 10 minutes, Alan Anderson scored 17 points, and the Brooklyn Nets finished the exhibition season with a 108-87 win over the Miami Heat on Friday night. China Jerseys . Then the Pacers gave Oladipo and his Orlando teammates the cold shoulder. Paul Georges buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter spurred a 21-4 run, finally sending Indiana past the Magic 97-87 in a tougher-than-expected opening night matchup. https://www.fakejerseyswholesale.com/ . According to a report from the Winnipeg Free Press, the Bombers will name Acting GM Kyle Walters to the post full time. Cheap Jerseys From China . -- PGA TOUR Canada member Steve Saunders took a three-stroke lead Saturday in the Web. Cheap Authentic Jerseys . -- The proud fathers huddled near the Dallas Stars dressing room, smiling, laughing and telling stories while wearing replica green sweaters of their sons team. (STATS) -- It will be interesting to see what the NCAA Division I FCS selection committee thinks of the potential playoff field later this week.What the rest of us think doesnt matter.On Thursday, the selection committee will release the first of three weekly Top 10 rankings -- much like what happens on the FBS level. Its a new feature of the committee leading into Selection Sunday on Nov. 20. The first rankings will be aired on ESPNUs CFB Daily, which begins at 4 p.m. ET.Sam Houston State is top-ranked in the STATS FCS Top 25 and in other leading FCS polls. But the Bearkats, playing in a relatively down Southland Conference, are lacking a high strength of schedule, so the committee may not have them atop its first rankings.The STATS postseason projection has had the Bearkats as the fourth seed in recent weeks, behind North Dakota State, Eastern Washington and Jacksonville State.In support of Sam Houston, its handled every challenge with relative ease and hasnt trailed in a game this season. Plus, two of its final three games would be considered excellent wins -- McNeese and Southland co-leader Central Arkansas.SECOND AND 10Ten more observations from the FCS weekend:1.) If it seems like there is not a lot of movement near the top of the STATS FCS Top 25, well, there hasnt been much recently. In an October which had five Saturdays of action, a Top 10 team lost only five times, and two of them had to because they were in a matchup against another Top 10 team. Another game was a No. 8-versus-No. 15 loss. The only Top 10 teams to lose to an unranked team occurred on the road -- Montana at Northern Arizona last weekend and South Dakota State falling 38-17 to Illinois State this weekend.2.) So the team of the week lost. But why shouldnt Samford be the team of the week after it rolled up 627 yards and made SEC member Mississippi State work for a 56-41 win? Sophomore Devlin Hodges completed 42 passes for a career-high 468 yards and four touchdowns with three interceptions. Im just really proud of our football team, coach Chris Hatcher said. We came in and we fought extremely hard on a very hot afternoon. We ran out of gas a couple of times, but somehow the guys filled their tank back up. Up next for the Bulldogs (6-2, 4-1): Back into the Southern Conference at unbeaten The Citadel.3.) New Hampshire answered the call with a 43-14 rout of No. 22 Stony Brook. The perennial playoff qualifier out of CAA Football didnt have a win over a team that had a winning record last week, but it changed after the Wildcats defense resembled the typical Stony Brook performance, forcing five turnovers. The Cats have a bye next weekend before hosting Albany and going to rival Maine as they seek a 13th straight playoff appearance.4.) Eastern Washington senior wide receiver Cooper Kupps eight receptions in a 35-16 win over Montana raised him to 378 in his career, just 17 shy of Terrell Hudgins FCS all-time record of 395 from 2006-09. Kupp already owns the FCS career records for receiving yards (5,770) and touchdown receptions with 67.5.) Southerns Lenard Tillery became the SWACs all-time rushing leader, gaining 195 yards in a 41-33 win over Alcorn State to push his career total to 4,132. The West Division has sso dominated the East Division in inter-divisional matchups -- winning 15 of the 20 games -- that the West winner might be unbeaten (co-leaders Grambling State and Southern are 5-0) and the East winner could have four losses (co-leaders Alcorn State and Jackson State are 3-3) when they meet in the conference championship game on Dec.dddddddddddd 3 in Houston.6.) The versatility of Princetons Jon Lovett went to a new level in a 56-7 Ivy League win at Cornell. Playing his usual slash role, he set the school record with seven touchdowns -- four passing, two rushing and one receiving. He was 10 of 11 for 194 yards, rushed six times for 47 yards and caught two passes for 19 yards.7.) Lehighs offense has been relentless during a seven-game winning streak, including 632 yards and 58 points against Fordham on Saturday. With a win over Bucknell next weekend, the Mountain Hawks (7-2) will clinch their first Patriot League title since 2011 and an automatic bid to the playoffs. At-large bids appear unlikely for Fordham and Colgate, last years playoff qualifiers.8.) Just as Lehigh is in control of the Patriot League bid, Saint Francis can say the same in the Northeast Conference following a 38-17 triumph at Sacred Heart. Quarterback Zack Drayer and wide receiver Kamron Lewis connected for the final three touchdowns of the game and the Red Flash (6-3) moved to 4-0 in the NEC for the first time.9.) The Ohio Valley Conference surely has dropped to a one-bid conference with Eastern Illinois and Tennessee State losing in back-to-back weeks. Unless, that is, UT Martin (5-4, 4-1) can win out and steal the automatic bid from Jacksonville State, the two-time defending champ. The Gamecocks (7-1, 4-0) are playing one fewer conference game than UT Martin because theyre not meeting Tennessee State, which played an extra non-conference game this season. If the Skyhawks win out, they could go 7-1 and have at least an extra win over the Gamecocks.10.) Hello, again. If there was one team Western Illinois probably didnt want to lose against this season, it was South Dakota. Bob Nielson, the 2015 Missouri Valley Football Conference coach of the year, left the Leathernecks program after last season to take over at South Dakota. It looked bad for the visiting Leathernecks when they trailed by 17 points, but they rallied for a 35-34 win and left the Coyotes (4-4) in dire playoff position heading into November.A LOOK AHEADNext Saturdays big matchup will come from the CAA as the Top 10 as James Madison visits rival Richmond. Also, its pass-versus-run with Eastern Washington visiting Cal Poly in the Big Sky and defense-versus-defense with Youngstown State going to North Dakota State in the Missouri Valley.Other pivotal conference matchups: Big Sky, North Dakota at Northern Colorado; CAA, Villanova at Maine; Ivy, Penn at Princeton; MEAC, South Carolina State at North Carolina A&T; Northeast, Duquesne at Wagner; Patriot, Bucknell at Lehigh and Colgate at Fordham; Southern, Samford at The Citadel; Southland, McNeese at top-ranked Sam Houston State; and SWAC, Alcorn State at Prairie View A&M. ' ' '