game. Defensively, we wanted to keep them on the perimeter, and thats the

SACRAMENTO - Some say that living well is the best revenge. Nuevas Nike Vapormax . At least four players on the Raptors roster subscribe to that philosophy. When Torontos Patrick Patterson, John Salmons, Greivis Vasquez and Chuck Hayes return to Sacramentos Sleep Train Arena Wednesday, theyll be feeling a lot better about themselves than when they were last in the building, when they called it home. Its been nearly two full months since that fateful night in Los Angeles when a seven-player trade shook the foundation of the Raptors franchise. As reports began to circulate hours before tip-off, the timing of the deal caught everyone off guard. In exchange for the bloated contract and modest production of Rudy Gay - along with Quincy Acy and Aaron Gray - Toronto took back four veteran wild cards. Each of the four had experienced some level of individual success in the league. Vasquez and Patterson - the youngest of the four - were both coming off career seasons, one in New Orleans, the other in Houston. Hayes - a nine-year vet - had been a starter with the Rockets and Salmons, now in his 12th season, was a key contributor to playoff teams in Chicago and Milwaukee. At 34 and 30 respectfully, Salmons and Hayes immediately became the elder statesmen on a young Raptors squad. Each of them had started in at least one of Sacramentos first 18 games. They were rotation players for a team that was 5-13 at the time of the trade. "Coming from here in Sacramento, things werent that great," Salmons said, candidly reflecting back on the trade after wrapping up practice in the Kings gym Tuesday. "So when we got the opportunity to come here we just wanted to take advantage of it. Losings not fun and this team had a chance to make a run at the playoffs." Without Gay, who was shooting 39 per cent and hoisting just under 19 shots per game, most anticipated there would be at least some addition by subtraction but no one - even internally - knew what to expect from the incoming Kings players. Likewise, they didnt know what to expect from a Raptors team that had a 6-12 record prior to that game in LA on Dec. 8. "I mean you hear stuff about other teams, but the only thing you really know is their record," Salmons added. "You know their record, you know their roster but you dont know the whole story. So coming in all we saw was the record, we didnt know that the locker room was full of good guys." Toronto has gone 19-10 since the trade was made official, 19-9 since the acquired players made their Raptor debuts, good for the third-best record in the Eastern Conference over that stretch. Not only did the trade improve the Raptors bench, it made their bench. On most nights, Dwane Casey has settled into a strict nine-man rotation, using the four ex-Kings as his primary reserves. Torontos bench combined for 35 points on 52 per cent shooting in Mondays win over the Jazz. They have scored 30 or more in three of the last five contests and are averaging 26.6 points since the trade. Casey has entrusted them to be on the floor in key situations. Quite frankly, theyve earned it. "I feel like we got four veteran, solid players that really helped us in a lot of different ways and gave us some toughness off the bench," the Raptors coach said. "Right now, obviously [Toronto is] playing at a very high level," said Kings coach Mike Malone. "I think all four of our guys are helping them at different points." The newcomers have each put their stamp on the teams run. Often the first player off the bench, Patterson is logging fewer minutes than he was in Sacramento, yet averaging three more points per game, contributing nearly 10 as a Raptor. Hayes has carved out a niche as a reliable, savvy and hardworking stopper and rebounder. Salmons, a two-way player, has become Torontos third ball handler. Of the four, Vasquez is the only one who has seen his scoring average dip since coming to the Raptors. Still, hes not complaining. "Im in a different situation right now and Im pretty happy," said Vasquez, who has stepped in as a reliable backup to Kyle Lowry, something the team was desperately searching for early in the season. "I think winning really makes everything so much better. Id rather be in a winning program right now than going through a tough time [in Sacramento]." You would have to be naive to think that Wednesdays return to Sacramento is just another game for those four. The Kings are 11-19 since sending them to Toronto and the statement theyre hoping to make has more to do with their collective success than individual performances. "You always look forward to playing the team that traded you," said Vasquez, averaging seven points and four assists with the Raptors. "More than that its about winning. At the end of the day, whether I play well, whether I dont play well, I just want to go back to Sacramento with a win." Vasquez was only with the Kings for a couple months to begin the season. For Salmons, his connection with the Sacramento franchise goes back seven years. In 2006, the Philadelphia-native pulled out of a deal with the Raptors to sign in Sacramento. After being moved to the Bulls, then to the Bucks, Salmons eventually found his way back to the Kings but became expendable when new ownership decided to take the team in a different direction. The trade to Toronto was Salmons fifth since being drafted out of Miami in 2002 but he took this one more personally than the others. He felt slighted by an organization that he had spent most of his career playing for. "When I got traded I had mixed feelings, strong mixed feelings," he admitted. "Im not going to say I was totally mad at the [Kings] organization it was just, I dont know, it was just a little tougher this time." Now, as he and his teammates get set to make their much-anticipated return, that animosity is water under the bridge, more or less. Salmons, like the other three, is sincerely happy to be a Raptor. Winning is the best medicine. "Guys enjoy winning," said Salmons. "Theres the old saying, winning cures everything so the more we win the more people want to sacrifice to continue winning." Nike Air Max Tn Rebajas . TSN 1290s game day coverage begins on Monday, June 9 at 5:30pm ct as the Blue Bombers take on the Toronto Argonauts in pre-season action. Bombers game day broadcasts on TSN 1290 are hosted by Winnipeg Blue Bomber Hall of Famers Troy Westwood and new addition Chris Walby, alongside beat reporter Darrin Bauming, who delivers regular reports on the team for TSN 1290 all-season long. Vapormax Mujer Baratas . Dont miss a single shot, live on TSN beginning at 7pm et/4pm pt. Winners of their last eight games, the Heat return to Toronto for the second time in the month of November. After beginning the season 4-3, allowing 100.9 points on 47 per cent shooting, Miamis resurgent defence has vaulted them back to the top of a weak Eastern Conference. http://www.vapormaxbaratas.com/vapormax-95-baratas-venta.html .Y. - The New York Yankees made it official Saturday, announcing the completion of a seven-year deal with free-agent outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury and a one-year contract for returning starter Hiroki Kuroda.SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Jim Boeheim won his first game in the Atlantic Coast Conference. He likely wont rest easy any time soon, though. C.J. Fair scored 15 points, including the go-ahead basket with 4:16 to go, and No. 2 Syracuse rallied late to beat Miami 49-44 on Saturday in the Oranges ACC debut. Syracuse trailed 35-29 nearing the midpoint of the second half of a slow-paced game that featured just three fast-break points -- a 3-pointer by Syracuses Trevor Cooney in the first 5 minutes of play. But with the sharpshooting Cooney suffering through his worst shooting performance of the season, the Orange found a way to prevail in the end by going inside against Miamis matchup zone. "When you get into league play, youre going to have games like this," Boeheim said. "Its not easy. Were going to see this a lot." Syracuse (14-0, 1-0) entered the game as one of seven unbeaten teams remaining in Division I and struggled against Miami (8-6, 0-2), the reigning conference champion. The Hurricanes are the only team in the conference with no returning starters, and they lost their ACC opener 61-60 in overtime to Virginia Tech in early December. On this day, they gave the Orange a game right until the end. A long jumper from the right corner by Rion Brown gave Miami a 35-29 lead with 12:22 remaining and the Hurricanes were executing coach Jim Larranagas game plan nicely, taking time off the clock and preventing the Orange from scoring inside. "They had a real solid matchup zone and we couldnt really get anything going," Fair said. "They got good shots working the shot clock down and made us work on defence. Its tough playing defence that long." Still, Syracuse managed to slowly chip away at the lead. Fairs 3 from the right corner at 11:08 was the Oranges first basket of the second half and narrowed the deficit to 35-32. After two free throws by Davon Reed gave Miami a 40-35 lead, Rakeem Christmas scored twice inside -- on a putback and lefty hook in the lane -- to start a decisive 10-4 Orange run. "When we got down, we just wanted to go back out there and be stronger, make big plays," Christmas said. "It got our team going and we turned up our defence from there. We just came together as a team." Jerami Grant hit a jumper from the free throw line, Fair converted a spinning layup in the lane and Tyler Ennis hit a driving layup to give Syracuse a 43-40 lead with 3:19 left. Syracuse overrcame a 25-7 deficit and beat then-No. Vapormax Baratas Originales. 8 Villanova by 16 points a week ago, but the Orange struggled to find any rhythm against Miami. With 7:54 left, Cooney was 2 of 11 from the field, all from 3-point range. He entered the game shooting 50 per cent from long range (43 of 86), tops in the ACC. "I got open 3s, they just didnt fall," said Cooney, who finished 2 of 12. "Its tough. You just have to hang strong. It was great to see us hang in there." Miami pulled within 43-42 on a reverse layup by James Kelly with 2:15 left, but Ennis scored again inside, and Cooney and Ennis both hit two free throws in the final minute as the Orange prevailed. "We got a little spread out in the zone," Brown said. "We were so worried about the shooters they got in the lane a couple of times and got some easy layups. We deviated from the game plan just a couple of plays and it showed." Miami, which trailed by four points at halftime, started the second half with a 14-4 run as the Orange missed their first nine shots. Garrius Adams, who led Miami with nine points, and freshman Manu Lecomte hit 3-pointers and Brown hit a jumper from deep in the right corner to key the surge. "The tempo was what we wanted. We needed to keep them on defence," Larranaga said. "Time of possession was very important, almost like a football game. Defensively, we wanted to keep them on the perimeter, and thats the one disappointing part for us. Overall, we had a good defensive game plan and executed it pretty well, but at the end they got some interior baskets and that really hurt us." Cooney finished with 11 points and Ennis had 10 points, seven assists and two turnovers for Syracuse. Forward Dajuan Coleman, who sat out Tuesdays game against Eastern Michigan nursing a sore left knee, dressed and participated in pregame warmups but did not play. Kelly and Lecomte both finished with eight points for Miami, which finished 7 of 19 from 3-point range. The Hurricanes didnt look like the team that went 0 for 15 from 3-point range in opening the season with an overtime loss to St. Francis Brooklyn, a program that hasnt finished over .500 since 2003-04. Facing the vaunted Syracuse zone, the Hurricanes were up for the task, hitting 5 of 11 3-point attempts in the first half. Adams and Lecomte hit from long range on successive possessions late in the period and Miami trailed just 25-21 at halftime. ' ' '