LOS ANGELES - For the Raptors, Saturday mornings flight back to Toronto couldnt come soon enough. Its that time of the year. Players are tired, or hurting, or both. Some are looking ahead to the events theyll be participating in during All-Star Weekend, others are looking forward to their midseason vacation time. Its been nine days since the Raptors set out on a five-game West Coast trip and the fatigue was evident as they backed into a 2-3 record on the excursion. "We cant use that as an excuse," Dwane Casey said after his team suffered their third loss in the last four games, falling 118-105 to the Clippers in LA Friday. "We knew that coming in, that were getting ready for the all-star break, mental fatigue is setting in, everybody is preparing for the break but its not here yet, we have games to go and business to take care of." After taking care of business in two of their first three games on the trip, Caseys team lost themselves in a pair of losses to the Kings - a bottom dweller in the West - and the Clippers, one of the conferences elite. The Raptors fell behind early, giving up 67 points in the first half of each game, committing a total of 70 fouls and putting their opponent on the line 105 times over the course of three days. The commonality, according to Casey, was a lack of mental and physical toughness against the likes of DeMarcus Cousins Wednesday and the duo of Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan two days later. "The guys are down because they know that we physically didnt take care of business," he said. "The physicality of the game is something we have to get ready for, especially if were thinking about the playoffs because its a physical game in the paint, setting screens, rebounding, going to the basket. All those things are there if youre serious about making the playoffs." Overall, a 2-3 record on the trip is hardly disappointing, its probably on par with what was expected of them going in, realistically. However, they should lose some sleep over the way they ended the road swing. No one expected them to win on Wednesday, not against a scorned Clipper team coming off a tough loss at home to the defending champion Heat. After coming out flat again, Casey was forced to get creative midway through the third quarter, opting to deploy the hack-a-Jordan strategy, a maneuver designed to extend the game by putting a poor free throw shooter - this case, DeAndre Jordan - on the line. Jordan, a 44 per cent free throw shooter, made just 10 of his 22 tries from the line, 14 of those attempts were gift wrapped and delivered to him from Casey. The move was not popular amongst the hometown crowd but for a coach on the verge of defeat, why not take a shot? Although it shaved just two points off the Clippers 20-point lead, directly, it slowed the game down and took the home team out of their rhythm. "We had to do something," Casey said. "Physically they were just manhandling us in the paint. I thought that changed the game a little bit." Toronto would cut its deficit to nine going into the fourth quarter. By that point the Raptors had run out of gas, understandably so. Less than a week before All-Star Weekend, the Raptors are a beat up team. Kyle Lowry is battling a knee injury while both DeMar DeRozan and the slumping Amir Johnson are playing on sprained ankles. DeRozan was the one Raptor who looked at home in LA, in actuality he was. The Compton-born guard scored 36 points, the most hes ever had in nine career games at Staples Center, knocking down a career-high 17 free throws. After averaging 10.0 points on 31 per cent shooting in his first five career games back home, DeRozan has scored 28.5 on 52 per cent over his last four contests in LA. Its yet another sign of DeRozans growth on and off the floor in his fifth season. "Its always good to come home and see the family, or whatever, but I dont put as much pressure on myself as I did my first year or even my second year," said the first-time all-star. "I dont try to come out here and prove a point that Im from here or whatever, I just come here and play." Johnson spent most of Friday night chasing down Blake Griffin, who scored 36 points on 13-of-18 shooting in 28 minutes. It was an impossible task for a player that has been slowed by the injury for a week and a half. The nine-year vet is used to playing through pain and plans to continue doing so but he couldnt hide his frustration after the loss. "That nagging pain is just bothering me," said Johnson, who had eight points in 24 minutes against the Clippers. "I want to but there are just some plays I really cant get to the ball or make a play because my ankle just holds me back." "I feel like I can do a lot better. Im trying to baby it but at the same time Im trying to go hard out there. Once the schedule turns and I can rest it a little bit, Ill definitely come through. Lucky for Johnson and the rest of the ailing Raptors, theyll be en route back to Toronto Saturday after spending one more night on the road. There, theyll host the Pelicans and the Hawks before going their separate ways for the weekend, NBA all-star festivities. The schedule eases up the rest of the way. The Raptors - who have played 28 games on the road, most in the East - only have 13 more to go away from the Air Canada Centre. Fridays contest against the Clippers marked their last road game against a winning Western Conference team. "We want to compete every time we walk out but the main thing is were building and were getting better in some areas and some areas were not," said Casey. "The physicality department, thats going to take some more time for guys to figure that out. My thing is competing, you go out and compete and fight physically and then you let the chips fall where they may and there were some situations where I didnt think we competed physically." Walt Aikens Womens Jersey. It took 22 seconds for DeRozan to get on the board, taking a lob pass from Joakim Noah and converting the easy layup before knocking down his next two shots. For the Raptors fifth-year guard, this moment was one he had been dreaming about for a long time but to his credit, he never looked out of place. Jordan Cameron Womens Jersey. After going 10-6 in 2012, the Vikings regressed this year, done in by a leaky defence and an ongoing inability to find stability at quarterback. Frazier finished 21-33-1 in three-plus seasons. http://www.shoptheofficialdolphinsjersey.com/Elite-Derrick-Shelby-Dolphins-Jersey/. -- When a grounder ricocheted off Prince Fielders mitt during his first workout with the Texas Rangers, he quickly held it up and proclaimed with a smile, "Its new. Greg Jennings Black Jersey.B. - The Swiss were as surprised as anyone else by their gold-medal victory at the 2014 Ford Womens World Curling Championship. Andrew Franks Black Jersey. Kohlschreiber dominated in all aspects of the game in his first match in the clay-court tournament and will next meet qualifier Mate Delic, who beat Dustin Brown 6-3, 6-0.HALIFAX - Canadian Rory (Ares) MacDonald moved a step closer to a UFC welterweight title shot, stopping former Strikeforce champion Tarec (Sponge) Saffiedine by TKO on Saturday in the third round of the main event of a televised UFC Fight Night card.The bigger MacDonald used his size and reach to blunt Saffiedines kickboxing in a strategic fight that featured isolated bursts of action in the first two rounds.But it turned in the third. MacDonald (18-2) clipped Saffiedine with a shot to the back of the head and then put him down with another punch, finishing him off with blows on the ground before referee Herb Dean stepped in one minute 28 seconds of the round.Saffiedine was left dazed and bloody on the canvas.I want that title shot, said MacDonald.The 25-year-old MacDonald, a native of Kelowna, B.C., who fights out of Montreal, came into the bout ranked No. 2 among 170-pound contenders while Saffiedine (15-4) was ninth.Johnny (Bigg Rigg) Hendricks defends his welterweight title against No. 1 contender (Ruthless) Robbie Lawler at UFC 181 on Dec. 6 in Las Vegas.MacDonald has won three straight and eight of his last nine, losing a split decision to Lawler at UFC 167 last November. Saffiedine had won his last five bouts.Saffiedine, 28, walked out first. The American-based Belgian wasted little time, raising his arm in the air as he entered the arena.Then came MacDonald, to cheers and the pounding sound of Metallicas St. Anger. As he was introduced, the stone-face Canadian stared across the cage at Saffiedine.In a cautious opening, both fighters fired kicks. MacDonald took the centre of the cage and slowly stalked Saffiedine, taking him down briefly with 90 seconds remaining.MacDonald scored with strikes early and late in the second. Saffiedine answered in the middle of the round with some kicks that landed with a slap on MacDonalds leg.Saffiedines corner had a go at him after the second round. The Belgian closed the gap and launched more kicks in another cat-and-mouse round before MacDonald saw his opening and pounced.I was just going with the flow .. I wasnt trying to force anything and it worked out, said McDonald, a 4-1 favourite.The UFCs first visit to Atlantic Canada drew a loud crowd of 10,782 at the Scotiabank Centre.They had plenty to cheer about as Canadian fighters won seven of their nine bouts.In the co-main event, Georgia-based Brazilian bantamweight Raphael Assuncao used his speed to earn a unanimous 30-27 decision over Bryan (Kid Lightning) Caraway for his seventh straight UFC win. The five-foot-five Assuncao, the last man to beat current 135-pound champion T.J. Dillashaw, came into the fight ranked No. 4 among bantamweight contenders while Caraway was No. 10.Caraway, damaged during the fight by an Assuncao knee to the face, kept coming but had no answers for Assuncao.The crowd roared from announcer Bruce Buffers opening words and local flyweight Chris (The Greek Assassin) Kelades authored a feel-good story with his fists just three fights into the 12-bout card.Kelades, from nearby Cole Harbour, only found out Monday he was fighting as a late replacement (for the pneumonia-stricken Louis Gaudinot) on the card that he had bought tickets to see.He came into the bout against Irelands Patrick (The Hooligan) Holohan as a 3-1 or 4-1 underdog. But the 33-year-old Kelades (8-1) emerged victorious, winning a unanimous 29-28 decision over the previously undefeated Holohan (10-1-1).In addition to the win, the only Nova Scotian on the card made history by becoming the first Canadian 125-pounder to fight in the UFC.Both Kelades and Holohan earned US$50,000 bonuses as their bout was named fight of the night.There was a more painful end to the UFC debut of Kelowna welterweight Matt Dwyer.New Jersey-based Russian Albert (Einstein) Tumenov (14-2) floored the six-foot-four Dwyer with two resounding kicks to the head before the fight was stopped after 63 seconds. Dwyerr (7-2) paused to watch the replay of the kicks as he made his way from the cage, an ugly mouse under his eye.dddddddddddd He was taken to hospital after the bout to be checked out.Mitch Gagnon of Sudbury, Ont., continued his impressive rise up the bantamweight ranks with his fourth straight UFC win, submitting late replacement Roman Salazar via rear-naked choke at 2:06 of the first round.Gagnon, a five-foot-five buzzsaw, took Salazars back within the first two minutes. Salazar (9-3) struggled to his feet with Gagnon attached like a clam but fell back down and tapped. Salazar, a Tucson cable technician, was Gagnons third opponent after two others dropped out through injury.It was the 10th first-round finish for Gagnon (12-2) and his 11th win by submission. He lost his UFC debut to Caraway in July 2012 but still earned a fight of the night bonus.Elsewhere on the card, the two winners of The Ultimate Fighter Nations reality TV show remained undefeated.Toronto middleweight Elias (The Spartan) Theodorou (11-0) used a strong third round, complete with several takedowns, to win a unanimous 29-28 decision over burly Brazilian Bruno (Carioca) Santos (14-2) in a grinding fight. TUF Nations welterweight winner Chad (The Disciple) Laprise (10-0), moving down to lightweight, had too much for Cuban-born Miami-based Yosdenis (The Pink Panther) Cedeno (10-4) en route to a workmanlike 30-27 unanimous decision.Cedenos best moment in Halifax was when, as a proud father, he excitedly waved an ultrasound picture as he weighed in Friday.Nordine Taleb, born in France but fighting out of Montreal, won a split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27) over Chinas Li (The Leech) Jingliang in a close battle between big welterweights. Taleb, who fought as a middleweight on The Ultimate Fighter Nations show, was supported by his cornermen as he limped out of the ring favouring a broken foot.Both men would be well-served to avoid mirrors for a few days.Charlottetown lightweight Jason Saggo (10-2) lost a split decision (28-29, 29-28, 28-29) to Paul (The Irish Dragon) Felder (9-0). Montreal lightweight Olivier Aubin-Mercier (6-1) submitted Jake (The Librarian) Lindsey (9-2) by inverted triangle choke at 3:22 of the second round.Both MacDonald and Aubin-Mercier went home with an extra $50,000 for the performance of the night.(Detroit Superstar) Daron Cruickshank (16-5) won a 30-27 decision over lightweight Anthony (The Assassin) Njokuani (16-9 with one no contest) in the featured preliminary bout. Cruickshank earned cheers when he picked up Njokuani and ran the length of the cage with him slung over his shoulder before driving him into the canvas.Njokuani later apologized via Twitter. My head wasnt in the game and it cost me the fight.The Halifax crowd was into it from the get-go, cheering Buffer before a punch was thrown. And they got action early as American-based Brazilian bantamweight Pedro (The Young Punisher) Munhoz submitted former Oklahoma State wrestler Jerrod (J-Reazie) Sanders in 39 seconds in spectacular fashion.Stuffing a takedown, Munhoz (12-1) locked on a guillotine choke. Sanders (14-3) fought his way to his feet, with Munhoz looked around his head like an alien, and then smashed Munhoz to the ground in a bid to dislodge him. Munhoz hung on and Sanders tapped.The Halifax card featured athletes from 10 different birth countries: Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Cuba, France, Ireland, Nigeria, Russia and the U.S.Another 24 fighters competed in the cage at Stockholms Ericsson Globe Arena on another UFC card earlier Saturday. American welterweight Rick (The Horror) Story upset highly touted Gunnar (Gunni) Nelson via split decision in the main event in Sweden.Halifax is the seventh Canadian city to host a UFC show, joining Calgary, Montreal, Quebec City, Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver. Saturday marked the UFCs 17th Canadian show since 2008. ___Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter Cheap Jerseys? nfl jerseys cheap authentic?wholesale jerseys?jerseys from china authentic Cheap Jerseys wholesale stitched jerseys ' ' '