banner was uncovered from the rafters atop Air Canada

SOCHI — Carey Price will play in goal for Team Canada in its Olympic opener against Norway on Thursday, while Roberto Luongo will get the call against Austria on Friday. Its up the two of them to determine which goalie will start against Finland on Sunday. Canadian mens head coach Mike Babcock said there was no reason for his decision. Babcock informed his goalies, including the teams third goalie, Mike Smith, of the decision in face-to-face meetings on Wednesday morning. "Im really thrilled and ready to go," Price said. "Our preparations have been really good so far. All three of knew that if we were called upon, wed be ready to get in there." Price enters the Olympics on a roll. He won his final three starts with the Montreal Canadiens before the break, stopping 100 of 103 shots, including a 5-2 victory over Luongo and the Vancouver Canucks in Montreal on Feb. 6. Luongo and the Canucks, meanwhile, have struggled with seven straight losses. Luongo has been in goal for five of those defeats and has won only three of his last 10 starts. The Canucks netminder was in goal when Canada won gold in Vancouver four years ago. "Oh, it didnt matter," said Luongo, when asked about the decision to start with Price. "I think right now its just focusing on Norway, thats the first challenge for our team. Ive got to be ready, you never know what can happen in the game. I dont want to look too far ahead right now. I just want to focus on tomorrow, making sure that as a group, not only myself, that were ready to play." Price was asked to look down the road to possibly getting the start against Finland "All Im concerned about is our game tomorrow," he said. "Thats all that matters." Because of Canadas roster size, Smith will be joined on the sidelines by a defenceman and forward. But Babcock would not divulge who the two scratches will be. Canada practiced for the third time and once again kept their lines the same as they prepare to open the competition on Thursday. Here are Wednesdays practice lines with extra players in parenthesis: FORWARDS Chris Kunitz - Sidney Crosby - Jeff CarterPatrick Sharp - Jonathan Toews - Rick NashPatrick Marleau - Ryan Getzlaf - Corey PerryJamie Benn - John Tavares - Patrice Bergeron(Martin St. Louis, Matt Duchene) DEFENCE Duncan Keith - Shea WeberJay Bouwmeester - Alex PietrangeloMarc-Edouard Vlasic - Drew Doughty(P.K. Subban, Dan Hamhuis) Team Canada also practiced 5-on-3 on Wednesday with Crosby, Kunitz and Perry up front with Getzlaf and Weber on the point of the first unit and Carter, Tavares and Marleau up front with Keith and Doughty on the point of the second unit. Jim Kelly Jersey .Under the agreement announced Monday, the Cuban defector is guaranteed $68.5 million over six seasons.Tomas gets a $14 million signing bonus that is payable within 30 days of the deals approval by Major League Baseball, and then salaries of $2 million next year, $4 million in 2016, $6 million in 2017 and $10 million in 2018. Eddie Yarbrough Jersey . The 27-year-old hit .209 in 86 at-bats last year after missing the 2010 season following surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder. http://www.thebillsgearshop.com/Bills-Jordan-Poyer-Draft-Jersey/ . First, Ivan Nova decided to have season-ending Tommy John elbow surgery. Then Michael Pineda was suspended for 10 games for using pine tar. Bruce Smith Jersey . After a tight first half, the Croatians took command in Reykjavik after Skulason was dismissed for a professional foul in the 51st minute, but couldnt find a way past Iceland goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson and his packed defence. Eduardo had a weak shot cleared away from near the goalline after barely a minute for Croatia, whose substitute Ivica Olic forced a fine reaction save from Halldorsson in the 55th. Jordan Mills Jersey .com) - Nino Williams posted 18 points and seven rebounds, as Kansas State edged No.TORONTO - In a play that sort of typified the evening and maybe even their season, Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry led a second-quarter fast break by delivering a one-handed bounce pass to Greivis Vasquez, who lateraled to the trailing Amir Johnson. Johnson, the beneficiary of a couple perfectly placed passes, capped off the sequence with a tomahawk slam that put Toronto on top by 20 points. Fouled on the landing, Johnsons momentum carried him into the first row, where he proudly pointed to the team name on his jersey and slapped hands with fans seated on the baseline. It was that kind of night. The proceedings began with the unveiling of a second Atlantic Division Championship banner and concluded with a well-deserved standing ovation just over two hours later. The Raptors - trotting off the court following a 110-100, wire-to-wire win over the Bucks - had set a new franchise record with their 48th victory of the season, while also going 15 games above the .500 mark for the first time in team history. "Its definitely great because we fed off our fans," said DeMar DeRozan, who stood centre court and counted down from three, as the banner was uncovered from the rafters atop Air Canada Centre, hanging adjacent to the one they had earned in 2006-07. The final home game of the season - Fanapolooza, as its been dubbed - had been a somber event for five years running. It was an opportunity for the Raptors loyal, albeit frustrated supporters to come bid farewell to a team that had let them down, a chance to vent their disappointment but mostly to guzzle up free t-shirts, pizza and whatever swag the remorseful organization was offering up. Most importantly, it meant the end of basketball in Toronto for another long summer. Not the case on Monday. Monday night was a celebration, a show of appreciation from a starved fan base to a team that has captured their admiration with resilience and hard play. It was a night of reflection, looking back at where they came from and rejoicing in what theyve accomplished. It wasnt a goodbye. Theyll see them again in five or six days. "Weve got to have some of the most devoted fans in the league," he continued. "Ive been here through the struggles and tough times and our fans were still right there with us on this journey. So it definitely felt good to share it with them because they played a major part in it as well." Although DeRozan was in uniform, available to play if it would have come to that, he was given the night off to rest going into his playoff debut next weekend. As it turns out, they didnt need him, not against the league-worst Bucks on Monday night. It was the 11th time theyve played without a member of their first unit - a group that has won more games than any starting five in franchise history - and the 11th time theyve come away victorious. With the Raptors all-star guard cheerleading from the sidelines, Greivis Vasquez started in his stead, pacing the team with 25 points and seven assists. "It was a fun win," said Vasquez, who knocked down his first six shots, five of them from beyond the arc. "They gave me a chance to start, I just went out there and did my job." Performances like his, like Tyler Hansbroughs double-double in 20 minutes, are a big part of whats gotten them to this point.dddddddddddd DeRozan has carried this team more often than not, so too has Lowry - who scored 16 of his 24 points in the second half - but when one or both have needed it, someone has generally been waiting and ready to back them up. "All it takes is the right chemistry, the right group of guys and you can do whatever it takes," DeRozan said. "You dont need no big name players, you dont need this, that and the third, what people supposedly say you need. Were proof of that and we continue to keep growing, keep learning and keep building. On to the next step." The next step, as the Raptors leading scorer puts it, is Wednesdays regular season finale in New York. With a win over the Knicks, Toronto would lock down the Eastern Conferences third seed and face whomever slots into sixth, most likely Washington. The Raptors would fall to fourth and play the fifth place team - likely Brooklyn - if they should lose on Wednesday and the Bulls defeat the Bobcats in Charlotte. "Im more worried about us, more so than who we play," said Casey. "Its about us, about our health, the rest, whatever we decide to do in that situation. If we play Brooklyn we play Brooklyn. If we play Washington we play Washington. There are no easy teams left in the playoffs right now. All of the teams are very capable. Brooklyn is probably more playoff-ready. But we cant control that. And Im not going into [Wednesdays] game trying to control that." The Raptors coach said he has not decided whether DeRozan - second in the NBA in minutes logged this year - will play in Wednesdays season finale. Home sweet home The Raptors will finish the season with 26 wins at home for the fourth time in franchise history. After dropping eight of their first 12 games at the ACC, they have become one of the toughest teams to beat on home court, winning 22 of 29 since the end of December. "Coach definitely stressed to us, weve got to protect home court," DeRozan said of the turnaround. "Thats big. We cant let teams come in here and think they can get wins. We really started taking it personally, understanding weve got to use our crowd to our advantage. Everybody bought in, so every time we were home we felt comfortable and felt that we could get any win." "I think our guys have gotten better, matured, improved, I think more than anything else," Dwane Casey said of their success at home. "You should have the same approach whether youre on the road, playing on the moon, wherever youre playing youve got to have the same approach and our guys have done a good job of that, whether were on the road or at home." They were undefeated, 19-0 in games they led going into the fourth quarter in Toronto, something that should serve them well as they go into the first round of the playoffs with home-court advantage. The stat With their fourth straight win over Milwaukee, the Raptors swept the season series with the Bucks for the first time in team existence. The quote "We had group at the start of the season that was motivated, dedicated to winning," said Lowry, "and when everything didnt pan out we made a move and we got a group of guys who came in that really filled the voids that we needed. Everyone is on the same page. 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