August. The expert said the cases involving Nicks and Tynes do not appear to be related, explaining t

SAN ANTONIO - As members of the media waited outside the visitors locker room at AT&T Center, Dwane Casey addressed his players behind closed doors, a standard post-game procedure, win or lose. After Mondays hard-fought loss, the wait seemed longer than usual. Getting set to go their separate ways for a short Christmas break, the Raptors coach credited his team for their effort on a seemingly impossible three-game road trip, urging them to build on that success when they get back to work at the end of the week. "It was a good trip," Casey said after their 112-99 loss to the Spurs capped off a 2-1 stretch in four days, highlighted by impressive wins in Dallas and Oklahoma City. "I told the guys it was a good start. Were just getting started to where we want to go." Playing in the second night of a back-to-back and coming off their most physically and mentally taxing victory of the campaign - a 104-98 win over the league-best Thunder Sunday - the Raptors simply ran out of gas in San Antonio, facing an unforgiving terror of a team. "We missed some good looks, some of it was fatigue, some of it was legs, some of it was their good defence getting into us," Casey said. "We knew that coming in, that it was going to be a battle. "And thats our next step, to be mentally tough, to fight through fatigue, to fight through back-to-backs and try to do the same things we did [Sunday] night." The final score is not indicative of how closely matched this game turned out to be. In fact, the 13-point margin of victory was San Antonios largest lead of the contest. Although the home team maintained control for most of the night, the Raptors kept pace and refused to roll over or look ahead to their upcoming two-day vacation. "We are a team that has to be scrappy," Amir Johnson acknowledged, scoring just seven points and grabbing eight rebounds in a match-up with future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan. "Against teams like [the Spurs] we have to play with the physicality just like we did in Dallas and OKC. We have to be the team that pushes the tempo. We cant relax and thats what we have been doing these past couple of weeks. We fight but unfortunately we came up short tonight." Although Duncan had a quiet nine points and 12 boards, the other two-thirds of San Antonios vintage big three controlled the tempo of the game. Tony Parker led all scorers with 26 to go along with eight assists, while Manu Ginobili added 18 points of the Spurs bench. San Antonios second unit - one of the best in the association - contributed 52 points, giving the Spurs 48-minutes worth of high-level production. The Raptors couldnt keep up. The Spurs out-rebounded Toronto by 10 and grabbed 16 offensive boards. They held a 16-point advantage in the paint, dished out 27 assists and recorded a season-high 24 second chance points. "Its always tough playing in a back-to-back, especially against two of the best teams in the West," said DeMar DeRozan. "We understood that coming in but we were in the game. They hit a couple big time threes that pushed the lead up for them and made it tough for us to keep it within arms length but we fought." DeRozan - who had already face a pair of tough wing defenders in Shawn Marion and Thabo Sefolosha on the trip - struggled against Kawhi Leonard, scoring 13 points on 5-of-16 shooting. "He had a rough night but Kawhi Leonard is one of the top defenders in the league," Casey said of DeRozan. "They were double-teaming him in his post-ups so they werent going to let him go." Terrence Ross was the beneficiary of the added attention paid to DeRozan. The Raptors sophomore made 10 of 16 attempts for 23 points, while Kyle Lowry also scored 23 and recorded a team-best nine assists. Although a 2-1 record on this trip is nothing to scoff at - its two wins more than most expected them to get - Caseys message has been received and his team is striving for more. "I wish we would have got that last win," Johnson insisted. "The two wins is great but it would have been nice to finish with one more. "We cant settle," he continued. "We played some tough teams (on the trip) and that is definitely a confidence boost but we want to keep going and keep the focus we have over this break. We are definitely not happy. We just have to keep working." The Raptors players and coaches will be excused for two days to spend Christmas with their family and friends before reconvening in New York City for practice on Boxing Day. "Its coming at a great time," admitted DeRozan, who is among the league leaders in minutes played and could use the rest. "[It] just gives us a chance to refresh our minds and our bodies and understand what lies ahead after this Christmas break." DeRozan and Johnson are each spending their time off in Toronto with their daughters, both of whom will be celebrating their first Christmas. Discount Baseball Jerseys . Though the 26-year-old said he was able to participate, coach Dwane Casey kept Johnson out as a precaution. Authentic MLB Jerseys Cheap . "Today was a very great day for me. It was always my dream to be good in GS," Wierather said. "I took quite a long time to get there. It feels awesome to have my first win (in GS)." Wierather leads overall with 595 points from Lara Gut (568), who finished second, and Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany (535). http://www.stitchedmlbjerseys.com/ . This game was inside. Adrian Peterson was missing. The stage was set for another step toward the playoffs. Cheap MLB Jerseys Online .Y. -- Mark Steenhuis scored four goals and added two assists to lead the Buffalo Bandits over the Toronto Rock 12-10 in National Lacrosse League action on Saturday. Wholesale Baseball Jerseys For Sale . Floundering in the English Premier League, United has delivered better performances in Europe this season and stunned Bayern by taking the lead against the run of play through Nemanja Vidics header in the 58th minute. Bayern had dominated possession but struggled to create a clear-cut chance before Schweinsteiger arrowed a half-volley high into the net in the 67th to give the German side a slight advantage ahead of the second leg in Munich next week. TAMPA, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers say a third player has been diagnosed with MRSA, a staph infection that is resistant to many common antibiotics. General manager Mark Dominik made the announcement Friday, a day after confirming guard Carl Nicks is being treated for a recurrence of MRSA. Dominik and coach Greg Schiano declined to identify the third player involved in the case diagnosed late Thursday, saying the player requested his name not be released. "Ive spoken to the player, Ive spoken to his agent, and were not at liberty to confirm or deny any player right now," Dominik said. NFL.com reported the player was rookie cornerback Johnthan Banks. The second-round draft pick out of Mississippi State was the only new addition Friday to the injury report, which said Banks did not practice due to illness. Banks is listed as questionable for Sundays game against Philadelphia. Nicks, who along with kicker Lawrence Tynes was diagnosed as having MRSA in August, also sat out practice. He is questionable to play against Philadelphia. The team flew in an infectious disease expert to answer questions players had before practice. Schiano said the session lasted more than an hour, pushing back the teams practice schedule. "As in anything, I think so much of the fear is the unknown," Schiano said. "So as we became better educated, I think kind of understands the game plan and how to make sure this doesnt become a bigger problem." Dr. Deverick J. Anderson, an associate professor of medicine at the Duke University Medical Center and co-director of the Duke Infection Control Outwork Network said even though there are no other confirmed cases of MRSA on other NFL teams that he doesnt feel players and staff in Tampa Bay are at any higher risk of coming in contact with MRSA. Meanwhile, NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith issued a statement on the situation. "We have been involved in an ongoing review of the MRSA incidents in Tampa Bay initiated by the concerns we had about the manner in which team officials responded to these cases," Smith said in a statement. "We advised the NFL and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that an outside expert should be brought in to assess the situation and we are pleased with their decision to take that recommendation," Smith added. "We have also been in regular contact with the playeer representatives from Tampa Bay.dddddddddddd We will reach out to the Philadelphia Eagles player representatives today and provide them with our best medical guidance and regular updates from the outside experts." Smith said the situation in Tampa "underscores the need for a League-wide, comprehensive and standardized infectious disease protocol" as well as "improved accountability measures on health and safety issues by the NFL over the clubs." The initial cases of MRSA were confirmed while the Bucs were in New England holding joint practices with the Patriots before a preseason game. The team hired a company to sanitize One Buc Place, the teams headquarters and training facility, on two separate occasions in an effort to minimize the prospect of other cases. The Bucs said at the time they did not know where Nicks and Tynes were exposed to MRSA. Anderson did not plan to recommend a third cleaning of the facility, but that he was working with the team on things players can do themselves to minimize the risk of getting MRSA. "I can say that I believe it is a safe environment for players and staff," said Anderson, who toured the complex in August and also observed how the team practices after Nicks and Tynes were diagnosed in August. The expert said the cases involving Nicks and Tynes do not appear to be related, explaining there are different strains of MRSA. "We dont know about the third one yet. We still need additional information about the specific MRSA that were dealing with," Anderson said. "But we can actually definitely say that the first two cases were not related to each other." And, the doctor said Nicks and Tynes did not get the infection from one another. Nicks sat out the preseason and also missed the first two games of the regular season before being told he was "MRSA free." He started the past two games against New England and Arizona. Tynes, who helped the New York Giants win a pair of Super Bowls, signed with the Bucs before training camp. He was sidelined by an ingrown toenail on his kicking foot when he was diagnosed as having MRSA. The Bucs later placed Tynes on the non-football injury list instead of injured reserve. He is being paid his salary, however the players union has filed a grievance on the kickers behalf due concerns about how the team handled the infection. ' ' '