Gast-Ecke » over Northampton in

TORONTO -- Rudy Gay had no idea how bad his vision was until he went to renew his drivers license last year and nearly failed the test. "They said Do you wear glasses? I said no. They said, Well you need to wear glasses," Gay recounted, with a laugh. He wasnt laughing at the time. For a guy who makes his living tossing a ball through a hoop from a distance, the news was rather disconcerting. So after a brief and unsuccessful experiment with corrective goggles, the Toronto Raptors small forward underwent surgery to correct his vision during an off-season that was otherwise devoted to improving his shooting, and beefing up his body. One day into training camp, and Gay said hes feeling like a much-improved player than the one who led the Raptors in scoring last season but also had career lows in both field goal and three-point percentage. He joked that any improvement in his game this season will be credited solely to his better vision. "Honestly, I was talking to my trainer, and he said if you come out and have a great season its going to be because of your eye, not because of the work you put in," Gay said. The 27-year-old Gay wouldnt wear contact lenses, as he had an aversion to touching his eyes. The Raptors medical staff provided him with prescription goggles but he wasnt keen on those either. So he underwent surgery early in the summer, which he said wasnt fun. "Recovery was horrible, it was terrible," Gay said. "Probably (lasted) about two weeks. First week I couldnt see, second week I could. And then months and months of putting eye drops in. "But it was one of those things that needed to happen if I wanted to continue my career." Gay averaged 19.5 points to top Toronto in scoring after he was acquired from the Memphis Grizzlies in a mid-season trade. The Raptors went 16-30 prior to the trade, and finished 18-18 with Gay on the roster. Still, he was far from his best, shooting a career-low 40.8 per cent -- down from his career high of 47.1 per cent two seasons earlier -- and 31 per cent from three-point range. So he committed every day of the off-season, he said, to being a better shooter. "I started from the basics. . . form, worked on my form. From there just rhythm, shooting, shooting, shooting, becoming comfortable with it. "I made about 300 shots a day, sometimes more, on a light day probably 300." Gay has been criticized for taking low-percentage shots -- namely long two-pointers. But at the urging of Raptors coach Dwane Casey, he sounds like hes starting to see the light when it comes to shot selection. Casey said hes been drilling Gay and Torontos other sharpshooter DeMar DeRozan about higher percentage shots. "Corner threes, paint, get to the rim, get to the free throw line, and subsequently shooting percentage is going to go up," Casey said. Gay spent a lot of summer working on his three-point shooting, and pointed out that at the end of Monday mornings practice, the entire team was doing a three-point drills. "I got it from the coaches that were going to be a team thats going to get a lot of threes up, and obviously if it comes from the top, youve got to practise it," he said. Gay also said he put on 20 pounds of muscle working with his trainer Dustin Gray back home in Baltimore. "Hopefully you can see it," Gay said laughing, puffing out his chest ever so slightly. "Maybe I should do some push-ups or something. "My trainer basically lived with me." The weight gain, said Casey, was by design, and with the intention of using Gay at power forward rather than small forward. "We talked about it, because when you look at the Eastern Conference, youve got Carmelo, LeBron, big threes playing fours, and he wants to do that and it fits us really well too, him going to the four," Casey said. "What he doesnt want to do is gain a lot of unneeded weight, just some good solid (muscle), which hes done. Hes really solid in his upper body. You can see it, it looks good. If it helps him psychologically, making contact, getting to the rim, its great. "Its going to help him be in the paint a little bit more. When you get caught outside in that non-paint area, to drop that shoulder, use your body to get into the paint to create a foul, contact, and get to the free-throw line." Casey calls Gay one of the top offensive players in the league, and said the main thing missing that could make him an all-star is winning. "Winning gets you in that conversation of being one of the top players in this league," Casey said. "The league rewards winners." Granted training camp is only a day old, but Gay has seemed more at ease, cracking jokes with reporters. When someone pointed out to Casey that Gay seems happier than he did last season, the coach said everyone was. "I think theres a different vibe," Casey said. The coach said it starts with Masai Ujiri, the Raptors new president and general manager. "Masai gave them an impassioned speech (Monday) night about what he expects from them, the passion guys have to play with, leaving all the problems all the issues, check them at the door. It sets a tone, and thats been huge," Casey said. "Hes empowered everybody to do their job. The cop-outs are gone, now its about playing and having fun, and the way you have fun is by kicking peoples butts and competing." The Raptors practise at the Air Canada Centre until Thursday and then training camp moves to Halifax for two days. They open the pre-season Monday at Boston, and are back home to host the Minnesota Timberwolves next Wednesday. Noah Spence Jersey . He did one better Sunday by holing out a pitching wedge from 142 yards for eagle, capping a remarkable 28 on the back nine to win The Championship at Laguna National. Ryan Jensen Jersey . Returning to Davis Cup tennis, Federer cruised past Ilija Bozoljac, winning 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 in less than two hours. Federer faced little challenge from Bozoljac, who served well but still was no match for his Swiss opponent. http://www.officialtampabaybuccaneersfoo...s-jersey-womens. The result was a game-winning, power-play goal. Chiasson snapped a third-period tie and lifted the Dallas Stars to a 3-2 victory on Monday night. Lavonte David Jersey . - The fiancee of former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez is set to ask a judge to throw out allegations that she lied to a grand jury. William Gholston Jersey .C. United on Saturday night and boost the Unions playoff hopes. Nick DeLeon scored in the 36th minute for United (3-23-6), which had ample opportunities to build on its lead but went its 10th straight match without a victory.The Grand Stade de Lyon is on course to sell out for the Champions Cup final between Saracens and Racing 92 on Saturday, live on Sky Sports 2. One thing we can predict for certain is, come the final whistle, there will be a new name on the trophy, as neither side has yet tasted glory in European rugbys premier cup competition.Racing 92 will make their first appearance in a final and are the ninth Top 14 club to play in a European Cup decider, while Saracens will be appearing in the final for a second time after losing 23-6 to Toulon in 2014. Top of the PoolsSaracens swept aside all before them in a tricky Pool 1 that included Toulouse, Ulster and Oyonnax.The north London side kicked off their campaign with a 32-7 win over Toulouse. We take a look Saracens route to the 2016 European Rugby Champions Cup final It was an impressive display from Saracens and they backed it up in Round 2 with a superb second-half performance away to Ulster.Sarries scored 22 points after the break in Belfast to come away 27-9 winners and underline their ambition to go one better than they did in 2014. Owen Farrell will be hoping to help Sarries to their first Champions Cup success Rounds 3 and 4 provided back-to-back wins against Oyonnax - a 45-10 win at Stade Charles Mathon before a Chris Ashton hat-trick inspired them to a 55-13 victory at home the following week. The bonus-point win put comfortable distance between them and the chasing pack in Pool 1.Mark McCalls men then secured their home quarter-final in Round 5 with another impressive win against Ulster, this time winning 33-17 to secure their fourth bonus-point victory of the pool stages.In their final game of the group stages, Saracens kept their 100% record intact as they travelled to Stade Ernest Wallon and beat Toulouse 28-17. When is the Champions Cup final on Sky? When is the Champions Cup final and how can you watch it on Sky Sports? Meanwhile, over in Pool 3, Racing were drawn with Northampton, Glasgow and Scarlets. Their first match was scheduled to be against Glasgow, but was postponed following the terror attacks in Paris.The Top 14 side got their Champions Cup campaign off to a winning start with a bonus-point 29-12 victory over the Scarlets at Parc y Scarlets.Dan Carter then had his first taste of European rugby with the Paris-based side as he helped Racing to a 33-3 win over Northampton in Round 3, but a week later there was a blip as Saints held them to a 9-9 draw at Franklins Gardens. We take a look at Racing 92s route to the 2016 European Rugby Champions Cup final In early January, Racings postponed Round 1 game against Glasgow took place at Stade Yves Du Manoir.dddddddddddd The French side tightened their grip on Pool 3 with a 34-10 bonus-point win, and a week later racked up the biggest win in the tournament when they demolished Scarlets 64-14 at home.The final round was not a good one for Racing, as they were well beaten by Glasgow Warriors in Kilmarnock - 22-5 thanks to a try from Stuart Hogg. However, they had done enough to advance as Pool 3 winners and secure home advantage in the quarter-finals.Knockout stagesRacing hosted three-time champions Toulon in the quarter-finals in battle that went to the wire. The scores were tied 16-16 before a 79th-minute penalty from French scrum-half Maxime Machenaud kicked Racing into their first semi-final, knocking out the reigning champions. PRO12 v Premiership: Who wins? Which league has the best players? In their semi-final against Leicester, it was Machenauds try in the third minute that helped Racing to a 19-9 lead with the game closing out. Though Leicester hit back with a try with a minute remaining, Racing held on for a 19-16 win at City Ground.Saracens came under intense pressure in their quarter-final and had to come from behind to beat Northampton after trailing 10-6 at half-time. Sarries were far from their best but stepped up in the second half to beat their Premiership rivals 29-20. Saracens beat Wasps 24-17 in their semi-final It was another Premiership side in the semi-finals for Saracens as they won a thrilling encounter against Wasps. The power of their back row finally took its toll on Wasps, who made Sarries really fight for their place in the final in a 24-17 win.The finalThe two best teams in Europe will now meet. Will Saracens be able to keep their 100% win record and lift the trophy? No team has ever won the tournament after finishing the group stages as top seeds.Can Racing 92 triumph, propelling Dan Carter into an exclusive club of players who have won the World Cup, the Rugby Championship, the Super Rugby title and the Champions Cup?The five to do so are Bryan Habana, Bakkies Botha, Danie Rossouw, Brad Thorn and Ali Williams. Juan Imhoff scored a try during Racings quarter-final against Toulon The Sky Sports team will be in Lyon to bring you all the action as it unfolds, with special guests Paul OConnell and Jonny Wilkinson joining us to share their views.Tune in from 3.45pm on Sky Sports 2 this Saturday to watch Saracens v Racing 92 in the Champions Cup final Also See: Farrell keen to emulate Carter Champions Cup final on Sky Sports WATCH: Fodens trick shot WATCH: Greenwoods Favourite 5 Wholesale MLB Orioles Jerseys Red Sox Jerseys From China Discount Yankees Jerseys Online Rays Jerseys For Sale Blue Jays Jerseys From China Wholesale MLB White Sox Jerseys Indians Jerseys For Sale Tigers Jerseys From China Wholesale MLB Astros Jerseys Cheap Baseball Angels Jerseys Athletics Jerseys From China Mariners Jerseys For Sale Cheap Baseball Rangers Jerseys Braves Jerseys For Sale Discount Marlins Jerseys Online Discount Mets Jerseys Online Phillies Jerseys From China Wholesale MLB Nationals Jerseys Cubs Jerseys From China Discount Reds Jerseys Online Brewers Jerseys From China Wholesale MLB Pirates Jerseys Wholesale MLB Cardinals Jerseys Diamondbacks Jerseys For Sale Rockies Jerseys For Sale Discount Dodgers Jerseys Online Discount Padres Jerseys Online Giants Jerseys For Sale ' ' '