Gildenberreich » sport of football that not always the same teams

TORONTO - Toronto Raptors coach Dwane Casey said he often gets asked about Drake.I get texts: Do you know Drake? Have you met Drake? He sits there every night, he hears me cuss out the referees every night, Casey said, laughing. He knows all my cuss words.Part rapper, part Raptors mascot, Drake is the basketball teams global ambassador, and has his own courtside seat at the Air Canada Centre, about an arms length away from where Casey paces and hollers at the referees.The rapper-songwriter hosted his second annual Drake Night, on Wednesday at the Air Canada Centre, as the Raptors played Brooklyn for the first time since the Nets ousted Toronto in the first round of last seasons playoffs.A sell-out crowd of 19,800 fans received keepsake Drake Night T-shirts. Drake announced the Raptors lineup pre-game before taking his usual courtside seat. He spent some time at the broadcast table doing guest commentary.Do I hear Dwane Casey use foul language? Drake was asked in a humorous pre-game scrum with reporters. He just always says high hands. Hes always screaming high hands. Honestly, I sit right beside him, and I cant understand a word that hes saying. I dont know how the players know what to do. It just all sounds like random words that come to his mind. Hell just be like, A-1 sauce!Drake said while the night was named for him, it was all about a Raptors team that is enjoying its best start in franchise history.Its really about this team just doing what theyve been doing all year, which is just being incredible, he said. I had some conversations with a couple of the guys and just really asked them to overdo it tonight for me.I hate to be redundant, but I just care so much about the city and the people in it and night after night, its amazing to see all these seats sold out, he added. Sports is a huge part of my life, and its just great to see people from all walks of life, Toronto itself is such a mosaic of different people from different cultures and different walks of life and you look around the building and you see all these people just coming together for a great squad, a great game.Drake said he was given a choice of visiting teams for his night this season. Brooklyn was an obvious choice after the Nets dispatched the Raptors in Game 7 of the opening round of the playoffs last season.If theres anybody that I want to beat, its the Nets, Drake said. I think if we have a rivalry at all, I think this would probably would be it. Obviously, Ive got much love for New York and Brooklyn but in this particular arena at this particular moment, the one thing I want to do is knock out Brooklyn.Drake has come to know the Raptors players well, and attributes their success to their chemistry.Being part of an ensemble cast, it involves the meshing of all personalities. I can testify because I was on Degrassi where there were 12 kids trying to co-exist, and everybody wanted to be a star, he said. Once you have a common goal in mind as opposed to a personal goal, thats when things really start to click.They have a real family vibe going on. . . These guys love each other. They care about each other. It shows in our record. Im excited for this stretch, and Im excited for the stretch where we play the over-500 teams. I think thats going to be the real test.After Sundays game versus the visiting New York Knicks, the Raptors head west for a tough six-game road trip. Shea Theodore Jersey . Hes the same player he always was, only now his efforts are being rewarded. The rookie manager has made a habit of heaping praise on others when things are going well, and accepting criticism when they arent. But in the case of Hurtado, its what the coach is NOT saying that may be the secret to a superb run of form. Jonathan Marchessault Jersey . 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I was quite emotional at the end. I did not actually see any of the shots in the game until I got home and watched the video.Louis van Gaal says he has been involved in planning for next season at Manchester United. Speculation continues to surround the Dutchmans future, despite leading United to their first FA Cup final for nearly a decade and with his team still in the running for a top-four spot.Jose Mourinho is reportedly keen on the post should United look to replace Van Gaal in the summer, however, Sky Sports News HQ understands no agreement has been reached between the club and the former Chelsea and Real Madrid boss. Speculation continues to surround Van Gaals future at Manchester United When asked if he has been involved in the planning for next season, Van Gaal said: Yes, I am involved so thats not any discussion and its also logical because I am the manager.We have seen that we are in a transition period and when I was mentioned as the coach it was also about that we have discussed and when I took over we had more than five or six players above 32 or 33 and then you have to select and you have to buy other players. Van Gaal has led Manchester United to the FA Cup final Van Gaal was speaking ahead of his sides clash with Leicester on Super Sunday and he believes United will need to win all of their remaining league games if they are to sneak into the top four.United sit fifth in the table, five points adrift of Manchester City and Arsenal in third and fourth respectively, though they do have a game in hand and those two sides still have to play one another.However, the Red Devils face a difficult game this weekend as they host the Premier League leaders and Van Gaal knows anything less than three points would be a hammer blow to his teams top-four chances. Louis van Gaal thinks Manchester United can only postpone Leicester winning the Premier League. I think we have to bbeat Leicester because we are still in the race for the first positions so we have to beat them, Van Gaal said.dddddddddddde have to close the gap so the pressure is on us still. We have to win every game that we have to play. City still have to play against Arsenal, though, so one of those shall lose points.We are fighting for the qualification of the Champions League and we are still in the FA Cup, so we have to fight for something and we shall do it. Hopefully, we can beat Leicester City. A win for Leicester on Sunday would secure the league title and cap a fairy-tale ending to one of the more remarkable sporting stories in recent memory.Van Gaal admits even he would be pleased to see Leicester crowned champions but hopes United can postpone their celebrations for one more week. Jamie Redknapp joins Ed Chamberlain to preview Super Sunday It is good for the Premier League and the sport of football that not always the same teams are the champion, Van Gaal saidWe cannot allow that they are the champions this weekend at Old Trafford. I think they shall be the champion a week later, so we dont spoil the party, just postpone it a little bit.On the injury front, Van Gaal says England full-back Luke Shaw has now recovered from his broken leg but is unlikely to figure in next months FA Cup final against Crystal Palace. FA Cup final may come too soon for United full-back Luke Shaw Speaking to MUTV, the Dutchman said: We dont have any injuries, except Shaw, who is already not injured any more but is building up, and Schweinsteiger.Asked if Shaw could be ready to face Palace, he added: He can, maybe, but it shall be difficult because he has to play first a lot of matches in the second team. We have to wait and see because you cannot say anything. Its going very well with him. Also See: Man Utd video Man Utd fixtures Man Utd stats Get a ￡10 free bet! ' ' '