Grüße und Vorstellung » Chelsea could be a magnificent seven

DENVER - Its been four years since the Raptors had a representative in the All-Star Game. Thibaut Courtois Belgium Jersey . DeMar DeRozan, a 20-year-old rookie at the time, remembers it well. "I was here when Chris Bosh was the last guy to go," said DeRozan, now 24 in his fifth NBA season, less than two hours after receiving the news. A first-time All-Star, DeRozan got the nod Thursday evening when the NBA named the Raptors guard to the Eastern Conference squad as a reserve. "I work extremely hard every off-season to try and be the best player that I can be," he said proudly. "Just to be a part of All-Star Weekend is something you dream of. I remember being a kid watching All-Star Weekend and wishing to be a part of it. To see your dreams come true definitely means a lot." DeRozan, the fourth ever Raptor selected to the midseason showcase, which will take place in New Orleans on Feb. 16, was hardly surprised to find out his selection had been made official. He had expected it. The texts from family and friends started to come in as the Raptors plane landed in Denver, shortly after the announcement had been made live on TNT. Houston Rockets All-Star guard James Harden called to congratulate him, John Wall of the Washington Wizards, also an Eastern reserve, sent a text. The first call he made was to his fiancé and his infant daughter back in Toronto. "That was cool," he said of what had to be a special moment. Its a moment, an achievement that didnt come overnight. Hes put in the work and his growth as a player, a leader and as a man reflects that. "Hes worked at it [and] he deserves it," said Dwane Casey, who has coached DeRozan in three of his five seasons. "Every year Ive been here he has improved. He has brought something new back after every summer. Im so happy and proud of him as a young man watching him grow." DeRozan, the ninth overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft, is 11th in the league in scoring, fourth in the East, and averaging career highs in points (21.8), rebounds (4.7) and assists (3.6). The Raptors iron man has missed the clubs previous two games with an ankle injury, but hes still only missed 10 contests in his career, with two full seasons under his belt. Since the trade of Rudy Gay, DeRozan has blossomed in his new role. DeRozan has recorded five or more assists in 12 of the 43 contests hes appeared in this season. He accomplished that feat 12 times all of last year and five times total in his first three seasons combined. He has already grabbed five or more rebounds 23 times this season, something he did in 19 games during the 2012-13 campaign. "Im so happy for him, man," said snubbed teammate Kyle Lowry. "It just shows the hard work that hes put in. Its great for our team, its great for the organization, its great for the city, its great for the country." Of course, the news wasnt entirely positive. Lowry, in the middle of a career season, was left off the All-Star roster. The 27-year-old point guard - widely considered to be the most notable name missing from the East team - stood in the lobby of the Raptors Denver hotel, looking ahead to his mid-Febrary vacation. He too was not surprised by the result of the voting and if he was disappointed by it, he didnt show it. "Im alright," said Lowry, averaging career-highs in points (16.8), assists (7.6) and three-point shooting (41 per cent) this season. "Ill be on a beach somewhere hanging out. Ill watch the All-Star game and cheer for (DeRozan)." Lowry is coming off of back-to-back 30-plus point games for the first time in his eight-year career, however both performances came after the coaches submitted their ballots for All-Star reserves on Sunday. Casey has spent the better part of the last month campaigning for both of his guards, hoping to get both voted in, but expecting to only get the one. Why was Lowry left out? Politics, most likely. He and DeRozan may have split votes from coaches who were only willing to vote for one Raptor. Coaches trying to get their own guy in - unable to vote for their own players, by rule - may have thrown their votes to others, less likely to make it. Then theres Lowrys reputation for being, well, prickly on occasion. However, the numbers speak for themselves, or at least they should have. Lowry leads the East in assists in January, averaging 8.3. Hes also hit more threes this month (49) than any player in the league, shooting them at a 46 per cent clip. Hes among the league-best in assist-to-turnover ratio and he has the second highest PER (player efficiency rating) of any guard in the conference. "I am disappointed for Kyle because he is playing like an All-Star," Casey said. "He is one of the best point guards in the league right now and hopefully this doesnt deter him from his continuing his journey to being the best in the league and proving people wrong." Instead, the Nets Joe Johnson made the cut. Johnson is averaging 15.7 points, his lowest mark since 2002-03, his second season in the league. Hes only the second All-Star voted in by the coaches with a below-average PER since 2003. "Im going to keep grinding no matter what, All-Star or not," Lowry said. "Im always going to work hard and continue to be the best player I can be to help my team win." "Honestly I didnt even worry about it," he continued. "We didnt get two, doesnt matter, we got one and thats a big statement for our team. [DeRozans] going to represent our team and hes going to represent us well." DeRozan joins Johnson, Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat, Wall, the Indiana Pacers Roy Hibbert, Joakim Noah of the Chicago Bulls and the Atlanta Hawks Paul Millsap on the East squad, along with starters LeBron James and Dwyane Wade of the Heat, Indianas Paul George, Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks and the Cleveland Cavaliers Kyrie Irving. Dries Mertens Jersey .ca look back at each of the Top 10 stories of 2013. Today, we look back at LeBron James and the Miami Heat winning their second straight NBA championship. Thomas Vermaelen Belgium Jersey . There will be no Down Under four-peat for Djokovic, as the eighth-seeded Swiss slugger Wawrinka outlasted the second seed 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 9-7 at Melbourne Parks Rod Laver Arena in yet another five-set thriller in their burgeoning rivalry. http://www.belgiumsoccerpro.com/Axel-Witsel-Belgium-Jersey/ . -- Two-time AL Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana agreed Tuesday to a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles as he tries to come back from the second major operation on his left shoulder.Adam Johnson and Manuel Pellegrini may well have walked off with Januarys BPL Player and Manager of the Month Awards, but no other club have had a better new year than Chelsea. Seven matches played, six clean sheets, wins heaped upon wins. The copy book only blighted by an inability to deal with West Hams so termed 19th century tactics. Having just returned from spending three weeks in the city of the 2012 Summer Olympiad, much time spent within the century plus old Stamford Bridge walls, its as if the clocks have been turned back to circa 2004-05. It was Mourinhos debut season, and the little horse galloped away from the entire BPL field. Chelsea winning the title by a very distant 12 points. Most remarkably, conceding an improbable 15 goals through the 38-match season - numbers Gary Bettman apparently salivates over. Such was Chelseas dominance of the Champions for almost the entire second half they played in reverse gear. Ryan Giggs couldnt watch as he continually covered his face in his hands. He likely would have thrown in the towel if he could have found one. The only passion on display that afternoon from anyone in a red shirt came from the quite magnificent Manchester United support - 6,000 strong, and as one in their complete support for club. The true definition of what the word supporter actually means. There in the midst of yet more adversity and not once did they veer from the full encouragement, slap on the back script. Hopefully, someone at the club shot a video which David Moyes has had time to watch. If theres one man in world football who needs to fully understand the inherent value of positive body language, additionally to be classically re-conditioned it is the boy set adrift by Ferguson. Ive witnessed more sideline encouragement during the traditional park life early Sunday morning pub league football. When most are still feeling the awful side effects of a very late and mostly liquid Saturday night. The Chosen One? More like The Shrugged Shouldered One. Such was Manchester Uniteds public demise at Stamford Bridge, Sir Alex Ferguson had to slum it sat next to yesterdays soul man, Mick Hucknall. Meanwhile, Miami FCs David Beckham took pride of place over in the regal confines of Roman Abramovichs private suite. Court side seats at a Lakers game are renowned as the ultimate status symbol of the celebrity and glitteratti set. As I walked the Fulham Road streets before the match, there was more jewellery than scarves on display in London SW6. I even caught sight of a man not often associated with the jet set. England manager Roy Hodgson walking with his assistant Ray Lewington as they purposefully mingled amongst the crowd making their way to the ground. Not an air of grace about them. For Englands Brazil 2014 sakes, lets hope the WAGs will have taken notes. Next up for Chelsea was an FA Cup fourth round tie against Stoke City. Late that morning, Mata completed his £37.1m ($69m million) move to Old Trafford, Matic made his Stamford Bridge debut that afternoon. Now over my time, I have seen some monsters on a football pitch. Not all of them dressed in football shirts. Nemanja Matic is almost completely unrecognizable from the person and footballer that he was in his previous stint. He hardly got a look in then, against Stoke he hardly put a foot wrong. Oscars sublime free kick separated the sides. Matic though was the talk of the press room at full time. That was until a 51st birthday celebrating Jose Mourinho walked into the room. It was only mere minutes after it had been announced the win against Stoke set up a highly tasty fifth round encounter at the Etihad. Hours previously, the twice straight player of the year had been sold. To Manchester United of all clubs, and a transfer which had Wenger and Pelligrini going into a lather. First question to the manager? “When Rafa Benitez was Chelsea manager, on his birthday he bought a cake in for the media. Wheres your cake?” Not to be outdone by Rafa, the Happy One promised champagne for when next he would meet the media 48 hours later. Simon Mignolet Belgium Jersey. You couldnt make this stuff up. When the subject did finally get round to Mata, Mourinho let it be known it was not his sole decision to discard the best left foot in the BPL. “Only the big boss makes sole decisions.” The manager made it abundantly clear it was a team decision that the 25-year old Spaniard was surplus to requirements. Weve all witnessed Oscar and Hazard on the ball. From the comfort of your sofa or bar stool, what the camera doesnt tell you though is the staggering amount of tracking back these two highly gifted players do through the course of a match. Out of possession sometimes, it seemed Oscar was so deep in his own half he was paired in defence with John Terry. Hauled off soaking wet with 10 minutes left and the Sunday evening sky darkening, one clever hack suggested the Brazilians mother had sent a text to Mourinho reminding him the fresh-faced youngster had to be at school Monday morning. There was nothing fresh-faced about Oscar, nor Mourinho, 72 hours later when Big Sams Claret and Blue Army [and Im speaking about the West Ham players] made the short hop over from Londons East end. Those gale-forced winds and pouring rain that has battered the south west of England for much of winter showed up too. Attending the match as a Chelsea supporter, with the trouble ‘n strife [wife] in tow, we took our seats in the lower tier of the West Stand. Mercifully under cover, but such was the ferocious wind we were rain lashed for the entire 90 minutes. The action on the pitch was not one bit as exciting as a sole Chelsea fan sat directly behind us. He made more noise than the thunder - his humour hotter than the tea. As he performed all the Chelsea classics in a virtuoso solo performance worthy of any Grammy winner. For all the plaudits bestowed on Mourinho following Mondays Etihad ‘title decider, he got it wrong against West Ham. In fact, it started with his Stoke line up when Frank Lampard captained the side and played the full 90-minutes. Lampard plays West Ham with fire in his belly and a goal in his feet. Not coincidental the best chance that evening fell to Chelseas leading goal scorer of all time in the 96th minute. But for a superb save from Adrian in the West Ham goal and Chelsea could be a magnificent seven straight wins through 2014. Matic should have started. Not as Mourinho did, only introduce him with less than 30 minutes left. Oscar struggled. Not so much with coming to grips with West Hams iron-like resolve, the conditions were so soggy and about as far removed from ball playing, he must have wished for the Copacabana. Of late, David Luiz has been spraying balls up field for Hazard to run onto. Luiz didnt leave the bench. Hazard for all his crafty guile was able to turn opponents inside out but where ever he went another West Ham player was in very close proximity. Baton down the Belgian on a windswept Stamford Bridge night they did. The Happy One, though wouldnt have swapped a moment of that ‘19th century like opponent for what was achieved against modern footballs shining knights, Manchester City. Hung, drawn and no Mourinho quarter given. As we get set later this month for the start of the knock out stages of the Champions League - the manner in which Etihad victory was achieved will have instilled a certain fear in Europes finest. That though is for the future. Speaking to Chelsea future, Samuel Etoo may have slayed Manchester United. The Cameroonians hier apparent is Islam Feruz. An 18-year old Somalian refugee who was signed from Celtic is currently ripping it up in Chelseas reserves. Scoring goals from all over the pitch, seemingly just for fun. Thoroughbred lightening quick, just maybe Feruz is the ‘little horse- The Especially Happy One was referring to after Chelsea made a mockery of Manchester Citys perfect BPL home form. You can reach and follow Noel Butler at:Noel.Butler@BellMedia.ca @TheSoccerNoel on Twitter ' ' '