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Xander Bogaerts had an RBI double in the loss.
TORONTO - As Kyle Lowry walked off the podium, on a day in which he cleaned out his locker following a heartbreaking end to his career season, he looked back at the throng of media that had just finished grilling him on his future. Jermaine Eluemunor Jersey . "Goodbye, everybody," he shouted. What he really meant was, see you later. With the wounds of a Game 7 loss beginning to heal and the dust settling on the season that was, the attention immediately shifted to Lowry, an impending free agent, and whether or not hell be back in a Raptors uniform next fall. Although the star point guard is prohibited from putting pen to paper until the NBAs moratorium period concludes after the first week of July, there is a resounding belief within Torontos locker room that he is planning on sticking around. It was written on the face of his teammate and good friend DeMar DeRozan as the all-star guard deflected question after question regarding Lowrys future with the subtlety of a hand grenade. Will it be difficult to watch Lowry go through the free agency process? "No, no, no," he said Monday afternoon, accompanied by a big smirk. Why not? "Because," he replied, as reporters began to snicker. "No" How would you feel if, for whatever reason, he wasnt back? "Im not worried about that," DeRozan insisted. Do you know something we dont? "I didnt say that. I didnt say he was, I didnt say he wasnt. I just said Im not worried about it." The 24-year-old spends the bulk of his summers working out in Las Vegas. If that was his poker face, its a good thing he rarely strays from the gym. "Why would he leave?" DeRozan asked in the rhetoric a day earlier. A fair question and one Lowry could not find an answer for when pressed shortly after Torontos one-point loss and first-round elimination to the Brooklyn Nets. "Of course I can see myself back," said the Raptors point guard. "We just went to Game 7, first round. Nobody expected us to be there. Of course I can see that." Coming off a breakout campaign in which he averaged career-highs of 17.9 points and 7.4 assists, the 28-year-old will take his time and weigh his options before making a decision, that much he made clear. "At the end of the day, its still a business and you have to be a businessman for the situation that youre in," he said, "but I am very happy. This has been one of the best seasons Ive had, through and through. Best coaches, teammates, [front office]. Its been great. I am happy. Without a doubt, I can say Im happy." While money and the terms of his next deal should play a big part in the negotiation process that will take place in roughly two months, its hard to put a price on happiness. Thats something that any other suitor may have difficulty matching. Finally, in his eighth NBA season, Lowry started to scratch the surface of what many believed had been there all along. Only, it very nearly played out at Torontos expense. "We knew if we lost [after the Rudy Gay trade] it was going to get blown up," Lowry wisely pointed out. "Thats just the fact that, once we made the trade, if we would have lost a little more, I probably wouldnt be sitting here today, just being honest." As it turned out, the Raptors were his perfect storm. For the first time, he was entrusted to lead a team without looking over his shoulder or pretending to be something hes not. He came to training camp with a rejuvenated approach, in the best shape of his playing career. "The most important difference Ive seen in Kyle is his ability to lose weight," said Patrick Patterson - a teammate of Lowrys in Houston - with a straight face, if you can believe it. "When he was in Houston, he was on the heavy side." He and DeRozan formed the leagues second-highest scoring backcourt, only behind the Golden State Warriors "Splash Brothers" of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. "Why wouldnt you want to be on a team with a guy like that?" he said of DeRozan. Most of all, hes grown up. A year ago he stood in the Raptors practice gym, head down, embarrassed after a lost season and promised to be back, better than ever. "[Im] very disappointed for myself because I know Im a much better player than what Ive shown this year," he had said on Apr. 15, 2013. This version of Lowry, sitting at the front end of the ACC media centre, couldnt have been more dissimilar. Hes channeled the very things that used to work to his detriment - his hardheaded, stubborn nature - to become an indispensable player. As a result, he has a greater understanding and appreciation for whats important to him at this stage of his career. First and foremost, his priority is to win. "I want to be happy," Lowry repeated, identifying overall team situation as the primary factor in making his decision. "I want to win, but its something that me and my agent, we have yet to talk about. But I know I want to win, and thats important to me." How does Toronto stack up? "I love this place," he exclaimed. "I love the situation. Its simple as that." No, Lowrys not going anywhere. The Raptors give Lowry his best opportunity to win and Lowry does the same for the Raptors. They need each other. "Kyles like my biggest brother," said sophomore Terrence Ross. "I look up to him, ask for advice on a lot of different things, on and off the court. Hes hands down the best point guard Ive ever played with. Hes taught me a lot. He motivates everybody. I really hope he comes back. I even talk to him all of the time, saying You got to come back, youre basically the heart of the team, we need you to come back." Lowrys response to Ross frequent sales pitches; "He always played it off like weve got to worry about something else right now." Now, Lowry tops the teams offseason agenda. Hes their highest priority and it wont take long after the clock strikes 12:01 AM on July 1 for Masai Ujiri and agent Andy Miller to sit down and finalize an agreement to keep the star point guard in Toronto long term. "We wouldnt have been here if it wasnt for Kyle," DeRozan said. "Kyle is an elite player," added Patterson, "and as far as him staying here, Im sure a lot of people in Toronto would love that. It all depends on him. But definitely if Toronto wants to get better in the future, have someone to build around and be the key, the glue for the basketball team, what better person to start with than Kyle?" Matt Skura Jersey . Pikul Khueanpet scored early in the second half and Kanjana Sungngoen made it 2-0 in the 65th minute of the playoff. Tuyet Dong narrowed the margin with goal four minutes from time. The win gave Thailand fifth place at the Asian Cup and the last of the continents qualifying spots for the 2015 Womens World Cup in Canada. Wholesale Ravens Jerseys China . "Im proud of him," Jones said in an interview from Sacramento, site of the UFCs weekend televised card. "I think hes listening to his body and hes doing what makes him happy and thats what life is about ultimately.BOSTON - Michael Pineda tries to continue his terrific start to the season on Wednesday when the New York Yankees play the middle test of a three-game series with the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. You can watch all the action on TSN2 beginning at 7pm et/4pm pt. Pineda won his second straight start last Wednesday against Chicago, as he held the Cubs to just four hits over six scoreless innings to run his record to 2-0, while lowering his ERA to 1.00. He is the first Yankee since Kevin Brown in 2004 to throw at least six innings and allow one run or less in each of his first three starts for the club. "Again, really, really good," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "Command of his pitches, command of his changeup, his slider tonight. It wasnt the best conditions to pitch in, but I thought he did a really good job." Pineda beat the Red Sox two starts ago, yielding a run in six innings. Of course, television cameras showed what appeared to be pine tar on his right palm of that one. However, it was never brought to anyones attention and seemed to be cleaned off a few innings later. Boston, meanwhile, will counter with righty John Lackey, who has lost his last two starts and is 2-2 with a 5.25 ERA. After getting hit hard by the Yankees two starts ago, Lackey again struggled on Friday against Baltimore, as he was tagged for six runs and 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings. He also walked four batters, more than he had allowed in his three previous outings, when he gave up three over 18 2/3 innings. "Honestly, they had a couple walks, but they were in spots that wasnt that big a deal, against guys I didnt really want to give in to," Lackey said. "I felt OK with it." Lackey surrendered six runs in 5 2/3 innings in a loss to the Yanks on April 12 and is 10-11 lifetime against them with a 4.99 ERA in 28 sstarts. Darious Williams Jersey. . New York got the best of its rivals in Tuesdays opener, as Jacoby Ellsbury gave the Red Sox fans an unwanted welcome back in his return to Fenway Park, going 2-for-5 with two RBI to help the Yankees to a 9-3 rout. Ellsbury, part of two World Series titles during a successful seven-year tenure with the Red Sox, tripled in his first at-bat as a Fenway visitor and later drove in two with a double that highlighted a four-run fifth inning. The star outfielder bolted Boston for a seven-year, $153 million contract with New York during the offseason. Three other Yankee newcomers made big contributions as well, as Masahiro Tanaka yielded just two runs and fanned seven over 7 1/3 innings in another strong start, while Brian McCann went 3-for-4 with an RBI double and Carlos Beltran finished 2-for-5 with a homer and two RBI. New York has now won six of its last nine games. Tanaka (3-0) allowed back-to-back homers to David Ortiz and Mike Napoli in the fourth, but just five other hits in his first-ever encounter with the Red Sox. On the other hand, the Yankees battered Boston ace Jon Lester (2-3) for 11 hits and eight runs -- though just three were earned due to a pair of Red Sox errors -- in 4 2/3 innings of work. Napoli ended 2-for-4 and Xander Bogaerts had an RBI double in the loss. "(New York) put some good swings on him," Red Sox manager John Farrell said of Lesters performance. "They mishit some balls, they found some holes. We didnt help out defensively and once again were digging ourself a hole to play catch-up." New York took three of four from the Red Sox earlier this season. Prior to the game Meb Keflezighi, the mens winner of the 118th Boston Marathon and the first American to win the championship since 1983, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch. 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