right in it." Tanihara had a 65 and will join Leishman and St

TORONTO - When the Raptors reconvened in Washington following Februarys All-Star break, Dwane Casey had a hand-drawn contract waiting for them. It wasnt legally binding. "It probably wouldnt hold up in court," Casey joked. It was more of a symbolic gesture. "[It was] a document committing to the team, committing to the process, leaving their egos at the door." With two-to-three sentences scribbled up top and a row of lines indicating where to sign, Casey had everybody pledge allegiance to the (Raptors) claw. Players, coaches, trainers, equipment managers, the media relations staff, everyone came up to sign, one-by-one. The first signature belonged to Kyle Lowry. "If [they] didnt want to sign it, you would have been able to tell right off the bat, if guys wanted to read it," said the Raptors head coach, who kept the contract in his briefcase, traveling around with it for the duration of the season. "Everybody stepped up and didnt hesitate and the next night we went out and beat [the Wizards]. Guys probably forgot they signed it, but I didnt" "Im all in, was the head of the document. And they were." On Tuesday, Masai Ujiri and the Raptors went all in on Casey and, in two months, they will do so with the teams core group of players, namely Lowry, making every effort to keep the band together. A year ago, just around this time, Casey and former general manager Bryan Colangelo met with the media to deliver their annual end-of-season post-mortem. They conducted their press conferences separately, unsure of their own futures, let alone the direction of the organization. Now, Ujiri sat adjacent to Casey at the podium, announcing that he and his coach have agreed to a new three-year deal, using this strange, foreign word over and over again; "continuity". "We plan on growing as a team," Ujiri said. "Im not going to make any crazy, quick-fix decisions here. We want to keep building and one of the things weve talked about is continuity." If you take one thing away from Tuesdays proceedings its that message. Ujiri has every intention of doubling down on this past seasons surprising success. Naturally, Casey was the first domino, a quick decision, no-brainer and an easy deal to get done. In his third year with Toronto, Casey led his team to a division title and franchise-record 48-win season before bowing out in the seventh game of the conference quarterfinals. He has more than earned the opportunity to stay on and see this through. In fact, Ujiri was hoping to open talks of an extension with his coach in late March, but as the team stumbled - they had lost four of six games at the time - Caseys preference was to hold off until the end of the season. With that said, the 57-year-old never intended to test the market or throw his hat in the ring for another job. He felt it would be disingenuous and knew where he wanted to be. "My heart is here, my mind is here," Casey said. "Im committed to this organization and to these players going forward." Locking up Casey was the first step, and a logical one. For him, it made little sense to jump ship now and start fresh elsewhere, likely with a losing program, after working hard to change the culture and build an identity in Toronto. The real sales pitch will come in two months, when Lowry - an impending free agent - must decide whether to finish what he started with the Raptors or make like so many stars of the franchises oh-so-painful past and split. Thats why this day was important, thats why it was necessary. Ujiri and Casey were at the podium for over 46 minutes. They were speaking, at least indirectly, to Lowry. "Its very important for us, in terms of continuity," Ujiri said, using that word again - "continuity" - when asked about re-signing Lowry. "For me, negotiating is easy if we want Kyle to be here and Kyle wants to be here." "I think well be fair with Kyle and well figure it out and I think its important. So well go through that process but were optimistic stuff will happen." With Casey in place at the helm of the ship, Lowry knows exactly what he would be signing up for and familiarity - or "continuity" - could go a long way in wooing the star point guard. Despite various reports of a rocky start to their relationship, Casey and Lowry have become close. Theyve lost together, theyve grown together and most importantly theyve won together. "Kyle came into a tough situation," Casey admitted before using a fantastically strange, albeit accurate, metaphor. "Its almost like coming into a relationship where you already have a girlfriend and a new girl comes in, because Jose [Calderon] was already here. We already understood Jose knew the system, he knew the calls. Kyle came in trying to learn them, and Kyle is a very prideful man and should be. Kyle came into that situation as kind of second fiddle and if you know Kyle, hes not a second fiddle kind of guy." "But again, he grew from that. Once Jose was traded, it got closer, it got closer. He understood what we were doing, I understood what he was going to do in certain situations [and] trusted him." Ironically enough, the two bonded at the wedding of former Raptor Rudy Gay, Lowrys best friend, last summer when they were able to get to know each other away from basketball. This summer should start off quietly for the Raptors, at least over the next couple of months. With Casey now part of the recruiting party, the focus immediately shifts to locking up Lowry, a process that they can begin on July 1. Patrick Patterson and Greivis Vasquez - who spoke passionately about his desire to return on Monday - are both restricted free agents and also appear to be part of Ujiris offseason plan. "As far as Im concerned, keeping our core group going forward, with Kyle Lowry, Greivis Vasquez and Patterson and Nando (De Colo), those guys are priorities for us," Ujiri acknowledged. "And if you want to build, I think, a team where we have young players, we have to build continuity. When free agency comes, we have to attack our guys first." Theres still "building" to be done, but its looking likely that those tweaks will be made around the teams current foundation. Internal growth will be crucial, as Casey alluded to. He wants Terrence Ross to get stronger, Jonas Valanciunas to expand his post game - hell work with hall of fame centre Hakeem Olajuwon this summer - and DeMar DeRozan to improve defensively. Its hard to believe that this franchise is just 12 months removed from a summer plagued by uncertainty and indecision, though theyve had their fair share of them over the years. It seems like decades ago now. For most of that year Ujiri kept us guessing. What was his plan? On Tuesday he laid out his blueprint. "For me, theres not going to be any crazy decisions made, theres no quick fix," the Raptors GM said. "Were a growing team, and were going to grow gradually. I really dont care what the expectations are. The way to build in this situation were in is to continue to give our young players the opportunity, to try and draft well and make sure we figure out the right players to sign." The Raptors know what they want and are making no effort to hide it - continuity. Fake Vans Shoes Suppliers . They find themselves trying to knock each other out in the Western Conference finals for the second straight year. The Blackhawks prevailed last year on their way to the Stanley Cup, and they have the early lead this time after taking the opener, 3-1. Vans Shoes From China . Viewers in the Jets region can watch the game on TSN Jets at 6:30pm ct/7:30pm et. The game is also avialable on TSN Radio 1290 in Winnipeg at 7pm ct. http://www.clearancevans.com/ . A steady downpour and low temperatures were predicted for much of the night. No makeup date was immediately announced, although it was determined that the game will not be part of a doubleheader on Wednesday. Vans Shoes Outlet . She was 30. The former British No. 1 died peacefully surrounded by family and friends, the Womens Tennis Association said on its website. The Kyiv-born Baltacha, who represented Britain at the 2012 London Olympics, was diagnosed with the illness in January, two months after retiring from tennis and only weeks after she married her long-time coach Nino Severino. Cheap Vans Authentic . Olsen, who is 6-foot-3 and 305 pounds, can play either centre or guard. The 25-year-old Olsen played 16 games and made four starts in 2012 with the New Orleans Saints.HONOLULU -- Fans soaking up the sun along the shores of Oahu took home plenty of memories Friday in the Sony Open, the least of which was Brian Stuard atop the leaderboard with this fourth straight round of 65 at Waialae. Stuard finished the second round with a hybrid into 2 feet for eagle, giving him a one-shot lead over Marc Leishman of Australia and Hideto Tanihara of Japan. The best stuff came later. James Hahn, best known for his "Gangnam Style" moves after making birdie at the raucous 16th hole at the Phoenix Open last year, tried (and failed) for a chest-bump with his caddie after the rarest shot in golf -- an albatross -- when he holed out from 191 yards with a 6-iron on the par-5 ninth hole. "That was a little spontaneous, but I forgot that -- Ive got to be politically correct, right? -- but white men cant jump," said Hahn, a South Korean-born, Cal grad and funnyman on tour. "So I got a little air, he didnt. But it was fun. I dont think he knew I was going to chest-bump him. But thats just what I felt like at the time." The big attraction was having surf champion Kelly Slater in the gallery for the final hour, even though he was there to watch a caddie. Fellow surfer Benji Weatherley is on the bag this week for Masters champion Adam Scott, and he had a blast in front of two dozen friends from the North Shore. But this golf is serious business, and Weatherley showed great confidence talking Scott out of a driver on the 18th hole. "Hes really getting the hang of it," Scott said. Scott took over from there, getting a break on the last hole when his ball was in a partial divot. Scott was able to take a free drop away from the grandstand, and while his chip came out strong, it banged against the bottom of the flagstick and stopped an inch from the hole for a tap-in birdie and a 66. Scott was only three shots behind. Weatherley was having a blast. "Its the most fun you could ever have," he said. "I have no nerves because for one, hes so good its embarrassing. Like every single shot is what you see on Sports Center, especially that last one." He said this during an interview with the Golf Channel. Meanwhile, another good tournament was shaping uup in Hawaii.dddddddddddd Stuard was at 10-under 130. Those four straight rounds of 65 ordinarily might be good enough to win a tournament. Except that the first half of that streak happened on the weekend at Waialae last year. Even so, it was enough for him to be in the lead going into the weekend. It was his seventh straight round in the 60s at Waialae dating to Stuards first trip here in 2010. "I think its something to do with the greens," Stuard said. "I feel comfortable on the greens. I feel like I read them pretty well and Im able to make putts." Leishman also made an eagle on the ninth hole, but that was in the middle of his round. And it was part of a three-hole stretch he played in 4-under, and he made a 25-foot birdie putt on the 14th hole. It led to a 64 that put him in a good spot going into the weekend. "Theyre the sort of things that really turn an average round into a good one, or a good one into a great one," Leishman said. "It was nice to shoot 6-under and get myself right in it." Tanihara had a 65 and will join Leishman and Stuard in the final group Saturday. The tee times were moved up for the third round because of rain in the forecast. Harris English had his second straight round of 66 and was two shots behind, poised to go for his third win in his last 16 starts. "I hit it all over the map," English said. "Yesterday, I striped it down the middle and didnt make any putts. Today, 4-under was the lowest I could have shot." He was scrambling so far that he didnt realize until the end of his round that he had a glove on his left hand, and another one tucked under the back of his belt. This was not a new craze, like Tommy "Two Gloves" Gainey with gloves on both hands. English was letting it dry out and forgot about it. Joining Scott in the group three shots behind were Jimmy Walker and Chris Kirk, while Hudson Swafford (64), Justin Leonard and past Sony Open champion Jerry Kelly were still in the mix at 6-under 134. Kapalua winner Zach Johnson, trying to become the first player since Ernie Els in 2003 to sweep the Hawaii swing, had a 67 and was five shots behind. Hahn also was 5-under after a 68. ' ' '