you see his name and you dont run to the ballpark

TORONTO - As Kyle Lowry was tended to, lying motionless on the floor after being kneed in the head, not once but twice, the Raptors fate hung in the balance alongside him. Miguel Yajure Jersey . It turned out to be the longest minute of the season for a team that has come to rely so heavily on the resolve of its tough-as-nails point guard. Lowry, sixth in the NBA in win shares (an estimated number of wins a player produces for his team), has been the Raptors most indispensable player. What would they do without him? Luckily, thats a quandary they need not concern themselves with. Although Lowry was a spectator in practice Monday, less than 15 hours after getting inadvertently trampled by P.J. Tucker, scrambling for a loose ball late in Sundays loss to the Phoenix Suns, he was relieved to deliver promising news. "It was a really powerful blow, but Im okay," said Lowry, who was cleared by team doctors earlier that morning, showing no signs or symptoms of a concussion or serious head injury. "Luckily, we have great doctors and a great staff and they checked everything out and everything came back clear, so Im fine." Sitting out of practice with flu-like symptoms that had been bothering him before Sundays game, Lowry said he was still feeling ill, but the headaches he complained about the night prior had dissipated. The Raptors did their due diligence in clearing Lowry and carefully made that apparent to those that had questioned their process after the point guard remained in Sundays game. "Its a huge issue and it should be," Casey said, speaking on the severity of head injuries in professional sport. "Teams are very sensitive to that, when theyre questioned whether they are going by protocol because its a huge deal." Scott McCullough, head athletic trainer, first tested Lowry for signs of a concussion while he was lying on the floor and then again after he was helped up and over to the bench during the timeout. Had he showed symptoms - such as disorientation, lack of coordination or nausea - the Raptors would have been compelled to pull him from the game and take him to the "quiet room", per league concussion policy. "Our guys went through the protocol, they checked his eyes," Casey continued. "He was deemed okay to go back into the game." Down nine with 96 seconds to go, Lowry - a fierce, and in some cases hardheaded competitor - was determined to power through. "I put myself back into that game," he said. "They werent going to take me out of that game. [McCullough] did his protocol on the bench and he checked me out and I was good to go, so thats all that matters." Lowry was tested twice more by team doctor Howard Petroff following the game and then again Monday morning, given a clean bill of health. Averaging career-highs of 17.2 points and 7.9 assists per game, Lowry has not missed a game this season and intends on playing Tuesday in Atlanta. What would it take for Lowry to sit out? "Being dead," he joked. "Not being able to walk." "I mean, Im always going to try to go out there and fight for my teammates and try to win the game, no matter what the situation is. At that point I felt like we still had a chance to win. Me, Im never going to sit out because of a little bump to the head." Clinging to a half game lead over Chicago for the Easts third seed and a three-and-a-half game cushion on Brooklyn for top spot in the division with 17 contests to go, the Raptors need all hands on deck. Despite the improved play of backup point guard Greivis Vasquez, Lowrys all-around contributions would be the toughest the replace. "Im happy as heck that hes okay," Casey said. "Its huge because were already down an important piece in our second unit with Patrick (Patterson) and to lose Kyle would be tough." Patterson was absent from practice Monday afternoon, having his sprained right elbow re-evaluated at the time. He is expected to accompany the team on their upcoming two-game road trip, a back-to-back in Atlanta and New Orleans, though his status is uncertain. Bobby Murcer Jersey .Inter Milan and Napoli also advanced to ensure there will be at least three Italian clubs in the last 32 of Europes secondary competition.Spurs victory, secured by Benjamin Stamboulis 49th-minute winner, was overshadowed by a succession of pitch invasions that forced the referee to halt the game after 41 minutes. Mickey Mantle Jersey . Jacob Jacques, Andrew Ryan and Jonathan Drouin also scored for Halifax (37-18-3), who outshot the Islanders 40-26. Kevin Darveau stopped 25 shots. Bradley Kennedy had the lone goal for Charlottetown (18-33-5), which has nine losses in its last 10 games. http://www.customyankeesjersey.com/ . - Their offence is underperforming. CLEVELAND -- Justin Verlander showed signs of his old form. However, the Detroit Tigers still needed someone to bail them out Saturday night. Two-time AL MVP Miguel Cabrera was the right man for the job. Cabrera doubled with one out in the 10th inning to drive in the go-ahead run and lift the Tigers to a 5-4 win over the Cleveland Indians. Verlander was one out away from winning for the only the second time in seven starts, but closer Joe Nathan (4-2) blew a save for the fifth time this season when Michael Bourns two-out single tied the score. "Nobody said this game was easy," Verlander said. Ian Kinsler opened the 10th with a single off Cody Allen (3-2). Following a sacrifice, Cabrera hit Allens second pitch off the wall in left-centre, scoring Kinsler. Indians manager Terry Francona was faced with a tough decision -- pitch to Cabrera or walk him intentionally and go after Victor Martinez, who homered in the second and had an RBI single in the sixth. "Sometimes you have to choose which one you are going to pitch to," Francona said. "Youd rather not face both of them, but sometimes youve got to. Sometimes youve just got to get them out." Tigers manager Brad Ausmus was happy he didnt have to make that choice. "I knew they couldnt walk both of them so I felt good taking my shot," he said. Phil Coke pitched the 10th for his first save. Verlander allowed two runs in seven innings, and Rajai Davis and Kinsler homered in the sixth, giving Detroit a 4-2 lead. The Indians scored in the eighth, but Nathan laboured in the ninth, throwing 32 pitches in the ninth. He struck out the first two hitters, but singles by David Murphy and Yan Gomes put runners at first and third. Bourn slapped a single through the left side to tie it. Verlander rebounded from a stretch where he had lost five of six decisions, including three straight starts. The former AL MVP and Cy Young winner, held the Indians to four hits and struck out eight. Verlander, who was 2-5 with a 7.83 ERA in his last seven starts going into the game, gave up a solo homer to Carlos Santana in the fourth and allowed an unearned run in the second. "This last month has been pretty frustrating, but I saw some swings that were different out there," Verlander said. Francona wassnt fooled by Verlanders recent numbers. Don Mattingly Jersey. "I know he looks human, which I guess we all are, but you see his name and you dont run to the ballpark thinking youre going to get healthy," Francona said. "His stuff is still really good." Davis broke a 2-all tie with a one-out blast into the home-run porch in left field. Kinsler, whose fielding error in the second cost Verlander a run, followed with a homer into the bleachers in left-centre. Both came off Trevor Bauer, who allowed four runs in 6 1-3 innings. The Tigers are 12-20 since May 18, but have won three straight for the first time in a month. Detroit leads Kansas City by 1 1/2 games in the AL Central. Verlander had allowed 38 earned runs in 43 2-3 innings in his previous seven starts. He lost all three starts in June, when he was rocked for 19 earned runs in 18 2-3 innings. "He was definitely good, but ironing out mechanics does not happen overnight," Ausmus said. "I wanted him to leave on a good note and feel good about his start." The Indians recorded their second sellout of the season, thanks mostly to Omar Vizquel being inducted into the teams Hall of Fame in a pregame ceremony. Vizquel, who played for the Indians from 1994-04, is Detroits first base and infield coach. The Tigers winning streak is their longest since they won six straight May 12-18. Brantley, who returned after being sidelined with a concussion Monday, was 0 for 5 to end his nine-game hitting streak. J.D. Martinez singled in the second, extending his hitting streak to 11 games, in which hes batting .429. NOTES: Tigers LHP Ian Krol, who has a 15.75 ERA over his last five appearances, was on the 15-day disabled list with a sore shoulder. He allowed two home runs un the eighth inning Friday and admitted he is "kind of going through a dead-arm period." LHP Pat McCoy, pitching at Triple-A Toledo, was recalled. ... Indians C Yan Gomes threw out Davis at second base in the fifth, the sixth straight time he has caught a runner trying to steal. Gomes hasnt made an error in 35 games after committing nine in his first 29. ... Detroit OF Torii Hunter (strained right hamstring) missed his fifth straight game. ... Tigers RHP Max Scherzer (8-3) meets RHP Josh Tomlin (4-4) in the three-game series finale Sunday. ' ' '