Neues » "We have nothing to add to Dustins statement, bu

TORONTO - In his brief 10-month stint with the Raptors, Rudy Gay averaged just under 20 points per contest, accounting for the bulk of Torontos offence while hitting some big, game-winning shots before he was whisked away to Sacramento. Taylor Rapp Rams Jersey . His tenure wont be remembered for any of that, rightly or wrongly, and the Kings forward has mostly come to terms with that. He wont be remembered for the shots he made. No, "Rudy the Raptor" - as Kings coach Mike Malone refers to Gays previous incarnation - will be remembered for the shots he missed. All 530 of them. Even Gay himself, given the opportunity to sugarcoat his shooting woes ahead of Fridays return to Toronto, wouldnt put lipstick on the pig that was his horrid field goal percentage. It was bad, and he knows it. Surrounded by the sizeable Toronto media army he left behind for small-market Sacramento following Kings practice on Thursday, Gay was asked if he feels slighted when hes been called inefficient. "I was inefficient when I was here," he admitted, to the surprise of those who may have expected him to dance around the obvious. "Im not anymore. I was when I was here." Fridays game will mark Gays first visit to Air Canada Centre since he was sent to the Kings, along with Quincy Acy and Aaron Gray, on Dec. 9 in exchange for Patrick Patterson, Greivis Vasquez, John Salmons and Chuck Hayes. He was acquired from Memphis less than a year earlier, a trade engineered by former Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo in the hopes of landing a star player that could dig the team out of its playoff hole and, in doing so, save his own skin. The experiment was short-lived. "He was put in a tough situation where he was looked on to be the saviour," coach Dwane Casey said of Gays time in Toronto. "Thats not his role as far as [the] type of guys we had. Hes a dynamic player, a big-time talent. He was brought here for the right reasons. It ended up turning into something that wasnt meant to be." After he and the Raptors closed out last season on a high note, the team opened with a record of 6-12 as Gay struggled, putting up some of the worst numbers of his eight-year career. "For whatever reason in Toronto he was only shooting 38 per cent, taking over 18 shots a game and everyone wanted to say he was the most inefficient player in the NBA," Malone said. "All I can base his play on is as a King. Hes been shooting the ball over 50 per cent, 20 points a night and hes a proven playmaker and rebounder as well." Nearly three months removed from his time in Toronto, Gay is enjoying a career resurgence as a member of the Kings. Hes scoring more points, taking three less shots per game while getting to the free throw line at a higher rate. He has shot 50 per cent or better in 23 of 37 games as a King, something he accomplished once in 18 contests with the Raptors this season. Whats responsible for his turnaround? It has a lot to do with the space occupied and the attention drawn by the Kings beast of a centre. "If you go back to his time in Memphis. when he had the luxury of playing with a very talented frontcourt in Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph. he was much more efficient with that line-up," Malone pointed out. "So we felt that he and DeMarcus (Cousins), especially the inside-outside combination, would be very tough to guard." With Gay, Cousins and breakout point guard Isaiah Thomas, the Kings are the NBAs only team that features three 20-point scorers. Although the record hasnt necessarily reflected it - Sacramento is 16-26 since the trade - that trio has co-existed better than expected. As a team, the Kings rank 12th in offensive efficiency, despite dropping to the bottom of league in assists. For a collection of reasons, many of which are probably too tough to explain or quantify, Gay has found a home in Sacramento and he seems to fit. Of course, he is not the only one with a new lease on life in the aftermath of the trade. The Raptors are now 27-14 without Gay in the line-up, jockeying for playoff position in the Eastern Conference as the Kings toil in the basement of West. Gay is genuinely happy for his old teammates, many of whom he considers close friends, but the Kings forward doesnt necessarily buy into the correlation between his departure and his former teams success. "We dont know if that would have happened if I were there, too," said the 27-year-old. "It happened early in the season. Nobody knows. Its one of those things that it has happened now, the trade happened, now theyre a playoff team. Of course, Id like to be a part of that, but Im in Sacramento now and I have to build this team." However, Raptors fans remember the missed shots, they remember the isolation-centric offence that torpedoed their teams overall watchability for the first month of the season, but, most of all, they remember the losses. In Gay, the Raptors got what they paid for and their inevitable break-up should not have come as too much of a surprise. He probably doesnt deserve to be booed when he returns to the ACC wearing visiting purple Friday night, but he will be and when he is, he wont be caught off guard. "I dont care," he said. "Im just going out there and doing my job. Honestly, I joke with these guys all of the time. I say, If you put two rims up in the kitchen, Ill go out and play. It really doesnt matter what happens, whos booing, whos cheering. It doesnt matter." Eric Dickerson Rams Jersey . Ricciardo made it only halfway around the Jerez track before his RB10 rolled to a stop and began spouting smoke from the back. After team mechanics tended to the car, Ricciardo went back out for a mere two trips around the circuit before calling it quits. Bobby Evans Jersey . Sam, who joined the Cowboys in early September, has spent the entire season on the practice roster. http://www.ramsrookiestore.com/Rams-Cooper-Kupp-Jersey/ . Nikolaos Kounenakis has been hired as an assistant coach, the team announced on Monday.AKRON, Ohio -- Dustin Johnson is taking a leave of absence from golf to seek help for "personal challenges," a swift end to his season that will keep him from playing the PGA Championship, the FedEx Cup playoffs and the Ryder Cup. In a statement Thursday from Hambric Sports Management, the 30-year-old Johnson said his leave of absence was effective immediately. It did not indicate how long he would be out, though agent David Winkle told the PGA of America he would not be at the PGA Championship next week or the Ryder Cup at the end of September. "I will use this time to seek professional help for personal challenges I have faced," Johnson said. "By committing the time and resources necessary to improve my mental health, physical well-being and emotional foundation, I am confident that I will be better equipped to fulfil my potential and become a consistent champion." He asked for privacy "as I embark upon this mission of self-improvement." Johnson, who tied for fourth in the U.S. Open and tied for 12th in the British Open, was No. 5 in the Ryder Cup standings and virtually certain to earn one of nine automatic spots when qualifying ends next week at the PGA Championship. As long as he stays in the top nine, he will be replaced by the next player in the standings. "We will certainly miss Dustin Johnson at Gleneagles, and we wish him the best," U.S. captain Tom Watson said. "As one of the longest hitters in the game with an undefeated record of 3-0 at Medinah in 2012, he has clearly been an asset for the United States team. That said, the United States is a team with an abundance of talent." Johnson was replaced in the PGA Championship by Jerry Kelly. Pat Perez is now the first alteernate, and will get into the PGA provided the Bridgestone Invitational winner is already eligible. Orlando Pace Rams Jersey. Johnson won the HSBC Champions in Shanghai last October at the start of the PGA Tours wraparound season. He has seven top 10s this year on the PGA Tour and was at No. 4 in the FedEx Cup standings. He will not be replaced in the 125-man field at The Barclays when the FedEx Cup playoffs begin Aug. 21. Its the second time in two years that Johnson has missed a major under curious circumstances. He pulled out of the Masters in 2012, saying that he tweaked his back while lifting a jet ski. He wound up missing three months, and won in his second tournament back. Johnson played in the final group in the third round of the British Open with Rory McIlroy, fading with a 71-72 weekend and tying for 12th. He missed the cut the following week at the RBC Canadian Open, and then withdrew from the World Golf Championship at Firestone. The PGA Tour, which does not comment on disciplinary action, offered little in a statement. "We have nothing to add to Dustins statement, but we wish him well and look forward to his return to the PGA Tour in the future," the tour said. Johnson is No. 16 in the world ranking with eight PGA Tour victories. He is the first player since Tiger Woods to go from college to winning in each of his first seven seasons on the PGA Tour. He lost a three-shot lead in the final round of the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, closing with an 82. Later that year, he was assessed a two-shot penalty on the final hole of the PGA Championship for grounding his club in a patch of sand, not realizing it was a bunker at Whistling Straits. Johnson last year got engaged to Paulina Gretzky, the daughter of NHL great Wayne Gretzky. ' ' '