As 2013 winds to a close, TSN. Wholesale Vapormax Plus .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. TSN.cas writing staff reflects on the best basketball moments from the past 12 months including the return of Kobe, the fall of the Raptor, D-Roses poor luck and more! The Kobe Bryant Saga By: Isaac Owusu The year for the LA Lakers went from bad, to worse to maybe optimistic, back to bad again. With their star studded lineup that included Dwight Howard, Steve Nash, Metta World Peace, Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant they fell way below expectations. The team created in 2012 with aspirations of an NBA Finals appearance opened the calendar year with a 24-28 record. As the team found themselves pushing for the eight seed in the western conference, Bryant willed himself to lead the Lakers until his body wouldnt allow him to do it anymore. On April 12 facing the Golden State Warriors, he finished with 34 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists but it was the final two points that are mostly remembered. He limped to the free throw line and made his final two free throws under obvious pain in his legs. and after the game it was revealed that he had torn his Achilles. The NBA and sports community took a morose tone when news hit and the immediate question was if Kobe could return and at what capacity. The Lakers never wavered in their belief of Bryants return, extending him to a two-year, 48.5 million dollar contract extension. On December 8, He made his triumphant return to the court against the Raptors. He started the game, logging 28 minutes and finished with 9 points and 8 rebounds. But on December 17, in his sixth game of the season, he seemed to be coming back to form. He finished with 21 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists against the Memphis Grizzlies. There was a scary moment in the third quarter when he appeared to have been favouring a hurt left leg but came back into the game. It was announced on December 19 that he would have to miss 6 weeks going forward due to a fracture in that knee. Surgery is not required, but this is another chapter, in possibly the finality of his Hall of Fame career. Toronto Raptors lose their beloved mascot to injury By: Ryan Horne Toronto Raptors fans have said goodbye to some crowd favourites over the years. Jerome "The Junk Yard Dog" Williams, Morris Peterson, Matt Bonner, Jose Calderon. But when their beloved mascot - The Raptor - went down with a torn Achilles tendon in October that will likely cost him the season, it was as if they had lost their franchise player. And thats not too far from the truth. The Raptor has been with the organization since 1995 and has arguably become the most popular mascot in the Association (and maybe the best thing about going to a Raptors game), entertaining crowds with acrobatic slam dunks, eating referees and rollerblading down stairs. Not often does a head coach talk about the teams costumed cheerleader during a presser, but Dwane Casey did. "The Raptor will be back," he said after a pre-season game. When Casey told his daughter of the bad news, she cried. Stripes - The Raptors younger cousin - stepped in to replace the fallen hero for the 2013-2014 season, but will be in tough to provide half the joy of his predecessor. Now we must wait until next season when The Raptor hopefully makes his return. Sadly this could be the most exciting thing Raptors fans have to look forward to. Derrick Rose cant catch a break By: Ken Rodney At this point it doesnt even really seem fair. Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose is not only one of the most dynamic and talented players in the NBA, but is by all accounts also a very well-liked teammate and member of a community where he not only plays but was born and raised. It was with league-wide excitement that Rose finally returned to the court to start the 2013-14 season after missing the entire 2012-13 campaign recovering from a torn ACL in his left knee. On Nov. 22, Just as his game was starting to show sparks of returning to the form that already has one MVP trophy in his cabinet case, the 25-year-old point guard suffered a torn meniscus in his right knee once again causing him to go under the knife, ending his season prematurely and stealing more games from the prime of his career. Those around Rose - former and current teammates and coaches - believe that he will make it back from this latest injury just as he did the previous one, but how much of this promising career was lost on that November night in Portland? Jason Kidd says "Hit Me!" By: Isaac Owusu Theres often an idea of a coach "dropping the ball" in regards to a bad job, but dropping the cup? Thats a brand new low. Theres no denying that Jason Kidd will be a Hall of Famer for his contributions in the NBA as a point guard. NBA Champion, 10-time NBA All-Star, perennial All-NBA team member, second on the all-time assist list, second on the all-time steals list, third on the all-time three pointers made list and Olympic gold medalist Kidds coaching career however hasnt been as glorious, and can be exemplified by one night in Brooklyn. During the late stages of losing a game to the Lakers inside the Barclays Center, and out of timeouts Coach Kidd executed probably the most creative play of his career. Who knew spilling some diet soda on hardwood would cost you $50,000! Stephen Curry torches the Knicks, then loses By: Shane McNeil In the grand scheme of things, Stephen Currys night at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 27 wasnt really that historic. After all, whats 54 points in a game where Wilt Chamberlain can drop 100 or Kobe Bryant can torch the Raptors for 81? But what was impressive was how Curry racked up his points. The Knicks kept giving him open looks and he kept draining threes, winding up with 11 on 13 attempts. As if that wasnt enough, when he wasnt launching from behind the arc, he was driving the lane or hitting pull-up jumpers. Yet, in the dying minutes, J.R. Smith and Carmelo Anthony come through and the Knicks win by four, 109-105. Its one thing to have a career night. Its oddly exceptional to do it and not even get a W out of it. Raptors blow 27-point lead against the Warriors By: Ryan Horne There have been plenty of moments in Toronto Raptors history that fans wish they could forget. Kobe Bryant dropping 81 points in 2006, trading Vince Carter for spare parts in 2004 and the drafting of Rafael Araujo are all memories that sting. On Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2013, the Dinos added to that list in sunny California. The Raptors led the Golden State Warriors 75-48 with 9:20 remaining in the third quarter. Up 27 points with less than half of the game remaining. Surely theyd be able to close it out, right? Nope. After an onslaught of three-pointers, Toronto was outscored 42-15 in the final quarter and lost by nine. It was arguably the worst - most miserable loss - in franchise history and may or may not have led to the trading of the trigger-happy Rudy Gay a week later. The pill was made even tougher to swallow when it was reported former Raptor, Jermaine ONeal, apparently made an inspirational halftime speech that led to the dramatic and historic comeback. Just more salt in the wound. The supporters of Canadas lone NBA franchise must be wondering how many more years of suffering will they have to endure before things improve. Heres hoping 2014 is the start of something better. Air Max 97 Plus Black . Hollis-Jefferson went 5-for-6 from the field and added six rebounds, while Stanley Jefferson contributed 14 points for the Wildcats, who used their trademark tough defense to dominate the games final 24 minutes and advance to Tuesdays winners bracket matchup with Kansas State. Fake Air Max 1 For Sale . New York (16-9-8) took over first place in the Eastern Conference and has the best record in the league with one game remaining. Houstons five-game unbeaten streak was snapped, and the Dynamo (13-11-9) are sixth in the East with one game remaining. http://www.wholesalenikeshoesclearance.com/cheap-kyrie-irving-shoes.html . -- DeMarcus Cousins had 29 points, nine rebounds and six steals to lead the Sacramento Kings to their third straight preseason win, a 107-90 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Thursday night.TORONTO – Heres what we know after watching R.A. Dickey for a season and a half in a Blue Jays uniform: we dont know. Who knows what to expect from a pitch, the knuckleball, that in one moment confounds a hitter and in the next is traveling, with plenty of spin, more than 400 feet in the opposite direction? Who knows how to manage a knuckleball pitcher? When is the right time to remove him from the game? These guys dont tire as quickly because they dont strain their arms and you cant predict when the pitch is going to flatten out just that once, which could be the difference in the game. All of the above came in to play in Friday nights 5-4 loss to the White Sox, a game in which Dickey no-hit Chicago for four innings but left without recording an out in the seventh. By then hed allowed five hits, four of which landed on the other side of the outfield fence. Actually, three of them did. One of them hit the foul pole. “One less home run, we win that game,” said Dickey. “Its just a really bizarre outing to strike out nine guys, get all those swings and misses on what I felt like was a really good knuckleball tonight.” Then, some home run talk. “Three of the four home runs were possibly mistakes, two I know,” said Dickey. “Normally, theyre a foul ball here or a miss hit here, but they just didnt miss them tonight.” Jose Abreu and Dayan Viciedo hit solo home runs in the fifth to give the White Sox a 2-0 lead. Those were Chicagos first two hits of the evening. The Blue Jays bounced back with back-to-back solo home runs in the sixth, one from Edwin Encarnacion and the other off the bat of Dioner Navarro. Cheap Air Max 270 China. . Dickey, sporting an 11.81 ERA in the seventh inning this season, couldnt give his team the shutdown frame it needed. Abreu clubbed his second home run of the night to lead off and, after Adam Dunn walked, Alexei Ramirez clanked a two-run shot off the left field foul pole. The knuckleballers night, so promising two innings before, was over. In six-plus innings, Dickey allowed five earned runs on five hits (four home runs) and one walk. He struck out nine. He was so good and then he wasnt. Theres no discernible pattern outside of his bloated fifth (9.39) and seventh inning ERAs and who knows what to make of those? Dickeys ERA in the sixth is 2.38. “I thought his knuckleball was as good as its been,” said manager John Gibbons. Then, some home run talk. “Its a pitch that can come and go,” said Gibbons. “I mean, one inning it can disappear, one hitter it can disappear and all of a sudden it clicks in. Its tough.” Then, he offered an admission: its hard to determine what to do with Dickey as a game wears on. “Its a totally different way to manage a game,” said Gibbons. “But hes here to win games for us and he needs to stay out there.” Dickeys loss on Friday night dropped his season record to 6-7. His ERA climbed from 4.04 to 4.24. In 51 appearances with the Blue Jays in a season and a half, Dickeys allowed 51 home runs. His win-loss record: 20-20. So there is some symmetry amid the unpredictability. ' ' '