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TORONTO - Greivis Vasquez was speaking to a large circle of journalists Thursday when DeMar DeRozan squeezed his way in through the crowd and affectionately draped an arm around Vasquezs neck. DJ Chark Jersey .This seasons Toronto Raptors are a tight-knit bunch. And on a day ESPN pegged the Raptors chances at winning the NBA title at a whopping 41 per cent, they scoffed. Anything said outside of their gym, they said, is all just noise.We dont care about nothing ESPN is saying, honestly, DeRozan said. Nobody cares what anybody says. We care about everybody thats got this Raptors jersey on. Everything else dont matter to us, man.Weve got our confidence, Vasquez added. We dont need anybody to talk about us, whether its good or bad.The Raptors practised the day after their 126-115 victory at Atlanta that kept Toronto even with Memphis atop the NBA standings (13-2), and boosted their win streak to six games.Thursdays ESPNs Hollinger Playoff Odds gave the Raptors a 100 per cent chance at making the playoffs, and a 71 per cent chance of making the NBA final.Theyre lofty predictions never before seen in Toronto, but Raptors coach Dwane Casey similarly shrugged them off.Im not a betting man, how many more games have we got to go? A lot of games to go. Im not putting any credence in that, Casey said.When someone asked if the predictions had at least put a smile on his face, he answered: No. Not at all. None whatsoever. I live in reality. All I know is we have a tough game (Friday) night.The Raptors host the Dallas Mavericks (11-5) on Friday amid a huge buzz around Canadas lone NBA franchise. What would have normally been a relatively quiet practice Thursday drew a couple dozen journalists.The players say theyre not looking at records, or getting caught up in the buzz. Theyre just enjoying playing.This is the best team Ive played with by far, DeRozan said. Not just basketball-wise either. Personnel. Everybody gets along, everybody has a great relationship with one another. That goes a long way. . . the chemistry that we have is amazing.That even goes for his high school teams, DeRozan added.Asked what hes thankful for — Thursday was Thanksgiving in the U.S. — DeRozan answered, his arm still slung around Vasquez: Having teammates like Greivis. Honestly. Having teammates like all these guys here. Because it makes every day easier, even on the tough days, you find something to joke about, laugh about, have fun about.Weve all been on bad teams, and what it feels like to come in and work, on the tough days.While the Raptors are off to easily their best start in franchise history, theyve had a favourable schedule at home that included a stretch of seven games in a row at the Air Canada Centre. Theyve also had some luck on their side, playing a Memphis Grizzlies team that was missing five players to a flu virus, and an injury-riddled Oklahoma City squad missing stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.I dont believe in luck. I dont, DeRozan said. I understand how hard I work, how hard this man works (arm still around Vasquez), how hard the other 13 players on this team work. And when people say the luck thing to me, I take it personally, because I know how hard we work to be as good as we are.Wasnt no fluke what we did last year. Wasnt no fluke, no luck.DeRozan pointed to Torontos strong performances on the road — their come-from-behind win over LeBron James and the Cavaliers in Cleveland, Wednesdays solid victory at Atlanta — as proof their red-hot record is more than luck.We like playing on the road, we like playing in other peoples arenas, we get a thrill out of going to other peoples houses and beating them, DeRozan said. If youve got that type of mentality, we can go a long way.Casey said the way his team has won games — pulling out a victory in tough situations — is also proof of the teams growth.The last three games we were in a pickle, Casey said.They fell behind by 18 points to the Cavaliers before roaring back to beat them. They gave up seven three-pointers in the fourth quarter to Phoenix before clinching the win with a final 60 seconds of sheer hustle and hard work. They allowed Atlanta to stay close on Wednesday before pulling away down the stretch.I think two years ago, a year-and-a-half ago, we would have folded the tent, Casey said. But there seems to be a resolve developing with our players, fighting through stuff, fighting through adversity, making adjustments at halftime mentally and physically. Thats a tough way to live throughout this live. As a coach Id prefer wed start doing it the first quarter. . . thats our next step.Following Fridays game, the Raptors head west for three straight, playing the Lakers in Los Angeles on Sunday, the Kings on Tuesday in Sacramento, and the Utah Jazz on Wednesday. Abry Jones Jersey . -- Miguel Angel Jimenez quickly shifted his focus back to the Ryder Cup after winning his first Champions Tour event. Blake Bortles Jersey . The 23-year-old Woods, Tiger Woods niece, closed with a 4-under 69 at Royal Pines to finish at 16-under 276. Lee also shot 69 in the event sanctioned by the European and Australian tours. Woods birdied the par-5 15th to open a two-stroke lead, hitting a wedge from about 120 yards to 4 feet.(SportsNetwork.com) - The NHL-leading St. Louis Blues will try to bounce back from their first loss of the month when they host the Edmonton Oilers in Thursdays encounter at Scottrade Center. Watch the Blues vs. Oilers live on TSN starting at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. Edmonton, the last-place team in the Western Conference, has done well in its spoiler role lately, winning three of its last four games and posting an 8-3-2 mark over the past 13 outings. The Oilers opened a four-game road trip on Tuesday with a comeback victory over the Minnesota Wild. Edmonton fell behind 3-0 in the first period, but rallied for a 4-3 shootout win at Xcel Energy Center. Edmontons Jeff Petry cut the deficit to 3-1 before the end of the first period. David Perron and Jordan Eberle then tallied over a four-minute span in the third to even things at 3-3. Taylor Hall delivered the winner in the shootout, scoring in the fourth round to complete the rally for Edmonton. After Jason Pominville was stopped by Viktor Fasth, Hall skated in and shot the puck between the pads of Darcy Kuemper for the winner. Fasth stopped 28 shots in the win. &quoot;Im proud of them. Ronnie Harrison Jersey. It would have been easy to pack it in but the guys kept scraping and clawing," said Oilers head coach Dallas Eakins. "They were playing an excellent defensive game but we stuck to it." Despite Tuesdays win, the Oilers are just 11-19-5 as the road team this season. The Blues had won five straight to begin March before dropping Tuesdays home overtime decision against Dallas. St. Louis hopes to get back on track tonight against an Edmonton team it has dominated in recent years. With 95 points, the Blues are two points ahead of Anaheim for the top spot in the NHL standings and also hold a four-point edge over Colorado for first place in the Central Division. The Blues are 2-0 against Edmonton in 2013-14 and they can complete a sweep of the season series on Thursday. St. Louis has won seven of eight and 13 of the last 16 meetings in this matchup, but the Oilers did halt a six-game road skid in the series when it posted a 3-0 win at Scottrade Center on March 26 of last season. The Blues had a three-game home winning streak snapped, but are still 23-5-4 in the Gateway City this season. Wholesale China Jerseys Wholesale JerseysWholesale Authentic Jerseys Nike NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Nike Basketball Jerseys Hockey Jerseys China Supply Baseball Jerseys Football Jerseys Sale Authentic College JerseysMLB Jerseys China Stitched Soccer Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap Nike Jerseys ' ' '