Raid Bewerbungen » World Matchplay World champion Anderson

TORONTO -- Dwane Casey has been carrying around a contract in his briefcase for the past few months, signed by all the Toronto Raptors and the teams staff. The contract, just two or three lines long and something that "wouldnt hold up in court," Casey said laughing, was a pledge of commitment. Its headline: "Im all in." Perhaps no one was more committed than Casey to the Raptors success this season, and on Tuesday, the 57-year-old coach was rewarded with a new three-year contract. The announcement came two days after Torontos season ended, but a couple of months after GM Masai Ujiri first approached the coach to get a new deal done. "Coach Casey was really classy because he said to me and he said to the players, Lets leave this and concentrate on the season, this is our chance to prove ourselves," Ujiri said, recounting his initial contract talks with Casey back in March. "He said, If Ive preached that to the players, then I owe it to them to continue this and well talk about (contract negotiations) after the season. I really give him credit for that." Casey led a young Raptors team to a remarkable and unexpected season that included a franchise-record 48 wins, an Atlantic Division title, and the No. 3 seed in the playoffs. Toronto pushed the vastly experienced Brooklyn Nets to seven games in the opening round of the playoffs, losing Game 7 by just a point. Casey said he drew up his "Im all in" pledge right after the February all-star break. In their next game, the Raptors recorded a big 103-93 win at Washington. "(It was about) committing to the process. Leaving their egos at the door," said Casey, who said he might have the contract framed. "Each player dedicated themselves, gave themselves to the season, and also as far as Im concerned to the future. Because this year was just a start of what we want to grow and develop with Masai as our leader and also the guys that are coming back here." Kyle Lowry was the first player to jump up and sign the pledge, said Casey. Retaining Lowry, the point guard whose teammates say was their heart and soul this season, will be one of the Raptors top priorities in the coming weeks -- the 28-year-old becomes a free agent on July 1. Lowry spoke glowingly in exit interviews a day earlier about his love for his teammates and the city, and Ujiri sounded, on Tuesday, as if the feeling was mutual. "Its very important (to re-sign Lowry) in terms of continuity," Ujiri said. "Kyle has had a phenomenal year. I thought Kyle was a huge, huge key to our season. For me, negotiating is easy if we want Kyle to be here and Kyle wants to be here. "Hes grown tremendously, to be coached and to work with," Ujiri continued. "His teammates, everybody has said that. Were proud of him. And so well go through that process, but were optimistic stuff will happen." Lowry and his teammates praised Casey in season-ending media interviews, noting the consistency of his message. For his part, Casey said he never considered testing the market. Ujiri made a commitment to the coach when the season began, and Casey said it was only fair he reciprocate. Caseys job status was uncertain when the season began. He was hired by Bryan Colangelo, and Ujiri had just replaced Colangelo as GM. "Masai could have made any decision when he first took over the job last spring." Casey said. "He was true to his word, he gave all of us a platform to go out and prove and show, even the players, what you can do. And he was true to his word. Thats all you can ask for in this business is an opportunity. "It would be so disingenuous to even go out and put your foot in the market and think that was a possibility, so I didnt even give it a second thought. My heart is here, my mind is here." The Raptors thrived after the seven-player deal last December that sent Rudy Gay to the Sacramento Kings. Casey, who is almost fatherly in the way he communicates with his team, worked four new players into the roster, and from that point forward Toronto had the best mark in the Eastern Conference at 41-22. Casey and Ujiri were proud of the teams performance in the playoffs. They squared off against a Nets team that was built for success right now, whereas the Raptors are very much a work in progress. Casey was named head coach in June 2011, shortly after he helped guide the Dallas Mavericks to an NBA title. When asked which season -- the championship in Dallas, or this Raptors campaign -- was more satisfying, he said this one. "Its far more gratifying watching kids grow, watching development ... watching guys go through Game 6, when our compete level in the first half was probably one of the lowest we had all year, and then turn it around and put ourselves in a position to win the game," Casey said. Casey said the biggest mistake the team can make now is be complacent, so improvement is the focus of the off-season. He pointed out how sophomore centre Jonas Valanciunas will work with NBA legend and former Raptor Hakeem Olajuwon over the summer. The coach said, for his part, hell do what he does every off-season and examine tape of every game, looking for what they did wrong, what they could have done better. Both Casey and Ujiri spoke again about the incredible fan support in Toronto, noting that support helps when theyre trying to sell the city to free agents. Casey called it easily the best in the NBA and compared it to the 1996 NBA finals. He was with the Seattle SuperSonics that year, bowing in the final series to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. "KeyArena was rocking, loud. The Finals in 96, I thought that was loud," Casey said. "That didnt compare to the Air Canada Centre on Sunday when Deron Williams was shooting his free throws (in the dying seconds). You could just hear it vibrating. The official had to lean over to me and whisper in my ear, which I felt kinda creepy ... but you couldnt hear yourself talk. Thats a home-court advantage, its second to none in the league." Ujiri mentioned his predecessor at the end of Tuesdays 45-minute news conference at Air Canada Centre. "I think Bryan Colangelo did an unbelievable job here," he said. "He hired Dwane Casey. The starting five were picked by Bryan Colangelo as young players. I think the guy did an unbelievable job. He was a boss here, my boss and a mentor. He needs to be given some credit." Casey was named NBA Eastern Conference coach of the month in December. The Raptors finished in the Top 10 in the NBA in defensive field goal percentage (.450) and points allowed (98.0), and also posted a franchise-best 22 road wins. Brian Urlacher Jersey . The Senators return from a lengthy layoff caused by Wednesdays attack on Parliament Hill to host the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night. Devin Hester Jersey . TSN2 December 18 Knicks at Bulls 8pm et/5pm pt TSN2 December 18 Thunder at Warriors 10:30pm et/7:30pt TSN2 December 21 Pacers at Timberwolves 7pm et/4pm pt. 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Dan Hampton Jersey . There are some early surprises in the race for the Hart Trophy, but two of the contenders are the leagues biggest stars over the past decade. There are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me. Jim McMahon Jersey .The league also seems to have a fairly active Twitter account www.twitter.com/bikinihockey that features the description “We provide a positive alternative to the hockey community and a venue for adult female hockey athletes to continue in their sport.Michael van Gerwen, Phil Taylor and Gary Anderson headline the stellar cast for the World Matchplay which starts on Saturday, live on Sky Sports. Christmas is all about the World Championship but summer is about the seaside and Blackpools legendary Winter Gardens, which hosts one of darts most prestigious events.Alongside the Worlds and the Premier League, the Matchplay makes up the darts triple crown and all of the big names have their reasons for targeting the trophy. MVG is the bookies favourite as he looks to defend the title he won for the first time last year, beating James Wade 18-12 in the showpiece final.The Dutchman has reached the final in each of the last two years and has won 11 titles already this year, including the Premier League in May. World Matchplay - Draw Top Half Michael van Gerwen (1) v Jamie Caven Vincent van der Voort (16) v Kyle Anderson Robert Thornton (8) v Josh Payne Dave Chisnall (9) v Benito van de Pas Peter Wright (5) v Joe Cullen Ian White (12) v Daryl Gurney Adrian Lewis (4) v Mark Webster Kim Huybrechts (13) v Gerwyn Price Bottom Half Gary Anderson (2) v Alan Norris Terry Jenkins (15) v Justin Pipe Michael Smith (7) v Simon Whitlock Jelle Klaasen (10) v Steve Beaton James Wade (6) v Mervyn King Raymond van Barneveld (11) v Brendan Dolan Phil Taylor (3) v Robbie Green Stephen Bunting (14) v Mensur Suljovic With a favourable draw that sees him start against Jamie Caven before a possible second round meeting with Vincent van der Voort or Kyle Anderson, Mighty Mike will take all the beating once again.Meanwhile Taylor heads to Blackpool looking for a 16th Matchplay title and it is arguably his best chance of another major crown, with the shorter format over legs likely to give him a better chance of adding to his haul.The Power has only won the World Championship more than the Matchplay and amazingly he has won all 15 finals he has reached at the Winter Gardens, from his first title in 1995 to his last in 2014 when he beat Van Gerwen. Need something to cheer you up this summer? Catch the 2016 World Matchplay Darts runs from July 16-24 live on Sky Sports And Sky Sports expert Wayne Mardle envisages very different routes for the two men.Ive got to say, Michael drawing Jamie Caven is a nice opener for him. Dave Chisnall, being the 8th seed - is the one hes got to stop, Mardle told Sky Sports.If he can, that puts him in the semi-finals, so Van Gerwen will be happy with his draw, I feel absolutely sure about that.The likelihood is that Phil would have to beat Gary Anderson in the semis to reach the final. Thats probably the toughest hes ever had, because hes always been one and two seed and now hes No 3.The only other former champion in the event is James Wade, the Machine claimed his first major title in 2007 when he beat Terry Jenkins in the final and he has reached the final of five other occasions, losing four to Taylor. Why not Wade? Rod Studd casts his Matchplay verdict Sky Sports expert Rod Studd says theres no reason he cant go close again, despite being written off by some: He loves the format, he loves the stage, and for James Wade to be dismissed in this tournament, I find absolutely astonishing.Wades record of six finals in ten years underlines his love of the event but he has a tough draw which starts with Mervyn King and is likely to include Raymond van Barneveld, Taylor and Anderson before a likely final with MVG.King told Sky Sports Digital that the nature of the event makes it such a tough tournament to win: Its a more difficult format.If you win three out of five legs, youre only two legs ahead. But if you do that when youre playing sets, youre a set ahead. It doesnt change the way I play - I try and come out of the blocks very quickly no matter what match Im playing. Relive the moment Michael van Gerwen hit a nine-darter against Steve Beaton in the 2012 World Matchplay World champion Anderson heads to the Lancashire coast having never reached the final in Blackpool and making the semi-finals just once, but he is in fantastic form having claimed World Darts Series titles in Tokyo and Auckland over the last month.The Flying Scotsman beat Adrian Lewis, another player with a surprisingly poor Blackpool record, in January to claim his second world title but he has a tough opening draw with big-scoring Alan Norris, who reached the World Championship quarter-finals, providing the opposition.It will be interesting to see how the top eight players react to the travel demands over the last six weeks in an event that pits all of the worlds top 32 players in shoot-out action over a best-of format.That could open the door for some of the next generation to make their mark. Benito van de Pas, Daryl Gurney, Josh Payne, Gerwyn Price and Joe Cullen have all impressed this season and while unseeded are dangerous floaters in the draw.You can follow all the action across our digital platforms and on Sky Sports with the action getting underway on Saturday from 7pm and every night through to the final on Sunday July 24 #LoveTheDarts World Matchplay - Schedule Saturday July 16 Vincent van der Voort v Kyle Anderson Robert Thornton v Josh Payne Michael van Gerwen v Jamie Caven Dave Chisnall v Benito van de Pas Sunday July 17 Afternoon Stephen Bunting v Mensur Suljovic Kim Huybrechts v Gerwyn Price Terry Jenkins v Justin Pipe Ian White v Daryl Gurney Evening James Wade v Mervyn King Adrian Lewis v Mark Webster Gary Anderson v Alan Norris Peter Wrigh v Joe Cullen Monday July 18 Jelle Klaasen v Steve Beaton Raymond van Barneveld v Brendan Dolan Phil Taylor v Robbie Green Michael Smith v Simon Whitlock Tuesday July 19 Second Round Thornton/Payne v Chisnall/van de Pas Wright/Cullen v White/Gurney Van Gerwen/Caven v Van der Voort/K Anderson Lewis/Webster v Huybrechts/Price Wednesday July 20 Wade/King v Van Barneveld/Dolan Smith/Whitlock v Klaasen/Beaton Taylor/Green v Bunting/Suljovic G Anderson/Norris v Jenkins/Pipe Thursday July 21 Quarter-Finals Wright/Cullen/White/Gurney v Lewis/Webster/Huybrechts/Price van Gerwen/Caven/van der Voort/K Anderson v Thornton/Payne/Chisnall/van de Pas Friday July 22 Wade/King/van Barneveld/Dolan v Taylor/Green/Bunting/Suljovic G Anderson/Norris/Jenkins/Pipe v Smith/Whitlock/Klaasen/Beaton Saturday July 23 Semi-Finals Order tbc Sunday July 24 Final Also See: WATCH: Freddie calls MVGs nine-darter Studd: Why not Wade? 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