Forum-News » otential return of his all-star guard, Casey

Liam Pitchford and Paul Drinkhall have been picked to lead Great Britains table tennis campaign at the Olympic Games this August. The English pair have been guaranteed automatic qualification for Team GB as a result of their International Table Tennis Federation ranking.It follows near misses for the duo who failed to secure places at the Games during the European Olympic qualifying event in Sweden last month. Drinkhall competed at the London Olympics Pitchford, who is ranked 51 in the world, said: I was a bit nervous for a few weeks after the qualification tournament, not knowing if we were going to be in and knowing we would be quite close to the line.After London Ive always said I wanted to qualify in my own right, its been one of my dreams, so its amazing to have done it.Both Drinkhall and Pitchford represented Team GB at the London 2012 Olympics, but this is the first time they have qualified outright.Being in the village and around all the top athletes in London made me want to have that kind of success, Pitchford added. Its going to be different not having the majority of the crowd on our side but its going to be a great experience and hopefully well have a better chance of doing well this time. Paul Drinkhall also represented team GB at the 2015 European Games in Baku. Pitchford and Drinkhall won a combined five medals at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and teamed up to take bronze at the World Team Championships this year.Drinkhall said: Its been at the back of our minds almost since London and during the last 12 months its really been the main aim to make sure we qualify.I speak for everyone that we dont just want to qualify and go there - we believe we can take on the worlds best. London was amazing but, table tennis-wise, it was slightly too early for both of us.Were in a much better place now and hopefully we can go there and do some damage and make Team GB proud. Also See: Bolt targets 200 metres record IOC president warns federations OConnor up for Euro challenge Rio ban threat to 31 athletes St. Louis Cardinals Gear . Robert Griffin III, the No. 2 pick in the 2012 draft, set numerous rookie records and was picked AP Offensive Rookie of the Year for the Washington Redskins. 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Infante hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning and had an RBI single in a four-run fifth against former teammate Justin Verlander, helping the Kansas City Royals beat the Tigers 11-8 Monday night.TORONTO - An uncharacteristic off night from the teams most dependable player proved costly for the Toronto Raptors on Monday night.And after dropping a 114-111 decision to the sizzling-hot Detroit Pistons, Kyle Lowry beat himself up a little in the post-game dressing room.Lowry committed seven turnovers on a night that saw the Raptors commit 19, and he took just three shots through three quarters to finish with 10 points.Was it the pressure being applied by Detroit?Naw, Lowry said. It was more me, more me not being aggressive. The loss spoiled a career-high 31-point performance from Jonas Valanciunas, who also grabbed 12 rebounds. Seven players scored in double figures for Toronto (25-12), with Greivis Vasquez notching 16, Lou Williams adding 15, Amir Johnson and Terrence Ross finishing with 12 apiece, James Johnson scoring 11, and Lowry finishing with 10 to go with 12 assists. That was uncharacteristic of (Lowry), that was one of those tough games for him, said Raptors coach Dwane Casey. To have seven turnovers is very strange for him. Youre going to have nights like that but, again, weve got to make sure we back him up and take care of the ball.Brandon Jennings had 34 points to top the Pistons (14-24), who won their sixth straight on the road, and ninth in their last 11 games.The Raptors were outscored 25-16 on second-chance points, and sent the Pistons to the free-throw line 31 times — while going to the line just 14 times themselves. But the Pistons, who as Casey said pre-game have been clicking on all cylinders, gave up just seven points on eight turnovers.The turnovers were the huge thing in this game, thats what decided this game, said Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy. We took care of the ball and thats the only thing that really gave us a shot to win that game.The Raptors had defeated the Pistons 110-100 in Detroit on Dec. 19, but the Michigan teams record was third worst in the league at the time. Three days after that victory, the Pistons waived Josh Smith, and have been one of the NBAs hottest teams ever since.Casey likened them to last seasons Raptors team after the Rudy Gay trade.The Raptors, who snapped a four-game losing skid with their 109-96 victory over Boston on Saturday, led for a good chunk of the first three quarters, and were up by as much as 14 points in the first half.The Pistons came roaring back in the third, and cut the Raptors advantage to just 83-82 with a quarter left to play.Lowry followed up a driving layup with a pair of free throws to put the Raptors up by four points with 3:39 to play, but couldnt put any more distance on their visitors. Back-to-back buckets from Jonas Jerebko gave the Pistons a three-point lead with 1:29 to play, and then after a mad scramble for the ball and with thee shot-clock at nearly zero on Detroits next possession, Jodie Meeks drained a three-pointer to put the Pistons up by four.ddddddddddddack breaker. It was a back breaker, Lowry said of Meekss shot. Everyone committed to the ball and they got it out and he hit a tough shot.Lowry, whos poised to make his first NBA all-star team, replied with a three with 43 seconds left, making it a one-point game and bringing the capacity crowd of 19,800 fans at Air Canada Centre to their feet. But the Raptors point guard missed with seven seconds left, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope connected on two free throws to give Detroit the win.We shot ourselves in the foot, Casey said. For whatever reason, we had the break going, we had our pace going but we were forcing a lot of passes. If you commit that many turnovers against a good team like that, you shoot yourself in the foot and thats what we did.The coachs message to the team after the game?On to the next one, said Patrick Patterson. We let it slip through our fingers, had a great first half and second half was just horrendous. Only thing we can do now is focus on the next game. The next one is Wednesday, when the Raptors host Philadelphia. They host the Eastern Conference-leading Atlanta Hawks on Friday, then cap this six-game homestand on Sunday against the New Orleans Pelicans.The game marked the 21st straight without DeMar DeRozan, who had originally targeted last Thursday for his return, but had then predicted hed play some time this week. When asked pre-game about a potential return of his all-star guard, Casey wouldnt say. The Raptors, whove been plagued by slow starts, came out of the opening whistle at full speed, with Valanciunas leading the way with 14 points, and Lowry doling out nine assists — just two shy of the club record for a quarter, held by Doug Christie. Lowry found Valanciunas for an alley-oop dunk that put the Raptors up by 12 midway through the quarter, and they took a 32-20 lead into the second. Williams led the way with nine points in the second quarter as the Raptors built their lead to 14 points. A floater from Williams with four seconds to play send Toronto into the dressing room at halftime with a 60-48 lead.The Pistons outscored Toronto 34-23 in the third, tying the game with a three by Jennings midway through the quarter. The Raptors remained within four points of Detroit for the rest of the frame, pulling ahead to lead by one with one quarter to play.NOTES: Valanciunass previous career high was 27 points versus the Phoenix Suns on Nov. 24 of this season. . . The Raptors had won six of their previous meetings with Detroit, including four in a row. . . The Raptors had been outscored in the first quarter in nine of their previous 11 starts. ' ' '