lway is the only one who could have pulled that off,"

TORONTO - As Kyle Lowry walked off the podium, on a day in which he cleaned out his locker following a heartbreaking end to his career season, he looked back at the throng of media that had just finished grilling him on his future. "Goodbye, everybody," he shouted. What he really meant was, see you later. With the wounds of a Game 7 loss beginning to heal and the dust settling on the season that was, the attention immediately shifted to Lowry, an impending free agent, and whether or not hell be back in a Raptors uniform next fall. Although the star point guard is prohibited from putting pen to paper until the NBAs moratorium period concludes after the first week of July, there is a resounding belief within Torontos locker room that he is planning on sticking around. It was written on the face of his teammate and good friend DeMar DeRozan as the all-star guard deflected question after question regarding Lowrys future with the subtlety of a hand grenade. Will it be difficult to watch Lowry go through the free agency process? "No, no, no," he said Monday afternoon, accompanied by a big smirk. Why not? "Because," he replied, as reporters began to snicker. "No" How would you feel if, for whatever reason, he wasnt back? "Im not worried about that," DeRozan insisted. Do you know something we dont? "I didnt say that. I didnt say he was, I didnt say he wasnt. I just said Im not worried about it." The 24-year-old spends the bulk of his summers working out in Las Vegas. If that was his poker face, its a good thing he rarely strays from the gym. "Why would he leave?" DeRozan asked in the rhetoric a day earlier. A fair question and one Lowry could not find an answer for when pressed shortly after Torontos one-point loss and first-round elimination to the Brooklyn Nets. "Of course I can see myself back," said the Raptors point guard. "We just went to Game 7, first round. Nobody expected us to be there. Of course I can see that." Coming off a breakout campaign in which he averaged career-highs of 17.9 points and 7.4 assists, the 28-year-old will take his time and weigh his options before making a decision, that much he made clear. "At the end of the day, its still a business and you have to be a businessman for the situation that youre in," he said, "but I am very happy. This has been one of the best seasons Ive had, through and through. Best coaches, teammates, [front office]. Its been great. I am happy. Without a doubt, I can say Im happy." While money and the terms of his next deal should play a big part in the negotiation process that will take place in roughly two months, its hard to put a price on happiness. Thats something that any other suitor may have difficulty matching. Finally, in his eighth NBA season, Lowry started to scratch the surface of what many believed had been there all along. Only, it very nearly played out at Torontos expense. "We knew if we lost [after the Rudy Gay trade] it was going to get blown up," Lowry wisely pointed out. "Thats just the fact that, once we made the trade, if we would have lost a little more, I probably wouldnt be sitting here today, just being honest." As it turned out, the Raptors were his perfect storm. For the first time, he was entrusted to lead a team without looking over his shoulder or pretending to be something hes not. He came to training camp with a rejuvenated approach, in the best shape of his playing career. "The most important difference Ive seen in Kyle is his ability to lose weight," said Patrick Patterson - a teammate of Lowrys in Houston - with a straight face, if you can believe it. "When he was in Houston, he was on the heavy side." He and DeRozan formed the leagues second-highest scoring backcourt, only behind the Golden State Warriors "Splash Brothers" of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. "Why wouldnt you want to be on a team with a guy like that?" he said of DeRozan. Most of all, hes grown up. A year ago he stood in the Raptors practice gym, head down, embarrassed after a lost season and promised to be back, better than ever. "[Im] very disappointed for myself because I know Im a much better player than what Ive shown this year," he had said on Apr. 15, 2013. This version of Lowry, sitting at the front end of the ACC media centre, couldnt have been more dissimilar. Hes channeled the very things that used to work to his detriment - his hardheaded, stubborn nature - to become an indispensable player. As a result, he has a greater understanding and appreciation for whats important to him at this stage of his career. First and foremost, his priority is to win. "I want to be happy," Lowry repeated, identifying overall team situation as the primary factor in making his decision. "I want to win, but its something that me and my agent, we have yet to talk about. But I know I want to win, and thats important to me." How does Toronto stack up? "I love this place," he exclaimed. "I love the situation. Its simple as that." No, Lowrys not going anywhere. The Raptors give Lowry his best opportunity to win and Lowry does the same for the Raptors. They need each other. "Kyles like my biggest brother," said sophomore Terrence Ross. "I look up to him, ask for advice on a lot of different things, on and off the court. Hes hands down the best point guard Ive ever played with. Hes taught me a lot. He motivates everybody. I really hope he comes back. I even talk to him all of the time, saying You got to come back, youre basically the heart of the team, we need you to come back." Lowrys response to Ross frequent sales pitches; "He always played it off like weve got to worry about something else right now." Now, Lowry tops the teams offseason agenda. Hes their highest priority and it wont take long after the clock strikes 12:01 AM on July 1 for Masai Ujiri and agent Andy Miller to sit down and finalize an agreement to keep the star point guard in Toronto long term. "We wouldnt have been here if it wasnt for Kyle," DeRozan said. "Kyle is an elite player," added Patterson, "and as far as him staying here, Im sure a lot of people in Toronto would love that. It all depends on him. But definitely if Toronto wants to get better in the future, have someone to build around and be the key, the glue for the basketball team, what better person to start with than Kyle?" Nike Air Max 270 Black And White . Hoefl-Rieschs exit — from the downhill course into safety nets, then airlifted from the slope by helicopter — left Anna Fenninger of Austria favourite to win her first giant crystal trophy one month after becoming an Olympic champion. Air Max 270 React Bauhaus AO4971-002 . Dirk Nowitzki scored 25 points, Shawn Marion had 22 and the Mavericks beat undermanned Philadelphia 124-112 Friday night, handing the 76ers their 10th straight loss. http://www.max270cheap.com/air-max-270-off-white-sale.html .com) - The Chicago Cubs reportedly signed recently-acquired outfielder Dexter Fowler to a one-year contract on Friday, avoiding arbitration. Air Max 270 White Cheap . -- Lindsey Vonn squeezed in a little freeskiing on Thanksgiving morning, a step in the right direction for a return to racing after reinjuring her right knee in a recent training crash. Air Max 270 Mens Sale .The Hamilton Tiger-Cat defensive back always has the required receipt. But he also walks around with a tangle of metal screws, rods and plates after breaking his neck in 2006 playing high school football in Louisiana.ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- John Elway led Denver to the Super Bowl faster as a front office executive than he did as a quarterback. On Wednesday, the Broncos extended his contract, which was set to expire after this year, through 2017 and added general manager to his title of executive vice-president. Team President Joe Ellis lauded the work Elway has done so far, saying hes "demonstrated great vision and leadership in his role, assembling a championship calibre team and positioning it for sustained success." Elway, who will speak publicly on Friday at the NFL combine in Indianapolis, said in a statement that he was grateful for the opportunity and "we remain relentlessly committed to delivering a world championship" to Denver. The Broncos are coming off their first AFC title in 15 years but they were blown out 43-8 by Seattle in the Super Bowl, a result that was eerily similar to the first three of Elways five Super Bowls before he capped his Hall of Fame playing career with back-to-back titles in 1998 and 99. Asked at his end-of-season news conference last week how long it took him to get over those losses, Elway said, "Im not over them yet. I just added this one to it." The Broncos have gone 37-17 since Elway rejoined the team on Jan. 5, 2011, when owner Pat Bowlen brought him back to rescue a franchise reeling from a nosedive under Josh McDaniels that bottomed out with a 4-12 season, Denvers worst in four decades. Elways first order of business was hiring coach John Fox, who has led Denver to three straight AFC West titles and is expected to sign his own long-term extension soon. Next on Elways to-do list was changing the losing culture that had enveloped his beloved Broncos while he was away honing his managerial skills by running restaurants, car dealerships and an indoor football league franchise. That began with a roster makeover. "I think No. 1, we had to clean up the locker room. We had to get to get the locker room right," Elway said last month. "... that is really the life bread of what the organization is all about. How that locker room fits is the most important thing." Although its early to render a verdict on his draft acumen, Elway has unquestionably hit the jackpot in free agency, first by luring Peyton Manning to Denver in 2012 and then last year by signing Wes Welker and Louis Vasquezz, who in 2013 became the NFLs only free agent signee to earn All-Pro first-team honours.dddddddddddd. Other free agents -- notably Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Terrance Knighton and Shaun Phillips -- helped Denvers defence weather an injury epidemic in which six starters missed significant playing time. "Its been my goal to really continue what Pat Bowlen created in the fact that people want to play here," Elway said last month. "So players will come here late in their career when they know they have a chance to win a world championship." Manning has thrown for 100 touchdowns and 11,336 yards in his two seasons in Denver and this season won his fifth MVP award. He is planning to play in 2014 and perhaps another year after that. Elway has said he doesnt want to just win now, but from "now on," and how backup quarterback Brock Osweiler performs whenever Manning retires will go a long way in determining whether Elways long-term vision will pan out as well as his short-term fixes have. The Broncos ended a six-year playoff drought in 2011 when they went 8-8 with Tim Tebow at quarterback, beating Pittsburgh in the playoffs before losing to New England. Elway lured Manning to Denver that spring and traded away Tebow the next day. "Tim Tebow was so popular, John Elway is the only one who could have pulled that off," wide receiver Demaryius Thomas said. The Broncos went 13-3 in 2012 but a crushing loss to Baltimore in the playoffs left a scar that drove them to another 13-3 season last year. This time, they beat San Diego and New England in the playoffs to reach their first Super Bowl since Elway was leading them from the huddle. Elway has made more than 600 transactions since rejoining the Broncos, and he acknowledged some difficult decisions await as he shapes the roster for 2014. Although the Broncos came up way short in the Super Bowl, Elway promised to navigate this off-season with the notion that this loss will drive Denver to do something no team has done since Buffalo in 1993 -- reach the Super Bowl the year after losing it. "The bottom line is were going to work as hard as we worked this year, if not harder, and continue to do that with the mindset that we want to be world champions," Elway said, "and were going to do everything we can to get there." ' ' '