Georgia 9/1, while the draw is priced at 100/30.Thursdays

BOSTON - Depending on whom you ask, it was only a matter of time before the suddenly scorching Toronto Raptors experienced a setback, even a negligible one. Conditioned to be skeptical following years of false hope, the teams loyal albeit exasperated fan base - or at least a segment of it - has been weary of the dreaded letdown game. "Its the first stinker weve had," coach Dwane Casey said after his much-improved team was stunned by the lowly Celtics, falling 88-83 in Boston, a city in which the Raptors have gone winless over the last six years. It was bound to happen eventually. The Raptors had been remarkably consistent in potential trap games, winning 10 of their last 11 contests against teams with losing records. Still, no one truly believed they would run the table with more than half the season left to be played, no one outside the locker room that is. "No," Kyle Lowry said straight-faced when asked if he saw it coming. "We dont expect to have any letdowns." Its just one game, one night, one of 82. In and of itself, the loss – however disappointing – shouldnt be a cause for concern. Even the best of the best get caught taking their foot off the gas but that doesnt provide solace to a team thats learning to demand more of themselves. "They out-worked us tonight, which is rare for us," Lowry said, his team giving up 19 offensive boards to the Celtics, who had lost nine straight coming into the contest. "It sucks but weve got to learn from this. Everyones pissed off right now, guys are mad and we should be." The Raptors came out flat and could never quite find the groove theyve been playing with for the better part of the last month. It was their most disheartening loss since a Dec. 18 overtime defeat at home to Charlotte and their worst effort since the Spurs ran them out of their own building eight days before that. Leading the division, Toronto owned the best record in the Eastern Conference since its early-December trade. On the other end of the spectrum, the Celtics were quickly sinking to the bottom of the Atlantic, jettisoning their assists-leader to the West Coast hours before hosting the red-hot Raptors on Wednesday. Missing Jordan Crawford, who was traded to Golden State earlier in the afternoon, and Rajon Rondo - expected to return from injury on Friday - the Celtics caught Toronto napping. The Raptors should, but probably wouldnt, appreciate the irony. Undermanned just hours after the Rudy Gay deal was consummated, the Raptors upset the heavily favoured Lakers in Los Angeles just over a month ago. Sometimes youre the windshield, on Wednesday they were the bug. "It started on the boards," Casey said, as the Raptors were out-rebounded 20-7 in the third quarter, when the game began to slip away. "I was disappointed in our rebounding, we just got whipped in every way in the paint." Forward Jared Sullinger grabbed eight of his 20 boards in the third, en route to a career performance. The Celtics sophomore became the first player in the franchises rich history to record at least 25 points, 20 rebounds and four assists in a game since Larry Bird accomplished that feat in 1987. Needless to say, Casey was not thrilled. "None of our bigs did a mans job on the boards tonight (and) thats the ball game," he said. "Anytime you give up that many (second-chance) points, you can point to any big." Jonas Valanciunas had a rough night on both ends of the floor, shooting just 1-of-7 in 23 minutes of action. Amir Johnson was held under 26 minutes, having to leave the game early in the third after tweaking his left ankle. "They played harder than us," Johnson admitted. "We definitely should have come out and won this game." Johnson said the injury did not occur on a specific play, instead it just started to feel sore, similar to what he felt before undergoing surgery on the same ankle in 2011. "It was weird," said Johnson, who was able to return to the game in the fourth quarter after getting treatment in the locker room. "Once I got the tape on it, it felt fine, but it was weird." Johnsons brief absence was costly, Patrick Patterson who had been playing at a high level was underwhelming and Tyler Hansbrough - sitting out his seventh straight, also with a sprained left ankle - was missed. For the first time in over a month Steve Novak was asked to log meaningful minutes as Toronto played catch-up in the fourth. Although the Raptors knocked down 11 threes on 24 attempts from beyond the arch - their fourth straight game with 11 or more treys - both teams shot under 40 per cent from the field. While Boston connected on 26 of their 36 attempts from the line, the Raptors missed a devastating 13 free throws (on 25 attempts), including several down the stretch. Down by as many as 18 in the second half, the Raptors managed to fight back and cut their deficit to three with under a minute remaining. Missed free throws and poor late-game execution was their undoing. "We have to use this as a reminder," said DeMar DeRozan, who led the Raptors with 23 points. "It doesnt matter who we are playing. If its a team we are better than, whatever, teams are still going to go out there and play hard. Boston didnt give up at all. They kept the pressure going on us. They played hard tonight." Scott Stevens Jersey . The first of the three games will be played in Week 4, when the Oakland Raiders will take on the Miami Dolphins on Sept. Martin Brodeur Jersey .C. -- Jackson Whistle made 26 saves for his first shutout of the season as the Kelowna Rockets blanked the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes 5-0 on Saturday in Western Hockey League action. http://www.authenticdevilspro.com/Marcus-johansson-devils-jersey/ . - Justin Turner is at his best with runners in scoring position, and he delivered again in a big spot for the Los Angeles Dodgers. New Jersey Devils Jerseys . Louis, MO (SportsNetwork. Jamie Langenbrunner Jersey . Others describe it as taking the parrot for a walk.Republic of Ireland boss Martin ONeill will not gamble on James McCarthys fitness as he looks for a first victory of the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign. Midfielder McCarthy has not kicked a ball for Everton since August 23 and missed the opening qualifier in Serbia after undergoing groin surgery, and he met up with his country on Sunday with club manager Ronald Koeman urging Ireland to look after him.ONeill is adamant he will not risk a player who is a key member of his strongest team unless he is convinced he is fully fit ahead of Thursday nights game at the Aviva Stadium with a trip to Moldova to follow three days later. Ive been involved in club management for quite some considerable time, less so as an international manager, he said. I have never played anyone who has arrived and not been properly fit, against their will to play.That has never been the case and, in fact, as an international manager, Ive been pretty lenient about those particular things. Republic of Ireland manager Martin ONeill speaks ahead of Thursdays World Cup Qualifier against Georgia ONeill has seen McCarthy step up training since his arrival in Dublin and will make further checks on Thursday morning before making a final decision.I would listen to the player, and the player has come over here and trained, he said. He hasnt played for a couple of weeks.Would fitness be a concern? Of course. Lasting the match would be a concern. But if the injury has cleared up, I wouldnt see that as a problem.The Republic needed a late Daryl Murphy equaliser in Belgrade to secure a 2-2 draw with Serbia, and know there will be little margin for error in this double header if they want to make it to the finals in Russia.They took six points from Georgia during the last campaign, but played two closely fought encounters and ONeill is expecting much the same again.Anyone who watched the matches over the last couple of years will know its a difficult game. Georgia will take points from teams, without doubt, ONeill said.Every result is important, every game is important and we have got to be ready. We have never been in a position to treat any team lightly, and we certainly wont treat Georgia like that because they have got some excellent players. Martin ONeill insists he and his players will not be taking Georgia lightly when they meet in Dublin The Georgians, ranked 137th by FIFA, also have an experienced coach in Slovakian Vladimir Weiss, who guided his native country to their first-ever major tournament finals at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.But ONeill, who took 31st-placed Ireland to Euro 2016 in France this summer, insists it will be the players and not the managers who will ultimately make the difference.Sitting alongside captain Seamus Coleman, the 64-year-old said: Im not inexperienced myself, you know. If you ask me have I enjoyed international management, yes I have and one of the main reasons I have enjoyed it is becausewe have qualified.We qualified for France and we had some really great performances out there, including beating Italy. But I dont look at it like that.The most important thing is sometimes forgotten in this day and age: the game is about players and that has to be recognised sometime again.You are asking about enjoyment and I have had a reaally excellent career as a player and a manager.ddddddddddddI have enjoyed it. Which have I enjoyed most? Playing.Seamus might be at some stage or another taking his coaching badges - I hope he takes them when hes 49 and plays as long as he can because playing is the best thing you can do, honestly, it really is. This is second best by a good way. Watch NOW TV Watch Sky Sports for just ?￡6.99. No contract. Injury newsAs well as concerns over McCarthy, Murphy is out with a calf problem, while goalkeeper Keiren Westwood has a thigh injury.Meanwhile, Anthony Pilkington is also expected to miss out along with fellow midfielder Stephen Quinn (knee damage).In addition, winger Aiden McGeady is struggling with a hamstring strain, striker Kevin Doyle is nursing a sore ankle and Bournemouth midfielder Harry Arter is awaiting the results of a scan on his groin. Highlights from Group D as Serbia faced Republic of Ireland in the European Qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup StatsThe Republic have won all seven of their previous internationals with Georgia, most recently meeting in Euro 2016 qualifiersGeorgia have scored just once in four previous visits to the Republic, through a first-minute goal from Alexander Iashvili in February 2009Three of the last five meetings between these two sides have ended 2-1 to the Republic.Georgia have won just one of their last eight internationals, though this was against Spain in June (D2 L5).The Republic have scored in the opening 10 minutes in each of their last three internationals.ONeill has lost just one of his last 14 home matches in charge of the Republic (W8 D5)ONeill is yet to lose a home competitive match (W4 D2) Republic striker Daryl Murphy is out with a calf problem Charlies predictionThis is another potentially dangerous tie but the Irish have always been quite good at these sort of games where you have to go out and break a team down.These are the matches where you look to your talisman and while Robbie Keane has been out of the side for a while I think theyll miss him.I think Daryl Murphy, with his physical attributes, wouldve started in this if he was fit, along with Shane Long, who will stretch a side but is not a great finisher.The guy Im interested in is Wes Hoolahan. I think Martin ONeill and Roy Keane like to have him in home games and Longs movement gives him the space to be effective. Charlie predicts: 2-0 and Wes Hoolahan to score first (20/1 with Sky Bet)BettingRepublic are just 2/5 with Sky Bet to secure the victory, with Georgia 9/1, while the draw is priced at 100/30.Thursdays clash is considered a must-win one for the hosts, with Georgia rated 250/1 outsiders to win Group D, while ONeills men are fourth in the market at 9/2.Shane Long heads the first goalscorer betting at 100/30 and is enhanced from 7/1 to 10/1 to score a brace in Sky Bets Price Boosts, while Vladimir Dvalishvili is rated the visitors main threat at 10/1 to net first.You can watch Englands tour of Bangladesh, plus Premier League football and the Japan Grand Prix on Sky Sports. Upgrade now and enjoy three months at half price! 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