On Wednesday, the first day that all of those verbally agreed to trades and free agent signings can go through, the Toronto Raptors saw a major shakeup at their point guard position made official. In comes Kyle Lowry to start for the club, down goes Jose Calderon, the incumbent starter, to the bench, and out goes Jerryd Bayless, who has agreed to a two-year deal with the Memphis Grizzlies. As was stated last week, Lowry brings a rugged toughness to the starting lineup that was desperately needed, especially in the new Dwane Casey era. As well as Casey had managed to get the Raptors playing on defence last year, the toughest player he had to throw out there was a deep reserve, Jamaal Magloire, who had one toe in retirement when Toronto came a-callin last December. With Lowry, the Raptors can now throw their toughest player out there from the get-go, and hell be asked to not only slow down the other teams offence at the point of attack, but also bring his bulldog mentality to Torontos own - often subdued - offensive attack. For all that Toronto has been seen as a soft defensive club over the years, they were equally soft on offence last season, effectively setting up camp 16-feet from the basket and firing away with only a cursory nod to the paint. Lowry, though, has the foot speed and attacking mentality to get into the paint, collapse and shift defences, and open up looks that are totally different from what Calderons screen-and-roll heavy skill set offered. Lowry attempted 3.1 shots at the rim per game last season and 4.2 free throws per game, versus Calderons 1.2 and 1.3 averages in those same categories. On a Raptors team that has precious few shot creators, Lowry is going to give them a jump start at that end of the court, and since he rarely looks to take shots in the mid-range, hell leave Andrea Bargnani and DeMar DeRozans preferred areas of operation open for them to ply their trade. Lowrys presence will positively affect Bargnani and DeRozan in other ways, too. Neither one is a particularly strong rebounder, but Lowry is the second-best rebounding point guard in the NBA, averaging a career-high 4.6 per game last season. Neither one is renowned for their ability to get steals and deflections, either, but Lowry was tied for 15th in the NBA in steals per game last season at 1.6, and his defensive fundaments are light years ahead of those two returning Raptors. His ability to check his own man will keep the team defence from having to scramble as often as last year, which will help the team lock-in more at that end of the court. Lowry was also fourth in the NBA last year in charges taken per game and, according to hoopdata.com, was fifth amongst NBA guards last year in defensive plays made per game. Lowry effectively represents a complete one-eighty in terms of style of play at the point guard position for the Raptors next season, and he suits the strengths and weaknesses of the starting five better than Calderon has over the last few years. Of course, it isnt like Calderon has gone anywhere (yet). While his $10.6 million expiring contract could be bundled into a trade at any time between now and Februarys trade deadline, as of this moment Calderon is simply taking his high-efficiency, high-assist game to Torontos second unit where it is more desperately needed. While Calderon certainly has the bona fides to be a starter in the NBA (he was fourth in the NBA in assists per game, for Petes sake), as long as hes in Toronto his skills are best utilized off of the bench. On Torontos second unit Calderon will have to guide, with his steady hand, rookies Jonas Valanciunas and Terrence Ross, as well as third-year forward Ed Davis and Calderons on-court spirit partner, Amir Johnson. Of that group, no one benefits more than Valanciunas from Calderons presence. Calderon is one of the best point guards in the NBA at running the pick-and-roll, and while Valanciunas is terribly raw at the offensive end of the floor, the one thing hes already quite good at is finishing on the pick-and-roll. His length, athleticism and strong hands allow him to catch and finish as a roll man and one can expect Calderon to work extensively next season with Valanciunas in a variety of pick-and-roll sets. With Valanciunas, Ross, Davis and Johnson, Torontos second unit is also better equipped to handle Calderons slower-footed defence than their starting five is. The bench has tremendous length and athleticism, which will help Calderon defensively, while Calderon provides strong basketball I.Q. and leadership, which will help the bench crew grow as NBA players. Its a mutually beneficial relationship and so long as Calderon remains with the Raptors its one that Casey will no doubt look to exploit. Of course, with Lowry starting and Calderon backing up, that left no minutes for Jerryd Bayless in Torontos guard rotation, and hes now off to Memphis on two-year, $6 million deal. For Toronto, the decision on Bayless came to down to whether or not they saw him as their starter going forward. As a starter, Bayless posted very respectable numbers, but as a reserve he looked lost and didnt play with nearly the same confidence or efficiency. Once Lowry was brought into the fold the starting job was sewn up, and so was Bayless fate in Toronto. After two seasons he simply hadnt done enough to convince management that he could thrive as a reserve guard for the club, and he now moves onto his fourth team in five years as he searches for some stability in his NBA career. That isnt to say that Bayless cant or wont make Toronto regret their decision. At just 23, Bayless still has time to find his niche in the league, and Torontos decision to move on had less to do with Bayless than with the makeup of the roster theyre now working with. There is a trickle-down effect to every move in the NBA. You bring a guy in that needs minutes, that means that someone else now has to lose minutes or be traded away to compensate for that addition. Its a never-ending balancing act that is made infinitely harder by increases or decreases in productivity, poor chemistry between players and injuries. The Raptors assessed their options, and decided that Lowry and Calderon was their best bet going forward. If Bayless blows up in Memphis then they may regret letting him walk, but those are the evaluational consequences of committing to a direction when assembling an NBA roster. The Raptors have made no bones about the fact that winning is now a priority, starting this season. They no longer want to act as an incubator for unproven talent. They want guys that can contribute to winning and those that cant arent long for the team. Offering up two veteran point guards and passing on a younger (inconsistent) talent is a testament to that philosophy. Bryan Colangelo and Dwane Casey are kicking their oft-cited plan into its next phase, it just remains to be seen if the team improves as a result. [url=http://www.thunderteamofficialshop.com/Authentic-Serge-Ibaka-Jersey/]http:/... . The president of LFC Toronto, Liverpools biggest supporters group in North America, cheers for Canadas first Major League Soccer team, but his heart still rests in Merseyside. [url=http://www.thunderteamofficialshop.com/Authentic-Detlef-Schrempf-Jersey/]ht... . "I feel deflated and disappointed. I feel frustrated and distracted," Gleason said in a statement on his website. Gleason has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, and has allowed filmmaker Sean Pamphilon to capture his struggle with the incurable disease. He played for the Saints from 2000 to 2007 and maintains a strong relationship with the club, which has backed his efforts to improve the lives of those living with the debilitating symptoms of ALS. [url=http://www.thunderteamofficialshop.com/Authentic-Kendrick-Perkins-Jersey/]h... . Akers made four field goals to give him 42 this season, most in league history, and San Francisco eliminated Seattle from post-season contention by holding off the Seahawks 19-17 on Saturday. [url=http://www.thunderteamofficialshop.com/Authentic-Gary-Payton-Jersey/]http:/... . This is the fourth time since Brodeur broke into the league in 1992 with the Devils that he has been involved in a work stoppage. He was called up to the NHL two days before the players went on strike in 1992; his career has also been affected by lockouts in 1994, 2004 and now currently in 2012. [url=http://www.thunderteamofficialshop.com/Authentic-Reggie-Jackson-Jersey/]htt... . TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reported via Twitter on Monday that while the 40-year-old winger enjoyed his stint with the Philadelphia Flyers last season, he plans on testing free agency. BELLEFONTE, Pa. -- Jerry Sanduskys trial in the Penn State scandal opened in graphic fashion Monday with the first witness testifying that the retired coach molested him in the locker-room showers and in hotels while trying to ensure his silence with gifts and trips to bowl games. The man, now 28 and dubbed Victim 4 in court papers, left nothing to the imagination as he told the jury about the abuse he said he endured for five years beginning when he was a teenager in the late 1990s. "Ive denied it forever," he testified, looking straight at the prosecutor as Sandusky sat motionless nearby. Sandusky, 68, faces 52 counts that he sexually abused 10 boys over 15 years. The former assistant football coach has denied the allegations. His arrest last year shamed the university and led to the ouster of beloved Hall of Fame coach Joe Paterno and Penn States president. In opening statements, prosecutor Joseph McGettigan III told the jury that Sandusky was a "predatory pedophile" who methodically used his youth charity, The Second Mile, to zero in on fatherless children or those with unstable home lives, plied them with gifts and took advantage of them sexually. Sandusky lawyer Joe Amendola countered that the allegations are flimsy and that some of the accusers apparently intend to sue and have a financial stake in the outcome -- a preview of the battle to come as the defence tries to undermine the credibility of the young men upon whom the prosecutions case rests. Until Monday, none of them had testified publicly, and their identities were shielded. The Associated Press typically doesnt identify people who say they are victims of sex crimes. Victim 4 spoke calmly and firmly under questioning by the prosecutor and acknowledged he had at first lied to police and even his own attorney about the alleged abuse. "I dont even want to be involved now, to be honest," he said. In the car, Sandusky "would put his hand on my leg, basically like I was his girlfriend. ... It freaked me out extremely bad," the man said, extending his arm and pushing it back and forth. "I pushed it away. ... After a little while, it would come right back. That drove me nuts." The man said he met Sandusky through The Second Mile and that they began showering together in 1997. What began as "soap battles" quickly progressed to oral sex and other contact, the accuser said, adding that he was 90 or 100 pounds and powerless to resist the advances of the much larger man. According to the witness, Sandusky tried assaulting him in a hotel bathroom before a bowl banquet in Texas and threatened to send him home when he resisted, warning: "You dont want to go back, do you?" Sandusky stopped only when his wife, Dottie, called out from another room, the witness said.dddddddddddd Over the years, the witness said, he never told Sandusky to stop. "It was never talked about, ever," the man said. "It was basically like whatever happened there never really happened." A self-described college football fan, the man said he enjoyed the access to Penn State football games and facilities. The man said Sandusky let him wear the No. 11 uniform of LaVar Arrington. The man testified that Sandusky also took him on trips to bowl games, including the Outback and the Alamo. He gave the boy golf clubs, snowboards, drum sets and various Penn State memorabilia, including a watch from the Orange Bowl, the man testified. He said he would wear gift jerseys to school. The witness said Sandusky occasionally sent him "creepy love letters." One letter, shown on a video screen in court, was handwritten on Penn State letterhead and signed "Jerry." It read: "I know that I have made my share of mistakes. However I hope that I will be able to say that I cared. There has been love in my heart." Eventually, as the man got older and acquired a girlfriend, he became "basically sick of what was happening to me" and distanced himself from Sandusky. They had not spoken since 2002 when, in 2010, he took his girlfriend and 3-year-old son to visit the Sanduskys in what he said was an attempt to convince his girlfriend her suspicions about Sandusky were not true. He said that "backfired" when Sandusky gave him a lot of attention and tried to rub his shoulders. Under cross-examination by Amendola, the man expressed regret for not coming forward earlier, saying: "I feel if I just said something back then ... I feel responsible for what happened to other victims." He said he had spent years "burying this in the back of my head." During his opening statement, Amendola said Sanduskys showering with children was innocuous and part of his upbringing. "In Jerrys culture, growing up in his generation, where he grew up, hes going to tell you it was routine for individuals to get showers together," the lawyer said. "I suspect for those of you who might have been in athletics, its routine." Amendola said Sandusky family members would testify, and he suggested Sandusky might take the stand. Amendola also said that Mike McQueary, the football team assistant who reported seeing Sandusky naked in a shower with a boy in 2001, was mistaken about what he saw. "We dont think that he lied. What we think is that he saw something and made assumptions," the lawyer told the jury. Amendola also said that at least six of the accusers have civil lawyers, adding: "These young men had a financial interest in this case and pursuing this case." ' ' '