And since the world of sports has more large public gatherings

MEMPHIS - Rudy Gays performance in Mondays double-overtime loss to the Rockets was historic for all the wrong reasons. The Raptors forward scored a team-high 29 points and made some big shots - most notably a buzzer-beating three pointer that forced the second overtime period - but a day later, most of the discussion surrounded the shots he didnt make. All 26 of them. Gay attempted a career-high and franchise topping 37 field goals, hitting just 11 of them. Since 1985, an NBA player has attempted 37 or more field goals in a game 28 times (per Basketball-Reference.com). Gays percentage (.297) is the lowest on that list of 28 single-game performances -- ironically sharing that distinction with former Raptor Damon Stoudamire, who also went 11-for-37 with Toronto in 1996, the franchises second season. Sitting on the sideline at the FedExForum, both knees wrapped in ice, Gay fielded questions from a cluster of reporters ahead of his first return to Memphis as an opposing player. Most of the local scribes asked about the trade that sent him to Toronto last winter, his six-plus years spent with the Grizzlies, his recent marriage or the upcoming birth of his son. However, his poor shooting night was the elephant in the arena. Finally, the Toronto Sun broached the subject, asking Gay about the hoard of Raptors fans that took to social media after Mondays loss, seemingly hoping for - some expecting - an apology or admission of guilt from the teams leading scorer. "No," Gay responded emphatically. "Why? Why should I apologize?" "Obviously Im not the only one who had trouble scoring out there and we were still winning," he said following practice Tuesday afternoon. "[I] took the team to double overtime. Really I could care less what happens outside this court. If my teammates had a problem with me doing that or trying to give us a chance to win than Id have a problem but people [can] say what they want to say." "Apologize?" he repeated one more time in disbelief. To his point, Gay was not the only member of the Raptors launching bricks on Monday. DeMar DeRozan was just as bad, albeit in fewer attempts, shooting 6-for-25 while Kyle Lowry went 6-of-16. The team shot 33 per cent as a whole including an abysmal 18 per cent in the second quarter. "It was just one of those games where guys were looking to me to make baskets," said Gay, who is averaging 19.3 points on 36 per cent shooting in Torontos first eight games. "Sometimes they went in and little bit more [often] than that they didnt go in. A lot of us are having trouble, not just this team [but] the whole league is having trouble scoring. Thats something we have to come in and work on." "Today I put shots up just to make sure it doesnt happen again." Ball movement was the focus of Tuesdays practice for Dwane Caseys club, who registered a season-low 10 assists the night before. Gay, the hub of Torontos offence, is largely responsible for the lack of ball movement that has plagued this team throughout the early portion of the season but as Casey noted, its on everyone to ensure the offence is flowing and the ball-watching stops. When and if they can correct their stagnant offence, Gay and the rest of the Raptors should benefit from easier looks at the basket. "Weve got to get better ball movement," "Weve got to get the ball moving, get the ball hopping. If [Gay and DeRozan are] going to catch it teams are going to try to take them out, theyve got to move the ball and quarterback out of their position." Rudy returns to Memphis Wednesdays road tilt against the Grizzlies will mark Gays first return to Memphis as a visiting player since the three-team trade that sent him to Toronto on Jan. 30. Gay was selected eighth overall by the Rockets in the 2006 draft and was immediately traded to Memphis, where he played the first six-plus seasons of his career. "Obviously for me its going to be a little bit more emotional," Gay said. "But other than that we still have to win. Weve taken steps in the right direction but for us to scale back because Im back in Memphis is selfish." Gay averaged 17.9 points and 5.8 rebounds in 479 games with the Grizzlies. He remains their franchise leader in steals, games and minutes played, ranking second in total points. "Its a lot different [in Toronto], I can say that," Gay admitted. "Its a great city. Obviously its different being here in Memphis so long. It was a transition but now Im adjusted." What does he miss most about Memphis? "My house," he replied with a chuckle. "I live in a condo now so thats one thing I do miss." Gay will host the team and coaching staff for dinner at his house Tuesday evening but he joked he may not even be able to eat the food his wife prepares after getting hit in the jaw on three separate occasions in Mondays game. The forward also tweaked an ankle in the fourth quarter of that contest and has been nursing a sore knee. "I dont even know how I got up this morning," he joked. "But I did and if its time to work Ive got to do it." A special visit Following Tuesdays practice the Raptors players, coaches and staff paid a visit to St. Jude Childrens Hospital. "Its something thats close to my heart," Casey said prior to the visit. "Being from Kentucky we used to donate a lot to St. Judes. Cancers been in my family and a friend of mine, George Karl had it." "So this is a way for our players to give back. This is what the NBA should be about and is about." Nike VaporMax Plus Bleached Aqua Black+Bleached Aqua-Vivid Sulfur . Canadas 5-1 loss to Finland in the semifinal ranks as the tournaments most-watched game with a record 2.7 million viewers, the largest ever for a World Juniors game played outside of North America, and winning Saturday as the most-watched program on Canadian television. Vapormax 2019 Clearance . - Veteran Kings defenceman Robyn Regehr, sidelined since Game 1 of the Anaheim series, says hes close to returning. http://www.clearancevapormax.com/cheap-vapormax-97-clearance.html . Sami Salo scored two goals as the Canucks overcame a hat-trick from Edmonton Oiler rookie sensation Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to win 4-3 in NHL action Saturday. Wholesale Vapormax Plus . The injury will keep the Finnish forward out of the Olympics. The 29-year-old has 20 goals and 41 points in 56 games this season, his first with Tampa Bay. Fake Vapormax Flyknit . -- ETwaun Moore had 14 points in 30 minutes, and the Orlando Magic defeated the Detroit Pistons 87-86 on Sunday night.The most challenging days in the world of sports are those where cold, hard reality intrudes on the fantasy world of games and play. And so it was last Apr. 15 when, while preparing to host the Monday edition of TSN Drive, the mood of that day suddenly turned dark. The Boston Marathon had been bombed. A great number of people had been injured and some had been killed. No one knew whod done it, what their motive was or what else they might have in mind. North Americans arent blind to the possibilities of terrorism, certainly not since Sept. 11, 2001. But the notion of a being maimed or killed by attending a sporting event is about as remote to our sense vulnerability as can be. That sense may in fact be the very reason the perpetrators chose the marathon, an iconic event, a symbol of spring, and something attended by people from various walks of life which attracts an international field and audience. Bomb the Boston Marathon and the message is that anything can be a target, or so those behind it surely hoped. My co-host that day one year ago was Bruce Arthur, with whom I met 30 minutes before air time to discuss that days show. We instantly agreed it felt wrong to open the program talking sports. Instead wed talk about what was unfolding in Boston for the first 30 minutes, follow the breaking news and then reassess. When we got to the bottom of the clock in that first hour, neither of us had the stomach to talk sports. It just felt wrong. And so we stuck to the matters at hand in Boston, believing our listeners understood that sports could wait for at least a day. Everyone knows what happened next. Boston became city in lock-down, sports events were cancelled, a security guard was killed, and eventually two suspects were captured, one of them dead and the other severely wounded. And in the days that followed, the question of societal response began to emerge: How would North Americans react, understanding that this type of thing wasnt restricted to marathons and could happen at any sort of large public gathering? And since the world of sports has more large public gatherings than any other business, how would it affect ballparks, arenas and stadiums? How would this change the experience of attending a sporting event? There was the predictable response from leagues, with enhanced security measures at most venues which, depending on your point of view, is either a good thing or the further erosion of the carefree lives we used to enjoy.dddddddddddd But any sense that the Boston bombing had somehow altered the experience of attending a sporting event in North America, that people would reconsider gathering in public to cheer on their favourite teams? That proved to be a complete myth. No, the sports world is pretty much exactly as it was before the Boston bombing. And thats significant because the most meaningful thing about sports isnt who wins or who loses or who gets paid the most money. Its the manner in which spectator sports are about sharing common experiences with others, producing a sense of oneness that few other things can deliver. Sport in a vacuum is just an empty spectacle of athletic achievement. But surround it with people who have a common perspective and it takes on its own energy and meaning, becoming as much an expression of community and culture as anything else. Thats what we saw in Boston during the weeks and months that followed the bombing, with the Bruins and then the Red Sox as symbols of the citys communal spirit. Lets be clear: a professional sports team winning in the aftermath of a tragedy doesnt make anything better, doesnt heal the wounded or bring back the dead. What it does, however, is give people a way to express their resolve and creates a sense of normalcy in what can be very troubling times. The two men who bombed the marathon sought not just to cause death and destruction but also to affect way people live their lives. In less than a week, the 2014 Boston Marathon will take place with people from Massachusetts and around the world gathering to participate. Some will be running but many, many more will be lining the streets just to be present. Not because theyve forgotten what occurred one year ago, but because they remember it. ' ' '