Stars und Sternchen! » For a guy who makes his living tossing

TORONTO -- Rudy Gay had no idea how bad his vision was until he went to renew his drivers license last year and nearly failed the test. "They said Do you wear glasses? I said no. They said, Well you need to wear glasses," Gay recounted, with a laugh. He wasnt laughing at the time. For a guy who makes his living tossing a ball through a hoop from a distance, the news was rather disconcerting. So after a brief and unsuccessful experiment with corrective goggles, the Toronto Raptors small forward underwent surgery to correct his vision during an off-season that was otherwise devoted to improving his shooting, and beefing up his body. One day into training camp, and Gay said hes feeling like a much-improved player than the one who led the Raptors in scoring last season but also had career lows in both field goal and three-point percentage. He joked that any improvement in his game this season will be credited solely to his better vision. "Honestly, I was talking to my trainer, and he said if you come out and have a great season its going to be because of your eye, not because of the work you put in," Gay said. The 27-year-old Gay wouldnt wear contact lenses, as he had an aversion to touching his eyes. The Raptors medical staff provided him with prescription goggles but he wasnt keen on those either. So he underwent surgery early in the summer, which he said wasnt fun. "Recovery was horrible, it was terrible," Gay said. "Probably (lasted) about two weeks. First week I couldnt see, second week I could. And then months and months of putting eye drops in. "But it was one of those things that needed to happen if I wanted to continue my career." Gay averaged 19.5 points to top Toronto in scoring after he was acquired from the Memphis Grizzlies in a mid-season trade. The Raptors went 16-30 prior to the trade, and finished 18-18 with Gay on the roster. Still, he was far from his best, shooting a career-low 40.8 per cent -- down from his career high of 47.1 per cent two seasons earlier -- and 31 per cent from three-point range. So he committed every day of the off-season, he said, to being a better shooter. "I started from the basics. . . form, worked on my form. From there just rhythm, shooting, shooting, shooting, becoming comfortable with it. "I made about 300 shots a day, sometimes more, on a light day probably 300." Gay has been criticized for taking low-percentage shots -- namely long two-pointers. But at the urging of Raptors coach Dwane Casey, he sounds like hes starting to see the light when it comes to shot selection. Casey said hes been drilling Gay and Torontos other sharpshooter DeMar DeRozan about higher percentage shots. "Corner threes, paint, get to the rim, get to the free throw line, and subsequently shooting percentage is going to go up," Casey said. Gay spent a lot of summer working on his three-point shooting, and pointed out that at the end of Monday mornings practice, the entire team was doing a three-point drills. "I got it from the coaches that were going to be a team thats going to get a lot of threes up, and obviously if it comes from the top, youve got to practise it," he said. Gay also said he put on 20 pounds of muscle working with his trainer Dustin Gray back home in Baltimore. "Hopefully you can see it," Gay said laughing, puffing out his chest ever so slightly. "Maybe I should do some push-ups or something. "My trainer basically lived with me." The weight gain, said Casey, was by design, and with the intention of using Gay at power forward rather than small forward. "We talked about it, because when you look at the Eastern Conference, youve got Carmelo, LeBron, big threes playing fours, and he wants to do that and it fits us really well too, him going to the four," Casey said. "What he doesnt want to do is gain a lot of unneeded weight, just some good solid (muscle), which hes done. Hes really solid in his upper body. You can see it, it looks good. If it helps him psychologically, making contact, getting to the rim, its great. "Its going to help him be in the paint a little bit more. When you get caught outside in that non-paint area, to drop that shoulder, use your body to get into the paint to create a foul, contact, and get to the free-throw line." Casey calls Gay one of the top offensive players in the league, and said the main thing missing that could make him an all-star is winning. "Winning gets you in that conversation of being one of the top players in this league," Casey said. "The league rewards winners." Granted training camp is only a day old, but Gay has seemed more at ease, cracking jokes with reporters. When someone pointed out to Casey that Gay seems happier than he did last season, the coach said everyone was. "I think theres a different vibe," Casey said. The coach said it starts with Masai Ujiri, the Raptors new president and general manager. "Masai gave them an impassioned speech (Monday) night about what he expects from them, the passion guys have to play with, leaving all the problems all the issues, check them at the door. It sets a tone, and thats been huge," Casey said. "Hes empowered everybody to do their job. The cop-outs are gone, now its about playing and having fun, and the way you have fun is by kicking peoples butts and competing." The Raptors practise at the Air Canada Centre until Thursday and then training camp moves to Halifax for two days. They open the pre-season Monday at Boston, and are back home to host the Minnesota Timberwolves next Wednesday. Scarpe Salomon a Poco Prezzo .Y. -- Scott Chandler is returning to Buffalo, where he spent the past three seasons establishing himself as the Bills top pass-catching tight end. Scarpe Salomon Outlet . - The Cleveland Indians will place centerfielder Michael Bourn on the disabled list before their opener at Oakland on March 31. http://www.salomonoutlet.it/. Appearing on TSN 1050 on Tuesday, Sean McAdam of Comcast SportsNet New England reported that the Blue Jays, along with a number of other playoff contenders were in the mix for the Boston ace. Scarpe Salomon Offerta . -- The Seattle Seahawks and wide receiver Sidney Rice have agreed to terms on a deal. Salomon Outlet Italia . Ellis had a season-high 37 points and two key assists late, Dirk Nowitzki led a fourth-quarter rally with 14 of his 35 points, and the Mavericks spoiled Howards best offensive night in Houston with a 123-120 victory over the Rockets on Wednesday night.COLUMBUS, Ohio -- While the Blue Jackets remain wildly inconsistent, the Predators are rounding into form at the quarter mark of the season. Rookie goalie Marek Mazanec made 19 saves for his second shutout, and Matt Cullen and Nick Spaling each had a goal and an assist as streaking Nashville beat Columbus 4-0 on Wednesday night. Nashville coach Barry Trotz likes his teams recent level of commitment and attention to detail. "It was a pretty easy night for him," Trotz said, referring to Mazanec. "It was sort of a team win. You need to make a couple of saves when needed and he did." Mike Fisher and David Legwand also scored for Nashville, which has found its groove on the heels of a four-game losing streak. Mazanec, filling in while Pekka Rinne recovers from a hip injury, earned his fifth win -- all in the last six games. "He was very steady out there," Ryan Ellis said. "I think our team overall played very strongly." The Predators improved to 11-1-2 when scoring first and 9-0-1 when leading after the opening period. Columbus was back home after a 3-2 trip through Canada. The Blue Jackets had hoped to build on the momentum of a 6-0 victory Monday against Toronto, but instead they have alternated wins and losses for six games and still find themselves searching for the type of balanced, hard-nosed play from late last season that nearly propelled them into the playoffs. "Some of it is leadership, youth," coach Todd Richards said. "There are lots of things that add to it. Its tough to just point and say this is the reason for the inconsistency." The switch to the Eastern Conference this season didnt change Columbus fortunes against its former Central Divisional rival. Except for last season, the Predators have mostly dominated the series, and they again controlled the play in this one. "It looked like we lacked some energy, another step," Richards said. "Thats not an excuse. Yoouve got to find a way.ddddddddddddquot; Poor defence was a culprit for Columbus, while Nashville pressed the entire game. "I thought we started off really well," Trotz said. "We stayed to the game plan. We managed the puck, played smart, played fast early." Cullen made it 1-0 with his fifth goal at 9:58 of the first from the edge of the right circle, scoring on a slick pass from Ellis. "To fake the shot and hit me through the seam, not a lot of D-men will make that play," Cullen said. The Blue Jackets were outshot 14-4 in the period, with their best chance coming off Matt Calverts stick in tight. Mazanec turned it aside. On a power play that carried into the second period, Fisher beat two Blue Jackets players to a bouncing puck in the slot and smacked it past Sergei Bobrovsky for his fifth goal 54 seconds in. It was Nashvilles first shot of the period. Later in the period, the Predators won battles behind the net and one for a puck in the slot. This time it was Legwand scoring his fifth to make it 3-0. "We just didnt have the energy level," Columbus James Wisniewski said. "I think we worked. We just didnt have that little extra gear to win that little extra battle." The home crowd later booed the Blue Jackets on a lacklustre power play. Spaling scored his fourth goal from the hash marks on a nice feed from Cullen at 2:02 of the third. "Cullens got a great head for the game and creates a lot of offence," Spaling said. NOTES: Mazanec, who entered with a 1.61 goals-against average in the previous five games, has allowed two goals or fewer in the last six games. ... Columbus was shut out for the second time in its past five games. ... The Blue Jackets finished 0 for 2 with the man advantage. The Predators have not allowed a power-play goal in six games, killing off 16 straight chances dating to Nov. 15. ... Nashville hosts the Oilers on Thanksgiving. Edmonton then visits Columbus on Friday. 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