An die SV » (8-5), but that doesnt mean Marshall will relinquish the d

DENVER - Less than a week removed from a 51-point coming out party, Terrence Ross was at it again. Ross had 16 points midway through Fridays game in Denver, connecting on six of his seven field goal attempts, none more memorable than his final bucket of the half. The Raptors guard picked off a pass from Kenneth Faried - one of the Nuggets 26 turnovers - and proceeded to go the length of the floor before throwing down one of the more emphatic one-handed dunks youll ever see directly over the defending Manimal. "I remember I had the ball, (Faried) had sprinted all the way down into the paint," Ross recalled. "So I knew he was kind of at a disadvantage and couldnt jump as high. Im coming full speed (and) he still jumped pretty high but at the same time I had enough room to still finish." The Raptors bench said it all. Jonas Valanciunas had to use most of his seven-foot-four wingspan to hold half his teammates from running on the floor. Ross had gotten their attention. "Man, its got to be a nomination for dunk of the year so far, especially on a guy like that," said All-Star DeMar DeRozan, who was returning from a two-game absence with an ankle injury. "That was big. I damn sure wouldnt have done it." Ross was 11-years-old the last time the Raptors had won in Denver. It was December 30, 2003, over a decade ago. Since then Toronto had dropped nine straight in the Mile High City by an average of 17.8 points per loss. The Raptors snapped that skid on Friday. In fact, it was the third time this season that theyve broken a road losing streak of eight or more games to a specific opponent (winning in Milwaukee for the first time in nine visits and snapping a 10-game slide to the Lakers in Los Angeles). They defeated the Nuggets by double digits and tied a franchise mark for most wins in January with 11. You wouldnt know it after the game. "Well take the W but I was disappointed and I let the players know about it," Dwane Casey said following a 100-90 victory over the depleted Nuggets. "I was disappointed in the close." Toronto led by as many as 25 early in the fourth before the visitors went ice cold. They went six minutes without scoring and didnt register a field goal over the final 7:44 of the game. "You cant come in and feel like youve got the game won with a 20-point lead," said the Raptors coach, infuriated after the victory. "Youve got to continue to execute, continue to be strong with the ball, continue to execute defensively if you want to be serious about winning in this league and until you grow up and do that, youre going to end up on the short end more times than not." "We cant be satisfied with the way we played in the fourth quarter." Times have changed and so too have the expectations. The bar has been raised, evident in Caseys post-game rant. "You have to respect that," said DeRozan, who tallied 14 of his 19 points in the third quarter. "Its not acceptable how we finished that game off with the turnovers. We have to learn to keep leads and close out games." Caseys team was excellent through three quarters, and to begin the fourth. When it was all said and done they were fortunate to be facing an undermanned Nuggets squad, missing leading scorer Ty Lawson, along with Nate Robinson and Andre Miller. Without a true point guard in the lineup, the Nuggets turned the ball over more than any Raptors opponent this season, resulting in 29 Toronto points. Still, Denver out-rebounded the Raptors by nine and bested them 50-38 in the paint. "They kicked our behinds in the paint and that was one of our focuses going into the game," Casey said. "We were soft going to the ball, slow reacting to the ball." In the end, the Raptors opened a five-game trip with a win, got off the schneid in Denver and welcomed DeRozan back to the lineup 24 hours after he was named a first-time All-Star. "Well take the win," Casey said. "Were happy with the win but we cant be satisfied. Nike Zoom Uk Sale .com) - Semyon Varlamov more than earned his third shutout of the season as he made a career-high 54 saves to lift the Colorado Avalanche to a 2-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday. Cheap Nike Zoom Uk . Left back Layvin Kurzawa put Monaco ahead in the 36th minute with a low shot after being set up by midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia, sweeping the ball in after running onto Kondogbias cross from the left. http://www.cheapnikezoomuk.com/ . Reyes, 26, was traded from Atlanta to Toronto in July 2010 and spent the remainder of the season in the minors. He began 2011 in the majors and made 20 starts with the Blue Jays, going 5-8 with a 5.40 earned run average before he was waived on Aug. Nike Zoom Sale . Two weeks after suffering a concussion, Foles will start in place of Michael Vick, who is out for the second time this season with a hamstring injury. Wholesale Nike Zoom . The R&A announced Monday that golfs oldest championship will return to Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland for the first time since Max Faulkner won in 1951.ENGLEWOOD, Colo. - Getting waived by the hapless Jacksonville Jaguars for what seemed like the hundredth time, linebacker Brandon Marshall took a drive down I-95 South toward St. Augustine, Florida.Alone with his thoughts, Marshall wondered what had gone wrong and if hed ever get another chance in the NFL.After being cut so many times you start to kind of question your abilities, said Marshall, whos taken a twisting, turning road to become Denvers top tackler.He hit the highway that afternoon in search of himself.I took some time for myself to really think. You know, what am I doing wrong? Or, is it me? Or, why is it happening? Because, Ive never been cut before. Ive always been someone that the team could count on. So, for that to happen, I was just wondering what was wrong.He couldnt come up with an answer but he did find some perspective.The only answer I came up with was just control what you can control, Marshall said. Just keep working no matter what the circumstances are because I feel like we all go through hard times in life, football, with jobs, whatever. I feel like a lot of people dont reach their potential or at least their peak because they give up too soon. Or they dont push through the hard times.I think thats what makes a successful person, because if you keep pushing through the rough times you know then its almost like a cocoon phase. You come out a better version of yourself.That is the story of Marshalls journey from the guy who couldnt even carve out a job for himself on one of the worst teams in the NFL to one whos an every-down linebacker and arguably the defensive MVP on one of the leagues best teams.I would say hes playing at a Pro Bowl level for an inside backer in this league, defensive co-ordinator Jack Del Rio said. Hes very productive, very active. He does a lot, doesnt come off the field. Hes had a Pro Bowl kind of year.Marshall was humbled by such high praise.Hes been around a lot of Pro Bowl guys, Ray Lewis, hes been around a bunch of Pro Bowl guys. So, for him to say that about me it means a lot. I guess Im in pretty good company, MMarshall said Friday.ddddddddddddMarshall is both a tale of perseverance and overnight success.A third-round draft pick out of Nevada in 2012, he was cut three times by the Jaguars. The Broncos signed him to their practice squad last season, and coach John Fox approached him during a blowout of the Eagles.He came up to me on the sideline and we were winning big — and Im a practice squad guy; he doesnt have to say anything to me. And he came up and said, Brandon, keep working because youre going to get your opportunity, Marshall said. It gave me extra motivation to keep working.Marshall was promoted to the active roster on Christmas Eve and played in the season finale and the playoffs.Last summer, he earned a job in the nickel defence alongside Danny Trevathan and was thrust into a much bigger role with Trevathan missing most of the season with two fractures in his left leg. Marshall leads the team with 106 tackles.Trevathan is eligible to come off IR this weekend when the Broncos (10-3) visit San Diego (8-5), but that doesnt mean Marshall will relinquish the defensive play-calling duties. Hell once again play alongside Trevathan in the nickel.Im real eager. Were both playmakers. We both have great instincts. We both can make plays. So, to have him back will be tremendous, Marshall said.Although he admits he still wonders at times why he couldnt find a spot in Jacksonville, Marshall also knows getting jettisoned by the Jaguars helped him become the player he is today.If you quit, theyre right and then where are you? Youre stuck where you were at and you have nowhere to go, he said. So, no matter what, I decided I was going to keep pushing through.Notes: With all their success, the Broncos could lose Del Rio and OC Adam Gase to head coaching opportunities in the off-season. I think every year when you have good team success individuals get recognized, whether its players or coaches, Fox said. I think its a very positive thing. Weve had guys get opportunities before and Im sure we will again.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '