The Toronto Raptors tip off its 20th anniversary season at Air Canada Centre on Wednesday, October 29 versus the Atlanta Hawks. Nike Shoes Black Friday 2019 . Nine of the clubs first 12 games will be at home followed by 14 of the next 22 on the road. After the All-Star break in mid-February, the Raptors will play 18 of their final 29 games on the road to finish the regular season. The longest homestand of the season is seven games November 7-21, which equals the franchise high set in the 1999-2000 campaign. The longest road swing is six games which takes place from December 22-January 4. Noteworthy home games include two visits from LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on December 5 and March 4, along with Derrick Rose and his Chicago Bulls on November 13 and March 25. Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder are the seasons second opponent at Air Canada Centre on November 4. Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and the Los Angeles Clippers come to Toronto on February 6 and the lone Toronto visit from Tim Duncan and the NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs happens two days later February 8. Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers make their only Toronto visit on March 27. Should the pending Timberwolves-Cavaliers trade be completed, Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett will lead Minnesota into the Air Canada Centre on March 18. Elsewhere, LeBron James will play his first game since rejoining the Cleveland Cavaliers at home Oct. 30 against New York, then return to Miami for the first time on Christmas. The NBA regular season will open Oct. 28, with the NBA champion San Antonio Spurs hosting the Dallas Mavericks in one of the three games that night. The league released its schedule, featuring a lengthened All-Star break, on Wednesday night, with James return to his original NBA team putting the Cavaliers in a number of prime positions. That includes the game at Miami in the third spot on the five-game Christmas schedule, traditionally a highlight of the NBA season. James led the Heat to two championships and four NBA Finals appearances in four years before deciding to return to his native Ohio. The other Christmas Day games are: Washington at New York; Oklahoma City at San Antonio in a rematch of the Western Conference finals; the Los Angeles Lakers at Chicago; and Golden State at the Los Angeles Clippers. Nike Shoes Black Friday China .ca! Hi Kerry, Im sure youve received many emails wondering what your take is on the Spezza goal that looked like Neil blatantly kicked it in while standing directly in the middle of the crease where, you know, usually a goalie is to make a save but couldnt be due to Neil being there! Thanks! Jon - Westfield, MA Jon: Lets first ask Henrik Lundqvist what he thought of the scoring of the Sens second goal with . Wholesale Nike Shoes Black Friday .J. -- John Elway says Peyton Manning cannot stamp himself as the greatest quarterback in NFL history even if he wins the Super Bowl on Sunday. http://www.nikeshoesblackfriday.com/ . Bjoergen pulled away from Swedens Charlotte Kalla on the final straight to win in 38 minutes, 33.6 seconds and defend her title from the 2010 Vancouver Games. Kalla was 1.8 seconds back. Heidi Weng of Norway took bronze.An independent arbitrator has finally ruled on Alex Rodriguezs appeal, reducing his suspension from 211 games to 162 for his involvement in Major League Baseballs Biogenesis scandal. A-Rod is also disqualified from any post-season play. So at the tender age of 38, he will miss all of next season. As a result of missing the coming season, hes also out $25 million (which coincidentally is my hourly rate). This brings the arbitration process to a close. This case, however, is far from over. Still some track to cover. Who was the arbitrator? His name is Fredric Horowitz, hes 64 years old and specializes in labour and employment arbitration. After MLB fired arbitrator Shyam Das when he overturned Ryan Brauns suspension, Horowitz was hired to replace him and handle these types of grievances. Hes been a full time arbitrator since 1988. Who won the appeal? This is a win for MLB. A big win. While the suspension was reduced by 49 games, this should not be seen as a failure for baseball. A substantial part of the suspension was preserved (about 75per cent). So while we saw a reduction, MLB ultimately got its wish: A-Rod is gone for all of next season. As well, based on past arbitration cases and MLBs Drug Policy, it could have been worse for MLB. Historically, arbitrators dont like to see punishments or sanctions that seem to be a dramatic departure from the existing rules and policies at play. So are you saying that A-Rods suspension could have been reduced by a lot more? Yes. The collectively bargained Drug Policy provides for a 50 game suspension for a first time offender like him, and as a result his 211 game suspension may have been found to have been not only excessive and heavy-handed, but also not in keeping with the Drug Policy. The Drug Policy calls for a specific punishment for a first time offender, and that punishment was ignored in favour of a far longer suspension. If that argument got any traction, the arbitrator could have reduced the suspension by many more games. So why didnt the arbitrator reduce the suspension by more games? He was convinced that a substantial suspension was warranted. Based upon what we know about this case, MLB argued that A-Rod had engaged in an extensive and continuous pattern of PED use since at least 2010. He also has a long standing relationship with Biogenesis founder Tony Bosch that dates back to 2009. MLB also alleged that A-Rod obstructed its investigation, tampered with witnesses and generally interfered with its attempt to get to the truth. MLB has also suggested that A-Rod may have also recruited players to Biogenesis. Ultimately, his pervasivve and wide ranging pattern of wrongdoings was not only contrary to the Drug Policy, but also the MLBs Basic Agreement, which allows baseball to discipline a player for conduct detrimental to the game. Nike Shoes Black Friday Online. So given these various factors, A-Rods suspension was reasonable in the eyes of the arbitrator. So all of these elements conspired to result in only a modest reduction in the suspension. Was this ruling predictable? Yes. A reduction was in order but nothing earth shattering. So whats next for A-Rod? Hes says hes going to challenge the decision in Court. A-Rod filed his lawsuit against the league (and also personally against Commissioner Bud Selig) months ago in anticipation of being in a position to challenge the whole Biogenesis investigation and suspension. The first thing he does is ask a judge to put the suspension aside until such time that the case is decided in a court of law (which could take years thereby allowing A-Rod to play out his contract). A-Rod is unlikely to be successful with this request since this type of relief is only awarded in very special circumstances; and this isnt one such case on its face. Horowitz is a seasoned and respected arbitrator, and a court will defer to him. Right now, MLB is trying to have the case kicked out of Court, while A-Rod wants it moved to state court. It would be a surprise to see a judge kick the case out of court completely; still A-Rod faces challenges. Enough Jibber Jabber. Can A-Rod win in Court? Probably not. Heres your bottom line: judges are very reluctant to overturn arbitrators unless their decisions are off the wall. The reasoning is this: arbitrators are specialists on the issues they rule on and judges are not in a better position to decide these cases. Also, judges want people to respect arbitration and take it seriously. If they didnt, the lines at the court house would be a lot longer. Apart from being a partner at a law firm, Im also an arbitrator. When Im making my rulings, I know that unless Im totally out in left field, my decision will stand if challenged in court. So A-Rod has a real uphill battle ahead of him. The likelihood of success seems low. However, A-Rod may still pursue it and this could go on for years. Anything else I should know about? One small thing: Federal law enforcement officials are investigating Biogenesis raising the possibility of criminal charges. If that happens, expect the feds to have A-Rod testify under oath. At that point, he would be advised that he needs to tell the truth, failing which he could face perjury charges. This is quite the mess. Yep. ' ' '