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TORONTO -- In playing Real Salt Lake this weekend, Toronto FC is taking on the kind of team it aspires to be -- a perennial playoff side with a winning tradition and championship character. Now in its 10th season, Real Salt Lake has made the playoffs the last six years, winning the MLS Cup in 2009. Until overtaken in the MLS record books early last year, Real Salt Lake held the league mark for consecutive home wins at 29. Rio Tinto Stadium was an impregnable fortress from June 2009 to May 2011. Toronto (2-0-0 this season) has a 1-5-0 lifetime record in Sandy, Utah. RSL (1-0-2 this season) was also the first MLS team to reach the CONCACAF Champions League final, losing to Monterrey 3-2 on aggregate in 2011. Last season Real Salt Lake made it to two finals but lost both: beaten in the MLS Cup by Sporting Kansas City in an agonizing penalty shootout and 1-0 by D.C. United in the U.S. Open Cup. There has been stability on the sidelines with Jeff Cassar, who has been with the team since May 2007, moving up the ladder to head coach last December after Jason Kreis became the first head coach of New York City FC. Cassar is the third head coach in RSL history. Toronto was on coach No. 5 in Year 4 and is currently on its eighth manager in Ryan Nelsen. RSL captain Kyle Beckerman arrived in 2007 in a trade from the Colorado Rapids. The midfielder with the distinctive dreadlocks credits coaching and a little luck for the franchises success. "We were able to get players into this team that were ready to be coached by a coach like Jason and Jeff Cassar and Robin Fraser (a former RSL assistant coach who is now with the New York Red Bulls)," he said Thursday. "It just so happened that we were able to get a group of guys together that ... really just needed a good environment -- an ownership that cared, a coaching staff that did the right thing. A lot of the guys were coming from places that didnt do the game right. "A lot of us, that core group thats still here, it was a breath of fresh air that we really needed. And we just took full advantage because we knew exactly the opportunity that was in front of us, because wed had it the opposite way, where the owner doesnt care or the coach just doesnt get it. "So I think we lucked out a little bit that we had the core in the same place, here in Salt Lake, that was just absolutely ready to explode and take full advantage of what was in front of us. And thats what we did." The 31-year-old Beckerman is joined on the team by fellow U.S. internationals Nick Rimando (a goalie who came on board in 2007) and Luis Gil (a midfielder who joined in 2010). Other veterans include defenders Nat Borchers (2008) and Chris Wingert (2007), midfielders Ned Grabavoy (2009) and Javier Morales (2007) and forwards Robbie Findley (two stints since 2007) and Alvaro Saborio (2010). Players want to come to winning clubs. And RSL does a good job checking out new talent. "They want to bring in not only good players but good people," said Beckerman. Toronto FC has followed the same road this off-season, with marquee signings Jermain Defoe, Michael Bradley, Gilberto and Julio Cesar all fitting in. Beckerman acknowledges that he respects Torontos search for success. "The thing that I really admire about Toronto is that they wont stop. Theyve kept at it. Theyve kept trying to fix and get the right recipe. And it doesnt seem like theyre going to stop any time soon. Theyre going to keep going and keep spending until they get the right recipe. "And I admire that. Thats something a lot of other teams would love to have that. With the fan base, theyve been loyal there and theyve stuck with them through tough times. The ownership and what theyre doing there, is kind of a reward to that loyalty and giving them a successful team. "Time will tell if this is the right one. But it seems so far that theyve brought in the right players so far. So I think its definitely on the up and up over there." Like Toronto, the early days were bleak in Salt Lake. The team went 5-22-5 with just 20 points in its inaugural season in 2005. In 2005-06, the fledgling franchise endured a league-record 18-game winless streak. But it didnt take long for Real Salt Lake to turn the corner. It had 39 points in Season 2 and 40 in Season 4, going 10-10-10 and reaching the 2008 playoff semifinals. In 2009, it was another 40-point season and the 11-12-7 team went on to win the title. Since then, RSL has collected 56, 53, 57 and 56 points. In contrast, Torontos points total since entering the league in 2007 is 25, 35, 39, 35, 33, 23, and 29. The two teams meet Saturday. Kenta Maeda Youth Jersey .C. -- Authorities say the brother of Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Roddy White has been shot and killed outside a South Carolina nightclub. Joe Kelly Jersey . "Uuufff," was all shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria could come up with after Stantons latest mammoth shot. http://www.ladodgersprostore.us/Kenley-Jansen-dodgers-jersey/ . The 31-year-old, a two-time CFL lineman of the year, was among the most coveted free agents on the market. The Windsor, Ont., native will be especially important to a team that has lost veteran quarterback Anthony Calvillo to retirement and is expected to go with the less experienced Troy Smith and Tanner Marsh this season. Corey Seager Womens Jersey . TSNs Farhan Lalji reports the Edmonton Eskimos non-import DT has a workout scheduled with an NFL team next week and isnt expected to sign a deal with any team until then. Kenley Jansen Womens Jersey .com) - Bradley Beal deposited a season-high 33 points and John Wall posted another double-double as the Washington Wizards went on the road and beat the Houston Rockets, 104-103. TORONTO -- For the second straight night, Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry stated his case as an NBA all-star. But even after pouring in a game-high 33 points in a convincing win over the Orlando Magic, Lowry was managing expectations ahead of Thursdays announcement of the reserves for next months game. "I would be very honoured. It would be a great individual accomplishment," Lowry said when asked if the NBA coaches decision mattered to him. "But at the end of the day, its just another day for me." Even though many would argue Lowry deserves a spot in New Orleans, hes widely expected to be snubbed, a victim of a perceived abrasive personality rather than anything to do with his play. His play spoke volumes again Wednesday. Lowry had 11 assists to go with his 33 points in the Raptors 98-83 win before 17,694 fans at Air Canada Centre. It was Lowrys second consecutive 30-plus point performance -- a career first. The feat is even more impressive because its come in the absence of injured DeMar DeRozan, another potential all-star. "Hes stepped it up," Toronto head coach Dwane Casey said of Lowry, who hit all five of his three-point attempts in the first quarter as the Raptors built a 33-20 lead and led all the way. "I keep my fingers crossed that the coaches voted him in because he deserves it," Casey said. "I feel like both guys (Lowry and DeRozan) deserve it, because right now hes one of the best point guards in the league." Lowry, who had 31 points in a win over the Nets in Brooklyn on Monday, set the tone for the night by opening the scoring with a 26-foot jump shot 58 seconds into the game to make it 3-0. The Raptors led from there, winning their second straight game and fourth in five. "Were just getting better and were grinding it out eveery day," Lowry said.dddddddddddd Amir Johnson added 22 points and 11 rebounds while Jonas Valanciunas, the second-year centre picked earlier Wednesday to suit up in the Rising Stars Challenge at the all-star weekend in New Orleans next month, added 14 points and 15 rebounds for the Raptors. The win moved Toronto (24-21) three games above .500 for the first time this season. The Raptors, who lead the NBAs Atlantic Division by three games over Brooklyn, were 16-29 after 45 games last season on their way to missing the playoffs for a fifth straight year. "We are hungry and we want to win every game we play," said Johnson, who sat in front of his locker after the game with each foot in a bucket of ice nursing an ankle he rolled. "Nobody has an agenda on this team, everybody is sharing the ball." Johnson said it would be "awesome" for Lowry to get his first career all-star nod. "Hes become our all-star and one of the main reasons why we have been so successful winning these games," Johnson said. Facing the NBAs worst road team, the Raptors jumped on Orlando from the start. Led by Lowry, Toronto matched a club record from November 2009 with eight three-pointers in a quarter in the first, and hit 11 of their first 12 shots of the night from beyond the arc. A stretch of nine straight was the first time the team made that many consecutively since February 2005 against the Los Angeles Lakers. "We made shots. We spaced the floor well," Lowry said. The Raptors led by as many as 19 points. Orlando (12-35) cut the lead to eight points with 7:20 to go in the third quarter but thats as close as they got on the way to losing their 10th consecutive road game. The Raptors now head out West on a tough, five-game road trip starting Friday in Denver. ' ' '