The Toronto Raptors are having one of the best seasons in franchise history - in a year when nobody expected it. Many believed sneaking into the final playoff spot would be a success for the Raptors this season, but even that wasnt guaranteed. But with only 11 games remaining in the regular season, Toronto (40-31) sits in third place in the Eastern Conference, 2 1/2 games ahead of the Brooklyn Nets for tops in the Atlantic Division and a postseason spot all but official. This will be the first time since 2008 that the Raptors will play in the NBAs second season. With all of the good fortunes the Dinos have seen this year, who has been most integral to the teams success? DeMar DeRozan is the face of the franchise and is one of the longest tenured members of the Raptors. The 24-year-old made his first All-Star Game this season and is leading the team in points scoring 22.7 per game. This is DeRozans fifth year in the Association and he signed a four-year deal last season to stay north of the border for the foreseeable future. Will the team only go as far as DeMar will take them? Kyle Lowry has quickly become a fan favourite in only his second season in Raptors colours. The rugged point guard has shown bulldog-like toughness on a nightly basis, playing considerable minutes and being the man the team has looked to when they are in need of a spark. Analysts and fans alike thought the 28-year-old should have been in New Orleans for the All-Star Game. Averaging 17.6 PPG (scoring over 20 points in eight consecutive games) along with 7.7 assists per game makes a good case for that argument. His future is uncertain in Toronto with Lowry hitting the free agent market this summer, but the Raptors are glad to have him for the time being. Is he the one to thank? Then theres Amir Johnson. At only 26, he can be considered a veteran, already playing in his ninth NBA season and is an important part of the Raps front court. He averages 11.1 PPG, 6.9 rebounds per game and is a strong force on the defensive side of the ball. Maybe the key success is coming from the sidelines. Head coach Dwane Casey is in his second year in charge of the Raptors and seems to have finally gotten through to his players. Toronto has gotten much better defensively only allowing 97.6 PPG, good enough for fifth in the NBA. Is the coachs defence-first mindset the reason the Raptors are headed to the post-season? The success could be attributed to General Manager Masai Ujiri. The Nigerian hasnt brought in a lot of highly touted talent since he took the job last off-season. Instead hes used the method of addition by subtraction to improve on the court. First, he shipped the much-maligned Andrea Bargnani off to the New York Knicks followed by sending Rudy Gay to the Sacramento Kings during the season. Toronto is 34-19 since Gay was traded out west. With the offence no longer going through Gay, the Raptors have been able to score more efficiently. Not to mention the players coming back to Toronto - namely Patrick Patterson and Greivis Vasquez – have helped the Raptors to get where they are today. Do we have to look to the front office for the reason behind the sudden improvement? So, who do you think is the most integral to the Raptors success this season? As always, its Your! Call. Cheap Running Shoes Ireland . UCI President Brian Cookson said Wednesday the commission will investigate allegations "that the UCI has been involved in wrongdoing in the past -- allegations which have done so much to hurt the credibility of the UCI and our sport. Cheap Running Shoes . It has been eleven years, eight months, and 261 days since I played my last CFL game. http://www.wholesalerunningshoesireland.com/ . The Durban-based Sharks withstood a furious second-half fightback to beat the Queensland Reds 35-20 for a fourth straight win which gave them a five-point lead atop the championship table. The Hamilton-based Chiefs scored two late tries to beat the Cape Town-based Stormers 36-20 for their third win, after the Stormers rallied from 24-6 down to 24-20 with six minutes remaining. Best Running Shoes Ireland . He was 40. Firefighters were called about 11 a.m. Friday because Brown was unresponsive at his home near the Inner Harbor, fire spokesman Battalion Chief Kevin Cartwright said. He said Brown was dead when firefighters arrived. Running Shoes Online Ireland . PETERSBURG, Fla.Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - The following is a list of inactive players for todays games. SAN DIEGO CHARGERS AT KANSAS CITY CHIEFS, 1:00 PM (ET) San Diego - WR Keenan Allen, DT Ryan Carrethers, CB Greg Ducre, DE Cordarro Law, RB Ryan Mathews, DE Damion Square, G Chris Watt Kansas City - WR Donnie Avery, CB Marcus Cooper, OT Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, CB Phillip Gaines, OL Eric Kush, QB Alex Smith, DT Nick Williams CHICAGO BEARS AT MINNESOTA VIKINGS, 1:00 PM (ET) Chicago - QB Jimmy Clausen, S Chris Conte, DT Brandon Dunn, K Robbie Gould, DE Austen Lane, OT Charles Leno, CB Al Louis-Jean Minnesota - OT Carter Bykowski, DB Ahmad Dixon, LB Chad Greenway, RB Henry Josey, CB Shaun Prater, LB Brandon Watts, G David Yankey PHILADELPHIA EAGLES AT NEW YORK GIANTS, 1:00 PM (ET) Philadelphia - S Jerome Couplin, CB Bradley Fletcher, QB Nick Foles, DE Taylor Hart, OT Dennis Kelly, WR Jeff Maehl, C Julian Vandervelde NY Giants - TE Jerome Cunningham, OL Adam Gettis, DT Dominique Hamilton, G Eric Herman, CB Jayron Hosley, LB Devon Kennard, WR Corey Washington DALLAS COWBOYS AT WASHINGTON REDSKINS, 1:00 PM (ET) Dallas - DT Josh Brent, OT Doug Free, S Jakar Hamilton, OT Donald Hawkins, LB Rolando McClain, QB Dustin Vaughan, LB Dekoda Watson Washington - LB Steve Beauharnais, WR Leonard Hankerson, G Rishaw Johnson, G Josh LeRibeus, DB Kenny Okoro, DT Travian Robertson, RB Chris Thompson CLEVELAND BROWNS AT BALTIMORE RAVENS, 1:00 PM (ET) Cleveland - WR Phil Bates, DB Justin Gilbert, QB Brian Hoyer, LS Charley Hughlett, OT Andrew McDonald, DL Ahtyba Rubin, OG Ryan Seymour Baltimore - DL Chris Canty, NT Terrence Cody, CB Chris Greenwood, DE Steven Means, OT Eugene Monroe, TE Phillip Supernaw, S Brynden Trawick NEW ORLEANS SAINTS AT TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS, 1:00 PM (ET) New Orleans - OT Terron Armstead, WR Brandon Coleman, LB Moise Fokou, LB Jerry Franklin, CB Stanley Jean-Baptiste, WR Seantavius Jones, S Kenny Vaccaro Tampa Bay - OT Anthony Collins, LB Mason Foster, CB Isaiah Frey, WR Robert Herron, RB Mike James, WR Solomon Patton, DE George Uko NEW YORK JETS AT MIAMI DOLPHINS, 1:00 PM (ET) NY Jets - DT T.J. Barnes, WR Percy Harvin, S Jaiquawn Jarrett, OL Wesley Johnson, C Nick Mangold, WR Walter Powell, QB Matt Simms Miami - CB Walt Aikens, C Sam Brenner, DT Deandre Coleman, WR Matt Hazel, RB LaMichael James, WR Rishard Matthews, G Dallas Thomas BUFFALO BILLS AT NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS, 1:00 PM (ET) Buffalo - RB Bryce Brown, DT Marcell Dareus, CB Stephon Gilmore, WR Marquise Goodwin, TE Chris Gragg, LB Randell Johnson, OT Cyrus Kouandjio New England - CB Brandon Browner, OL Dan Connolly, WR Julian Edelman, RB Jonas Gray, TE Rob Gronkowski, LB Donta Hightower, OT Sebastian Vollmer INDIANAPOLIS COLTS AT TENNESSEE TITANS, 1:00 PM (ET) Indianapolis - TE Dwayne Allen, OT Gosder Cherilus, LB Jerrell Freeman, NT Zach Kerr, CB Sheldon Price, G Joe Reitz, LB Bjoern Werner Tennessee - OT Terren Jones, OT Taylor Lewan, QB Zach Mettenberger, LB Dontay Moch, DE Ropati Pitoitua, WR Rico Richardson, DB Jemea Thomas JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS AT HOUSTON TEXANS, 1:00 PM (ET) Jacksonville - S Matt Daniels, CB Jeremy Harris, DT Roy Miller, QB Stephen Morris, OG Tyler Shatley, DE Chris Smith, WR Tommy Streeter Houston - LB Jason Ankrah, DB Josh Aubrey, TE Garrett Graham, LB Mike Mohamed, WR DeVier Posey, QB Tom Savage, OG Xavier Sua-Filo CAROLINA PANTHERS AT ATLANTA FALCONS, 4:25 PM (ET) Carolina - CB James Dockery, OT David Foucault, LB A.dddddddddddd.J. Klein, S Robert Lester, DT Kyle Love, G Amini Silatolu, RB DeAngelo Williams Atlanta - CB Ricardo Allen, FS Charles Godfrey, RB Steven Jackson, DE Stansly Maponga, QB Sean Renfree, OT Jonathan Scott, LB Tyler Starr DETROIT LIONS AT GREEN BAY PACKERS, 4:25 PM (ET) Detroit - G Rodney Austin, WR Ryan Broyles, DT Nick Fairley, QB Kellen Moore, DT Caraun Reid, CB Josh Thomas, DE Larry Webster Green Bay - LB Carl Bradford, DT Bruce Gaston, C Garth Gerhart, RB DuJuan Harris, CB Davon House, WR Jeff Janis, TE Justin Perillo ST. LOUIS RAMS AT SEATTLE SEAHAWKS, 4:25 PM (ET) St. Louis - TE Alex Bayer, DE Alex Carrington, TE Justice Cunningham, CB E.J. Gaines, G/C Barrett Jones, G Brandon Washington, DE Ethan Westbrooks Seattle - DE Demarcus Dobbs, TE Cooper Helfet, WR Jermaine Kearse, OL Keavon Milton, CB Tharold Simon, C Max Unger ARIZONA CARDINALS AT SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS, 4:25 PM (ET) Arizona - SS Chris Clemons, G Jonathan Cooper, LB Larry Foote, WR Brittan Golden, DE Kareem Martin, QB Drew Stanton, G Anthony Steen San Francisco - CB Tramaine Brock, LB Ahmad Brooks, CB Perrish Cox, RB Carlos Hyde, QB Josh Johnson, WR Stevie Johnson, S Eric Reid OAKLAND RAIDERS AT DENVER BRONCOS, 4:25 PM (ET) Oakland - OL Tony Bergstrom, WR Vincent Brown, CB T.J. Carrie, CB Chimdi Chekwa, DT Stacy McGee, WR Denarius Moore, OT Menelik Watson Denver - T Paul Cornick, TE Dominique Jones, LB Brandon Marshall, OT Michael Schofield, RB Juwan Thompson, DT Mitch Unrein, SS T.J. Ward CINCINNATI BENGALS AT PITTSBURGH STEELERS, 8:30 PM (ET) Cincinnati - None Pittsburgh - None ' ' '