sunday nights game served as an early-season re

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. - Alan Gordon hit the crossbar in the opening minute for San Jose and that was as close as the Earthquakes and the Colorado Rapids got to scoring in their 0-0 draw Saturday. Chris Wondolowskis header cleared the crossbar late in the first half for San Jose (0-2-3). The Earthquakes are off to their worst start in 14 seasons. They opened 0-3 as the San Jose Clash in 1998. Colorado (3-1-2) had its modest two-game winning streak snapped. The Rapids had few scoring chances until the final two minutes and the stoppage time at the end of the game. San Jose is unbeaten in three of its last four trips to Colorado. The Earthquakes havent beaten the Earthquakes at home since 2010. Stitched Jerseys . -- Down to 10 men and behind on the scoreboard, Toronto FC displayed its perseverance. Wholesale NFL Jerseys China . 5 Trade Deadline isnt that far away and teams will be making decisions on whether to buy, sell and decide which players can make the biggest difference and hold the greatest value. http://www.nfljerseyschina.net/ . -- Washingtons Bradley Beal seemed to make every shot he took in setting a career high with 37 points. Cheap Jerseys . -- First baseman Carlos Pena and outfielder Brennan Boesch have signed minor league deals with the Los Angeles Angels. Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping .com) - The Miami Heat stopped a four-game losing streak last time out and thats the same length slide their opponents Wednesday night, the Denver Nuggets, will try to halt when the two teams meet at the Pepsi Center.MIAMI - Generally, the Raptors dont tend to play the what ifgame following a loss, Sundays being their first of the young season, but even they couldnt help but wonder what might have been if they had their starting power forward in uniform against the Heat. We missed him, theres no question about it, Dwane Casey said of Amir Johnson, a late scratch just ahead of the Raptors 107-102 loss in Miami, their 16th-straight defeat to the Heat and 10th-consecutive in South Beach. He gives you another roller to the basket, a guy who can score a little bit in the paint, he continued. He’s been doing a good job of scoring, he’s been doing a good job defensively. Johnson tweaked his troublesome left ankle early in Saturdays win over the Magic, staying in that game, but logging only 24 minutes. After getting pre-game treatment Sunday, he was ruled out - the teams medical staff opting for caution thisearly in the season. The Heat were without a couple of their bigs, as well. Chris Andersen missed the game with a bruised rib, while veteran Udonis Haslem continues to nurse a quad ailment. Returning from an injury, Josh McRoberts was only available to play spot minutes. With Miami playing small ball around the versatile Chris Bosh, this was a game in which the Raptors could have used their best help and rim defender. Tonight would have been a perfect game for Amir, DeMar DeRozan admitted after the loss. That’s Amir’s game. Do all the dirty work, rebound or even the tap outs to give us the chance to get the rebound. The most glaring disparity was the one on the boards. Toronto grabbed just 10 rebounds in the first half - compared to 24 for Miami - and was bested 43-28 on the glass in the game. Almost as concerning, the Heat shot an alarming 72 per cent at the rim and 63 per cent in the paint. Although they led the NBA in that category last year, they did it with LeBron James and managed 47 per cent in the painted area. The Raptors held opponents to 39 per cent shooting in the paint last season. That just wasn’t us, said DeRozan, who led Toronto with 30 points on the night. We just didn’t play good at all. You have to give credit to the Heat. They still played good, but things we can control, like making free throws and rebounding, that’s on us. Certainly, there were issues that went beyond the absence of Johnson and its purely speculative thinking to suggest that the final result would have been different with him in the line-up. Although Johnson would have probably put a dent in the rebounding disparity, its unlikely he would have pulled down 15. Bosh and Dwyane Wade each nearly out-rebounded the Raptors starters on their own.ddddddddddddHe also wouldnt have made up for the missed free throws - uncharacteristic for Toronto. They missed 15 of 39 attempts at the line, 11 courtesy of DeRozan and Kyle Lowry. Patrick Patterson started in place of Johnson and was held without a point or rebound in just under 15 minutes of action, a night after shooting 1-for-7 in Orlando. For Pat to have an off-night, it shouldn’t have been tonight, Casey said, unprompted after the game A lot of times guys will let their offensive woes go to the defensive end, he said of Pattersons early-season struggles. He had no rebounds and we’ve got to have him on the boards if Amir’s not there and he didn’t do that. Missing Amir was there, but that can’t be an excuse. Someone has to step up. The Raptors need more from Patterson, with or without Johnson in the line-up. A big part of their post-trade success last season and anchoring the teams improved second unit, Patterson was re-signed over the summer to replicate his 2013-14 impact and serve as insurance for Johnson. Prior to coming over from Sacramento, he had gotten off to a slow start last year as well. The forward shot just 41 per cent from the field and 23 per cent from three-point range in 17 games with the Kings before improving those clips to 48 per cent and 41 per cent, respectively, in Toronto. I will fix this, Patterson tweeted Monday. Of course, Johnson will be a free agent at the end of the campaign. Sunday nights game served as an early-season reminder of what makes him so valuable - his defence, rebounding, screening and spacing - and what makes him such a long-term risk - his wonky ankles. Johnson under went a procedure on his left ankle back in 2011. Although he didnt require surgery this summer - after turning both ankles on several occasions last season - he took a more innovative, preventative approach, spending time at the P3 (Peak Performance Project) sports clinic in Santa Barbara, California, studying methods that may help avoid future injury. A lot of those techniques - planting, jumping and landing differently - require him to alter learned muscle memory. Theyre helpful tools, but wont necessarily stave off the injury bug. More than ever the Raptors will need him as close to full health as possible at the end of the season and into the playoffs, a big reason why they made the decision to rest him early in the year. Hes considered day-to-day, but theyll continue to monitor his health and wont risk this becoming a nagging issue. ' ' '