by the arrival of Juan Mata, who helped lead the club to a 2-0 defeat of Cardiff City on Tuesday. The Red Devils have

There is nothing less appealing about the NBA than its predictability. At the start of any season, anyone with the slightest basketball IQ can identify roughly half-a-dozen teams that have a true chance of winning a championship. That team that no one saw coming raising the Larry OBrien Trophy at the end of the season? Well, it never happens. And while there are always surprises from year-to-year, teams that rocket up the standings over the course of a season or two without a major overhaul are rare. Its a sport where it can be a very long and hard road going from being really bad to being very good, especially if youre a team that isnt lucky enough to land a superstar, one of those players who can turn a teams fortunes almost with his presence alone. All of which makes the Toronto Raptors turnaround over the course of a little more than 12 months that much more amazing. Two seasons ago this week, the Raptors were 4-15 after 19 games. A year ago, they were 7-12. Right now, they are 15-4, best record in the Eastern Conference. Things like that just dont happen in the NBA, where success follows the obvious movement of talent around the league. The NBA is the easiest league to determine who will be good and who will be bad at the start of a season. And at the start of last season, there was no shortage of those predicting the Toronto Raptors would be very bad, and for quite a while. It would be years by the time they next made the playoffs, and by then, there would be hardly anyone from this roster still on it. Maybe Jonas Valanciunas. The Raptors would have to tank a season or two or three and hope to land one of those generational talents around whom they could build for better times. None of that happened. And yet here are the Raptors, having defied almost every rule of the universe when it comes to how the NBA works, suddenly being recognized as one of the better teams in the NBA, the best Toronto team ever, and an apparent legitimate contender to represent the East in an NBA Final next spring. Think about all the counterintuitive qualities of this team: - It went from bad to good without anyone seeing it coming - It did so over the course of essentially one season - It has no superstar player Some may be ready to suggest Kyle Lowry has become an NBA superstar, although even that notion itself is counterintuitive since NBA players rarely blossom into superstars in their late 20s. The whole thing is part genius, part accident, part chemistry and part smarts. It took luck and timing and a special group of players who dont see themselves as too good to be playing in Toronto. But somehow its worked and we continue to be treated to the kind of phenomenon that is ever so rarely witnessed in the NBA. China Jerseys . The game got off to a less-than-ideal start for the Jets as Oliver Ekman-Larsson found a wide open net from the slot and opened the scoring for the Coyotes a lead in the first period, but Olli Jokinen answered back just over half a minute later. Wholesale Stitched Jerseys . The 28-year-old lefty made his MLB debut in 2013, making 10 starts and going 2-5 with 4.05 ERA and 1.18 WHIP. Albers was named the Twins organizations minor league pitcher of the year for 2013. https://www.wholesalejerseys2020.com/ .ca has you covered for whos in, whos out and what to expect from all 30 teams. Wholesale Jerseys Online . -- Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Sidney Rice tweeted an apparent goodbye after a report about his pending release. Cheap Jerseys 2020 .Jeff Green, playing in his second preseason game after missing the first four because of a calf strain, had 18 points. The Celtics (3-3) shot 47.2 per cent from the floor and made 15 of 37 3-point attempts.Manchester City and Chelsea are set to do battle at the Etihad on Monday, a monumental clash that will pit the first-place Citizens against the third-place Blues. Watch Chelsea vs. Manchester City live on TSN2 at 3pm et/Noon pt. City managed to move to the top of the Premier League table by capitalizing on Arsenals 2-2 draw with Southampton on Tuesday, cruising to a 5-1 demolition of Tottenham at White Hart Lane the following day. The Citizens have been in cruise control over the past couple of months, winning its last eight Premier League contests. After suffering defeat at Sunderland on Nov. 10, City has gone on to take a total of 34 points from 12 games. But even in such a rich vein of form, the Citizens only find themselves one point clear of Arsenal at the Premier League summit, and manager Manuel Pellegrini does not think his side deserves to be labeled the title favorites. "I think its too soon to be the favorites - [there are] a lot of matches to play," Pellegrini told the clubs official website after Wednesday defeat of Spurs. "If we continue to play the way we are, we will have chances to win but its early." City boasts an unblemished home record through 11 league matches at the Etihad this term, but Chelsea will be quite motivated to end that spell Monday. Not only did the Blues drop points for the first time in five Premier League outings with a scoreless draw against West Ham on Wednesday, but they can take confidence from their 2-1 win over City at Stamford Bridge in October. Chelsea can lean on its stout defense, which has leaked just three goals in the clubs last eight matches. And with Sergio Aguero, Citys main scoring threat, looking doubtful for Mondays clash,, the Blues certainly have a solid opportunity to pick up some valuable road points.dddddddddddd Building to Mondays main course is one of Englands fiercest rivalries, taking place at St. James Park in Saturdays early fixture. Newcastle suffered a 2-1 loss at the Stadium of Light earlier in the season, but the Magpies will be hoping to reverse the result when they play host to Sunderland in the latest installment of the Tyne-Wear derby. Manchester United has been rejuvenated by the arrival of Juan Mata, who helped lead the club to a 2-0 defeat of Cardiff City on Tuesday. The Red Devils have taken just two wins from their last four Premier League outings, but the club is hopeful that Mata can bring two successive wins with maximum points at Stoke City on Saturday. Danny Rose, who was harshly sent off in Tottenhams horrific defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday, had his red card rescinded by the English Football Association this week and is available for selection this weekend. Spurs will head to the KC Stadium on Saturday to face a Hull City side that is hoping to snap a four-game slide. Also on Saturday, Fulham will look to avoid a fourth straight defeat when it welcomes Southampton to Craven Cottage, Cardiff City will aim to snap a four- game losing streak when it hosts Norwich City, Aston Villa will attempt to build upon its narrow midweek win with a vital victory over Everton at Goodison Park and West Ham United squares off with Swansea City at Upton Park. On Sunday, Arsenal will look to apply some additional pressure on Chelsea and City by taking three points from its contest with Crystal Palace at the Emirates, and Liverpool heads to the Hawthorns to do battle with West Bromwich Albion. ' ' '