ATLANTA - The Raptors will be without their sixth man for at least another week, they learned on Tuesday. Rocky Bleier Steelers Jersey . After a re-evaluation of the ulnar collateral sprain in his right elbow on Monday, Patrick Patterson, who has missed the teams last five contests, was ruled out of game action for another seven days, though he will be able to return to limited basketball activity. Patterson, wearing a supporting brace on his injured elbow as he got some work in during Raptors shootaround, was disappointed to hear the news. "[Its] more bad news than good," he admitted ahead of Tuesdays game in Atlanta. "I had hopes that I would be able to come out here and participate with the team and get back to basketball." The Raptors versatile back-up said hes experiencing very little pain in his right arm, just discomfort, one of the reasons why he had hoped to be back on the court by now. "From when it initially happened up until now I had pain, constantly, on the court, certain types of movements or certain types of contact would aggravate it," said Patterson, who leads all Toronto reserves in scoring, averaging 9.7 points along with 5.2 rebounds since being acquired from Sacramento on December 9. "But now, today, theres very little pain. All the movements that hurt before dont hurt now. In my mind, Im thinking I can [play] just going off that pain factor, but doing the ultrasound and seeing the images and seeing how far its come along to today, Im definitely happy to know how soon I can return." Its not clear exactly how Patterson initially sustained the injury. He believes it originally occurred in a game against the Wizards back in February and he aggravated it in a win over the Kings on March 7. "It is frustrating," he said, not being able to pinpoint exactly how he hurt his elbow. "If I knew what happened, hopefully I could prevent it from happening again." Patterson had become one of the teams most valuable and consistent contributors, anchoring a second unit that has been much improved since his arrival in December. In his absence, Dwane Casey has used the trio of Steve Novak, Chuck Hayes and Tyler Hansbrough as stopgaps off the bench. Unlike Patterson, a well-rounded, two-way player, his three replacements are best suited in situational roles. Each forward has stepped up to some degree, but Pattersons shoes have not been easy to fill. Without Patterson in the lineup over the previous five games, the Raptors bench has been outscored by a total of 50 points. The oppositions reserves have bested them by 65 alone over the last two contests. "At least we have to hold serve," Casey said of his second unit. "Weve got to find a go-to player or a guy that can produce for us, point-wise, with that second unit. Pat was giving us some points or at least spacing the floor for us where it did give [Greivis Vasquez] opportunities to drive to the basket." Casey would not call the latest news on Pattersons injury a setback. The team was not expecting him to be able to return right away. The Raptors forward will be assessed again after this seven-day period and if the new timetable holds true he should miss another four-to-six games. "It could be worse, thats the way I always look at it," said Patterson. "Thats what my team and the training staff is telling me, it could be worse, but youre in a positive situation, at least you know where you stand and how soon you can come back." L.C. Greenwood Jersey . Liverpool is at the top at Christmas for the first time since 2008 after scoring 42 goals. Only Manchester City has been more lethal in front of goal, with the team — a point behind Liverpool and Arsenal in third — scoring 51 goals in 17 games. Mat McBriar Womens Jersey .J. -- A couple of comeback kids helped the New York Giants continue their winning streak.NEW YORK -- Baseball players and management hope to reach a new drug agreement this week that would increase initial penalties for muscle-building steroids and allow a decrease of suspensions for some positive tests caused by unintentional use, people familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. For future suspensions, the deal also would eliminate the loophole allowing Alex Rodriguez to earn almost $3 million during his season-long ban, the people said. They spoke on condition of anonymity in recent days because talks are ongoing. The sides hope to reach an agreement by Sunday, when the Los Angeles Dodgers open the U.S. portion of the major league schedule at the San Diego Padres. While the lengths have not been finalized, a person involved with the talks said Wednesday the most likely penalties would be about 80 games for an initial testing violation and a season-long ban for a second. "It will be a significant deterrent because players will know theyre not going to just easily walk back into a lineup," Travis Tygart, chief executive officer of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, said in a telephone interview. "It probably is the best policy in professional sports." For use of a limited group of substances, the sides were discussing giving the arbitration panel that hears appeals grievances the authority to reduce suspensions by as much as 50 per cent if the player proves the positive test was caused by unintentional use, the person said. "What were all here for it to rid sports of the intentional cheats, those who are intending to defraud both the fans and their fellow teammates, the integrity of competition," Tygart said. "You want to have provisions in place that allow for whether theres an inadvertent or a truly non-intentional situation which may arise." Since the 2006 season, the Major League Baseballs drug agreement has called for a 50-game suspension for a first positive steroids test, a 100-game ban for a second and a lifetime penalty for a third. Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig called for tougher penalties last March, and then-union head Michael Weiner said players would consider them for 2014. Weiner died in November and was succeeded by former All-Star Tony Clark, who has led the negotiations. Major League Baseballs investigation of the Biogenesis of Amerrica anti-aging clinic led to 14 suspensions last summer, including a 65-game penalty for former NL MVP Ryan Braun of Milwaukee and a 211-game ban for Rodriguez, which was reduced to 162 games in January by an arbitrator. Darrius Heyward-Bey Steelers Jersey. The section covering violations not related to positive tests, which was used by Selig in the Biogenesis case, will be clarified but still will allow discipline for "just cause." Many players have advocated stiffer penalties as a deterrent. Arizona pitcher Brad Ziegler spoke out after Jhonny Peralta, who served a 50-game suspension, agreed in November to a $53 million, four-year contract with St. Louis. "We thought 50 games would be a deterrent. Obviously its not. So we are working on it again," he tweeted then. "It pays to cheat... Thanks, owners, for encouraging PED use." Some players said suspensions should lead to larger monetary losses. San Diego Padres outfielder Will Venable maintained last summer "somehow having to forfeit or void your contract that youre under is something that needs to be the main focus of the penalties." But for the majority of players, that would go too far. "Id venture to guess that even though there are concerns on a number of levels, that we will never end up in a world where player contracts are voided as a result," Clark told the AP during a January interview. Addressing positives caused by inadvertent use was a factor in the talks. Philadelphia infielder Freddy Galvis was suspended for 50 games in June 2012 for a Clostebol Metabolite, which he later claimed was contained in a foot cream he used. Reliever Guillermo Mota, then with San Francisco, was suspended for 100 games in May 2012 after taking a cough syrup with Clenbuterol. The new deal also will state that a player receives none of his salary during a season-long suspension. The current deal said a player loses as many days pay as games he is suspended. Since players are paid over a 183-day season this year, arbitrator Fredric Horowitz ruled Rodriguez was entitled to 21-183rds of his $25 million salary, or $2,868,852. "Thats fantastic," Tygart said. "You hit them in the pocketbook, and thats really where the cheaters are most deterred from attempting to steal money from the other players." cheap jerseys ' ' '
