2015," Mark Egan, the International Rugby Boards head of com

MIAMI -- Pat Riley walked into the room to begin his end-of-season availability annoyed, and armed with history. There have been franchises that have enjoyed prolonged runs of greatness during his 45 years as a player, coach and executive in the NBA -- the Lakers, Celtics, Bulls, Spurs and his Miami Heat among them -- and Thursday Riley pointed out each shares a trait. They all lost sometime. "I think everybody," the Heat president said moments after smacking the table to begin the news conference, "needs to get a grip." With that, Riley was off and running on a message-sending session that lasted nearly an hour. No players were there, but they surely heard his themes: He saw his teams mental fatigue during the year, but doesnt accept it; he isnt willing to let Miami fall from the ranks of the NBA elite, and the organization will do what it can to keep LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade together. "We have a tremendous opportunity here for long-term success," Riley said. "Dont think were not going to get beat again, so just get a grip, everybody. Thats my message. Its my message to the players, also." It was one of his many messages. Riley, who gets a reported $75,000 when hired to deliver motivational speeches, worked in anecdotes on everything from sipping Johnnie Walker Blue to playing James Ingram records to how even at 69 years old he still finds himself dreaming big. He was speaking with reporters, but clearly talking to players through the cameras. "Youve got to stay together, if youve got the guts," Riley said. "You dont find the first door and run out of it if you have an opportunity. This is four years now into this era, this team. Four finals -- its only been done three other times before -- and two championships. From day one to the end, it was like a Broadway show. It sort of ran out of steam. And we need to retool. We dont need to rebuild." How to retool is the question, but the answer isnt up to Riley yet. James, Bosh and Wade all need to decide if theyre going to opt out of their contracts, a choice that was probably going to be complicated even if the Heat hadnt lost the NBA Finals to San Antonio, ending Miamis two-year reign as league champions. From those decisions, Heat free-agents-to-be -- Ray Allen, Mario Chalmers, Chris Andersen and others -- may start charting their futures. Players from other teams will listen as well. Then Riley and the Heat spring into action on July 1, just as they did four years ago when they netted James, Bosh and Wade. Other than Norris Cole, no Heat player currently is locked into a fully guaranteed deal for next season. But Riley doesnt feel the Heat need to recruit current players again. "Were prepared," Riley said. "Weve got the main-themed book all written up and its dependent on whatever the scenario were presented with on July 1. Weve got a lot of room for flexibility. Theres a tremendous amount of flexibility depending on what happens. So were ready." He offered plenty of perspective on Thursday, about how he still feels like he choked away what should have been a title for the Lakers team he coached in 1984, but how they roared back with three titles in the next four seasons. He even referenced how San Antonio got much better this season after seeing a title in 2013 get taken away by Miami in dramatic fashion. "What happened last year with San Antonio? Did they run? They faced it," Riley said. "They faced it and they came back, and we saw the result. Well find out what were made of here. Its not about options. Its not about free agency. Its not about anything. Its about what we have built over four years here." Among Rileys more impassioned defences was the one of Wade, who was widely criticized for both missing 28 games in the regular season -- mainly part of a maintenance program laid out by the team -- and for struggling in Games 4 and 5 of the NBA Finals. "For the last 10 years, this has been a Dwyane Wade-driven thing," Riley said. "Now does he have to reinvent himself a little bit? Absolutely." Riley can only hope that reinvention is in Miami, and that James and Bosh are there as well. "Im an Irish guy who believes in big dreams," Riley said. "Im optimistic. Until thats proven different, I just have a level of optimism that there isnt a better place for players to be than Miami." Jodie Meeks Raptors Jersey . - The Raiders have released guard Mike Brisiel after two disappointing seasons in Oakland. Lucas Nogueira Jersey . LA (SportsNetwork. https://www.raptorsrookiesshop.com/Rondae-Hollis-Jefferson-City-Edition-Jersey/ . Kevin Martin and Kevin Love paced the Timberwolves like they do so often. Martin had 27 points with some key baskets down the stretch, Love had his usual double-double, and the Timberwolves snapped a three-game losing streak with a 112-106 victory Saturday night over the suddenly slipping Dallas Mavericks. Jeremy Lin Jersey .500 were once common achievements for the Dallas Mavericks. Now, both are season highs as Dallas slowly works its way back into playoff contention in the Western Conference. Sagaba Konate Raptors Jersey . Six years of waiting are finally over for the Dallas defenceman. Daley had a goal and an assist, Kari Lehtonen recorded his fifth shutout of the season, and the Stars clinched their first playoff berth since 2008 with a 3-0 victory against the St.TORONTO -- The Canadian mens rugby team will play the U.S. on June 21 in Sacramento, Calif., as part of the IRB Pacific Nations Cup. Canadas other game in the tournament -- against Japan on June 7 at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby, B.C. -- had been previously announced. The contest against the U.S. Eagles will be played at the new Cal Expo Multi-Use Sports Field. Canada is currently ranked 15th in the world, while Japan is No. 13 and the Americans are No. 18. The other Pacific Nations Cup pool features No. 8 Samoa, No. 11 Fiji and No. 12 Tonga. Samoa will host Tonga on June 7 before Fiji entertains Tonga on June 14 and Fiji faces visiting Samoa on June 21. The U.S. will host Japan at the Stub Hub Center in Los Angeles on June 14 in the other Pool B game. The Pool A winner will be crowned the Pacific Island conference champion while Pool B will compete for the Asia/Pacific conference title. "The Pacific Nations Cup is an excellent opportunity for all participating teams to play some tough, competitive test matches with just over a year to go until Ruggby World Cup 2015," Mark Egan, the International Rugby Boards head of competitions and performance, said in a statement Wednesday.dddddddddddd Canada will also host No. 10 Scotland at Torontos BMO Field on June 14. Canadian coach Kieran Crowley plans a trials match in B.C. a week before the first game in June so he can review the Canadian-based and overseas talent at his disposal. Domestic-based players will take part in the Canadian Rugby Championship in the late summer with Crowley selecting the cream of the crop to represent Canada in the Americas Rugby Championship in the fall. The Canadians will also have three test matches in November. Canada has already qualified for the 2015 World Cup, which opens in September 2015 in England. The Canadians will play in Pool D with No. 5 Ireland, No. 7 France, No. 14 Italy and No. 17 Romania. Fiji and Canada both finished with 3-1-0 records at the Pacific Nations Cup in 2013 but the Pacific Islanders placed first by virtue of more bonus points. The 2013 event was a basic round-robin format. ' ' '