etings during the regular season, with each

PHOENIX -- Tony La Russa has never missed the managing part of baseball since retiring in 2011. He did miss the competition and, most particularly, the winning. Thats what drew him back to the big leagues. Bolstering their front office, the Arizona Diamondbacks hired La Russa as their chief baseball officer on Saturday, hoping the Hall of Fame manager can help turn around the team after one of the worst starts in franchise history. "Its the first day I woke up and I felt a difference," La Russa said. "Because for the first time since then youre back with an organization and at the end of the day youre going to be judged by how well your contribution is to the organizations competition. Thats how I grew up." La Russa last worked as a manager in 2011, walking away after leading the St. Louis Cardinals to their second World Series title with him at the helm. He spent time working for Major League Baseball as a special assistant to Commissioner Bud Selig and was itching to get back into baseball on a day-to-day basis, appearing at Diamondbacks games a few times the past few weeks. La Russa will report to Diamondbacks President Derrick Hall and oversee the entire baseball operations department. He will work with general manager Kevin Towers and manager Kirk Gibson in shaping the future of the Diamondbacks, who were 16-28 heading into Saturday nights game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. "It is going to take time, but I think having him here and helping us lead this department, it looks good for us," Hall said. "Any decisions that are going to be made personnel wise, hes going to have final say." La Russa won three World Series titles and six league championships and was a four-time manager of the year in 33 seasons before retiring in 2011. He will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in July and is third with 2,728 wins as a manager and second with 70 post-season wins. La Russa played parts of six seasons in the majors before starting a managerial career that began in 1979 with the Chicago White Sox and took him to Oakland and St. Louis, where he won World Series rings in 2006 and 2011. He also won a title with the As in 1989, joining Sparky Anderson as the only two managers to win World Series in both leagues. "I understand the levels of decision making," La Russa said. "And all Im saying here is that you include everybody in the process. But I think the advantage that we hope to have is that everybody on the competitive side is working from the same thought philosophy." Dwight Clark Womens Jersey . The Thunder earned the Game 1 win with a 100-86 victory Saturday night. Oklahoma City dominated the first half and led by 22 at the break, but saw its lead shrink to just two points in the fourth quarter. Jerry Rice Youth Jersey . Here is a look at all the moves through the first week of NHL Free Agency. The most significant deals will get the full Numbers Game column treatment, like these:Briere-for-Parenteau trade. http://www.thesf49ersshoponline.com/Youth-Mike-McGlinchey-49ers-Jersey/ . Vargas (8-3) allowed four singles and two walks while striking out five, allowing only two runners from a diluted Twins lineup to reach second base. Mike Moustakas and Jarrod Dyson hit RBI singles in the second inning against Kevin Correia (4-10), and that was all Vargas needed. Solomon Thomas Jersey . -- Terrelle Pryor took the opening snap of the game, put the ball in Darren McFaddens belly and saw LaMarr Woodley crash down. Jimmy Garoppolo Jersey .com) - The Chicago Blackhawks take aim at their longest winning streak of the season on Sunday when they host the Calgary Flames in a battle at the United Center.TORONTO -- For a young Toronto Raptors squad that had almost no playoff experience, Saturdays Game 1 had a little bit of everything -- from a faulty shot clock, to a GM hollering a profanity and a deliriously loud crowd dying for a post-season victory. It was a loss. But it was also a learning experience. Deron Williams and Joe Johnson had 24 points each to lift Brooklyn to a 94-87 win over the Raptors, making their first playoff appearance since 08. "I thought we played a little bit as expected as it is our first playoff game," Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. "But still as bad as we played, we put ourselves in position to win and thats the approach we have to take. The series is now at only one game, there is still a lot of basketball to be played." Kyle Lowry, whose locker had a sign overhead that read "Good luck dad," had 22 points for Toronto. Jonas Valanciunas had 17 points and 18 boards in his first post-season appearance. "Just keep playing," was Lowrys message to his teammates after the loss. Greivis Vasquez added 18 points while DeMar DeRozan finished with 14 on an afternoon punctuated by Raptors GM Masai Ujiris apology for dropping an F-bomb when addressing a crowd, and the shot clock that malfunctioned midway through the third quarter. The Raptors might be the Atlantic Division champs and No. 3 seed in the East but theyre considered underdogs in this series based on experience -- or lack thereof. The Nets starting five came in with a combined 417 post-season starts. Torontos starters: zero. But if they felt any pressure, Valanciunas and Lowry certainly didnt show it. The 21-year-old Valanciunas became the first Raptor since Tracy McGrady in 2000 to record a double-double in his playoff debut and also set a record for rebounds (Keon Clarks 16 boards versus Detroit in 2002 was the previous mark). "I tell you what, I thought Jonas played big-time, he really did," Casey said. "He grew up today, that was huge for us." Paul Pierce added 15 points for the Nets and was especially lethal down the stretch, scoring nine points in the final 2:58. Shaun Livingston had 10 points as Brooklyn had 17 points off 19 Toronto turnovers. The Raptors rallied from an early 12-point deficit to take a one-point lead early in the third, but it was short-lived as Brooklyn led 67-62 heading into the fourth quarter. A basket by Lowry, then a three-pointer by Vasquez gave Toronto a 76-75 lead with 5:13 to play, but Brooklyn responded with seven straight points -- capped with a Pierce three-pointer -- to take a six-point lead with three minutes remaining. Pierce raised his hands and gestured to the crowd after his long bomb. "It was just emotions flying high, playoffs, close game, taking some shots, making some shots," Pierce said. "I really feed off the emotions of the crowd, especially on the road . . . I think its more gratifying than winning at home, I love those moments." The Raptors pulled to within five points several times over the final couple of minutes but could come no closer, sending the series into Game 2 on Tuesday at the Air Canada Centre with the Nets leading 1-0. The series shifts to Brooklyn for Game 3 on Friday. Toronto forward Amir Johnson said turnovers proved costly for the Raptors. "Tough game. Our turnovers really hurt us," he said. "They really beat us in the third quarter. All around we played good basketball, there were just a lot of turnovers." Emotions ran high even before this series started, with talk the Nets tanked down the stretch -- losing four of their last five -- to purposely drop to sixth so theyd face the less-experienced Raptors. Ujiri took the stage before the afternoon game to address pumped-up fans at Maple Leaf Square. The moment seemed to get to him as he paired an F-bomb and Brooklyn on his way off the stage. "I apologize to kids out there and to the Brooklyn guys," Ujiri said at halftime. "Nothing against them. Just trying to get our fans going. Thats it." He offered over his shoulder as he walked away: "You know how I feel. I dont like them (the Nets), but I apologize.dddddddddddd" Casey wasnt offended by Ujiris remarks. "Thats Masai, thats why our team plays like that," Casey said. "Hes a fiery guy, and that should represent how we feel. I dont have any offence of it whatsoever." Adding to an already strange afternoon, the shot clock went black with 5:57 left in the third, and after a 10-minute delay, it was decided the game would be played without one. Announcer Herbie Kuhn counted down the clock from 10 seconds on every possession. "Its not that disruptive, it is what it is," Lowry said. "You cant make excuses." The soldout Air Canada Centre crowd of 19,800, that included hip-hop artist Drake, former Raptors star Alvin Williams and Toronto FC GM Tim Bezbatchenko, was a sea of white, thanks to a pre-game T-shirt giveaway. They waved white towels. They stood and hollered for much of the game, breaking into random chants of "K-G sucks!" in reference to Nets veteran Kevin Garnett. "It was unbelievable, the atmosphere of the crowd, the intensity, the noise," Lowry said. "I can tell you the Brooklyn Nets, they were like Speak up, I cant hear, its loud in here. So it definitely affected them a little bit." Anthem singer Michael Ciufo sang the first verse of O Canada, then held up the mic and let the crowd take over, making for a stirring start to the afternoon. Outside, Maple Leaf Square was jam-packed as red-clad Raptors fans watched the game on the huge screen outside -- an idea that started with the Toronto Maple Leafs brief playoff run last year. Saturdays front page of a Toronto newspaper referred to Pierce, whos 36, and Garnett (37) as "dinosaurs." Pierce said he didnt see the paper. But when asked if hed ever played a game without a shot clock, he replied to much laughter from the media: "I dont remember if Ive ever played without it since Im a dinosaur. Its been so long." A grinning Pierce tried to chuck his headband up into the crowd as he trotted off the court after the game. Twice, fans threw it back. A reporter noted that Toronto fans clearly didnt want it. "Yes they did," Pierce said laughing. "They knew they had the cameras on them, they wanted to have pride. The third (throw) was a charm." The Raptors shot 39 per cent on the night, while the Nets shot 42. Toronto outrebounded Brooklyn 45-37. DeRozan and Terrence Ross both had shaky afternoons for Toronto -- the Nets did a great job in shutting down DeRozan, and Ross seemed to get flustered after picking up a couple of early fouls. "Weve got to make adjustments to help (DeRozan)," Casey said. "This is the time you do step up and nobody wants to win more than DeMar DeRozan. "His heart is into it, hes got sweat equity into this team. Again everybody is going to have an off night. Their whole gameplan was to take him out and theyre a veteran team and they did." Toronto (48-34) and Brooklyn (44-38) split four meetings during the regular season, with each team winning once on the opponents court. The Raptors had only opened the playoffs at home in one other year, in 2007 -- incidentally also against the (then-New Jersey) Nets. Toronto, also Atlantic Division champions that year, lost in five games. Valanciunas scored the teams first eight points of the game, and Lowry poured in 11 first-quarter points, but otherwise Johnson -- with two points -- was the only other contributor on the offensive end in opening frame. The Nets galloped out on an 18-2 run capped by a three from Williams to go up by 12 points with three minutes left in the first, and took a 29-21 lead into the second. Vasquez, with 10 second-quarter points, led the Raptors in a 14-6 run to open the frame and Toronto pulled even eight minutes before halftime. The Nets took a 50-46 advantage into the dressing room at the half. The Raptors had a brief one-point lead early in the third thanks to a three-pointer by Ross, but couldnt maintain it. The Nets led by eight before Lowry drained a three-pointer at the buzzer, pumping his fist as it cut Brooklyns lead to 67-62. ' ' '