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TORONTO - Toronto FC coach Greg Vanney says hes been told he will be back for the 2015 season and will be looking for players with the right commitment to join him.Vanney believes that Toronto (11-14-7) has a good core to build around, despite a disappointing 2014 season that seems destined to end prior to the playoffs for the eighth year in a row.What I think is important is that we have players that are here that want to be here, dont want to be anywhere else but here and not for just one year but for a minimum of a few years, Vanney said after training Tuesday.Because in this league to win, you have to have a core group of players whos very committed, who buy into the philosophy, who are willing to stand and live up to expectation on every single day.Star midfielder Michael Bradley provided his view on next seasons necessary mix on Saturday night after a 3-1 loss to the New York Red Bulls that all but ended TFCs slim playoff hopes.Its important that the right balance is found between keeping a good part of the group together and making sure that the guys who have the right mentality, who have the right commitment, who really bring something every day in a footballing sense — that those guys are here and given every chance to continue to grow together and improve, said the intense U.S. international.Vanney did not name names.Im not going to go through the locker-room for each guy and say who I think is or isnt (committed), said Vanney. But I think we need to get guys who (want to be) here. I think we have a very good core group of guys that believe in this project and want this club to be successful and are ready to work every single day we ask them to work.We need to add some pieces, for sure. The way the team played prior (to Vanney) is not the same way that I would approach playing the game, so what I would say is that we have to evolve and adapt in a few pieces in terms of personnel and things that we need to be better and what I think is better for the league and for the style of play that we want to get to. But the most important thing is having a group thats committed for the long run here.English striker Jermain Defoe has been the player with the biggest question-mark over his head this season, with Toronto turning down a club-record transfer bid at the end of the summer transfer window, amidst speculation he wants out of the club.Defoe denied that upon his return to Canada from rehabbing a groin injury in England, but said he couldnt predict the future. His fellow players have been said the 31-year-old English forward has been a good teammate.With the playoffs all but gone, Toronto FC is back in its familiar end-of-season position — trying to end the campaign with a little dignity.With two games remaining, Toronto stands in sixth place in the East, six points behind the Columbus Crew (12-10-10), who hold down the last playoff position.Toronto needs to win at home to Montreal and away to New England and hope Columbus loses in New York and at home to Philadelphia.Mathematically were not entirely out of it, said Vanney, who is 2-5-1 since succeeding the fired Ryan Nelsen at the end of August. Plus were professionals. Plus we are playing at home in front of our fans and they deserve a performance, I think, and a committed team.Sportsclubstats.com, which tracks playoff races, has Torontos chances of making the MLS post-season at 1.0 per cent.Toronto will have to muster its last-ditch challenge Saturday against the Impact without Bradley and centre back Nick Hagglund, both of whom are suspended. Hagglund also limped out of practice early Tuesday after slipping.Captain Steven Caldwell, the clubs defensive lynch pin, acknowledged more was needed.I think overall weve let ourselves down, he said. As a group of players and as a football club, we should have been in a better position than were in so we all have to look individually, honestly at ourselves in the mirror and ask what we could have done better.Personally and as a team, we feel that we left a lot of games out there.Rubbing salt in the wound is the fact that Toronto dominated the team it has been chasing for the last playoff place. Columbus lost all three matches against Toronto this season: 2-0, 3-2 and 3-2.Toronto has 40 points, a franchise record that speaks volumes about the sad-sack history of the franchise. It has also set a club record for single-season wins with 11, surpassing the 10 from 2009 (10-11-9, 39 points).Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter Wholesale Twins Jerseys . Hernandez (3-0) struck out 11 and shut down Oakland for the second time in a week, becoming the first Mariners pitcher to win three times in the first nine games of a season. With the usual "Kings Court" for Hernandez home starts expanded to a "Supreme Court" encompassing the entire stadium with yellow shirts and "K" cards, Hernandez gave up four hits in the 28th double-digit strikeout game of his career. Fernando Romero Twins Jersey . Correia pitched six innings of one-run ball, Eduardo Escobar homered, and the Minnesota Twins pulled away late to beat the Colorado Rockies 9-3 on Saturday. https://www.cheaptwins.com/2092t-devin-s...rsey-twins.html. Not sure yet. #livetweetingthegreatuntangle — Strombone (@strombone1) April 17, 2014 Stage three, coping: I feel like I could use a cigarette or something. Zack Littell Jersey .com) - Houston Texans interim head coach Wade Phillips confirmed Monday that starting quarterback Case Keenum sustained a sprained right thumb during Sundays 25-3 loss in Indianapolis. Terry Steinbach Jersey .Y. - Joe Johnson hit six 3-pointers in his 27 points, Mason Plumlee added 18 points, and the Brooklyn Nets won their 11th straight at home, beating the Boston Celtics 114-98 Friday night.MIAMI - With self-preservation topping the Raptors list of late-season priorities, the player they can least afford to lose left American Airlines Arena on a cart. Walking with a noticeable limp, Kyle Lowry boarded the team bus following a 93-83 loss to the two-time defending champion Miami Heat. The result of the game was of little importance. Now it was secondary, as the status of Lowry - and with him, Torontos remarkable season - hung in the balance. "Well just have to wait and see how he is tomorrow," head coach Dwane Casey said after Lowry was pulled from Mondays loss with a sore left knee. Lowry sustained the injury with roughly three minutes remaining in the first half, colliding knee-on-knee with LeBron James, just about the last person on the planet youd want to plow into at high speed. Naturally, the Raptors point guard was slow to collect his bearings, but true to character, he got back up and remained in the game until, eventually, his body betrayed him. "We pulled him out," Casey said. "He couldnt go." Lowry finished the half and started and played most of the third quarter before leaving for the locker room and calling it a night, whether he liked it or not. The knee had swelled and he could barely walk. "We substituted him for Greivis (Vasquez) at that time," Casey continued, "and hes limping, limping, limping. [The medical staff] looked at him and decided he couldnt go back in." X-rays were negative, per Casey, but the status of Torontos most indispensable plater remains up in the air. Its not the first time Lowry has given his team a scare. Most recently, he was pulled in the first half of Fridays win over the Boston Celtics after turning his ankle, but he would re-enter and finish the game. Its inevitable given the way in which he plays. "He does this all the time, so hell be fine," said teammate Terrence Ross. "Kyle, hes a tough guy. He always comes through. No matter what, hes going to find a way to get back on the court." "With Kyle, no matter what his injury is, no matter what type of feeling hes having or what his body is telling him he cant do, his mind and his heart pushes through," echoed Patrick Patterson, who returned from a 13-game absence of his own. "So no matter what the circumstances are with him, unless its something real serious - knock on wood - then hell play. Thats the type of mentality he has. Thats the type of mentality he brings to the team and it rubs off on all of us." Could the Raptors shut Lowry down? Depending on how his knee reacts tto a night of swelling and a flight back home, they may not have a choice, at least for a game or two.dddddddddddd Again, theyll have to balance the importance of self-preservation and finishing out the season strong. Theres still work to be done with seeding in the Eastern Conference playoff hierarchy at stake. "His body will tell us, he will tell us [and] the medical people will tell us if he can go," said Casey, his team now sharing the third seed with Chicago. "Were not in the position to totally just shut him down. I think weve got to be smart with it. Well see where it is." LeBron carries undermanned Heat Without one-third of Miamis Big Three, as Dwyane Wade sat out resting a sore hamstring, James put the Heat on his shoulders. The reigning MVP began the second quarter sitting on Miamis bench, because even the leagues most physically intimidating specimen needs a breather every now and then. As James sat, Toronto quickly turned a one-point deficit into an eight-point lead. Overall, the Raptors outscored Miami by 12 points in the nine minutes that James spent on the bench Monday evening. However, the leagues best player dominated when he was on the floor, spearheading a 22-9 run to end the first half and putting the game away late in the fourth. Patterson returns Patterson played eight minutes in his return from an elbow sprain that kept him out of Torontos previous 13 contests. Sporting a protective brace on his right elbow, the Raptors forward was understandably rusty but made an impact with his energy and versatility off the bench, something Toronto had missed in his absence. Casey had planned to limit Pattersons minutes in his first game back and could continue to do so until he finds his rhythm. "Its just all about getting used to the brace," said Patterson, who scored his lone field goal on a put-back in the first quarter. "I thought I was a tad bit slow out there, just getting used to the brace as far as my jump shot goes." "Its going to take a little bit more time to get used to, but hopefully in these next three or four games Ill be back to top shape." The stat The Raptors set a new season-low, making just five free throws against the Heat. James, alone, got to the line (11 times) more than Toronto (10). The quote "First of all, we really didnt have the legs like that coming from a tough game last night," said DeMar DeRozan, who scored 16 points after tallying 28 in Sundays win over Orlando. "We got to stop letting teams get easy points in the paint. Thats what is hurting us." ' ' '