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As a deadlock in CFL labour negotiations stretched through this past week and so much rhetoric and brinkmanship made a work stoppage seem unavoidable, it was surprising when sources confirmed to TSN that progress in talks between the CFL and the Players Associations were moving quickly Friday and into Saturday. Neither side would publicly confirm or deny any discussions were taking place, until the near unexpected happened. On Saturday night sources confirmed to TSN, the league and players agreed to terms on a new, tentative CBA, pending ratification by the unions players. A league source confirmed the CFLs board of governors must also ratify any potential agreement. Neither side would confirm specific details of the tentative deal, but sources confirmed constructive movement toward a deal started Friday. After TSN Insider Dave Naylor confirmed earlier in the week that players on seven of the leagues nine teams had voted in favour of strike action, and with strike votes set to take place in Calgary and Edmonton Saturday, sources told TSN “back door” discussions through an appointed mediator began Friday morning. Ideas and proposals were passed back and forth without acrimony and without talks breaking down. By Friday night, during a Players Association conference call, a tentative deal began to take shape. The league would hold firm on a $5 million salary cap (2013s salary cap was set at $4.4 million) increasing $50,000 a season, and would not budge on its threshold to renegotiate the salary cap in the third year of a new CBA, set at an aggregate revenue increase of $27 million from the previous year. But the ratification bonus to players would increase to $7,500 for veterans and $1,500 for rookies. And with the union possibly controlling the disbursement of the bonus, and setting a scale for veterans, a six-year CFL veteran could potentially earn $12,000 if the CBA is ratified. The league minimum salary would also rise to $50,000, from $45,000 in 2013. A significant non-financial element also possibly included was the elimination of the option contract year for non-rookies. Sources said the term of the new CBA could be set at either four years, five years or five years plus an option to extend into a sixth season. The current CBA expired May 29, the same day talks broke down after the union countered a league proposal, which included a $5 million cap and $27 million threshold, with a $5.8 million cap and $12 million threshold to renegotiate the cap. The league also rejected another offer from the players earlier this week, which included $5.2 million cap and $18 million threshold. New, positive labour discussions continued into Saturday afternoon before a scheduled conference call between union executives and team representatives. A source close to the discussions said he felt “confident” a tentative deal would be reached by the end of the day, although conceded the debate amongst the players would be “vigorous.” After a four-hour call, the union agreed to take the deal to its players. A league source confirmed the board of governors ratification vote will take place “as soon as possible.” In a joint statement the league and Players Association emphasized: “Further details [about the agreement] will not be made public until these votes have taken place.” Cheap Minnesota Vikings Gear .com) - Rakeem Christmas scored 21 points, B. Discount Minnesota Vikings Jerseys . Speaking on Leafs Lunch with Bryan Hayes and Jamie McLennan on Thursday, Bernier said it was "very hard" at times being entrenched behind Jonathan Quick and is now excited at the prospect of getting an opportunity to compete with Reimer for the top spot with the Leafs. http://www.cheapvikings.com/.com) - The Minnesota Twins made it official on Wednesday, announcing the signing of outfielder Torii Hunter to a one-year contract. Stitched Minnesota Vikings Jerseys . PAUL, Minn. Custom Vikings Jerseys .Voegele will next play Anna Schmiedlova of Slovakia, who saved 10 of 16 break points to defeat Annika Beck of Germany 7-6 (6), 6-4.Also, Marina Erakovic of New Zealand defeated eighth-seeded Caroline Garcia of France 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.CLEVELAND - As the old saying goes, if you play with fire, youre going to get burned. Dwane Casey, who has used the phrase as a cautionary tale after lethargic starts of the recent past, came just short of saying I told you so Tuesday evening. His team had been getting away with it, far more often than any team should. Yes, theyre a resilient bunch and that was the case again in Cleveland as they clawed back from a 21-point deficit - even taking a brief fourth-quarter lead - but its been masking the underlying issue. Theyre an open-faced sandwich, missing the top bun. "You cant play in this league that way and expect to come back each and every night," Casey said after Torontos 102-100 loss to the Cavaliers. "Its bit us more than weve won, it feels like." "Until we fix that, among us, among ourselves, then its going to be an uphill battle every night." For the second time in three days, the Raptors trailed by nine after the first quarter, allowing another team with a losing record, also missing their best player, to shoot above 52 per cent to open the game. The start was eerily similar to Sundays, at home to Atlanta, lacking effort, focus and purpose on both ends of the floor. Even without injured point guard Kyrie Irving, Cleveland killed the visiting Raptors with speed and precision, exposing a reoccurring hole in their interior defence by darting into the paint at will. The comeback was inevitable. Its what they do. Down by 21 early in the third, Toronto staged a 21-9 run to close out the quarter. Kyle Lowry - running back and forth from the locker room all night, battling an upset stomach - scored half of his team-high 22 points in the frame. Greivis Vasquez would give the Raptors their first lead since the opening minutes, draining a three-pointer midway through the fourth before reality set in. "I think everybodys energy was low from having to come back," Lowry said. From that moment on they hit just one of their final 10 shots and on the last possession, down only two, they failed to even get one off. It was a play they had just run with success. Amir Johnson was looking for Lowry to turn the corner, but he was cut off. Instead, Vasquez took the handoff and, trying to spin right, towards the bucket, he lost his footing. "It was me going to my weak hand and I lost my balance, stepped kind of weird," said Vasquez, who scored 16 points of Torontos bench. "I turned the ball over. Ill take responsibility. Im not going to run away. Im a man." A noble gesture but, as Casey pointed out, its not the reason for the loss. "Thats not the game-decider," the Raptors coach said. "The game was decided the way we approached the first quarter." "Its easy to get up for OKC, its easy to get up for Miami, its easy to get up for Indiana but the teams that are not in the playoff picture, they are playing for something, too," he continued.dddddddddddd "Theyre playing for pride, which is probably a little bit more dangerous than guys trying to save minutes and save themselves for the playoffs." Theres a lesson to be learned from this loss and it shouldnt take long to figure out whether or not its been absorbed. The Raptors - now the Easts fourth seed, leapfrogged by the Bulls with Tuesdays defeat - will travel to Boston in the second night of a back-to-back and first game of a home-and-home set with the Celtics, another scrappy team looking to play spoiler. "Weve got to get the mindset of being the hunter instead of the hunted because," Casey added. "Thats how we got where we are, being a desperate team, a hungry team and not believing the press clippings or where we are in the standings." Birthday blues Although Lowry would have preferred to celebrate his 28th birthday with a win, the Raptors point guard recorded his 18th double-double with 10 assists to go along with his 22 points. Lowry extended his career-high streak of 19 or more points to 10 games and also became the first Raptor to score 20-plus in eight straight since Chris Bosh did so in 2010. Amir passes VC on blocks list With his third-quarter swat on Spencer Hawes, Johnson recorded his 416th block as a member of the Raptors, passing Vince Carter for second on the teams all-time block shots list. Johnson, who had 12 points and nine rebounds on Tuesday, still has a ways to go to catch Bosh, topping the franchise list with 600 blocks. Patterson nearing a return Patrick Patterson, who has missed 10 straight games with an ulnar collateral sprain in his right elbow, was reassessed on Monday and is headlong well, the team revealed before Tuesdays game in Cleveland. Although hes been cleared for contact, theres still no timetable for his return to game action. "Its a lot up to the medical staff and when they feel he can go," Casey said. "Its one of those things where if he gets hit in the wrong way it could be trouble for a lot longer so thats why they want to make sure its well enough." The stat The Raptors fell just short of matching their largest comeback of the season. They last overcame a 21-point deficit in their home win over Dallas on Jan. 22. Toronto hasnt had multiple wins in which theyve trailed by 20 or more points in the same season since 2004-05. The quote "Weve just got to understand what were playing for," Vasquez said. "Weve got a big one tomorrow [in Boston]. Its a must-win because were actually playing for something. If you dont get up for that youve got to get your gas up. Weve just got to be motivated, man. This is crunch time. This is important for us. Tomorrows a must-win, no matter what. No excuses." 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