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BURNABY, B.C. - Like virtually every bulky seven-foot basketball player, Jonas Valanciunas isnt the most nimble of runners.He dips his head and furiously pumps his arms, a lumbering style that is one of his biggest weaknesses.So the Toronto Raptors decided to send their young centre to a place where they know a thing or two about running a€” Eugene, Ore., to work with renowned strength and conditioning coach Jim Radcliffe.Speed is the priority, Valanciunas said Thursday. When youre able to come back to contest a shot. . . Its going to help a lot. The 22-year-old Lithuanian went twice this past summer to Oregon a€” a hotbed for U.S. track and field for decades a€” to train with Radcliffe.The 56-year-old, whose lean physique could belong to a man three decades younger, is in his 29th year as strength and conditioning coach for the Oregon Ducks. Hes considered one of the foremost experts on sprint training in the U.S. and works with all of the Ducks teams to improve things like strength, speed, agility, and explosiveness.High knees, form, technique, how to run, how to use less energy, Valanciunas said of his training sessions. How to turn with less steps, he adds, and does an impromptu demonstration of a turn. It almost looks nimble.Among his innovative methods, Radcliffe studied Valanciunass foot strike by having him run barefoot on pieces of paper. The paper shooting out backwards translates to too much back kick and not enough driving of the knees; shooting forwards means over-reaching. Raptors coach Dwane Casey, who spent a couple days observing Radcliffes methods, said Valanciunas remains a work in progress, and wont be lacing on the track spikes any time soon.Hes running better, hes getting there, I dont think he looks like Usain Bolt yet, but hes doing better, Casey said. I think more than anything else hes more conscious of it now, hes lighter on his feet. . . more efficient.A lot of times you can expend so much energy by using too much of your arms and kind of flailing all over the place, and not going anywhere. . . so that was one of the main things, run lighter, more efficient, keep your arms tighter to the body, head more erect than (bent) over.Altering his running style hasnt been easy, and Valanciunas said he still catches himself reverting to old habits.Its not going to change it over the summer, he said. Ive got to do that years and years.Jeff Weltman, the Raptors vice-president of operations, was largely responsible for sending Valanciunas to Oregon, and said the team is always up for new training techniques.The way (Radcliffe) was talking, saying The way I want to introduce his feet to the floor and all this, its new lingo for us, Weltman said. Thats part of summers, keeping it fresh and making sure its not the same thing over and over, getting introduced to new ideas and bringing them back here.Weltman said he could see a difference in Valanciunas at the FIBA World Cup, where he led the tournament in field goal percentage and was a standout for Lithuania.I think his balance is better, I think hes running better and his conditioning, Weltman said. He sees the way that he needs to train in a different light now. Three days into training camp at Fortius Sport & Health in Burnaby, his teammates have noticed improvement in Valanciunas, and not simply in his running.Hes grown a lot as a man, and with him playing for his country this past summer, he did extremely well and I think thats going to carry over to our team, and hes been showing it in these practices, said DeMar DeRozan, who helped the United States to World Cup gold.(DeRozan laughingly admitted to trash-talking Valanciunas when the U.S. played Lithuania in Spain. It was all fun and games, he said.)Chuck Hayes, who guards Valanciunas in practice, said hes more aggressive than last season.Hes always working on the offensive glass, which is what you need, and hes demanding the ball a lot, Hayes said. We dont always give it to him in practice; in practice Im guarding him all the time and hes always demanding the ball. Over the course of the season thats going to come into big play for us.Asked if hes seen a speedier Valanciunas, Hayes laughed and said Its getting there. When he runs, he kind of dips his head when he gets going. But hes moving, hes moving.The Raptors will train at Fortius, the training headquarters of Canadas womens soccer team among other teams, through Saturday. Theyll host the Sacramento Kings in their pre-season opener at Rogers Arena on Sunday. John Riggins Youth Jersey . -- Washington Redskins linebacker Brian Orakpo is going to the Pro Bowl as a replacement for San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks. Sonny Jurgensen Jersey . Halak, 28, split his eighth NHL seasons between the St. Louis Blues, Buffalo Sabres and Washington Capitals, compiling a 29-13-7 record in 52 games. https://www.redskinssportsgoods.com/Wome...nverted-Jersey/. The Brewers finalized a US$36 million, three-year contract with free agent third baseman Aramis Ramirez on Wednesday, adding a much-needed bat to their lineup. John Riggins Redskins Jersey . While coach Doc Rivers high-fived fans and pumped his fist at the crowd, Blake Griffin and Chris Paul quietly congratulated each other. Joe Theismann Jersey .J. -- The New York Jets have promoted Tony Sparano Jr.DETROIT -- David Ortiz hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning, and the Boston Red Sox rallied for a 5-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Sunday, snapping their five-game losing streak. The Red Sox left men on base all night long, including when Ortiz was retired on a deep flyball to centre in the seventh. But there was no doubt about his homer off Joba Chamberlain (1-3), which carried about halfway up the section of seats beyond the wall in right. Chamberlain was trying to protect a one-run lead instead of struggling closer Joe Nathan, who had pitched the previous two nights. John Lackey (7-4) pitched eight sharp innings for Boston, and Koji Uehara tossed a perfect ninth for his 12th save in 12 chances. Detroits Miguel Cabrera left in the sixth with left hamstring tightness. Brock Holt had four hits for Boston, including a leadoff single in the ninth with the Red Sox down 3-2. After a one-out walk by Dustin Pedroia, Ortiz connected for his 14th homer of the season. Lackey allowed two earned runs and seven hits, and it looked as if he would have to settle for a complete-game loss for the second consecutive game before Ortiz put the Red Sox ahead. Mike Napoli also homered for Boston in his first game back from a finger injury. Bostons previous seven series all ended in sweeps, with the Red Sox on the losing end of four. They avoided that fate Sunday despite leaving 10 men on base. With the score tied at 2 in the seventh, Holt hit a one-out triple, but with the infield in, Xander Bogaerts hit a grounder to third and Nicck Castellanos made a diving stop for the second out.dddddddddddd After a walk to Pedroia, the AL Central-leading Tigers brought in Coke, perhaps the most maligned member of Detroits beleaguered bullpen. With the count full, Ortiz hit a drive to centre that Austin Jackson tracked down about 400 feet from the plate. Ortiz is now 2 for 19 against Coke -- but he would get another chance later against Chamberlain. Detroit took the lead with an unearned run in the seventh. After Castellanos led off with a single, Jackson hit a slow roller that Bogaerts mishandled at third for an error. One out later, Eugenio Suarez singled sharply to left to put the Tigers ahead. Detroit starter Anibal Sanchez allowed two runs and six hits in six innings. He struck out seven and walked two. The Red Sox had men on first and third with one out in the fourth before Sanchez struck out Stephen Drew and Jackie Bradley Jr. Pedroia opened the scoring in the third with a sacrifice fly, but Suarez tied it in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single. Cabrera doubled in the fourth and scored on Victor Martinezs single. Napolis sixth homer tied it in the sixth. NOTES: Detroit C Alex Avila struck out three times in his first game back since he was hit in the head Friday by the follow-through of Ortizs swing. ... The Tigers play at the Chicago White Sox on Monday night. Detroit RHP Rick Porcello (8-3) faces RHP Hector Noesi (1-3). ... Boston plays at Baltimore, with Red Sox RHP Jake Peavy (1-3) taking the mound against RHP Bud Norris (4-5). ' ' '