Amir Johnson. (Getty Images)Different season, same outcome for the Toronto Raptors.

Another playoff-less season wound to a close on Wednesday, completing the fifth consecutive year that the team did not qualify for the postseason. The result is a 34-48 record for the 2012-2013 season.

The Raptors finished their season by beating the Boston Celtics on an emotional night at the Air Canada Centre. They welcomed the heavy-hearted visitors on a night which was overshadowed by the bombings that took place on Monday during the Boston marathon.

The victory typified the Raptors season in many ways. After a slow start to the season (5-19), they looked like a bunch of new players on the same under-performing team. This was supposed to be a breakthrough year for the Raptors, a fresh start. They were supposed to make a serious push for the eighth seed in the East, and bring playoff basketball back to Toronto.

Instead, the defensive deficiencies that haunted the Raps last season got worse, something that head coach Dwayne Casey was brought here to fix. As for Casey, rumours are swirling that he might be on his way out. That could make Monday’s press conference, where he and general manager Bryan Colangelo are to address the media, all the more interesting.

Dave Nedohin shoots in his snazzy Norwegian pants at The Players' Championship. (Anil Mungal/Sportsnet)

It's last curling call for Dave Nedohin, at least for awhile.

As the four-time Brier champion gets ready to slip out of the curling stream in order to support his wife Heather's dreams of Olympic glory, he's having a ball at this week's Players' Championship, pulling on a pair of famed Norwegian pants as vice for skip Thomas Ulsrud.

“I told them that as long as the pants actually fit, I have no problem with them," he said with a laugh, as we sat rink side after his team's win 8-2 win over Saskatoon's Steve Laycock.

"If I didn’t want to wear those pants, I’d probably look like the prude Canadian out there. To me, it was a no-brainer. I wanted to feel part of the team."

Nedohin thought his season was over. His team had failed to qualify for the Alberta playdowns and he was home contemplating next year's curling inactivity when Ulsrud called him out of the blue about a month ago. The team's usual vice, Torger Nergard, decided to stay back home, as his wife was about to have a baby.

Mattamy Athletic Centre being prepped for curling. (Curling Zone/WCT)

Walking into the former Maple Leaf Gardens (now the Mattamy Athletic Centre) for the first time in more than 15 years, I didn't get a real sense of the ghosts of glories past right away.

Traipsing through the renovated lobby and up the escalators, past the gym and fitness centre, I could have been anywhere. It was once I arrived on the fourth floor and passed through the doors to the arena that I was really taken back in time.

There, above, was that great vaulted ceiling. That cathedral-like loft. A little brighter than it once was, a little whiter. But, still, there was no mistaking all that wonderful metalwork, all girders and rivets and trusses.

Tuesday night, at the opening of The Players' Championship, time and again my gaze left the shotmaking exploits of the world's best players below, to again drink in the memories that came back each and every time I spied that wonderful old ceiling.

The Sistine Chapel it ain't, but for anyone growing up in Ontario, that roof can conjure the

Brett Lawrie. (Getty Images)TORONTO – As far debuts go, it wasn’t much to write home about. But there’s no doubt the Toronto Blue Jays are a better team when infielder Brett Lawrie is in the lineup.

Lawrie made his return Tuesday in the Blue Jays’ 4-3 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Tuesdat. He went 0-for-3 with an RBI at the plate but was a steady, calming force at his usual third base position. One player alone isn’t going to right the Blue Jays’ early season wrongs, but Lawrie can make a difference on and off the field.

“I’m just happy to be back. I’m ready to go have some fun and contribute as much as I can,” Lawrie said. “We had a lot of energy before the season started. I’m just glad I can help the boys out and put a smile on everybody’s face.”

Lawrie flew from Tampa to Buffalo and had to drive to Toronto before the game. He was excitedly greeted by teammates in the clubhouse upon arrival. While he went hitless, his sac fly in the ninth inning off White Sox closer Addison Reed made it 4-3 and briefly gave hope to the 16,131 in attendance. In the fourth inning, he hit a hard liner that appeared destined for the outfield. But White Sox shortstop Alexi Ramirez made a great diving play to rob him of a hit that ended the inning.

Ashtone Morgan

The late game meltdowns just won’t stop, will they?

Leading the Philadelphia Union 1-0 at PPL Park on Saturday, Ashtone Morgan was sent off for his second yellow in the 88th minute, and Union’s Jack McInerney netted a dramatic stoppage-time equalizer as both sides settled for a draw.

This comes hot on the heels of Toronto’s last game against Dallas, when they had to score two goals in the last six minutes to salvage a point.

For a large part of the game TFC delivered a solid tactical performance, with everyone pressing and covering each other. Goalkeeper Joe Bendik was outstanding all game for Toronto, finishing with nine saves, including a game-saving stop on Antoine Hoppenot in the final minute. Were it not for Bendik, Philadelphia might have scored more.

The sending off of the 22-year-old Morgan, a TFC Academy graduate and Canadian international, was the most critical moment of the game, and ultimately hindered Toronto’s chances of picking up all three points. Manager Ryan Nelson

The immediate aftrmath of the Boston Marathon bombingEvery Wednesday evening and Sunday morning, we gather to run.

Its a varied group: people learning how to run again, others getting in shape for a 10k or a half-marathon, and some of us training for a full marathon. We gather in the back of the room, alongside those who have something of a hallowed status: the Boston group.

The Boston group is made up of runners who are training for the Boston Marathon, or those who have already run it, and even some for whom the race is old hat, an annual tradition. We look upon them with a certain awe; we can only dream of being fast enough to qualify for Boston.

Each time the Boston Marathon comes around, a select few elevate to join the ranks of the veterans. I spent Monday morning with one eye on a spreadsheet, and one eye on the Boston Marathon tracker, as eight of my running partners and coaches conquered the streets of Massachusetts. I followed them throughout the day, and one by one, it seemed a coronation was in order. Some flew through the finish line, others struggled near the end, but one by one, they completed the grand-daddy of marathons, some for the first time.

In the end, only one of the group didn't finish; she was held up less than 2 km from the finish line after the bombings struck the finish line in one of the most unfathomable acts of terrorism one could even imagine. Now, they're all left, not to celebrate, but to mourn, and we mourn with them. When they return for our weekly Wednesday session, once the hugs and "glad you're OK"'s have been handed out, what then?

Emilio Bonifacio (Getty Images)Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter wasn’t referring to reigning National League Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey or all-star shortstop Jose Reyes when he called one of the Toronto Blue Jays off season acquisitions ‘a gem.’

Nope, it wasn’t Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle or Melky Cabrera either.

“It doesn’t matter where he plays, he can impact a game defensively in about four spots,” the O’s manager told the Globe and Mail in March.

Showalter was referencing utility man Emilio Bonifacio.

Unfortunately for the 27-year-old there haven’t been many compliments thrown his way since as he’s been one of a handful of Blue Jays who've gotten off to a slow start this season.

Brought to the organization as a part of 12-player trade with the Miami Marlins in November it was expected that Bonifacio would split the second base job with Maicer Izturis, another off-season acquisition.

But when Brett Lawrie suffered a rib injury in a tune-up game for the World Baseball Classic in March, the team was forced

This has been a familiar scene with the Blue Jays. (Getty Images)It’s early.

That’s been the refrain from Toronto Blue Jays players, coaches, fans and media as the team has struggled to a 3-6 start heading into Kansas City this weekend. While some panicky fans have already jumped ship – or have at least put on life jackets - others are pleading for patience. There has been nothing to cheer about in Toronto.

While it is early – there are a mere 153 games remaining ahead of Friday’s game with the Royals – there are some troubling signs for the team many folks in the baseball world were picking to win the American League East a couple of weeks ago. The Blue Jays have been all around lousy, struggling with hitting, pitching, and defence. The Blue Jays have yet to win two games in a row. Some of the losses have been downright ugly - a 13-0 loss to the Boston Red Sox, and Thursday’s 11-1 loss to the Detroit Tigers stand out.

The revamped starting pitching staff has been particularly bad, and is the first thing that needs to be fixed if the Jays are to dig out of their current funk. Toronto spent lots of money and leveraged a lot of prospects to acquire R.A. Dickey, Mark Buerhle and Josh Johnson during the offseason. The Blue Jays were supposed to have one of the best starting rotations in baseball, but through nine games it is the worst.

The sample size is still small, but the Blue Jays’ starters have a combined ERA of 7.59. They have pitched only three quality starts. No starter has pitched into the seventh inning. The new trio of former All-Stars have ERAs of 8.44 (Dickey), 10.24 (Buerhle), and 11.05 (Johnson). J.A. Happ, who grabbed the fifth spot from Ricky Romero, is the only starter with a victory. Opposing hitters are batting .300 against Toronto pitching.