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ATLANTA -- The Big Easy, Naptown or the Twin Cities. Thats the choice facing NFL owners when they vote Tuesday on the site of the 2018 Super Bowl, choosing among New Orleans, Indianapolis and Minneapolis. Each city has hosted the big game, albeit just once for Indy and Minny. New Orleans has staged 10 Super Bowls, tied with South Florida for the most. Most recently, the 2013 game was delayed 38 minutes by a blackout at the Superdome. Despite that power problem, New Orleans is considered a favourite to be chosen by the 32 owners as the city celebrates its 300th year. A three-quarters majority is required for passage. Saints owner Tom Benson recently had minor knee surgery, but the 86-year-old Benson is expected to attend the meetings. Colts owner Jim Irsay is taking part in league business for the first time since his arrest for having $29,000 in cash and bottles of prescription drugs in his car. Irsay has been undergoing treatment and the owners meetings is Irsays first public appearance since the arrest. "Its just good to be back and good to be able to put an effort into regaining the Super Bowl," Irsay said. "I really feel we did such an incredible job the first time." Irsay declined to comment on whether he would address the other owners about his personal situation. Only the Vikings will present a brand new stadium in their bid, a $1 billion indoor facility scheduled to open in 2016. "Were going to celebrate winter. And we should, because we do it well -- better than anyone," said Richard Davis, co-chair of the Minneapolis bid committee. "Were going to talk to the owners about how its about time that the NFL brought Americas game around the country, like a caravan, and started taking it out from the Southern states and bring it around to the rest of the world. We should be the first." Actually, the game was held in New Jersey this year -- the first outdoor Super Bowl in a cold-weather site. Indianapolis was highly praised for its Super Bowl in 2012, when the Giants beat the Patriots. The city has a history of staging big events and will host the Final Four next spring at Lucas Oil Stadium. The NFL always has favoured bringing its title game to New Orleans, and the appeal of warmer weather in Louisiana than in the other bidding cities could be a factor. Next years game is in Arizona, and the 50th Super Bowl will be in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 2017 game is set for Houston. Also on the agenda, although no vote is certain, will be expanding the playoffs from 12 teams to 14. That proposal was discussed at the league meetings in Orlando in March. Commissioner Roger Goodell has said its still possible such a change could happen this year if it is voted on and passed in Atlanta. More likely, 2015 would be the target date for expanded playoffs. "Were being very deliberate about it," Goodell said. "We want to make sure we do it in the right way." Goodell also has been championing improved workplace environments in the wake of the Miami Dolphins bullying scandal. Owners will talk about that issue on Tuesday. "You never want to see any story that reflects on that we dont have the right workplace environment," Goodell said. "Weve redoubled our efforts to make sure we provide the right environment ... for everybody in the NFL." Vans Old Skool Shoes Australia .com) - Nicklas Backstrom scored a pair of goals and Alex Ovechkin notched a highlight-reel tally, leading the Washington Capitals to a 4-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday at the Prudential Center. Vans Old Skool Australia Online . The 2010 batting champ showed what he can do when hes mostly healthy. Gonzalez homered, doubled and singled in his return to the lineup, and the Colorado Rockies snapped a five-game losing streak with a 13-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night. http://www.wholesaleoldskoolaustralia.com/ . During the furious first few hours of free agency Tuesday, the team agreed to terms with strong safety Donte Whitner, a Cleveland native who cant wait to play in his hometown. Vans Old Skool Shoes Sale .ca. Kerry, In Mondays Habs/Bruins game, there were three questionable/brutal calls against the Habs late in the game - Tomas Plekanec, then Douglas Murray, then Brendan Gallagher. Wholesale Old Skool Australia . Which is to say, the top of this years draft class is not as dynamic or exciting as the 2013 class of Nate MacKinnon, Sasha Barkov, Jonathan Drouin and Seth Jones and its not as strikingly promising as the highly-anticipated 2015 slate of Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel and Noah Hanifin.TORONTO - On the eve of the All-Star starters announcement, just before the leagues coaches begin to fill out their ballots for the reserves, DeMar DeRozan made his case a little bit more compelling. A career performance, just when his team needed it most, may be enough to sway a vote or two and send the Raptors fifth-year guard to New Orleans. "Oh man, hes definitely been playing well, All-Star level," said Amir Johnson, shortly after watching his teammate go off for a career-high 40 points in the Raptors come-from-behind win, 93-85 over the Mavericks on Wednesday. "Hes a big reason why weve been so successful." Coming into the game, the Raptors had dropped three of four, all to losing teams missing their best player. The 25-win Mavericks were a different animal, though they too were without leading scorer Dirk Nowitzki, and after 12 minutes this had disaster written all over it. "I thought it was going to be a blow out," Dwane Casey admitted, his team down by 19 going into the second quarter, trailing by as many as 21 in the first. DeRozan kept his team afloat in the first half. He scored 12 of their 15 first-quarter points, accounting for four of their five field goals. He was playing well, having the sort of outing that winds up forcing its way into the bottom of a somber game story, a footnote at the end of another horrific defeat. Then he took his game, and most importantly his team, to another level, a ridiculous level. "He got in the flow of the game," Casey said of DeRozan, who scored 15 points in the third quarter, then another nine in the fourth, missing just two shots in the second half. "He was running the pick-and-roll, they started blitzing him, he did a good job of finding [his teammates] and then the ball found him back and that was good. It was a growth on his part from being double teamed but being patient enough to get the ball back and be able to score." The Raptors guard was remarkable coming out of the break, knocking down off balance jumpers, getting to the rim at will but most importantly, he was efficient and he got to the free throw line. DeRozan needed just 22 shots to become the seventh player in franchise history to record 40 points, connecting on nine of 14 attempts from the stripe and knocking down his only three-pointer. He matched his previous career-high - 37, set three times - with a nifty spin and reverse layup, solidifying a new personal best on the subsequent free throw with 3:38 remaining. For him, the accomplishment was gravy. Despite his recent fourth-quarter struggles, DeRozan came through for his team in the clutch. That three-point play broke the tie and gave the Raptors a lead they would go on to hold for the duration of the night. "This loss would have hurt," DeRozan said. "We didnt want to lose three in a row. I just told myself, just try to do as much as I can to win, try to pull this one off and keep my team in it." DeRozan was saddled with more of the offensive burden on Wednesday, as fellow All-Star candidate Kyle Lowry battled a stomach flu that had the Raptors point guard running to the locker room, back and forth throughout the evening. Lowry scored just three points, misfirinng on all 10 of his field goal attempts in 35 hard-fought minutes.dddddddddddd "Once I [saw] Kyle go back [to the locker room] and he came back, he had his head down and holding his stomach, I could tell he wasnt feeling too well," DeRozan said. "He didnt stop playing," Casey said, crediting Lowry. "He dove on the floor, got his hands on loose balls, he affected the game without scoring." Casey continues to contact his fellow coaches, campaigning for both guards to get the nod and represent the Raptors as reserves in next months All-Star game, set to take place in New Orleans on Feb. 16. The starters for both East and West teams will be announced live on TNT on Thursday and the reserves, to be voted in by the coaches, will be revealed a week later, also on TNT. With representatives from Miami and Indiana expected to monopolize the Eastern Conference roster, its unlikely Toronto will have more than one All-Star. Of the two, DeRozans bid has been gaining some traction, according to league sources. Entering Wednesdays games, DeRozan ranked 12th in the NBA in scoring, fifth in the East and has tallied 20 or more points in nine of 12 contests during the month of January. Returning to Toronto for the second time since last seasons trade, Jose Calderon - beloved Raptors alum - was genuinely proud of Lowry and long-time teammate DeRozan. "Theyre just playing better, they just have that confidence and theyre playing at a very high level every game," Calderon said of the Raptors backcourt duo prior to Wednesdays game. "I really enjoy watching them and its great. Hopefully they get that call and they can be in New Orleans. Its always great to see your [former] teammates being successful and Im really happy for them." Like his first return, as a member of the Pistons last year, Calderon was greeted by a standing ovation during pre-game introductions at the Air Canada Centre. Another former Raptor, Vince Carter, received a mixed reception, which was verging on positive for the first time since his messy divorce with the franchise nearly nine years ago. Thanks to another admirable performance from the Raptors bench, who helped turn things around in the second quarter, and some late-game heroics from the slumping Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas, DeRozans career night was not wasted. Greivis Vasquez scored a season-high 17 to go along with seven assists, also picking up the slack for the flu-ridden Lowry. Meanwhile, Casey entrusted both Johnson and Valanciunas with crucial fourth-quarter playing time despite subpar starts, the frontcourt duo combining for 10 points in that final period. The Raptors 21-point comeback victory was their largest of the year, besting last months win in Dallas, where they overcame a 19-point deficit. Toronto sweeps the season series with the Mavs for the second time in franchise history and first since 1996-97, wrapping up the first half of the campaign with a winning record. "Were ahead of schedule," Casey said, assessing his teams progress 41 games in. "Were winning some games in our building and were happy with that." "But were still not a finished product. [We] have a lot of work to do." ' ' '