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TORONTO - Its been almost a full year since Raptors forward Landry Fields underwent surgery to correct a debilitating and somewhat enigmatic injury to his right elbow; an injury that nearly turned him against the game that he loves. Toronto Raptors Shirts . For Fields, the road to recovery has been a long and arduous journey, one that continues to this day as the 25-year-old prepares for his fourth NBA season and second with the Raptors. This summer was a time of reflection, a time of change in his life, both personally and professionally. Returning to play in 46 games following ulnar nerve surgery early last season, Fields battled through the aftermath of his injury, a hitch in his shot and the resulting toll it took on his confidence. He had targeted the offseason as a time of reconciliation, a time to reconstruct the shooting mechanics that had been betraying him. It turned out to be more trying than he could have anticipated. "There was a point where I was so frustrated, my dark days basketball-wise," Fields told TSN.ca in an exclusive conversation Tuesday evening. "Even in the summer there was a lot of ups and downs," he admitted. "Its just a continual process really. In my mind I thought I [would have] surgery and boom, Id be back to normal, but clearly [that] isnt the case." First and foremost, as Fields pointed out, the nerve still needed to heal and strengthen. Trying to avoid that temptation to put the cart ahead of the horse was his biggest challenge, as he juggled on-court work with the natural healing process that had to occur first. In an attempt to work around the injury and play through it last year, Fields developed some bad habits including what he called a "weird motion" in his shot. He recalled the "down periods" this summer, when he would be in the gym working tirelessly to hone in on his mechanics as he would lose the strength in his shooting elbow. The injury has forced Fields to reinvent his shot and his game while calling a few unexpected audibles along the way. He even tried to do something that is mostly unheard of at the NBA level, change shooting hands mid-career. "At that point I was like, its early in the summertime what if I just start working with my left [hand for] a couple months and see how far I can go," he said of the short-lived experiment. "It didnt really work as I excepted it. Im right handed, so I got off of that and stayed faithful to the process and what the doctors were saying." Fields was a 39 per cent three-point shooter as a rookie with the Knicks back in 2010-11, a year in which he attempted 219 triples. Last year he made just two of 14 attempts from long range. "In my mind I just wasnt playing with a full deck of cards," Fields said of his first season in Toronto. "I want[ed] to shoot it but I understood that my strength and my sensation and the sensory skills in my right hand arent nearly what they need to be so I cant really feel when Im going up for a shot." "Its almost like Im shooting a ghost ball or something," he joked. "So when thats going on, yeah youre confidence kind of dwindles. Youre like, I cant shoot right now, not because I dont want to but I literally cant. Its physical." Still not 100 per cent, Fields says he can "finally see a light at the end of the tunnel" and is ready to get back to work. Most importantly, he insists the confidence issues that plagued him last year are forever in the past. "You can tell his confidence is at a much higher level," teammate Aaron Gray said of Fields after the first couple days of camp. "He had to deal with so much last year that I hope no player has to do. Just finding your rhythm and your balance between life and basketball, its huge." Finding serenity in his private life, with a marriage and the birth of his first child, has allowed him to find that balance and put basketball in perspective. Although Steve Novak and Austin Daye will compete with Fields for minutes behind Rudy Gay and DeMar DeRozan at the wing positions, the presence of accomplished shooters could take the pressure off the Stanford grad. "I told him, dont even worry about his shot," said Raptors coach Dwane Casey. "Hes been working his butt off on his shot, his shot has improved but Im not even concerned about that because he brings so many other things to the table." "I think the weight of the world is off his shoulder," he continued. "Hopefully him knowing that we dont need his shooting to give us a chance to win, that takes some [pressure off]." Instead, Fields will be asked to contribute in other areas of the game, areas he has excelled at in the past, making for what should be a natural transition into his new role. At 6-7 Fields is a skilled defender that Casey has used in man coverage on the likes of LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony. He can handle the ball, move without it and rebound as well as anyone at his position. This will be an important season for Fields as he continues to work his way back from an injury that, at least temporarily, changed the way he approached his job. "Im just trying to go out there and really try to have fun again," he said with a smile on his face. "I think last year with the injury it took away that fun aspect for me of basketball and you never want to go to work and not have fun." "I would still work hard but [when] you dont see the kind of results that youre putting the time in to get, it really starts to play with you. So this year Im not [going] to worry about any of that, just [going to] try to go out there and play for my teammates, play for the city and really have fun with it all." Charles Oakley Jersey . Fognini won 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 after Argentinas Carlos Berlocq had beaten Andreas Seppi 4-6, 6-0, 6-2, 6-1 on the outdoor clay surface. Doubles are set for Saturday with reverse singles on Sunday to decide which team reaches the quarterfinals. Kevin Willis Jersey . Wall made the comment in a speech to a Regina business crowd that included Lesnar. The U.S. wrestler and retired mixed martial artist says he was visiting his brothers farm in Saskatchewan and decided he wanted to hear what the premier had to say. https://www.cheapraptors.com/463a-andrea-bargnani-jersey-raptors.html . -- Canadian ski cross star Marielle Thompson accomplished two goals in one race Saturday.TORONTO -- Toronto defender Doneil Henry said hes not one to shy away when he makes mistakes and accepted full blame for a pair of miscues which resulted in New England Revolution goals. Henry, who missed three games with a knee injury, was charged with a handball in the penalty area in the 82nd minute as he went to block a strike from Patrick Mullins. On the ensuing penalty kick, Lee Nguyen picked up his fourth goal of the season, giving the Revolution a 2-1 win Saturday afternoon. Henrys turnover in the 24th minute led to the Revolutions first goal of the day. Daigo Kobayashi capitalized on the turnover and sent the through ball in for rookie Mullins, whose left-footed strike beat a diving Julio Cesar to tie the game 1-1. The goal was Mullins first of his MLS career. "That pass there on the first goal, thats my fault, I take full blame for that, but it was a tough match," said Henry. "I think we were very unfortunate not to put more goals in the back of the net, but at the end of the day, I have to get better, and thats on me. "Second half penalty, dying seconds of the game, thats unfortunate, no way I go to hand ball that, Im not even looking at the ball. I just tried to put my body in the way." In Henrys absence defender Bradley Orr filled in at centre-back, but TFC coach Ryan Nelsen felt Orr was playing out of position. "Doneil had been training really well and him and Steven (Caldwell) are centre-backs, Brad is not a centre-back," Nelsen explained. "Also, if you look at the attributes of Steven and Bradley, theyre very similar type players. I thought we needed some athleticism. "I didnt think that was our problem." The win was the first in eight tries at BMO Field for New England (4-3-2), and stretches its undefeated streak to four games. Toronto (3-4-0) has now lost three straight. Henry had an opportunity to redeem himself in the 84th minute as Michael Bradley sent in a cross off a set piece, but Henrys header sailed just over the bar. Then in the 86th minute, Gilberto put a header off a Mark Bloom cross off thee post. Dell Curry Jersey. . "I thought the first half, early on, we created some good chances, just unlucky not to score, its frustrating. I thought we were the better side in the second half," said Jermain Defoe, who returned to the Reds lineup after missing five weeks due to a hamstring injury. "Overall I thought we were the better team, especially the second half, they didnt really create anything. We were the ones creating everything for the chances." Toronto opened the scoring in the sixth minute as Jacksons strike deflected off of Revolution defender A.J. Soares and got past keeper Bobby Shuttleworth. The goal was Jacksons first in MLS. Mullins had an excellent chance to give the visitors a 2-1 lead in the 28th minute with a strike in the area but put it wide of the goal. "The most important thing is that we got the three points, especially in a tough place to play on the road," said Mullins. "I think the big thing today was not me scoring or Lee scoring, it was a full team effort from start to finish and us getting the win." Cesar made a huge save off of Teal Bunbury in the 39th minute. A Revs midfielder sent the ball into the area for Bunbury, but he failed to get enough on the ball before Cesar was able to grab possession of the ball. Gilberto had a number of first half chances for Toronto. In the fifth minute, the forward put his strike just wide of the net. Then in the 30th minute, Gilbertos strike from the left side of the box went of the far goal post. Jackson was handed a yellow card in the 43rd minute for a dangerous play as his boot caught Revs defender Chris Tierney in the chest. "Its really difficult when you start slow, and they capitalized on that scoring early," said Revolution coach, Jay Heaps. "The first half was very open, it could have been 2-2 and I thought that the team fought hard and found a way to win as we didnt play our best so that is always nice." The two teams reconvene August 30 at Gillette Stadium in New England before a third and final meeting Oct. 25 at BMO Field. ' ' '