ade him loose. From there on, I knew he was probably going to win the

TORONTO -- They called it a serious mistake that Jonas Valanciunas must learn from. Tommy Pham Jersey . But otherwise the Toronto Raptors players and staff are standing behind their starting centre after he was charged with drunk driving. The 21-year-old apologized to his teammates, and will play in Wednesdays game against the visiting Philadelphia 76ers, but news of his arrest drew a large contingent of media to practice on Tuesday and negative attention to a team bound for the playoffs for the first time in six seasons. "(I was) disappointed a little bit," Raptors GM Masai Ujiri said of his reaction to the arrest. "As an organization, its not something we take lightly, its not something I feel we are just going to brush aside. (But) hes a young kid ... I look at all of you here and I wonder what we were all doing when we were 21, so there are mistakes that are made." Valanciunas was arrested early Monday morning in Wasaga Beach, Ont., a popular vacation destination for college students about 100 kilometres north of downtown Toronto, and charged with having more than 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. Police say they began investigating after a report that a vehicle went through a drive-thru with open beer bottles visible. The Lithuanian met with Ujiri for an hour on Monday, and had his "face in his hands," the GM said. He also met with Tim Leiweke, the president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. "I think he feels he let his teammates down, he let his fans down, the organization," Ujiri said. "Thats Jonas, hes a great kid. And I think he made some kind of a mistake, but I think the most important thing is its not going to happen again, and he understands that." Ujiri spoke to a media horde of more than 40-strong. There were nine television cameras. Valanciunas was not made available to reporters after what coach Dwane Casey said was a great practice by the sophomore centre, but issued a statement with an apology on Monday. "I hold myself to a high standard and take my role as a member of the Toronto Raptors very seriously," Valanciunas said. "I apologize to the organization, my teammates, my family and my fans, and regret any negativity this incident has brought upon them." Valanciunass first court appearance is scheduled for Collingwood, Ont., on April 22, which is a couple of days after the start of the playoffs. Valanciunas does not have to attend and so a lawyer will stand in for him. He still may face a suspension of a couple of games by the NBA, but that wouldnt come until the results of his trial which would likely be during the summer. The Raptors will decide on any further punishment such as a fine or suspension following the leagues ruling. Most of the Raptors and their families attended the Toronto Blue Jays game on a day off from practice Sunday. Ujiri said Valanciunas instead went to Wasaga Beach with his wife and some friends. The seven-footer is averaging 11 points and 8.6 rebounds a game, and his growth this season is a big part of why the Raptors are in third in the Eastern Conference and poised to win the Atlantic Division title. Casey spoke of Valanciunas much like he would a son. "Like I told him, Im upset with him and disappointed, but hes mine so we love him," Casey said. "He made a mistake, but like any other young man has probably done before, or had the opportunity before. We dont condone it, the organization doesnt condone it, and its a tough time of year to do it. But its happened. ... "We all make mistakes, its what we do after it that is how were going to be judged." Kyle Lowry said the young teammate that he views as a little brother was "sick right now" over the mistake. "Hes really hurt by it, hes really embarrassed by it, very disappointed in himself. I can tell you that for sure," the veteran point guard said. "Its just a mistake that he made, its unfortunate that it happened to such a good kid in JV, but it happened, hes 21, hes going to learn from it. Im sure hell never make that mistake again," he added. Lowry said his advice was: "Just be more responsible. We have all the benefits of having drivers and taxis. Thats it, be more responsible." Raptors all-star DeMar DeRozan said the incident was a regrettable mistake, but added the players support for each other in any situation is part of what has made Toronto one of the best teams in the East this season. "At the end of the day, were all human. We can look at everybody in here and ask them: have they done something wrong, or made a mistake in life. Its part of life. Its something you learn from and grow from." "No matter what guys go through, were always there for them, family, whatever it may be, somebodys kid is sick ... its always something, and were always there for one another. Thats big because you dont get that with every team that you play for." The Raptors said the negative news wont be a distraction to the team that has won six of its last seven games. "Not at all," Lowry said. "We had a great practice today, really spirited, really competitive, really positive vibe in there." "Ive been coaching since 79 and Ive seen a little bit of everything," Casey added. "This is very serious, a very serious matter, but its not enough to distract the team and that type of thing. "His teammates were very supportive of him, and to them its a great lesson also, the focus and the discipline you have to have in your own life to go forward." The last Raptor to be charged with drunk driving while still a member of the team was Dee Brown, who was stopped by police in 1999 in Toronto and charged with impaired driving and later convicted. But a judge found he was a victim of racial profiling and overturned the conviction. Diego Castillo Jersey . A groundswell for raising the number of playoff qualifiers to seven in each conference figures to get plenty of support from the 32 owners. Most notably, Arizonas Bill Bidwill, who saw his Cardinals go 10-6 and not get in, while Green Bay (8-7-1) qualified by winning the NFC North. Austin Meadows Rays Jersey . Alfredo Simon lowered his ERA to 0.86, and the Reds beat the Chicago Cubs 4-1 Friday for their 16th win in their last 17 games at the Friendly Confines. https://www.cheapraysonline.com/776i-jalen-beeks-jersey-rays.html . Then Klay Thompson put his foot on the gas. Thompson scored 19 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and Harrison Barnes scored 14 points in his season debut to help the Golden State Warriors to a 106-93 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night.FORT WORTH, Texas -- When qualifying ended at Texas Motor Speedway, Chase Elliott hopped a fence and went on his way without a single fan bothering to stop him for an autograph or picture. Dale Earnhardt Jr. watched the 18-year-old go by largely ignored and figured those days were numbered. "I thought to myself, I know hes going to win one day or another, and then just start railing off run after run after run and become the next best thing," Earnhardt said hours later. "It aint going to be long until hes going to be swarmed with attention." Boy, Earnhardt had that pegged. Elliott used a strong move on the outside to pass Kevin Harvick for the lead Friday night and then sailed away for his first career Nationwide Series victory. The 18-year-old won in his sixth career start and is the second youngest winner in series history. Hes roughly four months older than Joey Logano, who was 18 years and 21 days when he won his first career Nationwide race in 2008. Elliott won in a Chevrolet for JR Motorsports, driving the No. 9 as a tribute to his father, 1988 Cup champion Bill Elliott. "I cant believe it, just to have the opportunity to race with these guys at JR Motorsports, just to have this opportunity is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for any racer who wants to make it to the top," Elliott said. "It just means the word for me to be here." Elliott became the fourth driver in Nationwide history to earn his first series victory at Texas, joining Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kurt Busch and Trevor Bayne. The victory continues the youth initiative in NASCAR as first-time winners have now won consecutive races for the first time since 2008. Two weeks ago, 21-year-old Kyle Larson scored his first career win at California. For his efforts? Elliott gets to return home and go to school on Monday as he continues to finish his senior year of high school. "I guess it will just be a normal Monday. Nobody likes Mondays," Elliott said. "Im sure it will be the same old deal, have a bunch of homework to do when I get back and get ready to go to Darlington." The win wowed Elliotts father, and back home in Dawsonville, Ga., the siren outside the local pool room wass blaring throughout the town to signify another local boys big victory. Jose De Leon Rays Jersey. "Im about speechless," Bill Elliott said in Victory Lane. "I felt like Chase could do it. Ive watched him on Late Model team too much -- I know how good the kid really is. "To come here, to never have been to some of these places, like Las Vegas, California and now here at Texas, and come out and beat the kind of guys youve beat -- Ill tell you what, youve done a heck of a job." As a sign of how much respect Elliott already has among his peers, he was met following the win on pit road by Harvick, Larson and Kyle Busch. Then six-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson came to Victory Lane to congratulate him. "Its pretty awesome to see him succeed, I knew it was just a matter of time," said team co-owner Earnhardt Jr. "He has so much composure and ability and is years ahead of guys that age. And hes learning so much on the fly. Hes learning faster than you can teach him whats going on." Kyle Busch, a 65-time race winner in the Nationwide Series, finished second. He was third two weeks ago when Larson won, and hasnt seemed to mind these defeats. "These are the guys that are growing up and are young and being able to run hard and run strong and run with the best of them," said Busch. "Its neat to see them being successful and running with the best of them. I hate to lose, but its still cool to see the younger guys have the opportunities to win races and when they do, they seem to make it look good and win in style, so congrats to Chase." Elliott, who led four times for 38 laps, was strong Friday night and passed car owner Earnhardt Jr. for the lead at one point. But he was second behind Harvick on the final restart with 23 laps to go, and flirted several times with making a pass for the win before finally completing the move with a strong outside pass. "That was wild," said third-place finisher Larson. "Hed been trying to make it work and he must have had an extreme run that one time, got to Harvicks quarter panel and made him loose. From there on, I knew he was probably going to win the race unless we got a caution." ' ' '