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LOS ANGELES - To say Dwane Caseys future was up in the air a year ago at this time would be an understatement. In his third season at the helm of the Raptors, and the final on his contract, Caseys Raptors would fall to 6-10 on the first night of December, their third loss in a series of five straight defeats. They werent good enough to justify Masai Ujiris patience but they werent quite bad enough to be considered a serious contender in the Andrew Wiggins sweepstakes. Ujiri insisted he would give the players and coach he had inherited the chance to sink or swim, but something had to give, and it was about to. Rudy Gay was a week away from being traded. Kyle Lowry was on the block. And the coach? Its reasonable to assume he was on the hot seat. But one thing weve learned about Casey since he took over ahead of the lockout shortened 2011-12 campaign: hes unflappable. He wasnt coaching for his job any more or any less than he was the year prior, or than he is now that he is locked up for another three seasons. Hes also one of the more humble and personable men youll come across in this business of professional sport. He possesses the innate ability to relate and get through to just about anyone, an essential cog in last years remarkable turnaround followed by an even more impressive first month to the new season. On the heels of a franchise-best 13-4 start, good for the best record in the conference, Casey has been named the Easts Coach of the Month, a well-deserved honour for the leader of a club that has managed their expectations, avoided complacency and continued to thrive for more despite their accomplishments a year ago. Casey last won the award following an 8-6 December last season, becoming the first Raptors bench boss to win Coach of the Month twice. If youre looking forward to his acceptance speech, a heads up, it will be brief and unassuming. I dont give a crap, he had said after winning the award last year. I mean, its not about me. Its about that team in there, in that locker room. Im going to be in coaching for a long time so its not about me, its about those guys. The 57-year-old Casey has always taken individual acknowledgement - either for himself or one of his players - as an indication that collectively everyone is doing their job the way theyre supposed to. DeMar DeRozan has blossomed into an All-Star. Lowry is on his way to doing the same this season. The locker room, as weve been reminded over the last 12 months, is one of the most harmonious around. Theyve put their egos aside in accepting roles, which for many of them require the occasional swallowing of pride. Then theres Casey, the conductor, driving the train, ensuring it doesnt stray and go off the rails. It could have, it still may, but it hasnt. Now, the Raptors head coach and his team face a new challenge with DeRozan sidelined indefinitely. Once again, Casey will be tasked with rearranging the pieces, placing his players in new and in some cases unfamiliar roles and maintaining a high level of performance in the process. Everybody is happy during good times, he said after Sundays loss to the Lakers, the first game without DeRozan. But weve lost a couple of games and now we will see what we are made of. We have to make a muscle, stay together and stay positive. Two games dont make a season. Weve had it pretty good here for a while but now we have to bounce back, regroup and reload. With a record of 118-129 since taking over in Toronto, Caseys winning percentage (.478) is the highest of any coach in team history. He recently passed Lenny Wilkens for second on the Raptors win list, approaching Sam Mitchell for top spot. He has brought stability and consistency, an air of calm since Bryan Colangelo poached him off Rick Carlisles staff in Dallas, just days after he helped lead the Mavericks to a championship. Carlisle, in town with the Mavs last week, remains one Caseys most loyal advocates. First of all I give [Colangelo] a lot of credit for hiring Dwane, Carlisle said in Toronto on Friday. There were a lot more established coaches that he passed on. He really targetted Dwane as a guy that he knew could take a group of younger guys, mould them and instill a defensive philosophy and a defensive disposition in how they played. The very first year the record wasnt great but the defensive numbers did a 180. From there they have built it up each year. Dwane has earned the right to have a team this good and he has done a great job of building it up to this point. Custom Indianapolis Colts Jerseys . 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Olson earned his third shutout of the tournament and the Americans allowed only four goals in six games to set an International Ice Hockey Federation under-18 record.INDIANAPOLIS -- The Colts are giving running back Chris Rainey a second chance to prove he can play -- and stay out of trouble. Pittsburgh took Rainey in the fifth round of the 2012 draft, but released him in January following an arrest in Florida following an alleged altercation with his girlfriend. It wasnt the first time he ran into legal trouble, but for the Steelers it was the last straw. For 11 months, Rainey worked out and waited to be signed by another NFL team. Indianapolis (7-3) reached out to him Tuesday and signed him Wednesday. "Eleven months is a long time so Im just glad to be back," Rainey said Wednesday. Rainey is the latest gamble made by the Colts this season. They had previously signed receiver DaRick Rogers, who admitted to flunking multiple drug tests in college. They also have receiver LaVon Brazill, a second-year player they drafted in 2012 who missed four games after violating the leagues substance-abuse policy, and tight end Weslye Saunders, who was suspended eight games after violating the leagues performance-enhancing drug policy. Theres little doubt the 5-foot-9, 198-pound running back has talent. Coming out of the University of Florida, he was clocked in about 4.3 seconds in the 40-yard dash. And last season, Rainey played in all 16 games, rushing 26 times for 102 yards and two touchdowns while catching 14 passes for 60 yards. He also averaged 26.5 yards on kickoff returns. And he finisshed ninth on Floridas career rushing list with 2,464 yards.dddddddddddd But the problems have come off the field. In college, he was reportedly charged with stalking -- something the Steelers investigated before taking him. In Pittsburgh, he reportedly received citations for driving with a suspended license, which was later dismissed, and "defiant trespass" at a casino -- and that was before the alleged trouble in Florida. Colts coach Chuck Pagano said Wednesday that the Colts made their expectations clear before signing Rainey even though its unclear how long hell stick around the Colts locker room. "We worked him out. We sat him down, spent a lot of time with him, obviously," Pagano said. "We feel like hes learned from his mistakes and theyre behind him." Rainey later acknowledged he has a different attitude about this chance because he spent so much time waiting to get back in the league, even turning down chances to play in the Canadian Football League. Wednesdays move is Indys latest attempt to shore up its offence since top receiver Reggie Wayne went out with a season-ending knee injury, and theyre hoping this one works out. Rainey insists hell make sure it does. "All I can do is move forward and just stay positive from here," Rainey said. "I know what people read. They dont know me, so the people who know me, they know me. I cant do nothing about it." ' ' '