Inland Waterways » win to begin the month of January.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Erik Hurtado wanted to make sure his first start of the season for Vancouver wasnt his last, and he came through with the lone goal in the Whitecaps 1-0 victory against the Columbus Crew on Saturday. Not only was the 37th-minute strike the difference, it was also the second-year midfielders first Major League Soccer goal. "I dont know if it changes my confidence," Hurtado said. "Its a weight off my shoulder getting my first MLS goal. I know the team has faith in me. The coach has faith in me." The Whitecaps (4-2-4) have won two straight and extended their unbeaten streak to four games while also winning for the first time on the road this season. "It was a super match of football," Vancouver coach Carl Robinson said. "It was two teams that wanted to play." Robinson praised the effort of the struggling Crew (3-4-3) under first-year coach Gregg Berhalter. "Columbus plays the right way," he said. "I told Gregg that before the match. Columbus at home playing an attacking style, theyre not getting the breaks at the moment, as youve seen the last couple of games." While Columbus had 12 shots, Vancouver goalkeeper David Ousted needed to make only two saves for his second shutout of the season. The Crew, who have not scored in 321 minutes, are 0-4-3 after winning its first three games. They were shutout for the third time in seven days after road losses to Sporting Kansas City and Houston. "The guys were running on fumes," Berhalter said. "You could see the difference, it was clear. (Vancouver) had a bunch of players running around that were fresh. We didnt have it physically." Hurtado, making in his fifth career start while appearing in his 22nd game, scored off a long ball by Ousted, who earned an assist. "I just tried to put it on his chest and luckily he made some magic out it," Ousted said. After taking the pass from Ousted, Hurtado dribbled left between three Crew players then unleashed a rising shot from 21 yards that settled in the upper left corner past the outstretched arms of goalkeeper Steve Clark. "I chested it toward the goal," Hurtado said. "I got a little touch that set me up for the shot and kept my eye on the ball. I connected with it smoothly. "It hit my sweet spot right on my left foot. It felt good. When I saw it go past the keeper, I knew it was going under the crossbar." Columbus pushed for the equalizer at the onset of the second half only to see Ousted come up big, diving to his right to get a hand on a shot by Jimenez in the 48th minute. "The guys in front of me did really well, especially in the second half, blocking a lot of shots and clearing a lot of things," Ousted said. "It got hectic like it always does when you only have a one-goal lead. We handled it pretty well." Striker Omar Salgado, the Whitecaps first-ever draft pick in 2011, returned to the club after being loaned to the Charleston Battery (USL Pro) in March. He replaced Hurtado in the 74th minute for his first MLS game since October 2012, and nearly scored in the 88th minute. His breakaway chip shot over Clark rolled past the right post, however. The Whitecaps next play Wednesday at home against Toronto FC in the second leg of the Amway Canadian Championship semifinal. TFC won 2-1 on May 7. Custom Soccer Jerseys . Some members of the U.S. Congress arent so sure. They say Russia isnt doing enough to assure that athletes will be protected at the Feb. 7-23 games, happening not far from an Islamic insurgency that Russias huge security apparatus has struggled for two decades to quell. Russia may run greater risks in towns outside the tightly controlled Olympic zone. Suicide bombs last month a few hundred kilometres (miles) away have increased concerns, and an Islamic warlord has urged his followers to attack the Sochi Olympics, Russian President Vladimir Putins pet project. Custom Baseball Jerseys . In the days leading up to the draft, TSN.ca and TSN Radio basketball analyst Duane Watson looks at some of the names that will be headlining the event. Tonight, Michigans Nik Stauskas of Mississauga, Ontario. http://www.customjerseysnearme.com/ . -- Houston Rockets coach Kevin McHale searched more than three quarters for five guys who would play well together. Cheap Custom Wear . What they did need, the Devils got from Patrik Elias. Elias scored a power-play goal 40 seconds into overtime to give the New Jersey Devils a 3-2 victory over the Dallas Stars. Discount Custom Jerseys . -- The Vancouver Whitecaps remained unbeaten with a scoreless draw at the New England Revolution on Saturday.WASHINGTON - Fresh off his first All-Star Game appearance, DeMar DeRozan - heading into uncharted waters as the Raptors ready for a rare playoff push - addressed his teammates following Tuesday morning shoot around. "Each and every single game matters from here on out, especially if we want to do something special," he told them, as the third-seeded Raptors prepared to begin the unofficial second half of their season against the sixth place Washington Wizards. "We cant take [any] nights off," he stressed. "These 30 games are going to be big and weve got to start tonight." Message received, at least in the first of those final 30 games. It took just over four minutes for all five Raptors starters to get on the board. In the end, six players scored in double figures and the teams bench totaled 43 points on an impressive 18-for-26 shooting, as Toronto came away with a 103-93 win, its third in three games against the Wizards this season. "Thats whats great about our team, everybody understands their role and thats real big," said DeRozan, who had a quiet night by his recent standards, scoring 14 points. "We have anybody that can [step up], it can be anybody. If one guys not playing well, somebody else always picks it up." DeRozans uplifting words were not a surprise to Dwane Casey. The Raptors leading scorer had told his coach that he intended to make the speech on the flight to Washington the day prior. "[I] sat with him and talked about the second half of the season, what to expect, and he said he was going to do that," Casey said. "We talked [Monday] night as a team, talked about the next 30 games, what to expect as a team. Now weve got to follow it up with action. Every team coming out is going to be gunning for him - hes achieved All-Star status - and us as a team, were in the playoff hunt. So weve got to meet those expectations." As a team, the Raptors were expectedly rusty early on, specifically on defence. Washington scored 27 first-quarter points, shooting 57 per cent in the frame, while Wizards All-Star John Wall had 11, matching his game total from the Raptors last visit to Verizon Center, Torontos 101-88 win to begin the month of January. "Its always tough to find a rhythm when youre coming off the All-Star break," said Kyle Lowry, who vacationed in an undisclosed location this past weekend after being passed up for the All-Star Game. "Its always tough but we figured it out in the second half and third quarter, for me especially to get going a little bit." In a matchup between two of the best point guards in the Eastern Conference - arguably the two best - Lowry connected on just two of his eight first-half attempts, scoring six points as Wall exploded for 19, making nine of 12 shots. The Raptors lead guard came out of intermission looking like a man on a mission,, scoring 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting in the third, draining long jumpers, getting into the paint at will and knocking down a series of tricky step backs.dddddddddddd Lowry finished with a double-double, leading his team with 24 points and 10 assists and Wall was held to three points, without a single field goal, in the second half. "I was trying to attack a little bit more," Lowry, the scorned should-be-All-Star, said of his third-quarter clinic. "That first game out of the break is always tough and I didnt want to let that be an excuse for us to lose this game." "He took the game over in the third quarter and willed us to a win," Casey said of his point guard. "Just his aggressiveness. He attacked their feet, didnt settle for the three, got into the paint and kept attacking." The Raptors recorded 25 assists, 17 from their point guards - Lowry and Greivis Vasquez - and shot 57 per cent on the night, holding Washington, one of the better three-point shooting teams, to 4-of-15 from beyond the arch. Although it looked like it was going to be smooth sailing for Toronto in the third quarter, leading by as much as 20, things got interesting down the stretch when Washington turned up its defensive intensity and the Raptors quickly went ice cold. Toronto was held without a field goal in the final 7:35 of the game, as the Wizards cut their deficit to six down but were unable to get any closer. "We just turned the ball over way too many times against their pressure," Casey said after this team committed eight of their 15 miscues in the final frame. "Thats just from rust and time off, timing, speed of the game." The rest seemed to do wonders for the Raptors, winners of their last three games, specifically Amir Johnson, who has had over 10 days off after missing two contests with a sore right ankle. The Raptors forward made his return off the bench, scoring 14 points and grabbing five rebounds in a spirited 25 minutes of action. Patrick Patterson made his third straight start - scoring 10 points in 34 minutes - and should stick with the first unit for the time being as Johnson works his way back to full health, though Casey wouldnt commit to the lineup change. The Raptors will go for the four-game sweep of Washington when the Wizards visit Toronto next week. They are now four games ahead of the Wizards and a game and a half in front of the fourth-place Chicago Bulls, Torontos Wednesday opponent at the Air Canada Centre. "Thats a tough team," Lowry said of the Bulls, who will be well rested having arrived in Toronto Tuesday, getting the night off. "A different type of game tomorrow night. Theyre very defensive-minded. Theyve got a great coach [in Tom Thibodeau] and a very intense team, with Joakim (Noah) their All-Star. He leads the charge so weve got to match his intensity." 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