TORONTO - As Kyle Lowry was tended to, lying motionless on the floor after being kneed in the head, not once but twice, the Raptors fate hung in the balance alongside him. It turned out to be the longest minute of the season for a team that has come to rely so heavily on the resolve of its tough-as-nails point guard. Lowry, sixth in the NBA in win shares (an estimated number of wins a player produces for his team), has been the Raptors most indispensable player. What would they do without him? Luckily, thats a quandary they need not concern themselves with. Although Lowry was a spectator in practice Monday, less than 15 hours after getting inadvertently trampled by P.J. Tucker, scrambling for a loose ball late in Sundays loss to the Phoenix Suns, he was relieved to deliver promising news. "It was a really powerful blow, but Im okay," said Lowry, who was cleared by team doctors earlier that morning, showing no signs or symptoms of a concussion or serious head injury. "Luckily, we have great doctors and a great staff and they checked everything out and everything came back clear, so Im fine." Sitting out of practice with flu-like symptoms that had been bothering him before Sundays game, Lowry said he was still feeling ill, but the headaches he complained about the night prior had dissipated. The Raptors did their due diligence in clearing Lowry and carefully made that apparent to those that had questioned their process after the point guard remained in Sundays game. "Its a huge issue and it should be," Casey said, speaking on the severity of head injuries in professional sport. "Teams are very sensitive to that, when theyre questioned whether they are going by protocol because its a huge deal." Scott McCullough, head athletic trainer, first tested Lowry for signs of a concussion while he was lying on the floor and then again after he was helped up and over to the bench during the timeout. Had he showed symptoms - such as disorientation, lack of coordination or nausea - the Raptors would have been compelled to pull him from the game and take him to the "quiet room", per league concussion policy. "Our guys went through the protocol, they checked his eyes," Casey continued. "He was deemed okay to go back into the game." Down nine with 96 seconds to go, Lowry - a fierce, and in some cases hardheaded competitor - was determined to power through. "I put myself back into that game," he said. "They werent going to take me out of that game. [McCullough] did his protocol on the bench and he checked me out and I was good to go, so thats all that matters." Lowry was tested twice more by team doctor Howard Petroff following the game and then again Monday morning, given a clean bill of health. Averaging career-highs of 17.2 points and 7.9 assists per game, Lowry has not missed a game this season and intends on playing Tuesday in Atlanta. What would it take for Lowry to sit out? "Being dead," he joked. "Not being able to walk." "I mean, Im always going to try to go out there and fight for my teammates and try to win the game, no matter what the situation is. At that point I felt like we still had a chance to win. Me, Im never going to sit out because of a little bump to the head." Clinging to a half game lead over Chicago for the Easts third seed and a three-and-a-half game cushion on Brooklyn for top spot in the division with 17 contests to go, the Raptors need all hands on deck. Despite the improved play of backup point guard Greivis Vasquez, Lowrys all-around contributions would be the toughest the replace. "Im happy as heck that hes okay," Casey said. "Its huge because were already down an important piece in our second unit with Patrick (Patterson) and to lose Kyle would be tough." Patterson was absent from practice Monday afternoon, having his sprained right elbow re-evaluated at the time. He is expected to accompany the team on their upcoming two-game road trip, a back-to-back in Atlanta and New Orleans, though his status is uncertain. Adidas Ultra Boost Kopen . -- Lara Gut of Switzerland regained the overall World Cup lead with Sundays super-G win in Lake Louise, Alta. Adidas Prophere Nederland . "I only want to go through this one more time," Crosby said Friday. The 24-year-old captain hasnt played since the symptoms resurfaced following a loss to Boston on Dec. 5. Doctors allowed him to return to full practice on Tuesday and while Crosby is pleased with the way his body is responding he refuses to put on his return. http://www.nmdtekoop.com/ . Seriously. Seven years of losing has brought many different faces, players and management, to the annual pre-season get-to-know-the-team round up. Adidas Superstar Dames Goedkoop . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91. Adidas Superstar Goedkoop .C. - The Carolina Hurricanes hope they now have the leadership tandem in place to turn the franchise around.The Montreal Alouettes have parted ways with Arland Bruce III. The veteran wide receiver, who has played 12 seasons in the CFL, spent last year with the Als after stints with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Toronto Argonauts, Hamilton Tiger-Cats and B.C. Lions. In his only season with Montreal, Bruce caught 64 passes for 851 yard and five touchdowns. The 36-year-old Bruce made headlines earlier this month when he went to his Instagram account to make anti-gay remarks in regards to Missouri defensive end Michael Sams announcement that he is gay. The team fined Bruce for his comments. "Our organization supports all types of diversity," said Alouettes general manager Jim Popp at the time. "Every individual is unique and free to make his or her own choices. We evaluate players, coaches and support staff based on their skill set and not by gender, colour, religion or sexual orientattion.dddddddddddd The Montreal Alouettes have a simple criteria to determine who can be a member of our organization. We seek individuals who will make a positive contribution to our team goals and to the Montreal community." Though the comments certainly didnt endear Bruce to Als management, they werent cited as a reason for his release. Bruces high salary considerations and the fact that Montreal and new head coach Tom Higgins would like to start two Canadians at wide receiver this year were the two main factors in his release. "The Alouettes would like to thank Arland for his hard work and contributions last season," Popp said in a statement on Wednesday evening. "Through the challenges we faced, he played multiple roles on game day and came to work every day with the determination to win. We wish Arland the best in his future endeavours." ' ' '