TORONTO - American sports broadcaster ESPN caused the much maligned shot clock malfunction in the Toronto Raptors opening game of the playoffs. The day after the Raptors were mocked for the debacle, a Raptors official confirmed that an ESPN technician plugged into the same power source for the shot clocks, frying the power system. The Raptors had to go old-school, relying on announcer Herbie Kuhn to count down the 24 seconds on each possession after the clocks above the baskets died with 5:57 remaining in the third quarter of Torontos 94-87 playoff loss to the Brooklyn Nets. "Lets just put it this way, theyre not the worldwide leader in electricians," the Raptors official joked, when reporters probed him for the culprit. It was a play on ESPNs slogan: "The Worldwide Leader in Sports." The official later confirmed it was ESPN. Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment took blame for using the same power source for the primary and backup shot clocks. The damaged cables in the baskets were replaced and tested Sunday, and the primary and backup clocks are no longer using the same power source. The Raptors were mocked for the incident on social media and by traditional media, including ESPN. The broadcaster showed a split screen of the game, and announcer Herbie Kuhn counting down the seconds while looking at a stopwatch held by the official next to him. Players on both teams said the clock malfunction was a distraction. Kyle Lowry blamed it for rushing a shot late in the game. "Aw man, I heard Herbie counting down 5. . .4. . . 3. . . 2. . . 1," the Raptors point guard said. "It really is different when you cant see it, and youve got somebody saying 5. . . and hes counting down." Game 2 of the series is Tuesday in Toronto. The series heads to Brooklyn for Game 3 on Friday. Cheap Soccer Jerseys . "Im proud of him," Jones said in an interview from Sacramento, site of the UFCs weekend televised card. "I think hes listening to his body and hes doing what makes him happy and thats what life is about ultimately. Soccer Jerseys From China . When New Zealand finally held on for an 8-7 win, France No. 8 Imanol Harinordoquy collapsed to the ground, having given every drop of energy he could muster, and lay prone as All Blacks danced around him in celebration. Few critics had given France any chance, but coach Marc Lievremonts team rallied from 8-0 down and came within one kick of taking the lead with 15 minutes remaining, only for flyhalf Francois Trinh-Ducs 49-meter effort to drift wide. http://www.cheapsoccerjerseyschina.net/ . It was my fifth straight year attending and, as always, there are many interesting matters discussed as it pertains to the use of statistics in sports. Cheap Soccer Jerseys China . -- Canadian Erik Bedard pitched into the fifth inning in his bid to win a spot in Tampa Bays rotation, helping the Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-3 on Saturday. Authentic Soccer Jerseys . The Henry Burris-led squad finished second in the East Division before advancing to the Grey Cup where they ultimately fell to the home field advantage wielding Saskatchewan Roughriders.DAYTON, Ohio -- Given a second chance, T.J. Warren put on a show in the NCAA tournament. The hard-to-guard sophomore forward scored 16 of his 25 points in the second half on Tuesday night, showing why he was the ACCs player of the year, and North Carolina State led most of the way in a 74-59 victory over Xavier in the NCAA tournaments First Four. N.C. State (22-12) didnt have much time to celebrate. The 12th-seeded Wolfpack headed to Orlando, Fla., for a game on Thursday against St. Louis in the Midwest Regional. Warren had the most to do with it. He made up for a freshman tournament flop on the same floor a year earlier and prevented Xavier (21-14) from getting any traction in the second half. "Hes just a great player," coach Mark Gottfried said. "Its hard to keep him down for a whole 40 minutes." Centre Matt Stainbrook led Xavier with 19 points and nine rebounds despite an injured left knee. Leading scorer Semaj Christon was limited to 14 points, and Xavier made only 2 of 14 shots from beyond the arc. Xavier was playing in a familiar arena less than an hour from campus. Familiar, but not entirely friendly. Fans of the Dayton Flyers -- a long-time rival -- booed loudly as they took the court, making for a mixed welcome with a lot of Musketeer fans in the stands as well. Warren made it all a moot point, helping N.C. State take all the drama out of the game over the final 11 minutes. Ralston Turner added 17 points. The Wolfpack went six years between NCAA appearances before Gottfried got them there three years in a row. This was his youngest and least-experienced team: Only two players with tournament experience. They got one of the final at-large bids with a strong closing run, winning ffive of their last six games, including an upset of Syracuse in the ACC tournament.dddddddddddd. Warren was the key. And he really wanted a second chance at the NCAA tournament. As a freshman last year, he managed only four points as N.C. State lost to Temple 76-72 at the University of Dayton Arena in its opening game. Hes grown a lot in one year, leading the ACC with 24.8 points per game this season and hitting the 40-point mark twice. He got off to a bad start on Tuesday, missing his first two shots and picking up two fouls in the first 4 minutes, 14 seconds. Warren checked back into the game and hit a jumper for his first points at the 11:29 mark. Christon, who was Warrens roommate at Brewster Academy for one year, kept the Musketeers in it during the first half. He scored off two drives to the basket, starting an 8-1 run. Stainbrooks reverse layup trimmed it to 27-26 with 2:22 left. Jordan Vandenbergs three-point play gave N.C. State a 34-28 advantage at halftime. Dee Davis hit Xaviers first 3-pointer, and Christon scored on a fast-break lay-in that cut it to 39-37. Thats when Warren took over. He had a pair of pull-up jumpers, followed by a steal and a lay-up as N.C. State rebuilt the lead to 51-42. He had another pull-up jumper and a fast-break dunk that made it 57-47 with 7:56 to go. Xavier never got closer than seven points the rest of the way, fading down the stretch. The biggest question for Xavier was how Stainbrooks left knee would hold up. The Big Easts second-leading rebounder sprained a ligament, sat out the final regular season game and was extremely limited in two Big East conference games. He was back in form, but Xavier didnt have enough other scoring options to keep up. ' ' '