TORONTO -- Paul Ranger really likes pizza. Not just any pizza, but the kind that he can get from the Riverside Restaurant in Cornwall, Ont., with his uncle. Now in Toronto and closer to family than he was as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning years ago, he can spend time away from the rink debating what pizza joint is best and finding balance in life. Because of that, Ranger has begun to write the second chapter of his NHL playing career and was named the Maple Leafs Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy nominee for "perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey." Ranger learned that he was chosen for that honour Wednesday morning, 49 games into what he considers the renewal of his career more than four years after abruptly leaving the Lightning for personal reasons he still wont reveal. What the 29-year-old does say about version 2.0 of his hockey-playing life only hints at why he left and what made him come back. "What makes it easier for my second go-round is just that experience on how to handle different pressures from the outside, pressures on the ice and really just how to go about it and live your life and balance," Ranger said. "Balance is huge. It makes for a much healthier lifestyle. It makes for a much healthier, I think, mind, on the ice, as well." On the ice, the defencemans game is still rounding into form but isnt quite as good as hed like it to be. But his mind seems to be at peace with the sports importance in his life because Ranger has been able to spend time reflecting and placing value on different things. "You get away, you try different things, you do different things, you focus on other areas of your life that you love and that make you good," he said. "Too much of one good thing it can kind of become a mental battle sometimes. ... When you have that balance, everything seems to work a lot more smoothly, a lot more comfortably and positively." One of those positives is family, like being able to have his mother and father closer than they were when he was in Tampa. Friends make the support group even bigger. "Once in a while Ill get to see some of my closest friends, my high-school friends, my best friends," he said. "Everyone needs a break outside of work and outlets for different parts of life, and thats one of them for me." Outlet from what, exactly, Ranger wont say. Asked at the end of a 13-minute conversation with reporters to shed even a bit of detail on what caused him to leave the Lightning early in the 2009-10 season, he politely but firmly responded: "No. Im not willing to go there. Thank you, though." In general terms, Ranger repeatedly talked about "challenges" on and off the ice. That included playing last year for the AHLs Toronto Marlies, then signing a one-year deal with the Leafs and making the team out of training camp. "Lots of challenges, but when you overcome them, thats the coolest part of it," Ranger said. "Thats the most fun. You look at yourself in the mirror and say you did it. And thats huge, for everybody. Every person in the world goes through that kind of thing at some point in their lives, and I think its important to be able to challenge yourself and to recognize and give yourself some credit." Ranger noticed and appreciated the credit and recognition opponents around the league and former teammates have afforded him this season. He took special pride in reconnecting and building "genuine" relationships with a couple of players he spent time with in Tampa, too. Very little of Rangers time talking about his journey back to the NHL had anything to do with hockey, other than to say it has been a success. The Whitby, Ont., native said he never had any doubts about returning after such an extended absence. "No. This is the right thing for me to do," Ranger said. "This is the thing for me to do to grow and to overcome all the challenges that Ive had on and off the ice. This is the path, and Im committed to it. "I cant really put it all into words, but this is it. Its going to help me until I reach 150 (years old) and riding my Sea-Doo around somewhere and Im going to look back and smile and just say I did it." As hes in the process of doing it, hes earning respect along the way. "When a guy misses that amount of time and claws himself (onto a roster) and grabs an opportunity, youve got to take your hat off to him," Leafs coach Randy Carlyle said. "Any individual thats gone through what hes gone through, now hes playing the highest level of hockey there is in the world and hes earning his stripes." Whether earning those stripes means Ranger will be back with the Leafs next season is unclear. He insists he hasnt pondered that possibility and immediately brought the focus back to the present and what he and his teammates need to do in the final games of the season. Even if the Leafs season ends without a playoff berth, thats not the end of Rangers world, though he brought up Wednesday that he has a theory on how to win a championship in a city like Toronto. Hes just not willing to reveal that quite yet, either. "I cant say Ive figured it out because it hasnt been put to the test yet," he said. "But I just know for me it works. Im in no way ready to comment on it. This is something that perhaps I would tell you after we win the championship." William Perry Jersey . James Harden wasnt worried and told his coach as much. "He was fired up but I told him: Its OK. Were going to be all right," Harden said. And they were. Houston scored 17 straight points after that timeout, led by 10 from Harden, to take the lead and roll to an easy 129-106 win. Cheap Chicago Bears Jerseys .com) - Manchester City will face a steep test in the Champions League knockout stage as the English champions were drawn with Barcelona on Monday. http://www.cheapbearsjerseysauthentic.co...-mcmahon-jersey. Burris threw for 247 yards in one half of a game -- on pace for a nearly 500-yard outing -- as the Redblacks downed the woeful Montreal Alouettes 26-10 in CFL pre-season play Friday night at Percival Molson Stadium. Wholesale Chicago Bears Jerseys . Toronto FC hosts the three-time Italian league champions in a friendly Aug. 7 at BMO Field, a game that Roma CEO Italo Zanzi said falls within a key part of their pre-season. Walter Payton Jersey .Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg have been neck and neck all season, with 17 points separating the rivals and double points on offer for the race.Tensions between them have spilled over during the campaign and the pairs fragile relationship was evident during Thursdays pre-race news conference, when Rosberg goaded Hamilton by advising him to race cleanly.CLEVELAND - On the flight to Brazil, Kevin Loves new teammates told him to stop trying so hard to fit in.He listened.Love picked up the offensive slack with LeBron James and Kyrie Irving out, scoring 25 points to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 106-100 exhibition win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night.Dion Waiters added 23 for the Cavs, who were missing three starters in their first game after facing the Miami Heat in Rio De Janeiro on Saturday. Love had 25 in that one, but the All-Star forward acknowledged it has taken him some time to feel comfortable in Cleveland.Love made five 3-pointers — completing a four-point play after a step-back 3 in the first half — and also shook off banging knees with Bucks rookie Jabari Parker while making a basket in the lane during the third quarter. He and Waiters spent the final period on the bench.Love said recent talks with his teammates have helped his transition.Im just trying not to fit in so much, Love said. I had a talk with the guys on the plane ride over and also in different practices off the floor, and they told me fit out and just be myself. I kind of laughed and smirked at that. ... I want to be Mr. Reliable.Following the game, Love iced both knees and ankles. He said the blow from Parker deadened my leg for a while. Its the second straight game hes taken a blow to the lower leg. Love was struck near his Achilles on Saturday by Miami big man Chris Andersen.Paarker, the No.dddddddddddd 2 overall pick in this years draft, scored 18 in 27 minutes. He and some of Milwaukees other starters played into the fourth quarter as first-year coach Jason Kidd worked on some things with his young team.James is fine, but Cavs coach David Blatt wanted to give the superstar a night off as Cleveland began a stretch of three games in four nights. James is expected to play Wednesday night in Cincinnati against the Indiana Pacers.Irving rolled his ankle last week in practice before the Cavs went to Brazil, and Blatt would prefer his All-Star guard gets through a full practice before returning to the floor. The Cavs also were without starting centre Tristan Thompson, who has a sore shoulder.Blatt wasnt happy that the Cavaliers attempted 34 3-pointers. However, he didnt think his team forced many shots, and as far as hes concerned, Love can shoot whenever he wants to.Told that Love is 9 of 12 on 3-pointers in the past two games, Blatt knocked on the wooden table and said theres no limit on Loves attempts.He can take all he wants, said Blatt, adding that Love will play both power forward and centre in certain lineups.Wearing warmups, James didnt join his teammates on the bench until midway through the second quarter. By then, Love had 15 points.In the fourth quarter, an animated James left his chair and was on the floor cheering as Clevelands reserves held off Milwaukees rally. 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