TORONTO – When R.A. Dickey toed the rubber on Saturday afternoon for arguably his most important start since his arrival in Toronto almost two years ago, he wasnt treating the outing differently than any of the other 64 starts hed made in a Blue Jays uniform. "Its all the same preparation. Its all the same attempts at execution. None of it changes," said Dickey. "I think what happens is it makes it exciting for fans when the media can build it up to be whatever they think it is but for us, as competitors in the middle of it, its a game were trying to win." The Blue Jays entered Saturdays middle game with the Rays coming off a disappointing 1-0 loss on Friday night, a defeat which dropped the club four-and-a-half games behind Kansas City and Seattle for the American Leagues second wild card spot, needing a bounce back win. The margin for error is slim. To get to 89 wins, the pace at which the Royals and Mariners are playing, Toronto had to go 13-3 in its final 16 games. The players dont need calculators to do the math. But Dickey insisted hes not much for the addition, subtraction, multiplication and division at this time of year. "I think thats your job," said Dickey. "I think thats the job of the media is to create a buzz, to create drama. I mean, thats part of the beauty of the media but if youre talking about the actual player and what happens inside the culture of the clubhouse its a game that you want to win, just like you would any other game." Dickeys enjoyed a strong second half of the season. But outside of the win-loss statistic, hes not been appreciably better than in the first half. This has been a good year for the knuckleballer, although he doesnt seem to get much credit for it. Perhaps thats because hell always be linked to the players the Jays traded to the Mets to acquire him, although Travis dArnaud and Noah Syndergaard still are working to establish themselves as every day, big league players. Perhaps its because we got caught in the trap of believing that Dickey would move into the American League East and be Cy Young-calibre dominant like he was in New York in 2012. As was the case in the second half of 2013, Dickeys walk rate and home runs against rate are down from the first half. Prior to the All-Star Break, Dickey issued free passes to 9.2 per cent of hitters he faced, a number thats dropped to 5.9 per cent post-Break. In the first half, he allowed a home run to one of approximately every 34 hitters; in the second half, one of approximately every 38 batters has taken him deep. Saturday marked Dickeys 33rd start at Rogers Centre. Hes got an understanding of how best to limit the damage in his home stadium, a park which plays much differently than New Yorks Citi Field, his Cy Young-winning stomping grounds "I think I figured out after about two-thirds of the season last year what the adjustments needed to be for me in order to (succeed)," said Dickey. "I cant walk guys and I need to try to minimize the long ball. Those two things for me in this park, I can get away with that in other parks it seems because I dont have to worry so much about the long ball. The ball just doesnt carry as much as it does here. I do give up some fly balls because Im a knuckleball pitcher." The key is to keep hitters off-balance with heavily varied velocities. Dickey will throw a hard knuckleball in the high-70s miles per hour. Hell mix in knuckleballs on the low end in the mid-60s, something of an Eephus pitch. Hes also worked to keep the knuckleball down in the zone, especially against power hitters. "When I have count Ive gone lower in the zone whereas traditionally Ive pitched up in the zone to try to get strikeouts and whatnot," said Dickey. "Ive made an adjustment to try to work down in the zone a lot more consistently. Ive tried to keep guys off the base paths as much as possible via walk. All those things together I think have helped. A lot of it has to do with trying to throw good knuckleballs down in the zone." Dickey turns 40 on October 29. Ideally, hed like to spend a birthday before he retires in the middle of a World Series. Hes not focused on the big picture. Not at this time of year. Its the old, boring cliché because its true: one day, one game, at a time. "You are where you are," said Dickey. "If you win, great, youve prepared and tried to execute things in batting practice and in the bullpen sessions to try to get you to the best place to win, just like you would any other game. If you dont win then youve got another game tomorrow and youve got to try to win it. Its relentless. We dont have time to get caught up in the pressure of it all." Michael Porter Nuggets Jersey . Pressley missed all of last season with Cincinnati because of a knee injury, but the 5-foot-10, 249-pounder had been expected to fill a need on Clevelands roster. Jarred Vanderbilt Jersey . The 28-year-old from Rochester, Alta., was selected by the Redblacks from the Saskatchewan Roughriders roster in the 2013 CFL Expansion Draft. http://www.nuggetsproshop.com/Malik-Beasley-Nuggets-Jersey/ . The future hall of famers stole the show at the Bell Centre on Tuesday night, with Jagr moving into seventh place in all-time goal scoring and Brodeur stopping 29 shots as the Devils downed the Montreal Canadiens 4-1. Gary Harris Nuggets Jersey .com) - Mikko Korhonen carded a 5-under 67 on Thursday to claim medalist honors at the European Tours Final Qualifying Stage tournament. Dikembe Mutombo Nuggets Jersey . Next up, the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Cleveland Browns in the AFC North. Baltimore Ravens In 2014, the 8-8 season that the Baltimore Ravens experienced was to be expected.FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Patriots wore pads as they practiced hard in the rain inside their stadium Wednesday.No light workout on the adjacent field where they usually prepare even though Sundays game against the Buffalo Bills has no impact on either teams playoff status.Not from coach Bill Belichick, who has plenty of experience preparing his teams for the post-season.Well do the same thing we always do, he said. It wont be any different this week than its been any other week. It wont be any different this year than its been any other year. Well do what we feel is best for our football team, period.Hes just not saying what that is.Having clinched the top seed in the AFC and home-field advantage throughout the conference playoffs, the Patriots (12-3) could limit the playing time of quarterback Tom Brady, tight end Rob Gronkowski and other key starters.No sense exposing them to injury against the Bills (8-7), who missed the playoffs for the 15th straight season, the longest current drought.Whatever Belichick plans, his players arent saying even if they know.Were players, safety Devin McCourty said. We dont decide who plays or what plays are called. We can only do one thing and thats to be ready to play.They may be more motivated after squeaking out a 17-16 win over the lowly New York Jets last Sunday. Theyd like to go into their first-round bye with a solid performance.When you win a bunch of games, you string a bunch together, you can build some momentum, Brady said. Weve worked pretty hard to get to this point. I think this is the time to put the pedal to the metal and not really go the other direction.For the fourth time in Belichicks 15 years as coach of the Patriots, they clinched their playoff spot before their last game. In three of those years, starters sat out or played less than usual. In the other, 2007, the Patriots were trying to finish 16-0 and did it with a 38-35 win over the New York Giants.Buut this season they clinched the No.dddddddddddd 1 seed when the Cincinnati Bengals beat Denver on Monday night, eliminating the Broncos from contention for that spot.That was really out of our control, Brady said. We did our best to do our part on Sunday, which was good, but still the season is not over for us. There is plenty of time to think about things down the road. This isnt the time for it.The Bills are coming off a 26-24 upset by the Oakland Raiders but have a formidable defence that has allowed the fourth fewest yards and fifth fewest points.But their running game is weak and the Patriots havent allowed a second-half touchdown in their last five games.I dont think Buffalo cares much if were the No. 1 seed, McCourty said. We talk about how after Thanksgiving its important for us to get better each time we step on the field. So I think getting the No. 1 seed doesnt change that. We still want to play good football every time we go out there.Belichicks constant message to his players is not to look beyond the next game. But theres one game that five of them would love to miss — the Pro Bowl.Thats scheduled for the weekend before the Super Bowl and those players hope to be preparing for that.Special teams captain Matthew Slater was humbled to be chosen for the fourth straight season but said, I have no desire to play in it. What goes on in this locker room is more important to me.Brady, Gronkowski, cornerback Darrelle Revis and kicker Stephen Gostkowski also were picked.But this week theyre focused on beating the Bills at home for the 14th straight time.We have to stay in tune, Revis said. We have to keep that level of energy that we had throughout the course of the year.No matter who plays.Were going to do whats best for the New England Patriots, Belichick said. Thats what Ive always done. I cant imagine ever doing anything different.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '