TORONTO - Over a dozen cameras and upwards of 30 reporters gathered in the hallway on the third floor of the Air Canada Centre, jockeying for position outside the Raptors practice facility Tuesday afternoon. No, they were not staking out a spot for the playoffs, now 11 days away. They were not there to take in the teams final scheduled regular season practice. They were not on hand to inquire about the injured Kyle Lowry or Amir Johnson, both of whom had returned to the court. The gravity of Jonas Valanciunas drunk driving charge and arrest had transcended basketball, it was bigger than sport. It was news, and rightfully so. The Raptors starting centre was arrested early Monday morning for impaired driving in Wasaga Beach - roughly two hours north of Toronto - where he spent Sunday evening visiting friends. Valanciunas did not speak to the media Tuesday, as he had not yet met with his legal representatives, but those that did - GM Masai Ujiri, coach Dwane Casey and a couple of his veteran teammates - said all the right things. Understanding the severity of the 21-year-olds poor judgment, the organization made their message clear. Without condoning his actions, they stood united in support of their youngest player. "Like I told him, Im upset with him and disappointed in him but hes mine," said Casey. "So we love him." "He made a mistake, like any other young man has probably done before. We all make mistakes and its what we do after it [that] is how were going to be judged." The news of his arrest was surprising to those within the organization. Coaches, teammates and even fans have come to know the wide-eyed sophomore for his sincere, albeit quirky personality. Mondays events seemed out of character, to say the least. "Hes a great person, great kid," said Ujiri, maintaining Valanciunas hasnt, to his knowledge had prior plights with excessive alcohol use or bad decision making. "Weve never had any issues here with him, thats the honest truth." Valanciunas met with Ujiri for an hour on Monday. The following morning he sat down with Tim Leiweke and Larry Tanenbaum before addressing his coaches and teammates ahead of practice. "He sat in my office there yesterday," said the Raptors GM. "He knew, face in his hands, that he was sorry about it." "Hes very apologetic," Lowry echoed. "I mean hes sick right now. Hes really hurt by it, hes really embarrassed by it [and] very disappointed in himself. I can tell you that for sure." Per NBA policy, no punishment - from the league or the team - can be handed down until the legal process plays out. Although the Raptors are unlikely to issue any supplementary discipline, the league will come down on Valanciunas with a suspension - of likely two games - when and if hes convicted or theres a plea of guilt. The ramifications for Valanciunas - the player - are modest. Hell continue to play. Any suspension he faces wont take into effect until the beginning of next season, at the earliest. He will not be required to attend his initial court date on Apr. 22, shortly after the Raptors begin their first-round playoff series. Hes been enjoying one of the best stretches of his career and theres no reason why that shouldnt continue, assuming he can stave off the legal distractions that are likely to ensure. For Valanciunas - the person - the consequences are intricate. He has some damage control, some image repair to do. Most importantly, he has some growing up to do. In the last year, his second in the NBA, weve watched Valanciunas blossom on the court, sometimes losing sight of the fact that he is also growing and learning as a young man. Valanciunas - less than a month away from his 22nd birthday - made a mistake, a stupid one. Thankfully no one was hurt as a result. Given what we know about the young seven-footer its not hard to believe that the apology he made to his team, to his coaches, to the organization and fans was a sincere one. Some athletes, upon putting themselves in a similar predicament, have apologized mostly for being caught, which doesnt seem to be the case for a remorseful Valanciunas. What many of those other athletes havent had is the support system the Raptors can offer their young centre. Both Casey and Ujiri have positioned themselves as mentors and father figures, not only for Valanciunas but for all their players, while the teams locker room is filled with positive influences who have already begun to steer the sophomore in the right direction. "Be smart," Casey told him. "We all have to be smart. All of us have to be smart in what we do, how we carry ourselves off the floor, where we are [and] who we hang out with." "I talked to him and I made him understand that the things he did were wrong," Lowry said. "He just has to suffer the consequences that come with that." "Its unfortunate that it happened to such a good kid in JV," the 28-year-old point guard continued, "but it happened. Hes 21, hes going to learn from it and Im sure hes never going to make that mistake again." Ultimately, thats the true test, as Casey wisely pointed out. How does he learn from Mondays incident? Will he grow as a result of it? He made a mistake. What does he do next? 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Dick Williams Jersey .Heres Ralph the Dog with the crew here at TSN jumping into the James Duthie TradeCentre selfie: Happy to drop by! RT @TSN_Sports: @tsnjamesduthie: Take this Ellen.FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The New England Patriots had trouble getting into the end zone. Defensive tackle Vince Wilfork made sure the Oakland Raiders stayed out of the end zone in the final minute. An interception by the 325-pound Wilfork near his goal line gave the heavily favoured Patriots the ball with 51 seconds left, and they ran out the clock to hold off the Raiders 16-9 on Sunday. "It was a team play," Wilfork said after his third career interception. "I just happened to catch it." The ball deflected off Logan Ryan after Rob Ninkovich jarred it loose from intended receiver Denarius Moore. On the previous play, Darren McFaddens 6-yard potential tying run into the end zone was nullified by a holding penalty against guard Gabe Jackson. "When I turned around and everybody wasnt coming to celebrate with me, I knew something wasnt right," McFadden said said. Jackson didnt think he held. The penalty gave Oakland first-and-goal from the 12. Then Ryan redeemed himself for a pass interference penalty on the play before McFaddens run. Just as Raiders coach Dennis Allen disagreed with the holding call, the Patriots Bill Belichick questioned the pass interference. In spite of a sluggish offence that settled for three field goals by Stephen Gostkowski and just one touchdown pass from Tom Brady to Rob Gronkowski, the Patriots (2-1) won their home opener for the 12th time in 13 seasons. The Raiders (0-3) lost their 15th straight game in the Eastern time zone. They were held to three field goals by Sebastian Janikowski and finished with no interceptions despite several opportunities. "We are moving in the right direction," Oakland defensive end LaMarr Woodley said. "When we have an opportunity to catch the ball we need to catch it." Brady completed 24 of 37 passes for 234 yards and became the third quarterback with 150 regular-season wins behind Brett Favre (186) and Peyton Manning, who came into Sunday with 169. And Brady is 57-5 in his last 62 home games, including the playoffs, posting another win despite a mediocre offensive performance. The Patriots scored 10 points in the llast 4:14 of the second quarter to take a 10-3 lead -- but it could have been 14-3.dddddddddddd Brady capped a 15-play, 84-yard drive with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Gronkowski, who shook off linebacker Kaluka Maiava and caught the ball as he went over the middle. "We did just enough to get the victory," Gronkowski said. "Sometimes its frustrating, but what we did today is not always going to get the job done." The Patriots had a chance for another touchdown when they reached the 2-yard line with 8 seconds left in the half. But Dan Connollys snap was low and Brady picked it up and quickly threw an incompletion, stopping the clock with 3 seconds remaining. Gostkowski then kicked a 21-yard field goal. "We have first-and-goal on the 1 1/2-yard line and settle for a field goal," Brady said. "You just cant do that." Derek Carr completed 21 of 34 passes for 174 yards for Oakland. But with running back Maurice Jones-Drew sidelined for the second straight week with a right hand injury, the rookie remained winless as a pro. McFadden started in Jones-Drews spot and rushed for 59 yards on 18 carries. The Patriots relied on their running game early against the NFLs worst rushing defence and picked up 63 yards on the ground in the first half but just 16 the rest of the way. "Sometimes you got to grind them out," Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman said. "An ugly win is better than a pretty loss." The Raiders planned to leave after the game for London, where they face the Miami Dolphins in Wembley Stadium next Sunday. "I was looking forward to it being after a win," Oakland safety Charles Woodson said. "Its a great opportunity to represent the NFL, but its a business trip." NOTES: Patriots defensive tackle Sealver Siliga didnt return after hurting his foot in the first quarter. ... Oakland wide receiver Rod Streater and safety Tyvon Branch each left the game with a broken foot. ... Edelman had 10 catches for 84 yards, extending his streak to nine regular-season games with at least six receptions. ... Janikowskis field goals were from 49, 37 and 47 yards. ' ' '