TORONTO -- A star athlete from Cole Harbour,

[blueberryjerry]

TORONTO -- A star athlete from Cole Harbour, N. .S., sidelined by a concussion at the peak of his game. Its not a new story, but this time the athlete in question is UFC lightweight contender T.J. Grant rather than hockey superstar Sidney Crosby. The 29-year-old mixed martial arts fighter missed out on an August title shot and has had to pass on another slated for December while he waits to feel normal. Ask Grant these days how he is feeling and the answer is not simple. "Not too bad. Feeling all right," he said in a recent interview. "It could be better ... Im a lot better now than I was, thats for sure." Some days, it feels like one step forward, two steps back. But despite the occasional setback, the hard-nosed fighter says he is still on the road to recovery. "Progress is getting a little slower again. But it was going pretty good," he said. He says he does some "light activity ... to keep myself from going crazy." Grant (21-5) was riding a high after knocking out Gray (The Bully) Maynard two minutes seven seconds into their May 25 showdown at UFC 160. That earned the Canadian a shot at then-champion Ben (Smooth) Henderson. But two weeks later, Grant was hit in the head by his training partners foot during a jiu-jitsu session. Later in the session, he used his head to stop a sweep and was hit again. "I dont know which one it was," he said of the head blows. "All I know is just when I was done training, I didnt feel right." He saw a doctor and was diagnosed with a concussion -- his first. "I took my time hoping it would just heal up and I could get back at it. It just took longer than I expected. So thats kind of where I am now." For those who have not had one, its hard to imagine the disruption of a concussion. "Especially earlier on, I had difficulty concentrating, just carrying on a conversation with somebody. Just simple things that you do every day that are a lot more difficult," said Grant, ranked third among 155-pound contenders. The proud father of a five-month-old daughter, Grants symptoms were set off early on by the baby crying. Motion also made him nauseous. "Im getting past a lot of that stuff. Now I just have a little bit of a headache ... The worst is definitely behind me." But there are still limits to what he can do. He came to Toronto recently to do some TV work and appearances around UFC 165. "After the weekend I was a little bit worn out," he acknowledged. Grant says time is whats needed. Hes happy with the team he has helping him, with physiotherapy to work on his balance and regular visits to a chiropractor to have work done on his neck. The UFC has offered help and paid for an MRI, that came back clean. But inactivity must feel strange after years in a sport built around complex layers of training. And the lightweight merry-go-round continues in his absence. Replacement challenger Anthony (Showtime) Pettis submitted Henderson in the first round of UFC 164 on Aug. 31 to win the championship belt. The UFC had hoped Pettis would make his first title defence in December against Grant in Sacramento. But Grant said he would not be ready. "Its one of those unfortunate things that can happen in a contact sport," UFC president Dana White said when asked about Grant. "Were not going anywhere. The kids just got to take his time, heal up, and relax and well see what happens." Theres never a good time to be injured in the UFC, given inactivity equals no paycheque. But this timing particularly sucks. Grant, ranked third among lightweight contenders, was on a roll having won five straight since dropping down to 155 pounds from welterweight. "The belts going to be there no matter who has the belt," White said. "It will be there and well figure the T.J. Grant thing out when T.J. Grants healthy." In the meantime, the December title shot has been given to No. 4 Josh Thompson. Even talk of title shots has consequences for Grant. "Im trying not to put too much pressure on myself," he said. "Being offered fights and stuff like that was definitely putting more pressure (on me) which causes you to stress out and make things worse. "Man, Im just worrying about just getting better, taking it slow. No real pressure. When I feel 100 per cent and Im able to return to training and all that stuff, then Ill start looking for a fight. "For now, Im not really too much worried about it." White says concussions are monitored closely in that the sport is regulated by government agencies, with mandatory suspensions after knockouts. Often fighters have to be cleared by a doctor before they can step back into the cage after a bad loss. Injuries in training are tougher to monitor, he acknowledged. "We cant baby-sit everybody. We cant police grown men," White said prior to UFC 165. "We can lay down the rules. "If you are on a three month suspension because you were hit in the head or whatever your deal is in a fight and you go back into the gym and start sparring again, first of all youre a moron. No 2, the people who handle you probably dont care about you." Grant has been healthy the majority of his career, missing just two previous fights through injury or sickness in his 7.5-year pro career. He says he has known other fighters who had concussions. "Some guys try to hide it and keep going. They think its like any other injury. But I dont want to be that guy. So I want to do it as safely as possible. I want to enjoy my life, thats for sure." Grant has plenty of motivation on that front. He married wife Belinda on the weekend. They planned to slip away for a few days but with a young daughter the focus of attention, a real honeymoon will likely have to wait a while. As for Crosby, Grant says he does not know the Penguins star so has not been able to share war stories. It would make for an interesting conversation. "No doubt," Grant said with a chuckle. . 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. .S. routed Sweden 7-0 Sunday to win its fourth straight title and seventh overall under-18 world championship. Olson earned his third shutout of the tournament and the Americans allowed only four goals in six games to set an International Ice Hockey Federation under-18 record. . The CFL will help tackle womens cancers by playing four special "CFL PINK" games this weekend. PORTLAND, Ore. -- Kevin Durant said the mutual admiration between the Thunder and the Trail Blazers only goes so far. "We respect this team and they respect us, but we dont like them and they dont like us," Durant said after Oklahoma Citys hard-fought 98-95 victory over Portland on Tuesday night. "Point blank." Durant had 36 points and 10 rebounds as the Thunder evened the series against the Blazers 2-2 in their final regular-season meeting this year. Jeremy Lamb had 19 points, including a key 3-pointer with 1:38 left for the Western Conference-leading Thunder, who have won 14 of their last 16 games. Nicolas Batum had 18 points for slumping Portland, which has lost five of seven but still ranks third in the conference behind San Antonio. Robin Lopez finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds for his 19th double-double of the season. LaMarcus Aldridge, who missed a mid-range jumper in the final seconds that could have salvaged the win for Portland, was asked what he thought of Durants comment. "Were not trying to make friends out there," he said. "Were trying to win games." Portland led by as many as 13 points in the first half and held a 55-45 advantage at the break, but the Thunder kept chipping away and the teams went into the fourth quarter tied at 80. Derek Fisher hit a 3-pointer and Lamb made a layup to put the Thunder up 85-84. Portland reclaimed the lead on rookie CJ McCollums running shot, but Durant re-tied it at 91 with a long hook. The teams wrestled for the lead until Lambs 3-pointer gave the Thunder a 96-95 advantage. Damian Lillard missed a 3-pointer for Portland with 45.9 seconds left. Portland got the ball with 12.3 seconds left after officials reviewed an out-of-bounds call, but LaMarcus Aldridges mid-range jumper with 2 seconds left was off and Reggie Jackson hit free throws for the final margin. "We fought hard," Durant said. "Were a resilient team. Weve kept our heads up through adversity and tough times. Im proud of our team." Portland won two of the first three meetings between the two teams, but the Thunder won the last 105-97 in Oklahoma City last month. Durant paced the Thunder with 42 points in that one. Aldridge was a game-time decision because of soreness, but he started and finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds. The Blazers are the only team that has started the same five players in all of their games this season. . Aldridge was disappointed with the loss -- and especially his final missed shot. "I couldnt throw a rock in a lake tonight," Aldridge said. Portland jumped out to a quick 18-6 lead, but the Blazers were hurt late in the opening quarter when reserve forward Joel Freelands right knee buckled underneath him and he had to be helped off the court. The extent of the injury was not immediately known, but the Blazers depend on the 6-foot-11 Brit to spell starting centre Lopez. The Thunder closed to 25-21 on Lambs 12-foot jumper early in the second quarter. Portland held them off, but Lambs dunk narrowed it to 34-32 and the Thunder finally pulled ahead 41-39 on Lambs 3-pointer. The Blazers answered with a 16-4 run to take a 55-45 lead into halftime. The Thunder again threatened when Kendrick Perkins jumper got them within 66-63. Serge Ibakas jumper with 2:18 left in the third finally gave Oklahoma City a 76-75 lead, their first of the second half. Jackson led the rally with 13 points after going 0-for-6 in the first half. The teams went into the fourth quarter tied at 80. "It was a physical game, but I like the fact that we kept competing and didnt let anything bother us," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "We just competed, possession by possession. And thats what good teams do." The Blazers were coming off a 2-2 road trip, including 117-110 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday. Following the loss to the Thunder, they were headed to Los Angeles for a game against the Clippers on Wednesday night before the All-Star break. The Thunder were coming off a 112-100 victory over the New York Knicks, with Durants 41 points leading the way. NOTES: Portland was without guard Mo Williams, who had just returned from attending to a family matter. It was hoped that Williams could travel with the team to face the Clippers on Wednesday night. ... Aldridge and Lillard were presented with their All-Star jerseys before the game. ... Thunder guard Thabo Sefolosha appeared to injure his right hand in the first half, but he returned to start the second half with his hand taped. ... Freeland was scheduled for an MRI on his knee. ... The Thunder had three technical in the game, and the Blazers had one. ' ' '

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