TORONTO -- In a perfect world, Morgan Rielly would like to be in Toronto with the Maple Leafs in October. But its not that simple. The 19-year-old defenceman is in no-mans land, caught between being too good for junior and perhaps not yet ready for the NHL. Hes too young to play in the AHL with the Marlies, yet Rielly is at the point where he might be bored dominating the Western Hockey League. "Its not something where he needs to mature and he needs to learn how to be the guy because I think he already knows how to be the guy," Leafs director of player development Jim Hughes said. "Has he outgrown that role? Its possible that he has and that he needs new challenges." How to get him new challenges is an organizational concern for the Leafs, who already have an established defensive corps led by Dion Phaneuf and a young defenceman in Jake Gardiner they need to blend in with the rest of the group. Theres no sense in rushing Rielly, who could be a star but might need patience before his time comes. "I understand that I have plenty of time to play pro hockey," said Rielly, the No. 5 pick in the 2012 draft. "If I dont play this year, that doesnt mean that I wont ever play in the NHL. Thats a goal I have. But if not, Ive just got to keep working hard, keep trying to get better. Ill be 20 this time next year, which is still pretty young, so Im not too concerned about it. But thats a goal Im pretty driven to achieve." The Maple Leafs understand the delicate situation theyre in with Rielly. Hughes said being in the pressure-packed Toronto market ups the ante on making sure they dont derail his development by either pushing him into the NHL too soon or keeping him in the WHL too long. "Weve got to do it right," Hughes said. "You can see how Nazem (Kadri), how hes turned the corner. So we need to get this right. But Morgan, hes mature, and hes sharp and hes physically strong. Hes got that strong, wide base and foundation. He doesnt get knocked off the puck. So hes a little bit further ahead, and its going to be real dicey to see how this all unfolds." Rielly is waiting along with everyone else. He was almost a point-a-game player last season for the Moose Jaw Warriors, who finished 10th out of 12 teams in the WHLs Western Conference. Theres not much else he can achieve at the junior level, except perhaps feel better about his game as a top prospect who controls the play. "I think Id get a chance to be an older player on a team thats quite young. I think thats a pretty good opportunity to just be a leader," Rielly said. "I think if youre playing well every night and youre a huge part of the team, I think that can help the confidence." Rielly got a chance to make a cameo appearance with the Marlies late last season, playing 14 regular-season and eight playoff games. He didnt play alongside Gardiner but got a chance to speak to the 23-year-old defenceman whose twisting path in Toronto could serve as a cautionary tale. Gardiner is expected to be a Leafs fixture next season after spending most of 2012-13 with the Marlies. "Hes obviously a great player, and he has a whole lot of years of pro hockey to play still," Rielly said. "If I can play like him one day Ill be pretty happy." Rielly would like that one day to be this fall. The Leafs could keep him around for up to nine games before returning him to his junior team without using a year of his entry-level contract, something that would give him a taste of the NHL. It could also serve as a test of the puck-moving defencemans readiness. Any other avenue would continue to test his patience. "Obviously I want to play pro hockey, thats a goal, but I think you kind of have to appreciate the players that are also competing against you, that Im only a teenager now," Rielly said. "You have to be patient with it, and thats often pretty hard. I think youve just got to be smart with it and appreciate the opportunity that I have to even have that chance. Its tough, but you have to do it, I guess." Franmil Reyes Jersey . Nigeria beat surprise package Ethiopia 2-0 in the second leg of their playoff for a comfortable 4-1 aggregate victory. Victor Moses converted a 20th-minute penalty after an Ethiopian handball, and Victor Obinna made certain of Nigerias place in Brazil with his powerful free kick in the 82nd at UJ Esuene Stadium. Fernando Tatis Jr. Jersey .Y. -- Syracuse has turned up the defence at the right time all season, and when High Point threatened to pull off a monumental upset the second-ranked Orange did what they do best with their quick hands and savvy play. http://www.padressale.com/padres-hunter-renfroe-jersey/ . Wall made the comment in a speech to a Regina business crowd that included Lesnar. The U.S. wrestler and retired mixed martial artist says he was visiting his brothers farm in Saskatchewan and decided he wanted to hear what the premier had to say. Greg Garcia Jersey . Now that hes hitting streaking teammates with pin-point passes for easy layups, Love is asserting himself as one of the true superstars in the league. Wil Myers Padres Jersey . Brazilian national coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has confirmed that the veteran goalkeeper is set to join Toronto on loan, saying it will help him be ready for the World Cup. The Phoenix Suns are one of the youngest and least experienced teams in the NBA. Three of their first four opponents are among the top five teams in the Western Conference. Those are facts. But to at least one member of the Suns, there still is no excuse for losing.We cant keep saying schedule or age, guard Brandon Knight said of the Suns 0-4 start. At some point, we just have to do what were supposed to do and the wins will come. You have to be consistent and continue to be positive, and it will fall in place.Phoenix will be gunning for its first victory of the season Wednesday night when it plays host to the Portland Trail Blazers (2-2) at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Suns are 0-4 for the first time since 1996, when they lost their first 13 games on the way to a 40-42 season. They are averaging a league-high 29.3 fouls per game.A lot of our games have been dictated by foul calls, Phoenix guard Eric Bledsoe said. We have to stop fouling so much.On Monday, the Suns got drilled 116-98 by the Los Angeles Clippers in a game in which they had 20 turnovers, 11 of them in the second quarter.Thats a lack of focus, Suns coach Earl Watson said. We cant let foul calls disrupt our rhythm mentally. We have to weather the storm and be mentally tough and play through that.The Suns hope to regain the services of guard Devin Booker, who missed the Monday game with a sprained toe.They will have the advanttage of facing Portland with the Blazers on the second of back-to-back nights after a 127-104 loss to the Golden State Warriors in Oregon.dddddddddddd Blazers guard Damian Lillard said the lopsided defeat should serve as incentive to play well.We should be excited about the opportunity to get back out there (Wednesday night) after the type of game we had tonight, said Lillard, who scored a game-high 31 points against Golden State.The Warriors broke open a tight game by outscoring the Blazers 41-20 in the third quarter. Portland made only 7 of 30 shots from 3-point range until Jake Layman and Noah Vonleh combined to sink 7 of 9 in the closing minutes of garbage time.You have nights like that, Lillard said after the game. The third quarter, we slipped up. We didnt communicate as well as we did the first half. We allowed (the Warriors) to get clean looks, and they got it going.When we arent making shots and they are, we have to be able to do the small things. Limit them to one possession, help each other out on off-ball screens, protect the paint, have a tighter shell on the weak side. We have to make it harder for them to make shots as well. Tonight, we didnt do that.Layman, a rookie out of Maryland, finished with 17 points in eight minutes Tuesday in his NBA debut. ' ' '