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, $150,000 for 350 and $200,000 for 400.
Remember when Alonzo Mourning refused to play in Canada? How about Raptor power forward Antonio Davis? After blossoming into an All Star in Toronto, he opted out of his contract because he felt uncomfortable that his kids were singing O Canada. Delon Wright Jersey . And learning the metric system. These were actual reasons he gave. I do not predict Amir Johnson feeling similarly. Something is happening — has happened — and it is a genie for whom the bottle will forever be too cramped. Turns out, after two decades of tumult and failure, subtly and steadily, Toronto has turned into a basketball mecca. In a fitting end to the roundball dominance of Chicago, Los Angeles and New York, each respectively has been or is being upset by Wizards, common decency and your Toronto Raptors. This isnt emphatic hype from a success-starved fan. This is real. This is how the future of Toronto basketball is going to play out. (Results guaranteed or your money back.) First, Toronto is going to beat the Brooklyn Nets. They are going to do this because they are faster, stronger, better coached and more talented. My words to Garnetts ears, I think theyre tougher too. Id confidently go to battle against KG, Pierce and Deron Williams with Lowry, Amir and Jonas. (Toronto can also selectively deploy Tyler Hansbrough, forcing Brooklyn to be mindful of his ever-present Metta World Peace potential. Observe when Hansbrough is deployed in a game. Always during a "Charles Oakley moment" when a teammate is being manhandled or has taken a series of tough fouls, and it is time for a guy made of elbows to contribute. Last game he played for 8 minutes, committed 3 fouls, and even touched the ball a few times.) The only reason the series goes seven is Torontos lack of experience. Heading into Game 5, the Raptors are now nearing the point of enough collective savvy and bend-but-dont-break guile to beat these paper tigers. The New Jersey Nets of Brooklyn are going down. (Sidenote on Donald Sterling: I would be neglectful not to mention the shadow hanging over an otherwise terrific first round of NBA playoffs. This is a teachable moment to talk about prejudice, especially when a Toronto club has experienced something similar. Remember when Harold Ballard warned us of the Soviet threat in 1979, proclaiming no Russian would ever play for the Maple Leafs, that they were "parasites and barnacles who steal our money?" I think Nikki Borschevsky told me that story. It was just the kind of boldly regressive, anti-humanistic rhetoric which helped spurn a generation of iconic movie villains from Ivan Drago to Boris the Blade. We may never see the same yield of film icons, but after commissioner Adam Silvers welcome and decisive announcement, I guarantee this whole affair ends in the plus column. Before you can explain to your mother that "Instagram is like Twitter with more pets," Magic Johnson will own an NBA team and Donald Sterling will not. Let him waste away in his underground lair, using his billions for, oh, I dont know, drumming up support to bomb North Korea? Backing anti-climate change lobbyists? Pouring millions into Monsantos nuclear corn division? Im not really sure what super-villains are into these days.) Speaking of villains, up next will be Miami, a team Toronto will not get past. This second round series is whats known in the business as "valuable experience". Any team on its way up bonds, grows and learns how to win by getting beat by the best. Do not be surprised when T.O. finds a way to win a game, maybe two (possibly three). This years Heat have a touch of the Nets in them (see: slow, creaky). They also have Lebron so they will be winning. 2014/15. Critical mass. The season NBA fans will remember as the Canadian Invasion. The one lasting achievement of the Vince Carter-era is inspiring a generation of local athletes to basketball greatness. The talent emerging is staggering, and some of it a credit to Carter as the deified player who sparked their imagination as kids. He, and two-time MVP Steve Nash, have long been the main influences for young Canadian ballers. In 1996, Nash was drafted 15th overall, the highest pick in NBA history for a Canuck. But years would pass. Bill Wennington would retire. Carter would move on to half-ass it in other cities. The Northern Uprising would start afresh in 2011, when Cleveland drafted Toronto-native Tristan Thompson 4th overall, a new record. Emerging San Antonio Spurs point guard Cory Joseph, a native of nearby Pickering, was drafted 29th. By 2012, a record five Canadians would be drafted, led by Orlando forward Andrew Nicholson (taken 19th). 2013 would be uncharted territory for Canadian ball. It was the first time two Canadians were selected in the lottery, including 13th selection, Toronto-native Kelly Olynyk and, shockingly, another Toronto-native, Anthony Bennett, going first overall. FIRST OVERALL. And he wasnt supposed to be the guy to accomplish that. That honour was being reserved for 2014s expected draft class hero, Raptor fan, and Toronto-native Andrew Wiggins (note the geographic trend). He may still wind up chosen first overall. Highly-touted Toronto-born Tyler Ennis is also declaring for this years draft and expected to go in the first round. 7-foot-5-inch Sim Bhullar (of Toronto) has a chance to be drafted as the first NBA player of Indian descent. Mississauga-native Nik Stauskas is considered a potential lottery pick. The list is long. Peruse the 2014 mock draft board. I did the math. Toronto is the best represented city in the world. Though the seminal players in Torontos basketball history may not be the most beloved, Marcus Camby, Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady and Chris Bosh represent a considerable quantity of upper echelon talent which will someday appear as the bedrock on to which greater success was built. They are testament that superstars can be developed in Toronto, in Canada, where Vince Carter led fan voting for the All Star game four times, and Terrence Ross has been turning on young fans with dunk championship flare. More winning will build more local talent. Perceptions will change. A noteworthy cogitation to pull all this accounting together. It is entirely plausible there could come a day — there will come a day — when great players around the league are nagging their agents, opting out of contracts early, even colluding with their talented buddies...to come to Toronto. With so much homegrown talent pouring into the league, the standard could well be broken soon, where the prominent talents want to come to Toronto rather than dismiss it. To some extent, it is going to happen. To what extent, will be exciting to witness. >> Gallays Poll #8 << Who would you most like to see receive a hard foul from Tyler Hansbrough?(A) Kevin Garnett (most likely)(B) Jason Kidd (less likely)(C) Jay-Z (unlikely)(D) All of the above (almost certainly) Tracy Mcgrady Jersey . Luke Wileman and I stood in the corridor outside of the Vancouver Whitecaps dressing room at BC Place in Vancouver. Bruno Caboclo Jersey . Louis Blues brought in the premier unrestricted free agent centre, and did it without breaking the bank.DENVER - The first big league signing of Jeff Bridichs tenure as general manager of the Colorado Rockies was far more sensible than splashy.The Rockies needed a versatile infielder, and so they added Daniel Descalso with a $3.6 million, two-year contract Tuesday.It appears to be a sound investment for a team thats trying to rebound from a 96-loss season, especially after Colorado dealt infielder Josh Rutledge to the Los Angeles Angels last week.Bridich has taken a methodical approach so far, cautiously listening to sales pitches from other teams and carefully weighing the benefits of adding big names.Hes resisted the temptation to shake up this roster, willing to believe that a healthy Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez can do more for getting this team back on track than a blockbuster deal.It would be easy for somebody in my shoes, a brand new GM, a young GM, to want to come in and make a splash, do something sexy, Bridich said in a teleconference call. I fought that urge, but Im not going to say it wasnt there.Weve been close-ish to a few things. But it hasnt happened, hasnt worked out. Were not going to panic. ... We have to remember the type of talent that we have here.Talent thats struggled to stay on the field. The Rockies lost Tulowitzki (hip) and Carlos Gonzalez (knee) to season-ending injuries and watched three different starting pitchers sidelined by broken hands.Granted, it was 90-plus losses, but there was a lot to that, said Bridich, who took over when the Rockies made changes to the front office. Were still trying to address and strengthen some of the weaker areas.Bridich said the signing of the 28-year-old Descalso wasnt so much a direct response to sending Rutledge to the Angels for righty Jairo Diaz. The Rockies actually had their eye on Descalso since he became a free agent when St. Louis failed to offer a contract by the Dec. 2 deadline.They like his versatility — he started 11 games at second base, nine at short, seven at the hot corner and thhree more at first base last season. Jonas Valanciunas Jersey. He even recorded an out on the mound in a lopsided loss to the Chicago Cubs on May 12.Bridich kidded that Descalso might even be asked to play some outfield or possibly catch.Hes game for whatever.Im anticipating filling a variety of different roles, bouncing around the infield and doing whatever I can to help the team win on a given night, if thats playing third, second, short, first, wherever they ask me to play, said Descalso, who will make $1.5 million next year and $2.1 million in 2016. Thats kind of the outlook I have going into this thing.There was a time not too long ago when Descalsos name was bantered around in trade rumours involving Tulowitzki and the Cardinals. He didnt pay attention.I was not aware if my name was in those rumours at all, said Descalso, who was a member of the Cardinals 2011 World Series championship team. I always thought Denver would be a great place to play. Looking at the roster in the brief time Ive looked it over, these guys over here have a lot of talent. If we keep everybody on the field, I like our chances of competing and winning ball games.Descalso can earn up to $500,000 annually in performance bonuses based on plate appearances: $50,000 for 250, $100,000 for 300, $150,000 for 350 and $200,000 for 400. He hit .242 with 10 RBIs in 104 games last season.Hes built a reputation in this game as a tough, smart player, manager Walt Weiss said. We talk about those things all the time. Were striving to get better and better in those areas, and hes going to add to that.Next on the docket for Bridich is finding more bullpen help after losing reliever Matt Belisle to the Cardinals through free agency. That and another starter or two.The process were trying to build here, that takes time, Bridich said. That doesnt happen overnight. If you dont take that time, youre going to end up making bad decisions.___AP Sports Writer Ronald Blum in New York contributed to this report. Cheap Arizona Cardinals Jerseys Cheap Falcons Jerseys Cheap Ravens Jerseys Cheap Bills Jerseys Cheap Panthers Jerseys Cheap Bears Jerseys Cheap Bengals Jerseys Cheap Browns Jerseys Cheap Cowboys Jerseys Cheap Broncos Jerseys Cheap Lions Jerseys Cheap Packers Jerseys Cheap Texans Jerseys Cheap Colts Jerseys Cheap Jaguars Jerseys Cheap Chiefs Jerseys ' ' '
- Created: Aug 7 '18
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