Aufgesattelt - Die Pferdefreunde » r us." Romo said he has no worri

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. 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) Kyle Palmieri Jersey . -- Two-time AL Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana agreed Tuesday to a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles as he tries to come back from the second major operation on his left shoulder. Ken Daneyko Jersey . Mike Vecchione tied it at 2 with 4:01 left in the first, Saskatoon native Eli Lichtenwald gave the Dutchman the lead 57 seconds later, and Daniel Ciampini capped the spree with 2:57 to go. http://www.authenticdevilspro.com/Nico-h...-devils-jersey/. The Missouri Tigers Defensive End and SEC Defensive player of the year is eligible for the upcoming NFL draft in May. Scott Stevens Jersey . Pospisil, the seventh seed, saved match points in each of the last two sets before falling to the unseeded Dutchman. "I wasnt very happy with the way I was playing,"said Pospisil. New Jersey Devils Jerseys . "You hate when they score," he said with some distaste at the thought. "You take pride in it.OXNARD, Calif. -- Tony Romo will play his first game for the Dallas Cowboys since undergoing back surgery for a herniated disk last December. Romo will start for the Cowboys in Saturdays exhibition game against the Baltimore Ravens. Romo missed Dallas exhibition opener against San Diego as the Cowboys are easing him back into things after his second back surgery in the past two years. Romo said he gave no thought to skipping the preseason to make sure he stayed healthy, saying the only way to get better at football is to play football. It will be his first chance to play in a game under new play caller Scott Linehan. "I think you have to play in the preseason," Romo said. "Obviously, some people cant, but I do know from my perspective, this game is not something where you can show up and think that you can do it. I think its been proven far too many times that if you take too long of a break or dont get reps under you that you will be exposed in certain areas." Coach Jason Garrett said he has no expectations about what he will see from Romo and is just looking forward to seeing him back in a game. "Just go out and play," Garrett said. "We ask our players to get prepared for any situations. We try to prepare them as coaches and its their job to go play." Romo sustained the injury against Washington last Dec. 22 but stayed in and threw a game-winning touchdown pass to keep Dallas playoff hopes alive. He had surgery two days before the Cowboys lost to Philadelphia with Kyle Orton at quarterback in a season-ending loss that kept Dallas out of the playoffs. The surgery in December was the second procedure on Romos back in an eight-month span. He had a cyst removed before the start of off-season practices last year and didnt do any significant work until training camp. Romo was held out of competitive situations throughout the off-season this year and the Cowboys limited his throws early in training camp.dddddddddddd But Romo has looked more like himself in recent days and is ready to play against the Ravens. "I felt like this was a big week for Tony," tight end Jason Witten said. "Early in camp they were resting him some and we did not have him every day. I thought he did a really good job going the right places with the ball, good zip on the ball, leading us on the 2-minute drive with the same intensity he always has. I felt like this was a really big week for our team and felt hes done a really great job setting the tempo for us." Romo said he has no worries about how he will react to the first hit on his injured back, saying he got past that after a collision with running back DeMarco Murray a few days ago. "The second hit is just nothing," he said. "It will be easy." Backup Brandon Weeden played well in Romos place in the exhibition loss to San Diego, completing 13 of 17 passes for 107 yards and one touchdown. But the Cowboys know their hopes for success this season ride on Romo. The 34-year-old is coming off another strong season, having thrown for 3,828 yards and 31 touchdowns in 15 games in 2013. He also nearly cut his interceptions in half, throwing 10 after having 19 passes picked off in 2012. Even that wasnt enough to get the Cowboys back to the playoffs for the first time since 2009. Instead, they finished 8-8 for the third straight season. "Every game that you play youre not guaranteed anything," Romo said. "Its special just to play football. Its special to get to play for the team I play for. Its special to get out there and put the helmet on. For me I dont take that for granted. I know that its a great feeling when I do get to go out there." 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