<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Larry Tanenbaum, the chairman of Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment Ltd., flew 8,000 kms to deliver exciting news to Raptors fans, although his comments probably were not meant to be taken literally.</p> The Raptors travelled from Treviso in the north of Italy yesterday, where they held a six-day training camp, to Rome and went straight from the airport to a reception at the very opulent residence of Canadian ambassador Alex Himelfarb.</p> A number of dignitaries and officials made speeches, including Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo, vice-president Maurizio Gherardini and Tanenbaum, who obviously was caught up in the good will of the occasion, suggesting that the upcoming Raptors season may be more successful than almost anyone imagined.</p> "We're looking for this to be the start of (our) championship season," Tanenbaum said.</p> The Raptors did improve by 20 games last year from the season before, going 47-35 and winning the Atlantic Division for the first time in team history. Most insiders, however, don't share Tanenbaum's optimism that the Raptors will win it all this season, although many believe that the team does have the talent to advance beyond the first round of the playoffs.</div></p> Source: The Toronto Sun</p>
