<font size=""4"">Flying colours</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Mitchell said the key to the Raps' success is no big secret. "I think we're just moving the basketball," he said. "I think Jose (Calderon) and T.J. (Ford) have done an unbelievable job of distributing the basketball. I think Chris (Bosh), when he is trapped, is moving the ball and it becomes contagious. Everybody moves the ball. Guys know they are going to touch it. "We're just playing well right now. We're playing with a lot of confidence and guys are stepping up and taking shots." </div> <font size=""4"">Not what Vince had envisioned</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">When he whimpered his way out of town two years and two months ago, the last thing Vince Carter could have seen was the future. The last thing he could have envisioned is what he walked into last night at the Air Canada Centre. Never mind the booing. That's old by now. Never mind the disdain. That will last a lifetime. But this is new: The team Carter saw no future for and was traded away for an embarrassment of nothing, is in first place. </div> <font size=""4"">Every game matters</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">"I don't want to put too much emphasis on this one game with so many still to play," Mitchell began. "You have to take them one at a time. They're all important. I understand the tiebreaker situation." </div> <font size=""4"">NETS GET RAPPED</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Carter, a former Raptor, was booed every time he touched the ball. He finished 5-for-15 from the field. Nets coach Lawrence Frank said Carter shouldn't be the story when the Nets play in Toronto. "You get tired of the criticism of Vince here," said Frank, who added many players ask for trades. "You have to move forward. Vince is a Net, the Raptors are a very good team. This no longer should be about Vince Carter any more. Vince is part of our family now so every time he gets criticized or booed, we take that personally." </div> <font size=""4"">Embry, Newsome among honorees</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Former Browns tight end Ozzie Newsome, former Cavaliers general manager Wayne Embry and current Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith will be among those honored Dec. 18 by the national athletic directors organization as part of its inaugural "Legends Class." The Legends Class is a project of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics' McLendon Minority Scholarship Steering Committee. The Class recognizes minority administrators who have made a lasting impact in pro and college sports. </div> <font size=""4"">Woe, Canada! Carter hears boos, Nets lose</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Carter was in no mood to talk about how much the Raptors have improved since they traded him in 2004. "Next question," he said. Carter said the Nets still can make a run at Toronto, whom they trail by 4 games. "I am not worried about what the Raptors are doing," Carter said. "We just have to keep fighting and hopefully we can just maintain until our guys get back. The All-Star break is coming at a great time for us."</div> <font size=""4"">Bosh pours in 25 as Raptors beat Nets</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">It's been two years and two months since the Raptors traded Carter away to the Nets, but the fans at the Air Canada Centre still booed the former Raptor with gusto during team introductions and whenever he touched the ball. When the crowd chanted ''M-V-P'' when Bosh stepped to the free throw line in the first quarter, a television camera caught Carter mouthing, ''Come on, MVP?'' Carter said after the game, ''I was just giving him a hard time.'' Bosh shrugged off Carter's sour words. ''I don't think there's any hard feelings,'' Bosh said. ''It probably comes as a surprise because it's been awhile since he's been here and a lot of things have changed. But I don't think he's that type of person, probably just caught him by shock a little bit.''</div> <font size=""4"">Raps sky-high at break</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">A 120-109 rout of the New Jersey Nets last night, achieved with balanced scoring, good-enough defence and a workmanlike approach to every run the opponents threw at them, sends Toronto off into the break at 29-24, a legitimate fourth seed in the East thanks to a Chicago loss in Charlotte last night, and with a comfortable lead atop the Atlantic Division. Not bad considering the humble beginnings to what looked like another lost season.</div> <font size=""4"">Carter mocks M-V-P! chant</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">When Chris Bosh stepped to the free throw line early in last night's Raptors-Nets game he was promptly bathed in an M-V-P! chant. And Vince Carter, the ghost of a long-ago boom-turned-bust in these parts, openly mocked the fans' refrain. Carter mouthed something that clearly amounted to an objection. He smiled his silly smile and shook his head. And you had to wonder since he and his Nets haven't exactly roused the unenthused fans in the New Jersey swamplands this season if the man formerly known as Air Canada wasn't a little jealous that a throng once under his spell had fallen so completely for another baller. "I don't think there's any hard feelings," said Bosh of Carter. "(The chant) probably comes as a surprise. It's been a while since he's been here and a lot of things have changed." Said Carter: "I was just giving (the fans) a hard time."</div> <font size=""4"">Raptors 120, Nets 109</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The Raptors also made Carter a non-factor, limiting him to four points on 1-for-6 shooting from the floor and harassing him into three turnovers. You dont ever want to feel like with so many games left to go that one game is going to make or break your season, Mitchell said before the game. This is an important game for us because its a divisional game and theyre right behind us but I dont want our players to feel like if things dont go the way we want them to go that we cant accomplish what we set out to do.</div> <font size=""4"">Raptors increase Atlantic lead, beat Carter, Nets</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Carter was booed every time he touched the ball. He finished 5-for-15 from the field. Carter was in no mood to talk about how much the Raptors have improved since they traded him in 2004. "Next question," he said. Carter said they can make a run at Toronto. "I am not worried about what the Raptors are doing," Carter said. "We just have to keep fighting and hopefully we can just maintain until our guys get back. The All-Star break is coming at a great time for us." Bosh also had nine rebounds and six assists. After fans chanted "MVP! MVP!" for Bosh in the first half, Carter mouthed the words, "Come on, MVP?" "I was just giving him a hard time," Carter said. Bosh didn't think there were any bad feelings. "It probably came as a surprise. It has been a while since he's been here, a lot of things have changed. I don't think he's that type of person," Bosh said. "I think it caught him by shock."</div> <font size=""4"">Torrid Toronto shows no mercy to rivals</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">"No one was crying," Raptors coach Sam Mitchell said of the days after Carter's trade in December of 2004. "We understood that we traded a great basketball player and we were starting over. It just made my thinking as a coach different. We knew we were going to be playing a lot of young players, and that was the plan, but you just deal with it." Fast forward and the joke is on Carter, the former favourite son. After agitating to get to New Jersey, the Nets are a team in flux. With the Feb. 22 trade deadline approaching, Nets general manager Rod Thorn, who got Carter for a bag of chips, is weighing whether his aging, injury-ravaged team is worth keeping together or whether it's time to rebuild.</div> <font size=""4"">Decision day looms for Colangelo</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">"You've got to have both a short-term and long-term view," Colangelo said. "And we also have to consider our team's chemistry, which is about as good as it can be right now." Translation: The Raptors are a good bet to head into the playoff stretch with all their current rotation players in place. Logic suggests, however, there could be some tinkering at the bottom end of the roster if there's a chance to move players with salary commitments beyond this season who could be part of a rotation elsewhere, moves that could affect little-used Fred Jones or Kris Humphries.</div> <font size=""5""><u>EBSports</u></font> <font size=""4"">Interview with Bryan Colangelo</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Q: Considering how you took a rather unorthodox approach to re-building Toronto roster, do you look at a possibility to hire a coach with more exposure to international game? Bryan: When I hired Mike D'Antoni as an assistant in PHX, he brought that international vantage point yet he had a base of experience rooted in the NBA. Eventually he took over the Head job and he has done very well. I can definitely see more coaches in the future coming over, yet it will take some adjustment on their part to come and learn the NBA. That might come in the form of taking a job as an assistant with no promise of being "the next coach". If a situation arose where a high calber international coach was hired to the head position, the biggest adjustment would be in tha area of dealing with the personalities. Funny to say, but for the most part NBA coaches have a lot less control of the overall program than European and US college coaches do. Q: Regarding the incoming trading deadline... In the area of making deals, what sort of behind-the-scenes variables weigh on getting a trade done? How much does a GM's and player's reputation around the league and in agent's minds effect negotiations? Bryan: None whatsoever. Deals get done because teams are motivated to make deals. Q: What transaction in your career are you most proud of? And if you could what is the one transaction you would like to go back in time and change? Bryan: Transaction I would re-do...choosing Casey Jacobsen at #22, when Tayshaun Prince was still on the board. It went largely unnoticed because our #9 pick Amare Stoudemire won ROY</div> <font size=""4"">Bosh pours in 25 points as Raptors beat Nets 120-109 in division matchup</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Bosh had 25 points to lead the surging Raptors (29-24), who stretched their division lead over New Jersey to 41/2 games with the win. The victory marked their 10th victory in their last 12 outings and eighth straight at the Air Canada Centre. The Raptors 29 wins equals the most in franchise history heading into the all-star break (they were 29-24 in 2001-02). Not bad for a team that started the season 2-8. Its just something about those guys, they wont quit, said Raptors coach Sam Mitchell. They wont accept giving up. Seven Raptors scored in double figures with Morris Peterson finishing with 18, T.J. Ford scoring 17 points plus adding eight assists, Jose Calderon and Anthony Parker scoring 16 apiece, Andrea Bargnani finishing with 15 and Jorge Garbajosa pitching in with 11. In a way, you wish the season could keep going but its going to help us in the long run, said Peterson. Mentally its important for us, because its the time of the season when the legs might be a little more tired than normal, that shot may not be falling like you want it to, so mentally (the break) is good for us.</div> <font size=""4"">Raptors rise as Nets dive</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">It is true that a little over two years after Vince Carter forced the Toronto Raptors to trade him for a bag of nickels, last night was the first time that Toronto was in better shape than the city's former star. In front of their ninth sellout of the season, the Raptors defeated Carter's New Jersey Nets 120- 109 to take a 4? game lead over the Nets in the Atlantic Division, tying the season series between the two clubs. Toronto now cruises into the all-star break at 29-24, after a 2-8 start. New Jersey? The Nets are 25-29, and sinking.</div> <font size=""4"">Raptors' Perfect Storm Blows Nets Away</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">It was the statement game for a franchise--a chance to finally banish the demons left over from the Carter era, cement their lead on first place in the Atlantic and let everyone know that yes, they are very much for real. And Toronto stepped up and played a near-perfect game, sending the Nets back to Jersey for the break, four games out of first. The Raptors had seven players in double figures--three of them off the bench, and shot nearly 60% from the field, including 55% from beyond the arc. Chris Bosh had a Kevin Garnett-like game, with 25 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists.</div> <font size=""4"">Bosh, Raptors down Nets</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">"Toronto's playing great," said Nets head coach Lawrence Frank. "You've got to give them credit, but with 28 games remaining I don't think you can be watching what Toronto does. They've played great, but what we need to do is continue to get healthy and get better."</div> <font size=""4"">Where Was The Defense?</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Carter didn't have a good shooting night. He was 5-for-15 and scored just 17 points, much to the delight of the Toronto fans. The fans reveled in Carter missing two foul shots in the fourth and in the Raptors blasting Carter's Nets 120-109 to extend their lead in the Atlantic Division to 4 1/2 games. But you can't blame Wednesday's drubbing on Jason Kidd's absence. Their offense wasn't the problem. Their Nets' defense started the All-Star break early. The 120 points were the most the Nets have given up in a regulation game this season. The Raptors shot 64.7 percent in the second half and 58.9 percent overall. The All-Star break started for the Nets at about 9:35 p.m. but their defense went on a break before then. If the Nets don't commit more on that end of the court the Raptors could claim the division title. Even worse, the Nets may miss the playoffs.</div> <div align="center"><font size=""5""><u>Sunshine Girl - 2/15/07</u></font> </div>
