<font size=""4"">Colangelo's had a whirlwind year</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">"I came to my office that night and the message light on my phone is flashing," said Richard Peddie, the president and chief executive officer of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. "And it's a message from Jerry Colangelo telling us we had permission to talk to Bryan. We had just traded Jalen Rose and then beaten the Knicks, so it was like hitting the trifecta."</div> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">"We paid him very well," Peddie said. "And he's been worth every penny."</div> <font size=""4"">Quiet on Raptors front</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">It's expected Bill Duffy, who represents Fred Jones, will reach out to Colangelo to see if there's an opportunity to find a soft landing for his client since Jones has fallen out of the rotation. Similarly, representatives for Kris Humphries, who has also struggled to find the court, might be expected to make some inquiries.</div> <font size=""4"">Passion for greatness</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">"People are following the Raptors brand whether it's Internet, TV or whatever and Chris Bosh clearly is the franchise leader," he said. "We can talk about all the other parts, but he's the guy. He's 22 years old, he's a 20 and 10 performer. He's only getting better and things are just going well for us with that kind of player and that kind of person leading the way."</div> <font size=""4"">Bosh up for a challenge</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Tomorrow they host the Cleveland Cavaliers, the team two rungs above them in the conference standings, and on Friday they entertain the Indiana Pacers, who are just behind them. A couple of wins will go a long way to creating some extra breathing room. "That's the thing about it, there's always going to be a challenge, no matter how close we are," said Bosh. "We're always going to be playing somebody that's good in the East or good in the West. We have to make sure that we beat the teams we're supposed to beat and protect our home court."</div> <font size=""4"">What's left for the East's top 10</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">TORONTO, 29-24 Games remaining: 29 Home: 15 Away: 14 Vs. East: 23 Vs. West: 6 Back-to-back: 6 Longest trip: 3, twice: At Charlotte, San Antonio, Houston; at Miami, Orlando, Philadelphia</div> <font size=""4"">Nash may return to action tonight</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">After testing his sore right shoulder in practice yesterday, Phoenix point guard Steve Nash said he hopes to return to the lineup when the Suns visit the Los Angeles Clippers tonight.</div> <font size=""4"">With Bosh leading charge, resurgent Raptors make noise</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">This week, they come out of the break with a 41/2-game lead on New Jersey in the Atlantic Division, having won 10 of their last 12, on track for their first appearance in the playoffs since 2002. Since starting the season 2-8, the Raptors are 27-16 and arguably the surprise team of the NBA. "It's nice to see it happen as quickly as it has," says Bryan Colangelo, who took over as president/general manager last Feb. 28 and reshaped the roster with nine newcomers. "But let's not lose sight of our goal. We'll be disappointed if we don't make the playoffs."</div> <font size=""4"">Ilgauskas listed out for Toronto</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The Cavaliers have listed center Zydrunas Ilgauskas as "out" for Wednesday's game in Toronto. Ilgauskas missed the final two games before the All-Star break for personal reasons, the first two games he's missed this season.</div> <font size=""4"">NBA All-Star Starter Chris Bosh Has Game</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Eastern Conference starting All-Star Chris Bosh of the Toronto Raptors had a busy weekend of basketball and videogames. Bosh was on the the eight NBA players to compete in the EA Sports NBA Street Homecourt Challenge on Thursday night at the NBA All-Star Tip-Off Party. On Saturday, after practice, he headed over to the EA Sports booth at the NBA All-Star Jam Session, where he signed autographs and copies of his new NBA Street Volume 4 DVD: The Class of 03, and then took on two gamers on Xbox 360 NBA Street Homecourt. He defeated both players by a score of 11-8. Bosh stuck with his Raptors for both games, playing the first game on the Venice Beach court and the second inside the Franklin gym. Bosh took some time to talk to SportsGamer after the virtual competition.</div> <div align="center"><font size=""5""><u>Sunshine Girl - 2/20/07</u></font> </div>
