TORONTO - Masai Ujiri could not hide his emotion when he was introduced as the incoming president of basketball operations and general manager of the Toronto Raptors Tuesday morning. Gino Cappelletti Jersey . Ujiri, 42, met with local media at the Air Canada Centre for the first time since accepting the job four days prior. The NBAs reigning Executive of the Year, formerly with the Denver Nuggets, was at a loss for words facing the realization that hell be returning to Toronto, where he spent time as director of global scouting and assistant GM from 2007-10. "Im overwhelmed," said Ujiri. "I dont even know where to start. I dont have anything written guys, Im going to speak straight from the heart." "Im home. I came home." Sitting to the left of Tim Leiweke, new president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, Ujiri expressed humility and gratitude to be given the opportunity to head up basketball operations in a city he is passionate for but didnt hide from the challenge that is now in front of him. Mired in a five-year playoff drought, the longest in franchise history, the Raptors have failed to live up to recent expectations while struggling to achieve a consistent level of respectability throughout their existence. "Why cant I change it," asked Ujiri, the fifth GM in the franchises embattled 18-year history. "Its our job. Its our job to make it better, its our job to make it good, its our job to create a winning environment and thats why Im here." Leiweke has pursued Ujiri aggressively since the Nuggets granted Toronto permission to meet with their top executive late last month. Terms have not been disclosed but the deal is reported to be in the neighbourhood of $15 million over five years. "This is not an organization that wants to make the playoffs, this is an organization that would like to win championships," Leiweke said. "We understood that we needed fresh new thinking, dynamic thinking and leadership in order to get us to where we want to go to and we clearly understood that we have not had the success that the owners, the fans or this team deserves and so we set our sights on bringing in a new leader, a new chemistry and culture for the organization." "When we set our sights, we decided to set our sights high." Ujiri remained tight-lipped in regards to philosophy and player personnel, speaking generally about the organizations goal to build the right way and choosing not to discuss specifics until he has a staff in place. Ed Stefanski, former executive vice president, was relieved of his duties on Saturday along with a number of scouts and several others will be evaluated by Ujiri in the coming days. Head coach Dwane Casey is under contract for one more season and is expected to be kept on, pending further conversation with Ujiri to get on the same page. The elephant in the room was the team president, who was not in the room. According to Leiweke, Bryan Colangelo -- who was stripped of the GM title but kept on in the role of president last month -- was present in Toronto and met with Ujiri this morning, but was not asked to join the two executives on stage. "This was not meant to send a message," Leiweke insisted. "I know theres a lot of controversy and a lot of opinions out there about our reporting structure but theres no confusion from within, this is simple. [Colangelos] going to be there to advise and give input when Masai asks for it." Ujiri thanked Colangelo, one of his mentors, for bringing him to Toronto and giving him an opportunity back in 2007 but firmly denied the prospect of a power struggle with his former boss. "Theres no issue with Bryan Colangelo [and I]," Ujiri said. "Theres no issue. None whatsoever." "Im on the [hot] seat now and Ill take Bryans input when I feel its necessary," he continued. "At the end of the day, Im going to put my staff together and were going to figure this all out collectively but my decisions, like Tim said, basketball decisions are going to be my decisions." Ronnie Lott Jersey . 10 Texas A&Ms offence dominated as usual against SMU. Curtis Martin Jersey .4 million title. Ryan Riess emerged with the title after a session in which he started behind, but used expert skill to gather the chips to his side amid the unpredictability of no-limit Texas Hold em. Riess put his final opponent Jay Farber all-in with an Ace-King. http://www.custompatriotsjersey.com/custom-nkeal-harry-jersey-large-71f.html ;. If ever they start actually putting pictures beside words in the dictionary, the Blue Jays left-handers mug will appear beside “Consistency. FOXBOROUGH, Mass. --?Patriots quarterback Tom Brady told Westwood One radio that he has spent the first week of a four-game NFL suspension by staying in shape, spending time with his family and picking his children up from school, and said he is flattered by the large banner of him that the team placed on the lighthouse at Gillette Stadium.I think it was a very cool gesture by Mr. Kraft and the team, Brady told Jim Gray in an interview leading up to Thursday nights NFL opener. Ill be excited to be back out there in October, when Im there for real, but it was a really cool thing to do, and I was certainly very humbled and flattered to see it.Brady, who again will be a weekly guest on the pregame show with Gray, said he has seen quite a bit of the banner on social media but has yet to see it in person.He laughed during a discussion of remarks made by teammate Julian Edelman, who recently said Bradys suspension was like one of your buddies going to jail.Not quite jail, but I feel like I dont have the opportunity to do something I love to do, Brady told Gray. Thats the hard part about the situation were in. Like I said, Im going to try to be positive about that and spend some quality time with my family and pick my kids up from school and do some things that I wont have the opportunity to do in October, November and December, and hopefully for the years to come. Hopefully I can keep playing football for a long time and I dont have to ever sit out a September for as long as Im playing.Brady also was asked about his helmet not having an NFL decal on it during the two preseason games in which he played, which sparked speculation that perhaps he removed it.No, I didnt, he said. I dont even pay attention to whats on my helmet. I just hope the helmet is functional. Thats all Im trying to get the helmet to be. I dont pay attention to the stickers, or whaatever else is on there. Lamar McHan Jersey. I certainly didnt remove anything.Brady also dismissed any thought that there is a rift between him and backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.I think theres obviously a lot of things that are said over the course of a season to try to divide our team, he said. Thats never been what our team has been about. I want all the players on our team to do great. Certainly, Jimmy, I know him really well. Hes really done a great job preparing himself, and Im excited to see how he makes the most of his opportunity.Brady told Gray that he will watch all of the Patriots games, and hopes it makes him a better player.Im a pretty positive person, Brady said. I use all these different situations in my life as learning experiences and Ive certainly learned a lot about myself, about my support system, about the people that care about me, my teammates, my friendships.And I look forward to going out there and playing when I have the opportunity to do it. Sometimes when youre not out there, you gain a different perspective, and you gain maybe more appreciation for what you do. I did have that chance in 2008 under different circumstances when I got injured and had a chance to sit back and watch from afar. Unfortunately Ill be doing that again for these four weeks and hopefully I can gain maybe a deeper perspective and maybe one I couldnt have gained if I was out there playing. Thats what Im looking forward to figuring out.As for his decision not to pursue further legal action against the NFL, which Brady previously addressed, he told Gray, I owe my teammates to be the best that I can be, and to have this divided attention that I had at different points last season was something that didnt really serve me. ' ' '
TORONTO - Masai Ujiri could not hide his emotion when he was introduced as the incoming president of basketball operations and general manager of the Toronto Raptors Tuesday morning. Gino Cappelletti Jersey . Ujiri, 42, met with local media at the Air Canada Centre for the first time since accepting the job four days prior. The NBAs reigning Executive of the Year, formerly with the Denver Nuggets, was at a loss for words facing the realization that hell be returning to Toronto, where he spent time as director of global scouting and assistant GM from 2007-10. "Im overwhelmed," said Ujiri. "I dont even know where to start. I dont have anything written guys, Im going to speak straight from the heart." "Im home. I came home." Sitting to the left of Tim Leiweke, new president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, Ujiri expressed humility and gratitude to be given the opportunity to head up basketball operations in a city he is passionate for but didnt hide from the challenge that is now in front of him. Mired in a five-year playoff drought, the longest in franchise history, the Raptors have failed to live up to recent expectations while struggling to achieve a consistent level of respectability throughout their existence. "Why cant I change it," asked Ujiri, the fifth GM in the franchises embattled 18-year history. "Its our job. Its our job to make it better, its our job to make it good, its our job to create a winning environment and thats why Im here." Leiweke has pursued Ujiri aggressively since the Nuggets granted Toronto permission to meet with their top executive late last month. Terms have not been disclosed but the deal is reported to be in the neighbourhood of $15 million over five years. "This is not an organization that wants to make the playoffs, this is an organization that would like to win championships," Leiweke said. "We understood that we needed fresh new thinking, dynamic thinking and leadership in order to get us to where we want to go to and we clearly understood that we have not had the success that the owners, the fans or this team deserves and so we set our sights on bringing in a new leader, a new chemistry and culture for the organization." "When we set our sights, we decided to set our sights high." Ujiri remained tight-lipped in regards to philosophy and player personnel, speaking generally about the organizations goal to build the right way and choosing not to discuss specifics until he has a staff in place. Ed Stefanski, former executive vice president, was relieved of his duties on Saturday along with a number of scouts and several others will be evaluated by Ujiri in the coming days. Head coach Dwane Casey is under contract for one more season and is expected to be kept on, pending further conversation with Ujiri to get on the same page. The elephant in the room was the team president, who was not in the room. According to Leiweke, Bryan Colangelo -- who was stripped of the GM title but kept on in the role of president last month -- was present in Toronto and met with Ujiri this morning, but was not asked to join the two executives on stage. "This was not meant to send a message," Leiweke insisted. "I know theres a lot of controversy and a lot of opinions out there about our reporting structure but theres no confusion from within, this is simple. [Colangelos] going to be there to advise and give input when Masai asks for it." Ujiri thanked Colangelo, one of his mentors, for bringing him to Toronto and giving him an opportunity back in 2007 but firmly denied the prospect of a power struggle with his former boss. "Theres no issue with Bryan Colangelo [and I]," Ujiri said. "Theres no issue. None whatsoever." "Im on the [hot] seat now and Ill take Bryans input when I feel its necessary," he continued. "At the end of the day, Im going to put my staff together and were going to figure this all out collectively but my decisions, like Tim said, basketball decisions are going to be my decisions." Ronnie Lott Jersey . 10 Texas A&Ms offence dominated as usual against SMU. Curtis Martin Jersey .4 million title. Ryan Riess emerged with the title after a session in which he started behind, but used expert skill to gather the chips to his side amid the unpredictability of no-limit Texas Hold em. Riess put his final opponent Jay Farber all-in with an Ace-King. http://www.custompatriotsjersey.com/custom-nkeal-harry-jersey-large-71f.html . If ever they start actually putting pictures beside words in the dictionary, the Blue Jays left-handers mug will appear beside “Consistency. FOXBOROUGH, Mass. --?Patriots quarterback Tom Brady told Westwood One radio that he has spent the first week of a four-game NFL suspension by staying in shape, spending time with his family and picking his children up from school, and said he is flattered by the large banner of him that the team placed on the lighthouse at Gillette Stadium.I think it was a very cool gesture by Mr. Kraft and the team, Brady told Jim Gray in an interview leading up to Thursday nights NFL opener. Ill be excited to be back out there in October, when Im there for real, but it was a really cool thing to do, and I was certainly very humbled and flattered to see it.Brady, who again will be a weekly guest on the pregame show with Gray, said he has seen quite a bit of the banner on social media but has yet to see it in person.He laughed during a discussion of remarks made by teammate Julian Edelman, who recently said Bradys suspension was like one of your buddies going to jail.Not quite jail, but I feel like I dont have the opportunity to do something I love to do, Brady told Gray. Thats the hard part about the situation were in. Like I said, Im going to try to be positive about that and spend some quality time with my family and pick my kids up from school and do some things that I wont have the opportunity to do in October, November and December, and hopefully for the years to come. Hopefully I can keep playing football for a long time and I dont have to ever sit out a September for as long as Im playing.Brady also was asked about his helmet not having an NFL decal on it during the two preseason games in which he played, which sparked speculation that perhaps he removed it.No, I didnt, he said. I dont even pay attention to whats on my helmet. I just hope the helmet is functional. Thats all Im trying to get the helmet to be. I dont pay attention to the stickers, or whaatever else is on there. Lamar McHan Jersey. I certainly didnt remove anything.Brady also dismissed any thought that there is a rift between him and backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.I think theres obviously a lot of things that are said over the course of a season to try to divide our team, he said. Thats never been what our team has been about. I want all the players on our team to do great. Certainly, Jimmy, I know him really well. Hes really done a great job preparing himself, and Im excited to see how he makes the most of his opportunity.Brady told Gray that he will watch all of the Patriots games, and hopes it makes him a better player.Im a pretty positive person, Brady said. I use all these different situations in my life as learning experiences and Ive certainly learned a lot about myself, about my support system, about the people that care about me, my teammates, my friendships.And I look forward to going out there and playing when I have the opportunity to do it. Sometimes when youre not out there, you gain a different perspective, and you gain maybe more appreciation for what you do. I did have that chance in 2008 under different circumstances when I got injured and had a chance to sit back and watch from afar. Unfortunately Ill be doing that again for these four weeks and hopefully I can gain maybe a deeper perspective and maybe one I couldnt have gained if I was out there playing. Thats what Im looking forward to figuring out.As for his decision not to pursue further legal action against the NFL, which Brady previously addressed, he told Gray, I owe my teammates to be the best that I can be, and to have this divided attention that I had at different points last season was something that didnt really serve me. ' ' '
