made by the club forcing me to retire. . I

TORONTO - As anticipated, Thursday nights NBA Draft turned out to be a historic evening for Canadian basketball, however the Raptors, the countrys lone team, became reluctant spectators despite their best efforts to get in on the festivities. In many ways it was a celebration of how far the country has come and how much the sport has grown within it. In total, four Canadian players were selected - setting a league record - including three in the top 18, all from the Greater Toronto Area. For the second consecutive year Canada produced the top pick, 19-year-old phenom and Vaughan-native Andrew Wiggins, who will join last years No. 1 selection Anthony Bennett, Tristan Thompson and Dwight Powell - picked in the second-round of Thursdays draft - in Cleveland. Mississaugas Nik Stauskas followed suit, going to the Sacramento Kings at pick No. 8 before the Phoenix Suns - owners of the 18th pick - nabbed Brampton point guard Tyler Ennis, a player that sat atop the Raptors board when he heard his name called. It was a bittersweet moment for the 19-year-old Ennis, who was finally realizing his lifelong dream, albeit two picks away from beginning his career with his hometown team. The Raptors, drafting 20th, struck out on their top target but it wasnt for a lack of effort or interest. "We tried everything," Dwane Casey admitted shortly after the first-round concluded. "It just didnt work out." Masai Ujiri and his staff tracked Ennis throughout his freshman year at Syracuse and quickly became enamoured with his poise at the point guard position. Until recently they believed there was little chance he would fall to them, or even come close. With his stock fluctuating leading up to the draft, Ujiri hoped Ennis would be available to them, also exploring several scenarios to trade up and even entice the Suns to give him up after the selection had been made. With Ennis off the board, Ujiri opted for the next player on his wish list, Brazilian mystery man Bruno Caboclo "We decided we lost one," said the Raptors general manager, "were not going to lose the other one. So we jumped on it." The Raptors came that close to drafting what would have been the first Canadian selected in their 20-year franchise history, but given the rate in which the country is producing high-level talent its only a matter of time until that vision - which once seemed like a pipe dream - becomes a reality. "Ennis was a target for us but he was picked by another team," Ujiri lamented. "We will have Canadians on our team. Definitely we will have Canadian players on our team. Theyre all over the league now. The last two first picks have been Canadian." "We tried and it didnt work out this time," he continued, "but were glad theres a lot a lot of them in the league and eventually well get a couple of Canadians here, trust me. Itll come, well get them here." Thursday served as a friendly reminder, Canada isnt going anywhere. After hemming and hawing for weeks, the Cavaliers finally decided on Wiggins with their No. 1 overall pick. Decked out in a captivating black suit decorated with white floral print and topped off with a black bow tie, the one and done Kansas star couldnt hide his joy when first-year commissioner Adam Silver called his name. "A thousand thoughts are going through my head right now," Wiggins said minutes later. "Its a dream come true. Ive been dreaming of this moment since I was a little kid. My dream was just to make the NBA and now going to high school and college the opportunity of going number one came into talk and now I accomplished that. So its a crazy feeling right now. I dont even know how I feel. It doesnt feel real right now." "I always believed it," Stauskas added. "I believed in myself and I dont think many other people did but this is something Ive always felt is a possibility for me and I just kept working my hardest to make it happen. Its a cliche but dreams really do come true when you put all your effort into it." What could this night mean for the country? "I just think its huge," Wiggins said. "It opens doors for all the youth and everyone in Canada. It gives them hope. Because coming up when I was Canada, I wasnt ranked or nothing, I wasnt known. I didnt have no offers or anything like that. But I just kept my head straight and kept working on my game and look where I am today. So I just think it gives everyone hope that they can do the same thing and accomplish whatever I do because its possible if they work hard." The Raptors, like most of the 29 other teams, did pass up on four other eligible Canadians that went undrafted Thursday. Montreals Khem Birch, Calgarys Jordan Bachynski, Toronto-native and reigning Big 12 player of the year Melvin Ejim and the 7-foot-5 Sim Bhullar, also from the Toronto area, didnt hear their name called. Instead, Toronto opted for UConn forward DeAndre Daniels with an early second-round pick and traded the 59th overall pick to the Brooklyn Nets. Ujiri has maintained that if and when the Raptors do add a Canadian he wont be employed for his passport and he wont be sitting at the end of the bench. The pressure surrounding that type of player in that situation would be unfair, hes said. All four of the undrafted Canadian players are expected to catch on with Summer League teams, hoping to earn a spot on an NBA roster before weighing their options overseas or in the D-League. Miguel Ibarra Jersey . The 25-year-old native of Milford, Conn., has 18 points in 41 games this season. The five-foot-eight 166-pound centre also has 28 points (10-18) in 15 games with AHL Oklahoma City. Michael Bradley Jersey . -- Canadian ski cross star Marielle Thompson accomplished two goals in one race Saturday. http://www.soccerusafansshop.com/Andrija...America-Jersey/. Judging by his performance Saturday night, Cotto has plenty left in the tank. Cotto became the first Puerto Rican fighter to win world championships in four weight divisions, stopping Sergio Martinez in their WBC world middleweight title fight Saturday night. Omar Gonzalez Jersey .J. -- Tom Coughlin doesnt have many options at halfback for the winless New York Giants. Clint Dempsey Jersey . - Quarterback Brady Quinn says he has been released by the Miami Dolphins.WINNIPEG -- He wasnt pushed by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and thinks he could still play but, at nearly 35 years of age, veteran CFL all-star receiver Terrence Edwards says his body has been giving him messages that the time is right to retire. "My body has been starting to tell me that my career has been coming to an end," the soft-spoken Georgia native said Tuesday from his home in Atlanta. He wanted to dispel any suggestions he was being pushed, after musing earlier this year that he might return for a season or two and said he was keeping another promise, to retire from football in a Bomber uniform. "It was my decision, it wasnt a decision that was made by the club forcing me to retire. . I just thought it was the best time for me right now to move on from playing professional football." The Bombers praised him as one of their greats and his numbers back that up. He sits fourth on the all-time team list for receiving yards at 7,200, produced five 1,000-yard-plus seasons and 24 100-yard-plus games, second only to Milt Stegall in that regard among Bombers receivers. He was a league all-star twice and a divisional all-star three times. "Terrence will retire today as one of the best receivers in the history of this franchise," said general manager Kyle Walters in a statement. "He was a leader of the clubs offence for many years and players like him simply do not come along every day. He was a special player in our league, and we thank him for everything he has done for our organization." As a Bomber, he never failed to gain at least 500 receiving yards and pushed his CFL career totals to 508 catches for 7,637 yards and 47 touchdowns by the end of 2013. And that includes last season, when his playing time was limited by injuries. He also mentioned Tuesday what went on last year in the Bomber locker-room but wouldnt go into any details. It was not a happy place to be, as the team struggled and finished tied for their worst season in the 18-game CFL at 3-15. It cost the teams president, general mmanager and coach their jobs.dddddddddddd But injuries were certainly a factor in his decision, agreed Edwards. "Getting freak injuries throughout the whole year last year. And thats one thing I always told myself, that if I had a major injury Id retire and I did have a major injury last year." He had off-season surgery to repair an injured foot that was the most serious problem he faced in 2013, although he also missed a couple of games due to an injured shoulder. Also nagging at him, he confessed, is the fact that none were contact injuries. He says he wants to be able to run around with his two young sons without having to take pain killers. "That was also in my decision-making process." When Edwards entered the CFL he was known as the younger brother of running back Robert Edwards, a first-round NFL draft pick who played for the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins before moving to the CFL, first with Montreal then with the Toronto Argonauts. Terrence Edwards also had a very brief try in the NFL in 2003 with the Atlanta Falcons but it was in the CFL that he made his mark. After two seasons with the Montreal Alouettes, his debut in a Bomber uniform in 2007 saw him record 1,280 yards and nine touchdowns. There is no question he will be missed. "Terrence Edwards has been a consummate professional for the Winnipeg Football Club throughout the past seven years, and I would personally like to thank him for representing our club with class, hard work, and a burning desire to be successful," said Bomber president Wade Miller. "He may be hanging them up but he will always remain a member of the Blue Bomber family." Edwards says he has plans for life after football but declined to go into any detail. He also suggested he wouldnt mind coaching at some point. He enjoys playing recreational basketball and will continue to do that. "But right now I just want to relax, and step away from it for a little while . . . I think I just want to be a fan now and watch the games." 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