TORONTO - As anticipated, Thursday nights NBA Draft turned out to be a historic evening for Canadian basketball, however the Rap

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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. Sergio Ramos Jersey . 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. James Rodriguez Real Madrid Jersey . 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"Im going to celebrate for a whole 12 minutes, and then Im going to start watching Orlando and trying to figure them out," the first-year Celtics coach said after Boston beat the Utah Jazz, one of the leagues other winless teams, 97-87 on Wednesday night.SEATTLE - On his sixth snap of the game, Tony Romo took a direct blow to his ribs and spent nearly a minute trying to get back to his feet.Seconds later, when Chris Jones punt was smothered by Seattle and returned for a touchdown, Romo and the Dallas Cowboys were facing a 10-0 deficit on the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks home field.Romo and his teammates rebounded from the terrible start, validating the strong start to the season with a resounding answer.I think our team now understands that we do a lot of things pretty well and I think we have the ability to kind of impose yourself on other teams, Romo said.Rallying from the early deficit, the Cowboys relied on running back DeMarco Murray and a defence that confused Russell Wilson in a 30-23 victory Sunday.Murray, who ran for 115 yards, scored on a 15-yard run with 3:16 left to give Dallas the lead and the Cowboys defence held twice in the final 3 minutes to cap a miserable day by Seattles offence. Rolando McClain intercepted Wilsons pass with less than a minute remaining to clinch the victory.Guys arent going to back down, Dallas coach Jason Garrett said. We have the right kind of guys on this team,The result wasnt stunning. It was the way Dallas won. The Cowboys outhit, out-ran and bullied the Seahawks, showing no intimidation toward Seattles top defence or the noisy environment created by the 12th Man.I think that showed the maturity of this team. We expected to win, Dallas tight end Jason Witten said. We knew this was going to be a challenge and we stayed the course.It looked very familiar to the way Seattle won last year on its way to the title. And now the Cowboys are 5-1 for the first time since 2007.They played really well and they did a lot of cool stuff for their football team in all phases, and we were not right, really, in any phase of our game today, Seattle coach Pete Carroll said.Around every corner of the Dallas locker room compliments and accolades were being tossed about. Dallas owner Jerry Jones held court for nearly 45 minutes.This win is a coaching win. Its a Jason Garrett win, Jones said. This called on everything you could ever ask a coach to come together with a team. He answered the bell today.Murray joined Jim Brown (195 as the only running backs in NFL history to start a season with six straight 100-yard rushing games. And Murray did it against the leagues best run defence, which had not allowed a running back moore than 38 yards in a game this season. Denis Cheryshev Jersey. Dallas improved offensive line opened enough space for Murray to run and for the most part kept Romo protected. Romo was sacked only once, and bounced up off the turf from that first hard hit he took from Bobby Wagner on the Cowboys first drive.And when Romo got pressured on Dallas winning drive, Terrance Williams made a stunning toe-dragging catch along the sideline for 23 yards to convert a third-and-20. Romo moved away from pressure by Bruce Irvin and found Williams along the sideline in front of the Dallas bench.If he throws it up, Im trying to gain his trust, so Im going to catch it regardless, Williams said.Murray then broke free for 25 yards and a 6-yard run to the Seattle 15. He capped his record day by cutting back against the defence and rolling through Richard Sherman at the goal line.Romo was 21 of 32 for 250 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. The second TD throw went to Witten, who became the second tight end in NFL history with 900 receptions.Dan Bailey kicked field goals of 42, 56 and 31 yards, the last with 1:09 remaining.The only reason Dallas needed the late scores was special teams mistakes that handed Seattle 14 points. Doug Baldwin blocked Jones punt and Mike Morgan returned it 25 yards for a touchdown and a 10-0 lead. Dwayne Harris muffed a punt deep in his own territory in the third quarter and, two plays later, Wilson kept on a zone-read and sprinted 9 yards to pull Seattle even at 17.After being lauded for his Monday night performance, Wilson was part of a miserable day for Seattles offence. He finished 14 of 28 for 126 yards, 53 of those coming on one completion to Jermaine Kearse in the first quarter. Seattle was outgained 401-206 and had only nine first downs. Marshawn Lynch was used sparingly, finishing with only 10 carries for 61 yards and most of Percy Harvins plays went backward. Harvins three receptions equaled zero yards.We couldnt get into a rhythm and I dont know what it is, Baldwin said. We had penalties. We just left so many plays out there on the field. Its just all over the board.NOTES: Seattle CB Byron Maxwell left in the second quarter with what Carroll thinks is a high ankle sprain. ... Murray led Dallas with six receptions. ... Seattle had not allowed a running back more than 38 yards rushing in any of its first four games.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL NFL Jerseys China ' ' '