TORONTO - On the eve of his memorable exit interview, Greivis Vasquez sat down for dinner with the leagues most famed and influe

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TORONTO - On the eve of his memorable exit interview, Greivis Vasquez sat down for dinner with the leagues most famed and influential global ambassador, carrying on his mission to secure a new contract with the team that gave him new life in the NBA. In Vasquez time, the meal may have lasted six hours. What did he and Drake discuss? Perhaps a certain 2013-14 MVP came up in conversation. Thunder forward and four-time scoring champion Kevin Durant has been on the minds of Raptors fans for the better part of the last year. Could Drake help lure Durant from Oklahoma City when he becomes a free agent following the 2015-16 season? He may have found a partner in crime. "Hopefully I get to play with him one day in the NBA," Vasquez said of Durant, his high school teammate and old friend, guesting on TSN Drive with Dave Naylor on Monday. "Hopefully its here in Toronto." He wasnt done. "Imagine if we get KD, Kevin Durant in 2016 and he leads us to a championship," the Raptors point guard added, unprompted in an interview with Bryan Hayes on TSN 1050 the following day. "I think hed have statues right outside the ACC." Well played, sir. Vasquez, the quote that keeps on quoting, is angling for a new deal and with the offseason barely a week old, he has positioned himself favourably. In case you havent heard, Vasquez is quite fond of being in Toronto. A week ago, on a day in which Kyle Lowrys impending free agency took centre stage, it was his backup, Vasquez, that stole the show delivering an emotional 19-minute soliloquy, with the occasional question sprinkled in. He thanked the city, its fans, his teammates, coaches and general manager. He thanked the Toronto school board. "My son cannot wake up at 8:00 in the morning, he wakes up at six because hes excited to go to school." He thanked his waiter at the local all-you-can-eat Brazilian steak house. So, he was thorough. It was exit interview meets academy award acceptance speech, only no one had the heart to play him off with music. "Thats Greivis," GM Masai Ujiri said a day later. The 27-year-old point guard rarely holds back on the court, playing the game with a refreshing passion that helped spark Torontos remarkable turnaround in 2014. The same could be said about his approach away from basketball. "Id use the word passionate for Greivis," said newly extended head coach Dwane Casey. "He has stones. Hes probably, truth be told, probably the most confident player on the team. He feels like he can score on LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan in his prime, which is great and you need that." "If you tell him, Greivis, run through that window right there, hes going to do it. Now he may look at you a little bit, but hell do it." Vasquez, a restricted free agent this summer, is sincere in his sentiments, he truly hopes to remain a Raptor and the way hes gone about publicizing it could go a long way in ensuring hes back with the team next season. "It would be heartbreaking if I dont come back," Vasquez exclaimed on a Monday afternoon in the bowels of the Air Canada Centre. "Im an emotional guy, so I really embrace, Im really committed to the team, to the city, to this franchise." Seven days later, there was Vasquez, on stage shaking hands with Torontos Deputy Mayor and representing the organization as May 12 was proclaimed "Raptors Day". After arriving in an early-season trade from Sacramento - where he says he lost his passion for the game - Vasquez averaged 9.5 points and 3.7 assists in 61 games for the Raptors, his fourth NBA stop in four years. He has not wasted the opportunity. Hes gone all in. The Venezuelan-native has established himself as an emotional leader on the team and an ambassador in the city. For good measure hes also offering up his services in recruiting one of the NBAs premier talents, should he still be around in 2016. But will he be around? Ujiri will not be pressured, not by elaborate speeches or the promise of an endorsement in two years from now. Vasquez will be retained if Ujiri determines it makes sense in basketball terms, and it may. Still, the extracurricular incentives cant hurt, especially if the Raptors GM values continuity and chemistry as much as he has indicated. "We hope to get something done," Ujiri told TSN.ca, in reference to Vasquezs contract status. "Hes one of those pieces on the team where you know that hes always going to be a great teammates and hes going to go out and compete." As Vasquez walked off the podium, an audience of assembled media brimming after he captivated them with a season-ending speech for the ages, he left the room the same way he entered it 20 minutes earlier. The "loveable underdog" - as he once referred to himself - wore a black cap decorated with the words "We The North" on his head and a big smile across his face. "Im not taking this for granted," he told the city and its acting mayor on Raptors Day. "Im saying it because I mean it." And he does, but he knows exactly what hes doing. <a href="http://www.authenticbillsfanaticfootball.com/authentic-tre-davious-white-bills-jersey/">Tre Davious White Bills Jersey</a>.com) - A top-10 showdown is on tap in at the McKale Center on Saturday, as the 10th-ranked Arizona Wildcats play host to the eighth-ranked Utah Utes in a key Pac-12 matchup. <a href="http://www.authenticbillsfanaticfootball.com/authentic-nathan-peterman-bills-jersey/">Nathan Peterman Bills Jersey</a>. 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Wheeler said Kane was just making a joke that was misunderstood and misinterpreted by "Winnipeg folks" and the media once again. Wheeler repeated that he believes Kane is a player who has the ability to help the Jets get to the next level as they try once again to reach the playoffs in 2014. He made the comments initially in an interview, when asked how the Jets could compete in the Central Division with teams that have made some high-profile off-season signings. OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- His voice cracking with emotion, Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice acknowledged Friday that he "failed miserably" and apologized for the actions that led to his arrest on assault charges. Rice was arrested following a Feb. 15 altercation in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in which he allegedly struck fiancee Janay Palmer. The couple married in late February, and both went to the stage at the team training complex for their first public comment since the arrest. "I failed miserably, but I wouldnt call myself a failure because Im working my way back up," he said. Wearing a light grey suit and striped tie, Rice spoke for just over six minutes and didnt take questions. His speech was not prepared, but he often referred to notes on his cellphone. "I know many of my supporters, sponsors, dont want to be in partnership with me. Thats my fault," Rice said. "I take full responsibility for that. One thing I do know is that Im working every day to be a better father, a better husband and just a better role model." Rice was accepted Tuesday into a diversion program, which upon completion could lead to the charges being expunged. "I want you to know Im still the Ray Rice that you know, or used to know, or grown to love," Rice said. "Im still the same guy. As me and Janay wish we could take back 30 seconds of our life, we definitely sit here and tell you that we are better parents, we are better lovers and also better friends." Among those in attendance were Rices mother, Janet, and his father-in-law, Joe Palmer. Rice was only 5 when his father was shot and killed, and he referred to Joe Palmer as the" father I never had.ddddddddddddquot; "Thank you for teaching me how to be a man," he told Palmer. "I know it wasnt easy when you saw everything that happened, but I just remember your words: Youll get through it. Those words will always stick with me, because one thing you gave me is trust." The 27-year-old Rice has played six years for the Ravens. He is the teams career leader in total scrimmage yards and ranks behind only Jamal Lewis in total yards rushing. "My job is a very powerful job, and Im blessed to be playing at the highest level of sports," Rice said. "But the job I did was more than scoring touchdowns. It was getting out in the community and helping out. So when this thing happened with me and my wife, one thing I can say is, sometimes in life you will fail." Rice is eager to put this behind him, but its possible that a suspension from the NFL looms ahead. His focus now, however, is clearly on his personal life. "There were a lot of tears shed, but me and Janay can truly say were in a better place," Rice said. "We just hope to one day gain back everyones trust. Were still the same people and Im still the same person." After Rice was done speaking, he turned toward Janay, who enforced the couples united front. "I do deeply regret the role I played in the incident that night," she said. "But I can say that I am happy that we continue to work through it together. 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