Its been an eventful 12 months for the Toronto Raptors. The team got nailed by injuries to start last season and ended up dropping 19 of their first 23 games. Then another injury actually turned things around. Andrea Bargnani went down with an elbow injury and the Raptors won eight of their next 10. Next came a major in season trade as the Raptors sent much loved point guard Jose Calderon and young big man Ed Davis to Memphis in exchange for Rudy Gay. Gay instantly became the go-to guy in Toronto and the Raptors actually went .500 (18-18) after the trade to finish the season 34-48 and tied for ninth in the East. The in-season changes were nothing compared to what has happened since though. Off-season of change When Tim Leiweke was hired as the new president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment it didnt take long to realize that he was brining sweeping changes with him. For the Raptors it meant saying goodbye to Bryan Colangelo, the man who had led the team for the past seven seasons, the last five of which involved missing the playoffs. The Raptors lured up and coming executive Masai Ujiri away from the Denver Nuggets to take over from Colangelo as GM. Its fitting that the first major move made by Ujiri was to ship Bargnani, whom Colangelo selected first overall in 2006 and failed to build the team around, off to New York. And not only was Ujiri able to move Bargnani and his bloated contract, he actually got something in return. THe Raptors received Marcus Camby, Steve Novak and Quentin Richardson in the deal as well as a 2016 frist round draft pick and two future second round picks. The team waived Camby and Richardson, but Novak gives the Raptors some much needed three-point shooting and the draft picks will be najor assets as the Raptors look to rebuild. The Raptors also amnestied Linas Kleiza while adding Tyler Hansbrough, Austin Daye and D.J. Augustin to the fold for this season. The team certainly isnt ready to be considered a contender just yet, but its a brand new era in Toronto. And with Ujiri at the helm, the future looks bright. The Good The Raptors have turned the page on the Bryan Colangelo-Andrea Bargnani. The Raptors future is in far better hands with Masai Ujiri at the helm and building around Jonas Valanciunas. Toronto actually has a pretty strong starting lineup with Valanciunas flanked by Amir Johnson and Rudy Gay in the frontcourt along with DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry in the backcourt. That lineup actually outscored opponents by 85 points in their 343 minutes together last season. Valanciunas especially looks to be a real bright spot for the Raptors and could be in line for a breakout season after dominating in summer league. A full training camp for Rudy Gay should also prove big for the Raptors. He led the team in scoring after joining them in February, averaging 19.5 points to go along with 6.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists. The team will look for him to be even better, and far more efficient, in his first full season in Toronto. DeMar DeRozan is another player that could be in line for a breakout year. His offensive game is continuing to develop and he is also improving on the defensive end. The team has the offensive firepower to compete night-in, night-out and could actually be in the running for a lower seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. And more importantly their future growth is in good hands with Ujiri who is widely regarded as a terrific talent evaluator. The Not So Good Dwane Casey emphasizes defence in his coaching, but the team actually struggled to stop opponents last season. Raptors opponents scored 104.7 points per 100 possessions last year, ranking the Raptors 22nd in the league in that category. Their starting five project to be a pretty stout unit, but Valanciunas, Lowry and Johnson all tend to be foul prone and the defensive depth behind them isnt great. Theyll need their starters to stay out of trouble if they want to keep opponent scoring down. Kyle Lowry is also proving to be a fairly injury prone player which could be problematic given the lack of point guard depth behind him. Luckily heavoided a more significant finger injury to his non-shooting hand in a presseason game against Memphis but will still have to wear a splint on the finger for the first six weeks of the season. He has averaged 13.5 games on the sidelines over the last four years though and neither Dwight Buycks, nor DJ Augustin looks capable of handling starters minutes. Another potential stumbling block for the season (not necessarily the long-term though) is the fact that Lowry and Gay are both in the final year of their respective contracts. Ujiri may decide may decide he wants to buld elsewhere and look to move one or both players. Any such move would drop the players out of playoff contention and into the lottery. In the long run that may not actually be a bad thing as the 2014 prospect pool is loaded and the Raptors are probabyl targeting 2016 for when they truly want to compete. What To Expect As long as the Raptors dont blow things up and trade Lowry, Gay or any other starter for future assets, this will be a team that is in the hunt for the playoffs. They should be flirting with the .500 mark all season long and if they get there it should be enough for a low playoff seed in the top-heavy Eastern Conference. They would soundly thumped in the first round by any of the top teams most likely, but for a fan base dying to get back into the playoffs, that might be enough for now. Of course, if Ujiri does decide to do some wheeling and dealing, the team would fall out of the playoff hunt and into the hunt for a high pick next year. Either way, there is reason for optimism in Toronto. Mariners Jerseys China . -- The Chiefs have signed seven players to reserve/future contracts, including running back Joe McKnight, a former fourth-round pick of the New York Jets. Mariners Jerseys 2019 . UEFA said Wednesday that the champions of England and France only have to include five home-trained players in their 21-man squads next season instead of the expected eight. Only one of the five players needs to be trained by the club itself. https://www.cheapmariners.com/.ca. Kerry, In Mondays Habs/Bruins game, there were three questionable/brutal calls against the Habs late in the game - Tomas Plekanec, then Douglas Murray, then Brendan Gallagher. Wholesale Mariners Jerseys . The Raptors second-year forward has been one of the primary beneficiaries of the early-season trade, breaking out and becoming a vital part of his teams success on both ends of the floor. Around the league, teams are starting to take notice and feature Ross more predominately in their pre-game scouting reports but its not just the opposition that hes impressing. Stitched Mariners Jerseys . - After three days of light, make that very light, workouts, Team Irvin and Team Carter are ready for tonights Pro Bowl.ARLINGTON, Texas -- Rick Porcello went to his normal spot on the Detroit Tigers bench after the eighth inning. He had every intention to finish what he started. With a few pitches to spare, Porcello got his first career shutout, a 6-0 three-hitter over the sinking Texas Rangers on Thursday night for Detroits seventh consecutive victory. "This is extremely special to me," Porcello said. Porcello (10-4) threw 105 pitches through eight innings. With relievers moving around in the bullpen, manager Brad Ausmus and pitching coach Jeff Jones discussed what to do with the right-hander, who did his best to avoid eye contact and then needed only 10 pitches in the ninth to get three groundball outs. "You just worry about the pitch count. We dont want him going much above 115, maybe top out at 120," Ausmus said. "A 15-pitch inning is a good inning, so its kind of a tall task to ask him to get through the inning, but he was able to do it." Porcello limited the Rangers to three singles and benefited from three 4-6-3 double plays (second baseman Ian Kinsler to shortstop Eugenio Sanchez to first baseman Miguel Cabrera), including one after Texas had consecutive hits in the sixth. "The ability to get two outs with one pitch is huge. I was able to execute those sinkers," Porcello said. "Without those guys, I dont know that I would have been able to go nine." The right-hander struck out six and walked three, throwing 72 of his season-high 115 pitches for strikes. It was only the second complete game for Porcello in 164 major league starts -- all for the Tigers since 2009, and he has won at least 10 games in each of his six seasons. Miguel Cabrera had four hits and Austin Jackson hit a two-run single for the AL Central leaders, who completed a three-game sweep. While the Tigers have the longest winning streak in the majors, Texas has the longest losing streak at eight in a row. The Rangers, who last lost eight in a row in August 2005, are 1-6-1 their last eight series overall and 16-22 at home. "We know were a way better team than the way were playing right now," said shortstop Elvis&nnbsp;Andrus, who grounded into that double play in the sixth.dddddddddddd. "Hes got a pretty good sinker. We all knew that. He made the right pitch at the right moment." Rangers rookie Nick Martinez (1-5) allowed six hits and walked five of the 18 batters he faced in 2 1-3 innings. Detroit went ahead to stay in the second when Torii Hunter drew a bases-loaded walk before Cabreras deep inning-ending flyout with the bases loaded. Victor Martinez drew a walk to start the third before a double by Nick Castellanos set up Jacksons two-run single. After two more walks, Nick Martinez was pulled and Kinsler greeted reliever Scott Baker with an RBI single that made it 4-0. Kinsler, the three-time All-Star for the Rangers who was traded to Detroit for Prince Fielder last off-season, homered in his first at-bat Tuesday in his return to Texas as an opponent. Kinsler went 6 for 14 in the series with four runs and four RBIs. With two hits in all three games, Kinsler extended his streak of multihit games to five and is hitting .302 on the season. He has 31 multihit games, one behind Houstons Jose Altuve for the most in the majors. J.D. Martinez had a sacrifice fly for the Tigers, but went 0 for 4 to snap his 14-game hitting streak that was the longest active run in the majors. Cabrera had three singles before his AL-high 28th double in the eighth drove home Kinsler. "Were playing good baseball as a team, and were confident as a group right now," Kinsler said. "Its just a lot of fun playing ball that way." NOTES: It was the fourth shutout for the Tigers this season. Texas was held scoreless for the fourth time. ... Rangers LHP Derek Holland, on the DL since off-season left knee surgery, took fielding practice off the mound. He is scheduled to throw a simulated game Saturday in Arlington. Holland said he feels great, "like I can do everything." ... Texas GM Jon Daniels said his team cant focus on all the injuries -- a major league-high 14 players on the disabled list. He said a big thing right now is player development at the big league level with the youngsters having to play. ' ' '