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. Yangervis Solarte Jersey . 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. Rollie Fingers Jersey . "Ive still got it," Seattles ace said with a sly grin. Riding that fastball carrying a little more zip, Hernandez took a shutout bid into the ninth inning as the Mariners beat the Los Angeles Angels 3-1 on Wednesday night. On the verge of a brilliant shutout and first complete game since Aug. San Diego Padres Jerseys .com) - Demario Richard posted four touchdowns and Kweishi Brown came up with a key late interception as No. http://www.authenticpadrespgear.com/padres-johnny-manziel-jersey/ . The 30-year-old Moore played in 13 games for the Saints last season, catching 37 balls for 457 yards and two touchdowns. MINNEAPOLIS -- The Oakland Athletics can win a lot of different ways, as evidenced by their two-year hold on the AL West division title. Yoenis Cespedes proved he can play through a hurting right heel, giving Scott Kazmir and the As a spark with a pair of RBIs that helped spoil the Minnesota Twins home opener with an 8-3 victory on Monday. "When were swinging well, we feel like we have a deep lineup," As manager Bob Melvin said. Cespedes has been hobbling around the last few days with the injury, but the team wasnt worried enough about it to hold him out. The Cuban slugger followed a leadoff walk to Brandon Moss by crushing a double in the second inning for the first run against Kevin Correia (0-1) and hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh. Moss added a two-run single in the third and Derek Norris homered in the sixth. "Everyone knows their strengths and they dont go outside of their game, and I think thats what makes us a great overall ballclub and very deadly down the stretch of the whole season," Norris said. Jed Lowrie hit what the As believed was a home run down the right-field line in the third inning, but the call on the field was a foul ball and the umpire-initiated review, which lasted more than four minutes, upheld the ruling. Lowrie took a walk instead and later scored. Kazmir (2-0), who stymied with Twins in five starts against them last season for Cleveland, completed six innings with six hits, three runs and four walks allowed. He struck out five, and RBI doubles by Aaron Hicks and Jason Kubel were the only damaging hits against him. This wasnt his best, but Kazmir got enough quick outs to stay in there. "Not very efficient with my pitches, but theres going to be days like that so I need to be able to battle. To get six out of that, thats something you can build on," he said. The 30-year-old Kazmir dazzled in his As debut with 7 1-3 scoreless innings last week against his old team, the Indians. He did the same against the Twins in 2013, going 3-0 with a 1.45 ERA in 31 innings with 36 strikeouts. WWith Jarrod Parker, a 12-game winner last year, out for the season following elbow ligament replacement surgery and A. Travis Wood Jersey. J. Griffin not yet ready because of a spring arm injury, the rotation took a hit. Kazmir, then, is that much more valuable. Oh, and so is the lineup. "All the way through, guys are taking quality at-bats and really working the starting pitcher early in the game. That goes a long way as far as getting the win," Kazmir said. Correia came out with two outs in the sixth. He yielded nine hits, six runs and two walks while striking out three. "He started pounding inside a bit better and his last couple innings were better because of that," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "But you cant just stay out and over the plate on these guys." Alberto Callaspo and Josh Reddick also drove in runs for the As, who played without centre fielder Coco Crisp because of a sore left wrist. Norris, Callaspo and Josh Donaldson each had two hits. "I just threw a couple bad pitches in situations where I had a chance to get out of a jam," Correia said. "Thats what Ive been able to do the last couple years." NOTES: Lowrie was hit by a pitch on the lower right leg in the seventh inning and was in too much pain to stay in the game. Nick Punto, who played seven seasons for the Twins, entered as a pinch runner and eventually scored on a balk by Sam Deduno. ... The Athletics made a bullpen shuffle before the game, reinstating RH Ryan Cook from the disabled list and sending RH Evan Scribner to Triple-A Sacramento. Cook, who was out with shoulder tendinitis, struck out two in a hitless ninth. ... Attendance was announced at 35,837, more than 3,000 below official capacity. .... The Twins had left fielder Josh Willingham (left wrist) and right fielder Oswaldo Arcia (right wrist) both out of the lineup. ... The three-game series resumes on Wednesday afternoon, with RH Jesse Chavez (0-0, 1.50 ERA) pitching for the As against Twins RH Phil Hughes (0-0, 7.20 ERA). Wholesale Hoodies NFL Shirts Outlet Jerseys NFL Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '