Former Toronto Raptors president and general manager Bryan Colangelo addressed his tanking comments made at the MIT Sports Analytics Conference in Toronto on Friday and admitted it was merely a poor choice of words. Speaking on TSN Radio 1050s TSN Drive with Dave Naylor on Monday, Colangelo said he had no intention of tanking the shortened 2011-12 season, but definitely wanted a high pick in the draft. "I wish that word wasnt used for headline reasons," said Colangelo, "but the story behind it was: how can we fix the system? How can we tweak the system to make it less likely that teams are rewarded for losing records? "I do believe that if youre as transparent as we were at the time - with our season seat holders, our fans, the market place and the media - everybody knew what the plan was and what we were going through. It didnt make it easy to lose games but there was anticipation that games would be lost. With that comes curtain rewards and in the system that we currently play under, the team with the worst record gets the greatest odds and a non-playoff team is in a lottery that can ultimately lead to them getting top-notch talent coming to their team." Colangelo said the team was happy getting Terrence Ross in the first round (8th overall) of the 2012 draft and would never tell a coach to lose games since it can only have negative long-term effects. "Coach was doing such a fabulous job with the group that there certainly was no intentional losing going on because we won far too many games than anyone anticipated and it put us in a position to still get a nice draft pick in Terrance Ross," said Colangelo. "But it certainly decreased our odds of getting the top choice, which was a franchise centre in Anthony Davis." Colangelo talked about when the team faced heavy scrutiny when they picked Jonas Valanciunas, who was selected in the first round (5th overall) in 2011. "We got booed off the stage when the announcement was made but that was the right pick for this organization. It was not an easy one to make knowing that Jonas would not be made available for at least a year and maybe more if the buyout hadnt been successfully negotiated. We knew it was going to be a tough scenario going into a new year without the inclusion of a top draft pick but the following season we also knew that not only would Jonas be coming but another fairly high-value draft selection - unknown at the time - would be helping us as well. Not to mention we would have cap space and greater developed players at that point." The Raptors finished the 2011-12 season with a 23-43 record, good for 11th in the Eastern Conference, 12 games behind the Philadelphia 76ers for the final playoff spot in the East, and the eighth-worst record in the NBA. The team neither rose nor fell in the lottery, receiving the eighth-overall pick in the 2012 draft where they selected Ross out of the University of Washington. The 2007 NBA Executive of the Year (with the Phoenix Suns) was speaking at the MIT Sports Analytics Conference on a proposal currently in front of the NBA Board of Governors which would see the draft lottery and any incentive to bottom out eliminated. "Admittedly, I will say, I tried to tank a couple years ago," said Colangelo to the conference. "And I didnt come out and say, Coach (Dwane Casey), youve got to lose games. I never said that. I wanted to have him establish a winning tradition and a culture and all of that, but I wanted to do it in the framework of playing and developing young players, and with that comes losing. Theres just no way to avoid that, but I never once said, Youve got to lose this game." Colangelo was relieved of his general manager position last May in favour of Masai Ujiri and eventually resigned his post as Raptors president the following month. Brian Allen Jersey .Y. - Through three quarters, the Brooklyn Nets could not shake the NBAs worst team. Joseph Noteboom Jersey . 28 with a Vancouver entry for the first time in 10 years and a novel new collective bargaining agreement. http://www.laramsfootballshops.com/aqib-talib-jersey/. The match, billed as a "next-gen" encounter between two of the sports rising stars, lasted two and a half hours. The loss kept Raonic, from Thornhill, Ont., from reaching a third fourth-round spot in Melbourne over the past four years. Custom Los Angeles Rams Jerseys . For Bergevin, the best pick is the 30th — which traditionally goes to the Stanley Cup winner. "Thats our goal. John Franklin-Myers Rams Jersey . The Eastern Conference-leading Celtics finished their recent trek at 3-1 on Monday in Salt Lake City when Rajon Rondo made a key jumper with 24.1 seconds remaining, as Boston held off the Utah Jazz, 107-102, at EnergySolutions Arena.While the Tampa Bay Lightning seek to match a season-high five-game win streak set from Dec. 15-23, the Ottawa Senators will by hoping to avoid going five straight games without a victory for the first time since a 0-3-2 drought from Oct. 25-Nov. 3 when the two teams meet Thursday night. Ottawa is 0-2-2 in its last four games and sits seven points back of the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Senators lost their fourth in a row at home with Tuesdays 8-4 setback to the New York Rangers. Both Ottawa goaltenders struggled, with starter Robin Lehner stopping just 23-of-28 shots in his third straight start. Nathan Lawson made 10-of-12 saves in relief during the third period before exiting with an injury and forcing Lehner back into the game. Mike Hoffman, Mika Zibanejad, Milan Michalek and Bobby Ryan all had goals for the Senators. "I think were generating some offense but, again, were turning over the puck and putting our goalie in a tough spot and they havent been able to make the save," said Senators coach Paul MacLean. "We have to work to get open, we have to play for one another and we have to find them when theyre open." With No. 1 goaltender Craig Anderson still out with a bruised left shoulder and Lawson now day-to-day with a lower-body issue, the Senators recalled netminder Andrew Hammond from the minors. The Senators lost their first two meetings with the Lightning this season, both in Tampa, before handing the Bolts a fifth straight loss in Ottawa with a 5-3 decision on Jan. 30. Ryan and Kyle Turris both had a goal and an assist, while Anderson made 35 saves. The Lightning meanwhile, will try to match their longest winning streak of the season. The Lightning have followed up a five-game losing streak by winning four straight, including Wednesdays big divisional meeting with the Toronto Maple Leafs.dddddddddddd Steven Stamkos notched a natural hat trick in the 5-3 victory, giving him five goals in his last four games. The forward has 19 goals and 30 points in just 24 games this season, having missed time with a broken leg. Stamkos had a solid homecoming, posting his second hat trick of the season and seventh of his career. "There might have been a little extra energy coming back home and playing this game in front of family and friends," Stamkos, a native of nearby Markham, Ontario said. "Especially with the magnitude of the game and how tight we are in the playoff race." Radko Gudas and Tyler Johnson had goals, Ryan Malone and Valtteri Filppula notched two assists each and Ben Bishop came up with 36 saves, including 21 in the third period. The game did see a scary incident in the final seconds of the first period when Tampa forward Alex Killorn was issued a major for boarding and a game misconduct for a hit on Leafs defenseman Paul Ranger. Ranger was immobilized and removed from the arena on a stretcher. He was taken to a local hospital for observation, and the Leafs stated later that Ranger was in stable condition, conscious and alert. "Pretty unfortunate," Killorn said. "Happy that he is OK. I heard through the PR and stuff that he is doing all right now. Its kind of a scary moment, one of those plays where I commit to hit someone without knowing if they are going to turn, so its just an unfortunate play." The victory moved the Lightning into a tie with the Montreal Canadiens for second place in the Atlantic Division with 83 points. That is three ahead of the fourth-place Maple Leafs. Both Bishop and Filppula suffered injuries in that meeting for the Lighting. 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