TORONTO -- Two years ago Tyler Ennis was at the Air Canada Centre practising as part of a national mens basketball team camp. Sean Lee Black Friday Jersey . He was still a kid, going into his senior year of high school. Thursday, the point guard stood in front of a couple dozen members of the media and spoke with poise about how much hed grown since then, and how hes ready for the next level. "Yeah, yeah. It felt like so long ago," Ennis said before taking the court for his pre-draft workout for the Raptors. "To look back and see the people I was playing against and the position Im in now, its a big jump for me. I feel like Ive improved a lot and Ive learned a lot along the way and Ive had some fun along the way as well. "Ive pretty much enjoyed my time playing basketball for fun. Im ready for the professional level now." Nik Stauskas, Khem Birch and Dwight Powell played alongside Ennis at that camp two summers ago in Toronto, a gathering of players so promising, it prompted Canadian coach Jay Triano to call it the most basketball talent hed ever seen under one roof. That promise is about to come to fruition. A bumper crop Canadians -- Ennis, Stauskas, Birch and Powell among them -- are eligible for the June 26 NBA draft (live on TSN, TSN2 and TSN GO). Ennis, who starred in his one season at Syracuse, is expected to be the third highest Canadian picked behind Andrew Wiggins and Stauskas. Most mock drafts have Ennis going around No. 16. The 19-year-old from Brampton, Ont., worked out for the Raptors on Thursday along with fellow Canadians Jordan Bachynski of Calgary (Arizona State), Chadrack Lufile of Burlington, Ont., (Wichita State), and Chad Posthumus of Winnipeg (Morehead State). "To have so many Canadians first of all in the draft is big for the country. . . its great for basketball in Canada and its great for us individually," Ennis said. "And no matter where we end up, (NBA teams will see) Canadians are hard-working and good people off the court, and I think were all going to find success wherever we end up." While the Raptors dont expect Ennis to still be on the board when they pick at No. 20, he has some big fans in Canadas NBA franchise. "Fantastic kid. Very straightforward," Raptors president and GM Masai Ujiri said. "I was just talking about him with coach (Dwane) Casey, hed just met him. Super kid. Very professional and carries himself the right way. "I think hell make a good professional." Bachynski, meanwhile, was practically pinching himself after his workout in Toronto. He said while some players get caught up in the monotony of travelling from team to team in the rigours of the pre-draft workouts, he was loving the process. "I was in the airport for eight or nine hours yesterday because all of my flights got cancelled, but youve just go to embrace the moment. How often do you get to do this? Not only how often, but how many people get to take part in this stuff? Its a dream come true," Bachynski said. "Im in a very special situation because June is a great month for me. I have the draft and I also have a baby due in a few days. Im so excited." The 7-2 centre from Calgary and his wife Malia, a former volleyball player, are expecting a baby June 8. "I love that I have her there for me, she was an athlete so she knows the time it takes to be excellent at something," Bachynski said. "Its just a testament to the kind of woman she is, she told me if she goes into labour, go to my next workout. Dont come home. Baby is going to be there when I get back." At 24, Bachynski is the oldest player in the draft. "Im one of those young guys," Bachynski said, when someone pointed out that fact. "My bodys young, Ive got an old head." He was plagued by injuries in high school and was forced to take time off to recover from surgeries. He was late to start college, spending two years in Miami on his Mormon mission. "It was the most valuable experience for me," Bachynski said of his time in Florida. "Guys tell me all the time that it was the dumbest thing I could have done, to take two years off of basketball. I barely touched a basketball in those two years, but I wouldnt be the basketball player I am today. I learned huge life lessons, I learned the importance of hard work, and perseverance." Bachynski said his age makes him better prepared to go pro. "Definitely. Im married. I have a dog," he said, prompting laughter from reporters. "Ive got a kid on the way. Im not one of those guys whos going out and partying on the weekends. Im sitting watching Netflix. Im a guy you dont have to worry about off the court." While Ujiri has said he wont draft a Canadian player just for the sake of it, he doesnt believe there would be added pressure on a Canadian playing in Toronto. "No concerns at all," he said. "I think this has been a good process for the Canadian kids, I think the last few years, a kid has gone No. 1 (Anthony Bennett to the Cleveland Cavaliers last season), kids have played in the league, so I dont think its anything new any more for them." The Raptors have three picks in the draft -- 20, 37 and 59. While Ujiri isnt ruling out the possibility of making a trade to move up, hes preparing to remain where he is. "The one thing I say about the draft is we all fall in love with it the day of, a couple days before," said Ujiri. "I never let my (staff) or myself get hopeful that were going to move up. We want to study 20 and figure out 20. If youre hoping for (a trade), there are 29 other teams that are hoping for the same, and 29 other teams that are trying to do other deals. Ive been heartbroken a couple times. Ive learned not to rely on that at all." Anthony Spencer Cowboys Jersey . Sotnikova trailed the 2010 Olympic champion by just .28 points after the short program on Wednesday, but had a brilliant free skate on Thursday. She earned a top score of 149. Randy White Black Friday Jersey . Whether starting or coming off the bench, Johnson has always accepted his role in stride, part of whats made him the Raptors unsung hero for the better part of the last three seasons.On Boxing Day, the pursuit of Masahiro Tanaka finally begins. The 25-year-old Japanese star has officially been posted by his club team, the Rakuten Golden Eagles. So for the new capped fee of $20 million, any one of the 30 Major League teams can get in on the bidding and getting a deal done by 5pm on January 24. Tanaka was a spectacular 24-0 this season with a miniscule 1.27 ERA. He is the same age Yu Darvish was when he was posted two years ago and, like Darvish, wants the challenge of pitching in the Majors. The Blue Jays were in on the chase for Darvish, but to what extent we will never really know. There were rumblings at the time that the Blue Jays barely lost out to Texas and their winning bid of $51.7 million. But Alex Anthopoulos and the organization would never confirm or deny that and in the end, it was felt the Rangers were actually bidding against themselves just to be sure they got Darvish. Texas signed him to a six-year, $60 million deal but if certain conditions are met, the sixth year turns into a player option. So far its been a good investment by Texas. Darvish is 29-18 over two seasons with 401 innings, 498 strikeouts and 169 walks. He was added the American League All-Star roster his first year, and only missed last years mid-summer classic due to an injury. Most scouts believe Darvish to be a better pitcher than Tanaka, who projects by many to be a number 2 or 3 starter, rather than a staff ace. When Tanaka won the Sawamura Award as top pitcher in Japan in 2011, over Darvish, he conceded that although he had slightly better numbers than Darvish in a couple of categories, he said "as a pitcher, Im nowhere near his calibre". The Blue Jays self-imposed five-year limit on contracts is one thing working against them, although Anthopoulos conceded a couple of weeks ago that the Jays might go to six years for the right player. The biggest thing going against the Jays is the desperation of some of those big-name teams that figure to be in on the bidding and the marquee presence of others. The Yankees pitching staff needs an infussion of youth and talent. The Dodgers havent won a World Series since 1988 and Texas has never won one. Boston is in that year-by-year battle for bragging rights and now that theyve won three World Series titles this century to the Yankees two, they arent going to let up now. Tyron Smith Jersey. The Blue Jays may make an offer just to say they did, but Id bet on Texas or the Yankees to be Tanakas ultimate landing spot. A couple of trivia points on Darvish. The first Major League hit he surrendered was to his countryman Ichiro Suzuki and the first home run he surrendered was to Edwin Encarnacion of the Blue Jays on April 30, 2012. Darvish still won that game though, 4-1. Another Babe It was on December 26 of 1919 when the most infamous deal in Red Sox history went down. It was the day Babe Ruth was sold to the Yankees. This is the story of another player who went by the nickname "Babe". Werner Birrer was a reliever and occassional spot starter for parts of three seasons in the 1950s with the Tigers, Orioles and Dodgers. Hes better known for his years pitching in the International League, in Buffalo, the city where he was born. He ultimately made it into the Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame and was a valued member of the community as a teacher and a coach. Babe Birrer passed away back in November at age 85. He had one day in his career where it all came together and earned him the sobriquet "Babe". On July 19 of 1955, Birrer came on in relief in the sixth inning to try and protect a 5-4 Tigers lead over Baltimore. Not only did he pitch four shutout innings of relief to earn his second of four career saves, Birrer slugged a pair of three-run homers to propel the Tigers to a 12-4 victory over the 0s. What was so special about that? Well, those were the only two home runs and only six runs batted inn of Birrers entire career. As far as anyone knows, he is the only Major League player in history to cram all of his home runs and RBI production into just one game. For that one day, that one game, Werner Birrer was called "Babe" by his teammates for the rest of his career. Oddly enough, the two relievers who surrendered those home runs to Birrer, George Zuverink and Art Shallock, are both still alive and amongst the 100 oldest surviving Major Leaguers. Shallock is 89 and 245 days, Zuverink 89 and 128 days. Just a little known page in the book of Tigers history. ' ' '
