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TORONTO - Masai Ujiri remembers being a boy attending a basketball camp in his native northern Nigeria, and the excitement of be

in Team 05.01.2019 06:13
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TORONTO - Masai Ujiri remembers being a boy attending a basketball camp in his native northern Nigeria, and the excitement of being given an Hakeem Olajuwon T-shirt. Jordan 4 Clearance .It was a small gesture with a big impact.My eyes were so wide, to get that T-shirt was unbelievable, Ujiri said.Ujiri speaks passionately about the power of sports to change lives. Hes seen it first-hand through his Giants of Africa camp and Basketball Without Borders, and is himself living proof as the president and general manager of the Toronto Raptors.Its a determination he shared with the late Nelson Mandela, who Ujiri and the Raptors will celebrate Friday in an all-star benefit.How many people in those kinds of positions ever have any kind of relations with sport in some ways other than being like a guest of honour or something? Ujiri said in a phone interview Thursday. But Nelson Mandela, with what he did with rugby, the way he supported sports, I thought it was so impactful because he said it best: sports has the power to impact people and society, and youth. And so I think its a great message for us, its not only a great game, but its a great day to spread that message around the world that we are blessed to have sports and we are blessed to participate in something fun like this.When South Africa won the 1995 Rugby World Cup, Mandela famously donned the Springbok sweater, a gesture he hoped would help unite his racially-fragmented country.Friday marks the one-year anniversary since Mandelas death at the age of 95.Ujiri has assembled an all-star lineup for the event, including NBA legends Charles Barkley, Magic Johnson and Dikembe Mutombo, along with UN Goodwill Ambassador and 1999 Miss Universe winner Mpule Kwelagobe. Other guests include Raptors alumnus Tracy McGrady, Toronto Maple Leaf goaltender Jonathan Bernier and Leafs president Brendan Shanahan, former Toronto Argonauts star Michael (Pinball) Clemons, deputy commissioner of the NBA Mark Tatum and Amadou Fall, vice-president of NBA Africa. Funds raised will go to both the Nelson Mandela Foundation and Ujiris Giants of Africa.Ujiri founded Giants of Africa in 2003, both as a means to enrich the lives of children in Africa, and to shine a spotlight on the abundance of untapped talent there.He signed a deal with Nike to outfit the players. He sees himself in the kids he helps.You see these kids, their faces when you give them shoes and you give them gear, socks and shorts and jerseys and T-shirts, its remarkable how that affects them in some kind of way, and how they want to play the sport more, and even dedicate themselves more, Ujiri said. But its come to a point where I look at myself, and say: We have to look at it even beyond playing. I say How do we really use basketball as a tool? Because now sports has become so general, its important to expose Africa and kids to other aspects of sport.What about sports medicine, and sports journalism, and sports agencies, coaching, and all the different things that you can do in sports, he said. It doesnt have to be making the NBA or it doesnt have to be playing. You can figure out how you can use basketball as a tool and guidance to maybe do something very very reasonable and very very good for your life, and to grow.It doesnt necessarily have to be playing basketball. Im the prime example of that.The six-foot-four Ujiri played basketball in the U.S. at Bismarck State College, and then spent six years playing professionally in Europe. He virtually chiselled out a post-playing career for himself, working as an unpaid scout for the Orlando Magic. He paid his own way on trips at times, and bunked with other scouts and players.He went on to be an international scout for Denver and Toronto, then won NBA executive of the year in 2013 with Denver, where he was the first African-born GM of a major North American sports team. He returned to Toronto to be the teams president and GM in 2013.Ujiri said his summer trips to Africa are the times he looks forward to most. Going spending it in the grinds of not only travelling in Africa and seeing different cultures and different people, but seeing different communities and people, and what makes them tick and what makes them live, and how they live happy, and some of the struggles that they have. It puts life in perspective, Ujiri said. Its a huge part of who I am and what I want to do.Our concentration is sports and how we can build sports, and going into communities to help, whether its teaching basketball, whether its us figuring out charities or foundations that we can help, or us figuring out little courts that we can build, or give them a net, give a basketball team basketballs . . . those are the things we want to continue to build and grow over there. Thats the impact it has on me when I go back in the summer, he said.A big believer in never forgetting where youve come from, Ujiri said his experiences in Africa remain with him in his daily work back in Toronto with the Raptors.Honestly, it puts things in perspective, he said. We take things for granted a lot of times, and I would never forget to be humbled by the position that I am in, and the blessings that I have to be in this position, with such good people around me that give me that opportunity to go help other Africans, and other youth.I have to be a voice, and I have to make an impact on other people. If not, what Im doing here means really nothing.Fridays celebration will begin with a panel discussion. It will continue into Fridays Raptors game versus the Cleveland Cavaliers, with video tributes. The Raptors will wear special edition shooting shirts and management will don Giant of Africa lapel pins. The Giant of Africa T-shirts will be for sale, featuring Mandelas five pillars; being a leader, fighting for freedom, creating a better future, committing to the community and using sport to inspire change. Proceeds from sales go to Giants of Africa. Cheap Jordan 4 Wholesale . Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley told local media in comments published Wednesday that John Tomic would not be allowed into Melbourne Park in any official capacity or as a spectator. Cheap Jordan 4 Shoes . Particularly when speaking in the stadium of Tuesdays opponent: Manchester City. "Maybe they dont fear us as before," Pique said on Monday, "because in the last two years we didnt win the Champions League. http://www.wholesaleairjordan4.com/ . JOHNS, N.BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The "for sale" sign is up at the Buffalo Bills with the hiring of financial and legal advisers who may begin talking with prospective buyers within the next month. The announcement Wednesday of a transaction team that includes Morgan Stanley financial advisers and Proskauer Rose legal experts came a day after the Bills chief financial officer, Jeffrey Littmann, updated NFL owners and Commissioner Roger Goodell about the sale process during league meetings in Atlanta. The Bills, whose long-term future became uncertain with the death of owner Ralph Wilson in March, were last valued by Forbes to be worth $870 million. The price tag is expected to approach $1 billion because NFL teams dont often come up for sale and numerous prospective owners may become involved in the bidding. The Cleveland Browns sold for about that much when Jimmy Haslam purchased the team in 2012. A new owner could be selected by Wilsons estate by the end of July and presented for approval at league meetings in October. Donald Trump and former Buffalo quarterback Jim Kelly are among those whove shown interest in owning the Bills. Another prospective group could include Toronto-based businessmen Larry Tanenbaum, chairman of Maple Leeaf Sports and Entertainment, and Edward Rogers, deputy chairman of Rogers Communications. Jordan 4 Online Store. Other names that have been circulating include Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula and former owner B. Thomas Golisano. Amid fears a new owner could eventually relocate the team, Golisano said he would do all he could to ensure the Bills future in western New York. The family of Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs also has said he would work to keep the Bills in Buffalo without saying whether he would bid for the team. Bills President Russ Brandon said in a statement that the transaction team would ensure that the sale complies both with NFL rules and the teams obligations to New York State and Erie County under a 10-year lease agreement that essentially locks the Bills into playing at Ralph Wilson Stadium through the 2019 season. Goodell this month said a new stadium would be the next step in securing the teams long-term future. Under the current lease, reached in December 2012, the Bills would incur a $400 million penalty by even broaching the prospect of moving during the leases term. There is a one-time exception that would allow the Bills to break the agreement for just under $28.4 million in 2020. 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