European invasion begins

European invasion begins
ROME-The gentleman unfolded himself from his tiny car just down the colonnade from St. Peter's Basilica yesterday and the first thing a passerby noticed was the name emblazoned on his shirt.
In a land where soccer rules and a search for a Bargnani jersey in the omnipresent souvenir stores lining the vias and encasing the piazzas has so far gone for naught (the football icon Totti has the market cornered on replica jerseys it seems),[url=http://duveticadownjacketssale.webmium.com/][b]http://duveticadownjacketssale.webmium.com/[/b][/url], a man wearing an Italia Basketball shirt catches one's attention.
It was a lone hoops moment over the course of two sightseeing days,[url=http://duveticaoutletcanada.halod.com/][b]duvetica down jackets men sale[/b][/url], but times,[url=http://duveticaoutletcanada.halod.com/][b]duvetica jackets canada online outlet duvetica down jackets men sale[/b][/url], the Raptors - and the NBA - hope,[url=http://woolrichoutlet.halod.com/][b]Woolrich Outlet Woolrich Parka Woolrich Arctic Parka Woolrich Jacket online shop[/b][/url], are changing. Basketball will never be soccer but as NBA EuropeLive '07 begins here today, every tiny step toward increasing awareness of the Toronto and NBA brand helps.
"It's going to expose our product to a host of people who have expressed a lot of interest in our team,[url=http://duveticadownjacketssale.webmium.com/][b]Duvetica Down Jackets Duvetica Women for sale[/b][/url]," president and general manager Bryan Colangelo said in a telephone interview this week of the Raptors' journey that starts this morning. "We are clearly the NBA's only truly international team."
That role will only become more apparent over the next two weeks.
After practising for six days in Treviso - a five-hour train ride north and east to the home of Euroleague powerhouse Benetton - the Raptors return here for games against the Boston Celtics and Lottomatica Roma of the Italian League with sophomore centre and Rome native Andrea Bargnani acting as the unofficial host,[url=http://duveticaitaly.albirank.net/][b]Duvetica italy[/b][/url].
"We'll be able to go out to dinner a lot of times and eat some good Italian food," Bargnani said in a conference call this week.
And that's one of the big points of this whole endeavour,[url=http://woolrichoutlet.halod.com/][b]Woolrich Parka online shop[/b][/url].
The Raptors are already one of the closest-knit teams in the NBA and spending two weeks in the homelands of three key players will give them a chance to get to know each other even better away from the court,[url=http://cheapjordansshoesforsales.blogspot.com/][b]cheap jordans[/b][/url].
"It will be a bit of experience for perhaps everyone but Andrea, Jose (Calderon) and Jorge (Garbajosa). It'll give everyone a chance to feel how appreciated they are in their own country," Colangelo said.
Besides, with the way pro sports teams travel these days,[url=http://bestsoccercleatsonlinestore.blogspot.com/][b]cheap soccer cleats store[/b][/url], a flight across the Atlantic is not much longer than a flight from coast to coast in North America.
"There's really not that much difference from visiting the alma maters of one of your key players,[url=http://discountnikesoccershoes.webmium.com/][b]Discount Soccer Shoes sale[/b][/url]," the general manager said.
The alma maters here,[url=http://parajumperssale.webmium.com/][b]Parajumpers Jackets Online Store[/b][/url], however,[url=http://cheapjordansshoesforsales.blogspot.com/][b]jordans shoes[/b][/url], are countries. For Calderon, the chance to show off is almost as important as the chance to be shown off in front of his compatriots.
"We want to get all the team together to go to some Spanish restaurants and show how Spain is our country,[url=http://cheapnikesoccercleatsmercurial.webmium.com/][b]nike soccer cleats mercurial Discount Soccer Cleats[/b][/url]," he said in a conference call. "And the same in Italy with Andrea. I think they (his Raptor teammates) are going to know a little bit about these two countries.
"It's going to be a great experience for the team because we are going to do a lot of things together,[url=http://parajumperssale.webmium.com/][b]Parajumpers Coat Online Store[/b][/url]."
The grind isn't going to be too arduous, notwithstanding the travel-time protestations of coach Sam Mitchell. The Raptors will be back in familiar confines with almost three weeks to prepare for the season opener and they won't have a road pre-season game left to play. The games aren't likely to be too intense - early pre-season games never are - and with 11 players returning from last year, there aren't too many new players to be integrated into the system.
There would seem to be two starting roles up for grabs - centre, where Bargnani will push Rasho Nesterovic for his job, and small forward,[url=http://bestsoccercleatsonlinestore.blogspot.com/][b]cheap soccer cleats online store[/b][/url], where Jason Kapono and Carlos Delfino will both be looking to start.
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