A new beginning for the Raptors. . .

Yesterday the Toronto Raptors announced the signing of new President and GM Bryan Colangelo. Colangelo, the mastermind behind the rebuilding of the Phoenix Suns and last year's NBA Executive of the Year is another brilliant move in a line of what has been nothing but brilliant moves ove rthe past two months for the Dino's. It's no coincidence it all started with the firing of Rob Babcock.

There's no doubt that this franchise was in desperate need of some stability.With the Glen Grunwald firing, a couple coaching changes, the Vince Carter trade, the Rob Babcock hiring and firing, and 4 straight years without a playoff appearance, this team has been on a serious roller coaster ride.

As an NBA fan, and as a Raptor's fan, I truly am shocked that Colangelo took on this post. This seems too good to be true. This is a sure-fire NBA guy. He's got great roots, a great track record, and he's a known guy around the league. Anyone in Raptor's land who disputes the significance of this move is crazier than Barry Bonds in drag.

This addition gives me great hope that signing Chris Bosh to a long-term deal this summer is more of a formality now than an actual question mark.

Of course now, Canadian basketball fans from coast to coast will be wondering if Colangelo will somehow figure out a way to get Steve Nash into a Raptor's uniform before Nash's career begins to wind down.

On another note, spring training has started with all major league players reporting to their respective teams camps now. The next few weeks is one of my favorite times of the year. I don't know that there is a better time of year for sports fans.

You have baseball starting up, the NHL is full of meaningful games with playoff implications, as is the NBA, and the NCAA tournament is only a couple weeks away as well. Awesome time of year.

Sometime soon I hope to sit down and write out a post with my predictions for the upcoming baseball season.