TORONTO, Ontario -- Rudy Gays arrival in Toronto was almost like being drafted -- six-and-a-half years late. . "I like when players call me out occasionally," Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo said, grinning. "When I first spoke with Rudy the other night after the trade had been consummated, he asked me point blank: Why didnt you just draft me in the first place? "Well, we got you. One way or the other, we got you." The new Raptor was introduced to the media at a packed news conference Friday, two days after the trade that sent point guard Jose Calderon to Detroit and forward Ed Davis to Memphis for the explosive small forward that Colangelo has long coveted. Gay was slated to be in the Raptors lineup Friday evening when they played host to the Los Angeles Clippers. Dressed in a crisp grey suit -- hell wear No. 22 for Toronto -- the 26-year-old was at ease with the media and the 100 or so Air Canada Centre employees who showed up for the event, held just a couple of hours after he had landed in the city. Bright neon signs throughout the arena concourse read: "The Toronto Raptors Welcome Rudy Gay." "Its just good to be wanted and to start over in an organization where they reached out, to try to get you," Gay said. "I feel like Ive been drafted again. I get on (Colangelo) because he didnt draft me but its almost like another draft. Almost." Gay, a University of Connecticut product, was taken eighth overall in the 2006 draft to the Houston Rockets, seven spots after the Raptors selected Andrea Bargnani instead. The Maryland native was asked about whether hes ready to be a franchise player coming from a Grizzlies team where he was often the fourth or fifth option on offence. "I think more than anything, a franchise person needs to understand its a team game," Gay said, as Colangelo and coach Dwane Casey nodded in approval -- they clearly liked the answer. "Im not coming here to score a lot of points, Im coming here to make my teammates better, Im not coming here to lessen anybodys role, Im here to make this team better. Some nights it might be scoring a lot of points, some nights it might be assisting, some nights it might be rebounding. As long as those Ws keep happening." He also praised Calderon -- a fan favourite during his eight seasons in Toronto -- and says he hopes to do half of things the Spanish guard did for the city. Gay, the Grizzlies leading scorer before being traded and a dynamic wing, is averaging 17.2 points and 5.9 rebounds per game in what hasnt been his strongest season. Hes been the subject of trade rumours for quite some time as Memphis looked to unload his hefty max contract. The six-foot-eight player is due US$16.5 million this season with $37 million more over the next two years. Colangelo said perhaps the stress of the trade speculation led to his lower performance level this season. Gay admitted the uncertainty hasnt been easy. "Of course it (wears on you)," he said. "Its my livelihood, its basketball, its what I do for a living. Professionally I tried to go out there and be the best professional I could be but it is a lot of relief that comes with being here, talking to (Colangelo), and talking to coach Casey and them reassuring me that theyre going to make sure Im comfortable here, and that means a lot to me." Playing alongside his best friend Kyle Lowry makes for an even easier transition to Toronto. Lowry grew up in Philadelphia, a 90-minute drive from Gay. They first played against each other in Grade 8. "I was looking at him like This kid is fast, and he was looking at me like, This kid is tall," Gay said. Over the numerous tournaments the two young players attended together, they eventually became best friends "by default," Gay laughed. No surprise, Lowry was the first person Gay called when the deal went down. "He said that if you come here, we can do some big things," Gay said. "Its going to help so much. Me and Kyle are like brothers. Just as much as I want to see him succeed, he wants to see me succeed, so (its good) to have someone in your corner like that." Casey is excited to have a player who can score in the dying minutes with the game on the line, as Toronto has given away too many games in the fourth quarter this season. "Rudy has broke my heart so many times over the years," Casey said. "I know what he can do offensively and defensively. Hes a unique talent as far as being able to score the basketball. But his versatility is going to be huge for us, especially down the stretch of games, he gives us another option to go to in closing out games." There has been concerns about Gays defence, and the Raptors lost one of their best defenders in Davis. But Gay said that criticism isnt a fair one. "If you look back and see at the end of the games I guard the best players, so I take that challenge," Gay said. "None of that (criticism) really mattered to me, what people said, because at the end of the day, I want to win, whatever it takes, whether its stopping or taking the last shot, Ill be the person doing it." The Raptors also acquired Hamed Haddadi from Memphis in the deal, but are expected to waive the centre. [url=http://www.packersofficialteamstore.com/autographed-b-j--raji-jersey-hu-60.... Raji Jersey . The team goes home with just one bronze medal. Brandon McBride of Windsor, Ont., was the best individual Canuck on Sunday, placing sixth in the boys 400-metre final with a Canadian junior record time of one minute 46. . There is no timetable for Tulowitzkis return, but he is likely to be sidelined for about two months. Tulowitzki was placed on the disabled list on May 31. He is hitting .287 this year with eight home runs and 27 RBI. [url=http://www.packersofficialteamstore.com/autographed-bryan-bulaga-jersey-op-... . FIFA said Park Jong-woo was guilty of unsporting behaviour which "cannot be tolerated," and formally warned the Korea Football Association. The International Olympic Committee can now decide if Park will get his medal which has been withheld since the Aug. [url=http://www.packersofficialteamstore.com/autographed-clay-matthews-jersey-sz... Matthews Jersey . The Crimson Tide were second in the preseason rankings, not far behind USC, and Saturdays season-opening results were apparently enough to sway some voters. . "Guess were going to have to start taping ankles away from the ballpark, too," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. Patton is part of an outstanding bullpen that has kept Baltimore in contention for a playoff berth.Four members of the Phoenix Coyotes who showed their displeasure with the officiating after their Game 5 loss to the Los Angeles Kings will not be disciplined. NHL vice president Colin Campbell told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.com that while the league was not pleased with the actions of forward Martin Hanzal and goaltender Mike Smith, as well as the comments of defenceman Keith Yandle and forward Shane Doan, he spoke to all four players and chose not to pursue the issue further. The Coyotes were incensed that Kings captain Dustin Brown was not penalized for a questionable hit on Coyotes defenceman Michal Rozsival in overtime just prior to the series-winning goal. Hanzal skated aggressively toward one of the officials and made a threatening gesture while Smith threw his stick in the direction of the officials. "I told Hanzal, The way you went at the official after the game physically, you didnt make contact, but that was disrespectful. Youre lucky you wereent suspended by the official for doing something like that. [url=http://www.packersofficialteamstore.com/autographed-sam-shields-jersey-bw-8... Shields Jersey. Even though you didnt make contact I thought it was (of) a threatening nature," Campbell said to LeBrun. Yandle questioned the integrity of the officials, implying there was no coincidence the referees were wearing the same colours as the Kings while Doan expressed his thoughts to Brown during the post-game handshake. "I said to Yandle, I thought your comment about who was wearing what colour was wrong. Thats the integrity of the game and youre suggesting that because you didnt have an owner that you have no support? I said, Not a chance," Campbell added. "I said to Doan, Your comments after the game were not totally correct about the officiating and what you thought. I didnt hear anything after the Chicago series after (Marian) Hossa got hurt and a major wasnt applied. I didnt hear anything from the Chicago Blackhawks," said Campbell, who added that Doan was most apologetic during their meeting. ' ' '