Former Toronto Raptors president and general manager Bryan Colangelo addressed his tanking comments made at the MIT Sports Analytics Conference in Toronto on Friday and admitted it was merely a poor choice of words. Speaking on TSN Radio 1050s TSN Drive with Dave Naylor on Monday, Colangelo said he had no intention of tanking the shortened 2011-12 season, but definitely wanted a high pick in the draft. "I wish that word wasnt used for headline reasons," said Colangelo, "but the story behind it was: how can we fix the system? How can we tweak the system to make it less likely that teams are rewarded for losing records? "I do believe that if youre as transparent as we were at the time - with our season seat holders, our fans, the market place and the media - everybody knew what the plan was and what we were going through. It didnt make it easy to lose games but there was anticipation that games would be lost. With that comes curtain rewards and in the system that we currently play under, the team with the worst record gets the greatest odds and a non-playoff team is in a lottery that can ultimately lead to them getting top-notch talent coming to their team." Colangelo said the team was happy getting Terrence Ross in the first round (8th overall) of the 2012 draft and would never tell a coach to lose games since it can only have negative long-term effects. "Coach was doing such a fabulous job with the group that there certainly was no intentional losing going on because we won far too many games than anyone anticipated and it put us in a position to still get a nice draft pick in Terrance Ross," said Colangelo. "But it certainly decreased our odds of getting the top choice, which was a franchise centre in Anthony Davis." Colangelo talked about when the team faced heavy scrutiny when they picked Jonas Valanciunas, who was selected in the first round (5th overall) in 2011. "We got booed off the stage when the announcement was made but that was the right pick for this organization. It was not an easy one to make knowing that Jonas would not be made available for at least a year and maybe more if the buyout hadnt been successfully negotiated. We knew it was going to be a tough scenario going into a new year without the inclusion of a top draft pick but the following season we also knew that not only would Jonas be coming but another fairly high-value draft selection - unknown at the time - would be helping us as well. Not to mention we would have cap space and greater developed players at that point." The Raptors finished the 2011-12 season with a 23-43 record, good for 11th in the Eastern Conference, 12 games behind the Philadelphia 76ers for the final playoff spot in the East, and the eighth-worst record in the NBA. The team neither rose nor fell in the lottery, receiving the eighth-overall pick in the 2012 draft where they selected Ross out of the University of Washington. The 2007 NBA Executive of the Year (with the Phoenix Suns) was speaking at the MIT Sports Analytics Conference on a proposal currently in front of the NBA Board of Governors which would see the draft lottery and any incentive to bottom out eliminated. "Admittedly, I will say, I tried to tank a couple years ago," said Colangelo to the conference. "And I didnt come out and say, Coach (Dwane Casey), youve got to lose games. I never said that. I wanted to have him establish a winning tradition and a culture and all of that, but I wanted to do it in the framework of playing and developing young players, and with that comes losing. Theres just no way to avoid that, but I never once said, Youve got to lose this game." Colangelo was relieved of his general manager position last May in favour of Masai Ujiri and eventually resigned his post as Raptors president the following month. Kevin Shattenkirk Rangers Jersey . Listen to the Rangers vs. Kings live on TSN Radio starting at 7pm et/4pm pt. You can also stream the post-game press conferences live on TSN. Jaromir Jagr Jersey . Betancourt was 2-5 with a 4.08 ERA and 16 saves for the Rockies last season before tearing a ligament in his pitching elbow. He considered undergoing platelet-rich plasma therapy to fix his arm, but announced in August his decision to have Tommy John surgery. http://www.rangershockeyonlineshop.com/m...-hockey-jersey/. -- Canadian freestyle skier Roz Groenewoud isnt letting surgery to both of her knees deter her expectations for the Sochi Olympics. Vladislav Namestnikov Rangers Jersey . They were expecting him there all along. The Pacers announced Friday night that George has been cleared "to return to normal basketball activity," a decision made three days after he was concussed in Game 2 of the Indiana-Miami series. Rod Gilbert Rangers Jersey . In their first meeting for six years, the Frenchmen dropped serve twice in the first set, but Giquel broke Simon two more times in the second. Gicquel moves on to face sixth-seeded Jarkko Nieminen of Finland, who advanced with a 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5) win against wild card Pierre-Hugues Herbert, despite the Frenchmans 23 aces.ALAMEDA, Calif. -- The Oakland Raiders released quarterback Matt Flynn on Monday, just six months after bringing him in to be the starter. Oakland acquired Flynn in April from Seattle for a 2014 fifth-round draft pick and a conditional pick in 2015. The Raiders also reworked Flynns contract to give him $6.5 million in guaranteed money this season. But Flynn was beaten out for the starting job in the preseason by Terrelle Pryor and then fell to third string behind undrafted free agent Matt McGloin last week, leading to his eventual release. "It just didnt work," coach Dennis Allen said. "Terrelle came in and he took over the job. Hes earned the position that hes in. So, we just felt like its probably best to move on from that." Sports Illustrated first reported the move. Flynn made two appearances for Oakland (2-3) for all that money. He came in late in a loss at Denver on Sept. 23, after Pryor was knocked out with a concussion, and then started against Washington the following week. He was booed by the home crowd from the start of that game and struggled mightily as the Raiders lost 24-14. He threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown, lost a fumble in the second half and was sacked seven times as he lacked pocket presence. Pryor came back to regain the starting job and led the Raiders to a 27-17 victory Sunday night over the Chargers as Flynn sat watching. "This kids going to continue to improve," Allen said. "Hes probably leaps and bounds ahead of where we thought he would be at this point in time. The key for him is he continues to work and continues to strive to get better on the little things." After spending four years as Aaron Rodgers backup in Green Bay, Flynn was one of the most sought after quarterbacks on the free-agent market in 2012 based largely on one dynamic start. Flynn threw for 480 yards and six touchdowns in the 2011 season finale for the Packers against Detroit. Flynn had also played well in one start the previous season against New England, throwing for 251 yards and three touchdowns in a loss. Seattlee signed Flynn and paid him $8 million last season even though he was beaten out for the starting job by rookie Russell Wilson.dddddddddddd That made him expendable and the Raiders acquired him April 1 to be the heir apparent to Carson Palmer. Flynn struggled in training camp with a sore elbow and was eventually beaten out by the vastly improved Pryor, who surprised the Raiders coaching staff and front office with his rapid improvement. Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie has apparently struck out on both of his major quarterback acquisitions this off-season. Tyler Wilson was drafted in the fourth round but was cut at the end of training camp and is now on the practice squad. He paid a heavy price for Flynn, who quickly proved he was not worthy of it. Oakland also reportedly had interest in signing recently released Josh Freeman before he ended up joining Minnesota instead. That leaves Pryor entrenched as the starter for now. Pryor was the final draft pick of late owner Al Davis, taken in the third round of the supplemental draft in 2011. He got on the field once his first season and played sparingly last year before impressing at the start of this season. Pryor has completed 68.3 per cent of his passes with four touchdowns, two interceptions and a passer rating of 97.6 in four starts this season. He also leads the team with 229 yards rushing. Pryor was at his best against the Chargers, completing 18 of 23 passes for 221 yards and no interceptions for a 135.7 passer rating that was the highest for a Raiders quarterback since Rich Gannon in 2002. Since throwing two interceptions in the season opener, Pryor has committed no turnovers in his last three games. NOTES: The Raiders added WR Andre Holmes to the active roster. Holmes was suspended for the first four games for testing positive for PEDs and had a one-week roster exemption after the suspension ended. ... Oakland also waived OL Jack Cornell and have one open roster spot if they decide to add a third quarterback. ... RB Rashad Jennings injured his hamstring in the game but it is not believed to be serious. ' ' '