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TORONTO - Many wonder why the Raptors would even bother celebrating their modest 20-year history. Its a reasonable thing to ponder. Certainly, there hasnt been much to get excited about after two decades of basketball in Canada. In many ways the manufactured nostalgia has served as a reminder. Paying homage to glorified role players of the past, former staffers, as theyve done and will continue to do throughout their anniversary campaign - the bar has been set low. But to fully appreciate what makes the Raptors existence worth commending consider their most recent opponents, the league-leading Memphis Grizzlies - a franchise that shares an origin story with Toronto, one that barely made it a half decade in Vancouver before relocating to US. And then theres their eldest player, Vince Carter - the single most important figure in Raptors history and one of the primary reasons why Canadas lone basketball club is even around to celebrate its 20th birthday. Midway through Wednesdays first quarter, nearly 10 years after their messy breakup played out, the Raptors took the first step in repairing a fractured relationship with their greatest player, making the controversial decision to publicly express their gratitude on the way to an emotional 96-92 comeback win. Sure enough, most in attendance would follow suit. During the games first timeout, a video tribute with Carters Raptor highlights played on the big screen hanging above centre court at the ACC. Carter had said he learned of the Raptors intentions to honour him the day prior and, like the rest of us, he had no idea what to expect. Im going to enjoy the moment regardless, Carter had said before the game - he had been greeted with boos in each of his first 16 visits to the ACC (including playoffs) since being traded. [Im going to] block that out, because its just a special moment that you probably wont get again. Im going to enjoy it. Moments after the montage began, the sellout crowd - still filing in at the time - rose to their feet. If there were boos they were drowned out by an overwhelmingly positive ovation. Carter stood and watched from the visiting bench. He used his warm-up shirt to wipe the tears running down his face as he pointed to his heart and waved to the fans in appreciation. It was a great feeling, said the 37-year-old, who played in 403 games over six and a half seasons with the Raptors. I couldnt write it any better. Im extremely thankful for it. They asked me earlier how you would feel, how you would react and you cant prepare for that, whether that was a surprise or you knew it was coming. Its just an amazing feeling, amazing just to be in the moment and to see it, and to kind of relive it as it was happening. You see all the stuff and you see all the people that you played with and as each play was happening, I can remember all that stuff as if it was yesterday. It was awesome. Torontos current players were among those standing for Carter. It was dope, DeMar DeRozan said. It was definitely amazing because all of us here watched everything Vince did here in Toronto, especially myself with Vince being one of my favourite players of all-time. He deserved it, the Raptors guard continued. He deserves everything, honestly, because he was the one who I think pioneered the whole thing with the Toronto Raptors. So you have to give him credit for everything he brought to the city. He made me a fan at an early age. DeRozan was not blowing smoke. He, like many of his teammates and the leagues young players - both from Canada and the United States - grew up watching Carter, and by extension, the Raptors. At the most crucial point in their existence, with both Canadian franchises reaching a crossroads, Carter hit the NBA by storm and became the hottest ticket in the association. The Raptors were coming off a 16-win season and, like the team in Vancouver - winners of 19 games that same year - their future was hardly stable. Isiah Thomas, the clubs first general manager and chief ambassador, had left and Damon Stoudamire, their first star, was next out the door. Then Carter was acquired on draft night and their fortunes turned in a hurry. He was as marketable as he was good. The team began to win and suddenly the NBA was paying attention. The Maple Leafs would buy the Raptors and open the Air Canada Centre, their shared home, on Feb. 21, 1999. Theres a banner hanging in the rafters of the building to commemorate that night. Its the first thing Carter looks for as he steps onto the court as a visitor. Its weird, he said Wednesday morning. They move this flag every time, so I struggle finding it. But when I walk in here and see February 20th, 1999 (the night the Leafs opened the building), thats the first thing I think of, is when this building opened. I just remember getting the opportunity to make history, making the first shot. So thats one of the things I think of and you cant take that away. Fittingly, they played the Grizzlies that night. Carter, just eight games into his NBA career, scored 27 points on just 16 shots, grabbing six rebounds and adding five assists with four steals. Toronto won by 15. Meanwhile, the Grizzlies continued to lose. Plagued by poor management, the NBAs restrictive rules for new franchises and, most importantly, the lack of a true star, they played out their final years in Vancouver before leaving for Memphis. If not for Carter, could the Raptors have shared a similar fate? Well never know, hence the cause for celebration. 20 years after entering the league together, both franchises are finally on solid footing, though they have taken different paths to get there. Attendance in Memphis has been rising in recent years as the Grizzlies have qualified for the playoffs in four straight seasons. Theyre off to their best start ever, sitting atop the Western Conference with the leagues best record. On Wednesday, Toronto handed them their second loss of the campaign. With a 9-2 record, the Raptors lead the East and finally, their fans have a semblance of closure. Finally, theres legitimate cause for optimism and excitement in a city that has been haunted by the past. Carter was still booed every time he touched the ball as if to say, well forgive, but we dont forget. But for just a minute, the first since he turned his back on the franchise he once saved, the past didnt seem so bad. Without it, the future wouldnt look so bright. Bruce Smith Jersey .J. -- Tom Coughlin doesnt have many options at halfback for the winless New York Giants. Jim Kelly Jersey . "Hes over there," the first baseman said. "You dont need to talk to anybody else." Indeed, Peralta did it all as the majors top team won again. http://www.shoptheofficialbills.com/Customized/. Rosbergs time of 1 minute, 33.185 seconds at the Bahrain International Circuit was a quarter of a second faster than Hamilton, who had to abandon his final flying lap after running wide at the first corner. Andre Reed Jersey . Wayne and Cindy Tuck of Ilderton, Ont., closed out round-robin play earlier in the day with a 7-3 win over Finland but needed a win over Austria to reach the final eight. O. J. Simpson Jersey . -- Maxence Parrot of Bromont, Que.PHOENIX -- A last-minute change in his arm action had Justin Verlander feeling like old times. All because of some pictures of himself that he looked at "literally 10 minutes" before he warmed up. Verlander pitched into the seventh inning, Torii Hunter and Austin Jackson homered and the Detroit Tigers opened their interleague series in Arizona by beating the Diamondbacks 4-3 on Monday night. Verlander said he "came across a couple of pictures," one from earlier in his career and one from this season. He was looking to see if he had changed his grip at all. Instead, he noticed a difference in his arm action and made an immediate adjustment when he warmed up in the bullpen. "I went out and tried to throw the way that I used to throw," he said. The results, Verlander said, were immediate and carried over into the game, when he held Arizona hitless through the first three innings. The right-hander improved to 24-2 in interleague games by winning his 13th consecutive decision against National League teams. "It felt like I was able to throw the way I want," he said. "Really, the first time all year that Ive been able to locate my fastball as well as I would like to." Miguel Cabrera drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning with a booming single just below the home run line on the Chase Field porch in left-centre. Hunter had a two-run homer in the second, his fifth in the last 15 games. Jackson added a solo shot. Both were off starter Vidal Nuno (0-2). "That is a tough lineup there," Nuno said. "If you leave balls up they can do some damage." Verlander (9-8) allowed three runs and six hits in 6 2-3 innings to win for the third time in his last four starts. He struck out five to pass Hal Newhouser into third place on the Tigers all-time list (1,772). Joe Nathan pitched a scoreless ninth for his 20th save in 25 opportunities. There seemed to be as many Tigers fans as there were for the Diamondbacks. "It felt like I was pitchingg in Detroit," Nathan joked, "except there werent as many boos.ddddddddddddquot; Gerardo Parra homered for Arizona. Nuno, in his third start since coming to Arizona in the trade that sent Brandon McCarthy to the New York Yankees, went 4 2-3 innings, allowing three runs and seven hits. After Parras solo homer tied it in the sixth, the Tigers bounced back in the seventh. Jackson led off with a double. With one out, Cabrera lofted one to deep left centre, off the fence on the overhang. Jackson scored but Cabrera was out on a close play trying to stretch the hit into a double. Crew chief Fieldin Culbreth called for a video review of Cabreras hit to make sure it wasnt a home run. The two homers put Detroit up 3-0. Arizona, coming off a three-game home sweep of the Chicago Cubs, scored two runs in the fourth. The Diamondbacks blew a chance to tie it in the seventh. Ender Inciarte singled with one out and was picked off by catcher Bryan Holaday. The next two batters reached on a walk and a single. "I messed up," Inciarte said. "I thought it was a 3-2 count. I was going to go and when I came back I thought I had a chance to get back to the bag but my foot got stuck in the ground. Either way I messed up. I should be aware of the situation." Holaday said he had noticed that Inciarte was "pretty far off" first. "Hes a pretty fast guy," Holaday said, "but I noticed he didnt get back immediately. I made the throw after I saw that." Arizona manager Kirk Gibson challenged the pickoff call on Inciarte but lost. NOTES: The Tigers career strikeout leaders are Mickey Lolich (2,679) and Jack Morris (1,980). ... In Tuesday nights second game of the series, the Tigers will send Rick Porcello (12-5, 3.39 ERA) to the mound against Arizonas Chase Anderson (6-4, 4.64). ... Arizonas Paul Goldschmidt doubled to boost his major league-leading total to 38. Cabrera leads the AL with 36. ... Arizona had won a season-high four consecutive home games. ' ' '