Die Macht » The 24-year-old Cibulkova, who stunned No

TORONTO - Bruno Caboclo happened to be walking by Will Cherry at practice on Thursday, and casually reached up his right hand to block Cherrys shot.While the Toronto Raptors rookie is still a huge work in progress, they believe that his physical gifts — including a wing span thats among the biggest in league history — will eventually take him far.His corner three is huge. Hes ahead of the curve, said Raptors coach Dwane Casey. Reminds me of Rashard Lewis (who Casey coached at Seattle), and hes a better three-point shooter than Rashard at the same stage. So hes ahead of the curve from that standpoint.His biggest issue is, one, the language, and two, the strength factor. Once he gets those down and gets a feel for the NBA game, the skys the limit for him. Theres no question hes going to be a really, really solid NBA player.Caboclo saw his first NBA action in Torontos 113-106 loss at Sacramento on Tuesday — hitting both of his three-point attempts and grabbing a couple of rebounds in 15 minutes. He displayed his enviable wingspan when he reached out to swat away an Omri Casspi shot from behind.He could play Friday when the Raptors host the Boston Celtics in their first pre-season action at the Air Canada Centre.The 19-year-old Caboclo was the shock of last summers NBA draft when Raptors GM Masai Ujiri selected the unknown Brazilian with the 20th pick. Caboclo had been mentioned in zero mock drafts. Reporters had to scramble to find information on the youngster. ESPN draft analyst Fran Fraschilla uttered the memorable quote saying Caboclo is two years away from being two years away.It was recently revealed that Caboclo was given the lowest rating on the NBA 2K15 video game. But his physical gifts — things like his length, that cant be taught — are undeniable. The baby-faced forward stands six foot nine, with a freakishly long wing span of seven foot seven. Canadian star Andrew Wiggins, by comparison, is also 6-9, with a seven-foot wingspan.Former Raptor Mamadou Ndiaye reportedly had an eight-foot-one wingspan — considered among the longest ever — on his seven-foot-four frame.He plays the passing lane well, he can change shots at the rim, hes long, can rebound. . . those are qualities that you can obviously see on him, said Raptors all-star DeMar DeRozan.Hes done great. Hes still young out there, hes got a lot to learn, not just with basketball, but just getting comfortable speaking English, learning the language, learning everybody on the team, DeRozan added. Everybody has that little feeling when they first come into the league, being shy, you dont want to say too much. But hes done great, hes going to be a heck of a talent.Caboclo, who has two older sisters who grew up playing volleyball, works with an English tutor a couple of days a week, and teammate Greivis Vasquez helps facilitate communication in practice by speaking to Caboclo in Spanish.The Brazilian conjures memories of a young Jose Calderon, who arrived in Toronto Raptors training camp speaking little English in 2005. Not knowing the word teammates, Calderon referred to them as his friends.Caboclo attempted to talk to reporters after practice on Thursday.On his NBA debut, he said Its different, but I feel OK. Its normal, like practice, but its different.On his attempts to learn English: Im learning to talk to everybody, its not comfortable. But I try.And when asked what he plans to do with his first paycheque, he laughed and said I dont know yet. Its so much money, I save in my account.Caboclo grew up in Pirapora do Bom Jesus, a tiny town outside of Sao Paolo. Ujiri first took notice when he was named MVP of the annual Basketball Without Borders Tournament. Raptors staff travelled to Brazil several times to scout the young player, and then Ujiri asked Casey to fly to Texas to see him.He went on to play well for the Raptors during the Summer League in Las Vegas.Still, as the Raptors continue to remind, hes a work in progress.Hes growing, hes still growing, Casey said. This is a great learning year for him, he can watch guys like DeMar in front of him offensively, a guy like James Johnson defensively and see what theyre doing, how to play things individually. Main thing with him is just learning, picking up the nuances. Great kid, great learner, but its just so much to learn as a young kid.The Raptors strength and conditioning coach Alex McKechnie pulled Caboclo aside after Thursdays practice. He had him doing a quick pivoting drills with rubber bands attaching his legs and arms.He needs to get stronger physically, but the skys going to be the limit once he does because hes an excellent standstill shooter, but once his strength factor comes in is when he gets in trouble, and thats correctable, Casey said. Its a learning experience, and all that together is very monumental when youre that young. Joe Kelly Youth Jersey . "For the past several weeks, Logan has been dealing and playing with an upper body injury," said general manager Doug Wilson in a statement. "Despite his efforts to play through it, the injury has not responded as we had hoped and Logan has made the decision to undergo a surgical procedure to repair the problem. Joe Kelly Dodgers Jersey . The alleged sexual assault is believed to have happened over the weekend of Feb. 1, when the hockey team was in Thunder Bay for two games against Lakehead University. The criminal investigation branch of the Thunder Bay Police Service is leading the investigation with help from Ottawa police. http://www.ladodgersprostore.us/Walker-Buehler-dodgers-jersey/ .com) - Roosevelt Jones had 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists to lead No. Kirk Gibson Dodgers Jersey . Former two-time Olympic gold medallist Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle tested positive for the stimulant methylhexanamine in both her "A" and "B" samples, the German Olympic Committee said. Joc Pederson Jersey . The San Antonio Spurs handled the conditions, and the team, and it sure helped when a suffering LeBron James couldnt make it to the finish.Melbourne, Australia (SportsNetwork.com) - The women will also have a new champion at the Australian Open. After three-time reigning mens titlist Novak Djokovic lost here on Tuesday, fifth-seeded Pole Agnieszka Radwanska took down two-time defending champion Victoria Azarenka 6-1, 5-7, 6-0 on Wednesday to set up a semifinal match with Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia. "Im so happy and pleased, especially that I beat one of the best players in the world," Radwanska said. "Was not easy draw, not easy quarterfinal. Im very happy that I made my first semifinal here." The second-seeded Azarenkas 18-match winning streak in Melbourne came to a halt on Day 10. She was trying to become the first woman to win the singles title here in three consecutive years, or since Martina Hingis turned the trick from 1997-99. Radwanska, who ended a streak of three consecutive quarterfinal defeats at the Aussie Open, committed just 15 unforced errors compared to 47 for Azarenka. "She was aggressive. She was making everything. She was guessing right. I was just playing a little bit too predictive, you know," Azarenka said. Azarenka had been a dominant 12-3 lifetime against her fellow 24-year-old Radwanska, including a come-from-behind Aussie quarterfinal victory two years ago. Meannwhile, the 20th-seeded Cibulkova cruised past 11th-seeded Romanian Simona Halep 6-3, 6-0 in a match that lasted just 60 minutes to secure her spot in the final four.dddddddddddd The 24-year-old Cibulkova, who stunned No. 3 seed Maria Sharapova in the fourth round on Monday, is the first woman from Slovakia to reach the Aussie Open semis since Daniela Hantuchova in 2008. The diminutive Cibulkova improved to 2-3 in quarterfinal matches at Grand Slams, with her other win coming at the 2009 French Open. "That time I was 19 years old. I was pretty young. I would say also a different player. You know, I am much more experienced," Cibulkova said. Halep, who upended former world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic in the fourth round, appeared overwhelmed in her Grand Slam quarterfinal debut. "No, just I couldnt play today. I had emotions, big emotions, and I couldnt manage this," she said. "Before the match I was very nervous and I didnt feel the ball at all. I couldnt move my body and I couldnt play." Fourth-seeded Chinese star Li Na and 30th-seeded blossoming 19-year- old Canadian Eugenie Bouchard will meet in the other semifinal on Thursday. The former French Open champion Li is a two-time runner-up at Melbourne Park, including last year against Azarenka. ' ' '