Die Macht » knockout stages for the 15th straight season.Its no

TORONTO -- The Toronto Raptors are truly Masai Ujiris team now. Bryan Colangelo abruptly stepped down from his role with the Raptors on Wednesday, ending their brief experiment as co-presidents of the squad. "Having had a better chance to reflect on things for the past several weeks, I have concluded that stepping away from my position is the best course of action for the organization and everyone involved," Colangelo said in a press release Wednesday. The Raptors said Colangelo will remain as a consultant with the team and with Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd. The 48-year-old Colangelo lost his job as general manager in May, after the Raptors went 34-48 and failed to make the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season. He remained as president in a non-basketball role, while Ujiri was hired as general manager and president of basketball operations. Ujiri insisted at his opening news conference there would be no problems working with the man who was once his mentor in Toronto. "Theres no issue with Bryan Colangelo," Ujiri said at his introductory news conference earlier this month. "No issue. None whatsoever. Zero zero issue. None." He did however make it clear who was running the team now. "Ill take Bryans input when I feel its necessary, Wayne (Embry, Raptors senior advisor) has always been a great mentor to me," Ujiri said. "But at the end of the day, Im going to put my staff together and were going to figure this all out collectively. But basketball decisions are going to be my decisions, so it doesnt matter who tells me what or how its done, at the end of the day, Im sitting right here on the hot seat." Ujiri, who worked under Colangelo as Torontos assistant GM from 2008 to 2010, signed what was reported to be a five-year, US$15 million dollar deal with the Raptors this month. Ujiri, who was named the 2013 NBA executive of the year, left his post as GM of the Denver Nuggets to come to Toronto. Colangelo was honoured with that award in 2007 when the Raptors won its only Atlantic Division title in franchise history. Since then, Toronto has not had a winning season. The Raptors began the 2012-2013 season with high hopes, having acquired dynamic point guard Kyle Lowry from the Houston Rockets and shooting guard Landry Fields from the New York Knicks via off-season trades, and adding their 2011 first-round draft pick Jonas Valanciunas to the roster. But despite a promising lineup, the Raptors began the 2012-2013 season on a shaky start, winning just four of its first 23 games. James McCann Jersey . The Professional Referee Organization, which manages game officials for the U.S. Soccer Federation and MLS, notified the Professional Soccer Referee Association of the lockout and said replacement officials will be used. Miguel Cabrera Jersey .B. -- Canadian pairs skaters Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford went from elated to frustrated in the span of a few minutes. http://www.tigersgearshop.com/Tigers-Alan-Trammell-Kids-Jersey/ . Goins is the early favourite to win the starting job at second base. Pillar is an outsider to secure a role off the bench, which becomes an even more difficult spot to win if the number of back up jobs is reduced by one. That happens if the Blue Jays decide to start the season with an eight man bullpen. Ryan Carpenter Jersey . -- The Guelph Storm are moving on to the Western Conference final after defeating the London Knights 5-4 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League playoff action. Joe Jimenez Jersey . Coming off a 6-0 drubbing at Chelsea on Saturday, Arsenal endured another demoralizing result after rallying for a 2-1 lead -- only to concede a fluke equalizer.PARIS - Striker Mario Mandzukic scored a hat trick as Spanish champion Atletico Madrid thrashed Olympiakos 4-0 to reach the Champions League knockout phase on Wednesday, while Arsenal also went through with a convincing 2-0 win against Borussia Dortmund thanks to another superb goal from Alexis Sanchez.Bayer Leverkusen likewise advanced despite a 1-0 home defeat to Monaco.Elsewhere, Real Madrid notched a 15th straight win as Cristiano Ronaldo grabbed his 71st Champions League goal in a 1-0 win at FC Basel, whilst Liverpools defensive woes surfaced again in a 2-2 away draw at Bulgarian side Ludogorets.Five-time European champion Liverpool, which has four points, is two behind Basel in Group B and hosts the Swiss side next.Meanwhile, Italian champion Juventus steered itself to within touching distance of qualifying with an assured 2-0 win at Swedish side Malmo.Midfielder Claudio Marchisio found Fernando Llorente with an astute pass and the Spanish striker finished coolly for his third goal in three games. Juve sealed the win when star midfielder Paul Pogba released Carlos Tevez for the second.Atletico, last seasons runner-up to Real, has 12 points in Group A and Juve has nine. They meet in Turin in two weeks. Olympiakos has six points.We withstood Malmos pressure in the first half but we improved after the break, Marchisio said.Ronaldos goal bought him level with former Madrid great Raul Gonalez, but three behind record-holder Lionel Messi of bitter rival Barcelona.France striker Karim Benzema set up Ronaldo near the penalty spot in the 35th minute for his 26th club goal in all competitions.Liverpool coach Brendan Rodgers was unnder pressure after a run of four straight defeats and things did not look like improving when Spanish midfielder Dani Abalo put Ludogorets ahead in the third minute.ddddddddddddRickie Lambert levelled for Liverpool and midfielder Jordan Henderson turned in Raheem Sterlings pass to make it 2-1 before the break.But when Ludogorets forced a late corner, Liverpools defenders remained static, allowing Georgi Terziev to nod past goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.The pressure will alleviate on Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger as the Gunners reached the knockout stages for the 15th straight season.Its not easy to be consistent so I am very proud of that, Wenger said. We want more.Arsenal went ahead in the second minute through inexperienced striker Yaya Sanogos first competitive goal for the North London club. Sanchez then curled a delightful shot into the bottom corner from 20 yards out for his ninth goal in eight games.We were overrun by Arsenal in the first ten minutes, Dortmund midfielder Ilkay Gundogan said. It was a deserved defeat.Arsenal has 10 points and is two behind Dortmund in Group D.In the groups other match, Anderlecht qualified for the Europa League by beating Galatasaray 2-0, with defender Chancel Mbemba scoring twice.In Group C, Monaco and Zenit St. Petersburg are vying to qualify.Leverkusen, which has nine points, was sure to advance because Zenit beat Benfica 1-0 in the earlier match thanks to Portugal midfielder Dannys winner.Monaco has eight points and Zenit has seven.Substitute Lucas Ocampos got Monacos goal after good work from forward Dimitar Berbatov.Monaco next hosts Zenit and Leverkusen goes to Benfica. ' ' '