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Raptors select Murray-Boyles ninth overall
Collin Murray-Boyles shook his head when his name was called at the NBA Draft, appearing to let out a curse word.
But Murray-Boyles said he wasn’t disappointed, just in disbelief when the Toronto Raptors selected him ninth overall on Wednesday and quickly cleared the air when he spoke with media shortly after.
“What I said was not a bad thing by any means,” laughed Murray-Boyles, noting that Toronto was the first team he had worked out for after declaring for the draft. “I’m just very thankful for it. That was a surreal moment to hear my name called by this organization that has a good history and have really good players right now.
“It was a crazy moment. Obviously, thankful for the opportunity that they’re giving me and taking it full on and ready to do whatever it takes and whatever they need me to do.”
General manager Bobby Webster said he didn’t interpret Murray-Boyles’s initial reaction to being drafted by the Raptors as a sign the 20-year-old was disappointed to be headed to Toronto.
“A lot of teams will tell the players that they are getting picked, (but we don’t) so I don’t think he knew,” said Webster. “I think it was truly a reaction to it happening.”
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Added Webster with a laugh: “Maybe we should leak it to them. He knew we had interest.”
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Murray-Boyles averaged 16.8 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists over 32 games last season as a sophomore forward for the South Carolina Gamecocks. He averaged 10.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.8 assists as a freshman, starting in 19 games and playing in nine others.
“Something I bring to the team is my physicality and my willingness to do whatever the coach needs me to do,” said Murray-Boyles in a video conference call from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. “Something with me is I’ve been a role player, I’ve been a guy coming off the bench and I’ve been the guy. I’ve had it all.
“Whatever the coach needs me to do, especially early on, I’m just trying to find my role as quick as possible and help the team win.”
Murray-Boyles was named to the Southeastern Conference’s All-Freshman Team in 2024 and was on the second-team All-SEC team this year.
He built his reputation as a stalwart defender, averaging a steal and a block per game in his first year of U.S. collegiate basketball, then 1.5 steals and 1.3 blocks per game this past season.
“It’s hard to be productive as a rookie,” said Webster. “I do think the one thing that gets you on the court as a rookie is your defence, and so I think that gives him a leg up.”
One of Murray-Boyles’s main takeaways from that initial workout with the Raptors was that they want to win now.
“That’s something that I feel like I could be doing for them,” he said. “The physicality that they wanted, and the defensive mentality that they wanted.
“Wanted to build a new identity with that, and I feel like I’m somebody that can fulfil that and my defensive prowess and just how hard I play.”
Duke University forward Cooper Flagg was taken first overall by the Dallas Mavericks.
The Raptors finished the season with a 30-52 record, seventh worst in the league. Toronto dropped down to the ninth overall pick in the draft lottery, however.
Webster said that because the Raptors were one of the few teams willing to trade their pick there were a lot of rumours swirling around them, even though no deal materialized.
“That’s probably where a lot of the noise came from,” said Webster at OVO Athletic Centre, Toronto’s training facility. “So we had a lot of those discussions because of that.
“I think some people thought it was sort of a seven- or eight-player draft so the draft really started with us. A lot of teams that were trying to move into the draft, they felt like right around where we were is where it kind of was unknown.”
The Raptors also have the 39th overall pick, which will be selected on Thursday in the second round of the NBA Draft.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
TORONTO – Blue Jays slugger George Springer has been cleared to return to game action after suffering a concussion over two weeks ago, Toronto manager John Schneider said Wednesday.
The 35-year-old outfielder/designated hitter hasn’t played since July 28 when he was hit in the helmet by a fastball thrown by Baltimore Orioles pitcher Kade Strowd.
Springer, who was on hand for batting practice before Toronto’s game against the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night, was expected to play for the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons on Thursday.
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“Play DH tomorrow and then see if he needs a game in the outfield to see how he feels,” Schneider said in his pre-game availability. “But he’ll be doing that tomorrow.”
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Springer has been one of the top offensive performers this season for the Blue Jays (70-50), who had a 4 1/2-game lead on the Boston Red Sox in the American League East standings entering play Wednesday.
Over 101 games, Springer has a .291 average, 18 homers, 57 RBIs and an on-base and slugging percentage of .889.
Strowd’s 96-m.p.h. pitch appeared to hit Springer’s shoulder before making contact with his helmet near the ear flap. After laying prone for a moment or two, Springer got up slowly and left the field with some assistance.
He was placed on the seven-day concussion injured list on July 29.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 13, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
Two delightfully shaggy new faces will be on display at the Toronto Zoo starting on Friday.
The nine-month-old brothers are Scottish Highland cattle, with long, woolly, reddish coats and fringe over their eyes.
The zoo’s manager of wildlife care, Marc Brandson, says the two were born and raised at a local Ontario farm before moving to the zoo about a month ago.
He says they completed a quarantine period and now live just outside the Eurasia Wilds area of the zoo.
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Membership holders can visit the brothers at a pre-screening on Thursday, while other visitors can see them starting Friday.
Brandson says there is “a lot of excitement” around the pair because of how popular the Highland breed already is.
He says the zoo is hoping to have the brothers walk through the public area of the zoo as part of its animal ambassador program, which can give visitors a closer look at certain animals.
“Each and every day, our outreach and discovery staff are working to get them to that level,” he said.
“Having a bonded pair is a really great social situation for Highland cows. These brothers are very calm and they are gaining confidence each and every day that they interact with their caregivers.”
The brothers don’t have names yet, and Brandson says the public should stay tuned on ways to contribute naming ideas.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner says the federal government needs to do more to fight Canada’s devastating forest fires.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday in Ottawa, the Alberta MP accused Ottawa of “inaction” on wildfires. She also blamed that lack of action for new measures restricting activities in the forests of two provinces — even though those bans were imposed by the provinces themselves.
Nova Scotia and New Brunswick last week banned hiking, fishing, camping and the use of vehicles in its forests in response to the heightened wildfire risk.
Rempel Garner said that while she understands the fear Maritimers feel, restricting individuals’ movements is “not right.”
“Whenever there’s a major crisis, what the Liberal government has done by their inaction has conditioned Canadians to expect that the only response they can see out of their federal government is to restrict their movement,” Rempel Garner told reporters.
“We’re calling on the federal government to actually get serious about this issue.”
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Conservative MP Marc Dalton presented a bill last year to stiffen penalties for wildfires caused by arson. It never made it past first reading and died when Parliament was dissolved ahead of this year’s election.
Rempel Garner said that’s one area where the Liberals could have taken action on wildfires. She also called on the federal government to dedicate more resources to wildfire control.
In its 2021 election platform, the Liberals promised to train 1,000 community-based firefighters to fight wildfires and to work with provinces and territories to get them more firefighting planes.
Last month, Ontario Premier Doug Ford told reporters that Alberta-based water bomber manufacturer De Havilland was facing a four-year backlog of orders.
“Four full wildfire seasons ago, the Liberals promised more water bombers, more firefighters,” Rempel Garner said. “Where are they?”
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston brushed off the criticisms of the forest entry ban at a press conference later Wednesday.
“I find it remarkable, the interest in travelling in Nova Scotia woods by people who aren’t in Nova Scotia and probably haven’t been here much in their life,” Houston told reporters.
“We’re only concerned with keeping people safe. We’ll do what’s necessary to protect lives, and that’s what we’re doing in this case.”
So far this season, the total area of the country burned by wildfires is nearly the size of the entire province of New Brunswick.
— With files from Sarah Ritchie.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
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