REALTY ONE SATURDAY EYE-OPENER

There were a lot of laughs and a little history repeated at the NHL all-star draft Friday night. Captain Jonathan Toews chose Toronto’s Phil Kessel with the second overall pick, but later traded him to Nick Foligno’s team in exchange for Tyler Seguin. Kessel was traded from Boston to Toronto Maple for draft picks back in 2009, one of which turned into Seguin.  The 2015 NHL all-star game will be played Sunday afternoon in Columbus.

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Kyle Lowry scored 17 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Toronto Raptors to a 91-86 comeback victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. Patrick Patterson added 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Raptors, who overcame a nine-point deficit with less than six minutes to go. Elsewhere, Klay Thompson had 52 points – including a record 37 in the third quarter – as Golden State downed Sacramento 126-101.

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Canadian Mark McMorris is golden at the X-Games. The Regina native scored 88 combined points to take first place in the big air final in Aspen. Montreal’s Max Parrot finished second while Japan’s Yuki Kadono was third. Earlier in the day, Vernon, BC native Kevin Hill won gold in snowboard cross.

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Hall of Fame slugger Ernie Banks has died. He was 83. The Chicago Cubs announced Banks’ death, but did not provide a cause. The two-time M-V-P hit 512 home runs during his 19-year career, including five seasons with 40 or more. He was fond of saying, “It’s a great day for baseball. Let’s play two!” That remains a catchphrase at Wrigley Field to this day.

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Canadian tennis star Milos Raonic reached the fourth round at a fourth consecutive Grand Slam tournament when he beat Benjamin Becker of Germany 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 at the Australian Open. The 24-year-old from Thornhill, Ontario fired 22 aces to advance to Monday’s match against Spain’s Feliciano Lopez.

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Canadian Vasek Pospisil is out at the Australian Open. The Vancouver native fell in straight sets to Spain’s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-2, 6-4, 6-4. Pospisil had 40 unforced errors compared to just 18 for Garcia-Lopez.

(Canadian Press)