Welcome to RaptorsHQ version 3.0!

We know it has been a long time coming, but the day has finally arrived – welcome to the new and improved RaptorsHQ.com!

As you can see, we’ve not only re-launched with a new look and feel, but we’ve also joined up with SB Nation – the largest and fastest growing grassroots sports network on the web.

After going the "indy" route for four plus years, we decided it was time to take advantage of a great opportunity. Joining SB Nation is going to provide countless benefits to both the HQ and its community of readers, and we’re extremely excited to be part of the SB Nation family.

The new HQ is more user-friendly, allows for more interaction between community members, and provides the HQ with an advanced platform for bringing you the best Raptors coverage on the web....currently from Vegas! None of us like change but we know that once you get used to the new platform you will love it.

Other features include open Game-Day Threads for consistent chatter through a Raps broadcast, the ability for users to upload their own content, and of course being part of SB Nation gives us more opportunity to collaborate with some of the best NBA blogs on the web. There are so many new features that we can’t list them all, but you will see that this new platform will enrich your experience while visiting the HQ.

In addition to moving to SB Nation, the RHQ team has started to expand. As many of you will have noted, this past year we added Vicious D to provide insight and commentary on the Raps, and even more recently Ray Bala signed on to provide you with extensive first class coverage of Canadian Basketball. We have now added a fifth member Geoff "Defensive Stance" Rahal who will be in charge of providing up-to-date links to all things Raptors-related. The HQ and its team are growing and we are excited about the possibilities.

Before launching into our regularly scheduled programming, a few shout-outs to those who made this move possible.

First, a very special thanks to Jim and Lauren at SB Nation who were both extremely patient and cooperative in making this enterprise a reality. It was a long process to get here, and we couldn’t have done it without them.

Second, a thanks to the SB Nation design team who worked diligently to get the new site up and running. The site will continue to develop over time and with a full tech crew behind us the sky is the limit. With the new site we would recommend reading the FanPost Howland put up about how to get the most out of the site (right hand side).

Third, thanks to hooplife.ca which was the home of the HQ over the past few seasons, and our former techie, Jerry, who made things work in our wacky back-end.

Finally, a big thank you to our readers! We have created a fantastic community at the HQ and it is the quality of our community that made this move possible. We hope you enjoy the new site and if you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at our new email address: raptorshq@gmail.com. This site continues to be a site run by Raptor fans for Raptor fans.

It’s a new chapter in the life of the HQ. We are excited about the future and we hope you will continue to come along with us for the ride.

Go Raps!

Franchise and Howland