ASto take a minority stake in the service

Business Secretary Peter Mandelson last year said hewelcomed an approach by Dutch logistics company TNT NV (TNT.AS)to take a minority stake in the service.($1.7275 pounds)(Reporting by Frank Prenesti; Editing by Mike Nesbit). ) The NBA season tips off tonight and I am still working on my preview. It can’t hurt that it is the first week of the season, right People need to read up on how the season will play out, right RightDuring the last couple weeks, we covered the bottom feeders of the Eastern Conference:Part IPart II 8. Toronto Raptors Key AdditionsHedo Turkoglu, G/F (trade, Orlando), Reggie Evans, F (trade, Philadelphia), Antoine Wright, F (trade, Dallas), Marco Belinelli, G (trade, Golden State), Rasho Nesterovic, C (Indiana), Jarrett Jack, G (Indiana), Amir Johnson, F (trade, Milwaukee), Sonny Weems, G/F (trade, Milwaukee), Demarr DeRozan (R). Key LossesJason Kapono, G/F (trade, Philadelphia), Kris Humphris, F (trade, Dallas), Nathan Jawai, C (trade, Dallas), Shawn Marion, F (trade, Dallas), Anthony Parker, G/F (Cleveland), Carlos Delfino, G (trade, Milwaukee), Roko Ukic, G (trade, Milwaukee).The Raptors received the most hype of the offseason with some blockbuster moves. Their star player, Chris Bosh, enters free agency this upcoming offseason, andI believe GM Bryan Colangelo felt the pressure to make this a do or die season.First of all, I like the pickup of Hedo Turkoglu, though not at the dollar figure they gave him.I believe he is a very solid player who can shoot the ball well and is a playmaker. He will make Bosh a better player, along with the others around them.What he is not, though, is a shutdown defender and he does not possess a tenacity to him. Some people may ask what does being tenacious have to do with Turkoglu and picking him up in the summerWell, the Raptors' No 1 problem for years has been their softness.

Even their superstar power forward’s body looks like Lindsay Lohan’s on a coke binge.Combine him with Bargnani and Nestrovic and the Raptors are not a force down low and not a great rebounding team.Now, Reggie Evans did come over in a trade with Kapono and he will help with toughness and rebounding, but I do not believe it is enough to go deep in the playoffs.I like the signing of Jarret Jack in the offseason as a backup and possible backcourt mate of Jose Calderon.People have ranted and raved about Calderon these past two years, but I do not necessarily buy it. He is OK as a starter and it will be great for the Raptors to have such a solid backup PG coming off the bench, especially considering Jack’s defense on the ball.The Raptors will have enough talent to make the playoffs, but I still believe they lack some key components to make a splash.Their defense is still weak and their rebounding is questionable. If they are able to address these issues, either by trade or some miraculous coaching, then I see them going further into the playoffs. 7. Washington Wizards Key AdditionsMike Miller, G (trade, Minnesota); Randy Foye, G (trade, Minnesota); Fabricio Oberto, C (Detroit). Key LossesEtan Thomas, C (trade, Minnesota); Darius Songaila, F (trade, Minnesota); Oleksiy Pecherov, C (trade, Minnesota).The No 1 ingredient for the Wizards this year is to stay healthy.

If they are healthy, they will make it to the playoffs.In his first year with the Wizards, new coach Flip Saunders will have plenty of talent to work with.Over the offseason, I liked the moves Ernie Grunfield pulled off to make his team better. The Wizards did not need youth and Grunfield parlayed the fifth pick in a weak draft into Randy Foye and Mike Miller.Granted, I have never been a huge Foye fan, but I do think he can fit in nicely alongside a healthy Gilbert Arenas.Miller also gives the Wizards another shooter off the bench, which is so highly valuable in the NBA, particularly come playoff time.To round out the wings, the Wizards still have former All-Star Caron Butler, sharp-shooter Nick Young, and solid defender and all-around player DeShawn Stevenson. Those are five solid players to fit into three positions.The frontcourt is no slouch, either. Antawn Jamison will start at the four position, and if he can resemble his All-Star days, he will be a great compliment to Butler and Arenas like he was just a few years back.The Wizards have Brendan Haywood returning from injury and he is one of the more underrated big men in the game. I am not saying he is All-Star caliber, but he does a good job defending other bigs (much needed against the likes of Howard and O’Neal) in the league and rebounding the ball.Saunders doesn’t need much scoring from him, which is a good thing, and he will play his role.Picking up Oberto from the Spurs via the Pistons will bolster the bench as well as he comes from a winning organization and does the little things well.Andray Blatche (6'11") is back as well. He has shown flashes of greatness in the past and the Wizards hope to get more consistency from him.I believe the Wizards have a chance to finish higher than seventh in the East, but I do think the injury bug will plague them at some point this season hopefully for them, not too much.If they land where I think they will and remain healthy going into the playoffs, the team that gets seeded in the No 2 spot in the East should watch out come playoff time. 6. Miami Heat Key AdditionsQuentin Richardson, G/F (trade, Minnesota). Key LossesJamario Moon, F (Cleveland), Mark Blount, C (trade, Minnesota).This team is Dwayne Wade Period.

The ship will go on how well he goes, and more importantly,if he stays healthy.The Heat kept their team in tact this offseason preparing for what could be an explosive 2010 free agency for them.Last year, the talent surrounding Wade was good enough to get the fifth spot in the East. All signs out of Heat camp have been positive (on the court) and that he is back on track to have an improved second year.The Heat will have C Jermaine O’Neil for a full season, but he needs to stay injury-free, which has been extremely difficult these past few seasons. Either way, he is not the Jermaine O’Neil of old.The Heat do have others in the frontcourt to fill the void in Magloire, Haslem, and Anthony, but nothing that strikes fear into the opponents’ gameplan.James Jones will be looking to return healthy after missing most of the year this past season. He will provide help to Wade with his outstanding outside shooting touch and I believe people forgot how good of a player he can be as a role player.