Raptors Warm Up

The well rested Raptors square off tomorrow night against a Washington Wizards team that will be hungry for revenge. The Raptors beat Agent 0 and his crew 116-111 on January 7th during one of the unpopular 1 p.m. Sunday games in Toronto a couple weeks ago. The Raptors love those games. Opposing teams usually come into Toronto the night before and go out for a night on the town. They have a couple of drinks, spread some bling around and enjoy the “night life” that Toronto offers. In that whirlwind of booze, boobs and bars they forget that they have to play the earliest game of their season the next day. Come 1 p.m., the well rested Raptors are able to take advantage. There is no way that will happen again tomorrow night.

I am predicting Arenas to drop 40 tomorrow night in a loss to the Raptors. Bargnani will have a big come back game after getting over the flu. Unlike some other people who write on this site, I do not think that Anthony Parker is going to break out or amaze anyone. He has the look of Vince Carter in the jump shot days when he refused to go to the net unless the way was wide open. The league doesn’t need another average three point shooter and neither do the Raptors. We need players driving to the hole, getting into the paint and taking some of the inside scoring pressure off Bosh. When Bosh sets up in the high post the defender has to respect his shot. This opens up the middle but nobody goes there. Note to the Raptors: Bosh can PASS. Go to the hole and let him get you the ball. The Pistons have been doing this with Webber and Hamilton and it has given them another weapon.

SUPER BOWL!!! SUPER BOWL!!! SUPER BOWL!!!

Yes this weekend the Bears (If I hear or read DA BEARS one more time I am going to snap!) and the Colts will square off in what should be a very mediocre game. After a set of playoff games like this year, this Super Bowl would have to fit certain criteria in order for it to be a worthy finish.
1. 50 points from each team including at least one safety for either side.
2. Manning gets knocked unconscious by Urlacher at the end of the second quarter, hits the smelling salts and comes back to lead his team of victory.
3. A Quadruple reverse resulting in a fumble at the 1 yard line, a recovery by the defense for a 99 yard run back.
4. Full frontal nudity during the half time show.

Considering the caliber of the playoffs thus far, I don’t think that this is too much to ask. To be honest I haven’t read much about the Super Bowl this year. I am not interested in Chicago at all and if Indy wins then good for Peyton, otherwise, who cares? Bring on the draft, I think the skins actually have a pick in the first 5 round this year!

Raps vs the Celtics NBDL team

I was at the game on Friday. Or should I say the exhibition game. At no point did I think they were going to lose.
Okay there was one point.
We spent the last half of the game watching on the live feed at the Ice Bar, cause getting up every six minutes for a refill was getting tired. (Ok, bad enough I had to spend 8 bucks for a foot long hot dog that tasted like rolled corn beef -
seriously, should a hot dog melt on your tongue? How come the 12 oz cup of draft isn't available for sale at Raptors games? Black people don't drink Ex?)

So we drink and talk to some buddies I met at the game and go over how much the team has improved, etc, etc, and then we look at the one screen that had the score as well as the live feed.
Then....Shock! Horror!

The Raps were down by six to Bassy Telfair and the Kandiman!
But then the thing I have been waiting for all year started to happen.

The AP show started.

With the emergence of Chris Bosh, the perimeter is going to be wiiiide open for someone to take advantage of.

But who will it be??????

Andrea is too raw.
The Porno Player Garbajosa fills that position sometimes, but he isn't the athletic enough to fill that role on a regular basis.
MoPete goes hot and Cold and since they didn't re-up with him in the summer, I think he is halfway out the door.
Calderone is fucking WILD!! He is like a Rookie QB trying to force the issue with impossible passes and drives.
Is Fred Jones still on this team?
Is Kris Humphries still getting a paycheck?

No. It has to be Parker. And last night it was him. This guy has a top notch all around game, and a game like this from him was worth the wait.

Flying around the court, his shot dropping like a Tony Romo extra point hold, he did the things that we brought him here to do.


oh yeah the celts......
Looking good for the Oden/Durant sweepstakes.


P.S. Someone compared Garbajosa to JYD. I said yeah, except the part where the porno Player can shoot, pass, dribble, defend, and doesn't have fangs for incisors.

No Love for Serena?

So I am avoiding work and go to cnnsi to see if the Dallas Cowboy Coaching carnival has added any more drama. I am also looking for the Love for Serena.






See, I remember 1991 when Jimbo Connors took his 39 year old self to the US Open semi finals, dragging out every last emotion out of the crowd to jack himself up to a performance level that he hadn't shown for years. Ol' Jimbo was shaking like a Baptist parishioner catching the spirit in rural Tennessee between every point. (Truth be told I know he probably enjoyed the extra time between points to catch his breath.) The crowd loved him, and every sports story began and ended with his magical run.


So i was looking for some Serena Love. The story writes itself and most sportswriters are lazy muhfuckers who regurgitate puff pieces from Tournament HQ and Pro Teams PR people. So here is a chance to put down a story that has all the needed elements for notability; the underdog rises up and does the impossible, yesterdays champion puts it together and uses the adoring crowd to propel their way to the championship YAYYYYYYY!!! And when i looked at cnnsi? Home of as much Tit as possible on their home page what did I see? An article by some faded Tennis joker on the problems with Womens tennis, because if Serena Williams can get to the finals with a little chunk round her waist then there must be some overarching problem with the entire Sport. Jackass.

BTW, I am fully hypnotized by Serena's ass. That thing needs it's own cell number. (I wonder if she would let me talk to it. Is she coming to the Canadian Open this year?)

Opinions

Over the years I have developed some strong opinions about certain professional athletes. Many players and teams have contributed to these opinions; I have been betrayed, disgusted, heart broken by some and elated, encouraged and excited by others. This is nothing new to any sports fan, we all have people we love to cheer for and love to hate. Some people like underdogs; some people (band wagon jumpers) like the dynasties and some people feel are born and raised fanatics.

I was raised as a Leafs fan but, like most people my age; I have never seen them play for the Cup. In fact, the only major sports championships in recent Toronto history were won by the Jays while I was abroad. I was baptized a Redskins fan in the 6th grade when they stomped the Bills to win the Super Bowl. I am also a die hard Raptor fan, but I must admit that, like the rest of Toronto, I didn’t pay much attention until V.C. came to town in 1998. Since then, I have stubbornly refused to give up on the Dinos and it finally seems to be paying off.

Seeing as I don’t have much else to write about today, I am going to list my most loved and most hated player currently playing in each of the major sports.

Baseball. Love: Roy Halladay. The poise, the control and the complete domination every game, what’s not to love? He is a consummate professional. If he can stay healthy, he can challenge Santana for the CY Young every year.
Hate: John Rocker. He may not be playing anymore but racism has is unacceptable anywhere.

Football. Love: Clinton Portis. Yes, I am a skins fan, but he is good. The combination of power and speed make him a top 3 running back and the only player out of Denver who can run anywhere.
Hate: Terrell Owens. He tears teams apart, drops balls and loses as many games as he wins. It must have felt good for Garcia to beat the Cowboys this year.

Basketball. Love: Dwyane Wade. He should be called “The Iceman”. He never loses his cool whether he is hitting game winning shots or winning championships. LeBron? Melo? Forget about those guys. Flash is the best player out of that class and top 3 in the league.
Hate: It was Kobe but Carmelo Anthony has taken over. He plays a one dimensional game and maybe the sorriest excuse for a player in the NBA. The fight was over, people were separated and he chooses to throw a sucker punch and moonwalk his way across the floor away from guy who is 5’-7; disgusting. I hope he and Luke Walton play together one day so I can focus all my hate onto one team.

Hockey. Love: Mats Sundin. Come get your chunky!!! He is a solid, two way player who lights up the world when he smiles. You can guarantee that I am happy when he is happy. I know his days in Toronto are numbered and I say to John Ferguson; let him go and win his cup.
Hate: Is Domi still playing? Fine, Jonathan “Cheepo” Cheechoo. This guy is rides coattails harder than Simon Gagne. It is very simple: take away Thornton and he doesn’t score 20 goals.

In the Big Inning.....

I thought that I would start this with a bit of a sports introduction just so my future rants won’t seem like the ramblings of a madman.

- Emmitt Smith is the greatest running back of the modern age.

(By modern age I mean after the era when Jim Brown ran over entire defenses that were smaller and slower than him).

I don’t need to hear any Barry Sanders crap. He had a couple of all-star linemen with him also and if you add up his negative yards his per carry average doesn’t look so good anymore.

Yes I am a Cowboys fan. (Really it started because of the cheerleaders. But it has evolved from that.)

(By the way have you seen the specs for the new Cowboys stadium??? Mother of God that thing is ridiculous!!! I am trying to put together a cartel to buy a box in that stadium! Who is with me? You just know they are going to get a Super Bowl right after they build the thing. Every big event in the Dallas area will be going there. Don’t send a cheque just yet. Think about it first. Then write me a cheque.)

- My precious Maple Leaf loving childhood was wasted on a team that drafted such luminaries as Fred Boimstruck, Jim Benning, Craig Muni, Darryl Shannon and Gary Nylund. I was forced to watch Bill Derlago as a first line player.

Thanks Harold.

So I feel justified in my Sports Bigamy. That’s right. I’m in love with two teams and I don’t wanna let none of them go.

I am also a Montreal Canadiens fan. Heresy? I don’t care. If you loved hockey as a child in the late seventies and you could either watch the Leafs get pummeled or watch the Habs on CBC French style? Really my duplicity is understandable. (By the way, Patrick Roy is the best goalie in the history of hockey, don’t argue.)

I hate baseball. But there is really nothing else to watch in the summer besides golf, so…

I was there for touch-em-all-Joe in 93. Best fan moment in Toronto history since 1967. Sad, but true. We are two MLB championships away from becoming Philadelphia – a loser sports city if there ever was one. I think you have to go to some loser town in Europe to find a more pathetic sporting history than Philadelphia. Rocky Balboa is the last person from that city in recent history to win anything.

And Basketball.

I became a fan before everyone wanted to be like Mike.

I’m going to the Friday Night no kids all eye candy Game against the Celtics so I will give you a report afterwards.

Go Raps. Make Tron happy.

Making the jump

Great performance by the Raptors last night!! No, I am not going crazy; yes I watched the same game as you. I saw the Raps get smoked in the first quarter, I saw them shoot 41% from the field and get out rebounded…. again. I also saw a team learn something last night. They learned that you don’t need to give 100% for the whole game to win in the NBA. The Hornets were in the second half of a back-to-back, they got in from Philly late last night and simply aren’t as good as the Raptors. Toronto held out the victory for them and then snatched it away faster than a fat kid reaching for a smartie. For the last 3 minutes of the game Toronto clamped down on defense capping it off with a great block by Calderon on the smaller Bobby Jackson. They came back down the floor and Bosh willed in his 8th 3 pointer of the year and the rest is history.

It is the ability to change gears that separates the great teams and the great players from the rest of the pack. Dallas and Phoenix both have gears that haven’t even been tested yet. Jordan, Kobe and Wade could and can elevate their level of play to a point where they simply. Toronto doesn’t have a Dallas like nth gear, but they are learning and Bosh is developing his over-drive. He can sense when it is his time, he demands the ball and makes plays happen. Last night the fans got on Bosh for missing some free throws which I thought was a little premature and unfair. Bosh finished the night 12-18 and is sitting at 74.8% on the year; those are fantastic numbers from a guy who is 6-10. He also hit his frees at the end of the game when it really counted.

I was seriously disappointed by the Raptor fans at the game last night. Of the meager 14,173 who attended the game, most had left by the time Bosh changed the game. After Devin Brown hit a 3 half way through the 4th quarter the fans started streaming towards the exits and people at home switched over to the NHL All-Star game. Toronto fans, who are second rate at best, need to learn to have a little more faith in the team and stick out the whole game.

Looking around the rest of the league and we see the landscape changing. If a team can bring Pau Gasol to the East it would give them instant legitimacy. He is a great player who knows how to win and can drive a team. He has also been playing in the West against the best big men in the game, he would dominate the poor excuses that make up the centres and power forwards on most Eastern Conference teams. New Jersey isn’t going to win a single game on their west coast road trip and Phoenix isn’t going to lose on their east coast trip. I don’t think that Shaq is going make that much of an impact for the Heat and if Wade doesn’t get some help and get healthy, they aren’t going anywhere in the playoffs, no matter how good Flash is.

All-Star Game

For the first time in recent memory the NHL will gather tonight to celebrate its brightest young stars and the excitement they are bringing to the league; too bad Leafs fans have nothing to cheer for. Gary Bettman and the rest of the NHL brass are hoping that tonight’s performance in Dallas will show off the new, fast paced, high scoring game; a game they paid a very high price to get. The 2004-2005 lockout severely tarnished its image, burned loyal fans and firmly planted hockey at bottom of the pile in the big 4 North American leagues. Since then, the NHL has worked overtime to try and improve its image as “family friendly” entertainment while still keeping its traditional fan base. The referees are still calling close games, scoring is up (almost 10 players have a legitimate shot at 100 points) and the shootout has to be considered a complete success. Mark Cuban (who should be GIVEN an NHL franchise) recently pointed out that if you take a wider look at the North American audience, the hockey game of the week actually draws more fans than the NBA’s biggest game. That doesn’t mean that hockey will be the next big sport in America, but it is a fact that needs to be publicized. Americans like to watch what they think is popular and no league exploits this better than the NFL. The NFL has created its own super-hype machine that manages to work millions of Americans into a frenzy every Sunday. The NHL has a long way to go to match that and owners like Mark Cuban would help. Tonight’s game will be a big, Texas sized, celebration that the All-Star game is back; even if it is televised on the Versus network.

Meanwhile, here in Toronto, the outlook is bleak. The perennial All-Stars that Leafs fans took for granted are gone and even the great captain didn’t make the 21 man, Eastern Confrence roster. The smooth skating Tomas Kaberle has the honour of representing Toronto this year and likely will be alone in that role for the next couple years. Mats Sundin’s days in a Maple Leafs jersey are numbered and a look further down the roster reveals other no legitimate, All-Star caliber players. Tucker should be released at the end of the year and allowed to spend the rest of his career remembering how the only goal he can score comes from Sundin’s bullet passes. McCabe is one of the most over paid defensemen in the league. He is only a plus 3 and wouldn’t even have 20 points if he wasn’t allowed to play every minute of every power play. The younger players are also taking longer than anticipated to mature. Wellwood looked great playing the shifty centre between the two towers of Antropov and Ponikarovsky, but that entire line can’t stay healthy. Alex Steen and Matt Stajan have both taken steps backwards this year and Raycroft may never be more than an average net minder. These are not the pieces to build a playoff team around, let alone a champion.

To say that Toronto is being left behind in the new NHL would be a drastic understatement. There are some pieces to work with and a great teaching coach to shape a new young team but Maple Leaf Sports Entertainment has to make the only decision left to them; trade away the veterans and start over. The Raptors have done this and have created a positive atmosphere and the fans are buying into it. Any rational Leafs fan knows that they don’t have a chance to win the cup if they continue in this direction. Starting over will give the Toronto hope and may just send a couple players to the All-Star game in the process.

Are you on the Chuckwagon™ yet?

Being my first post and all, I amassed all 4 of my photoshop skills to bring you something special... bald guy humour. It's super special for me, as I will undoubtedly look very similar in the near future.

More to the point though, do you think Chuck Swirsky is the biggest Raptor fan alive? Personally, I don't think there's any doubt.

Every weekday Chuck submits a post to his blog from wherever he may be: at home, on the road or Dairy Queen. I'm among thousands of other Rap fans who pine away every morning waiting for 'Chuck Checks In' on raptors.com. Topics can include NCAA ball and Rocky movies, but most are Raptor Fan orientated. With his incredible knowledge of modern day basketball and old time ball, Chuck's insights are always accurate, and always unbiased. As well as being the play by play man for the Raptors, the guy has a daily radio show in Toronto. But that's not what makes him special.

What makes Chuck special, and why I'm on the Chuckwagon is his love and respect for all things Raptors.

• The guy reads (and responds to most) of the hundreds of emails he gets daily
• He takes calls at his office from fans who want to talk ball
• He'll take any new season ticket holder out to lunch
• He gives shout outs to fans during live telecasts

Seriously... he's insane when it comes to the Raptors, and their fans. He's done more to promote this team than the front office ever could. Those one on one connections we have with him make watching the games more real... as you can turn to your girl during the game and say, "Ya, I talked to my buddy Chuck this afternoon. We're tight." How cool is that?!

As Toronto fans, we're always feeling disrespected and under appreciated in the US. It's important to us to be viewed on par with other teams in the league, and get our just due. Let me say, I'm very proud and encouraged to know that when Chuck goes into LA, Miami or Dallas, he represents all of us with dignity, pride and enthusiasm. Class act indeed. Biggest Raptor fan for sure.

So if you're not on the Chuckwagon yet, git'on over and start reading his blog... give him a call... drop him an email.

Oh... and tell him his buddy Brad says hi.

Raptors vs Bobcats. January 23rd 2007

This was a must win game for the Raptors and they managed to come through with a very convincing performance. They were the better team from start to finish including a season high 37 points in the first quarter. It was a great start for a team that has really struggled early in games and let clubs stay around a lot longer than they should (ie. recent games against the injury ravaged Bucks and Celtics). They went into the half leading by 6 and game out firing in the third taking it to the Bobcats and out scoring them 21-8 in the quarter. This is what really made me happy.

I remember years of watching the Raptors keeping it close in the first half and coming out in the second looking like they were just waking up from an afternoon nap. They seem to be growing together and developing into a team that can keep games competitive right to the end. They need people coming into the ACC knowing that the game won’t be an automatic W. Their home losses to Dallas and Phoenix reflect this new found competitiveness. I was at the Suns game and the Raps were in it right until the best player in the world decided to take over and seal the victory. Now, the Raptors aren’t that good yet and they have no one close to the caliber of Nash, but they are on the right track. The only players they are going to have under contract in 2009 will be Bosh, Ford and Bargnani. Add swing man and some solid role players and you have the makings of a great team.

It has been hard to be a Raptor fan over the years, but all the screaming at pointless threes and half efforts look like they are finally going to pay off in the years to come. Now all they have to do is convince NBA players that living in Toronto doesn’t mean living in an igloo and getting sweet rims for your dog sled, but that is a different topic.