The morning takings:
Raptors put their head on the block again tonight, against Damon Stoudamire and the nee-Vancouvers. A big night for the baloncesto, with Jose Calderon vs. Pau Gasol keeping 'em up late in Madrid (don't they always stay up late in Madrid?). And Sam Mitchell? He's not looking over his shoulder, writes Dave Feschuk, while over at the Globe, Rob Babcock gives the coach a thumbs-up.
In baseball, Dave Perkins revisits one of Ted Rogers' more surprising lines out of Monday's B.J. Ryan press conference, the one that had the Jays leaving the country if he hadn't have stepped in and bought them. Oh, and J.P. Ricciardi is denying that $55 million Brian Giles bid -- "That's way off", he says. As for A.J. Burnett -- "We haven't made an official offer. Would we go five years? I don't know." In other words, we sure could.
Oh dear. The Celtics have added another jersey.
The Black Eyed Peas are headed to next summer's World Cup -- I really like that Mein Humpf song, hope they do that one -- and the Stones are playing the Super Bowl.
And I've been remiss in not even mentioning the story of the fellow who spread his mother's ashes on the field during Sunday's Eagles game. Via the Sports Hooligan there's video here, and no surprise that Deadspin is all over it.
from SI.com. 'Nuff said
The Rant
Raptors fans need to lay off GM Babcock
Posted: Wednesday November 30, 2005 10:21AM; Updated: Wednesday November 30, 2005 2:27PM
Patience is a virtue, Toronto. One you don't seem to have.
I'm not going to rip Canadian sports fans, I promise. I'm not going to trash them for failing to support the Grizzlies or make hay about the demise of the Expos. I've got the Canada-bashing PTI guys for that.
But I will say this: leave Rob Babcock alone.
It's become en vogue in Toronto to take shots at the maligned Raptors GM. The guy is as popular there as Jean Charest is in Quebec. A couple of weeks ago a fan brought a sign to a Raptors game that read, "Fire Babcock" on one side and "Raptor Killer" on the other. Recently it was reported that Babcock has taken to wearing earplugs at Toronto games to block out hecklers.
Nice, Toronto, very nice. First let me ask you this: what was so special about the 2003 Raptors, since apparently that is the team you're pining for? That group went 24-58 and was the reason Babcock was hired in the first place. You want to talk trades? Fine, but please don't talk to me about Vince Carter. You weren't going to win with him. The best chance you had was in 2001, and even then you couldn't get out of the second round. Yes, Babcock got 30 cents on the dollar for him, but Carter didn't want to be in Toronto and you don't win anything with disgruntled players -- which I think just about covers Rafer Alston.
You want to talk drafting? OK, Rafael Araujo was a clunker. Jerry West drafted Troy Bell -- you want to fire him too? Tell me, how many GM's would have the guts to draft Charlie Villanueva with the seventh overall pick or the savvy to pick Jose Calderon off the scrap heap? You got Joey Graham bouncing in and out of the starting lineup and Roko Ukic kicking around in Spain. What more do you want?
Leave Babcock alone. Running an NBA team is an imperfect science and there are bound to be a few bumps along the way. You want to get upset? Wait two years, when Jalen Rose comes off the books. See what he does then. For now, get off his back. Or at least promise you won't jump on the bandwagon when he turns things around.
Posted by: Richard | December 01, 2005 at 11:31 AM