Bosh to re-sign with Raptors

The only question I have about this news is the timing: on the same day that Pat Quinn is fired, the basketball side of the MLSE operation is completely eclipsed.

Forget the Leafs side of it for a moment. Hockey is No. 1 here, and that's a given. But here's a good-news story for the junior-partner Raptors, the kind MLSE hasn't had in five years or so. Their biggest franchise cornerstone since Vince Carter agreeing to stick around for the long haul. The first major move for Bryan Colangelo, and it's a slam-dunk.

And it's buried under the usual Leafs avalanche. Welcome to Toronto, Bryan.

As for Bosh, he proved this year he's an all-star talent, no small leap upward. He's now the face of this franchise, which is another step up.

But geez, MLSE. Couldn't you have saved this just one day, and given CB and BC a chance to bask, instead of freezing in the shadows?

 

Comments

[Michael]

I agree..the timing is lousy, but the Bad-news from the leafs ONLY overshadows the good news from the Raptors if you and I let it...i.e. if the media allows that to be their focus. And given the media's always-negative approach to things, especially in Toronto sports...it looks like you're letting it. These two events are COMPLETELY SEPARATE....let's keep them that way. Brian C > WAY TO GO!! Bosh> Great decision, this city loves ya...we're gonna build a great franchise around you and establish Rap's in upper echelon of NBA in Next 2 years.

[Leon Monette]

Screw the Leafs. The Raptors are the Toronto's team of the future now (with the Jays being the team of the present of course).

[Michael Rajnovic]

I guess one can look at it your way and maybe they should have let the smoke clear in the Leaf camp for a day or two but, as with the Quinn announcement, it ends the speculation here and now and sends a quick message to the rest of the NBA that the Raptors have found stability. It's not just the Raps who need to show they are determined in moving forward, it's the organization as a whole.

[Tommy]

It's real good timing, and suitably low key. Nice that they got the formality out of the way. I hope there's no VC-esque press conference and hoopla, with him describing how he debated the pros and cons.

Let's see...

PRO: Millions of dollars, the MAN for the foreseeable future on a team with fans that come out no matter how much you stink.
CON: Mo' money=mo' problems

[Josh]

Congrats to the Raptors and Bryan C... hopefully we are not all fools for celebrating before any ink is dried.

I wish I had a comment about Peddie that hasn't already been repeated ad nauseum, but obviously he is a moron who will never be fired as long as MLSE keeps turning a profit.

[cy]

Michael, of course these are separate stories, and I'm with you in acknowledging the Raptors side of it -- which is all the more reason to separate them in terms of the p.r. battle. When you have good news, you make sure it comes through loud and clear in your marketplace. That's not happening here. MLSE's news management is as unfocused as their two sports franchises -- out of the playoffs, and out to lunch.
as for Josh's hope that we are not all fools for celebrating before any ink is dried, amen to that. Maybe this is a good sign that nothing formal has happened -- it's a sign that Peddie has nothing to do with it, and BC is really in charge.

[Jeff Wong]

I second that emotion. The Raptors are on the rise and the Leafs are falling (no pun intended), so why not let the Raptors and Colangelo have some spotlight?
I disagree with commenter Michael, though. Pat Quinn leaving is not necessarily bad news (nothing personal, Pat). It's time for change in Leafsland. It's good news for Toronto sports fans, and Paul Maurice, too.

[Dave Sandiford]

Richard Peddie has done exactly one good thing on the sports side of MLSE. He hired Bryan Colangelo and that was absolute no-brainer.

If he cannot find a real GM for the Leafs they will continue to wallow in profitable mediocrity.

[Mr. Black]

Same old story . . . you can't fire 30 players, so fire the coach. As long as MLSE keeps a Leaf team of over-the-hill has-beens, slightly younger never-weres and undeveloped kids, look for the same thing to happen to Quinn's replacement.

[Z.A.]

ummmmm... Chris, can't say I agree with your statement. In this case, was it not a reporter (Doug Smith) from the Star who reported that Bosh will be signing the extension, after speaking with Bosh directly? I don't believe this had anything to with MLSE. Perhaps you need to touch base with your colleagues (and MLSE) first before writing your next JABS topic.

[coach]

is sam mitchell next ?
what will happen to my fav leaf, tie domi ?
can tie play basketball ? the raps need his kind of toughness !

[Jeff Wong]

Good point, Z.A. But, in the words of Homer Simpson, "The classy thing to do is not to draw attention to it."
Anyway, this might mean that the official Chris Bosh signing won't be deflected by Aki Berg getting a 1-year extension.

[guelphdad]

The Leafs are like a broken down '59 DeSoto (like Ernie's car from Piranah Club), firing Quinn is like replacing the seat covers.

The L.A. Kings have done what the Leafs need to do!

[Ricky Zooms]

good move by the Raps to sign Bosh. Now they should fire Mitchell. I believe that in order to move forward u have to bring in fresh ideas. Mitchell's time in Toronto has come to an end in my opinion.

For the Leafs. Good move as well.

Timing of the announcement? Not any real problem with that. Just good to see that MLSE is at least making strides to improve their situation.

[cy]

The most striking thing about these two teams is that they've been so predictable this year. Leafs: pegged as a fringe playoff team, and that's where they end up; Quinn: pretty much written off as far as coming back, as early as late January -- and today, confirmation he's not coming back and near-confiirmation that Paul Maurice, the heir apparent for some time, will take over. Raptors: no-hopers with a win total in the high 20s -- that's what the One Word At a Time preseason preview consensus was at JABS in November, anyway -- and here they are. The one bigl surprise? Colangelo's hiring.
Z, I'm trying to locate a video clip of Bosh's comment, to post above. But I finally did see the relevant clip (after being preoccupied by the Quinn story earlier), and what he said came in front of a group of reporters. The timing is not a huge deal, and it's not like he's actually standing up and saying "I've signed. It's done." My point is, any good news like this has to be jumped on by the Raptors. Even if it's just to show people they care and they matter -- because they have drifted into irrelevance in the popular consciousness in the past four years.

[Kent MacDonald]

They should have done a double firing - Quinn and Fergy - and then offered the GM duties back to Quinn. The real problem is in the front office, not the coaching. Quinn has had little to work with over the last few years (actualy look at their roster from their run to the semi-finals, it's horrible, they had no place being there), and has done well with it. If not for a key injury (mccabe) the leafs would have been the #7 seed, and might have even beaten the hurricaines. Not a single change to how the team was coached. If that had happened, Quinn would never have lost his job.

The injury came, and the front office panicked to try to save their own hides. I just hope its a move that didnt work, for the sake of the Leafs future.

[Z.A.]

CY - you make a very good point. However, this is not something that the Raptors organization can jump on, since no official contract has been signed. In this case, instead of the media (ie. Chris Young) blaming MLSE for burying this story behind the Chris Bosh extension, the Toronto media themselves (ie. the Star) are the ones who need to put the Bosh story front and centre. I find Chris Young's comments very hypocritical.

[cy]

Z, you are right with your point about no contract being signed, and I have climbed down some from the original post, having seen the clip and context. THe timing isn't nearly as big a deal as I originally proposed. Meantime, for future ref: cy is Chris Young. That's me, Z. You wanna come by and discuss anything (well, almost anything - you know what I mean), that's what a blog is for. You're welcome anytime. Even if you think I'm a hypocrite.
(as of now, the Star website has the Bosh story No. 2 on WMS. By itself, tomorrow, free of the Quinn shadow, it would be No. 1)

[Mike]

I am soooo sick of hockey always overshadowing basketball in every aspect. Thanks to CB4 for making the right choice. The Leafs suck!!! I'm so glad they didn't make the playoffs. I bet the non playoff leafs will still get more coverage than Steve Nash and the Suns.

Hopefully with a new revamped Raptor team destined for the playoffs we can shut the hockey critics up.

Go Raps Go!!!

[ZA]

Alright "CY" aka Chris Young - I've now taken my head out of the sand in which I had buried it in - I apologize as I had a Homer Simpson moment - however, I really did not expect you to respond, even if it's your blog! (Good thing I used initials in my name :)) However, I will not back away from my opinion that your comments are hypocritical! You of all people should know that MLSE will NEVER EVER make a public statement to confirm rumours unless the deed has been officially done. So in fairness, even though you've backed away from your comments somewhat, I think you need to retract them completely! (No I do not work for MLSE, however, if they are hiring, I would be more than happy to negotiate a contract with them - I hope Richard Peddie reads this blog!).

[RaptorsHQ]

Hey Chris,

Great points as usual. We're going to be discussing this at the HQ at length in the next few days but yes why on earth can't MLSE forget the Leafs for a few days or announce the Bosh signing later to maximize the impact of keeping a huge piece of this team's future in Toronto? Even on the US networks the Quinn firing is getting top billing. I just don't get why MLSE, if trying to convince the world that they are in the NBA game for the long-haul, keeps pulling moves like this...

Franchise - RaptorsHQ

[RaptorMike]

This is my first time on your blog, usually over at Scott's, yet its nice to hear a mainstream media guy being critical of the "almighty" LEAFS. I still believe they could care less of the Raps, so they used the good news to cover up their baby. But who cares, cause its Raps in 2007-08, guarented playoff spot, hopefully against the Nets! Oh can you imagine, CB4 vs man/child?

[Michael A]

Good for Bosh. I only hope that they don't leave him hanging the way they did Vince, the other good, young talent who decideded to take a chance on Toronto a while back. Get him some support! This team needs more talent.

[Jason]

I agree that the timing is awful. This is a great day for the Raptors, while a sad day for the Leafs. The Leafs will always get more publicity, while the Raptors will not. However, the Raptors will have their day in the sun, when there is an official press conference this summer. The Raptors are building something great. Keep Sam, Keep everyone, except Mike James. We need a point guard like Speedy Claxton who can break down defences and pass the ball to our solid big guys like CB4 and Villanueva. A shooting point guard is not what this team needs and will continue to stunt the development of this team. We also need a center to alleviate the pressure on Bosh. Final thing...if the Leafs do indeed hire Paul Maurice, why not announce it NOW? Why wait, and undermine his authority by searching for someone "better"? Is Scotty Bowman coming to coach the Leafs?

[wayne biggs]

ok, maybe the timing wasnt the greatest.....but c'mon, lets not look too deeply into this...the kid hasnt actually signed YET...and when he does, then the coverage the Raptors and Bosh deserve will be there for us in all its glory ....RELAX !!