Worlds update: Raptor numbers

The schedule has been changed and now the US-Greece semifinal at the world basketball finals in Japan will be at 3:30 a.m. tomorrow. Alarm clock willing and espresso pot at the ready, I plan to put up a quick morning post after the first game (they're on Raptors TV), then come back with some thoughts later on off the Argentina-Spain barnburner. Yes, I am a sad pup, but one of these times they have to have a close, good game, right? And it is a little taste until we resume with the usual nonsense, correct?

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

Garbajosa makes like Larry Brown and rejects Darko Mlicic.

Meantime, a quick rundown on the Raptors' quintet and how they've done, if only to flesh out this post and put up that pic:

Chris Bosh, USA ... Averaging 14 points and a shade under nine rebounds, and has made 15 of 18 shots since that DNP three games ago. I'd call that a rebound.

Jose Calderon, Spain ... Hasn't shot the 3-pointer that well, but overall his shooting and directing appear to be fine, based on their unbeaten record. Encouraging sign is that his two best games have been against Spain's two best opponents (20 points on 8/9 shooting vs Germany; 4/5 from the floor against Serbia & Montenegro).

Jorge Garbajosa, Spain ... Has been going to the FT line lately. Averaging 11.7 and of course he likes the international 3-pointer -- a little too much, if you ask me, and even though he's been shooting it at a 43 per cent rate NBA.com blogger Tim Shea says he's in a batting slump. It'll be telling to see how these two do against Argentina tomorrow.

Rasho Nesterovic and Uros Slokar, Slovenia ... Slokar didn't play in their final match because of a back injury, coming on the heels of a 15-and-6 night against China. Before that he didn't see much of the floor. Nesterovic did his usual, which is score. He can do that, at least internationally.

Flick picks

It's time for an end of summer ritual: going through the list of films at the Toronto International Film Festival, coming up with a shortlist that gets culled again into an even shorterlist of films I never see.

So it's down to this from that overall whack of 352, according to TIFF -- reel 'em back to back, and it's almost as long as the Leafs' Cup drought -- I've come up with 23 and if I get to more than two of them, it'll be a good score. A week from today it all starts in what running pal and Star film guy Peter Howell calls "the critic's World Cup".

Reuters

Zidane: Caught on film, it's a must-see.

As far as sports flicks, looks like there's two surefire winners and a few possibilities that are worth a second look:

Zidane: Un Portrait du XXIe Siecle (A 21st-century Portrait). North American premiere. Seventeen cameras follow Zinedine Zidane around the pitch during a 2005 Real Madrid-Villareal game. Simple premise -- don't go in expecting any head-butts. Still, looks like a must-see.

Offside. North American prem. A comedy about Iranian women who defy the all-male soccer crowd rule, dressing up as men in order to get into a World Cup qualifying match. This is the other sports must on my list. Here's director Jafar Panahi in an interview (including clips) with openDemocracy:

openDemocracy: The film is very funny, and at times almost farcical. How important is humour to you in telling the story?
Jafar Panahi: I believe that it is the greatest insult to women that they have to deny their identity as women and have to dress as men to take part in society. So yes, there is humour, but it is bitter humour. You may laugh at it, but nevertheless you feel very sad that women have to deny their femininity to take part in a function where men can take part.

So there are my two top picks. Some others:

Paperback Hero. Early '70s Canadian film about a small-town Saskatchewan hockey star who can't let go. Okay movie, I recall, but cut from the same cloth as too many others of the era and frankly, I preferred the CanCon unclassic Face-Off for its Jim McKenny skating scenes, Derek Sanderson as Derek Sanderson, the sideburns, the tie-dye, but especially the moment in the coffee shop where an old man-fan cackles to George Armstrong: "God bless ya Armie. I hope ya have a 50-goal season."

White Palms. Gold medal winning gymnast Kyle Shewfelt is one of the co-stars in this one, about a Hungarian gymnast who comes to Canada and tries to get his groove back as a coach, with Shewfelt as his phenom. Could be okay. Could also be TV Movie of the Week fare.

Schuss! Not sure what to make of this one. It's about skiing. Maybe.

They're back

A little rant …

Beyond the voice-from-the-grave quality to Pat Quinn’s latest pronouncements, beyond his explanations, there is the feeling this morning, at least in me, that this is no big deal. The message out of Quinn’s musings – that hockey is a business; that it has changed in the past 40 years since he arrived as a brawny defenceman best remembered for a hellacious body check/elbow (take your pick) on Bobby Orr; that the musings should go from generalities out of his mouth (that’s his story, anyway, and with his long links to the pro game, it’s not as if he doesn’t have history and experience beyond Toronto) to particulars among the chattering classes (as it always does, along with the end product to this mill --a roasted Richard Peddie on a bun) – come as no surprise.

Meet the new dog. Same as the old dog.

But of course it is there, right there (disclaimer alert) across the top of this blog's sponsoring sports page, and Quinn, anything but naïve, is nevertheless being just that if he really thinks his words would be taken any other way (if anyone has an audio link to the original interview, send it along. CKNW in Vancouver, which originally aired it, is a members-only site).

In the larger picture, though, it can only point to one thing. The new season is almost here, and for crying out loud, bring it on already. The familiar cast of villains are being lined up, with Peddie wearing the usual target as he fronts the anonymous MLSE puppetmasters, and “the media” and “the fans” assembling their designated spots in the gallery. Toronto’s favourite bloodsport is ready for another chapter, and all that’s required is the latest uniforms on the ice and the latest punching bag behind the bench.

Many people take all this for evidence that Toronto is a hockey town, which it isn’t. When Quinn came into the NHL, junior hockey was still thriving in Toronto. As a kid growing up here, Friday night in the Gardens end blues for a sellout of the Marlies vs. the Junior Canadiens, the Petes, the Generals and the rest was about as close to the big time as I could get, and it was plenty close enough – since, junior hockey has withered into insignificance here, along with college hockey (the U of T Blues were a pretty solid second choice on my list, way back then), and the ticket prices and dilution of the league and the game’s quality have turned most fans into watch-it-on-TV types. It is a Leafs town, as many amend the previous deisgnation. But that's not quite all -- what Toronto is mostly, I reckon, is a crappy sports town. With the smell of September in the air, anything Leafs immediately supplants the rest of the pro sports menu here, including an Argos team that looks suddenly like Grey Cup material, an intriguing Raptors collection with their centrepiece player playing in the world finals … and the (*sigh*) Jays, once again No. 3 but trying hard to carve out a little corner of this territory.

With little real news around, and training camp two weeks away this Friday, it’s like ravenous dogs jumping on a steak dinner. Even the most hair-brained, ill-conceived notions get an airing. And in a city starved for a winner, the customers are unwilling or unable to register their discontent in the only way they can – at the MLSE box office. Which was part of Quinn’s point, and the secret of the Leafs’ success. And so The Tradition Continues.

But look on the bright side. Eight months from now, they’ll be as gone as Pat Quinn.

(*- picture taken by PAM GM Creations, and included in this month's Dogs in Canada showcase section. Ta very much, PAM.)

The fall and rise of Chris Bosh

The U.S. finally got a game -- and found its game -- this morning/evening over in Japan. Up by just one at the half against a Germany side that had main cog Dirk Nowitzki handcuffed by foul trouble, they turned it on in the second half and won easily, 85-65.

ANDREES LATIF/REUTERS

Chris Bosh: Making some noise.

The story from a Toronto perspective was the same, in essence, as the one from the winners: Chris Bosh. A week ago he was the Incredible Shrinking Man, getting a DNP-CD that seemed as inexplicable then as it does now. Bosh was key in this one, and after not being particularly happy about the bench minutes, he has responded by making it impossible to ignore him again. Opportunity is a powerful motivator, isn't it?
Bosh, into the game for LeBron James with 4 1/2 minutes to go in the first quarter, was the U.S.'s first forward off the bench. He immediately missed a putback, then after an offensive rebound, went inside to finish off a Kirk Hinrich pass. He lurked behind the Germany zone and swooped quickly for a finish of a Dwayne Wade lob, took a turn as one of three primary defenders on Nowitzki, and was active as all get out. There were wobbly moments -- a needless over-the-back loose ball foul, a failure to box out that led to a basket, and he had trouble checking Dirk (who doesn't? James, with his strength, did the best in that difficult assignment) -- but this was a pretty hungry-looking player at work.
When the revolving door of reserves disgorged him in the second half -- Krzyzewski started Howard, subbed him with Brand, then brought Bosh in for Elton, all of it within the first eight minutes -- he had one highlight-reel sequence: a block leading to a fast break, an offensive rebound off the ensuing miss, then a gorgeous twisting finish of another lob, this one from Chris Paul, with a free throw to make it a three-point play. Later on, he stepped out and made an open 3-pointer, something his teammates had some trouble with in what was overall a poor shooting night.
Bottom line for Raptors fans: Relax. Doug Smith made some interesting points in his internet column yesterday -- not to mention a shot of a nifty Sam Mitchell outfit -- on how Bosh may well have to adjust his game a touch if the Raps are trying to become the northern Suns of the NBA. This game, with Suns coach Mike D'Antoni a part of the U.S. team as Krzyzewski's lead assistant, was a textbook illustration. Bosh didn't get a single play called for him, but there were plenty of times where he got involved through recognition and aggressiveness. And of course, back on these shores, he's going to be a focal point and get his touches in the usual NBA way, through pick-and-roll and postups.

Related: Greece beats France, will play U.S. in the semifinals. In the other semi, and easily the best matchup of what's been a depressingly one-sided series of games so far, Argentina faces Spain (Raptor watch: Calderon, Garbajosa). A 3:30 a.m. start Friday morning in that one.

Update: Henry Abbott at True Hoop weighs in: Honorable mention to Chris Bosh, who played 14 killer minutes: Ten points, seven rebounds, only one missed shot, a block, and he made his one three-pointer.

So You Think You Can Dunk?

So I set the PVR last night, figuring these world championships of basketball are finally worth some serious eyeballing. And lo, this morning, settling in with a cup of coffee, the dogs walked and watered, cows milked and chickens chicked, I turned it on to find -- a game from last weekend.
Both ends of the middle-of-the-night doubleheader, actually, had old games. No Spain with Pau Gasol, into the semifinals. No to Argentine Manu Ginobili, presumably soon to join them. I need a fix, and want to watch the two teams that are said to be the main contenders alongside the U.S. for the global title, and Raptors TV isn't delivering as promised. I suspect there's at least one, perhaps two viewers out there in the same sad boat.

To tide everyone over during these waning dog days, e-mailer and regular Bob Brown sends along a link to a Japanese TV clip, and anyone who hangs out here will know I do like some of that. For the world's longest dunk, go here.
And still on dunks, via Jason Kottke, forget about those 360 helicopters. Here's a 720 that'll rock your rim.

As for the Jorge and Manu show, I guess we'll have to wait for the DVD release.

Notes from a weekend

Little bits -- very little -- from the weekend and a quiet Monday morning, seeing as there's not a whole lot going on:

Tennis. Yah, tennis. Won't see that here too often. Today is the opening of the U.S. Open in New York, and you're welcome to it. ESPN.com has a poll up this morning on whether you care about the U.S. Open or not, and as of this writing 62 per cent are saying no. What's most intriguing to me is that the only state voting yes: Nevada.  Makes perfect sense to me.

DAVID GUTTENFELDER/AP

Is there a doctor in the house? I think he's choking.

Hoops. They're down to the final eight at the (interminable) world basketball championships, and yep, Chris Bosh is stepping it up. But check out old pal Chris Sheridan's weekend column, in which he notes that Saturday's Italy-Lithuania game featured 13 missed free throws and but two makes in the final couple of minutes. The Azzurri clanked the most of 'em and lost -- "Italy will be reeling from its choke job for a long, long time," he writes, but here's Sheridan's most ripping riposte from a Raptor-watcher's perspective: "Memo to Toronto Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo: "If this is the way all Italian players perform in the clutch, TRADE ANDREA BARGNANI IMMEDIATELY." Actually, my first thought was how Bargnani's decision not to go to the worlds was vindicated in those two minutes. At least he won't have to carry the collapse around with him.

Football. The Argos looked better on Friday night than they have all year (although Winnipeg surely gifted them some with the late meltdown). Even in the pass-heavy CFL, a commitment to running the football is the best guarantee of success and the Argos, post-Kent Austen, are showing that. As for the NFL, opening night is just 10 days away and here's a sleeper for your fantasy league draft: Browns RB Jerome Harrison (Disclaimer: Browns fan talking).

Horse racing. Having pitched a shutout at yesterday's Woodbine Handicapping Challenge (media division) -- congratulations to winner Shale Wagman and runner-ups Sheldon Usprech and Tony Natale, all of them winning entry into Vegas for January's 2007 national handicapping finals, and presumably some tennis bets -- I really have nothing to say except I'm tired of races coming off the turf when someone spits on the course. That's my excuse, anyway (to say nothing of the advent of Polytrack at the Rexdale plant come Wednesday night, which will no doubt be my next one. Only seven six races filled for Wednesday's debut of the faux-dirt, 63 49 horses entered in all -- UPDATE: I miscounted, adding a grass race to the mix -- Sounds like a wait-and-see vote from the backstretch.)

Mo update: On Friday the blog asked for some great Mo's in Toronto sports history. E-mailer John Reid sent in one Mauro Gozzo. Give that man a Flaming Moe!

Friday roundup returns: Hello, Mo

Taking you into the weekend like John Gibbons heading down a tunnel, we give you: Mo Johnston. New coach of your Toronto FC. Or is it FC Toronto? This may take some getting used to.
Let's start with the essentials. He looks good in a kilt. Along with Paul Maurice, MLSE now has Two Guys Named Mo (and with Marc Iavaroni rumoured to be coming along some day, is it too much of a stretch to maybe call it three someday? Yes, I think it is. *sigh*). And as ace blogger Mike Cardillo of That's on Point predicts, this Mo is never going to horn in on the much-anticipated Gibbons-Sam Mitchell showdown for TO's heavyweight coaches Ultimate Fighting championship.

TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO

Best.Mo.Ever? Shaker slips 'em the tongue, Bell and Barfield crack up.

As a player, Johnston was a solid pro, a World Cupper for Scotland and, most notably, the central figure in a bitter storm when, as a former Celtic forward, he moved to hated rival Rangers and was branded a traitor by some, which made for some cute T-shirts. As a head coach, he's pretty much an unknown quantity, as Cardillo notes in an e-mail this morning:

It's hard to give a gauge on Johnston as a head coach, since he didn't really get a fair shake with the Metros/Red Bulls. They never really let him get his players, so it's hard to say what kind of manager he is. He was an assistant under Bob Bradley, who was once an assistant under Bruce Arena.
I hate to say it, but Johnston might seem like more of a "name"/ PR move than a straight coaching decision. That's just my thought. MLS seems to recycle the same coaches throughout its history.
Maybe with a budget and the support of the board Mo can do a good job. He certainly knows the game and played in a World Cup.
At the very least, I doubt he'll be challenging players to fights in the locker room like another boss in the Great White North.

Damn. I was so looking forward to that. Thanks, Mike.

Weekend assignment. Who's the mostest Mo in Toronto sports history? Lloyd Moseby, perhaps? Mo-Pete? Frank Mo-hovlich? A toast of a Flaming Moe and JABS immortality to the best answer.

Who's your Moe?

One last read. This one comes from reader Paul Batte, who is fed up with the Blue Jays' pitching rotation:

Why on earth are the Jays sitting Halladay on 4 days rest in order to pitch Marcum tonight?
By going with the 5th guy in the rotation tonight, this could cost Halladay the Cy, since he will likely get one less start, and now will face the Yankees and Boston a couple more times.
And if the Jays state that they are setting up the staff so he does face the tough teams in order to win more games overall down the stretch, that is a really weak argument. The automatic loss when the 5th starter goes far outweighs any benefit to having Halladay go against the tough teams.
The Jays owe it to Halladay to trot him out there every 5th day, regardless of the schedule, so he can make every effort to win the Cy Young.
Especially since the season is a write-off.

Blog watch. With the Argos in Winnipeg tonight in a key eastern matchup -- yes, it's key; yes, it's eastern -- it's time to plug the arrival of a brand new CFL blog that will go up on the blogroll just as soon as I get off my fat ass and update the blogroll. So a belated welcome to Boatmen Blog, Adam Radwanski of the National Post and a couple of friends conspiring to interpret the world according to the Argos. And of course he's picking the Argos tonight:

I've resisted any Ricky/pot comments so far, mostly because they're the domain of middle-aged sports columnists eager to bust out their outdated drug lingo for the first time since the '70s. But it has to be asked: At some point, during all the tedious hours spent in there, has Ricky contemplated hot-boxing his hyperbaric chamber? I mean, it has to have crossed his mind for at least a fleeting moment, no?
As for the game itself...I don't want to get ahead of ourselves, but if the Argos got five interceptions on Anthony Calvillo, how many can we expect against the Mighty Quinn?
Pick: Toronto

Yo, Adam. One toke over the line, man!

Sports around town. Lynx vs Puerto Rico, 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Centennial Stadium. Good dude Maty Campeonisimo will be there. Just two weeks to go in the Lynx schedule, and considering the way the season's gone for them that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Watching. Browns at Bills, Saturday, 6 p.m, Ch. 7. Favourite team against least favourite team. Charlie Frye is the new Jake Plummer. J.P. Losman is the poor man's Charlie Frye. Can't wait.

Pro-Line picks. Well, if Adam's making Argocentric guesses picks, then surely so can I revive this bit from last year. Besides, there's a couple weeks to go before the NFL betting season arrives:

BLT V win (2.60) at CRL. I'll take a BLT over a cruller any day.

OAK H win (1.70) vs DET. Art Shell is back. So are the Lions. Easy call.

KC V win (2.20) at TOR (Friday). A Paul Batte pick, so blame him.

HAFN H win (2.00) over AROD (Friday). Playing against A-Rod doubles your pleasure, especially with T-Haf's HR range. A degenerates' schadenfreude special.

A phenom to follow

So, which line do you like better:

Player A's 19 points, 13 assists, 10 rebounds and 11 steals in 33 minutes

OR

Player B's 51 points, 24 boards, 12 assists and seven steals in a double-OT win (including a mid-court buzzer-beater to force the second extra period, incidentally).

Trick question, actually. It's the same player: Ricky Rubio, 15 years old and already having seen Spanish League action, just having led Spain to the European under-16 championship. Here's some comment from ACB.com via Draft Express, whose Luis Fernandez has a fine summation of Rubio's tournament (and thanks to Sportsfilter for the link):

"As Babunashvili hit an incredible fade-away 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds to go, the Russians exploded with joy while the Spanish shrank in despair. Nobody had any hope left, even the Spanish coach had given up. Nobody seemed capable of reacting, even to inbound the ball for that final second. Nobody but Ricky Rubio, who was asking like crazy for the ball. Finally a teammate reacted and sent the ball to him; a couple of strides and, sneaking through three rivals, he threw that bomb from the mid court, hitting the board just before going down into the net."

Part of me thinks it's pretty silly and even potentially harmful to put so much attention on a kid barely into his teenage years. But Rubio, off this kind of performance, certainly sounds like one to follow over the next few years.

For one of those Youtube collections of Rubio in action, go here.

Vaguely related: Chris Sheridan, talking to Chris Bosh at the worlds in Japan, has this one on CB4's sporadic playing time with the U.S. team. Bosh doesn't sound like a happy camper, but he's willing to play along:

If Chris Bosh knew several months ago what he knows now -- that he'd be buried along with Brad Miller on the end of the bench -- would he still have been willing to join Team USA?
"That's a good question. I'm not sure," Bosh told Insider on Thursday night after the U.S. wrapped up preliminary-round play with a 103-58 rout of Senegal. "I can't say that I would, but I don't think anyone would have told me that."

Couple more Bosh quotes culled from the estimable Mr. Sheridan (for the rest, you have to be registered as an ESPN Insider):

"I've just been kind of itching to play for two or three games now, and at least today I had a chance to show what they've been missing and show a reason why I should be playing a little bit more," Bosh said. "It's not over. I'm sure in the long run I will contribute; that's what I believe. We still have four more games left."
AND:
"We're going to practice for two days, and I'm going to put myself in a position where I'm going to do good and it's going to be hard not to play me. I just have to play as hard as I can at practice and prove my worth."

Brutal hit, brutal call

Who Ate All the Pies is asking the question whether this was the worst tackle in soccer history.

The most striking thing about it, beyond the sheer Bertuzziesque violence of the assault, is that it warranted only a yellow card from referee Dermot Gallagher.

Related: Thatcher faces FA & police probes (BBC)

Lost and found

Yesterday we put out an APB on Chris Bosh.

Today, he is found, and no surprise either, given that the United States team at the world championships sent out the reserves with their spot in the next round -- the real games -- already assured. Reserves or not, low-key game or not, 20 points in 21 minutes is a good sign for Bosh, and perhaps it'll mean a little more p.t. in those real games.

GARY CAMERON/REUTERS

Any excuse to run this photo.

Meantime, a couple of other little items of note led off by this from the Newark Star-Ledger, a Vince Carter update:

There have been reports out of Orlando that the Magic will vigorously pursue Vince Carter next summer -- when he has the option to terminate his Nets contract and play the free-agent market for the first time -- but his future has suddenly become more difficult to discern.
According to a close friend of the Nets forward, Carter and his wife, Ellen, recently initiated divorce proceedings, which may be a major factor in his next move.
If his wife gains custody of their 1-year-old daughter and moves back to Orlando or her own hometown in South Carolina, Carter could be motivated to sign with the Magic or Charlotte Bobcats just to stay close, as both teams have substantial cap room to sign him.

And a reader sends this one in from a few weeks back, apparently a look at the Raptors' new uniforms from Mo-Pete's MySpace page. (Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe there's been any public unveiling yet.)

(UPDATE: The unis are photoshopped. Thanks to readers Tu Kewl and Justin for the linkage).