Q&A: Opening night

Doug Smith hosted a live Q&A to talk Raptors as they prepare to open their 2007-08 NBA season at home against the Philadelphia 76ers. The Q&A is over, thanks for your questions. Hit Refresh to get the newest version and scroll down for the latest questions.

Hello, ladies and germs,

Just got done at shootaround here in the quiet of the ACC, no news of any significance to report, Sam Dalembert said his foot's okay and he should play; Sam Mitchell's not sure how long he can stretch out Chris Bosh's minutes tonight but other than that, nothing earth-shattering.

Got questions for Friday's Mail Bag? Bring ‘em on

Q: Hey Doug, with the new season starting tonight, like every Raptors fan I can't wait to get started and watch the Raptors make all the U.S. writers look silly when it comes to their predictions on Toronto's team. My question is for everyone that's going to be celebrating at the ACC tonight, is there anything special going on? Anything you know of for the first 10,000 fans or anything like that? Great job and thanks as always!

Luke C., North York

A: Far as I've heard, there's nothing extra special planned; the Atlantic Division banner has already been raised, there are no rings to give out. You'll get the usual hoopla, I presume somebody (Chris Bosh?) will say something pre-game and there's sure to be new intro music.

But other than that, the usual sensory overload NBA experience.

Q: Hi Doug, I am curious if the Tuesday “Nothin' but Net” piece is on a one-week hiatus or if you're new blog has taken made that piece obsolete. My 2 cents are to keep the Tuesday/Friday pieces as they were. You had a great thing going and it would be a shame to lose them to a simple blog (as great as a blog can be).

Bill Logan, Toronto

Let's talk about it

Talk to me people.

Today.

High noon.

Chat time.

Just click here to send along a question and we'll get to as many of them as time allows.

Go grab a sandwich around 11:30, get back to your desks by noon, pretend you're working (I have some tips if you like) and read along with your favourites.

And if we don't get to you, don't fret. By popular demand, and because I may be tired of making stuff up myself by then, we'll do a Friday mailbag here, just like the good old days.

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I’m not going to go all Thomas Boswell on you (find out for yourself who is) with any Time Begins On Opening Day schmaltz or anything like that but there is a sense of anticipation in the air, isn’t there?

Or is that just Halloween?

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All kinds of trees have died in the discussion of the lack of respect being shown the Raptors around the league. Well, we don’t use trees here in cyber world but here’s another thing to gnaw on.

Reggie Evans – remember him from last year? – wonders whether the locals are mentally tough enough to handle what’s in front of them. Now with the Sixers, Evans gave this little note to Phil Jasner, the long-time, lately long-suffering beat dude from the Philly Daily News when they were chatting about the big game:

"I just hope they have a hangover from last year, where we can just take advantage of them and take advantage of the opportunity. Some teams just cherish their success from last year and sometimes they don’t know how to handle it. I’m hoping they don’t know how to handle it."

Evans, as you recall, was Public Enemy No. 1 for a night last year with Denver when he may or may not have stuck a foot under Chris Bosh when Bosh was finishing a jump shot and then got, um, inadvertently smacked by Rasho Nesterovic on a drive to the basket. Might make for fun times tonight.

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Anyone who writes a story tonight that says either the Raptors or Sixers came dressed for Halloween as a basketball team loses all rights to be a sportswriter.

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It’s really too bad we get the RaptorTV post-game feed and not because Sherman and the fellas don’t do a good job or because there’s a void where Norma used to be, although there is.

No, it’s too bad we can’t watch the Philly feed of all the analysis because tonight marks the television debut of Alvin Williams as a post-game panel member.

Boogie gets the gig alongside former NBA GM John Nash on Comcast Sportsnet.

Now, Alvin wasn’t the most, um, verbose Raptor when he was here but he knows the game and he should be good. Maybe there’s an adult beverage emporium near the arena we can sneak off to.

Oh, wait, right, the whole game-story thing happens post-game. Never mind.

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Kobe gets 40-plus and the Lakers lose.

Wonder how many times we’ll read that this year?

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You know what I like about the San Antonio Spurs? Besides the fact they play in a city with the Riverwalk and Quarry Market and Lone Star beer?

They do things in a nice under-stated manner.

Did you check out that ring ceremony last night?

Gregg Popovich was introduced in the middle of the coaching staff, not at the end; Tim Duncan came up in the middle of the roll call of players, not with some fake drama at the end; the PA announcer announced and wasn’t part of the production. It was nice and normal.

Oh, and I can’t imagine what would make Matt Bonner smile more widely than he did last night. Maybe if they put a Subway in San Antonio. Maybe if they told him his car insurance premiums were going down.

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Anyway, the offspring’s about to start piano practice, which makes Super Puppy nuts and I’ve got to go get some fresh air. (Which is Dad-speak for avoiding piano practice and crazed animals).

Be back after shootaround.

And away we go ...

Games tonight! Games that mean something. Isn't that odd?

It means more fights for the clicker (after wresting control for a few days of Glorious Red Sox Victory) to see the Spurs get their rings and then to watch Mike James and Rafer Alston fight for playing time (wonder if there'll ever be a game where Rafer won't pass to Tracy, ala the good old Rafer-Jalen days over here).

AARON LYNETT/TORONTO STAR

Top Raptors rookies this season: Jamario Moon and Doug Smith's blog.

But first ...

This may tick off tens of you but, remember, there'll be no Nothing But (Inter)Net today, you get this instead.

But because we are truly a public service blog, how's an hour-long chat tomorrow sound to kick off the Raptor season, look ahead to the NBA season and, most likely, answer a Why Doesn't Jose Start Over T.J. question.

Just click here to send it along. But, remember, "Neither team would do it and it wouldn't fit under the salary cap, but what about" questions are virus producers.

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All you many Garbo lovers out there take heart.

Noticed when we got into practice yesterday that Garbo was, um, garbed in the same practice jersey as the rest of the second unit while Kris Humphries, he of the unCousy-like fast break, was with the third stringers.

That may mean nothing, but it could mean something and I'm told by people who were in the gym that Garbo was indeed ahead of Hump, for one day at least.

"More energy, looks like his old self"

was how one teammate described Garbo's work in practice of late, presume Sam and the coaching staff have noticed as well.

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Thanks for the myriad comments yesterday, soon as I can figure out how to make snarky comments in retort, I will.

Seriously, though, they are appreciated, sorta makes this getting-up-early thing worth it. Oh, that and getting to listen the offspring practice piano (Greensleeves repeatedly sure gets the morning off to a rousing start) and be bugged by the Energetic Puppy, that is.

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Plenty of you are wondering what the game ops situation's going to be like this year and, if you recall, the big news is Kanye West's 'Stronger' seems to be the intro music, as least as far as my good and cool young friend from The People's Wire Service has deduced.

But the Axe Dance Pak is done.

No, the Dance Pak's still there -- and it looks like they've got way more of them this year, unless they were just in pre-season mode and have to cut down before tomorrow night (don't imagine there are too many guaranteed contracts they've got to worry about buying out) -- it's just now The Irish Spring Dance Pak.

Yes, everything is for sale.

I figure the stuffed animal affectionately known as The Chicken will jump off a tramp and dunk, the four dudes in the corner will spin some platters and there will be hoopla to end all hoopla.

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There must be a few Phoenix Suns fans out there, right?

You might have more to cheer about this year if you've got a Raptor connection in your heart as well.

Sean Marks seems to have worked himself into the rotation there, he's got shooting range, energy and the Suns are apparently going to play more than six guys this year. Jalen was just a season too late, I guess.

Marks is a personal fave not because of anything he did on the court. During his stint in San Antonio, he gave us a fine restaurant recommendation during the finals one year -- at the Quarry Market way away from the over-crowded riverwalk -- and when representatives of Toronto, Philly, Minneapolis and New Jersey ended up there one night, a round of drinks presented itself, courtesy of Mr. Marks, who was at a table in the corner.

Booze from NBA players always makes the evening go better.

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Okay, time to make sure the backpack's packed, lunch is made including something that's remotely healthy and shuffle the offspring out the door.

Should check back in after practice to let you know if anyone's wearing any different colour jersey from yesterday

Smith

Over the moon

I know, I know, it's later than you expected but that nasty paper work got in the way, much to be reading in the pages of The Star tomorrow

Anywho, you all know now that, as many of us had expected since before training camp began, Jamario Moon is in, Luke Jackson is out and the roster is set.

Now, before you start getting Moon ready for induction into the Hall of Fame, remember, he's likely the 14th man on a 15-man roster; if he's active for games, that's a huge step.

Still, it's the feel good story of the season, so far.

Now, about Jackson.

I've heard Turkey as a possible destination, Bryan Colangelo said there's some interest in Italy (I wonder who helped cook that up?) and maybe the D League is in his future. But, having already scorched the D League, he may want to head overseas instead of having a 'been there, done that' season in North America.

Smith

The gang's all here

Breathless though you may be, there's still no news.

Just got out of practice and they were all still here, Luke Jackson, Jamario Moon and anyone else who may be considered on the bubble.

How stressed were they?

I'm going home to play my video games," Moon told us.

Some big news, though, for all you Good Joey fans.

The Raptors have exercised their fourth-year option on Joey Graham, keeping him in the fold, and as an asset, through the 2008-09 season.

Now, back to the wait for the big roster move.

Smith

Mea culpa

Well, it appears there have been more auspicious blogging debuts.

And that I should stick to basketball, no matter the baseball euphoria of the moment.

As gentle reader Scott Patterson, likely the first of many, points out,

The Red Sox haven't lost a World Series game in 89 years?  Seems to me they lost four in 1986, four more in 1975, four more in 1967

For a guy whose first serious World Series memory is Jim Lonborg losing in '67, and then blowing out his knee that winter; and for a guy who thought Bernie Carbo never got nearly the respect he deserved for that '75 Game 6 homer, that's inexcusable.

Well, hello there

Buongiono

Bueno dias

(See, training camp wasn’t an entire waste of time after all)

Welcome to this little corner of the cyber world and if this interweb thing isn’t just a passing fad, this should be a cool thing to do.

Think of it as Nothin' But (Inter)Net v 2.0, an upgrade of sorts, more snark, more snippets, more stuff for you to discuss amongst ourselves before you send notes telling me I'm absolutely wrong about everything.

The aim is to make daily updates at least, looks ahead and back, all the news that isn’t fit to print, fun stuff. As always, we stay interactive and welcome your comments but, trust me, the next dude, or dudette who prefaces a question with "I know neither team would do it and it wouldn't work under the salary cap anyway, but what about trading …" will have unleashed on them computer gremlins the likes of which they’ve never imagined. (I can’t actually unleash them, but someone who works with me can. And will).

Okay, on with the show, as they used to say.

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There seems to be a huge amount of man-love out there for Garbo (maybe some lady love, too, since some of the names of writers who flooded the in-box on the weekend were unisex) and concern over his fate in the rotation.

But the weekend story on who's in the top 9 or 10 didn't omit him by mistake. Right now, he's not there.

It's Calderon, Nesterovic, Delfino and Humphries first off the bench, with Dixon and Graham right behind them.

That could change, though, so don't bury Garbo yet. The people I talk to say he’s being out-played in practice right now by Hump and that’s the determining factor in Sam Land.

Of course, it might have more to do with Hump than Garbo. If Humphries pulls stunts like trying to lead a fast-break, ignoring a guard ahead of him and trying to dribble the length of the court and dunk (as he did, unsuccessfully) on Friday night, he's going to get buried on the bench for a while and, presto, it's Garbo time!

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Another year, another FanFest open practice.

People who don't normally get to sit in the good seats did; it was relaxed and entertaining and you got to see players in different roles (Maceo Baston firing up three-pointers isn't going to be a common sight).

Others I wish we'd seen:

Rasho vs. Hump in three-point shooting.

Sam vs. Alex English in a shooting contest.

And, not sure if this is a portend or what but Jamario Moon beat Luke Jackson in what might have been a "Winner Gets The Job" contest.

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You know how players are always saying they welcome exhibition games because it's nice to play someone else because "we're getting tired of beating each other up in practice?"

Seems it’s a legit statement in Houston.

Fran Blinebury in the Chronicle last week tossed out these bon mots:

"We've got guys going at each other, a couple fights, couple arguments," said Tracy McGrady. "That's what I expected."

"It gets very heated. We're not playing out there. It's not a joke," said Mike James.

I'm worried. Very worried.

You don't think scraps on a team that employs both Rafer Alston and Mike James could get out of hand quickly, do you?

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Oh, finally, you do realize that The Greatest Baseball Team In The World (Not including the Erindale Lions minor Little League Yankees) has now not lost a single World Series game in 89 years.

Not bad.

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Okay, that’s all for now, kiddies.

We'll be back if they decide to do something dramatic to clean up that 14th, 15th, 16th man thing before 6 tonight (the bet here is that Bryan Colangelo can't pull off a huge trade and they simply waive Luke Jackson) or we'll be back first thing tomorrow.

Smith