The things you see and hear, Vol. 1

Day 1 sights and sounds around N’Awlins

Wandering down Bourbon Street, you see a lot of things. Like people getting their pictures taken with horses of the mounted police who make some corners look like the starting gate at the Kentucky Derby there’s so many of them.

But the funniest might have been a gaggle of yutes playing trumpets and horns and trombones and drums on the corner of Canal and Bourbon. Doing a great job entertaining the throngs.

The music stops though, and the teens start yelling greetings to the rather imposing fellow walking all alone down the other side of the street.

Charles Barkely? Nope. Dwight Howard? Sorry. Chris Bosh? You jest.

None other than Gheorghe Muresan, wandering all by his lonesome, smiling for the people and glad-handing along the way. Not sure why he’s here but the kids in the band loved him.

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Of course, lobby bar conversation among beat grunts and glamour boys centred on the Devean George-Jason Kidd non-deal and here’s the latest scuttlebutt.

If it gets done, it won’t be until after the weekend likely and if it does get done with Jerry Stackhouse involved, you can be sure the league’s poo-bahs are going to have a word with him.

Stack going out and telling anyone who’d listen that he was going to be traded, bought out and be back in Dallas in a month reeks of a pre-arranged side deal and that’s a no-no to the league office.

And other GMs are up in arms 'cause it really does violate the spirit, if not the wording, of the collective bargaining agreement. Stack’s going to be reprimanded and there are those among us who think it might turn out the league won’t let him do what he wants to do and that’ll throw the whole deal out the window.

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Other things you see and learn:
Dave Winfield standing like a regular dude in the cab line at the airport. Looks much smaller than the guy who won a World Series with the Jays way back when.

Never seen billboards as big as the 30-storey ones for Charles Barkley and Dwyane Wade and their phone shenanigans. For a retired dude, Chuck’s everywhere. And every picture they have of Chris Bosh seems to be about two years old. There’s one adorning the entrance to a store that looks like it’s from 2006.

Off to the media availability in an hour or so, wonder if anyone will dress up like a bride and ask a player to marry them ala the Super Bowl media day? The NBA doesn’t draw the crazies like the NFL does but there have been moments. Like a couple of years ago when there was a guy, from South America I believe, wandering around with a trumpet asking various players to play it. And Our Own Cabbie, irrepressible as he is, was asking guys last year in Vegas if they’d be the best man at his wedding.

Be back in the early evening with anything fun from this afternoon.

Comments

[Emily]

Doug, I love the blog - thanks for giving us internet-crazy Raptors fans something to read. Really, it's greatly appreciated.

Doug's bosses: give him a raise!

[Aaron Campbell]

The whole trading retired players is insane(Keith Van Horn???).

I miss the good ol' days when you traded player for player, need for need, not trading to clear cap space, like really what the hell do I care about cap space?

Thanks

Have a great weekend .

PS Is Jamario going to jump from two or three feet from the foul line?

[Shrugz]

Cabbie's awesome!!!
he should start asking people why they didn't show up to his wedding see if anyone remembers

[Tim Hommel]

Love the blog! (Never knew what one was until I started reading yours!)

Just finished reading the story on Jamario's rise to the NBA, and noted that he went out and bought a whole new, custom-made wardrobe.

What do you think the chances are of a Moon-Colangelo style showdown? Who do think would win (not counting the fact that BC could probably buy what Jamario did with the money he normally leaves for a tip at Timmie's - he can only pick three 'outfits,' as can Jamario)?

Keep up the great work!

Blogger's note: Jamario-Colangelo style showdown? That's Boys against Men.

[Ellie]

Chris Bosh's own site has photos that are several years old, to say nothing of the main nba.com site and even parts of the raptors sub-site. Dude's publicist needs to get a move-on with that one...