Still don't have a catchy name

TIM SHAFFER/REUTERS

Overall impression? Seems about right.

Seriously, how many woke up dreaming of a 50-win season?

Come on, some of you did. I know it.

There were some big flaws – watching the Sixers play volleyball on the offensive boards was pretty tiring, wasn’t it? – but overall, they came away happy with themselves.

Lots of room for improvement but, luckily, there are a lot of games to go.

But, for now, let’s digest No. 1

(One thing, I appreciate all the comments that came in during the game, I hope you understand that I won’t usually be able to post ‘em ‘til the morning, things get a tad hectic in the arenas)

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Action: Bargnani doesn’t score

Reaction: It’s the best zero he’s had maybe ever.

Five rebounds, two blocks, two assists and – just as impressive – zero turnovers in 20 minutes certainly aren’t Hall of Fame numbers but, seriously, he didn’t play poorly at all.

The 0-for-4 night included no three-pointers, no rushed shots and at least two of the misses I recall (a drive across the paint, a jumper from the elbow) were very good looks.

He’ll score, there is no doubt of that, but if he does the other stuff every night, they’ll be happy with him.

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I’m looking out my window here and can’t see smouldering cars and riot gear-clad police officers and I’m thinking, ‘wow, they had a rather sedate celebration here.’

Was rather wild around the arena after the game. We got done writing just about the time the Rays led off the top of the ninth and were all packed up and ready to go when the Mighty Hinske strode to the plate.

After his whiff, we raced a crowd of about 10,000 who’d been watching the game on TV in the arena, out to the parking lot and got out of dodge just as the fans were steaming out of the ball yard.

Skin of our teeth, we figured.

One of the best lines of the night.

We get back to the comfort of the lobby bar to find our regular waitress over the moon, parading around in her Phillies jersey and swigging shots with the bartender and other staff.

She comes over, notices we’re not as, um, thrilled as she is and the conversation goes something like this:

"You guys aren’t from here, I guess?”

“No, Toronto.”

"Oh, Toronto? That’s okay, at least you’re not from Tampa.”

"Ah, no. Guess you’re happy, eh? (Giving away our Canadianism).

"You have no idea how it feels.”

"How’s it feel?”

"Nineteen-freaking-eighty. That’s how it feels.”

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So, it’s like 6:15 a.m. here in Philly and the gift shop in he hotel, which was run by a couple of 20-something guys yesterday, is supposed to be open at 5 and I just wandered downstairs for some fresh air and it’s closed tight. I figure the dudes are somewhere on Broad Street. Or incarcerated.

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Action: JK pulls the trigger.

Reaction: Dell Curry had the quickest catch-and-shoot move I’ve ever seen, he was like a volleyball setter, the ball never actually stopped when he went into his shooting motion, I don’t think.

But I tell you, Jason Kapono gets rid of the ball in rhythm like no one I’ve ever seen.

Which makes one regular quite happy:

Q: Doug, What's the deal with JK? (that's the nominal question I'm using to disguise the fact that what follows is pure rant). He's in love with the pump fake and then putting the ball on the floor, which would be o.k. if he then took a step or two and pulled up for a jumper, but he attacks the rim (well, to the extent that a Jason Kapono can ever truly "attack" the rim. Strolling the baseline at glacial speed might be a more apt description. But I digress...). And then he takes some stupid running teardrop thingy, or more often than not gets stripped of the ball in traffic. The point is, he doesn't need to pump!!! He has as quick a release as Dell Curry, and that's saying something! So as long as he has an inch or two of space, he should hoist that sucker up until his shoulder falls off! I don't care if his percentage goes to, say, 45 from 52. I'll take that! Embrace your inner pony, Jason! (Pony as in the one-trick variety). Just shoot it. Not so much with the pumpin! and dribbling for you, my friend.

Lee Z, Ottawa

A: Good call, Lee.

And, as I pointed out to Kapono after the game, the Raptors committed only 10 turnovers and he had two of them, both on travels when he tried to catch-and-dribble.

If it’s the coaches who are telling him that, maybe they’d like to re-think that strategy.

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Stepping into the mail:

Q: Hi Doug. I know David Stern wants the game announcers to stop calling out refs for blown calls, and some announcers need to be reigned in a little. But what of the fans need for validation? I mean at about the 8 minute mark of the fourth quarter (against Philly) Calderon gets called for a blocking foul that could have been substantial that seemed like a clear blown call.

The announcers say nothing of the call, biting their tongues. My question is how does this interference from Stern help the average fan know what the right call is if announcers don't have the right to question it? And I know the NBA has the hardest game to call, and the ref has a better angle and all, but someone has to support the local fan by validating our understanding of the call / rules.

Steph R, Glencoe

A: If it’s the charge you’re talking about right in front of the Sixer bench, Jose’s fifth foul, it was the right call.

And I don’t know what they said on TV but it wasn’t in reaction to anything David Stern told them. The announcers can, and do, question calls all the time. Maybe the fact they didn’t means they think, like I do, that it was the right one.

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Action: No minutes for Hump.

Reaction: Sam’s good rotation.

Now, I’ve got nothing against Hump and know he can be a solid, energetic contributor when he gets his head straight and does what he’s good at.

That said, though, Sam’s nine-man rotation last night was a good one and that’s the way it should stay for the time being. Bosh at 42 minutes and Bargnani at 20 might be a bit much (I’d have Bosh about 38 and Bargnani around 24) but, other than that small quibble, don’t think there are many problems with the way the coach handled the bench last night.

I’m sure there will be quibbles as the season goes on but for one night? People gotta give him some love.

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And, finally

Q: Where's the best place to set up my tailgate for the parade?

Nick J, Ajax

A: Ding! Ding! Ding!

The Goods On The Game, Vol. 1, No. 9

Spotted in the crowd in an entirely too sedate black three-piece suit: World B. Free, usually a far more garish dresser. He was one of the most fun players ever to watch.

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This is cold: Elton Brand's got 13 points and 11 rebounds and some fan over my shoulder is killing him for missing a free throw.

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Kapono makes a three and it's like it's the playoffs all over again. He's looked good. Except when he's decided to dribble.

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Brand misses another free throw and I think this guy wants him sent back to the Clippers.

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There's 4:27 left, Toronto's up 12 and here comes Jose back in. Too early? I don't think so, they need his calm on the court.

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Sammy Dalembert has five fouls, can no more easily guard Chris Bosh than you can and dare I say I see Leo smile?

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Okay, kids, this is about the time I've got to cut out and finish off the game story for the web. We'll get the story and the score up soon as we can when it's over.

For now, see ya.

It's been a hoot.

Raptors 88, Sixers 79 with three minutes to go.

The Goods On The Game, Vol. 1, No. 8

People are fleeing this place like it's on fire. In a stunning development, most of them are wearing Phillies jerseys.

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Four subs and O'Neal to start the quarter. Don't imagine Jose stays on the bench too long, even though Roko's looked all right.

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Got a sense this lead, six points at the moment, might be in peril. A Sixer basket here should get a timeout. No basket on a basket interference call against Reggie Evans is a break.

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And here's Jose back. Guess Sam's reading this, too. Thanks, Sam.

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This game's got some juice now. Sweet.

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Oops. Jose hits a huge thre e but then gets his fourth personal with 9:01 left. Sam has to stay with him. Danger, danger, danger, Will Robinson.

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Double oops. Jose gets his fifth with 7:50 left on an offensive foul. Time for Roko to, as they say, step up.

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Reggie Evans just committed, as one wag noted, about 11 fouls on one possession under the Raptor basket and got away with them all.

Okay, gotta run for a bit.

Be back to finish soon.

Raptors 83, Sixers 72 with 5:51 left.

The Goods On The Game, Vol. 1, No. 7

Okay, they want Moon to drive more. He just did and got called for a charge. Wonder when he goes in the paint next.

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Not only can't the Raptors get many defensive rebounds, they are being beaten to nearly every loose ball. Hardly surprising, though, since the Sixers are more athletic at every spot on the court just about.

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Here's something you don't see every day: A father-daughter, coach-reporter tandem. We've got Jim Lynum coaching with Mo Cheeks and his daughter, Dei, doing her usual bang-up job as a Sixers TV reporter.

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Haywoode Workman is not only the first ex-Raptor to be an NBA official, we'll go out on a limb and suggest he'll be the only one, too.

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Hands up everyone who thought when O'Neal went to the locker room that the season was in the toilet? Come on, admit it. Some of you did. I'm thinking Ray Chow, massage therapist to the stars, may turn out to be the team's MVP.

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Sixers show zone, AP drills a three. No, we are not making that up.

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Bosh started the night pretty slowly and now he's got 21 points and 10 boards.

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Fashion faux pas: Theo Ratliff just checked into the game with his jersey untucked and got hit with a mandatory delay-of-game warning. It's a rule, you take off your warmup, you have to have your shirt tucked in.

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There's a true rookie mistake. Ukic just fouled Lou Williams taking a three with 2.5 seconds left in the quarter. This after Ukic had a shot blocked at the other end. Just a bad brain cramp by a kid.

Raptors 74, Sixers 65

The Goods On The Game, Vol. 1, No. 6

A wee bit better: Raptors outrebounded the Sixers 17-10 in the second quarter.

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Dalembert just looked like he was going to take a pull-up 17-foot jumper and there was an audible gasp from the entire audience. He smartly passed.

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Talk about your power conversation. At the half we saw Larry Tanenbaum, Bryan Colangelo and uber-agent David Falk in a little baseline chinwag.

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Oh oh.

Quick hook after less than four minutes for O'Neal, who heads right to the locker room being trailed by trainer Scott McCullough. Seconds later, there goes Bryan Colangelo, too. We'll let you know anything as soon as we find out.

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Bargnani replaces O'Neal, of course, because it seems Kris Humphries is no longer in the regular rotation. Can't say that's too surprising but there might be some minutes for Hump tonight of O'Neal's out.

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JO's back on the bench and in the game. Just got some stretching in and he's fine.

I'll be back.

Raptors 60, Sixers 56 with 5 1-2 to go.

The Goods On The Game, Vol. 1, No. 5

You know when you ask me my least-favourite public address announcers in the league? Remind me to put this dude high on the list. And this year they've put one of those gawdforesaken reverb things in. And that's just plain wrong.

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Lou Williams has hit two uncontested three pointers from the corner and I think Sam's head is about to explode. Williams, you see, is someone you've got to guard out there.

And I'm pretty sure he would have told the players that.

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Holy crap. The Sixer version of the Dance Pak just got introduced and there's like a million of 'em.

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Statistical anomaly: In the first quarter, the Raptors had one offensive rebound (by O'Neal) that they turned into three second chance points (on a Parker three); in the same quarter, the Sixers had nine offensive boards and four second-chance points.

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No, I don't believe there'll be a halftime interview involving Leo and Sammy. In fact, I don't believe they've spoken.

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They have the volume on those microphones on the rim turned up to about 11. Another bad invention when used poorly. Like here.

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Roko Ukic has been absolutely solid and bought a lot of time for Jose.

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Sammy (Dalembert, not Mitchell) has a dozen rebounds already. Seven on the offensive end.

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Jose and JO come back for the final 2:40, I would assume quite well rested.

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Bosh steps in and takes a charge from Brand, must be contagious.

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JO just dunked on Dalembert, quite impressively, and made a gesture to the crowd. We're not sure who it was for, but it might have been his family.

Toronto 51, Philly 45 at the half.

The Goods On The Game, Vol. 1, No. 4

Okay, regular readers know that Philly's Chicken is a Rabbit but here's the cute thing: Its little helpers are known as the -- ready? -- Hare Raisers.

Knee-slappin' funny, I tell ya.

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The Roko Era begins.

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Yes, that is Elder Statesman Donyell Marshall out there on the court. Is doing fine, he told me before the game, likes his role as a mentor to the kids.

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Holy Good Joey, Batman! Two baskets, an offensive rebound, hustle all the time.

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Okay, when's the last time you saw a Raptor point guard leak out for an uncontested fast-break layup? Seriously, that's what Roko Ukic just did. I know T.J.'d take off every now and then but he'd come back for the ball. Ukic went hard to the other end, took an outlet from Bosh and converted the layup.

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So, Bargnani hasn't scored but he's made two good offensive plays, a drive he didn't finish and a pretty drive-and-dish and he's blocked two shots. Yes, I typed Bargnani.

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We're just told by Media Relations czar Jim LaBumbard that the 22 rebounds that Toronto gave up in the first quarter equal the most given up in any quarter ever. So, we've seen history! Lucky us.

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And that'll take me to the half.

Raptors 30, Sixers 26 with just under seven left.

The Goods On The Game, Vol. 1, No. 3

Bosh has now had two shots soundly rejected by Dalembert, who is being called Sammy this season by the PA announcers.

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Alvin Williams update:

Everyone's favourite Raptor isn't in the house but was around the night before the game, I'm told, and is loving his life here in Philly. He's doing some basketball clinics, thinks he might like to set up some sort of hoops academy. And he's still playing, too, on a couple of teams in leagues around town and tries to get some sort of run in every day or so.

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5:13 left, O'Neal draws first offensive foul, filling in to take a charge in the lane from Thaddeus Young.

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A Moon three! His shooting percentage is through the roof.

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An O'Neal dunk!

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First sub: Bargnani for Bosh, a bit of a switch; it's usually Bargnani for O'Neal.

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Stop me if you've heard this before: The Raptors are being hammered on the boards. It's 15-3 Sixers now.

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O'Neal looks worn out. And that's with two minutes left in the quarter. Troubling. He's replaced by Bosh, no sign of oxygen at the bench (I keed, I keed).

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Anticipating a raucous crowd, incorrectly as it turns out, this was Sam this morning:

"We just have to be in the game until the end of the first quarter when the game settles down and then just play basketball."

Sixers 21, Raptors 18 after one.

The Goods On The Game, Vol 1, No. 2

Now, that's disrespect.

They announced all the players from each team and flashed their faces and names on the scoreboard. Seems No. 7 for Toronto is Andrea Bargnane and the new Australian kid is Nathan Jawais.

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All in all, not a bad opening, even though the place is about two-thirds full. Guess people are grabbing dinner before they tune into the ball game. They had the Sixers players come down through the stands to the court, which was a nice touch. And none of these usually-disgruntled Sixer fans tripped anyone. Must be early in the season.

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Okay, now he's known as Slammin' Sammy Dalembert.

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It's O'Neal on Brand and Bosh on Dalembert, which is not surprising at all.

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First Raptor play: Post-up for Bosh; second Raptor play: Post-up for O'Neal. Get used to it.

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Yes, that's a brace on Bosh's right knee. Yes, it's new. No, we're not sure why he's wearing it tonight.

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Seven straight missed Raptor field-goal attempts. Guess that new offence they were hiding is still in some closet.

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Okay, gotta run for a bit, this one's a yawner

Sixers 11, Raptors 4 with six minutes left.

The Goods On The Game, Vol. 1, No. 1

I don't know if that's a suitable name or not but that's what we're going with.

Welcome, folks, to the season. The real season.

The goal of these little dispatches, of course, is to entertain and inform and I have no idea if we'll accomplish either.

But we'll give it our best shot.

Not much news to report as we get ready to start except that it's freezing cold outside already and we're all thanking our bosses we haven't been asked to wander over to the ballyard to help with the fallout of the Series.

Regular starters that you know about: Calderon, Parker, Moon, Bosh and O'Neal for the Raptors; Andre Miller, Andre Iguodala, Thaddeus Young, Elton Brand and Sam Dalembert for the Sixers.

We'll be back a couple of times a quarter if you're sitting somewhere with the laptop to keep you company during the game.

See ya.