The Goods On The Game, Vol. 35, new and (hopefully) improved

Comments

[Jamieson]

Hey Doug,

I usually read your in-game stuff after the game, which is what I did today. It was a little crazy at the start, but around 9 pm it seemed to level out and get a bit more readable. The message board seems like a good idea, just needs to be managed.

[mark]

doug,
my god. i found that so hard to watch. how many bad games can kapono have? why does he get to play so poorly, so often. the NBA players need to learn some accountability, cause they're severely lacking self-respect.
5 turnovers in 15 minutes. and 2 points.
kapono isn't worth his shot.

it's just gonna be harder on colangelo now that the fans tasted some wins, cause nights like this just boggle the mind.

[John C]

Hey Doug,

As someone who reads the in-game blogs very regularly, I have to say....no offense, but I hate the live blogging, especially with comments. It's great that you're always trying to evolve, but this one doesn't work.
The main complaint is the "chat" aspect of it. I really don't want to read peoples' comments.
But also, every time you post a new entry, it automatically scrolls to the bottom. For someone who is checking in, multi-tasking with other stuff, this is a real problem. We lose our spot with every posting you make.

Don't mean to sound so negative, but this one has got to go. I won't be reading it again if it stays.

But keep up the GREAT work. It's appreciated!

[kathyt]

Hmmm, that live blog thingy was rather interesting. Not sure I liked it. Difficult to read from the beginning due to the constant refreshing of the page.

Anyhoo, I thought the Raptors played a rather messy game. Shoulda had it, coulda had it... lost it.

On to the next town.

[Jonathan]

You're right, Doug. I like the old format a lot better, because it allowed for more of your quirky comments on the game. I think the chat room style today made it harder to accomplish that, not to mention there were a lot more broken up trains of thought. Only way it would work (as well as before) is if you update as normal, and cull out say 90-95% of reader comments. Added versatility shouldn't become a negative. Once you figure out what kind of comments (say, for instance, only the ones that add to the quality of your entry and fit into the endgame transcript seamlessly) to approve, I think the new approach could work very well.

That said, I typed this before but didn't make it through the culling process, but as soon as you announced that it was the key possession of the game and that Bosh should 100% take the shot, I had this insatiable feeling that not only would the ball not get to him, but Solomon would take another ill-advised shot. And he did. Unless Solomon figures it out that in any key situation, the pecking order should be 1) Bosh; 2) O'Neal; 3) Bargnani, Parker, Kapono (depending on who's hot) THEN guys like him and Moon, he's not going to fare very well. Already I want him off the team for effectively losing the game tonight single-handedly. Maybe the Raptors would have still lost had he not taken those shots, but at least it would be a close (and entertaining) last two minutes or so.

[Kevin]

Kind of crazy on the blog but I liked some of it. I was watching the game, watching the pucks and reading the blog and missing a lot of each.

I thought Bargs made some bad choices in moving the ball to Solomon rather than Bosh down the stretch. He also had no effect in the paint tonight.
Solomon... He thinks he is a SG rather than a PG. I think you can put this one on Jay.
Bosh... if anything he needed the ball more.
Parker another good game.
Voskull - great pick. He does lots of little things I love.
Kapono - ???????????????????

Frustrating game that was so winnable. Every Raptor should know that Charlie V and Redd can light it up if given room.

[RyanC]

wow, I am sorry but that was one of the dumbest coaching decisions, to take out Ukic, and put back Solomon, we were in the game, and Ukic was doing wat a point guard was supposed to do..and I am sorry for being a negative nancy, cause this lose hurt, what has kapono done for us lately?

Ryan

[Damian]

At first, I wasn't too big on the live blog thingey but I liked it as the night went on. It felt like you were able to comment more often, and not "after the fact".

Also... I loved your interaction with your readers. Very insightful, and very funny at times. Great sense of humour Doug!

My opinion is keep it. Cut out a large portion of the reader's comments except those that are relevant. Definitely, the later portions of that live blog were much better than the beginning where it was a deluge of reader's comments.

[Jasbir]

So this was a good idea, but it didnt really work on mobile devices..

[Diablo]

Ummmm...so besides the jr. hockey game on Fan 590 (despite being otherwise advertised) we also have what? The Swedish end of the jr. hockey blog? Well done.

[WSG]

Fantastic game! Way more entertaining than what it might've been a couple weeks ago.

Will, heels up - good. Will, heels down - not so.

Too bad about the loss since they had the game in hand for much of it, but SO much upside there.

Was the best couple hours I spent today. Go Raps!

[Petay]

How does Triano defend Solomon? He played terrible the whole game - especially down the stretch, yet he blames the loss on Charlie Bell and Luke Ridnour...

[Andrew]

Doug, I appreciate the effort you put in to this innovative approach and hope it inspires beat writers across the sports world. One problem: I can't follow you on my BlackBerry with this new "live blogging". The old style blog has wider reach and will only broaden your communication channels. I hope you take this into consideration when selecting blogging methods in the future.

[WSG]

Jonathan - agree with much of your first paragraph, but if so ... (sadly) we'd have a 'board' deciding what to let through and what not to. that means politics. Don't know the answer there, but there probably is one.

Your comments on Will are ... well, ya. He knows how (I think) but age plays the factor for him, until he's used to the volume as well as the pace. I'm thinking he'll get better.

Fun game, tho. Go Raps!

[Tim McIntyre]

I'd say thumbs down on the new format as well. I think the blog probably lends itself better to insightful commentary. That said, it's all free entertainment for me, anyway, so I can't complain.

I wonder, though, if maybe this liveblog/chat thing would be better if you didn't use it in-game. Maybe some day you don't feel like writing a mailbag or something, you could offer a live chat like this, like the way the guys at ESPN do from time to time.

[Boko]

Fellow readers. Turn off the automatic scrolling. Doug. I liked the previous way better. I want your insight, not others'. Solman has got to be moved out. He's hurting Ukic's progress, and the team's winning percentage. HE'S NOT A PG!!!!!!!! PGs control the team. He can't even control himself.

[Ben]

Too many comments within the "Goods on the game". I don't want to filter through a long list of comments to find what I am actually here for.

[GM]

Funny what one game does. Just yesterday some fans thought Ukic and Solomon were the answer. Forget Jose. Now? Not so much, I'm guessing. I just hope when he comes back that Ukic gets the most minutes in relief.

Loved your line on the hockey game. You're right. No other country in the world cares about it. We're such puckheads it's ridiculous. Thank God we have options now.

[Sivart]

I must confess I watched the pucks so I only really watched the last 2 minutes of the game, which was extremely frustrating. I first saw Jamario Moon forget to continue guarding Charlie Bell in the corner and let him drain an open 3 ball. Then I saw Wil Solomon take a lot of shots and not give Bosh any touches, which I found extremely frustrating seeing as Bosh is our franchise player and Wil Solomon is .....well you can fill in the blank however you like. Then I saw after the game that Wil Solomon shot 2-13 and I can't help but wonder why it was Wil Solomon taking those shots when Bosh shot a crisp 12 of 14, or even Roko Ukic who I can honestly say I never saw play tonight, but appears to have shot a respectable 5 of 8 in the game. I could be wrong in my assessment because I missed the game, but why was Wil Solomon taking those shots in the last couple minutes there? Or even better yet, do you think he should be taking those shots (especially in a 2 of 13 shooting night)?

[Tim W.]

I thought they would pull it out there, but some bad defensive plays and a couple of bad possessions killed them. I think the killer was when possibly Solomon or Moon turned his back on Charlie Bell to WATCH Villanueva when there were only 2 seconds left on the shot clock. Villanueva dumps it to Bell who hits a three. That tied the game and the Raptors never led again.

I;m guessing there's not going to be much `trade Calderon' talk after this game. Solomon passed well (when he did pass, unfortunately not enough in the fourth quarter) but shot horribly. Ukic shot well, but didn't pass much out there and made a crucial turnover. Plus his three was way off.

Bargnani played well again and even rebounded pretty well- his third best rebounding night of the entire season. Of course he didn't take one shot from inside the paint. Not one. And not surprisingly, didn't get to the line much. Of course considering he was 5 of 6 from behind the line and only 2 of 7 inside the arc, maybe he should have just stayed out there. I know some people are going to hate to hear this, but Bargnani's trade value goes up every good game in a row he has. Would people really complain if Toronto got, for example, Jeff Green and Marco Belinelli in a three way trade with the Warriors and Thunder?

[Jen]

There was a typo on the Raptors' website that said "Raps bucked by Wilwaukee" which is now fixed to Milwaukee, but I found the original version a lot more accurate. Will Solomon killed the Raps by trying to do to much and taking (and missing) shots in key possessions at the end of the game.
Bucked by Wilwaukee is right.

[Diablo]

Alright...so hours after the game I discover that my computer (which blocks unwanted scripts such as advertising and other b.s.) wasn't allowing your new live blogging thingy...I would have appreciated a heads-up in your last "normal" blog or in an article to let me know something very different was coming...I enjoy your in-game blogs and considering I couldn't get it on the tv...was super frustrated to be staring at the nonsensical c--p I got to see...looked like Swedish to me (I copied it to you earlier)...and considering the hockey was on Fan 590 instead of the Raptors, I thought someone was playing a cruel joke...not fun...guess I'll be able to check it out next time...seems to be mixed reviews

[Jam]

Great blog Doug - but have to agree with the comments here that the comments are a distraction and take away from your commentary. I think its best to disable the comments to remove the chat room feel that this had.

[Ivan Kolev]

Hey hey, first attempts at writing something here after 2-3 seasons of reading and watching the home hoopster squad and its mysterious ways. I gotta say Raptors are a unique team, part of the madness that we the fans display have to be credited to this constant display of potential followed by the all-too-familiar slump to the abyss of sports mediocrity, which I begin to be convinced is defining all the major teams in this city(yes, take that, pucks and the rest!)

[Diablo]

ok...so where is this blog that everyone is speaking of...I was looking for the blog all night and just have this to look at:

Raptors vs.Bucks (01/05/2009)
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WHAT GIVES? AND HOW DID OTHERS GET IT??????