If this is Monday, it must be the final round of the golf

Have I mentioned how much I hate rain delays?

Honestly, we sat through 7 1-2 hours of non-golf on Thursday, about four hours on Friday, they didn’t play at all Saturday afternoon and I arrived at Glen Abbey on Sunday about 11 a.m. and never saw a single ball struck in competition before we got out of there around 8 p.m.

Fun? Wow!

And since today’s the first day of an alleged week off, what else would a self-respecting backup golf scribe do but go back to the course?

But first …

-

Know what I fear? That if the Raptors can’t get a deal done with Carlos Delfino (they’re still talking but there’s really no sense of urgency so don’t read that much into the delay right now) Bryan could very well wait until much later in August to fill that 15th roster spot.

That, of course, means we have to keep making daily checks and reacting to all kinds of other rumours but it does make lots of sense, doesn’t it? As a wise man suggested when the free agency period opened, tough economic times and the sheer number of guys on the market made it glaringly apparent that there will be bargains to be had the more time goes on.

So why not sit back, let some players and agents see the days slipping by and perhaps lower their demands? I can see a whole lot of players watching July turn into August and thinking, ‘yeah, maybe I better get a one-year deal done soon so I know where I’m working next year.’

-

Perhaps you’ve heard that your favourite basketball beat grunt has been Golf Boy (or Rain Boy as it turns out) for the last few days.

(Yes, M. Grange TM was out there, too, but I was referring to me).

Anyway, the only thing I really know about golf is that I don’t play it particularly well any more but Sunday’s shenanigans put a whole new focus on the weirdness of the sport.

I’m sure you all read about it already – if you haven’t, click here – and it strikes me that a retroactive, unprompted second video review and reversal of a ruling a day later is somewhat, um, ridiculous.

Yes, I know about the honour of the game and think it’s great. But how in the world can some committee guy wake up Sunday, think, ‘hmm, that decision we made Saturday should be re-visited’ and then change a ruling that everyone was seemingly happy with.

Odd. Very, very odd.

But it got me thinking (which is always a dangerous thing).

And I wonder if we’ll see these stories:

Patrick Ewing did indeed travel every time he went to the basket and the NBA has now decided he’s got about 920 career points.

Scottie Pippen was playing illegal defence all those years in Chicago and the six titles are now vacated.

Invoking the Ted Steptien Rule that doesn’t allow crazies to dismantle their teams with goofy trades, Vince Carter is now back in Toronto and Aaron Williams, Eric Williams and Alonzo Mourning at still on the books in New Jersey.

I’m sure there are others and since this is going to be a slow week, maybe I can come up with some more for here.

-

Hey, you hear Rasho’s back?

Right, you did.

Anyway, I think the most significant part of the whole transaction is that they got him on a one-year deal. The money was no surprise, I always figured he’d get the full biannual exception of about $1.9 million but there was some contention about the second year and where it would be a team option or a player option.

Apparently, it’s no one’s option and they got a pretty decent backup centre on a relatively cheap deal that doesn’t put them in any tax danger in the 2010-11 season.

That’s pretty good.

-

List time, kind of:

Q: So all this talk of Pops made me think of the greatest Raptors fan favourite team.

Center- Pape Sow

Power Forward-The Legend Pops

Small Forward- JYD

Shooting guard- MoPete

Point guard- Alvin Williams

Can you think of any bigger fan favourites than these guys?

Ryan C, Thorold

A: Man, I think you nailed that list pretty well.

If there was a way to put Matt Bonner or even Oak on there, I don’t think you’d get any controversy.

How about we go at it this way:

Fan favourites in disproportion to their playing abilities?

I’d still give you Pape and Pops, I guess, but how about rounding that five out with guys like, oh, I dunno:

Garth Joseph

Mengke Bateer

Robert Archibald

Seriously, none of them could really play but I bet a few of you smiled thinking about the way Garth Joseph used to growl.

-

Hey, remember the Under-19 women’s team we were talking about last week in my never-ending quest to make international basketball relevant around these parts? Well, they’re still at it (and I presume you’ve all been checking the Canada Basketball website to find out, right?) .

The Canadas were beaten while you were sleeping by the United States (you can find the boxscore here) and now have to play Spain tomorrow and Japan the day after.

They’re 2-2 and right in the thick of contention for the quarter-finals and the top 8 spot they covet but it’s going to take at least one win for them to move on.

We’ll try to keep better tabs on them in the next couple of days.

-

Hey, check this one out.

I’d hire Oak as an assistant coach in a minute, even if it meant (a) hiring an Oak-to-English translator and (b) making sure we had good insurance for the first time he slugged some knucklehead rookie in the head.

(But, please, I beseech you: Do not write with questions about why the Raptors don’t hire him. The staff is full, there will be no more additions).

-

There’s this guy on the golf tour, Glen Day, and Super Son and I were sitting by the seventh tee the other afternoon watching play at that par-3 and Day’s in one of the groups.

He puts the ball down, grabs a club and I swear he stands over the ball for like 45 seconds. Looking down and up and up and down and finally getting down the business of playing a shot. The wait was mind-numbing.

Now I know he’s got the best nickname in golf.

Glen (All) Day.

-

Comments

[Boko]

Hmm. Pops? Pape? or Popeye? I'd go with Pops and Popeye Jones!

[Boko]

Oops. I forgot about Bonner & Oakley. How about an up-front rotation of Jones, Matt Bonner & Charles Oakley, with JYD at SF. That'd be fun to watch!!

[Matt Kovacs - Age 12]

Hey Doug, I know i hate what the weather is like in the canadian open :(. Mike deserves to not have that one stroke penalty( I dont know if you have heard of it.) Anyway have you heard any news at all about chris bosh signing a contract and staying a few more years? Thanks,Matt.

Blogger's note: No news

[RK]

Doug;

Any update on Andrea from your spies at the games over in Europe?

-Ryan

Blogger's note: Not yet, been too busy dodging raindrops

[gideon]

Hey Doug,

I have heard a lot of talk lately about Rasho's contract being called a "Veteran's minimum" deal. Is there a certain number of years a player must have played in the league, or a certain age he must be to qualify for this type of deal?
Great job with the blog as always.

Blogger's note: The "veteran minimum" is a sliding scale depending on the number of years of service. It ranges from about $450,000 for an undrafted rookie to about $1.3 million for a 10-year veteran

[Pharaoh]

Doug, here's another one for you: upon further review, Michael Jordan did not in fact get fouled every time he touched the ball and 75% of his points scored from free throws have been taken away (and I say this as one of his biggest fans).

[TJ]

Quick qustion Doug. And I don't support it, just curious.
Do the Raps have any of their mid level left, and if so can they include that money in a trade with Roko or Banks? Like I said, just curious, I would like to keep Roko, as I think he will be a very good back up one day.
BTW... "she had man hands" lol

Blogger's note: No, can't combine it

[Mike kovacs]

As a golfer I agree that the decision was ridiculous. They have some silly rules eg you hit a perfect 250 yd drive in the middle of the fairway that gets stuck in someone's divot and you cannot move the ball!

[Scott]

What about Yogi Stewart, he was the man! I was at the one game that he won for the Raptors, an overtime affair, but I have no idea who they beat because it was so long ago.

Blogger's note: I believe it was San Antonio a day or two before an all-star break. I think it was the Philly all-star game Vince didn't play in because of a knee

[doug]

yea that penalty for Weir was and is just ludicrous there needs to be some parameters set-up in terms of a time-limit for review...plus also I think it's wrong which has happened numerous times before that Joe Blow watching at home in Padunk,Mississippi can see a so-called infraction and call it in to the PGA...that's absurd imagine that in the NBA,NFL etc...but let's see Tiger can have numerous fans move a big rock out of the way for him in Phoenix but Weir does the admirable thing, calls a review on himself and still gets screwed....if i was in a group with Glen "All Day" Day I might as well withdraw before we teed off or I'd be yelling to him half way throu the round, just hit the dam ball already....notice he never plays with Tiger, although Glen was the first golfer to ever win a tour event playing the Nike ball, there's a trivia fact for you...that will win you a few pops at the 19th hole sometime

[Wade Tomlin]

Is it just me or is Rasho N. the most underappreciated Raptor in team history? It seems to me that the team needed a center a few years back, acquired him and they went on to have their most successful season in recent memory. But the team cavalierly sent him to the bench the next season, when all he did was do his job the year before and then traded him to Indiana for a guy who didn't last an entire season. Now he gets resigned, likes the city, knows how to play with the teams top talent, but he still gets shots taken at him. Raptor fans should stopped worrying about stats and athleticism, and instead paid attention to who’s actually on the floor when the team is winning games, the team would be more successful.

[Steph]

Hey Doug, just a quick question. How much money do the Raptors have left to use until they reach the luxury tax level? Im guessing they shouldnt have much more then 5 million or so. Delfino will probably be looking to cash in on the amount that is left. Thanks

Blogger's note: Not sure, it's got to be about $5 million, maybe a touch more

[Jim S]

Any chance that the Raptors decide not to get anyone in the 15 slot? Last year, they played with 13, what's wrong with 14 for this year?

Blogger's note: Very slim chance; i asked Bryan that very question near the start of free agency and was told the plan is to go with 15.

[sonnyb]

Vince punked out on us in the end, but he still was the greatest fan favorite this franchise has ever had. Ooh, it hurts to write that.

[Penguin]

Fan favorites, well, for the 420 folks, how about Keon Clark? And for those who like their food, let's not forget Oliver (trying to make a comeback) Miller.

[davepark]

all time disliked raptors starting five?

CENTRE Alonzo Mourning
POWER FORWARD Raphael Araujo
SMALL FORWARD Tracy McGrady (maybe not?)
SHOOTING GUARD Vince Carter
POINT GUARD Chris Childs

[Craig A]

Hey Doug

Have you heard about Marbury going crazy, live on the Internet? Fascinating and sad...

http://www.justin.tv/starburytv/beta

[Oliver]

As for the fan love:talent ratio. I'd have to give an honourable mention to "The Gangster."

[Nick]

G'Day Doug,

Couple things to fill you in on..Andrea wrecked Canada. He scored 28 pts on 7/10 shooting (or very similar at least) and had 7 rebounds. Italy won by 22..but thats expected right?

And hows this for a live Seinfeld moment?? A fan at a baseball game was shining a laser pointer on the faces of the Phillies batters. I nearly fell over from laughing.

Blogger's note: Do they celebrate Puerto Rico Day in Philly?

[Mark]

When will Toronto get an NBA All-Star game? Is there even talks or are we just getting snubbed entirely because it's in Canada? You would think that'd we would have got one back in '95 seing how we were new to the league, but it's been 14 years now. What gives?

Blogger's note: Holy persecution complex, Batman. No, it has nothing whatsoever to do with Canada; it has everything to do with the fact the Raptors have not submitted a bid to host the event because they're too busy running the real estate empire on the west side of the arena. When it's done, they might think about it.

[Tim W.]

Nick: "And hows this for a live Seinfeld moment?? A fan at a baseball game was shining a laser pointer on the faces of the Phillies batters. I nearly fell over from laughing. "

Not to be a killjoy, but that's incredibly dangerous and stupid. You can blind a person with those things. Can you imagine your major league career cut short all because of some stupid fan? Apparently there have been problems with people shining those things at helicopters and airplanes out here in Vancouver. Those laser pointers can light up the cockpit ad blind the pilot temporarily or give him permanent eye damage. A pilot going blind and crashing would not be very funny.

[Carlton]

Could the raptors do a sign and trade for Kleiza?

Blogger's note: They could. I cannot imagine how they would, though. They have nothing they would offer that Denver would want

[LeeZ]

O.K., Doug, enough Seinfeld quotes. Why, you ask? 'Cause Bill Simmons just wrote this AWESOME piece (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/090727) that uses quotes from Almost Famous, an absolutely wonderful movie. An absolute must-read, my friend.

Blogger's note: Read it this morning; better watch the movie now

[doug]

I've been watching the WNBA games....and I was just curious all the major NBA markets moreorless have a WNBA team why not Toronto??...have you ever heard talk of MLSE expressing interest in a team, be a good tie-in between the 2 teams...

plus something else I noticed watching these games, the international quotient in the NBA is huge whereas in the WNBA it is minimal at best and there are a lot of good quality female players in Europe as the World Under 19 shows...why is that??..you have a clue as to why that occurs?

Blogger's note: Haven't heard of any interest in the WNBA but there should be, let 'em play at Ricoh, I bet they'd do okay; and the best European players make more money staying home

[Bill Braskey]

Did Rasho get a no-trade clause? Seems odd that he would agree to come back to Toronto for one year, but leave himself open to being traded again if Colangelo gets a "Godfather Offer" and needs Rasho's contract for expiring cap ballast.

Blogger's note: Teams can't give no-trade clauses