Of Hedo and hot dogs and some other stuff, too

We’re kind of all over the map here today, which makes entire sense since there remains little in the way of news to discuss, digest or disseminate.

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There’s apparently some measure of consternation out there about Hedo Turkoglu’s health over in Poland.

Well, I have it on great authority – top of the food chain, actually – that his ankle is not an issue but he’s got some minor soreness in one of his knees that’s causing some issues with his mobility.

No one connected with the Raptors is concerned, it’s probably just a result of a lot of games in a lot of days and not a lot of rest time.

They don’t expect any lingering issues once camp begins in a couple of weeks; by that time, he’ll have some time off and the grind of the NBA season, while substantial, isn’t nearly as bad as the grind of five games in five days at an international event.

The trouble with this EuroBasket is that it finishes so close to the start of camp so there won’t be as much downtime as there has been in other years but, still, there’s not any angst among the big Raptors brass.

Besides, it’s not as if Turkoglu uses shocking athleticism to get his job done anyway.

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It’s awfully quiet up at Pearson about 9 p.m. on a Monday.

And how do I know this, you wonder?

Well, that’s where I went to visit the national women’s senior team, which flew off to Brazil last night for their world qualifier that starts a week tomorrow.

Eight teams with three spots for next year’s worlds in Czech Republic at stake and Canada goes in a solid contender for one of the spots.

You’ll learn more about the team and the players here and in the paper over the next few days, once I get the tape transcribed, develop some good story angles and actually get to writing.

Suffice it to say, this is a pretty good team, a solid mixture of youth and experience and one that feels pretty good about its chances.

I was talking to Allison McNeil, the head coach, at length while bags were being checked and souvenir balls were being signed and the one thing I got is that the women can play any number of styles. They can go big, they can apply some full-court defensive pressure and they can force more than a few turnovers.

I’d say the big favourite in the tournament is Brazil (the United States isn’t there, they qualified automatically by winning gold in Beijing last year) but after that, you can throw a blanket over Canada, Cuba, Argentina and, maybe, Puerto Rico for those final two spots.

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Speaking of Poland, Jose’s over there, and not just in a role as a cheerleader and supporter of his old Spanish team.

I hear he’s doing some television work, too.

Now, if I can find a satellite dish strong enough to pick up the Spanish TV feed of the tournament, I’d love to hear him.

One thing about Jose that maybe doesn’t come across all that much in the course of the season is that he knows the game very, very well.

It’d be interesting to hear his take on Ricky Rubio (who I’m told can’t make a shot to save his life over there) considering most of what I’m being told is that guard play’s killing Spain so far in the tournament.

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Digression time: I did arrive back from the airport in time to catch the end of the Bills-Pats game and, wow, how much anger and angst do you think the folks of Buffalo are feeling this morning?

Very cool meltdown, wasn’t it?

Oh, and as a guy who has New England in our office football pool (each guy’s got four teams, total wins wins), I must say I was quite pleased by the turn of events.

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Okay, how cool is this?

The good folks at the Air Canada Centre have modified some of their concession stands this year, adding some new stuff and a few media types have been invited over to sample that taste sensations this afternoon.

Yep, try out new hot dogs, check out what else they’ll be offering; all in the name of journalism.

Is this a great gig or what?

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Speaking of Canada Basketball and the women’s program …

We all know the significant contribution Maurizio made on the men’s side this summer in his role as the managing director of the program.

Well, who’s his counterpart on the women’s side?

There really isn’t one, which is something I’ve been wondering about since the whole Council of Elders or Smart Overseers or whatever it’s called was set up months ago.

Trouble is, they can’t really find anyone with the same bonafides as Maurizio to do the job.

But there are those who are somewhat divorced from the program who’ve been there to offer support to Allison throughout the summer and it was pretty cool to hear their names when we were talking last night.

First off, Kathy and Ken Shields have been helping out with some advice throughout the last few months and Don McRae stopped by workouts last week in Waterloo to give what he could.

If you know anything about the national women’s team program over the last few decades, those are three names that should resonate and it’s a testament to the overall program that they’ve been able to attract greats from the past to contribute to the future.

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Oh yeah, NEWS CONFERENCE!

You know how you all wonder about new guys doing media so you can all hear about how happy they are to be Raptors and what a great thing it is to be in Toronto?

Well, I’m hearing Marco Belinelli due in town any minute and – yay! – they’ll do some media with him later in the week. Or at least they plan to.

Not sure exactly when it’ll be but you will all be dutifully informed.

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Comments

[Jamie Buckingham]

Sore knee and they are not accpeting it to be a factor in the season? BS, they said the same last year with Calderon and look how his year turned out. Hedo will be an expensive (11 million to much for him) injury case all year. If he has already "over played" and has sorness then what's going to happen when he starts playing more? - more sorness is what!

Blogger's note: Um, Jose's injury at the Olympics was a groin; eight or 10 or maybe 12 weeks later, maybe more now that I think of it, he injured a hamstring. Related? Not so much.

[Brian]

Doug, vegetarian fans are often put off by the lack of food choices available in arenas, and the ACC is no different (almost impossible for vegans). If you stuble upon a tofu update of some sort, please pass it on.

Note to MLSE: Veggie dogs and burgers are served just about everywhere.

[fg]

Anyu thoughts as to why Jordans speech was downright disrespectful. I find it awfull and classless. We all use people to motivate use, but in the end we thank them for making us better, (even at our egos expense). We find maturity and peace and grow as people. Something Jordan certainly hasnt done. Not my role model.

[lukasz skrzeczkowski]

I'm looking at the stats at the eurobasket site and Bargnani's arn't that good, Hedo's are worse. Belinelli is however scoring 23 points and grabing 2 steals a game. I was wondering if the nba guys spend less time with the national team then the guys that play profesionaly in europe. I think Belinelli has a good shot at starting.

Blogger's note: Um, neither Bargnani nor Belinelli are playing at the Eurobasket.

[anthony.mackay]

Morning Doug,
Question about preseason and practice, practice? Yes practice!
Any way for a fan to get in and watch an inter-squad scrimmage?

Blogger's note: Not sure. As I've mentioned, they are likely to hold an open practice on the final Saturday of camp, no ticketing details yet.

[Anton]

Hey Mr Smith,
I love your stuff. My feeling is Bargnani is the key to the season more then any other player. I was wondering if you would have any idea of when he will be in camp and is it true he had some one on one sessions with Moses Malone? Thanks

Blogger's note: Haven't heard exactly when he'll be in, I presume, like everyone else, it'll be in the next four, five, six days. And I hear he did spend some time with Malone; not sure how much.

[Jeff Steele]

Did Antoine Wright or Amir Johnson plan on doing anything similar to what Marco will be doing this week? I'd like to hear all three of them since all three should be in the rotation...

Blogger's note: Actually, Johnson did something weeks ago. Wright? Probably not. Gotta save something to write at training camp :)

[Kevin A.]

Hey Doug -

Did you happen to catch Peter Vescey's speech at the Hall of Fame? If you did, were you able to sit all the way through it, and make sense of the bitter rambling?

Blogger's note: Just saw it, zany ramblings don't do anything for me. Was quite bored by him, actually

[Ren]

Just a comment. I think there are two players that many of the fans are not discussing when it comes to the greater development of the Raptors' team this year - and that is Wright and Jack. In the past, we have always been pounced upon by other teams from the 2 slot, and now, we finally have some defense to help solidify this position. With Wright being a good defender, and a possible cover from Jack if necessary, we no longer have to rely on old legs (albeit a good defender) belonging to Parker to get the job done. While he was here, he did a great job, but it is too much for an older player to have to handle the highlight players every night - and for many minutes. Wright and Jack offer great defense at the perimeter, and this, I believe, are the greatest acquisitions the Raptors have made this post season. Will it show in the stats? No. Will Turk and Belinelli impress us with their offensive skills? You bet. But nothing wins games like defense - and this is what the Raptors have lacked the most in past years. While we can discuss how Bosh is a poor defender and how Bargnani has still some ways to go until he reaches the level expected, this argument can almost be put on hold: defenders will not be coming through paint as frequently as they have in the past. A new, young, robust pair of defenders will guard the perimeter. Just wondering, Doug - and I know we have to see some games first,but would you agree, that on paper (which can be, I know, a touchy term), these players will have the greatest impact on the team for the upcoming year? Does Turk really have to produce Turk numbers?

Blogger's note: Greatest? No. Some? Yes.

[jordon]

Hi Doug
I'm a big fan of your blog and read it daily. I don't know how you can tolerate some of the comments that are sent your way, but give you credit for doing so. I enjoy reading your point of view on different topics, and although I don't always agree with you, I respect your opinion.
Having said all that, I felt the need to respond to your "blogger's note" to the comment about Hedo's sore knee. Contrary to your response in referring to Jose, I think it's fairly common knowledge that groin injuries can take a long time to heal fully, and I would not at all be surprised if his hamstring injury resulted from somehow overcompensating to protect his groin.
As for Hedo, I was a big fan of his signing, and think he will add a lot to the team providing he stays healthy. I was shocked when I heard how frequently the games are played during Eurobasket...to me at least, it would seem to be injuries waiting to happen. This recent revelation about Hedo's ankle and/or knee are very disconcerting to me, as it should be to the Raptors organization, and their fanbase. It sounds like Hedo has every intention of continuing to play and Eurobasket is still going strong, with training camp just around the corner. I can't quite comprehend how you can dismiss this potential problem so easily...for goodness sake, the NBA season is just around the corner, and so much is expected of Hedo to help turn the team's fortunes around!

[dp]

Hi Doug

I believe the groin and hamstring are quite very related. When one part of the muculature becomes injured other muscles tend to compensate for the injury and often times overcompensates and inturn something else becomes injured.

Sore ankle? A sore knee could follow introducing a slight back strain, neck strain ~ assymetrical balance = Injured Reserve.

Take caution Hedo! You too Jose!

[uyjhgbvj]

if raps want to succeed, hedo must be 100%

[doug]

next time anyone complains about BC as GM just look no further then Phoenix... Pavlovic was bought out today by the Suns.."Pavlovic's contract was acquired along with that of centre Ben Wallace, a future conditional second-round selection and cash considerations from Cleveland in exchange for O'Neal on June 25".

so for Shaq they literally got nothing, as both Pavlovic and Wallace were bought out, and the cash they received went towards that and conditional draft picks rarely come to fruition..so for Marion they received in retrospect nothing, whereas BC turned Marions situation into Hedo not bad...plus the Bell,Diaw trade was complete lunacy...he has dismantled a legitimate title team in less then 2 years, more like a year for little or nothing to show...one of the worse GM's in history....even if your making salary dumps get something...so any complaints about GM should just fall no deaf ears...

[Kevin A.]

Doug, Another question, if you have the time...

Do you ever check in on the twitter pages of Raptors players? I know, most of whats posted there is benign, boring and of no real consequence, but sometimes there's some interesting things.

Just curious, considering you have The Twitter as well.

Thanks, can't wait for the season to get underway!

Blogger's note: I look, very seldom because it's often inane and boring but it's part of the gig now. And, yes, the tweets that go out from me accompany blog postings and are machine generated; I do nothing on them.

[lukasz skrzeczkowski]

Here's the "eurobasket" site i was refering to.

http://www.eurobasket2009.org/en/cid_toT,ovGDH2EaLKL67XnPo2.pageID_zfjpbftuHHkRSpqxSx8sT2.compID_qMRZdYCZI6EoANOrUf9le2.season_2009.roundID_6326.teamID_307.html