Some this, some that on a slow day

Slow day, folks.

This is about all I could come up with.

It’ll get better soon.

-

I think most of you know that I’m a pretty big fan of Yao Ming. I’d like him to have a long and solid career because he seems to be a very good man at heart and his place among Chinese athletes is so significant.

There are few athletes anywhere in the world who have to do what Yao does for his country, his is their beacon and one of the true giants (literally and figuratively) in that culture.

Watching him at the Beijing Games, where he became arguably the most recognizable figure for the host country, was amazing.

He was scrutinized every day by masses of media and it had to be tiring and taxing yet I don’t remember him once looking at all tired of the attention or responsibility.

It was with much happiness, then, that I read Jonathan Feigan’s piece here that said Yao’s back on the court and playing with no restrictions.

Part of me reads that with a measure of trepidation because one workout in August does not mean anything in the grand scheme of things but it’s at least better than the last time we’d heard about Yao, when he said he might have to retire.

-

Not sure if you saw this report but it sure looks like Masai Ujiri’s got a better-than-good shot at the Denver GM gig.

Not entirely sure it’s the best job in the world, given the uncertainty of the Carmelo Anthony situation and what seems like a rather, um, involved ownership group.

Still, it’s a big promotion, it would get him in pretty select company and there’s nothing like first-hand experience to help build a resume.

What would happen here if he goes is tough to say, though.

I know Bryan likes to have a group of advisers around to talk over different scenarios and Masai was a trusted part of that group.

I’d expect there’d be someone in here to fill that role rather quickly.

-

Here’s one from a mailbag that’s getting quite full, it seems:

Q: Hello Sir and safe travels to you. I just read that Rondo had 'withdrawn' from the worlds. Following your comments (Tuesday) morning about him appearing to be the odd man out, was this his way of avoiding being 'cut' or is there something else going on? I am one that has been slow to get on the Rondo bandwagon. Before last year there were serious issues in Boston about his maturity and team dedication if I remember correctly. Management was not 'sold' on him. I saw last year’s performance as similar to a player in a contract year trying to impress, then when the ink is dry, they revert back to the norm. From what you are able to gather info wise, was the Rondo we saw in the playoffs the 'real deal' or does he still need a few years of high level and continually increasing performance to be considered a premier point guard in the league? Thanks as always.

Randy M, Crystal Beach

A: Oh, I’m pretty sure “withdrawing” from the worlds was pretty much a face-saving description because reading Chris Sheridan’s piece (which you can read right here), it was obvious Rondo knew what was coming.

I’m not a huge fan at all of a point guard who is a terrible free-throw shooter and whose jump shot is so suspect most teams don’t guard him more than 18 feet from the basket. There’s no question Rondo has skills but I think he’s benefited tremendously from the presence of three strong-willed teammates who get all the attention, shots and responsibility.

-

Apparently it’s about 95 F in Izmir, Turkey today. Here’s hoping all the air conditioning units are up to snuff because – and this may shock you – I’m not particularly built for, or a fan of, the heat.

-

Speaking of mail.

Click, do it.

-

And speaking of Izmir, if anyone out there has ever been there, any suggestions more than welcome.

I know this generally works because I remember in ’07 that M. Grange ™ and I both got a restaurant recommendation from Rome that turned into one of the top five meals on the road ever.

-

The Raptors? Well, outside of Masai, nothing. Sorry.

-

The word floating around yesterday from some folks I talked to is that FIBA may do the right thing in the wake of that Greece-Serbia brawl last week and hand down some suspensions that will kick in at the start of the world championships.

It won’t mean anything, really, for Canada because they aren’t drawn with either of the countries but with Greece being in the same group as Turkey, it could be huge for them.

Winning that group allows a team to – probably – avoid the United States in the playoff-round draw and that’s huge.

I’ll be quite interested to see what the world body does, I’d imagine there’d have to be at least a couple of games suspension for five or six players.

Oh, and for those who know a local with ESPN, the USA-Greece game is at noon Eastern time. Might be a good one.

-

Predictable hysteria and some good movies for a change

I love this place.

Really.

The angst and worry and anger and trepidation over Jose Calderon hurting his leg in August was so, um, predictable yet entertaining that it really made yesterday go by quickly.

Look, it’s not a good thing that he’s injured and will need to sit for a few weeks and rehab but it’s not the end of the world.

He’ll be ready to start camp, which doesn’t start for more than a month and then there’s another month until the regular season begins. Big whoop.

And, yes, he was hurt at the Beijing Olympics and had some issues for part of the season – he missed a whopping 14 games that year – but he also posted career highs in points and assists that season.

As for the trade part of it all? Well, since I didn’t think they really needed to move him anyway, it’s entirely a non-factor from this viewpoint.

You’ve probably heard me say this before but Jose’s a good NBA player, not nearly the liability so many of you think, and with two veteran point guards who play different styles leading a team of mainly young kids, that’s a good thing, not a bad one.

I feel terrible that he’ll miss the worlds, I know how important that is to him and Spain is the defending world champion and that’s the worst thing about this.

-

I haven’t seen Rich Griffin in a while, he’s got his stuff to do and I’ve got mine, but I figure the next time I do, he’s going to suggest Jose goes to see Dave Andreychuck for, um, training tips.

(You need to check out Griff’s blog and resulting hysteria to see what I mean)

-

Hmm.

Between knees, ankles, legs and, um, stomach dysfunction that led to a steady stream of washroom visits, things aren’t nearly as good as they can be for Canada going into the worlds as you can read right here.

And the news on Andy Rautins couldn’t be much worse, since he hasn’t practiced or played and there are only four days until the tournament begins.

The unspoken thing in all of it – and I didn’t think about it until it was too late to ask – is what the New York Knicks think of the situation.

With an injury, NBA teams can suggest strongly that a player under contract not play for his country in the summer and I’m pretty sure the folks in New York are paying quite close attention to their investment.

-

So, I’ve read my man Chris Sheridan and he says it’s going to be a tough decision for the American braintrust to figure out who’ll be the last cut on the world championship team.

Danny Granger, Rajon Rondo and Kevin Love all had DNP-CDs in Sunday’s game against Spain and it would figure that it’d be one of them.

And on a team with Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook and Chauncey Billups (although he’s been playing the 2 a lot) I don’t think I like Rondo’s chances.

One thing you need in international basketball is guys who can make shots consistently and that’s not his forte.

It’s not to say that Granger or Love are exponentially better, although Granger’s a great finisher and Love may provide the kind of rebounding the Americans don’t have.

The one thing I’m kind of glad to see is that Stephen Curry seems out of the conversation about cuts. I know I’ve got some bias since I think so highly of his Dad and his family but Curry’s just the kind of shooter who can get smoking hot and carry a team for a half, or a game.

And that’s what the USA lacks.-

-

Mail?

Please. Long flights, need stuff to do, not sure the Vanity Fair “Style” issue will keep me going.

Click here.

Appreciate it.

-

Funny how we mainly remember bad, isn’t it? Yesterday, some horrible movie remakes came quickly to mind but when one of you astute readers asked for favourites, or good ones, it took some time.

But the fog in the head finally cleared and I came up with three.

Cape Fear

I barely remember the original, which I might have seen only after I saw DeNiro at perhaps best in the second one.

Scarface

The original was booze, the second was cocaine and, I believe, much better.

Ocean’s 11

Being a Rat Pack fan, this is a tough one and it’s probably more of a tie than the second being better than the first. But it might have been.

-

I got a very ornery e-mail from someone yesterday chastising me – and us as a collective – for not “holding Bryan’s feet to the fire” because there haven’t been scathing stories in the last little while.

Oh, and why in the world is nothing happening, the reader wanted to know.

Here’s the gig.

I, or anyone, are not going to write screamer columns in late August about a slow summer. It’s not going to happen because, as I’ve mentioned, we’re still a month away from even practice.

And as for why we don’t call the GM or one of his Henchmen everyday to ask “what’s up, why no trade?” the answer is simple: No reason to.

There are people scattered all over the globe on vacation, they don’t want to be bothered, I don’t want to bother them and to incessantly pester when we know full well nothing’s going on is entirely counter-productive. People get turned off and don’t return calls if they’re getting them every single day.

So it is what it is around the Raptors, and almost every other team in the league:

A slow, slow time. And I kind of like it, actually.

-

Jose is out of worlds, and tragic losses and terrible, horrible movies

Oh, this is not going to sit well with many of you, I can be sure of that.

Not sure how many saw it but in Sunday’s Spain-USA game in Madrid, Jose tweaked a hamstring and ended the game on the bench.

I spoke electronically with a couple of people who were at the game and neither of them made it sound at all serious but there’s more checking to be done today.

Turns out that he'll need at least a month off and will not take part in the world championships that start Saturday. I'm going to try to reach someone for comment during the day but the Associated Press is attributing this quote to Jose.

"There is not much to say. It is a pity I was injured at the last minute."

We all know hamstrings, right? They don’t tend to heal themselves really, really quickly and I guess the best thing might be that NBA training camps don’t start for a month, it’s almost nine weeks before the regular season opens and that’s an awful lot of time.

I’m sure this will once again raise the issue of NBA players playing for their countries and suffering injuries but, as always, I will suggest that injuries can happen any time, like when guys are simply working out in a summer gym as they always do and it’s a tough break but it should in no way dissuade players from taking part.

-

Speaking of games, imagine you saw that Canada lost, 84-53, to Turkey at the Efes Pilsen Cup in Ankara on Sunday.

No surprise there, beating Turkey in Turkey isn’t going to happen for Canada, but the one interesting thing I saw was that Kelly Olynyk got a start for Canada and, by all accounts, played well.

When Canada left a week or so ago, I think Olynyk was firmly on the bubble with two cuts to be made before the worlds begin on Saturday.

But he’s one of those young kids – he’s only 19 years old – who I think would gain so much just by being on the team that they have to keep him for the championships.

That and he’s a 6-9 kid who can stretch the floor and seems be one of those guys who just makes things happen when he’s playing.

Anyway, Canada finishes up its pre-worlds series today against Lebanon in what could be a telling game since Lebanon is a team Canada simply has to beat in the preliminary round if it wants to advance.

-

These are truly sad days around the NBA family and I ask for some indulgence.

You didn’t know Matt Dobek, who was the vice-president of media relations for the Detroit Pistons, but you should have.

Matt, 51, was a gracious professional and fine man; when you went to work Pistons games you always were treated with respect and courtesy, you had more than a few laughs and it was, in many ways, one of the best cities to visit and work in.

Matt ended his own life on Saturday night, sending shockwaves through this little corner of the world.

He’d been fired by the Pistons in May after nearly three decades with the club, a time that covered everything from the Bad Boys to current group.

I first met him in 1992 when he did media for the original Dream Team because he was so closely associated with Chuck Daly; it was the beginning of a friendship I was honoured to have.

We can never, ever truly understand the torment of others, how their mind works and why. Things like this are tragic and unexpected and very, very, very sad.

All I know is my world is a darker place today but that my life, and the lives of thousands of others, was better for having Matt in it.

-

Hey, I’ve got about a billion hours of flights coming up (Toronto-Frankfurt-Munich-Izmir) Thursday night-Friday morning and I could probably be convinced to pass some of the time answering mail since I have to hit the ground running when I get to Turkey.

So, an early call for the mailbag; click here, do your thing.

-

Yesterday provided me with a perfect example of one thing that’s wrong with the media these days.

While driving to Niagara, a certain well-known American-based all-sports radio network was on and all I got all morning were breathless tributes to Vin Scully, the extraordinary broadcaster who was to announce his future intentions a few hours later.

This took on a life of its own because “speculation” was that he’d retire and we heard video clips and tributes and everything short of an obit.

No “sources” even, just the assumption that the 82-year-old would hang ‘em up and anyone turning in would have felt for sure that the decision had been made.

Except it hadn’t.

The great Scully – who I would rank as the best broadcaster I have ever heard – is coming back for another season.

Never a doubt he wouldn’t as it turns out.

It showed the media at its worst, anticipating news with no basis in fact rather than reporting it, or even digging it out.

That said, I’m hugely happy Scully will still be working and if you’ve never heard him, find some way to listen to him do a Dodger game on radio, he paints a picture. No excessive chattering, no screaming, no pet phrases that drive you nuts.

He is a delight. And more of these yellers and would-be comics we’re forced to listen to should be made to sit in a room for 18 hours straight listening to tapes of him before they are ever allowed to be on the air.

-

There are just some things that should not be allowed.

On a slow Saturday night, Super Son’s looking for movies, decides on The Longest Yard and when the opening scenes roll, I’m a tad perplexed.

“Who’s in this, pal?”

“Oh, it’s great. Adam Sandler and Chris Rock.”

“Ack. Ugh. Grr. No. No. No. Find the real one. Now. Burt Reynolds. Eddie Arnold Albert (in his post-Green Acres era). That’s the only Longest Yard.”

“Oh, okay, Wise Old Man.”

Fast forward to post-nap moment.

“How’d you like the real movie?”

“It was great, Wise Old Man. Thanks.”

And more culture delivered at Casa Doug.

-

Speaking of games, I am more convinced now than I was on Friday that the United States will not win the gold medal at the world championships.

I will preface this by saying the games against Lithuania and Spain were true tune-ups, I know the Americans didn’t show all that they’ll do once things get rolling for real on the weekend but …

They don’t shoot well enough, they aren’t big enough, I don’t think they’ll rebound the ball well enough and I honestly think they are just one of three or four teams that have to be considered favourites going in.

It should make for an excellent playoff round.

-

This whole Longest Yard thing is sticking in my craw and since we’ve been known to, um, digress from Raptors and basketball here every now and then, here’s something.

The Worst Move Re-makes I’ve Had The Misfortune To See

Pink Panther

Ugh. Peter Sellers was spectacular, Steve Martin not so much.

Psycho

Anyone who messes with Hitchcock should be injured.

Caddyshack II

They should find every copy and burn them.

Rear Window

The original – shockingly gorgeous Grace Kelly, Jimmy Stewart – might be my all-time favourite flick and deciding to see what they did with a remake among my greatest cinematic mistakes.

-

Hey, look! More mail

All right, folks.

Here’s the rest of the weekend mail, have fun.

Be back tomorrow with the usual drivel to start getting ready for the worlds.

-

Q: Doug. Will you be reporting from Turkey in articles or in blog postings? As much as I enjoy the blog, my thought is that the former will be more effective in broadening interest in our international program, as well as international BBall in general. Is that a consideration for you and the Star? Another question: why does Serbia seem to be excluded from online video scheduling, at least as far as what is posted in the FIBA home-page banner. Cheers - I am looking forward to the tournament and your insights.

Alfred D, St. John’s

A: Both, actually.

It’ll be very much like the regular NBA season, in fact. There will be “news” stories that are more straight reporting and deal with game details and the regular morning blog (although with the time difference it may be more overnight than morning here) that is more conversational and deals with things that wouldn’t go in a straight story.

But I think you’ll be well served.

As for the on-line video scheduling thing? I have no idea, I believe FIBA’s TV arm is doing live streaming of every game, and that would include Serbia.

-

Q: Hi Doug. You, like other sports reporters, mention in many articles about your sources telling you this or that. I'm wondering what propels them to do that. Why would anyone want to be a source? Couldn't be for fame or glory, since they are all anonymous.

Sohail G, Collingwood

A: There are a few reasons, I think, although I’ve never asked specifically. Sometimes, I think you could assume that someone in an organization might want to give a writer or broadcaster a leg up on the competition if they’ve been working a story (like a trade or a firing or somesuch) quite hard, sometimes people let things slip in the course of a private conversation and when they’re pressed to let it out say something like “sure, but don’t use my name” and, truth be told, sometimes disgruntled execs like to let things leak as a way to let another team know that it’s out there or because they’ve been spurned on related deal.

But, you’re right, it’s not like “sources” are whistleblowers in the vein of, like, Deep Throat or Erin Brockovich.

-

Q: Hi Doug. Thanks for keeping up the blog every day. I can't believe how reliable this space is. Anyways, I have been thinking about something for a while now. I know it's a bit far-fetched, but what do you think of the Raptors brass encouraging the fans to take on a "college-style" atmosphere at home games. This would make the Raptors unique among NBA franchises, and might encourage players to come here in free agency. For example, Cornell hockey has always been renowned for starting the "It's all your fault" chant to the goalie, and putting a newspaper in front of your face while the opposing team is being announced. The Raptors could think of their own quirky traditions, and I think there is a large enough hardcore fan-base in Toronto that it would fly. Your thoughts?

Mark I, Oakville

A: I think those kinds of traditions have to come from the fans rather than anything the team can mandate or make happen. I’d be interested to see what this crowd could come up with other than chants about pizza and hating Vince Carter. I guess Hedo and Bosh give them new targets but, really, that’s old and boring.

-

Q: Hey Doug, I know this ones early, but hopefully you don't forget about it come next mailbag.

Was just wondering what your true opinion of Vince Carter is, and what his deserved 'legacy' will be 20 years from now within the organization. Do you believe he will ever truly get his comeuppance for what he did for the Toronto Raptors?

I think it should be noted, that not once did he publicly speak ill of the organization, city, or the country. *cough*Chris Bosh*cough*

Joey H, Toronto

A: Comeuppance? For taking the franchise to unprecedented heights of global popularity? Or for being the most electrifying player in the game for a short spell? Or what?

Seriously, it didn’t end well, I know it wasn’t his fault the GM gave him away for a bag of bones and his legacy should be a guy who did more for the franchise than perhaps anyone who whined his way out of town when he saw what direction (straight down) the team was going at the time.

Now, his overall legacy will be of an extraordinary talent who never really took responsibility for his greatness and that is his biggest failing.

-

Q: Hi Doug, Let's say you've been given the green light (and vast amounts of cash) to produce (and star in when and if you felt like it) a daily Canadian sports talk show - the one you have always wanted to see on television. Now, since this is all about you and your vision (and this is so obviously a parallel universe here) how would you proceed? What "look" would this show of yours have? Would you tape it in front an audience within the ambiance of a favourite pub? Or would you take your show on the road and film from a personally-researched selection of bistros, bars, and watering holes across the country? Or, maybe you would prefer to be set in the quiet comfort from the sofas at Casa Doug, or even a closed studio at an undisclosed location? Would there be any sports you wouldn't cover? Ones that you think deserve to get some new-found coverage? Any topics too controversial, or conversely covered way too much by too many shows already? What would the theme song be and who would cater the food (yeah, all the really important stuff!) And, most important, who would your dream co-hosts be? Thank you.

Lorie P, London

A: It would absolutely be in a pub surrounded by esoteric memorabilia (think Jim Lonborg’s skis and that’s about as obscure as you can get, I think) with a studio audience and would be entirely non-serious for the most part. Sure, the issues of the day would be covered by in a true conversational style rather than screaming or shouting. I wouldn’t touch on crap like poker or pre-season anything.

Guests? Perk would be at the top of the list, for sure, and if I didn’t have Stumpy it wouldn’t be a show but I’d probably rotate the fourth guy through until we found a good fit. If Sam Mitchell wasn’t working, I’d get him in a New York minute and I might try to get Butch Carter as a regular.

-

Q: What do you think of Donald Sterling's recent comments criticizing his GM and the players the Clippers acquired this summer? I don't see how an organization can function properly when the boss openly bashes his employees in public, and fails to even know some of their names. I think Donald Sterling has been a disgrace to the NBA for far too long, and from being a regular reader of your blog I know you agree with me. Is there anything David Stern can do about him?

Andrew G, Montreal

A: I personally think Donald Sterling is a buffoon and wouldn’t got to work for him in a billion years, I wouldn’t go play for him unless I had no other choice and if I had to, I would mark the days on the wall until I could get out.

That said, there’s really nothing Dave Stern can do, you take the good with the bad.

The start of the weekend mail

Another weekend, another couple of mailbags since there’s so little going on.

Have fun and if there’s something else on your mind, click here and let me know. I’ll be the guy on a stool somewhere about 3 p.m. watching US-Lithuania.

Thanks. We’ll be back with the rest Sunday.

-

Q: Hi again Doug. I'm wondering what your opinion is on Cannabis in regards to the NBA?

If it was legal in Canada/U.S. and Pro Sports teams allowed the personal recreational use of it for the health of their players considering all the healthy and safe benefits it has, wouldn't it be better to encourage it's responsible use instead alcohol?

Why ban an herb that has no recorded fatality ever, and instead drive players to consume booze, which has thousands of deaths linked to the use of it, instigates aggressive behavior which can lead to domestic violence (see Stephenson, Lance) and negatively alters several key functions in the human body, along with it being naturally poisonous to humans too?

Just an honest question from an honest fan. Thanks again for the great work.

Sky D, Killaoe

A: I’m not entirely sure I need to get into my views on the decriminalization or legalization of cannabis but as long as it remains illegal, I think there have to be rules against its use by professional athletes. And at no time, ever, do I think teams should “encourage” any of their athletes to use alcohol or drugs. Shouldn’t happen. And, this day and age, it doesn’t.

-

Q: Hey Doug, I know the NBA has had several issues with recreational drugs but I can't recall any NBA players getting nailed for performance enhancing drugs (PED). What's the NBA's policy on PED and steroids? Have any players been caught, and what type of repercussions are there?

Jeff F, Toronto

A: There is a huge list of banned PEDs, including such regulars as androstenedione, ephedrine, clenbuterol and a host of diuretics. There have been about five or six suspensions, actually, the most notable and recent being Rashard Lewis of Orlando, who tested positive for elevated testosterone levels and was given a 10-game suspension.

Now, they don’t do out-of-season random testing but they do test during the season.

-

Q: Hi Doug. I got a hypothetical digression that you might have some fun with. If you were the head coach and the Raptors season started tomorrow with today’s roster, who do you start? Who do you put in with a minute left in the game? and what are your goals for the season - wins, development, team system, playoffs?

Thanks a lot.

Andrew G, Toronto

A: Today? I’d start Calderon, DeRozan, Kleiza, Bargnani and Johnson and I’d finish with them, too, barring injury or foul trouble that would necessitate offence-defence substitutio. And if Johnson proves to be a poor free throw shooter again – and depending on matchups as it always does – I can see using Calderon, Barbosa or Jack with DeRozan, Weems, Kleiza and Bargnani.

My goals? It sounds trite but they would be to win as many games as possible, to play hard every single possession and to see individual skills improvement in every player as the year goes on.

-

Q: Hey Doug, really enjoy the insights and the straight-talk you provide on this forum!

We all know the game played at the college, NBA, and international levels are very different, and have their own set of challenges. What things, aside from environmental issues (time difference and the climate), do you think Canada will have to adjust to have a "successful" tournament?

Ange A, Toronto

A: The biggest adjustment is going to be to the officiating, which remains quite inconsistent and spotty, even at the world championship level. Some refs see moving screens as fouls, some see them as part of the game, and it can vary quarter to quarter and ref to ref in the same game. It is the one glaring weakness of international basketball.

And with only five fouls allowed before a player is disqualified, it’s something they have to be mindful of right from the first whistle.

A good friend of mine who has officiated at the absolute highest level of international basketball knows that refs could probably call a foul on every single possession but that would ruin a game. Trouble is, some of the officials Canada will see in Turkey don’t have the same level of common sense and discretion and they can ruin a good game.

-

Q: Good Day Mr. Smith, I guess this could be considered a fashion/trivia question but, the Dog days are here and when better? Why do they wear T-shirts under jerseys in College ball, but that apparently disappears in the Pros. I know Ed Davis use to wear them in College and even saw him in them during Summer League action. Is it allowed in the NBA? Thanks Again

Kevin M, Toronto

A: I believe they’ve gone the way of those support stockings or leggings that were all in vogue a few years ago. If there’s a legitimate medical reason for wearing them, teams can petition the league for permission but, other than, that, those ugly T-shirts under jerseys have – and should – go the way of short shorts.

-

Q: Hey Doug. With 20/20 hindsight and given this summer's free agent climate (Amir Johnson at 34 million, Darco at 20 million, Drew Gooden at 32 million), do you think signing Bargnani to a very generous 50 million dollar contract a year before he became a restricted free agent to have been a wise move? Had he become an RFA this year, what do you think he would have fetched on the open market?

Dan B, Toronto

A: As an unrestricted free agent, I have no real idea what Bargnani might have fetched in what turned out to be a hype market but I said the day he signed and contend to this day that the contract was a good one from both sides.

And nothing’s happened in the intervening years to make me change my mind.

-

Of Rudy and a good old fashioned brawl

Rudy Fernandez?

No. Not here.

Not only isn’t Toronto on any list of preferred destination – and I keep hearing he’s only going back to Europe or nowhere else – but I wonder how a guy who was disgruntled with his role in Portland would feel about coming here and having to battle DeRozan, Weems and Leandro Barbosa for time?

Anyway, it’s a moot point because it’s not going to happen. I know there was some talk between the teams a while ago and nothing came of it and there’s no way it’s rekindled now.

Speaking of Rudy, how about the league hitting him with a $25,000 fine for his agent telling anyone who’d listen that he wants out?

Somewhat Draconian, no?

But a shot across the bow at other disgruntled guys who are under contract that will make them sit up and take notice.

-

Hey, check this out:

Slokey and The Gangster got Canada yesterday.

(Hmm, that should be the name of a band, or a bad TV show, shouldn’t it?

Anyway, Canada loses to Slovenia to wind up the Acropolis tournament in Greece and now it’s on to Turkey for Argentina, Turkey and Lebanon at a tourney in Ankara before the worlds start.

-

List time.

And mail time.

We do it all around here.

Q: Hello Doug! Will you please commingle an Irregular's Love of Lists with her building anticipation for the (almost-here!) FIBA Worlds and give us your choices for the "Top 5 International Basketball Games I Have Witnessed"? (And how cool to be able to add a game from this year's tourney to that list. Think it might be too much to ask that it be a Canadian game???) Thank you.

Lorie P, London

A: I’ll gladly indulge you with this one. I’m kind of searching deep in the memory banks but here are five that I’ll never forget, in no particular order.

USA-Cuba

Tournament of the Americas, 1992

It was a rout, as we all knew it would be, but seeing the original Dream Team play its first game ever was an historic moment in global basketball. An event more than a game.

Canada-Yugoslavia

Sydney Olympics, 2000

This was the one that really captured the country, if I recall. Nash at his best, Mike Meeks playing out of his head and the single biggest upset I’ve ever witnessed by a Canadian basketball team.

Yugoslavia-Russia

World championships, 1998 Athens

My first worlds outside of North America and to suggest the atmosphere was electric is a giant under-statement. Sitting with Glen Grunwald, watching Zeljko Rebraca go nut was one thing, seeing the fans light flares in the upper regions of the arena was something else.

USA-Spain

Beijing Olympics, 2008

Hugely hyped game that didn’t disappoint. Having seen the first Dream Team roll over everyone, it was great to see how far the world had come. The game was in doubt the entire way, even with the best NBA players imaginable on the team.

Yugoslavia-Argentina

World championships, 2002 Indianapolis

If it gets any better than overtime in a world championship gold medal game, I cannot imagine what it would be. Maybe OT in a Game 7 of an NBA Finals but the raw emotion of one game for gold for your country cannot be topped, I don’t think.

-

You know, part of me is entirely delighted that Roger Clemens, who has always – always – struck me as a bit of a fraud could be getting his comeuppance with the perjury charges.

Got me thinking:

Why in the world don’t athletes who are destined to be caught simply apologize and move on. We’ve seen it with so many, they’re contrite (sure it’s fake sometimes but people are easily fooled) and they get forgiven by more than a few fans and life goes on.

Sure, there are some of us who don’t forget or forgive but if some do, isn’t that better than, say, facing jail time?

-

Oh yeah, as far as I can tell from looking through various TV listings, we can see some real basketball on the weekend.

I see ESPN has the USA-Lithuania game live at 3 p.m. East on Saturday and if I’m reading the Raptors TV grid right, it’s got USA-Spain at 3 p.m. East Sunday.

I know that will likely necessitate finding a bistro or somewhere with a satellite for some of you, and me, too, but it’s probably worth it.

-

Did you see this?

Wild, eh?

But it does speak to one serious issue I have with FIBA and something that has to be addressed somehow.

None of the participants in that fracas will suffer any repercussions and that gives them a sense of impunity when it comes to things when it comes to, you know, tossing chairs into a group of milling-about angered-up players.

Maybe a suspension or two from FIBA-sanctioned games might be in order? Guess that makes too much sense.

-

So you know my beloved Storm are about to wrap up one of the best WNBA regular seasons ever, right? They’re 26-6 going into the last week and have secured home court throughout the post-season.

Good for the folks of Seattle, I’m glad they’ve got a winning hoops team.

-

Okay, another day of driving to the Falls for family affairs (whatever happened to Kathy Garver and Brian Keith was really cool as Dennis Finch’s Dad, wasn’t he?) so not sure when we’ll get to all the comments.

But I do know that I’ll have some time to set up the weekend mailbag so click here, send ‘em along and give me something to do.

A chance for a meeting and Canadian roster decisions loom

A tad tardy this morning but whatcha gonna do? And a tad slow, too.

-

Here’s the best thing about the American national team playing Spain in Madrid on the weekend.

It’ll give Jay a chance to chat with Jose and while I don’t think there has to be much fence-mending done, it’s a pretty good chance to at least say hello.

I know Jose pretty well having covered him his entire career and I don’t think the botched trade will weigh on his mind too much but I’m pretty sure Jay should make a point of telling him that he’s still an integral part of this team if there’s no move made.

Everyone involved understands the business aspects of the game, that if something presents itself that makes sense, trades are going to happen and Jose’s been around long enough to realize that.

Still, we all know he loves Toronto, the city and the organization and I think Jay needs to sidle up to him at some point and say, ‘hey, you’re with us, you’re one of us and we need you.’

-

So, lose by a billion, win by four.

Some ride for Canada, no?

Not sure the win over Serbia is much more indicative of the team’s fate in the worlds than the loss to Greece was but it had to be heartening for them to bounce back at least.

The trouble spots remain, though.

Got a note from Leo late yesterday and they still know they need to get Andy Rautins fully healthy – he didn’t play again – and Jermaine Anderson’s not quite at 100 per cent yet but he got some minutes in each of the two games.

Another interesting thing is that the team still has a couple of cuts to make before the worlds start and with the boxscore showing non time for Olu Famutimi against Serbia, I wonder if he’s not on some kind of bubble.

Rosters don’t have to be finalized until a week from today so there are four games to go before any decision has to be made.

-

The Raptors?

Nothing. Nada. Zip.

Dead quiet in what’s traditionally a very slow time around the NBA. People are on vacation, doing off-season office work and kind of coasting.

I’m all for it.

-

In keeping with our worlds theme these days, here’s this from the early mail:

Q: Not sure if you've answered this before but I haven't seen it lately. After getting dusted by Greece and seeing the drop-off between tier 1 and tier 2 international outfits, would you say Canada Basketball fans my be looking at 2016, even 2020 before we can really challenge on an Olympic stage._It would seem our real stud prospects (The Pangoses, Josephs, Thompsons, Kabongo's, etc.) are still fairly young in the system, and we may not see them with the SMNT for a while.

N A, Toronto

A: I’ve said it long and often, actually. I’m thinking the progression should be, top 16 at this worlds, qualify for the Olympics, top 12 at the 2014 worlds, qualify for the 2016 Games and see where that takes them for the 2020 world championships.

You’d hope by that time that kids who have so far shown promise but who have really accomplished little will have grown into capable players. I warn you, however, that it is a long, long, long, long way from talent as a teen to being able to play as a man.

-

Hmm, so I’m reading all the post-concert stuff yesterday and I see there’s a suggestion of some kind of contretemps between Steven Tyler and Joe Perry.

I have to admit I only saw Tyler in the audience and figured that was the norm for concerts these days.

But if they want to have full contact music, I think it’d be a hoot.

-

Speaking of mail.

Click. Send. I’d like to hear from you.

-

Is everyone tingling with excitement about a Bills-Colts pre-season game in Toronto tonight?

Whoop!!!!

And

Eeeee!!!

Seriously, if there’s anything more dull than pre-season football, I’m not sure what it is.

But have fun at the game.

-

Okay, it’s really slow here today, I need to come up with some theme of things to do each day until I land in Turkey. Am open to suggestions but keep in mind I need most of late September and October to do NBA stuff.

Anyway, here’s one more from the mail just so I feel I’ve done my duty here.

Q: Watched the broadcast yesterday of the Youth Olympics. They were showing "Basketball" and it was 3 on 3. Why on earth did they even bother? If you can't afford 5 on 5 ....what's the point?

Bob C, Wingham

A: The point is it’s a different game, it’s something FIBA and the IOC want to try to promote the game and participation in it and, honestly, I’m all for anything that gets youth participating in sports and offers them a chance to play on a global stage.

A bit of a drubbing and a season of road trips

I beg your pardon.

What’s that?

Huh?

Speak up!

The what?

I can’t hear you.

Oh, Aerosmith?

It was good, thanks.

-

So, that was a rather inglorious start to a European tour for the Canadian team, wasn’t it?

Nipped 123-49 by Greece in Athens (no, my fingers didn’t hit the wrong keys, they lost 123-49), it’s not the totality of the decimation that’s most troubling.

Getting drilled by Greece in Greece a day after landing isn’t a big shocker, quite aside from the fact that Greece is very, very, very good and should challenge for a worlds medal.

It’s that Canada’s running out of time to get its full roster on the court to develop some kind of cohesion before the worlds start in a week and a bit.

I see by the boxscore (and I wasn’t able to reach anyone over there yesterday) that Andy Rautins didn’t play (he tweaked a knee in the last game against France) and Jermaine Anderson got back but only played a bit less than 10 minutes.

I know Canada prides itself on its depth and they do go nine or 10 deep in pretty much equal skill but they need all of those guys to have any chance of getting past the first round in Turkey.

And on a team that I think is going to be challenged to score very much, not having Rautins, their best shooter, or a healthy Anderson, best ball-handler and on-court leader, is a crippling blow.

There are still five tuneup games left for them, all against pretty solid opposition that will give them a true indication of where they are before the worlds begin but they absolutely need a full team to work together for as much time as possible.

That’s going to be the mission in the next week, regardless of what the results of the games are.

-

So, Super Son and I are sitting there about 25 minutes into Steven Tyler and Joe Perry (man, I didn’t realize how he could play) and all of a sudden this aroma starts wafting through the air.

Kid looks up, eyes get wide (at least they didn’t get that faraway look I hear about) and he smiles.

“Yeah, you were right, dad. There is some here.”

-

So, the word I’m getting is that the TV deal for the world championships is going to be a bit bigger than some expected.

If you were to suggest to someone that it might be a multi-year deal that includes the women’s worlds and various other FIBA events and will be with TSN and its networks, you might be bang on.

No idea if it’s done today or tomorrow or when but the vibe I’m getting is that it’ll be sooner rather than later.

And I have to say, if it does indeed include the women’s worlds later this year from the Czech Republic, that’s huge and a big step and both Canada Basketball and TSN should be lauded.

-

Speaking of ex-Raptors, did you see where Nathan Jawai has signed with Partizan in Serbia?

I can’t say I’m even remotely surprise that Nate’s NBA career has come to an end, he never really had the tools to play a lot. He wasn’t particularly tall enough or quick enough and didn’t have the instincts needed to thrive, or even survive.

Good guy, though, and I wish him well in Europe, where I hope he has a long career.

-

Okay, can I put this out there now?

Please, please, please, I beseech you:

We need to stop with any and all “can the Raptors get Carmelo Anthony” stuff?

Please?

One, there’s now way in the world Anthony’s going to ask to be traded to a 40-win team that hasn’t been in the playoffs in two years and doesn’t look like its headed there this season.

Two, they don’t have the assets to get him, the trade exception isn’t big enough and no way the Nuggets let their best player walk away for nothing.

Anyway, the only way – and this is even far-fetched – that Toronto could get involved on the periphery is by being the third team in a three-team transaction to help facilitate a deal and, even then, I’d caution Bryan to take it nice and slow and only get involved for what could be termed a home run of a deal.

-

Okay, let’s end with a quick list.

Lots of chatter about the schedule since it’s been out and a close look at it offers this.

If you’re looking for a road trip to go and watch the Heroes Of The Hardcourt, I can find you one a month that might be kind of cool for different reasons.

Want them?

November

12th at Orlando, 13th at Miami

A Friday-Saturday back-to-back will necessitate a drive across the state on the Saturday morning but you get two really good opponents, perhaps some warm weather if you’ve got some time, a Sunday at South Beach.

December

12th at Charlotte

Probably not the greatest of games but it’s kind of a slow month and the arena there is very cool and one of the top 10 in the league, in my opinion. And if you don’t stop by Ri-Ra a couple of blocks away and check out the Irish music, you’ve done yourself a disservice.

January

15th at Washington, 17th at New Orleans

Get your culture in Washington with the Holocaust museum and Vietnam Memorial, a nice area of bars and restaurants for pre- and post-game and then a night off in New Orleans and if you’ve never seen Bourbon Street, you should. Just once, mind you, but you should see it.

February

Stay home

Take the month off, rest up, save your money.

March

23rd at Phoenix, 25th at Golden State

Phoenix in March? Warm and nice. Good arena, too. And, yes, Golden State plays in Oakland and that’s pretty yucky but you stay in San Francisco and I guarantee you’ll have a good time.

April

2nd in Chicago

It’s Chicago. ‘Nuff said.

Happy travels.

-

Mail? Sure, why not.

Hit the button here and we’ll see what we can do; pretty slow times around here so we can get to a lot of ‘em early in the week, I hope.

-

A TV deal may be coming soon; and a busy week ahead for Canada

This is probably going to come as good news to a few of you, and will ease the load of e-mails I’ve been getting.

I understand we should hear soon – maybe as early as today – some resolution to the television situation for the world championships that start a week from Saturday.

I don’t have details on who will do the games or how many they will show but history would suggest we’ll see all the Canadian games and we’ll have to be on our own to watch any playoff round games (I’m thinking maybe Canada doesn’t make the quarter-finals) wherever we can.

(The trip over here is to do Canada’s first round, the round of 16 and come home unless there’s some shock-the-world Canadian results).

Anyway, any television package they can put together is a great idea because, as we know, the programs can use some exposure it doesn’t now get.

I know that one of the qualifiers recently, might have been the Olympic one in 2007, came together as a TV package at the final minute because of negotiations over cost (which is not unsubstantial) and airtime availability.

The good thing going for broadcasters this time around is the time change between here and Turkey.

According to my research (which involves google), it’s a seven-hour difference between here and Izmir, putting Canada’s games at 9 a.m., 11:30 a.m. or 2 p.m. Eastern time in the first round.

Besides, if we’re going to do live blogs off these games – and that’s certainly the plan at the moment, still to be finalized with the big cheeses – it’s better if you can see what I’m seeing, I guess.

-

This might be one of those cases where news is so old it becomes new again.

Had a couple of calls from people yesterday telling me the Raptors had hired a coach and lost a player and I’m like, ‘duh.’

But, yes, it’s official.

Scott Roth joins Jay’s staff as an assistant and Dwayne Jones cleared waivers and was released.

And that, folks, is what passes as Raptors news for the day.

-

Speaking of Canada, the national team’s got a pretty busy week ahead starting today.

They’re in Athens to play Serbia, Greece and Slovenia on consecutive days starting today and then they move on to Ankara to play Argentina, Turkey and Lebanon on three straight days starting Aug. 21.

That’s a pretty ambitious schedule but it’s also pretty important. Not so much to get an idea of what other teams might do (everyone’s going to be playing possum to some degree less than two weeks from the worlds) but so they can get used to the officiating, the logistics of being in Europe and, frankly, work on aspects of their game that really need it before the begin in Izmir on Aug. 28.

So don’t put a whole lot of stock in the results but it’ll be interesting to hear from dispassionate observers – and I have some at both tournaments – about how they actually look for real.

-

Let’s kick off a bit of the mail, shall we?

Q: Hi Doug, what are the odds that a newspaper journalist from Toronto will ever get a spot on a programme like Around the Horn. Toronto's a pretty big market and never get's any representation on the show (while markets like Denver and Miami continue to have reporters on the show). As someone who seems to have a lot to say about a lot of sports (not just basketball) I would think you would make a great panelist on one of these "south of the border" shows. Think you should mention it to your friend Jackie MacMullan..

Farhan L, London, UK

A: Great idea except for one thing: No one down there cares a lick what we think up here, really.

What I’d like to see is some forward-thinking programmer at some all-sports station here develop some kind of daily show that involves some of us in some form. I honestly think there are some sportswriters who have lots to say on a lot of topics, and I don’t mean just screaming into some radio microphone in a “hey, listen to me” format.

But it takes money and organization and a commitment to a five-day-a-week show that we haven’t seen.

I think TV viewers up here get short shrift on those kinds of shows – although I am so not a fan of Around The Horn it’s not funny – but until someone makes it work in a Canadian format with recognizable Canadian names, we’ll be force fed American opinions. And that’s too bad.

-

This is a day late but I read it somewhere yesterday and it’s way, way worth the diversion.

Here’s a Did You Know that’s kind of odd. Very odd.

Aug. 16 seems to be a pretty weird day for big names dying.

These folks all drew their last breath:

Elvis Presley, Babe Ruth, John Diefenbaker, Idi Amin, Bela Lugosi, Margaret Mitchell.

Oh, and a true giant of my craft, the incomparable Jim Murray.

Cue the scary music.

-

My name?

Mud.

Seems I misheard Super Wife the other day (yeah, like that never happens) and the mighty Catch 22s dragon boat team won its division on the weekend.

Oops. More Alpo for dinner.

Anyway, a tug-of-war between two teams involves tying a rope to the back of each boat, pointing them in opposite directions and letting them go. Sounds fun.

-

Okay, first shot at mail.

Click here to send because I think I’ve got Friday afternoon off and it could be a nice afternoon on a stool getting the answers done so the weekend can be comprised of just one mailbag and a day off for moi. Wouldn’t that be cool? I think it would be.

-

Yes, I was indeed Argo Boy for a one-day emergency fill-in yesterday and I have to tell you, that’s a pretty good gig when things are going well.

Not only was it a great day to sit outside and watch practice (if I knew what I was seeing it would have helped a bit but the weather was good) and to see a large group of athletes having as much fun as they seemed to be having was pretty cool.

I know it probably has everything to do with their record and the somewhat unexpected success they’ve been having but it was fun.

Anyway, end of digressions, end of transmission.

If I’m here tomorrow it may be a slow morning. Super Son and I are off to see Aerosmith tonight and who knows what kind of impact that may have on an aged fellow.

-

A global star may emerge; and Masai gets his shot at a new gig

So the Americans only beat France by 31 on Sunday afternoon and the word I got from a guy who was at the game and watching closely when I asked him about the French was “they played okay.”

Hmm. Kind of a reversal of form from Thursday and Friday here.

Anyway, another friend had asked me Sunday morning what I thought about Kevin Durant and where he’d emerge as a true star this summer and it had to be answered with a resounding yes.

Looking down that American roster, I really don’t see anyone who’s going to capture the imagination of even diehard fans because it really is a group of relative role players in comparison to the team that won the gold medal in Beijing.

Durant, in my opinion, is the biggest “name” on the team and, as such, I’m sure he’ll become the go-to scorer, the guy everyone’s paying attention to and I have no doubt that he’ll be the American player best remembered when the worlds are all said and done.

I’m still trying to figure out just how well the U.S. might do – with the roster they have and the schedule they face, I suspect I won’t be picking them to win the gold medal when I get around to it next week – but in this star-driven world in which we live, I think Durant’s going to be the story.

And well he should be. The way he’s handled himself since coming into the league, under-stated, successful enough on the court, humble and not really interested in seeking a lot of attention, makes him something of a personal favourite.

-

This pass as Raptors news? I hear assistant GM Masai Ujuri had an interview on Friday for the vacant Denver general manager job and it went pretty well, from reports I’m getting from here and there.

Talk is that it’s probably down to former Phoenix assistant David Griffin and Masai for the gig and there might be some resolution this week.

Now, my memory isn’t quite as sharp as it used to be (oh, the ravages of age!) but if Masai gets the gig, I think he’ll be the first Raptors front office guy to go directly from the employ of Toronto to a promotion with the other team.

Any others – Glen Grunwald and Rob Babcock come quickly to mind – had at least a little bit of idle time before catching on somewhere else.

People ask me often what it is that guys like Masai, and Marc Eversely and Maurizio do in their jobs with the Raptors and I think the best answer I can generally come up with is: Whatever’s needed.

They offer advice to Bryan and do some scouting, they work their various sources to mine nuggets of information, they can be conduits between agents, front office guys from other teams and contacts they’ve made over the years in various aspects of the game.

I don’t think there’s any real delineation of responsibility except to say they are part of a cabal of advisors who are consulted on all facets of the operation.

-

How about that dude in the golf who grounded his club in what was allegedly a bunker and lost a shot at winning the PGA?

I know golf’s all about honour and somewhat obscure rules and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah but, really, that “is it a bunker, is it not a bunker, did he ground is club?” thing with Johnson was kind of tough to watch.

It is, of course, unique to golf (you don’t get retroactive out of bounds calls in basketball, you don’t have long-after-the-fact reversal of call in any other sport) and I guess it’s part of golf’s charms.

And makes for a heckuva story when it happens every 40 years or so.

Now, I vaguely remember Roberto Di Vincenzo at the ’68 Masters signing an incorrect scorecard and losing tournament but one thing Di Vincenzo gave us that Johnson didn’t was a quote for the ages:

“What a stupid I am.”

-

Seems the inquisitive nature you display doesn’t take a break in the dull days of summer, for which I’m glad.

I’ll try to get one or two in a day just to (a) fill out this space to something approaching the usual length given the slowness of the news and (b) cut down the monstrous weekend mail.

Here’s one from a familiar name:

Q: Hi Doug.

Was just reading your mailbag and the question from Lorie (as well as the mention of a journalist from Le Monde in another of your blog entries) got me thinking (seriously....): do you have many contacts with foreign (that is, non NBA-related) beat grunts? If yes, what kind of info are you exchanging?

Bonne continuation.

Matthieu B

A: I don’t have an awful lot of contacts that I speak with on a regular basis but, over the years of covering such things as world championships and Olympics, you do get to see a lot of familiar faces and know people and if you need something, you know where to call.

Just last week, for instance, a friend of a friend called from Israel to pick my brain about Will Solomon, who has signed to play over there.

Guys like Arnaud from Le Monde are people I see every two or four years at worlds or Olympics and it’s always nice to reconnect and know if something were to break in France that’s Raptors-related, there’s a guy I could call.

Same thing with a couple of Italian writers and a few folks from Spain, I’ll see them, we’ll chat about this and that and if there’s a need for information, there’s kind of a network already in place.

-

One last digression then I’m off to be Argo Boy for a day (I finally get to cover a winner, if only as a one-off fill-in).

Of the sports I don’t do, haven’t done, never will do, I’d say Dragon Boat racing would be chief among them so when Super Wife said her crew – the Mighty Catch 22s – finished second in their division at a regatta here on the weekend and won the very first Dragon Boat Tie-breaking Tug-of-War, I was mightily impressed.

A bit confused about what a tug-of-war between two 22-person boats would be but mightily impressed nonetheless.

So congrats.

-