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.

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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)

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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.

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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.-

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Mail?

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

Click here.

Appreciate it.

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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.

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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.

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Comments

[DougG]

"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."
.
Until Canada has three stars in the NBA, or three European stars decide they want to play for the Raptors, no one expects the Raptors to do what Miami or Boston have, but with the third or forth most expensive seats in the league, it would be nice to have at least one star player on the team. Many of us are making ticket purchase decisions at the moment and thought BC would have put together something better than an all star summer league team by now. What else would justify the prices they charge us, other than a cycnical calculation that we will continue to be stupid?

[yertu damkule]

wait, wait...i know jose 'only' missed a 'whopping' 14 games, but it's not like he was 100% (or anything close to it) for the other 68...and i seem to recall quite vividly the excuses making the rounds that season for why he was struggling, and it was basically due to him not being 'completely healthy.' and that's what has the faithful frustrated - jose is a bit/role player (at best) on the spanish team, he's proven himself to be at least somewhat injury-prone in the past, and all things considered, shouldn't there have been some subtle (or not-so-subtle) suggestions from the top that jose perhaps 'rest' this summer. you know, instead of destroying whatever minimal trade value he might have had while also jeapordizing his ability to play at full capacity come this season.

and yes doug, you do see jose as being a more valuable NBA pg than many. that's because he's a raptor. i seem to recall you thinking the same thing about hedo during his 'struggles' last season...funny how things change once players leave?

[Mike]

Doug,

Any plans to write a basketball version of the Damian Cox article? It'd be great to see who you'd "ask the question" about.

[Dadeo]

Cape Fear was the only movie that came to my mind when reading the comment about best remakes ever...even though Robert Mitchum was excellent in the original.

Unlike many of the posters here I'm looking forward to the next couple of seasons watching the Raptors build a team. I'm tired of watching supposed missing pieces being brought in for 6 months or a year before they are deemed a failure and traded away. I hope the Raptors build through the draft and growing the talent that they have rather than hoping for a homerun through a trade.

[Dave in BG]

Ocean's 11....I think I would lean in favour of the original. Besides the star power, it perfectly captures the sights and sounds of Vegas during the Mob era. And, well, I just dont care much for Pitt and Clooney. Both good movies however.

[Mike D.]

I totally agree on Ocean's 11.....I was going to suggest it yesterday but I couldn't figure out a way to work in a Joey Dorsey reference. As an aside, I know it's not a remake but I did think Ocean's 12 was funnier.

[Mike]

I hear you with no screamer columns Doug, but could you atleast make up a story about inter-team chemistry issues or i don't know.... STEROID USE... that seams to be a good thing to do when there isn't any news out there.

[Nick]

"Hey, prior to 1993-94, Andreychuk, one of the nicest guys in the game, had never potted more than 41 goals in a season, then BAM."

I'm all for writing in a conversational tone, but this is a poorly constructed sentence. Griffin needs to tighten up that blog.

[Brook]

Tough Job for BC -- do I want him to do what is best for the team, or do I want him to do something RIGHT NOW so that I am inspired to buy tickets.

Prior to this year, he's done a good job of making changes that sell tickets in the off-season. No, they didn't work out very well during the season, but he got us excited. I'll admit I was pretty excited by the Pheonix/Charlotte trade -- thank God Jordan nixed that before we got saddled with an overweight Boris Diaw.

This year I'll be fine with nothing flashy happening in the summer -- so long as the team appears to develop, play hard and improve. I'll re-up my tickets with that in mind. If that happens, I'll re-up next year (with the hopes of further improvement). If they don't play hard and improve over the year, he'll probably lose me.

Thing is, BC tried for homers each season, and we got nowhere. He's not being fired (and who would be a lock to replace him?), so I'll be pleased if the team takes steps to compete this year and looks to have an opportunity at the play-offs in 2011.

People can whine or groan that we're not an elite team, but the raps are (and have been) more fun to watch than at least 10 of the crappier teams out there. Is that awesome or even above average, no. It is still better than I've gotten from the Leaves in quite some time. I'm tired of being promised big things and being disappointed (I enjoyed the promises, just not the end results). I'm looking forward to watching an essentially new team grow this year.

[BC Is Short For Bull Chit]

Anyone who thinks that Jose aka The Spanish X Ray is a good NBA player and not a serious on court liability (especially on defense- see DRose) is for lack of a better term- stuck on stupid. Raptor fans & followers are always having their collective basketball intelligence challenge by BC bs moves & roster hype. Jose is the same man who couldn't hit CB4, who had his man sealed topside for a lob entry pass, in the paint against NJ in the playoffs a few seasons back- a very basic elementary play. Jose is the same man who can't stay in front of NBA pg's w/o falling down over the lines on the court. Jose is the same man who walked by CB4 after Pierce intentionally kneed him in his family jewels leaving CB4 on the floor in pain- Jose is a real leader, not.

I see another long season of Jose excuses ie hamstring, plus given the fact that he was all but traded to the Bobcats I can see another injury plagued season from a now indifferent Jose for TO for 2010-11. BC's International/US Raptor roster vision is complete bs..............................w/ Bargnani as the biggest roster turd. BC & his media minions can take this NWO Raptor mentality and take a long walk off of a short dock.

[Striker 77]

"wait, wait...i know jose 'only' missed a 'whopping' 14 games, but it's not like he was 100% (or anything close to it) for the other 68...and i seem to recall quite vividly the excuses making the rounds that season for why he was struggling"

The season that Doug is talking about is the 08-09 season, in which yes Jose got hurt during the olympics before the start of the season and missed 14 games that season. He also happened to post numbers like 49.7 percent from the field, 40 percent from the three, and 98.1 percent from the line (Im sure you know that was a record...) Thats not struggling, even though the team did. And dont give me that Jose was defending poorly.. Those numbers are pretty awesome..

Last season was his disappointing one, and if I recall, Jose didnt play last summer....

[Mike D.]

Doug, Jose potentially changing his, um, nutritional regimen wouldn't be a good idea anyway. I recall from the good old steroid days in the NFL (the late 1980s, when most of the big linemen were also ripped), that one of the classic steroid tip-offs is a lingering soft tissue injury, like a nagging hamstring problem, because steroids affect the muscles but not the tendon attachments etc....guys literally outgrow their frames.

Not sure why everyone's making such a fuss about 29- and 30-year-old pro players blossoming anyway. I've definitely been getting stronger, fitter and better looking every year since I was 29.

[Lorie]

Hey Doug,
It's so much easier to name crappy movie remakes (and here is a "brief" sampling of the ones that came to mind after reading your blog yesterday - Stepford Wives, A Star is Born, The Haunting, Sabrina, Dial M for Murder, Heaven Can Wait (the audacity in thinking there was any need whatsoever to remake the absolutely lovely "Here Comes Mr. Jordan"...!) Witness For The Prosecution) than to name the ones that are superior to the originals. For example, I think "The Shining" made-for-TV movie was better than the original Jack Nicholson film, and Cronenberg's "The Fly" was creepier than the 1950's version to my mind. But that's all I could come up with...Ocean's 11 is indeed a draw. Perhaps you could "digress" again some day with a list of British TV shows that have been remade in North America and tell us which you prefer (but really, has Hollywood ever improved a British TV Series?). Do you remember "On the Buses"? Are you a fan of "Fawlty Towers"? And can you name the US remakes??? On a basketball note (!) other than Kevin Durant, which player on the US team do you think has the potential to become "globally recognized" during these Worlds? Think it could be Stephen Curry? Thanks!

[snacker]

Come on Doug, you can't say that it's okay for Jose to be playing Internationally and then later in the column talk about how the Knicks have a right to tell Rautins not to play if he's hurt!! Guys getting hurt in this meaningless games for their country at some ridiculous tournament with how many teams (24? 32?). Come on, nobody cares about the world championships outside of Europe and this has happened the the Raps before (Jorge, Jose...) The last thing the Raps need is another preventable injury...save these games for guys who don't have huge contracts and other commitments to other teams...you know, that they signed to play for...playing for Spain when he should be getting into the best shape possible isn't in his contract is the bottom line...especially when he's been hurt before in similar situations. Steve Nash leaves it all on the court for his team, the Suns, who pays his way in life...Jose and these other dummies should show some loyalty and respect and do the same. Besides, Rubio will be performing most of the PG duties for Spain...it's a no-win for everybody.

[Diablo]

Read Griff's blog and enjoyed it...my take...

I am 6'2" and have varied over the years in my weight from 200-225 pounds most of that being fluctuations in my body fat although my muscle mass changed with working out as well (played CIAU football). It seems many people posting here think that gaining 25 lbs of muscle is no big deal. You are incorrect. That is an enormous amount of weight to put on (even over years), as is the 12-15 lbs or so you so commonly hear of NBA athletes putting on in an off-season of working out. Perhaps baseball has not done itself any favours but the NBA and NHL will be in a world of trouble if/when they pull their heads out of the sand and toughen their in-season testing and actually begin an off-season testing program. How can they claim clean when they don't properly test?

[arun]

All in all, this 2010-11 season will determine Jose's fate.
If he suffers another injury or just have a bad season in general, he will be yanked.
No need to talk about this now.

[bob]

Doug
So this is the team thats going in training camp. No more moves for Raptors? I thought they were gonna get a defensive-minded center???

Blogger's note: I think the Defensive-minded Centre Store is closed at the moment

[Joe]

Doug,
Thanks for the update on the U.S. team for the worlds. Very surprised that Rondo is on the cusp of being cut. Considering he's got more experience in big game situations than Rose and Westbrook, I would think that he'd have an advantage over one of the other two guards. What is about Rose and Westbrook that the coaches see as being better than Rondo's skill set?

Blogger's note: Better shooting ability.

[Ian]

Woah woah woah....

Nobody mentioned The Magnificent Seven?!

For shame bballheads.

On the Raptors, I too am looking forward to the franchise actually building a team fromthe bottom up, if Bryan can pass up making splashy trades that jettison our future. I don't want to say 'build in the mold of OKC or Portland' since every franchise is a disparate and unique entity and it's shortsighted to approach it otherwise. It would be nice to see the financial restraint shown by Presti and the hoarding of talent by Portland borrowed by the Raps though!

[Richard]

Doug,

I hate to be a fawning reader, but I have to give you props for the way you deal with differing points of view or challenges from your readership. I don't always agree with what you have to say but the way you engage and allow us to express our positions as long as they remain reasonably respectful (actually you allow a fair bit of latitude in that area) is to be applauded.

I made some respectful but challenging comments yesterday regarding your colleague Damien Cox's blog/column re:"asking questions" and they were censored for whatever reason by him. Fortunately, since I discovered the affair Cox through a comment in your column, I decided to post the comment in your blog as well. And true to form you posted it. Thanks for your indulgence.

Your colleagues (and by "colleagues" I mean Damien Cox) could take a lesson from you, as you seem to understand that if you are going to engage your readership through this format it behooves you to allow for questioning or dissenting viewpoints that challenge your position. Cox could use a little tutoring from you on blogging, not to mention journalistic integrity.

[Mike kovacs]

Doug does Andy Rautins have a guaranteed contract for this season?

Blogger's note: I'm not entirely sure how fully it is.

[LeeZ]

@Nick: I'm a language professional with some 30 years of experience in the field, and I can tell you in no uncertain terms that the sentence by Griffin that you claim to be poorly structured is, in fact, a perfectly valid use of conversational English. And even if it weren't, who cares? It's a blog, for crying out loud! And an excellent one at that.
@Lorie: I agree with every single one of your movie comments, with one notable exception: Heaven Can Wait. While I agree that Here Comes Mr. Jordan was a wonderful film, HCW had an outstanding cast (Julie Christie, Warren Beatty and the incomparable Charles Grodin) and was a wonderfully sentimental (in the positive sense of that word) update of a classic yarn. And Beatty did not actually look completely out of place as a quarterback.

[John]

@ Lorie
Finally someone who understands what I have been saying. If Jose is so proud to be Spanish, then go live and play in Spain. Nobody forged his signature to his very lucrative contract with the Raptors.

[TJ]

Hope all is well Doug.
I feel as though I have to chime in...
Yes the NBA is the top league in the world, yes players get paid very well to play in it.
But FIBA is a world wide event. You represent your country and it's honour and all that it (maple leaf) stands for.
Money isn't everything. People on here finding fault with players wanting to play for their country need to learn what being patriot means. Be proud of players who risk injury for the glory of their country. And saying that FIBA is only important to euro's is just plain ignorant. What about south America, Africa, Russia, Asia, the kiwis the aussies? Their people care.
Just beacuae you don't see it in your life doesn't mean the rest of the sees it the same as you.

[coachd]

Hey Snacker,
This is what you wrote..."Come on Doug, you can't say that it's okay for Jose to be playing Internationally and then later in the column talk about how the Knicks have a right to tell Rautins not to play if he's hurt!!"

Not that Doug ever needs anyone to defend his opinions, but the key word that you seem to be missing is "HURT". There is a huge difference between getting hurt or being hurt.