A series of unrelated items for your enjoyment

A hugely quiet day, interrupted only by a torrential downpour, Texas-size replete with thunder and lightning, and a throng of zany Baylor and Illinois college football fanatics that turned my lobby into a frat house for a couple of hours.

And more of the same today, I imagine. Except that the Baylor people have skulked back to Dallas and the Illini are whooping it up going home.

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You get your help wherever you can.

And it’s nice to know people in different cities.

With a couple of Raptors having back woes – Sonny Weems and Amir Johnson are really troubled these days – getting treatment is a huge part of their day.

And while the Raptors training staff is a good one, and fully capable of doing what’s necessary to get guys healthy, they got some help in Dallas from an unlikely source.

Seem one guy knows a guy who knows a guy and suddenly an ex-Texas Longhorn lineman, NFL draft pick and practicing chiropractor Jay Humphrey was there to work on Johnson enough so that Amir could play against the Mavs while also trying to work on the kinks that have left Sonny on the sidelines for more than a week.

Must have been a rather intimidating therapy session, too. Am told Humphrey goes about 6-6, 300 pounds and having that kind of bulk work on back must have been something.

That’s kind of how things work in the world of pro sports. A guy knows someone in some city who knows someone else and services are offered an accepted.

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Remember Peja Stojakovic?

Guy they got in the Jarrett Jack trade, likely just a rental until the February trade deadline?

Well, I’m told his knee’s better – he’s spent some time in New Orleans with doctors and therapists there – and there is a chance he’ll be back on the practice court next week.

Now, I don’t think for a second he’s here long-term – if he shows he’s fit, some contender will want him down the stretch – but in these days with the injuries killing the HOTH, there are sure some minutes available for him.

I also don’t know what they could possibly turn him and his expiring, $15 million contract into but I do think he’ll be gone by the end of February.

But it’s nice that he might be back for a bit before that.

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Airport rant:

DFW’s American Airlines terminal might be the least efficient place in the transportation world.

At one security point, as the line grows longer and longer, the lone TSA agent checking Ids (dude who bears a striking resemblance to Barney Fife) is so slow he doesn’t even notice the dude shutting down one of two X-ray machines because, well, apparently because he just wanted to since there were about six colleagues sitting around lollgagging while our line extended down a hallway.

I swear, it’s not the consistent diet of bad basketball or the ravages of age or the whims of a boss that’s going to drive me out of this business. It’s going to be when I suffer a bout of travel rage, make some inappropriate comment to some TSA buffoon and get banned from travelling.

End o’ rant.

Thank you.

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Hey, you gals and guys did a tremendous job filling the mailbag yesterday and I’m going to have a lot of time to maybe sit on a stool later today and Saturday when I get back and bluff answers.

You’ve still got some time to click, write, send and here’s one plucked from the pile:

Q: Hey Doug. Love the blog. I read it every chance I get. One of my pet peeves is when sports channels are reporting the scores and comment something along the lines of "Raptors blow a 10 point lead". In my opinion, a 10-point lead in the first quarter is much different than a 10-point lead, say with 3 minutes left in the fourth. My question is how big does a team's lead have to be before you would consider it "blown" if they ultimately lose the game? Maybe you could give a number for each quarter?

Thanks.

 

Derek L, Mississauga

A: If there’s one thing we all should have come to realize over the years is that no first-half “lead” should be considered blown unless it’s more than 20 points. It’s a game of runs and if you’re up 18 with four minutes until the half, it doesn’t mean squat.

If I had to put numbers on what’s considered “blown” let’s go with this for now:

10 with three minutes to go.

15 with five minutes to go.

18 with eight minutes to go.

And 20 to start the fourth quarter.

You cough those up and you’ve blown it. Of course, that’s all subjective but you asked.

A 10-point lead in the first or second quarter? Yawn.

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There is no news on the various Raptors ills, sorry to say.

The lads had yesterday off to laze around the Dallas area – and for the first time in seven years a trip there didn’t include a team dinner put on by Chris Bosh’s mom – and they won’t practice until late this afternoon.

But it won’t matter anyway.

I know these guys and I know how they think and they’ll wait until tomorrow night to find out which, if any, of them can go.

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So we’re in the cab going to the airport in Dallas and there’s a directional highway sign that says:

President George Bush Turnpike.

And a guy wonders:

Which one?

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So I mentioned the HOTH are practicing in Dallas today, right?

Well, they were supposed to work at SMU (they practice there any time they have an extra day in Dallas) but had to move to the arena after the Mavs and Spurs have their game-day shootarounds because of some big bowl game in Dallas today involving the Mustangs and some service academy.

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Hey, thanks for the Houston tips, I’ll get to check out a lot of them today at some point since it’s a hotel/writing/sticking close to home day around here.

And as I look out over the Galleria malls and see signs for Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus, I figure there’s not a whole lot of shopping I can afford on my measly pittance.

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Comments

[Jacques]

Is Bayless ok since turning the ankle in Dallas.

Blogger's note: No idea, haven't seen anyone for a day and a half

[Derek S]

Morning Doug,
Was disappointed (but not surprised) that in reading many of the US articles on the Raps victory over the Mavs (ESPN, SI, etc.) all the talk was about how the Mavs "gave it away by looking past a sub-par opponent", combined with how this points to the absence of Dirk affecting their game (with no mention of the fact that half the Raps roster was missing in action for the game). Obviously none of those writers watched the game. While I don't argue that the Raps are sub-par to the Mavs on paper, they absolutely outworked and outplayed them that game. Funny how the rest of the Mavs still managed to win the game before (against OKC) with Dirk missing most of that game. Oh well - as you've said many times before (and I agree) the Raps will continue to get "dissed" in US media until they start winning consistently.
I also found it ironic that in reading your article this morning about Ed Davis, and the need to be consistent, that from what I remember, its pretty much the same message you had in a similar article about DeRozan a month or two ago. I guess that same message would apply to most of our young roster - Bayless, Johnson, Wright, Weems (in addition to Davis & DeRozan who you already mentioned).
Question regarding the point in the blog about a trainer in Texas who came in and worked on Johnson and Weems? When something like that happens, where a source outside the team is recommended/available, does the team have to do some research first in regards to the qualifications of that source and "approve" their use before-hand? I'm assuming that would be the case, given the insurance/liability issues that could arise if a player's injury "worsened" as a result of treatment.

[Lorie]

Good Morning, Doug,
Not surprisingly the George Bush Turnpike is a bit of a news items down there! Apparently, it is generally void of traffic, seemingly uncomplicated and easy to navigate, but the tolls charged are found to be significant, and inconsistently levied. (Not unlike....ah, never mind, waaaay too easy!) But all that aside, it's apparently the name of the road that causes the most consternation with some commuters expressing a willingness to pay twice the current rates if the name were to be changed to, say, The Bill Clinton Freeway. (Which, makes me wonder if multi-tasking while operating your vehicle would be allowed...again...waaaay too easy.) And conspiracy theories are abounding down there that people have consciously tried to avoid travelling on it only to find themselves suddenly and inexplicably on "The Bush"; the belief is that their GPS's are tricking them into it. And I read that King James is a year older today - any chance it make him wiser, too??? Salut! Enjoy Houston!
And you think you had it bad at the airport?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Qdb6wC0Iz4

[Mike D.]

Yep, Humphrey is not a small guy....see attached profile from his NFL draft year. You should ask Amir about whether his treatment felt like the "mauling and brawling" mentioned in the profile.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/nfl/1999/nfldraft/players/3812.html

[Matt Kovacs]

Hey Doug, if Jose can not play in the Houston game along with Jared, will Wright be back up PG to Barbosa?

Blogger's note: That would be the plan, yes

[Striker 77]

Hey Doug,

Did you see the end of the Sacramento/Memphis game last night?!? That is why I love this game so much...

Blogger's note: Unreal, wasn't it?

[jimt]

So hwsnbn debuts 4 Phoenix yest and they lose,lol,a gr8 b-day present from the bball gods,thx,end of rant.Doug is it poss you can sniff out why he wears 25 now,i know 15 is taken by RLopez (picked it because it was magics num on original dream team).Also like 2 throw in that i really enjoyed the win over Cubans mavs and thought Coach T was our best bench guy :) HNY2011 ev1 reading

[Geoff Read]

So Doug, how big of a dump is Houston? I've always heard it's one of the ugliest cities in North America, which would pretty much make it one of the ugliest cities in the world.

Blogger's note: It's not that bad at all

[Mr. Cook]

I'm not having a go here, but I have always maintained that the tech kid who comes up with a translator for people who are computer savvy and obviously twitter savvy like Jimt into real English will be the next .com billionaire. I'm only 26 and consider myself pretty swift on these machines but it still takes a crazy amount of time for me to read through that.
Doug, re: TSA. The TSA is, rather unfortunately, sub-contracted to private security firms who pay their employees at varying wage scales. America doesn't have equal pay for equal work rules like Canada did pre-Harper so there is nothing stopping the sub-contracted TSA employees in Dallas from being paid minimum wage compared to TSA employees in Dulles making double that. That is also the reason you get terrible and untrained employees--it's a nothing job that is equivalent in every way except location to being a mall security guard. In fact, many of the same companies are involved. It also consistently presents one of the biggest threats to American air-traffic security, if the TSA position means nothing to the employees, what do they care if they do it right? Dr. Mark Salter out of the University of Ottawa has some pretty interesting books about it from the Canadian perspective as well, which I am much less versed in.
Oh, basketball: How's Reggie doing? (I keed).

[doug]

we have a Peja on our team??..I keed be good to get him out there if even for a month or so....nothing describes a blown lead more then the Knicks=Pacers game of Reggie Miller fame...Knicks up 6 with just over 8 seconds left and they lost, Spike Lee's trash-talking sometimes backfires, Miller always said Lee just inspired him....I wonder if the Dixie Chicks did the ribbon cutting for the George Bush Turnpike:)))..there was a chiropractor in London,Ont, that was/is?? 7 feet tall and had to be 350, he was a b-ball player for years and was quite good....when he "shifted" your joints believe me they shifted.....

[John]

How anyone considers Houston a dump and one of the ugliest cities in North America compared to Philly, Detroit, Buffalo, New York (Manhattan is just one borough, drive around if you dare), Winnipeg or Montreal is beyond me. What criteria do you use for a "dump"? I guess this spawns a new list Doug... Ugliest cities! How about a top 5?

[doug]

or I just remembered and found the link Tracy McGradys 13 points in 33 secs against the best defensive team in the league....a classic finish....

http://houstonrocketsstore.co.cc/tracy-mcgrady-13-points-in-35-seconds/

[Smalahove]

I dunno about Houston's alleged ugliness, having never been there, but those huge circular street name signs you can see with Google Earth (hanging in mid-air over the intersections) are pretty damn cool!

Blogger's note: Including one hanging over Westheimer right by my hotel. Very cool

[Steve]

John: Yes that McGrady game was crazy. 13 points is a pretty good game for many players.

[M]

I have to agree with Mr. Cook, the Twitterbabies should confine themselves to the Twitterbird thingie.

[D-Mac Ottawa]

So a guy takes a couple of days and gets out of Dodge... and misses out on one of the most unlikely W's in Raptors history. Awesome. Way to go, Raps!
Happy New Year, Doug and Irregulars everywhere! Hope 2011 is the best damn thing that's ever happened! Cheers. Go Raps!

[Blake Kennedy]

It's actually pretty easy to distinguish between the two President George Bush turnpikes. Bush, Sr.'s is a fine, stately highway built solidly and without much flash or hype, but was rejected by the builders about halfway through for a younger, lazier, philandering highway. Bush, Jr.'s is a winding, poorly-built highway filled with potholes and alternates randomly between being 18 lanes wide and being a one-lane highway with two signs at each end saying "yield to oncoming traffic", so nobody can go anywhere.