A slow day but some healthy bodies

Some Raptors stuff?

Wish there was something of substance but it’s agonizingly slow around there these days.

Guess the big thing Tuesday was that, for the first time they can remember, there was a chance to actually get some practice in. It wasn’t full, but it was enough, sayeth Jay.

“We went four-on-four, which is about the best we could do so we have to patch them together and see if we can squeeze one more out of them before we get a little break.

“We’re having a hard time figuring out when the last practice was when we went five-on-five live but, to be honest, today was a good day for us. We went four-on-four hard, live and I thought we got some good stuff out of it.”

It was the other day when Jay was talking about practice and the need for it and what it accomplishes with a young team like he’s got. Some veteran teams can handle long stretches without getting any real work in between games; Jay feels this group needs to get into the gym almost every day if for no other reason than to sit and watch video of past indiscretions (and things they’ve done well).

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Okay, I don’t care whether you’re playing basketball or tiddly-winks or Mighty Yankees house league baseball, you win 89 straight anythings and you’ve done something special.

That’s just what the University of Connecticut women have done, with No. 89 coming last night over Florida State.

Here’s the wire story to catch you up.

Now, all this talk of 89 made me think back to the UCLA Bruins who got to 88 way back in the day.

I can recall the loss to Notre Dame very well, as a matter of fact; I was a young punk sitting in the living room watching and while I wasn’t sure what was going on, I knew it was big. Very big.

And who knew that I’d one day run into a guy integral to that victory and get to talk to him about it.

Any idea who?

Answer later.

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Want to know what’s going on with the Pistons?

Seems an awful lot according to this story about Rip Hamilton being accused of “quitting” on his team and now being benched.

Fun times, it seems.

And before you ask, there is nothing that Richard Hamilton can give the Raptors that would make it even remotely intriguing to even consider making a call, in my opinion.

His best days are behind him, by the time this Toronto team gets consistently good he’ll be even more done and it’d be a sideways step that would accomplish nothing.

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So you folks have given me, through the comments, Boney M, Bruce Springsteen, The Pogues, Mel Torme and The Waitresses (although I have to admit I’ve never heard of them/her/it) as the Alternative Christmas Carols best.

I’m not sure I can top any of those.

But (and forgive me if any of you sent these in, I didn’t go back and check every comment) here are five more you might want to google or youtube sometime today.

Happy Christmas (War is Over), John Lennon.

Run, Run, Rudolph, Chuck Berry

Blue Christmas, Elvis.

 

 

Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree, Brenda Lee.

And I guess if you’re my age, the Do They Know It’s Christmas Band-Aid fund-raiser has to be on the list.

Sound good?

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John Shumate scored two huge buckets in that Irish win over UCLA way back in ’94 and he was an assistant in the first year here.

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I’m trying to figure out what we’ll do here over the next few days, what with Christmas coming on a Saturday (it is this Saturday, right?) and all.

So, let’s put out the call for mail now, maybe I get it done really early and can post it Boxing Day morning before I fly, which will allow me to shut this completely down for a few hours Friday.

Click here. Write words. Send ‘em along.

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Speaking of mail, here’s one I plucked out of a very, very short pile.

Q: Here's an Andrea question for you:

Does anyone see some similarities in Andrea's game (as his inside presence improves) to Kevin McHale? When Andrea does reach the peak of his career, will people be more likely to compare him to KM instead of Dirk?

Also, not a question, but a couple of reminders for non-traditional holiday songs:

No Doubt with "Oi to the World"

The Pogues with "Fairytale of New York"

Of course there are also the 'in-betweeners' like Springsteen with Santa Claus is Comin' to Town and/or Otis Redding with White Christmas and Merry Christmas Baby

 

 

Jeff R, Montreal

A: Oh, no. Oh, no. No, no, no. A thousand times no.

Kevin McHale had a level of toughness and nastiness and more low post ability that Andrea can ever imagine having.

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Sad news.

It’s like 6:20 a.m. here when I’m typing this and I’ve just been informed by Super Wife, who knows my love of old sitcoms, that Steve Landesberg is dead.

Arthur Dietrich was a classic!

So was the show.

Seriously, Barney Miller has to be in the Top 10 of all time.

Which makes me think another list is in order in the next few days.

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Ever since he got the gig, Jay’s been harping on four key games each season that tell him, and us, how mentally tough a team might be. It’s the one right before the Christmas break, the one right after and the ones that bookend February’s all-star break.

Well, he’s 2-0 as a coach going in to Christmas, with wins at the Clippers in ’08 and at Detroit in ’09 and he’s 2-0 coming out of the holiday, too.

Not too shabby.

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Comments

[Peter]

Hi Doug,

I just read Vinay's blog today and was wondering if you could do a similar interview with Bryan Colangelo sometime early in the new year. It would be an interesting time of year to get his perspective on things as he heads towards the trade deadline.

Thanks for all of your work.

[Joe U]

Hello Doug,

On the topic of Christmas music, the Waitresses is pretty good - not Caroling material, but it definitley strikes a chord.

The Kink's "Father Christmas" is in the same vein, but much more energetic.

Greg Lake's "I Believe in Father Christmas" is terrific.

The Band "Roomful of Blues" has a pretty solid Christmas album, "Roomful of Christmas". For me the standout track is White Christmas.

Sarah McLachlan and the Bare Naked Ladies do a good "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"

Songs from the classic Christmas shows have a special place - Burl Ives' Silver and Gold, The Most Wonderful Time of the tear, Little Drummer Boy ( my CD has a version by the Vienna Boys choir, rather than Bob Seger ). And of course, the entire A Charlie Brown Christmas Soundtrack recorded by the Vince Guaraldi trio.

[GM]

* I want to get back to the poor TV production lest we forget. Not to harp on it or anything but I think we need to keep complaining until it's fixed. I heard Jack and Matt saying a couple games ago that the director was a huge Montreal Canadiens fan and I thought, 'Ah, that explains it.' He's a hockey guy. Doesn't quite understand the importance of a possession. Hockey is pretty scattershot; teams don't retain possession for a sustained period so you might not miss much with the odd cutaway to a coach or player or bench guy picking his nose. But it happens much too often in Raptors games and the viewers end up missing steals, turnovers, baskets, etc. Very frustrating. I watched the Dallas-Miami game the other night and they didn't miss a thing. They managed to get all their close-ups in during stoppages and always got back to the play before the ball was inbounded.
* Here are my nominations for best Christmas songs. Ray Charles doing Rudolph: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QEVNu6qVIM
Lou Rawls doing Little Drummer Boy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsJgiJG-ic4&playnext=1&list=PLF3FB9C64C0668AF7&index=29

[Richard]

Hey Doug,

Since it's a slow day and all, here's an interesting little FYI for all those Andrea bashing Monday-Morning-QBs who seem to have lost their keyboards, or some other communication impairment. Have a look at 2 recent stories focusing on a favourite option of those who can't resist the urge to second guess:

http://www.nba.com/2010/news/features/art_garcia/12/22/brandon-roy-injury-future/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpt1

http://www.nba.com/2010/news/features/shaun_powell/12/17/blazers/index.html

It would be cool to see just one Colangelo/Bargnani detractor write in and say "oops, I second-guessed wrong on that one..."

I wonder how many would still take Brandon Roy 1st overall ahead of Bargnani?

Even hindsight isn't guaranteed to be 20/20, is it?

[D-Mac Ottawa]

A little holiday rendition from New Brunswick's Matt Andersen (a la Vinyl Cafe): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuQ6CUr2kRg&feature=related
But you'll do yourself an even bigger favour by clicking here ("Ain't No Sunshine"): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLsye_LJ_Ks&feature=related
Dude hands-down walked away with the International Blues Challenge in Memphis last August – Canada's next big-time contribution to the entertainment world (among so, so many).
Holiday cheers. Go Raps!

[Lorie]

Hiya Doug,
Being a dude of a certain vintage, thought you might enjoy looking for this album (if you don't already have it): A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector. Yes, it's Phil, The Ronettes, The Crystals, Darlene Love, Bob. E. Soxx and The Blue Jeans, and the unmistakable Spector Wall of Sound. Really good. And speaking of really good, thanks D-Mac for the Matt Andersen links; I'd somehow never heard of this talented musician. He plays guitar so effortlessly, I was envious and admiring all at the same time. Salut! (Oh,and true story on the Spector Christmas album. Sales were initially very sluggish largely due to the fact its release date was November 23, 1963.)

[Steph]

Larry Brown out in Charlotte, just who does MJ thinks can do a better job then Larry? I think it's a tougher job coaching in the NBA then scribing to Toronto fans.