Sunday mail on a Tuesday; what a novel approach that is

Guess what happened to me on the flight home?

Nothing.

Left on time, got in on time, smooth sailing all way. Shocker, I know.

Anyway, I see Carmelo got traded (that came out of nowhere, didn’t it?) and that’ll give me something for later once the excitement dies down. Oh, and I’m pretty sure now that the Anthony deal is done in might open a few other possibilities so that might make this week fun.

But until that starts, here’s some way late mail.

Oh yeah, one other thing: I need to miss the IGBT tonight, family matters call.

Sorry; we'll be there tomorrow for the Bulls.

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Q: Doug when you file a late game story, does it still go through an editor?

Mike K, London

 

PS: I'm not trying to imply anything by this question.

A: Oh, I’m cool and I’m sure your not at all.

And, yes, an editor’s on our desk until the last edition is over and done with and if, for instance, there’s a west coast game where I end up writing just for the web, our internet desk is staffed to handle the copy.

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Q: One last kick at the mailbag, here goes. After another well fought game against Miami, I starting to think last year's Raptors were actually blown out in more games than this year's team. If you were to consider a blow out to be 15 or more points how does this year's team compare to last? Also, can you think of a similar statistic or other comparison on the same vein of measuring the level of each team's competitiveness?

David R, Little Britain

A: I usually put it at 20 and last year they were 5-9 in games decided by 20 points or more and they are 0-3 in those games this season.

And because things change so much season to season, here and around the conference and league, I find it difficult to make statistical comparisons.

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Q: Hi Doug, I know you hate all the 'Melo trade speculation and its driving me crazy as well. I wish they'd just get it over with already. My question though is why does Mark Cuban get hit with 100k fine for saying anyone would want the best player in the league and Rudy Fernandez got fined 25k for his agent saying he wanted out of Portland, but 'Melo is allowed to orchestrate his exit? Is it because he hasn't expressly said 'I want to be traded' or is it because the league is looking the other way because this will put him into the leagues biggest market?

Jay B, Oshawa

A: The difference – and it’s minute and probably splitting hairs – is that there haven’t been any on-the-record quotes attributed to anyone involved in the process.

It’s ridiculous to not think that GMs or agents or players aren’t behind many of the stories but they’ve created a level of deniability the league can’t crack.

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Q: Rainy Sunday and you did say please. I think the dunk contest is great but am concerned somebody may get hurt badly. Does the league really care or is it all about the show?

 

John P, Vernon Hills

A: On, no, the league cares a lot and you can be sure that every general manager or owner would have been told about any nutty dunks. You know, like jumping over the hood of a car.

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Q: Dear Doug:

Welcome back to the Great White North.

I'd like your take on the following flawed analysis of the Raptors current edition in comparison to last year's team.

'10 - Bosh and Johnson v '11 Johnson and Davis, Evans. What was envisioned as the biggest drop is materializing as an asset. PF may be the Rap's best position this year.

'10 - Bargs and Rasho v '11 Bargs and PFs.

Slight upgrade.

'10 - Turk and Wright v '11 Kleiza, Wright, Weems. Downgrade. SF Rap's worst position.

'10 - DD and Weems v DD and Barbosa. Upgrade.

'10 - Jack and Calderon v Calderon and Bayless. Even. Jack last year about equivalent to Jose this year.

So, given that the talent level this year is relatively equivalent to last year, how do we account for this year's team winning half as many games? Are Bosh's loss plus the injuries solely responsible for this discrepancy?

Sincerely

 

Frank B, Toronto

A: I think there are a couple of reasons.

While the overall talent may be equivalent, the roles that those players are being asked to fill in the absence of an offensive player who would command a double team have changed greatly and I think some of them – DeRozan, Bargnani, Weems, Davis in particular – are having a hard time finding the necessary consistency as they learn how to deal.

And I do think the injuries, and subsequent switching of responsibilities and the search for on-court chemistry, hurt an awful lot.

As we saw at times very early in the season, when this team was together and fully functional, it was quite competitive; once that started to change, things went south in a hurry.

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Q: Long time reader here...love the insights. I know you like brevity, so here goes:

Colangelo's contract - renewed?

Why or why not?

Better options?

Take care

 

Werner O, Thunder Bay

A: Brevity, it is:

Yes, renewed.

Because he has them poised to improve with a young core, you cannot be guaranteed they’d find a better guy out there, and, yes, the last three years have been bad, the first two not so much.

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Q: Hi Doug. I was wondering what happens (if anything) to the NBA draft if there is a lockout that goes on for a long period of time. Is there still a draft? Would the possibility of a lockout sway possible lottery picks from leaving early? Any light you can shed on this would be great.

 

Gene T, Toronto

A: Well, we do know that this year’s draft is going to take place as schedule on June xx (the current one doesn’t expire until June 30) but we have no idea past that. Sorry, but there has been no light shed on what might happen to a 2012 draft if the 2011-12 season is cancelled.

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Q: Hey Doug, What odds would you give the Steve Nash wants to stay in the game after he retires. I hope he does, because as a Canadian, I would love to see him and Jay Triano on the Raptor bench in the future. Would that be an entertaining team to watch. Please say yes, don't ruin my dreams.

 

Nick K, St. Catharines

A: Sorry, dude.

I have never asked Steve what his future plans are but I think I know him well enough to say that coaching in the NBA would be the last on the list. His outside interests in film, video, ecological works and philanthropy are going to take up his time.

Good game, good weekend, good stories

Told you I’d eventually figure out the time zones. Sorry I’m late and figure things will be messed up the East for a day or two, too.

Anyway …

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Heckuva game, no?

As expected, it was an exhibition for about three quarters – although there was a bit of an edge to it at times a lot earlier than usual – before it got down to real competition.

And I tell you, watching Kobe and LeBron go at each other down the stretch was something to see. James was in full-on attack mode and there’s nothing quite like seeing him go full throttle and Kobe was Kobe, trying (successfully) to dominate the game and he was like an alpha dog all game, clearly intent on making sure everyone knew where they were (his house), who he was (the defending NBA champ) and what he wanted (his fourth MVP).

And as he sat in the media room after the game doing his interviews, the overwhelming sense that one got was that he’d sent a message to the fans and the league and the other players:

“I’m me, I’m not done yet and I’m still better than all of you.”

He’s right, too.

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What was the weekend like?

Very good, as a matter of fact. Good crowds, not bad events, very good game and the requisite celebs everywhere you looked. There were about a billion of them at the game and at every timeout they’d flash them on the screen. Me? I knew a lot of them but someone has to answer the following:

Who, or what, are Neyo and Jason Sudeikis and Will Forte?

I swear, when they put them on the screen, my mind was blank.

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A guy runs into Rick Fox in the corridors of the Staples Centre before the game – I think he’d just come off the Magenta Carpet (guess that’s red, only better) and after the niceties of “how you doing, how’s the family, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah” the conversation goes like this:

He: “You think your guy got robbed in the dunk contest?”

Me: “Oh yeah.”

He: “Me, too. He had the best two dunks. Should have at least made the finals.”

Guess it’s not just us who think that.

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The nights always end with hospitality suite visits at things like this, the league puts on at the media hotel; it’s a pretty good time to catch up with old friends, sip a drink, eat a deep fried brown thing (a wing, a hunk of cheese, other unknown things) and decompress.

Best story of it last night’s an old one, but a good one.

The rooms, back in the day, used to stay open pretty late, or at least a lot later than they do now and there was a fellow who was, um, a regular there.

He gets back to his room, finally, after the game and he’s got a relative early flight and has to wake up.

The call goes, according to legend, like this:

He: “Hello, operator? I need a wakeup call.”

She: “Of course, sir. And what time would you like to get up?”

He: “I need a call for 6 a.m.”

Extended silence.

She: “Sir?”

He: Yes?”

She: “You just missed it.”

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Carmelo gone?

I sure hope so.

But, to recap:

Through most of this weekend, we’ve been inundated with blatant lies about meetings, or no meetings, or who’s pulling what strings while one of the NBA’s top players is conducting de facto job interviews in the middle of the league’s showcase event.

Yeah, that’s got to help the profile of the league with the general public an awful lot.

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Okay, sometimes we, as the media don’t cover ourselves in glory trying to search out good stories with interesting angles. In fact, there are those among us who don’t mind putting words in people’s mouths and taking stuff out of context.

Happened last night and gave Kobe a chance to break up the media room.

He’d gone on early in his media session about how playing with the young kids like Durant and Westbrook had given him a boost of energy. It was entirely about praising the kids and dealing with the specific aspects of Sunday’s game.

Well, that didn’t stop one local from wondering if Kobe was sending a subliminal message to Lakers management about wanting to get some younger guys on his team, as if Kobe wouldn’t just go and tell them anyway.

Well, it sets Bryant off, in a good way.

“Wow. That’s a stretch. You know what? That’s a bikram yoga stretch … Good job. I’m not even going to answer that. That’s just silly.”

Of course, I’d say about 75 per cent of the media room crowd immediately Googled “bikram yoga.”

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Oh yeah, one more on Anthony.

If, as reports suggest a Knicks deal is being held up by the inclusion or exclusion of Timofey Mozgov, someone ought to get fired.

Last I saw, Mozgov was/is a backup centre best known for being dunked on by Blake Griffin and if you shake a tree, six Mozgov’s fall out.

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Speaking of trades, the deadline’s Thursday, I’ll have to spend the rest of today trying to find out what’s going on with the HOTH and here’s one from the mail:

Q: A rainy day question. What becomes of Reggie? Do they showcase him for the rest of the year (get a couple wins) and wish him well. Or do they limit his minutes and let him mentor (I'm not sure who) some players and hope he resigns for the next season.

 

John P, Vernon Hills

A: Actually, it seems to be a pretty nice day out here in L.A. but I know what you mean.

My thoughts, and the indications I get from people I’ve talked to, is that if they can’t get a draft pick (and the less protection on it, the better) in some deal for Reggie, he’s going to be here for the rest of the year.

And I don’t think any team is going to really offer anything for a guy who hasn’t played in two months so I think moving him for some kind of asset would be virtually impossible.

Next year? Well, barring any other transactions, he’d be the fourth man in a rotation of four bigs and it might be a question of whether he wants to come back more than if they want him back.

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Oh yeah. A full mailbag tomorrow but it’s really empty over there right now so while I’m either on the Air Canada flight or waiting out the inevitable delay, I need some good questions about stuff so please, click here and send them along.

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See you back home.

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The Goods On The Game, NBA all-star game

Hey everyone.

What's up?

It's all about the dunks ... or is it?

Some night, no?

Good? Or bad?

The debate rages.

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Okay, the NBA dunk contest is a prop-filled, entertainment-oriented, WWE-style event that has little to do with, you know, athleticism.

And if that’s what it is, that’s what it is but some of us old grumpy codgers aren’t all that thrilled with it.

Yes, jumping over the hood of a small car is no mean feat and the choir was cool and the building was excited for one of the few times of the night.

But I’m going to say this with all due respect to Blake Griffin, who is an ascendant star and an exciting player and the flavour of the month.

I would surmise there are 20, maybe 25 guys in the NBA who can jump over the hood of small car and dunk; I don’t imagine there are five who can take off from the free throw line and dunk like Serge Ibaka did.

And I know DeMar missed a few attempts at the first dunk but taking the ball off the side/back of the board, going between the legs and dunking is hugely impressive and I think he was probably ripped off on his scores for his second dunk and should have made the final.

To me, the four most impressive dunks of the night were:

The two DeRozan did.

Ibaka’s flight from the free throw line.

Griffin hanging on the rim by the elbow after tossing himself a pass.

The other stuff was entertaining, no doubt about it, but was it really good? I wonder.

There is no doubt Griffin and McGee energized the night and created a buzz around the dunk contest that hasn’t been there for years with their use of a car, and a second basket and the little kid’s stuffed animal that Ibaka used was kind of cute.

But is it good long-term? What’s next? They joked about planes and trucks and some prop not thought of yet but, really, what could be next?

Yes, Saturday was in some ways a high-water mark in dunk contest history.

To some, it was a low-water mark just as much.

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So, according to one of those tweety thingies, Reggie Evans is a dad again.

Guess the little fella finally got too bored.

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I have a pretty good seat for the festivities at the Staples Center, first row on the baseline, and it affords a good view of the various big shots hanging around.

Saw lots of things Saturday like Spike Lee in a conversation with Kevin Love, Shaq wandering around talking to anyone he’d see, more unidentifiable hip hop and rap stars than I could possibly count and a whole bunch of Hollywood types I’d probably care about if I knew who they were.

But nothing was quite as interesting as a five-minute conversation that unfolded about 10 feet away.

That’d be the one between David Robinson and U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, a former pro in Australia who played in Friday’s celebrity game.

Robinson built a school in San Antonio and kids’ education is one of his biggest causes and I can imagine, while a whole bunch of other people were hugging and shaking hands and making plans for the night, those two might have been getting some stuff done.

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Know what I’d like to see?

Them turn the Punt, Pass and Kick contest – wait, the Skills Contest – into a race between big men and not point guards.

I’d love to see Shaq, or Duncan, or Dwight Howard or Tim Duncan or someone like that make layups, dribble around pylons and make passes.

That’d be cool.

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Okay, say what you will about the car and the props and the rest of the dunk contest shenanigans but I will make this point:

Everything is better when there’s a gospel choir involved.

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Well, the wireless worked just fine courtside on Saturday night so we’ll try an In-Game Blog Thingy tonight if you like.

Game’s at 8 – well, the show’s at 8, the game will start after 8:30 I understand – and it’s going to be a long one but if you want, we’ll be in our usual place.

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One more thing on the dunk contest:

If they keep the same scoring system, and I’m not sure they should, they need to penalize guys who miss dunks. Or reward guys who get their stuff done on the first try.

After all, it’s supposed to be about making them, right?

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Amir Johnson, walking out of the arena at the end of the night:

“We should have brought a giraffe or something.”

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What to make of the labour stuff?

Well, I guess the good thing is that David Stern didn’t throw a stinkbomb into the issue when he met with us for 45 minutes or so before Saturday’s stuff.

He wasn’t exactly conciliatory but he wasn’t threatening or bombastic or defiant, which is good.

The feeling I get from people I talk to is that things actually will start now, nothing at all has been accomplished in the year or so they’ve been chattering and making doom and gloom pronouncements.

Stern didn’t exactly draw back from his contention that the teams lost a collective $300 million last year but he did say it’s not about the numbers now, it’s about the process of reaching an agreement.

Billy Hunter and Derek Fisher were really good talking about it Friday, giving rise to hopes that maybe saner heads will eventually prevail.

But know this: They are nowhere close to a deal and what I think happens is there might be a lockout in July, which is no big deal since nothing really goes on at that time of year, but they won’t lose any games next fall.

I have no idea what a new deal will look like – the big topic of the moment is having some kind of “franchise” tag applied to a player to assure he can’t leave – but it will be quite different from the system that’s currently in place.

If there was one interesting quote from Stern, it’s one that shows they actually do know the damage they might cause to innocent employees around the league if there is a work stoppage.

“What we have learned, and what the union has learned, is that we both have the capacity to shut down the league; that there’s no magic that’s going to keep this league operating if we don’t make a deal. That’s a very instructive lesson."

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Carmelo traded?

Just heard a guy on TV say he thought the deal would get done if the Knicks throw in Justin Bieber.

Makes as much sense as anything, I guess.

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And, finally, take the East tonight if you’re looking for the winner.

While you're watching, send me mail. Please. Here.

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Carmelo stops the world and Pop does it again

Told you I’d get this time zone thing worked out.

Sorry I’m late.

Well, not really but you get my drift.

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I’m sitting on a bench outside the room where the mass interviews with the all-stars were being conducted Friday afternoon, chatting with an old friend and minding my own business when Carmelo Anthony walks out of the room.

He’s headed over to the escalator that’s about a step away from where I’m sitting and the guy I’m talking to goes over to say hello to Carmelo because he’s known him forever.

Anthony stops and all of a sudden the escalator does, too, causing a bit of a stir to the people both on it and waiting to go up.

Someone says:

“Hey, ‘Melo, did you do that?”

And Anthony replies:

“Nah, I can’t stop everything.”

And it makes a guy think, well, having read about a kabllion trade stories – some of which might even have a kernel of truth – Anthony might want to re-think that statement.

He didn’t get traded overnight, did he?

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Reasons why I love Pop, Vol. 2.

You remember the transcript of the pre-game session with Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and how it was, um, entertaining.

Well, he’s here, of course, as coach of the West, and had to sit through 45 minutes of media Friday. You can imagine how much he loved that.

The questions are far ranging and everyone’s waiting for the one that gets Pop going and it comes when someone asks if he’s anxious to see that Bieber fellow play in the celebrity game.

Pop bites:

“It would be disingenuous of me if I told you how excited I was to see Justin.”

How can you not like the guy.

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I’ve long held that the actual game on all-star weekend is not bad; it’s the Saturday and Friday night stuff that needs jazzing up so suggestions they do something to change the format have generally been met with disapproval here.

Seems that’s how LeBron James feels, too. Or at least that’s what he said during his session with the media when someone suggested they change to the pucks format where two captains choose up sides.

“No, because Eastern Conference, Western Conference, we don't like each other. We would not pick somebody from the Western Conference to be over here to be with us and I don't think they would, either. I don't think it would work.”

The game will, undoubtedly follow the same script it has for about as long as I’ve been coming and probably longer. The first three quarters will be a show and the last quarter might be a game and as long as you go into the night knowing that, it’s all good.

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Now, the same can’t be said for the Rookie-Sophomore thing, won 148-140 in a rather, um, free-flowing game.

There was no stupid “Gilbert Arenas bounces the ball off Carlos Boozer’s head” moment like there once was, and the crowd of mainly young teens apparently loved it.

Me? I think they need to be a bit more serious, at least for a couple of minutes, and should probably take a cue from the oldsters who’ll be out there on Monday.

Oh, I did have an MVP vote and voted for John Wall, who won. And my rational? On a night when we could have given to a couple of guys, Wall got my vote because he did that dance named after me following a particularly nice assist.

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Not one person connected with all-star weekend asked me what I thought of the Kaberle trade.

I appreciated it.

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Let’s get this one out of the mail.

Q: Two All-star questions. I know I am patriotic, but is it not a slap in the face that Steve Nash has been snubbed. Yes it is a guard deep division, but he is a 2X MVP, popular and putting up #'s at or above his other all-star seasons.

Would another 2-time MVP be equally snubbed? In any case the All-Star game is not the spotlight he craves, nor the type of game he tries to take over (i.e. Kobe vs. Lebron).

Add to that really is there any interest in watching the Miami/Boston Eastern conference team tomorrow? Seems to be a further indictment how the league is going where there are only 5-6 teams with a chance in the league, and players trying to choose their team.

 

Anthony F, Toronto

A: I don’t think “snub” is the right word for the Nash situation; if I’m a Western Conference coach, I’m not sure who I’d leave off to put him on the team. And if you factor team success into it, if I was going to make a change, I’d probably find a way to get Tony Parker here since he’s on the best team in the league.

And of course there’s interest in the East team. Not only to see them play but to see how they interact with each other and to see if Doc Rivers plays James, Wade and Bosh 40 minutes each.

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Speaking of mail …

Click. Write. Send.

Haven’t heard from enough of you.

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Best moment of a three-hour stretch in the hospitality suite late last night? When they stop the proceedings to posthumously award Matt Dobek, the late PR guru of the Detroit Pistons, with the Splaver/McHugh "Tribute to Excellence" Award that’s given by the NBA Public Relations Directors’ Association to a current or former member of who has demonstrated an outstanding level of performance and service during his or her NBA career.

Matt died this summer after more than 30 years with Pistons and as the tributes were being made by league officials, a couple of guys who work for individual teams and a guy in charge of the writers association, it was nice to know that in a business that can be cutthroat and confrontational at times, there is a common bond – friendships, fellowship and a feeling that we’re all really in this together and need the support of each other in difficult times.

It was a sad moment but when a quartet of us were sitting on stools a minute earlier for a private tribute, it was nice to remember absent friends.

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A flawed Hall process and what's good and bad about the weekend

Okay, this whole weekend is going to be pretty much HOTH-free, if that’s okay.

They’ve all headed for the hills, there’s nothing really percolating trade-wise, I’m told so we’ll focus on the stuff that’s going on out here, okay?

(Well, actually, it has to be okay; you don’t get to say. And I have no idea about time each day, this time-zone thing always screws me up)

Anyway …

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What do the kids call it these days?

Epic fail?

If you believe the reports out there a couple of places (and this New York Times piece is one of them) the anonymous people who decide who gets to be in the Hall of Fame have somehow, incredibly, shunned Reggie Miller as a finalist for induction on his first chance.

Now, there are serious issues with the Hall of Fame and its selection process that we’ve been trying to get changed for a while and they truly diminish what the hall does.

No one knows who’s on the committee that determines finalists; no one knows who’s on the committee that does the final voting or what those final vote totals are and unless there’s some kind of transparent policy, the Hall loses some of its luster.

Now, Reggie Miller, I think we can all agree, should be a Hall of Famer and I presume eventually he will. But the issue with the selection process are so great, and so significant, that the place that should celebrate the true greats of the game, becomes a bit of a running joke for its process of enshrinement.

Too bad, really. Too, too bad and unless the folks who run the show over there – and as you read in the Times piece Jerry Colangelo said a year ago he’d get the thing fixed up but hasn’t yet – smarten up, it’s going to be hard to take the process seriously.

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I’m a pretty good guy, right? Easy going, polite, say hi to people who say hello, don’t really demand much, take things as they come.

Why, then, are the Travel Gods treating me like the most despicable man in the world and screwing with me every single time I go somewhere lately.

Air Canada got me again Thursday – that’s twice in two freaking days – when the noon flight out here was delayed until 2 p.m. for no state reason. Really. All of a sudden the board at Pearson changed from a 12:10 p.m. departure to 14:00 departure and I never actually heard why and then there are terribly strong headwinds that made it six hours, 15 minutes gate-to-gate instead of the usual five hours or so.

Of course, that gets us to L.A. just after 5 p.m. and the drive downtown from LAX was about an hour of stop and go and I was so, so, so, so happy my friend Stella was in the lounge you can’t believe it.

I’m almost afraid to go to the airport Monday to see what shenanigans await.

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Sometimes the best laid plans don’t quite work out.

The lobby of our hotel here is adorned by murals of NBA players that cover the walls with the LA11 logo on them to celebrate the all-stars.

I’m guessing whoever ordered them up had more than he or she should had in the Western Conference coaches or voters.

It’s nice to see the one of Tony Parker; it’d be nicer if, you know, he was here.

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So who’s here from the Raptors? Well, we know about DeRozan, who’ll have his big Sophomore-Rookie Waste Of Time Game tonight and the dunk contest tomorrow and Amir’s here to be DeMar’s helper on Saturday.

Oh, and The Chicken!

Yep, bringing his/her/its delightful brand of fun and frivolity to the world, he/she/it will do stuff at the Jam Session, some of the D League stuff I think and wherever they ask.

Just thought you might like to know.

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Ranking time:

There are a handful of things this weekend that we all have to take in and some people have asked what’s the best.

So, to answer them – and to give me another item to fill this out and perhaps stir some conversation – here’s how I’d rank them:

The Game

It usually follows a typical script with a lot of goofing off for three quarters before it gets serious and when it does, it can be really good. I remember the one in Washington being very good a few years ago (I think Iverson dominated the end) and I’m hoping this one’s as good.

Three-point shooting

I love watching great shooters shoot and if you get a tight final, it can be quite dramatic.

Skills challenge

Yes, it’s Pass, Punt and Kick for pro basketballers but it does combine different skills and is fun to watch.

Dunk contest

Not much creativity any more, I got the feeling it was pre-ordained the last couple of years and it lost its allure for me the year they spun a wheel to pick out dunks to do and a lot of the guys simply didn’t have the athletic ability to do.

Team shooting

Believe me, if I never, ever see Bill Laimbeer out on the court in a tight jersey shooting with a current NBAer and someone from the WNBA again, I'll be quite happy.

Rookie-Sophomore Game

Yawn. Double yawn. All the fun of the real game except by guys not as good who play with even less enthusiasm. If not for the presence of DeRozan I’d be off somewhere else tonight for sure.

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Okay, I have no idea when the mail’s going to get done, now that I think of it. I figure we’ll have the usual stuff here tomorrow morning, Sunday morning off the Saturday night events and Monday off the end of the weekend so it might be Tuesday or it might just show up as an added bonus some day.

But I do know I need more questions and I put on you to fill up the file.

Write. Click. Send.

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I’m sitting with a couple of NBA big whigs (well, not the biggest of big but pretty darn close) and the subject of all-star weekend comes up.

We’re talking about different cities it’s been in lately – unanimous disapproval of Las Vegas, Dallas sucked because of the snow and was rescued by the stadium, New Orleans was emotional – and someone says, ‘hey, how about Toronto?’

I gasp because it’s an awful lot of work for the home writer and the general consensus is too cold, the arena back of house is too small, the convention centre’s booked at the same time the next two years and I don’t know if it’ll ever come.

Whew!

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Oh yeah, if the dude who was sitting in 16B on the flight from Toronto to Los Angeles yesterday is reading this:

The next time you remove both your shoes – AND SOCKS – in a crowded airplane for a six-hour flight, I would hope the people sitting next to you and breathing in the fumes will let you know it’s not a very bright thing to do.

I was too tired. Or polite. Or something.

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Hey, did Carmelo get traded in the few hours I slept?

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And another return comes and goes

Glad that’s over?

Not nearly as bad as it’s been – I actually saw a few people standing and cheering when Bosh came on the floor, which nice – but it’s nice to have that night out of the way.

What I wonder is when – or if – we’ll feel as much energy in the building supporting the home side as we did in the fourth quarter.

Anyway …

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THREE POINTERS

Trying whatever it takes

We all know that no one outside of Andrea or DeMar could make a shot to save their soul and Jay spent a lot of the night trying to get something going.

And that included playing all three bigs – Bargnani, Davis, Johnson – for a stretch of the fourth quarter. Didn’t work, but it didn’t kill them, either.

“We tried different guys in there, even tried going big to see if we could get one more scorer in there or at least get rebounds if we weren’t going to get that scorer.”

Not sure it’s going to be a regular thing, and I still don’t think it works for any extended period of time but desperate times called for desperate measures.

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Bad math

If Jay had wanted to spend some of his hard-earned salary, he might have made the following point forcefully in his post-game media session:

In the fourth quarter, the Heat shot 17 free throws and the Raptors shot two.

I don’t think the officiating determined the outcome of the game but that’s a wide, wide, wide disparity that’s hard to believe, especially when the Raptors weren’t being predictably passive on offence.

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And, finally …

One last Bosh-crowd thing, and it was bush league.

Knowing that the fans were going to boo, and having heard them boo when he ran onto the court, why in the world would whoever handles such things instruct the scoreboard video cameraman to take a close up of him during the playing of the American national anthem?

I’m pretty sure the guy singing really appreciated it.

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Why would a guy who drives a plane do this?

Why would be sitting there on the plan about 20 minutes from departure time and listen to him say there’s one mechanical glitch that has to be looked at and that the mechanics would be over in 20 minutes to take look and then tell us an hour and 50 minutes later (after we’d de-planed and re-boarded) that we were ready to go.

Would that be because (a) he was making it up; (b) there’s a different time system in Indiana or (c) there were a lot of broken planes at the airport?

Anyone got a guess?

Anyway, given all the travel hell with me and Hoosier-land this season not having to go back is a good thing, methinks.

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Not sure what they expected but there were a lot more uniformed police officers in the arena last night than for a usual game.

And I’m sure a whole bunch of undercover dudes.

But, all in all, it was a rather calm crowd in the vitriol department. And that’s good.

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What’d they say in Miami about the comeback game?

This.

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Now, I was probably never going to stop by the D League all-star game out in L.A. this weekend – I think I’d rather eat nails – but it’s cemented for sure now that I’m not going.

Because neither is Trey Johnson.

He told me last night he’s taking the weekend off to go home and see his family instead of playing in the game and I wonder if last night was the last night we’ll see him around the Raptors.

His second 10-day has expired, it’s time for the Raptors to either sign him for the rest of the year or let him go and I think they’re best suited with keeping an open roster spot until next Thursday’s trade deadline in case Bryan finds some one-for-two deal out there.

Not hearing too many trade rumbles – that’ll like pick up this weekend when a bunch of people are out west – but the flexibility is important.

And having watched the Raptors Not Named Bargnani go 1-for-8 from three-point range and realizing that they remain dead last in the NBA in that skill, if Bryan’s got even a wee tiny deal cooking, it’s got to be for someone with shooting range.

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Here’s one from the mail that gets to a pet peeve of mine, too.

Q; Doug, dude, it bothers me to see guys hugging and shaking hands of opponents before tipoff. Is this beyond the coaches control or do they condone this? Is there any team that doesn't participate in this ritual? I have no problem with players being friends but think that pleasantries should be exhibited in private, not on the battlefield. It just looks wrong.

Mike S, Rexdale

A: I suppose some hard-ass coach could forbid his players from fraternizing as openly as they do but that might be counter-productive and tick them off unnecessarily and coaches have bigger issues to worry about anyway.

But it was interesting to hear Jose last night after the game. He’s probably Bosh’s best friend on the Raptors and someone asked him if he’d talked to Chris before the game.

“Just wished him good luck and maybe now I’ll talk to him a little bit. I think maybe it wasn’t the moment at the beginning of the game.”

I think that’s the way it should be done.

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Wrote about this during the game but for those who missed it, a classic moment unfolded about a row or two behind us.

There was this kid just killing Bosh, about how soft he is and that he sucks and he should retire and it was incessant.

Kid was really loud and ticked off about Bosh’s mere presence.

Might have been taken a little bit more seriously if he wasn’t wearing a Bosh No. 4 Eastern Conference all-star jersey when he was screaming at him.

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Speaking of mail, I’d appreciate some.

Thank you very much, hit the button here and do your stuff.

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All right, I wonder what Air Canada will have in store for me today? Check with later this morning before the noon flight to the fun and hilarity that is all-star weekend.

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The Goods On The Game, Heat at Raptors

Well, well, well.

Wonder what tonight will be like?

It's time to get this game over and done with

Okay, I’m suffering quite a lot from Chris Bosh burnout.

Really.

But I don’t know if you are so …

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It was actually not bad to sit down with Chris with Zic and a gaggle of Miami writers because he did have some marginally interesting stuff to see and, despite his flaws, he has always been willing to engage in conversation.

Nothing earth-shattering, as you know from having poured over this tome, right? But the rather short conversation did cement home one thing I’ve thought about him for a long time.

He wants to be liked. He likes to be liked. He needs to be liked.

Doesn’t make him a bad guy, in fact it makes him like a lot of us, but I wonder if the desire to be all things to all people doesn’t take away from his abilities on the court. He doesn’t have a mean streak about him, which is a good trait in almost every instance, but a wee bit more nasty would have made him that much better a player.

Now, if we can just get tonight over with without any great incident, I’ll be quite happy.

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I have a new thing in basketball that I hate more than anything.

Coaches who call timeouts in the dying seconds of lost causes for no reason other than to show someone that they’re working or something.

Frank Vogel did it in Indy last night, calling one with his team down seven and 15.2 seconds left and Vinny Del Negro did it Sunday with, I believe, his team down six and about five seconds left.

Really, what’s the point?

You think either of them had some super-secret seven-point play they could draw up? And don’t give me the “they get to advance the ball and you never know what’ll happen” stuff; that’s too far-fetched.

I think they do it so they feel good about themselves, they can leave the court knowing they did everything in their power to make themselves noticed or something. Or to drag out a game and make my writing life miserable (and we know, it’s all about me).

It’s right up there with a reset to 14 on the shot clock off a kicked ball and the refs who aren’t going to call a foul if a shot goes in but mysteriously toot their whistle late if there’s a miss.

I’m cranky when it comes to that stuff.

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Want to know what they’re writing in Florida about this gigantic struggle tonight?

Well, Ira’s right hand man Shandel got up to Toronto early and filed this somewhat telling piece; and here’s what Ira had to say about the game in Indy.

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I’ve seen a lot of things on the basketball courts over the years but I cannot ever remember a 90-foot lob pass.

So when Dwyane Wade threw one to LeBron James last night – rebounding a miss under the basket and heaving a perfectly-placed pass to James at the other end, it was perhaps the “wow” moment of the season.

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Phil Kessel scored two goals in one game?

I was going to make some snarky comment but I got distracted by the pigs that were flying past my head.

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Okay, I have a direct 7 a.m. flight from Indy to Toronto and a speaking engagement out in Scarborough at 11 a.m.

Surely to all that’s good in the world, nothing can get screwed up, can it?

Wish me luck.

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I would assume a lot of you read, or heard, about Bill Russell getting the Presidential Medal of Freedom down here yesterday, right?

Now, you know how I feel about Russell and what he meant to the game with all his many accomplishments.

But what he went through off the court was no picnic and he took stances at a time when it was a dangerous thing to do, he broke down barriers (first African-American coach of any pro sports team) and carried himself well in every possible manner.

Now, we can debate the role of athlete’s in a city, whether they should be lionized or loved or simply appreciated for the time they are there before moving on but I don’t think that’s the case with Russell. He was Boston.

And every time I’m in that city and go through the Ted Williams tunnel out of Logan or see the statue of Red at Faneuil Hall or hear them talk about Yawkey Way or the erecting of a statue at the Garden for Bobby Orr, one thing comes to mind: When are they going to get around to doing something for Russell. And I mean something big.

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Send me some mail.

Please.

Here.

I’ve got five hours to kill in a plane, the current issue of The New Yorker has been read; not sure how much of Vanity Fair’s Hollywood Edition I can handle and I need something to kill some time.

Thanks.

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So I’m sitting on a stool after the game typing some of this stuff up and the fellow next to me looks over and says: “It’s too late to be working, man.”

And I’m thinking, I need to put that guy in touch with the honchos at the Home Office.

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You remember TJ Ford, right?

Slight fellow who played in Toronto once?

Well, he’s still in Indy – ran into him in the hallway at Conseco the other day – but he’s certainly not part of any Pacers future.

They’ve been trying to trade him for about a year and haven’t been able to finalize a deal and you know they are working diligently to ship him about before Feb. 24.

I have no idea whether he can still play even a little bit – and I would suspect the answer is no since he hasn’t now for two different Pacers coaches – but I will always give him this: After every game or practice, he’d walk by the assembled media and ask, “do you guys need me?” and not too many athletes do that.

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The things you see when you’re paying a little attention when you normally don’t:

Roy Hibbert skips rope on the court before the game to get loosened up.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before.

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What’s the rest of the week look like around these parts?

Good question that I don’t really have an answer for.

Guess there’ll be the usual gobbledy-gook here in the morning before a noonish flight to L.A. and I’m wondering about the advisability of an IGBT on Sunday night?

May as well, right?

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A big day coming and a big night ends quietly

Many, many digressions today since all I saw yesterday were airports, a hotel and about 40 seconds of an optional Miami Heat workout.

Oh, and one of the oddest, or saddest, Valentine’s Day moments I’ve seen.

Read on, please.

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So, Bosh.

Boo? Cheer? Silence?

I have a feeling on what’s going to happen, there will be venom spewed and the game will devolve into just another night but here’s one thing I’d like to point out.

Did you ever stop to think that maybe Bosh did the franchise a favour by moving on?

How many of you who will boo and get angry and hate him spent the past few years in hand-wringing angst about the Raptors being unable to really make a move up the standings?

And was that because they had one guy who dominated everything and nothing they could put around him worked?

You know how I feel, that Bosh was a sublimely talented player saddled with a group around him that never really meshed. Was it his fault that Jermaine O’Neal didn’t pan out? Did he show up fat and uninterested any year like Hedo Turkoglu did? Was his fault he played for three head coaches and under four general managers in seven years?

And maybe him moving on was a cleansing moment for the franchise. It allowed the HOTH to truly get on with the process of improvement, and going young and seeing how things can build from the ground up rather than with one piece of a puzzle already in place.

This is a difficult and trying year for everyone connected with the team but maybe it’s a necessary step back to eventually make a step forward. And I’m not sure either of those steps could have been taken if Chris had stayed.

I will say this: Over his seven years in Toronto, Bosh was a loyal and diligent employee. He played to the best of his abilities, was a good teammate and excellent player on the court.

He was – and this debate will rage for years, I believe – the best or second best talent to ever put on a Toronto uniform but the time had come when he had to go, for his own sake and, as it may turn out, for the sake of the franchise.

Boo him if you like; but in your minds, know that you owe him some thanks, too.

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What’d I miss around the Raptors?

Well, seems very little.

Did talk to one guy last night and the overwhelming sense I get about the game tomorrow night is “ho-hum.”

Fans may get worked up but the players – most of them – see it as another game. They’ve already played against Chris twice so that’s not going to be a new experience. They know it’s a cruel business sometimes and players make decisions for their own personal reasons.

The one thing I got from talking to a few guys here and there, though, is that the energy in the building will be fun, it’ll turn a game into an event

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I notice Carmelo Anthony hasn’t been traded yet.

Man, I can’t wait for Feb. 25.

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Okay, this is getting ridiculous.

Remember the flight delay I had to sit through when the co-pilot was stuck in traffic?

Well, I beat that on Monday morning.

We’re told the 6:30 a.m. American Airlines flight from Pearson to Chicago, where I was to meet up with the American Airlines flight over to Indy, would be delayed half an hour.

No reason, just a half hour delay.

Well, it turns out we were delayed – get this! – because the fire alarm in the Toronto hotel the pilots were staying in went off and they were trapped outside without their bags and couldn’t get to the airport on time to drive the plane.

Yep, a stupid fire alarm in some stupid hotel backed us up just enough that the extra 20-minute wait for a ground hold in Chicago, where the wind was blowing (a shocker!!!!), made me miss the connection and spend a delightful two extra hours in O’Hare.

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Why can’t I get the sound of Jim Nabors singing Back Home Again In Indiana out of my head?

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Bobcats 109, Lakers 89.

That’s why they play the games.

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The nice things people do.

The plane at the gate next to us at O’Hare was headed for Atlanta and about half an hour before it’s to board, a U.S. soldier in uniform comes wandering by.

As soon as he sees him, the gentlemen doing the paperwork for the flight says, “come here, sir” and prints him out a new boarding pass with an upgrade to first class.

That should happen for every Canadian and American soldier at every airport for every flight as a matter of course.

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All right, I don’t know if this is sad or what but it was a fascinating moment to an eavesdropper.

I stopped by to see Elmo’s cousins – Harry and Izzy, who live next door (that’s going to take some deep Hoosier knowledge to get) – and when I’m on my stool this guy sits down a couple of seats away.

Dressed to the nines, three-piece suit, I hear him ask about the timing for a meal. He’s got a friend joining him and he wants the Cosmo perfectly chilled but not watered down, he wants the lobster tail hot and the drawn butter at the perfect temperature at precisely 7:30 because the lady will be joining him.

Oh, then he says he’s been trying to convince this woman to see him for months but when he mentions her, um, boyfriend my ears perk up.

Well, 7:30 comes and goes and I’m thinking this can’t possibly end well when all of a sudden here she comes, about 15 minutes late. She’s much younger, quite the looker and they seem to be quite happy. The cosmo’s good, the lobster looks delicious and he’s over the moon happy.

Well, now it’s time for another drink and he offers her another cosmo but, no, it’s time for another lobster tail and he says, ‘why not, give the lady what she wants.’

He’s happy. Quite happy.

Lobster’s done, I figure they toddle off for a walk or a nightcap or whatever (I couldn’t leave until this little drama plays out) when all of sudden, the girl gets up, says goodbye and is gone.

I figure the guy’s got to be crestfallen, right? Nope. He seems openly glad for the time he had and after I pay up and am about to leave, he’s in the same stool, having the fourth martini of his night.

I have no idea of the back story or what but it was an interesting evening to say the least.

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And with that, I’m off to find some basketball to write about.

Don’t forget the mail if you want to say hi. You can do it here.

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