Guess I take back what I said; thanks, American Airlines

Well, well, well.

Seems the boading process was just a psych job, we’re half an hour delayed at least and that’s just enough time to get this done.

And it takes the pressure off at the other end.

-

THREE POINTERS

Well …

What did you think of him?

Blake Griffin, of course, or The Next Big Thing.

Tell you the truth, I was a bit underwhelmed but I’ll cut the kid a little bit of slack since it’s about Rookie Wall time, middle of a long road trip, bad team, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

He does seem to play hard – although there were a few loafing defensive plays I happened to catch – and seems to have great footwork around the basket.

He’s good, definitely the rookie of year and he could be extra special when it’s all done; off one game, I’m not quite ready to call Springfield yet.

-

Whose fault is it?

Hey, did you see early in the game when Randy Foye absolutely blew by DeMar DeRozan and finished with a big dunk?

Then did you see DeMar turn around and look at Amir and say, “where the bleep were you?”

And Amir took full responsibility for blowing the help, he turned to DeRozan and said, ‘yep, you’re right’ and things were all well and good.

While that’s not quite the kind of “communication” coaches want (they’d rather it comes before the uncontested dunk, you know) at least there was recognition that something bad had happened and responsibility taken.

-

An odd, odd look

Were you as surprised as I was to see Trey Johnson out on the floor to finish off the first half?

With Jose, against a backcourt of Bledsoe and Davis, as I recall.

All part of the pre-game planning, according to Jay.

“Trey’s a little bit bigger and we could put him on Baron Davis, he could be a little bit more physical, and that stopped him from trying to go down into the low post area and try to post up. When they went with two smalls, like we knew they would, we talked about different rotations and who could guard who down there.”

-

More?

I’ve got some.

-

Here’s one for you:

How would have liked Blake Griffin in a Raptors uniform?

You have to trust me on this but it comes from a guy I trust without doubt and it works like this.

Way back after the Clips on the lottery, there was a call made to determine if there was any interest in a deal that would have sent Chris Bosh to the Clippers for the No. 1 overall pick with Toronto willing to take back the then-monstrous contract of Baron Davis in the deal.

Didn’t happen, too bad.

-

Time to say thanks.

Checked out the counter thingy on the hits to this place Sunday morning to get a mail bag answer and I see it’s gone over the 16,000,000 mark.

I realize it’s a function of time as much as anything but, really, a word of thanks to the Irregulars and others who keep coming here, even when things are bad with the team.

-

Oh, yeah, Super Wife, you there?

Happy Valentine’s Day!

-

Okay, how about this:

The league leader in dunks is Dwight Howard, who had 145 before the game against the Lakers on Sunday.

The leading Raptor?

Amir Johnson, who had 57 before Sunday.

Not sure what it means but I bet some of you will find it marginally interesting.

-

Pitchers and catchers today or this week?

Outstanding.

-

From the Department of Glutton For Punishment, I offer:

Guess where I am or are going.

Indianapolis, depending on when you’re reading this.

Yeah, I haven’t had enough of that fine city and relish the chance of a snow and/or ice storm but am headed back to catch up with that Bosh fellow for a day or two (Miami gets the Pacers on Tuesday) before the Heat hit Toronto on Wednesday night.

I have no idea what he’s going to say about coming back, or whether he’ll have any nugget of news to impart but as I told a friend the other day, you never know what might happen.

Besides, two days of not having to go to practice here might be the kind of break I need heading into the all-star break.

-

How’d that Raptors-Clippers game go over in Los Angeles?

Let’s check the pages of the Times, shall we?

-

So for some reason known only to the people who control the channel-changer at this little bar I go to after games, I got to watching the end of Grammy Awards with someone who knows far, far, far more about current music than I do.

Turns out the dude Wyn Butler from Arcade Fire, yeah, the ones who won the big award at the end of the show, is a big basketball fan – big guy, too, at about 6-7 – and he plays a little bit, as well.

Plays so much that after some gig they did here in the summer, I guess it was, he and a couple of his buddies that got hooked up in a little pickup game with noted music fan Matt Bonner.

Man, the crap you learn here! Impressive, no?

-

You saw the little contretemps between Jose and Baron Davis, right?

The one where Davis got the technical foul?

Well, seems there was nothing really untoward about it, Jose said he had the ball after a whistle, Davis wanted, Jose didn’t want to give it up and Davis said something inappropriate.

But the two seemed to be going at it pretty hard at it all night and when I asked Jose after the game if there’s any history or bad blood between the two, he was genuinely surprised.

Seems Calderon and Davis are both clients of the shoe company Li Ning, they spent time together in China this past summer and if there are issues, it’s news to Jose.

-

All right, now it’s almost time to board again. Really. Or at least that’s what they say.

-

Oh yeah, because of the travel and now the delay, no idea when I'll get to the comments, but I will.

 

The best laid plans sometimes go awry; I'll be way late today

Okay folks, you’re going to have to hang in there for a bit.

It’s about 5:45 a.m. here, I’m about to board an airplane on a super secret mission, I’m going on about three hours sleep and as much as I’d hoped to have the usual fare done before I flew, it’s not going happen.

But I’ll be up here later this morning, I’m guessing between 11 and noon, with all the goodies you’d normally expect.

Quick recap of last night?

Game quickly devolved into same old, same old Clippers-Raptors, a rather dull affair that someone had to win.

Yes, Blake Griffin had one tremendous dunk and so did DeMar but the best young kid on the floor was probably Ed Davis.

But it was nice to see a sellout crowd that seemed to have fun and puts some energy into the crowd.

Anyway, they’re on Group 1 and I’m in Group 3 so it’s almost time to get on the big bird.

Be back when I can.

 

 

 

 

The Goods On The Game, Clippers at Raptors

Hi folks.

Good weekend?

Time for the mail on a quiet Sunday morn

A rack of ribs, watching a couple of games with Super Son, bed early. Yeah, Saturday as okay.

And this is shorter than usual, which is all right because the game’s at 6 p.m., not 7 p.m., and you all have to be in place for the IGBT, right?

-

Q: Hi Doug. I hope you don't mind a non-Raptors question about a certain star coach in the news: Jerry Sloan.

Most of the talk surrounding him is that he's lost the confidence and ears of his players, but it seems obvious to me that he's quitting now, so that he'll have a better chance to win by replacing Phil Jackson when he retires.

So with all your insight on the league, I ask you: Is this truly Jerry Sloan's swan song, or is he just setting himself up for the best chance at a championship?

Thanks a-plenty

 

Charlie D, Montreal

A: From what I know of Jerry Sloan, and what I know of the events that transpired this week, I would be absolutely stunned if he ever graces an NBA bench again.

Sometimes, you throw your arms up and it’s time to go. For good.

-

Q: Doug - who is the all-time leading Raptor in blocks? For points and rebounds its Bosh and assists its Alvin Williams?

Cheers.

 

Jamil B, Sydney Australia

A: Career? A fellow by the name of Bosh, with an even 600. And, yes, he leads in points (10,275) and rebounds (4,776) and Jose is the career leader in assists with 2,778.

-

Q: Hey Doug! Read the blog every day and always enjoy when you let us know of different anniversaries of the day. I was just wondering though, when is the Raptor Blog's Birthday? More importantly, is it what you thought it would be when you first envisioned it?

We appreciate all the hard work Doug!

 

Steve T, Ajax

A: I don’t actually remember it’s specific birthday, guess the epidural must have kicked in but I believe it was in 2007 when we were Italy for training camp.

And I had no idea what it would actually become, I certainly didn’t expect it to take over so much of my work life but as I look at the counter and see we’ve topped 16,000,000 hits since we began, it’s probably worth it.

And indicative of the changing media world I live in.

-

Q: Hi Doug. What a week that was. Seismic shifts all over the place. And not the least among them was Jerry Sloan's resignation. I sure hope it was more a case of him leaving on his own terms than any other scenario. Because he deserves that, in my opinion. And while it's true he never coached the Jazz to a Championship, if Jordan and those guys from Chicago not been around while Utah had some of their best teams, I don't think that would have been the case. Which makes me think about Championships and timing. As Sloan and the Jazz bumped up against Jordan and the Bulls, can you think of other teams that were very good, but just not good enough to beat the Dynasties of their Day? And players and coaches whose legacies were perhaps "unfairly" impacted??

Thanks

 

Lorie P, London

A: I’ll give you three teams off the top of my head.

Cleveland, when the Cavs couldn’t get past those Jordan-era Bulls; Atlanta, as I recall, couldn’t ride Dominique Wilkins past Boston and while this may be a stretch, those Wilt Laker teams that could very seldom beat Russell and the Celtics might be the third.

As for individuals? I guess you might be able to say Wilkins but that’s probably be it for me.

-

Q: Hey Doug. I posted this in the comments this week and you didn't have time to answer then so I thought I'd try again here, as this is likely a better place to ask this kind of question. And since they will have just left town, it rates as somewhat timely:

Brandon Roy is poised to return to action for Portland, and the fact the Trail Blazers have posted a winning record in his absence, prompted me to look up their current active roster to see if it was readily apparent why their record is significantly better than the Raptors. They have experienced a similar injury profile this season (worse over the last couple of years) to the heart of what was supposed to be a promising young team. When I look at the Blazers rotation made up of LaMarcus Aldridge, Wes Matthews, Nic Batum, Joel Przybilla, Andre Miller, Rudy Fernandez and Patrick Mills it really makes me wonder how they've managed. I think if you concede that LaMarcus Aldridge is better than Bargnani (which is debatable, but for the sake of this comparison I'm willing to do) I'm still hard-pressed to see that rotation as appreciably better than the Raps.

So first, between the Blazer group or the Raptors current 8 man rotation which do you think is better?

And second, to what would you attribute the relative success of these Trail Blazers, given their injury woes and having to play in the Western Conference.

 

Richard E, Toronto

A: I’d suggest that, today, it is appreciably better because Miller and Przybilla have loads of experience and Fernandez has been in more big games than anyone other than Calderon on the Raptors and I truly believe that experience is a huge factor in the success of a group.

I think Fernandez would be the starter here and I know Przybilla would have a huge role in a Raptors frontcourt.

Now, I’m sure Nate McMillan has his team playing defence at a higher level than the Raptors, which would also have something to do with it, but that’s also a matter of the skill level of the team.

-

Q: Has there ever been a case where a player gets traded, plays a game for the new team and then an unforeseen problem voids the trade and the player is sent back to his original team?

 

Detliff B, Toronto

A: No, not if he’s played a game, it can’t happen. There have been trades rescinded for medical reasons after they’ve been agreed to and approved by the league but once a guy plays, there is no looking back.

A milestone for a building and a great, great board game

Ever see this before? Over-matched team hangs in there, plays hard, takes lead, loses lead, loses game?

Nah, I didn’t think so.

Anyway …

-

THREE POINTERS

Guarding big with little

How many times did we see Dante Cunningham of the Blazers, much smaller and slighter, get right up into Andrea Bargnani on the perimeter and make it impossible for the Raptor to get off a quick shot? About 90 per cent of the time?

But to his credit, Bargnani did put the ball on the floor more last night than he has in weeks and try to create either space to shoot or a path to the basket.

It turned out okay, he took only one three-pointer and got to the line nine times, which is more than he’s been there in 15 games but I’ve got a feeling that when teams watch the tape of that one, he’s going to end up seeing a lot of smaller defenders.

-

Small ball?

I know it was in a lot of ways a reaction to what Portland was doing but I didn’t mind – particularly offensively – Toronto’s small lineup of Calderon, Barbosa or Bayless, DeRozan, Weems and Bargnani.

There were points where there was good ball movement on offence and a lot of trying to get to the rim and it made for some difficult matchups.

Defensively/ Well, at times it was a train wreck but this team can be a train wreck with a traditional lineup out there.

Jay alluded to in the post-game session with just a little bit of exasperation.

“They went with a smaller lineup and we were able to take advantage of it at the one end, Ed Davis with a rebound over a smaller guy but we don’t convert on the free throws (Davis missed both attempts with the Raptors up five) and then at the other end I think they scored nine straight times.

“That’s the ball game right there.”

-

He loved it

To a point.

That’d be Jerryd Bayless, of course, who got into one of those zones in the fourth quarter, when he scored all 18 of his points.

Kind of interesting to see a Raptor kind of mugging and taunting an opponents bench after making a series of big shot and it was okay since, at the time, they were ahead.

But it was also nice to hear Bayless say the right things post-game.

“It would have felt good if we had won. When I was in New Orleans, we beat them and I didn’t have half as good a game and it felt a lot better.”

-

A little bit more?

I’ve got some.

-

Hey, know what tomorrow is?

Besides Sunday, of course.

It’s the 500th regular season game in the history of the Air Canada Centre.

Not bad, eh?

I saw the note from the hard-working staff of J. LaBumbard – and you know who you are, able to take time out from draft preparations – and it got me thinking.

How many of those 500 might I have seen?

It probably has to be 490, I bet. I remember missing Tracy’s first game back because I was in Minneapolis covering a Final Four; I know I missed a Spurs game while waiting out a snow-caused flight delay at Logan and I’m sure there are six or seven others I might have missed for some reason. Although I’m not sure of that, now that I think of it.

Now, trying to come up with the five best or so is impossible because they all tend to blend together with the passage of time and the ravages of age but there’s one thing I remember clear as a bell.

The first basket.

It was a lob from Oak to Vince off a back-screen for a dunk because Butch, who was the coach at the time, always had a flair for the dramatic and it was like the perfect announcement of the team coming to its new home.

The old standards come floating back to memory:

Triple overtime against the Kings when Peja hit the dagger right in front of the Raptors bench.

A Chris Bosh three from the far corner to beat Houston in OT when Jeff Van Gundy was coaching there.

The Carter play in OT when he was with the Nets to win a game.

The Day of Donyell when he made a billion threes against the Sixers and we couldn’t quite figure out why they didn’t guard him.

And one of the best?

It was the day I didn’t have to cover the game for some reason I forget (maybe I had a flight later that night) and Super Son and I sat in the stands, about halfway up the lower bowl across from where we sit and watched a Golden State game. That was a very cool day, the only time I’ve watched a game live with him.

-

Digression time.

Sorry.

But this is very, very cool and it’s going to take People Of A Certain Age to get it.

Strat-o-Matic is 50 today!

It’s a great, great old baseball board game, you play with dice and charts and cards for players and different situations and news of its birthday really takes me back.

Now, I’m not old enough to remember the first year but I do know the first pretend baseball game I ever played was Strat-O-Matic; you’d sit there and roll the dice and look at the result depending on the pitcher and hitter and it was a riot.

You can have all these new-fangled video games and their HD Reality but I’ll tell you, sitting around a table with perhaps a libation and rolling dice and hoping for a homer or a double play is an awful lot of fun.

And now I think I need to go to a store and see if I can find one.

-

How’d that one go over in Portland?

Like this.

-

You know, it’s all well and good that Cleveland won – and I am truly glad that it didn’t end at the buzzer with Blake dunking on Jamario’s head at the buzzer to win – but, really, the confetti and streamers pouring down from the rafters?

A bit much, no?

If they beat the Wizards on Sunday, do they give everyone a million dollars?

-

Hey, people, Super Son and I are spending a quiet night at home while Super Wife lauds Hazel at some black tie gala where I’d be brown shoes so let’s have some mail, can we?

(He’ll be off doing 14-year-old Wii/fFacebook things so I’ll have some idle time this evening, I’m sure)

Click. Write. Send. Chat.

Thank you.

-

 

 

The Goods On The Game, Blazers at Raptors

Hi, all.

How's tricks?

(How many people automatically thought ... "tricks are for kids."

Anyway ...

A sad day and some favourite things

Very, very slow day in Raptors land – and we can use a couple of those very now and then – but still all kinds of stuff out there.

Like …

-

The NBA is a worse place today.

I don’t know the inner workings of the Utah Jazz and what Deron Williams or any player did or didn’t do that led Jerry Sloan to walk away from his job yesterday but whatever happened left a diminished league in its wake.

Yes, that the NBA is a “players league” is hardly a big secret and you know that I think coaches generally get too much credit and too much blame but, still, a rock like Sloan should never be forced out by any player group of players.

But from what little I knew of Sloan – and it wasn’t much except a couple of conversations a year and Sloan stories shared with mutual friends – I’m not at all surprised he just said “screw it, I’m leaving.”

If there was one thing about him that shone through over all these years, it was that he was his own man and did what he wanted.

Maybe leaving your job on your terms is a good thing, you don’t get fired, you get to pick the time, and you get to go on your terms.

Maybe the winner in all of this is Sloan. He did what he wanted when he wanted.

I do think all NBA coaches should wear John Deere hats some night as a tribute because just about every time I saw Jerry leaving an arena after a shootaround, that’s what he had on his head.

He is a decent, good man. I’d see him twice a year, at most, and he’d always stop to talk and say hello and just shoot the breeze. The guy sat in the media room with us shmoes every game and had dinner next to Phil Johnson and I can honestly say I’ve never, ever seen another NBA head coach do that.

The league’s a lesser place today because he’s not in it.

-

So, wonder how Amir will hurt himself tonight?

Will his back lock up? Roll an ankle. Tweak a knee?

You know something’s likely to happen, it seems to quite often, but you also know one other thing:

The kid is going to keep playing.

There is no doubt that this has been a terrible season for the HOTH (Heroes Of The Hardcourt for those just joining) but maybe the best and most surprising thing has been Johnson’s effort and I think my admiration for him gets greater every day.

This kid just plays hard, all the time, and he plays hurt and seems like a very good teammate. Doesn’t demand the ball or shots and goes out and does his level best every night.

Now, he’s not perfect and there’s still lots more that he can do but for those of you looking for some positive signs, watch him.

-

An old Jerry Sloan story many of you have read or heard but this is for those who haven’t.

We’re in Salt Lake City in Haffa’s rookie year and Araujo’s a bit of story out there, having gone to BYU and the late Larry Miller had once said the Jazz would have taken him if the Raptors hadn’t.

(Yeah, right)

TV woman: Coach, it’ll be nice to see Araujo tonight, won’t it?

Sloan: Who?

Me: Hahahahahahaha. (Not really but it was hard to suppress the giggles).

-

Got to thinking the other day (idle time’s a dangerous thing and I’ve had some this week) after suggesting that Ray Allen shooting a three is the prettiest thing in basketball about what else is best in other sports and games and this is what I came up with.

A triple to right.

Especially a triple where the guy just barely beats the throw at third. There’s something about seeing the ball on a rope on the relay chasing the hitter to third. I can watch triples all day.

A perfect 7-iron to inches.

Not one that lands 30 feet behind the pin and backs up but a nice, soft, fading 7-iron that hits, maybe bounces once and rolls up to be a tap-in. Jarring it’s a fluke, and fun to see, but watching the ball in flight is something nice. Not that I’ve ever done it, of course.

A perfect out pattern.

You know the one, about 20 yards, ball thrown on a line before the receiver makes his cut, thrown to the outside so no one can possibly get it except the guy it’s intended for.

A breakout pass.

Goal line to red line, tape to tape to a guy skating on an angle for a breakaway.

And, to me, the best thing you can see:

A backdoor slider.

The perfect pitch, freezes a hitter, starts outside, catches the black and all you can do is shake your head and tip your cap. Beautiful.

Pardon the digression.

-

Another giant weighs in.

Read this by Jack on Jerry, please.

-

With the deadline fast approaching, let’s get this one out of the mail:

Q: When looking at trading a player, do GM's ever consider the popularity of the player with fans? Am thinking about the Reggie trade speculation. Your story this week just made me love him even more.

K J, Toronto

A: No, GMs know that they have to sometimes make hard decisions on popular players – either by trading them or letting them leave as free agents – but they take a calm, measured approach to it and can’t take in the feelings of the fans.

The GM will know he’s going to be criticized and that some fans will be hurt but if there’s a deal to be made he thinks will improve his team, he’s going to make it, regardless of a player’s popularity.

-

Hey, Portland’s here and Marcus isn’t going to play and that’s not unusual because it seems that no matter what team he plays for, when they get here, he misses the game.

It’s the story of the day in our regular check with what’s up with the other team as you can see right here.

-

Speaking of mail, there’s not a lot over there and I think you should send me some notes, thank you very much.

Click here to do it.

-

Okay, we’re here tonight for the IGBT, right? See you then.

-

 

 

 

Of executing and Pop's pre-game classic

Good game, no?

But how good must it feel to be the Spurs knowing that when crunch time comes, you’re going to execute with purpose and precision and win?

Bet it feels good.

Just like you will after you read all of this.

-

THREE POINTERS

Gentle words

Ed Davis absolutely bricks a free throw (I thought he might have been shooting blindfolded) with about three minutes left in the third quarter and for some odd reason the Spurs call a timeout before he shoots his second.

As he’s getting close to the bench, Alex English is on his feet on his way out to greet him, telling him to take his time, follow through, calm down and go through his routine.

And Ed goes out and misses the second.

-

Good execution

Not too many little things about the Raptors often work out so why not look at one that did.

With about 31 seconds left in the third quarter, they’ve got the ball out of bounds and a perfect chance to go two-for-one on final possessions. Now, sometimes they inbound the ball, there’s some confusion and too much dribbling and the opportunity is lost.

Not this time.

Jay draws up a play where DeRozan inbounds to Johnson (Amir, not Trey) takes an immediate hand-off and goes right to the rim and scores.

Raps get a steal on the next possession, DeRozan again goes to the bucket and is fouled, makes one of two and they end the quarter up three and feeling good about themselves.

Not big, but something.

-

Tough way to get hurt

I love the way Amir Johnson plays and his double-double last night was impressive, given the opposition.

And given the fact he hurt his ankle early in the game.

But to hurt it after trying to reach up through the net and knock away a ball that was already in the basket?

Silly.

Good guy, sometimes he just does, you know, things.

-

And on we go …

-

Just wondering.

How good would it have been if Barbosa has missed that second free throw with 21.2 seconds left, the Spurs had won by – yep – 12 and fans would have been denied cheap food after an entertaining game?

Just about perfect, I say.

-

We all know Matt Bonner is going to go on and do great things when his playing career is over.

He’s just got that kind of personality.

Maybe politician?

Well, he hopes to start that in the next couple of weeks because he told us before the game that he plans to run for a vacant vice-president’s job with the NBA Players Association during elections at the all-star break.

He says he doesn’t have to have do a lot of campaigning because it’s one of those “nominate yourself, show-of-hands” kind of election.

Too bad; bet his “chicken in every pot” stump speech would be a good one.so

-

What’s up in San Antonio?

This is up in San Antonio.

-

Ah, Pop.

No one quite like him; not sure I’d want to cover him every day but every now and then …

He’s a verbatim transcript of most of his pre-game media scrum, which was the best of the season in this arena so far this season.

Me: We have the obligatory Matt Bonner is back question? How’s he been playing since his knee injury and have you been seeing improvement/

Him: Last night was his first night back and he did fine.

Me: There was some suggestion he might be interested in being in the three-point contest all-star weekend. As a franchise … would you like to see him there or did you lobby to get him there?

Him: We don’t do much lobbying but if he went to it, that’d be fine, I don’t really care one way or the other.

Me: Neither do I, I’m just trying to elicit a quote.

Him: Yeah. I know, I’m not that helpful, I realize.

Me: That’s quite all right.

Him: But I just don’t care.

(Me, to myself: okay, let’s try another angle)

This rodeo trip, do you get used it as the years go by? Is it easier to manage players?

Him: I don’t think about it. I’m a real simple guy.

Me (to myself) Arrgh!

You’re killing me here.

Him: I’ll make up some stuff so you’ll have something good. I’ll get funny.

Time to let someone else have a shot:

Guy: Gary Neal’s had a sore knee. How is it?

Pop: Why don’t you ask Gary, I really don’t know how his knee feels, I really don’t know. He plays.

Guy: How’s he been playing for you?

Pop: Pretty good, pretty good.

Guy: Seems his defence is good …

Pop: His defence stinks. His defence stinks.

Guy: Is that because he’s a rookie

Pop: No, he’s just bad at it, he’s just bad at it. We’re on him, trying to get it better – that’s a decent quote, isn’t it? – … we’re rolling now.

Guy: What’s he do well

Pop: He shoot very well.

Guy: He seems to shoot a lot of threes, is that the main part of his game?

Pop: You’re right on it. That’s what he does.

Now I’m rolling my eyes, laughing a bit, Pop’s chuckling and the whole thing is spiraling out of control.

It ends like this:

Fellow: Seems to be your style, but you seem to fly under the radar despite having the best record in the NBA, does it bother you hearing all talk about the Heat and Lakers and those other teams?

Pop: We’ve only been together here for about a four-minute period but what do you think? Do you really think I give a damn about what anybody says about anything?

And off we go, shaking out heads, to see Jay.

-

Did you notice that the Spurs are likely to have as many, if not more, wins by the all-star break than a Toronto team has ever won in an entire season?

-

Not sure than any of you can possibly have any questions left after yesterday afternoon’s session (and you were a cranky lot, I must say) but, if you do, click here and send ‘em because I cannot wait to hear what’s on your mind.

Really.

-

So Ray Allen’s probably going to pass Reggie Miller as the all-time leader in three-point field goals tonight (I know, I screwed up yesterday, hope not too many of you were clicking around dial looking for the game) and there’s been a lot written about him in the past few days.

Nothing will beat this and you’d better read it.

-

 

 

The Goods On The Game, Spurs at Raptors

Good evening, fine people.

Everyone well?

Live at 12:30 p.m.: Raptors Q&A with Doug Smith