Statistical anomalies and cops and lawyer all-stars

 

We truly have a series of short, unrelated items here this morning for your reading and listening pleasure, mostly because there’s not an awful lot going on and I didn’t have a lot of time either last night or this morning to sit around dream stuff up.

Better tomorrow, promise.

-

Yes, I did hear that Andrea Bargnani had 19 rebounds – yes, in ONE GAME! – as the Italian national team beat Brigham Young in an exhibition game yesterday.

All I can say is that never would have happened if Hoffa had been there.

But it does sort of go to show you that anyone can do anything one time and all we really need to do when we hear that kind of news or those kinds of stats is roll our eyes, smirk and get ready for the next report.

I did find it kind of interesting that with less than a week before EuroBasket 2011 that Italy is playing games against an obviously over-matched American college team. The other teams, I’m hearing, have finished their exhibition games and are now in final training camps before the tournament begins next Tuesday.

Am also trying to piece together some big preview for the weekend paper – that’ll be this morning’s task while sipping the quad vente latte here at Starbucks The Lane – and it’s hard to get my head around just how good this tournament will be.

I know we’ll have to pay particular attention to the one in Argentina because Canada’s in it and there’s so much on the line, but EuorBasket in Lithuania is shaping up as maybe the best basketball tournament ever.

Wish I was there but can’t wait to at least see some of it and have my spies report in on how intense it is.

I still contend the two best basketball games I ever saw were the 1998 world championships final between Russia and Yugoslavia and the ’02 words between Yugoslavia and Argentina and the level of intensity and competition in Lithuania starting next week – with two Olympic berths on the line, not to mention bragging rights – will be off the charts.

Too bad we’re not that good as a country, I’d love to see the day when our national team creates the furor and ignites the passion that others get to live every year or so.

I don’t imagine we’ll ever get there, but it’s a good dream to have.

-

Holy crap.

It wasn’t three weeks ago that I was sitting in the Rogers Centre media dining room eating with and listening to Mike Flanagan tell stories.

And now he’s dead.

Man, it hits hard.

I know we hear all the time about former athletes passing away long before their time but this guy was only a few years older than I am and sat there telling tales without a care in the world.

I didn’t cover the Jays when he played in Toronto but all of my friends in the business tell me there might not have been a better quote in the business. Funny, understood it was a game first an foremost and always had time to share a story and provide a quip.

They don’t make ‘em like that any more.

Sucks.

Big time.

-

So, not sure if you’ve heard but apparently Chris Bosh and Carmelo Anthony are going to make guest appearances on Law and Order, SVU next month.

Now, if I had to rank the Law and Orders, it’d go:

The real one.

SVU

Criminal Intent

The aberration that is Law and Order, Los Angeles.

Anyway, the news that those two athletes are going to be on there gets a guy to thinking …

A Law And Order All-star Team

Adam Schiff

Ben Stone

Abby Carmichael

Lenny Briscoe

Anita Van Buren.

That’s a Murderer’s Row of cops and lawyers, isn’t it?

-

Okay, a tornado, apocalyptic rain, lightning and thunder and they traded Johnny Mac?

Where are the locusts?

-

Holy smokes.

A friend reports – and it’s good to have friends with similar music tastes and radio listening talents – that there’s a plethora of birthdays today.

You’ve got Gene Simmons (who didn’t marvel at Kiss back in the day) and you’ve got Billy Ray Cyrus (who didn’t mock him back in the day) and you’ve got …

Who doesn’t love a little Elvis Costello.

-

Mail?

Got some?

Get it in here.

-

Hey, how’d I miss Hobbs going triple/game-winning homer?

I can only imagine what that was like in the ballpark.

I tell you, there’s just something about that Lawrie kid that’s got greatness – or at least great moments – written all over it.

-

Canada’s beaten by 18 by Brazil down at the Marchand Cup yesterday and it’s no big deal, really.

As we’ve said all along, nothing matters until the Olympic qualifying tournament begins next week so an 88-70 loss should probably do little more than evoke shrugs today.

-

 

 

Comments

[JHK]

"All I can say is that never would have happened if Hoffa had been there."
Hillarious XD

[Mike D.]

Totally agree on Adam Schiff (my idol for his ability to growl out a one-sentence instruction for some unreasonably difficult course of action, then override the objections of his team with another growl and turn away as the scene changed) at #1, but I'm disappointed that Jack McCoy didn't make your list. I think he deserves to be there, if only because with his perma-rumpled look he was invariably the one who seemed the most stressed out by the growled instructions.

Re your approach to the tournament: the foundation needs to be a lot of Jonas V discussion. Everything else is secondary.

[turbo]

"All I can say is that never would have happened if Hoffa had been there."
Hillarious XD

Doug should've credited Tas Melas' tweet for that quote....

Blogger's note: Oh yeah? Okay. Great minds think alike. Imagine someone else in the world probably thought of it, too

[Kerry O]

Gotta love Ben Stone and his consistent mixed/totally indecipherable metaphors. "If the cart goes before the horse, you can't rain on two bird in the bush, sir!"

[RK]

I've watched the last "friendy" game before the EuroBasket last night between Slovenia and Lithuania (which, by the way, Slovenia won by a staggering 16 points, even leading by 21 in the middle of the 2nd quarter) and I must say that Jonas is developing into a great player. These Euro comps couldn't have come at a better time for him-it's invaluable experience as well as a chance to shine at an early stage in his career (and before a home crowd nonetheless). I really hope he gains some of the much needed confidence and swagger (as well as playing time) needed to perform at the brightest stage-the NBA. I also hope that Slovenia gives Lithuania another thorough backside-kicking if they meet again at the tournament.:)
You're absolutely right Doug-this year's Eurobasket should be one of the best ever. All the top dogs have agreed to play for their countries and, barring any unfortunate injuries, should be motivated to give their best. Plus, FIBA has extended the number of participants to 24 and the duration of the tournament to 18 days, which means a whole lot of basketball for me. Yay!:)
One last thing - thought you would like to know that Rasho has been given a role on the national team and will accompany the team to Lithuania. His role may not be specified (senior player/junior assistant/good-for-sitting-on-the- bench-in-street-clothes type of thing), his contribution, however, cannot be measured in words, since these are the players he has played with as well as players who have looked up to thim when they were still kids. Go Slovenia.

[Jeff R]

The Elvis Costello song you linked is one of the finest rock songs ever written, but it was actually penned by Nick Lowe. I've seen it performed in concert by EC, Springsteen, Steve Earl and Lowe himself; it's always great to hear it. Thanks!

[Dave]

Raptors TV are airing a program called "Represent". The two I have seen were interviews with Carl English and Denham Brpwn. They were very interesting stories. Carl English couldn't get a break in his development years and I wonder how good he could have been if things worked out better. For example, he left home the last year of high school and moved to Toronto to play better competition and to get some exposure. That was the year the dastardly teachers went on strike and he didn't get to play at all. The first years in Hawaii he didn't get off the bench. Apparently he was playing on the second team during practice and outplaying some of the starters, but the old school coach didn't play freshmen. Catch it if you can.

[Lorie]

Hey Doug!
And while we're celebrating birthdays, today also marks what would've been the 93rd birthday of the one and only Leonard Bernstein. And while many will remember him for his terrific West Side Story, his conducting of an international orchestra and choir in Berlin - which was in the midst of celebrating the collapse of the Berlin Wall - on Christmas Day 1989, remains, for me, breathtaking. Cheers! And Bravo!
http://youtu.be/l46GNducsPk

[Marco]

Italy played BYU in the framework of the Acropolis Tournament, which is staged in Greece every year since 1986. According to Wikipedia, the AT is "considered to be the most prestigious non-FIBA organized international basketball competition that is competed between national teams". Apart from BYU, this year the field of contestants includes three teams that qualified for Eurobasket 2011: Italy, Bulgaria (which Italy defeated on Tuesday, with 19 points and 10 rebounds by Bargnani) and Greece (which plays Italy later today, with first place on the line). All in all, I wouldn't say that playing in this tournament is a strange or unconventional way to prepare for Eurobasket.

[Rob]

Best headline ever.

[Hubert]

Your comment suggests Italy volutarily choose a inferior team to play against, which is not true.
Italy plays the Acropolis tournament, and only because Montenegro canceld its partecipation at the last moment, BYU has been invited as substitute. Today they play against Greece.
It took just 1 minute research to find that out!

[joeu]

Hmmm, a near perfect list. I can't really argue. But my favourite assistant DA was Claire Kincaid.

[Jodun]

Doug no sign of Corey Joseph playing in Canada's exhibition game. Any word on this?

Blogger's note: Minor ankle issue, just a precaution, I'm told

[Giuseppe]

Doug, the overmatched team was around just because Montenegro didn't show up, and the Greeks needed a replacement for this "Acropolis" tournament, which included Bulgaria and Greece as well.
Beside the 19 laughable rebounds, Andrea by the way a week ago scored 28 points against Greece in Italy.
ciao

[brent]

Doug,
I think you need an extra caffeine boost. You forgot the one season of Law & Order: Trial by Jury (starring Bebe Neuwirth)

[doug]

that's to bad about Flanagan, lots of good things being said about him , obviously a quality human being...those "quick deaths" are the toughest deaths to take I think, I remember having a beer watching a game with a buddy a few years ago...couple days later got a message that he had dropped dead at work totally out of the blue, it was shocking and I still can't believe he is gone at times... that Euro tourney will be a humdinger 2 spots at stake with all that talent, be some high caliber emotional b-ball there...I think Canada will come close again at some point in time, as we are producing some high quality young players, and with the right confluence of events one never knows, all you need is one Nash and well he showed us the difference that that one player can make....plus b-ball is gaining popularity with the young crowd, hockey due to costs other factors is declining in numbers, b-ball is rising so in time Canada i feel will have a truly competitive world team again, and that is not saying the group of guys now aren't, we just don't have the depth and are a couple true scorers away from being legitimate contenders at the present....I have hope as i remember what Donahue did with a group no one had even heard of....

[jimt]

I'm glad your coffee joint didn't get Tornadoed as this piece is killer.
I was wondering if i could get your early bird predictions on the Eurobasket?
Im going with Golden Greece,Silverey Spain and Bronzetacular Lithuania :)

Blogger's note: I'm actually working on a preview for Saturday's paper right now and haven't reached the "who wins" stage.

[The J]

Bargs had 19 rebounds? See that's what happens when Reggie is not there in his way stealing his rebounds.

Do you know if the Eurobasket games will be broadcast anywhere (other than just streaming)? It would be cool to watch Lithuanian games to see how our prodigy is looking. Plus it might be my only chance to watch a high level of basketball for a while.

Blogger's note: Sorry, outside of FIBA-TV streaming, I don't know of any TV at the moment

[Mark]

Ben Stone over Jack McCoy?

Abbie Carmichael over Claire Kincaid?

Boooooo...........

[Al]

Good song, but the original version by Nick Lowe is better...he has a nicer voice.

[doug]

ok pet peeve time...people that use Wikipedia as a source of information, it should be used for a source of misinformation, case in point check out this link....and tell me what the glaring error is ???/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_national_men%27s_basketball_team

[john]

Doug, If there is a "sweeps week" for bloggers where the number of readers responses is a large factor in detemining the price of an ad, I am sure you are now well aware of the following formula

positive remarks regarding AB's rebounding skills
=
three times as many posts!

I would protect this formula with same security as that of the Caramilk secret...

[Ray Ray]

Hey Doug,

Don't forget Law & Order UK. I'd rank that just above Criminal Intent.

[Juan]

Hi Doug
Have to agree with others that today's post "rocks". Thanks for the Elvis treat - by far my favourite song of his. If you haven't had the opportunity to catch any of his "Spectacle" shows I highly recommend it. He has had some of the most interesting guests that run the gamut of musical backgrounds and provided some fascinating conversation. I'm not sure if it is on DVD but it would be well worth the price if it is.

[Mike kovacs]

That's my favourite Elvis. How about a list of Elvis's?

Blogger's note: Oooh, saving that for a rainy day for sure.