The name game, still; and it's Back To School day!

Well, you’ve spoken, I kind of listened and we’re pretty much deadlocked between Red Serge and Canadian Shield.

Really.

And I’m torn, actually.

The Serge is uniquely Canadian, represents our proud Mounties heritage and looks pretty darn cool, too.

The Shield is strong, uniquely Canadian again and stretches across vast parts of our great land.

I could live with either one – and, after all, it really is just for here because I don’t imagine it’ll catch on worldwide – but a decision has to be made and I’ve dawdled enough.

The Shield it shall be, okay?

(The complaint department will open momentarily).

I know it wasn’t one that came from the Solicitations Of Irregulars but enough of you were okay with it that I feel comfortable tossing it out there.

How, we have to come up with some kind of logo, don’t we?

I don’t mind this snapshot borrowed from a google search but give me a day or two and maybe we’ll find something better.

Anyway, this was the first time we’d done something silly like this, it seemed to work out okay and maybe we’ll come up with something similar again.

Suggestions welcome, as always.

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So, you get a look at the second-round groups at the EuroBasket 2011?

That Group E is a killer. Maybe the best second-round group at an international tournament ever.

Spain, Lithuania, France, Serbia, Turkey, Germany?

Yikes. And two of them will have no chance to make it to the quarter-finals.

Going by the tournament so far, and having spoken to a couple of spies over there, I’ve got Spain, Lithuania, France and Serbia moving on, with Turkey and Germany failing to make the final eight which will give them absolutely no chance to be at the 2012 London Olympics since only teams three to six get an invite.

That’s tough.

The other group?

I’ve got Russia, Slovenia, Macedonia and Greece moving on with Finland and Georgia being eliminated.

We’ll take a closer look tomorrow at the biggest of the games and when we can watch them on our computers.

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My Man Sheridan has struck out on his own.

ESPN’s loss is everyone’s gain, I would say; not too many people know labour, international stuff and the intricacies of the game like my guy does.

Do yourself a favour, check his site out, would you? It’s here.

(That’s after you click here every day, right?)

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Back to school?

Already?

Yeesh.

Where’d that summer go?

But, as Super Son was saying yesterday, it’s good to be going back, except for those pesky classes, that is.

Seeing the other urchins, catching up, planning escapades and shenanigans, it’s all part and parcel of ending a summer that can get boring as it drones on.

I’m a bit old to remember many back-to-school days but there was one time, at band camp … (Oh, wait, it wasn’t band camp).

It was senior elementary school, Princess Elizabeth as I recall and I think I’m about one of two kids from my Grade 6 class who went there, the rest lived in other districts.

Anyway, it’s the first day of school, lunch arrives and because we haven’t yet found the delights of the Towers lunch counter, we’re kind of lurking in the back school yard checking each other, a bunch of scared kids not sure what’s going on.

Well, we stand there for what seemed like an eternity waiting for the bell to ring to summon us back.

Little did we know that because we were grown ups in Grade 7 there was no bell, we were supposed to be able to tell time and get ourselves back to class, a point hammered home when some evil teacher came out and yelled at us about 15 minutes after we were supposed to be back.

Can’t remember being late again after that, except for the odd day when school was a bit too much.

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Oh yeah, there was absolutely nothing wrong with Canada taking the foot off the pedal a little bit against Argentina yesterday to get ready for today’s big one against Puerto Rico.

Even if they had played a perfect game, I don’t know that they could have won and with an evening game followed by one first thing the next morning, rest was more important than trying to pull off some monumental upset.

As I’ve come to learn after a few years of watching these tournaments, deciding when to get rest and maybe a sacrifice a game to be ready for another is as big as anything. You have to be prudent and know what’s at stake when, something the Canadians showed.

Now, I don’t know that they can beat Puerto Rico anyway but I do know they’ve set themselves up almost as well as they can to do it.

All I’ve got to do now is find a joint in Niagara Falls open at 10:30 with TSN2; or else be standing outside some 11 a.m. opening establishment ready to go.

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You had to know something like this was coming, right?

You got a favourite back to school thing?

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I swear, Hobbs is going to not only lead the TOD back to glory but I’m pretty sure he can solve the world economic crisis and figure out time travel, too.

That was some game, no?

I tell ya, there’s something about that kid.

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One last shameless plug for Skeets And Tas and the boys and girls at The Basketball Jones because this Rock The Court thing they’ve got going on with Matt Bonner and his friends is more than worthy of your support.

Check it out here and do what you can to help, please.

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Comments

[Andrew Gregg]

Hi Doug:

Holy Moley--Towers lunch counter!?

That is indeed going way back...

AG, Toronto

Blogger's note: I am a man of a certain vintage, as they say

[Mike D.]

Sheridan's article is a great start to his own site. But sheesh.....last feature writer out of ESPN, turn out the lights!

[doug]

good old Woolworths lunch counters, one in London on Dundas street memorable place..good old back to school, those were the days...you mentioned school districts well it reminded me we had moved in the summer between my grade 5 and 6 year..only 2 blocks but it put me in a new school district, from my fav school to our arch rival...there were many a battle about it but my dad said there's nothing we can do you have to go to that new school..well first day of school I say the heck with it, proceeded to go back to my old school and no one said a thing so I just walked into class settled down and that was that...until a week later the intercom blares my name to go to the office,,all the kids ewhh and ahh as they tend to do whenever your name is singled out and off I go to the office, the paper trail had caught up with me (as there were no computers then so it truly was a paper trail) and my ruse was up...my parents weren't to happy with me, but I didn't care you at least have to try...so off I went to the hated school, and I must say I never enjoyed one day there, in fact the b-ball coach lost in the playoffs to my old school the previous year and my brother was the star....the coach held a grudge knew who I was, and gave me a hard time, so much so I refused to play for him the whole time I was in public school as he wasn't a nice man at all..I counted the days until I could go to high school and get out of that school...good old school days, and the Hobbs legend continues to grow....

[Lorie]

Hello Doug:
Well, of course The Shield is OK. And I think it'll really catch on after we unveil its logo, create a Twitter account, establish a Facebook page and some sort of YouTube thingy. Now, as far as the logo - and so as not to confuse with the Prudential Insurance Company one (you recall it? - "As Solid As The Rock Of Gribraltar") The Shield logo should be uniquely Canadian. For example, in front of the Shield let's have a Mountie clad in Red Serge, a loyal Husky dog at his side. (Or, a Husky Voyageur???). And the first day of school always makes me think of new shoes. But then, what doesn't? :)
And The Beach Boys sang of sun, surf and summer stuff...but they also did a great one about school! Here's my Back To School offering. Cheers! But studious ones.
http://youtu.be/-ijkYkJfg0s

[doug]

I am use to disagreeing with some coaches and their sub patterns like how Olynyk had only 1 minute of playing time and Kendall 5 in the game against Venezuela which I thought was wrong....then how English seems to get minutes no matter how poorly he is playing...but there is no excuse for deliberately fouling with 13 seconds left and down by 3...it's non-sensical your purposefully making it a 2 possesion game, let your defense try to trap or make something happen until there is 6 seconds left, and riddle me this, like no one knows who is the mayor of Toronto Rob or Doug , no one can also answer me who is the coach of this men's team either...Leo or Pasquale?...

[marc in panama]

Hola Doug,

Nice move by yourself in driving traffic over to Sheridan's new site. Read his post, and while I think he is overly optimistic that a deal is eminent, I will acknowledge he is far more plugged in than I am, so let's wait and see. His idea that ushering in a hard cap by the 3rd year of the deal would result in the breaking up of the Miami Heat Superfriends, and the NBA would be opposed to that, got me to thinking: aren't the lads all signed to 3 year deals? And who in the "NBA" would NOT want that team dismantled and the talent re-distributed among the League? The Heat don't have a problem selling seats in Miami, and LeBron, Wade and Bosh can only play in one arena a night, whereas if they were separated, that's one guy in 3 different arenas drawing a crowd (okay, maybe 2 guys, one of the Superfriends isn't as big as a draw by himself) If the recent trend of guys plotting together to play in certain markets continues, then the NBA becomes a 3 or 4 team league, Miami, L.A. New York, maybe Chicago...and the rest of the league becomes a hinterland. Gone are the possibilities of teams like San Antonio, Houston, and even Dallas let alone a team with terrible weather, the metric system and no ESPN having the talent to compete for a championship. If I am one of the owners of a small market team, wouldn't I be holding out for a system that let's me retain my superstar, and build around him over a set period of time, at a dollar figure that allows me to add additional talent? Kind of like OKC, but for a longer time frame than 5 years before it all blows up? This is the opportunity for the NBA to level the playing field, so that all teams have a decent shot at winning the O'Brien, not have a situation where the same 9 teams in the past 30 years continually win it all? Wouldn't that "grow" the game? Wouldn't that translate into more money for all, and not just a handful of teams?

[john]

Hey Lorie, how about a Husky dressed as a Serge!! You could put little holes in his hat for the ears? Think of a Smokey and Paddington Bear hybrid.
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As for the men’s team, I have said it for a long time. Leo is not a coach. He's never been a coach in his whole career. Not even a grade school coach. Nothing. Other than his own inflated opinion about himself, there is nothing that would make anyone consider him coaching material. He doesn’t even have a lot of experience playing at a high level unless you consider his NCAA career. He was a bust in the NBA, picked 17th overall and played in 25 games in his whole career. He went to Europe and played in the second division. Yes, team Canada made it to the World Championships last year. They qualified by winning 4 of the 10 games they playedplaying 10 games. They lost every game they played at the worlds. Jeez even Lebanon beat them by 10! The father and son thing ran its course last year. It’s a nice story but it’s time to back off and give your son a chance to succeed. Please Leo, do the honourable thing and resign and go back to putting people to sleep as a TV announcer.

[JT's Hoopsblog]

I checked out Sheridan's Blog. i wasn't too impressed with the aesthetics, but he had an excellent article concerning the NBA lockout. In t he claims that both siade are coming closer to an agreement and the league will start up shop tommorow. from what I read the monetary gap between the players and the owners are not that deep. It gave me renewed hope that the season will be saved.

Team Canada has literally shocked on how well they have been playing. The Red Shield and Red Surge are wack names. I still think the HOSERs are a better name as it is distinctly Canadian (as those Mackenzie boys who came up with the term.) Or even the HHS (the Hoops Husky Squad), or even the Maple Sugar Squad.

[Press Dough]

The Shield logo should be uniquely Canadian. For example, in front of the Shield let's have a Mountie clad in Red Serge, a loyal Husky dog at his side.