Troubling signs and great songs for coffee shops

The Canada loss to Brazil wasn’t the big surprise to me, figured that would a monumental upset, but the manner in which it was achieved was a bit disconcerting.

As we saw, they simply couldn’t score enough late to stay in the game and having watched them last year in Turkey when they simply weren’t capable of making plays down the stretch, an odd feeling of déjà vu popped up.

Experience is one of the most significant things international teams have to have to have and I thought the core group here would be able to find a way to do something right when winning time comes up each game.

They defended quite well for most of the game, there were some predictable blips like there’s always going to be, but the fact they couldn’t score is what has to be corrected.

The trouble is, there really isn’t a guy on this roster capable of taking over a game, creating for himself and saying “hey, gimme the ball, I’m going to beat my man and get something done.” It’s a relatively slow team without a break-down wing guy so they need to move the ball, find the right guy at the right time and hope he makes a shot

Didn’t happen against Brazil and if it doesn’t start happening soon, this could be a very worrisome week.

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So I’ve been spending a fair amount of time in a Starbucks (hello, Lundy’s Lane) doing some work and you know coffee shops, there’s always cool or quiet music playing.

Got me thinking what might be a perfect mixed tape to work to while sipping that quad vente latte.

Has to be calm, folksy but with enough energy that you don’t fall asleep.

Me?

I’d probably run one that had:

Simon and Garfunkel

Heard “The Boxer” the other day, got me thinking how good those guys were.

Dylan

Raspy voice notwithstanding, it’s great background noise.

And …

Yeah, these folks did/do just the kind of music that fits.

Now, sprinkle in some great jazz by any number of people and work wouldn’t be too bad, would it?

The list okay with you?

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Six hours they spent talking in New York yesterday and the best part about it is that they’ll do it again and the rhetoric is turned off.

Stern, Hunter, Fisher and Silver gave no details at all of what went on the room but they all went out of their way to suggest it’s time to talk about a new contract and not each other.

Is that a good thing?

Might be.

Or it might not.

But that they didn’t storm away from each other with their hands in the air suggests to me that this might be on exactly the timeline to be expected:

Quiet July and August, a flurry of activity in early September and, perhaps, nothing missed except maybe the start of training camp.

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Story time.

Canada’s going to play Venezuela this week at the FIBA Americas thingy and I’m pretty sure the last time I saw those two countries play would have been at the 1992 at the Tournament of the Americas in Portland.

I’m out there covering it with Stumpy (remember him? Short, stocky fellow from the other paper?) and we’re hanging with Peter Montopoli, who is now the biggest of cheeses at soccer (lucky fellow!) and who was then a middling cheese at Basketball Canada, as it was known.

Anyway, Stumpy’s not quite up to speed on the whole basketball thing at that point in his storied career and he’s, um, well, er, he’s a little unfamiliar with the nuances of the game, much to the chagrin of Peter, who loved Stump but only to a point.

We’re watching Canada-Venezuela in “the” game of the tournament, winner goes to Barcelona for the Olympics, loser goes home.

Canada’s way down and starts to make this huge comeback thanks, if memory serves, to some dominant inside play by Mike Smrek and Bill Wennington in what can only be termed as Canada’s Twin, But Relatively, Slow Towers.

Stumpy is aghast that Canada’s having a hard time getting to the rim from the perimeter and has been mentioning this for, oh, I dunno, the entirety of the tournament.

Finally, he says, as only he can:

“Why don’t they just take the ball and drive to the net!?!?!?”

Peter snaps.

“Beezer? I can’t take it anymore. That’s it!”

And he storms off to sit by himself while I’m kind of chuckling.

Stumpy looks askance over at me and says:

“What? Shouldn’t they?”

Oh yeah, Canada loses the game by four, I think it was, after J.D. Jackson, if memory serves, tried some wacky runner in the lane in the dying seconds and I’m denied a Canada basketball story at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

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A rather boring start over in Lithuania, no?

No upsets of any consequence, no one did anything truly spectacular and a rather good “easing-in” to the tournament.

Two things stuck out to me from boxscores and I’ll check it with my spies today.

Andrea Bargnani did not attempt a single three-pointer in more than 30 minutes of playing time.

And Jose Calderon only played 12 minutes as Spain was taken almost to the limit by Poland.

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Oh, yeah.

Mail. Here.

And team names so I have something to do while working watching basketball on a computer screen tonight in New York.

Speaking of … it’s me and TOD this weekend and all I want is nice and calm.

And since they whacked Ledezma after his bad outing on Sunday and got Tallet yesterday after he spit up the game in Baltimore the other night, I’m hoping no marginal reliever has a bad outing.

And I hope Griff has to deal with September callups today although I have a sneaky suspicion that’ll be something for me tomorrow.

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Now, I know you have all read or heard about Wade Belak and the latest tragedy to hit the pucks in what has to be one of the worst summers in the history of the game.

An incredibly sad story (our comprehensive coverage is here) isn’t it?

Three “fighters” and three deaths shocks me and every sane-thinking citizen of the world and while it is unfair and impossible for me to sit here and figure out what, if any, link there may be, someone has to because they can’t keep burying young players.

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Comments

[bill bean]

Re: Senior men's team. I know that the plan was to give Leo time to develop the squad, and that there should be an assessment of the coaching at the end of the summer; however, how is Leo as a coach? I was disappointed by the lack of playmaking and urgency in the 4th quarter last night. I know they are undermanned, but what role did coaching have in the loss?

Blogger's note: Less than players not making shots

[sam]

Some good coffee sipping - working music - Early Bruce Cockburn - anything really with an acoustic guitar - Some James Taylor always hits the spot.- not sure if it's good to the last drop though -

Watched a little of the Canada/Brazil game last night - Not surprized by the outcome - I struggled with the pace of the game and I'm certian the Announing might have had a little to do with it....What's the deal with the big Bell logo?
Are they sponsoring the team?

Sad news about Wade Belak - Outwardly he seemed like a fairly happy well adjusted guy. You just never know, I guess.....

Blogger's note: Bell came on as a sponsor just before the worlds last year

[Androo]

Cowboy Junkies are one of the most underrated bands around. Margo Timmins has such a haunting voice, it's incredible. I can (and have!) listened to them for hours on end. It was pretty cool the first time I walked by The Church of the Holy Trinity near the Eaton Centre and I realized that's where the recorded the Trinity Sessions. So, needless to say, good call on the music in that regard Doug!

[Johnn19]

Spain won by the skin of their teeth ahead by only 2 with 17 sec's to play with
not much from ether PG.
Rubio 16min 0/5 2to,2stls/0 asts/rbs,pts
Calderon 12min 0/2 4rbs,2ast/1stls/0pts

The Gasol Bros dominated the reason Spain won.

[Paul B]

re name, don't really like it myself, but haven't seen it suggested: Snowbirds?

[Stu]

A friend of mine once mentioned that Belak would pick ed belfour's kid(s) up from St.Michael's school and look after them for a big chunk of time while the Leaves were at home and Ed had something better to do. Kind of tells you the type of person he was.

[DeanerB]

Yikes !!! With the shooting display, or lack thereof last night against Brazil, it would seem to me that this team will win zero games at this tournament, and set Canada Basketball back at least a decade in doing so.

Lets seriously hope some of these up and coming kids currently in college ranks, or even the few in the NBA, actually WANT to play for their country in the future.

A team where your best players are Rautins and Joseph is not a team that can realistically contend for anything on a global scale.

I have seen better shooting at a Brantford Briers tournament of 11 year olds.

[doug]

yea it's plain to see Canada needs a natural scorer, well we have one, if Nash was in that game we'd have won by 15 he is exactly what we need...imagine in baseball if you had a reliever whose only job it was was to come into the game and throw at a batters head or in b-ball in the NBA you have a player come in from the bench and purposefully get a flagrant foul by knocking a player to the floor then leaving the game....would those leagues stand for it? or would the players?...so why is it in hockey you have a player whose only job is to fight?? and to top that off the Kypreos's, Cherry's of the world justify it, get fighting out of the game, isn't that what boxing and MMA is all about...the NHL is losing all credibility...you need some Mama's and Papa's, a little Barry McQuire, some J.T. as someone said earlier, Simon and Garfunkel, American Pie, how about some War What Is It Good for, Absolutely Nothing, some Van Morrison and even some Jim Morrison then finish it off with this old classic....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umQCgaZnO0o

[Andre]

Just give up on Nash... im sick of hearing if he did this or if he did that... Whats more pressing is that Canada is NOT developing players. They have lots kids playing College and University ball. But were not aggressive enough. Even kids like Joseph, Thompson and Kagono had to play at a PREP school to be regonized. What happened to denham brown? Didnt he score 111 points before? why has his skill gone down so much? Carl English needs to RETIRE... Basketball Canada should be helping the NBL Canada to get more talent to develop our own players... There is talent in Canada, they just need to develop them. Europe is making our players SOFT. Whatever.

Blogger's note: It's Europe's fault? Whatever. Indeed

[John]

The Belak tragedy reminds me of Arturo Gatti a while back...
There must be a link to the concussions and head blows (and the pressures of having to fight in front of large audiences), but I am in no position to comment.

Too bad for his family as well..

[doug]

my point on Nash was and is this, that Canada does produce fine players, I could care less if he plays as that is his personal choice...but people have this doomsday mentality, canadian b-ball is progressing fine, we have Joseph who shows promise, Tristan Thompson, the top ranked prep player in the U.S., many players in college ball and other prep schools, give it time we'll be fine, but Rautins isn't the coach of the future that much is also very clear and what the heck does Europe have to do with it? you lost all credibility with that statement..as far as your Starbucks mix, you also need some Cat Stevens, some Hollies and this song which hits home especially if your dad has passed away...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGDA0Hecw1k

[GM]

Hey, where's everyone been?!... Oh, it was me. Maybe because it's September now my body clock tells me basketball is right around the corner I find myself back at my regular morning missive. And if not the NBA that's back, then CIS and high school. And I guess because I watched the Canada-Brazil game yesterday. I'm not sure your prescription for them is all that realistic. In the NBA, you may need a player capable of taking over a game and creating for himself, but I don't know if it's all that necessary in the international game. It would be nice if they had one but I didn't see anyone on Brazil with those abilities. They just had guys who could hit open shots after the ball got to them. If Canada made just half the shots they missed, they'd have won, methinks.

Snowbirds... not a bad one.

[Lorie]

Good Afternoon, Doug!
True story: this was playing in a little place I like to grabba java and a bunch of us customers started singing. You'd have thought it was Hollywood! All that was missing were Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland saying: "Hey, let's put on a show"! Oh, and a bit of their musical ability, I guess! But, what we lacked in talent was more than made up by our collective enthusiasm. And nostalgia.
http://youtu.be/a97d5bUCFVQ
(Oh, and here's a cool idea for a list: People Who Love Stumpy Up To A Point And The Stories Behind Those Names!)
Cheers!!! Enjoy NY - Good thing Irene's arrival was a week ahead of yours!

[Mike kovacs]

snowbirds are retired persons who go south for the winter - perhaps our team plays like that?

[Boko]

I'd replace Dylan with ABBA or the Righteous Brothers.

I don't believe that 'the powers that be' want to find a solution. It'll end up being 'Status Quo' cause THEY DON'T WANT ANY MAJOR CHANGES!

[coachd]

Hi Doug,
How about the "Northern Front" as a nickname for the teams?

[Paul B]

snowbirds are a flying group, currently doing the airshow at the CNE