Taking a shot and a very big TV anniversary

Isn’t that strange?

I believe I just saw Jeremy Lin rescue a kitten from up a tree.

And there were a dozen breathless New York media guys chronicling it.

Maybe I was dreaming.

Anyway …

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THREE POINTERS

Trying different things

There’s no way Dwane Casey’s going to let his team lose without trying everything at his disposal to make things right.

Look at some of the matchups he tried last night:

He had Jose on Carlos Delfino to start because he thought Jerryd on Jennings and DeRozan on Livingston were better; he used everyone from Kleiza to James Johnson to DeRozan on Dunleavy when he got hot. He played a little bit of zone – it’s like some hybrid matchup thing with zone principles – for a while and he even went to a bigger, slower Magloire in that horrid first half to add some – and I hate this word – physicality to the proceedings.

Nothing worked particularly well but at least there were all kinds of schemes and different looks used primarily to throw the Bucks off.

Oh, wait. I guess one thing did work: Jennings was a total non-factor for most of the night, they always seemed to have a second guy waiting for him in the paint, they played him well on the perimeter and it was the other guys who they couldn’t get stopped.

But for defensive creativity, I haven’t seen a better Raptors coach ever; and I saw KO for like 75 of his 82 games.

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Time to bulk up

I said this in the IGBT but if Ed Davis and DeMar DeRozan do nothing these next few months than live in the weight room, their games are still going to improve.

Saw at least three instances where Davis was stripped of the ball under the basket because he wasn’t physically strong enough to take it up and through a defender and DeRozan got knocked down a couple of times because he couldn’t withstand contact any NBAer should be able to.

I’m not saying that’s the only flaw in either of their games – Davis needs major reconstructive surgery on his jump shot – but the Bucks are neither the biggest nor the strongest team in the league yet they pushed around the two young Raptors too easily.

I know the coaches have noticed – it comes up in private conversations – and last night there were a couple of glaring examples of what needs to be fixed. And fixed as fast as possible.

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It was going well

We have no clue how long or even if Jerryd Bayless will be out after leaving the game with a sore left ankle in the third quarter but he had been showing a fair amount of improvement in some key areas.

A couple of times against Milwaukee, and a handful of times in the Washington game, he’d made one of his forays to the basket along the baseline only to find a couple of rather imposing gentlemen waiting for him.

In the past, he’d have a tendency to leap in the air with nowhere to go, flail his arms and throw the ball somewhere. Last night, I can think of at least two times where he simply kept dribbling along the baseline, came out the other side of the basket and made a smart pass.

Just a little thing, but a better decision and a sign of at least some growth.

Now, I still think his future is as some combo guard who comes off a bench to provide some offence to his team but he’ll enhance his chance at sticking around by making those kinds of smart decisions.

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More? There’s some.

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Everybody pumped for the big Davis Cup tie betwixt Canada and France this weekend? Thought so.

If there’s an event that lost its lustre more than the Davis Cup over the years, I don’t know what it is.

It’s all well and good that Canada gets to play with the big boys finally – that win over Israel last year got them back in the World Group in the rather confusing world of Davis Cup but it’s still an individual sport being pumped up as some big team competition and, frankly, I think it elicits more yawns than enthusiasm.

Wish ‘em luck, though.

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Hmm.

Zambia 1, Black Stars 0 in the African Cup of Nations semifinal?

Grr.

But I can almost handle losing a team known as the Chipolopolo, or Copper Bullets, and they shall now become my team in the final against Ivory Coast.

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What were you doing 48 years ago tonight?

Now I was just a wee toddler and the memory is very, very vague but I can sort of remember sitting around that Sunday night with a whole bunch of people glued to the TV.

Why?

The Beatles.

First time on North American TV and if that wasn’t reason enough to watch Ed Sullivan that night, not sure what was.

The boys could sing a bit, no?

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Oh yeah.

I like Mark Heisler an awful lot, have admired his work for years, and am a big fan of My Man Sheridan’s website where Mark’s doing some work these days.

But he caused me a wee bit of angst yesterday with a throwaway line in his weekly power rankings about the HOTH thinking about adding Jonas Valanciunas sometime in the next little while.

The chance of that happening?

Less than zero.

Not only is Valanciunas’s season still got some legs – there are a couple of Cup competitions still to go – but the last, the very, very, very last thing they want to do is to bring him over and blow a year of his wildly affordable rookie scale contract for the sake of a dozen or so games in a somewhat lost season.

Not going to happen. Please cut and paste this little item for future reference. Thank you.

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Got some mail? There’s some room in the in-basket if there’s something on your mind or if you just want to say hi.

You know the drill.

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Boy, am I ever glad the hype is going to start today for the big outside hockey game in Michigan next year.

I was wondering what the biggest story of the day would be.

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The Goods On The Game, Bucks at Raptors

Hello, again.

Welcome to the start of the homestand.

As a football player, DeRozan makes a good basketball player

Oh, those zany kids.

Give ‘em some time off and it’s all fun and games. Especially in a lockout summer.

With a dearth of news to report – yes, the Raptors want to start games better; indeed they are striving for consistency; Andrea Bargnani’s still out indefinitely, the coach is looking forward to practice time during a seven-game homestand – the big news at shootaround Wednesday morning centred on DeMar DeRozan’s multi-sport abilities.

Or lack thereof.

It seems DeRozan and Milwaukee Bucks guard Brandon Jennings – a couple of long-time Los Angeles buddies and opponents at the Air Canada Centre on Wednesday night – hooked up in some flag football contests last summer in California.

DeRozan’s abilities did not particularly match his basketball skills, or so he reports.

“I was quarterback. I threw six touchdowns.”

Not bad.

“Three for my team, three for his team.”

Ah.

But why head to the football field in the summer?

“It was a lockout, we did whatever. I got six, seven guys, he got his six, seven, we played six-on-six flag football.”

For one team, it was just a bunch of buddies; DeRozan tried to stack his team.

“He had childhood friends, he already had his football team going so I got my team, I got like Matt Barnes, Corey Maggette … we still lost.”

So, you can just see DeRozan on the field, right? Pretending to be Tom Brady or Eli Manning or someone of that ilk?

“Yeah but that don’t work. It’s a lot different.”

Yes, hard news around a basketball team is tough to come by some days.

 

The best of the all-star backups and best from a birthday boy

Here’s the thing about having to pick the NBA all-star reserves, as NBA coaches have done now because they’re being announced tomorrow night:

What goes into the decision?

Is it purely statistical? How heavily does team success factor into it? Should it be for a career body of work or simply based on this season? How much attention should you pay to the lobbying efforts of other coaches?

Tough questions, no easy answers.

To me, it’s simply based on individual play this year. I don’t see all-star games as a reward for career achievement by any stretch of the imagination; I also don’t think coaches “need” to take guys from teams with good records just so those teams are represented. I think a guy can be considered an all-star based on this year alone and that’s what has to be taken into consideration.

It’s not easy, it never is; it’s even more difficult this season because there’s such a small body of work to be considered.

I wish I could read the minds of the coaches to have a true indication of which way they voted but I can’t, so I won’t. What I will give you is one man’s opinion and sit back and listen:

East

Starters: Dwyane Wade, Miami; Derrick Rose, Chicago; Carmelo Anthony, New York; LeBron James, Miami; Dwight Howard, Orlando.

Backups:

Centre: Roy Hibbert, Indiana.

Kind of by default, actually. He’s having a good season on a pretty good team and has improved immensely but the ranks of Eastern Conference “centres” truly is thin so he’d get my nod.

Forwards: Paul Pierce, Boston; Luol Deng, Chicago.

Pierce’s ascendant play of late surely caught the attention of voters for whom his inclusion is almost second nature; he’s still deserving; Deng does a whole lot of things, some that only coaches can notice and appreciate.

Guards: Brandon Jennings, Milwaukee; Joe Johnson, Atlanta

Toughest pick of the bunch. I’d be quite okay with any of the snubbed point guards replacing Jennings but his speed, scoring ability and decision-making are all, according to scouts I’ve spoken to, far better this year than last; Johnson? Well, if it went solely on my first-hand knowledge, I’d probalby nominate him for the Hall of Fame given what he’s done to the HOTH

Wild cards: Chris Bosh, Miami; Andre Iguodala, Philadelphia.

The recent game against Toronto notwithstanding, Bosh has been exceptional and consistent all season, he’s a no-brainer to me; Iguodala will probably get the nod because coaches will think “there has to be someone from Philly, right?” and while that’s wrong, he’s worthy.

Snubs: Amar’e Stoudemire, New York; Deron Williams, New Jersey; Andrea Bargnani, Toronto; Josh Smith, Atlanta; Rajon Rondo, Boston; Ray Allen, Boston.

No, Jeremy Lin did not make this list.

West

Starters: Chris Paul, L.A. Clippers; Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers; Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City; Blake Griffin, L.A. Clippers; Andrew Bynum, L.A. Lakers.

Backups

Centre: Marc Gasol, Memphis

If I were a fan, I’d probably have voted for him as a starter. This makes up for it.

Forwards: Kevin Love, Minnesota; LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland.

Votes had probably been cast before Love went all WWE on Luis Scola and I guess you can’t ignore his numbers; Aldridge is quietly becoming one of the best bigs in the business.

Guards: Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City; Tony Parker, San Antonio.

Yes, I’m sure Westbrook will pass a lot to Kevin Durant, if he doesn’t he’ll never see the ball; Parker benefits because the Spurs have weathered the loss of Ginobili quite well thanks to his excellence.

Wild cards: Steve Nash, Phoenix; Rudy Gay, Memphis.

Toughest call in the bunch, probably. I could live with any of the two snubbed guys instead of these two but Nash has been his usual brilliant self – check out the shooting stats – and Gay’s got that all-round vibe going for him.

Snubs: Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas; Danilo Gallinari, Denver; Paul Millsap, Utah; Pau Gasol, LA Lakers; Monta Ellis, Golden State; James Harden, Oklahoma City.

Yeah, I can take some heat for leaving these guys off – especially Dirk, who probably beats out Gay, but it’s what we do.

There you go, have at it.

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Hey, I know I’ve been terribly neglectful on this but we’ve got Ghana-Zambia in one semifinal today of the African Cup of Nations football event and Ivory Coast-Mali in the other.

Mali’s the shocker of the tournament, or so I’m reading, and you know my affinity for the Black Stars so I’m backing a Ghana-Mali final.

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Raptors?

Did nothing yesterday; have seven straight at home to chronicle over the next couple of weeks. Nothing to see here, people. Time to move on for a day.

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A day late but what the heck.

My man Dickens would have been 200 yesterday, and isn’t that a ripe old age, and since he and I have each had pints in The Greatest Pub Ever (not at the same time but you get my drift), a hearty good tidings to him.

And, of course, the list:

Top Three You Can’t Miss In Descending Order Three Through One

Tale of Two Cities

More historical than maybe I’d like and lacks a large dose of Dickens’ subtle humour but, still …

Oh, and I take some sense of pride in that I don’t think at any point in my career have I stolen the opening paragraph (It was the best of times, it was the worst of times) because if I did, or anyone does, they should be shot.

Great Expectations

I have no real idea why, given all the various books we had to read in high school – from Shakespeare to Vonnegut to Orwell – but this one stuck with me.

If you haven’t read it in a while – and I certainly haven’t – it’s probably worth revisiting.

Oliver Twist

The best. My favourite.

Good wins out in the end, as it probably should all the time and it lays bare a lot of hypocrisy that existed then and likely exists now.

Read it.

You’ll like it.

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First call for mail. I see a couple over there but we need to get a whole whack more because we’ve got some plans afoot and are going to need questions – at least one – for a lot more than just Saturday and Sunday soon.

Stay tuned, news coming tomorrow night or Friday morning. You might even like it.

See some of you tonight at the IGBT, right?

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More than a couple troubling signs

Okay, we’re coming home for a nice long stretch. Can’t wait.

Keeps me out of airports, away from incompetent TSA workers – hello, Miami! – and perhaps we can settle into some rhythm of a season that’s been lacking so far.

What usually happens is you get into a true routine, maybe a game every other day with a practice in between and there’s a nice cadence to life.

This season? Haven’t come close to it; too many games, too few slowish practice days, too hectic by a mile. The next couple of weeks might be nice.

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THREE POINTERS

An impotent stretch

Am sure you’ve noticed but what’s going on lately with Leandro Barbosa is truly troubling.

The guy who used to give them such a spark off the bench has gone stone cold and Monday night’s 0-4 game with just two points represents the fourth time in his last five games that he’s had four or fewer points.

With Bargnani out and Jerryd Bayless in the starting lineup to provide some offence, Barbosa’s struggles are even more significant.

I’m told his ankle isn’t that much of an issue – look, everyone’s hurting a bit now and everyone has to fight through it so there are no excuses – and he seems to have the same explosiveness that’s had all along.

What I’ve seen a few times lately is Barbosa makes that patented drive from the wing, gets on the baseline, launches himself into air and finds himself with nothing to do but make some wild pass that often ends in a turnover.

The simple fact is this: If he’s not scoring, not necessarily 20 points a night but at least 10 or 12, it’s going to be virtually impossible for this team to win.

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Is more change necessary?

The numbers are rather horrible:

The Raptors have trailed after the first quarter in 12 of their last 14 games – they were only tied in the other two and haven’t led in one in eons – and it’s got Dwane Casey shaking his head.

He’s tried a whole lot of things – Jerryd Bayless in, Jerryd Bayless out, different small forwards, different frontcourt combinations – and there would appear to be only one other thing he can do:

Hope Bargnani gets back soon.

No, there’s no news but that would seem to be the antidote to what’s going on because there doesn’t seem to be another way to kickstart the team at both ends to start games.

I don’t think a Bayless-DeRozan-Johnson-Johnson-Gray lineup works because I still don’t think Jerryd consistently runs an offence well enough and he’s too much a shoot-first PG and there just isn’t a frontcourt guy capable of putting up big enough numbers to offset defensive deficiencies.

So I guess they just stumble through, hope guys play better and wait for the big fella to return.

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A horrible finish

So they stink for most of the first half but somehow the Wizards – who are still inept regardless of that outcome – let the HOTH back in the game. Toronto’s only down nine with three minutes left in the second quarter and if they can get it a little bit closer a whole lot of doubt creeps into the minds of the Wizards and a whole lot of confidence imbues the Raptors for the second half.

What do they do?

Go turnover, turnover, a couple of misses and find themselves down 15 at the break and there’s a whole lot of difference between six or eight and 15, not just in the numbers but in the mindset of both teams.

It was one of those “winning moments” that coaches like to talk about and they failed miserably at it.

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Some more?

Sure.

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By the way, the Miami airport, especially the way it jams in security lines with two x-ray machines open in one terminal at a peak travel time, has to go on the list of worst in the league.

You would think with all the tall foreheads who are in charge of TSA would at least have staffing levels – not to mention simple physical space – able to handle the load.

These people just don’t use common sense and nothing irks me more than a lack of simple common sense.

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Abject apologies to the two game-show winners who warbled at the Super Bowl, you’re apparently quite famous. Who knew?

But to suggest I’m anti-country? No way. I’m sure there’s a Garth Brooks and perhaps a Dixie Chicks CD somewhere at Casa Doug and who doesn’t like a little of this every now and then?

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Best line of the trip, from an anonymous Irregular who made the morning?

We’re standing in a never-ending Customs line at Pearson, guy looks over, nods and says:

“Don’t Yeungling-lovers get a special line?”

Made the morning. Thanks.

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I’ve said this before and it bears repeating since the dude turns a relatively geriatric 38 years old today but when it comes time to discuss the greatest Canadian athletes of this era – and perhaps of the quarter century when we get to 2025 – if Steve Nash isn’t at the top of the list, the list doesn’t count and should be pretty much ignored.

Am bringing it up only because it’s the birthday but for what he’s done in his career, in a truly global game in the absolute best league in the world, against the highest level of nightly competition imaginable, I defy anyone to come up with anyone from our country who’s been better in the last decade or so.

I don’t want to hear about Olympic-sports athletes who compete in sports with limited global reach and an infrequency of competition that’s hard to handle; I don’t want to hear about hockey players because, well, just because. I really only want to hear about an NBA player dominating his sport for so long at such a high level against the best in the world that it’s mind-boggling.

Anyway, hope the guy has a great birthday and a couple of more years of playing at such a high level.

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Oh yeah. One more.

Greatest.

Singalong song.

Ever.

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Man, tough night in the NBA, no?

Chauncey Billups messes up his Achilles and his season may be over, Danilo Gallinari chips a bone in his ankle and who knows how long he might be out and the Western Conference just got a whole lot more interesting, didn’t it?

And I need to go read the LA and Denver paper websites to see if the fans out there are complaining – incorrectly – that the compressed schedule had something to do with it.

Couple of truly tough breaks, though.

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The Goods On The Game, Raptors at Wizards

Welcome back.

How've you been?

A bit on the games, basketball and football

Everyone survive the night?

Do to you think Toronto at Washington on the Monday night after Super Bowl might draw a smaller-than-usual crowd?

Yeah. Me, too.

But I’ll be there and I would hope that around 7 tonight some of you would be, too.

Until then ..

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THREE POINTERS

Hit ‘em hard

They were two entirely predicable moments – or should have been – and we referred to them in the game story (read it here, please) but still …

James Johnson and Jerryd Bayless both took hard, smart fouls and drew the kind of reaction you’d expect from a team with a sense of entitlement all of proportion with reality.

It was like, “how dare you have the temerity to foul me that way, young man?’ when Johnson grabbed LeBron James on the way to the basket and Bayless tied up Dwyane Wade and it was one of the few senses of “fight” I’ve seen in a while.

They were both entirely understandable – good fouls by smart players who had been beaten on specific plays – but they truly did send a message that the HOTH aren’t going to be taken advantage of in any situation.

Again, to borrow one of Dwane’s favourite phrases, it’s a matter of disposition and those two plays had to be heartening to see.

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You know this guy?

Not sure if anyone had any remote recognition of Norris Cole, the rookie Heat guard who had no impact whatsoever on the game.

But he has had some moments this season and it should be of some marginal interest to fans.

Cole is he guy who was drafted No. 28 by Chicago last summer and then dealt to Miami on draft night.

The connection?

Well, Chicago got the No. 28 pick from Toronto in the James Johnson trade, eventually moved it (and Cole) on to the Heat and that’s a linear move we can digest.

Me? If I’m the Raptors, today I’d probably have Johnson today and no further contractual obligations than have Cole, who is okay but hardly great, and two or three years of having to pay him.

I may be proven wrong in the future, but I don’t think so.

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Walking the walk

You know how Dwane’s been talking about accountability and the best players – in his opinion – playing the majority of minutes each night.

(And by “best players” we’re talking the opinion of the coach, which is often far different from the opinion of the fan)

Well, Ed Davis got it going in the first half with his best game in weeks and that cost Amir Johnson some second half minutes.

The other one was Jerryd and Jose and how Jerryd played the entire fourth quarter.

Two reasons. First, he was, for a spell, playing better than Calderon (although he came to look for his own stuff too often late in the game to suit me) and, second, when the Heat when really big with Wade, James, Miller, Bosh and Haslem, the Bayless-Wade, Johnson-James, Kleiza-Miller matchup made the most sense. But give the coach a bit of credit for not going back to old standbys late in a game; he saw what was working best and stuck with it.

-

And …

-

Oh yeah, the football game.

You know I’m going to do some football stuff, right?

-

Well, New England won the coin toss and deferred, Madonna was blond and, in one humble opinion good (although I have no idea who the sidekicks were; the XL guy in the Muumu kind of threw me off) and the Giants won by four. 31-27, 21-17 makes no difference, right?

Kudos gratefully accepted.

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Know what I hate, and this is going to hurt some brethren and sisterern really badly.

There is NO WAY the media should be on the field seconds after the game ends.

Sure, I kind of understand the need for jubo (picture-slang for jubilation) and all that crap but all it does is make a mob scene of camera-people jostling with security people and the folks who should truly be relishing the moment – the players and coaches – can’t.

It’s stupid, it adds nothing to anything, and all it really doesn’t give anyone anything of substance to “report.”

Sure, you get the obligatory “it feels great” quote and a picture of coaches shaking hands at midfield but the quotes don’t matter, the picture can be taken from a hundred yards away in this day and age and it should be a moment for the teams, not the media.

We infringe far too much on what should be relatively private moments for teams that have gone through hell and need time to celebrate on their own. The security cordon that goes up around the field minutes before the game ends should extend to us, too.

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I don’t know what you saw back home but Doritos won the commercials down pat.

Although Seinfeld doing “Leno!” in the Newman role was a close second.

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Let me get this straight.

They did God Bless America with two nobodies from some game show and then the Star Bangled Banner with a game show winner?

What, they couldn’t get someone from somewhere else to do Battle Hymn Of The Republic?

The Murricans get me sometime.

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The Niagara Falls in me says the halftime dude did the best high wire act since Blondin.

But he wasn’t nearly as good.

-

Hmm. Football game’s over, they have the crooning contest on TV and I kind of recognize the one judge guy who wasn’t wearing his Muumu.

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Okay, enough of the football, enough of the afternoon game. I have a stupidly early flight to D.C., which should give me some time to really think about tomorrow’s offering and start planning for the longest homestand ever.

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The Goods On The Game, Raptors at Heat

Good afternoon, folks.

Welcome

A whole whack of mail ends the weekend

I asked, you delivered. Big time.

Gave me something to do a lot of Saturday but now it’s $3 Yeunglings and Magic-Pacers on the big screen here so the night’s over.

See you sometime late Sunday morning; we’ll be here for 1 p.m. and an IGBT though.

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Q: Hi Doug. Hidden like a nugget in Cathal's story on Andrea, is the notion of "collaborative coaching". Casey consults with Andrea from time to time. Andrea is respected by his coach, he loves this and responds.

What about "collaborative coaches"? Do you see it much? What has to happen for a coach to be mature enough to "let go" and for a player to earn such consultation? Regardless of exactly how much success it produces, does such coaching behaviour not offer a very mature "team" spirit for all to see?

Your thoughts?

Charles N, Mexico

A: I see it more with Dwane than I have with any other Raptors coach, actually. I know he’s had a meal, dinner or lunch, with everyone on the team at least once this season and that kind of dialogue can only help. In this day and age, I don’t think coaches need to be “friends” with the players they have to handle but they do have to try to understand a little bit about them away from the court to add some context to the relationship. And unlike in the olden days, players want to be talked “with” rather than talked “at.”

But it does take a level of maturity on both sides to realize that the ultimate decision on all team-related issues rests with the coach; the “collaborative coaching” ability lays that groundwork.

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Q: Good Morning. What's your thoughts on James biking to work? I worked in Kendall for several years and was only hit once. Luckily no lasting effects but I'm amazed they let him do it.

John P, Madison, WI

A: I was kind of taken aback, actually. Not that the team allowed him but that his security team let him go without some kind of a huge procession of armed guards riding tricycles alongside him. And I only kid a bit.

But I’ve also seen some horrible traffic in downtown Miami so it doesn’t surprise; it does surprise me that he didn’t have a helicopter. Kobe does.

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Q: Hey Doug: I know that you're not a professionally-trained psychiatrist/psychologist, but have you ever formulated an idea why you get some of the 'visitors' you do on your IGBT? In particular, they seemed out in full force for the Boston game. Do they have anger issues? Self-esteem problems? Do they feel that they will get 'publicity' by acting the fool?

But, based on that IGBT, and assuming that that is close to typical of what you put up with all the time, you're a saint! I'm surprised that the IGBT hasn't stopped suddenly during a game, with the explanation the next day that you hurled the laptop across the court in frustration!

Thanks for all you do - there are a few sane people out here who truly appreciate it!

Tim H, Windsor

A: I really wish I knew because, to be honest, it’s tiring. I’m sure it has to do with the anonymity afforded people that emboldens them, I imagine some of them simply like seeing their name on the interwebs and some just want validation for their opinions.

That said, the vast, vast majority of them are good and intelligent people who are interested in entertainment and dialogue. And that makes it fun.

Of course, now that you talk about “technical difficulties” that arise from flinging a laptop across the court, if it happens, it’ll be our little secret, right?

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Q: Hi Doug - I have questions about the lottery system. I’ve read about how it evolved into the complex selection process that it now is, with 4 numbered lottery balls being randomly selected from 14, for each of three draws (the order of the 4 numbered balls not mattering, similar to lotteries like the 6/49). The fourteen non-playoff teams are each given a selection of specific 4 number permutations. The lower in the standings a team finishes, the greater number of permutations it is allotted. The lottery draws determine only the teams and order of the first three draft picks; the 11 remaining teams select in reverse order to how they finished in the standings. My questions are: who exactly selects the specific permutations for each team? Does the team select its own permutations or does the league select for them? (Mathematically inconsequential perhaps, but still ...) And (the bigger question for me) how are the lottery balls inspected and are they individually weighed in the presence of team representatives immediately before the draw(s)? Do you know the answers and do you have any thoughts on the subject?

Thanks.

William G, North York

A: The league – or the accounting firm that does the actual drawing – determines the four-digit numbers, the teams are not apprised of them until they get into the room.

And they are inspected and, yes, weighed by an independent firm. I’ve actually been in the room where the drawing is held and all I can tell you is that it’s conducted in much the same way – and the same amount of scrutiny and seriousness – as any other “lottery” you can think of.

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Q: Hey Doug! So, I sense a preference for short and sweet questions this week, and while that's not my usual style (well, at least the short part) I'm up for the challenge. So here's a few that I hope you find easy and breezy to deal with. But please regroup soon, cause how will we engage with you if you continue this trend? Will you answer in groans and grunts (hahaha), nodding of the head, stamping of the feet? All good in their own way. But it makes this reader-writer engagement thing tricky! Anyway, here goes:

Grace Kelly is the Ultimate Hitchockian Cool Blonde but who comes second: Kim Novak, Eva Marie Saint or Tippi Hedren?

The Teenage You never missed an issue of Mad Magazine or Rolling Stone Magazine?

The last song you listened to on your iPod was?

When travelling, aisle seat or window seat?

Favourite type of puzzle: crosswords, word jumbles or sudoku?

Best NFL quarterback of all time not named Joe?

Last city in which you were seriously lost? And did you stop and ask directions?

Bill Belichik or Tony La Russa? Which one of these two friendly laid back dudes would you want as your next door neighbour?

First LP you bought with your own money? Do you still own it?

Best thing about not being in Indy this weekend, and the worst thing about not being in Indy this weekend?

Cheers!

Lorie P, London

A: This is like some kind of odd word association thingy?

Sure, I’ll play. No grunts or groans.

Kim Novak, hands down.

Mad Magazine. But I was far more Sports Illustrated and the Sporting News.

You think I know how to work an Ipod? Hahahahahaha.

Aisle for trips under three hours; windows for naps on cross-continent jaunts.

Crosswords when I have the time.

Johnny. As in Unitas.

Boston. Figured it out on my own, as men do, right?

LaRussa. Longer season, he’d be gone more often.

Hmm. Fading memory but I’m going to say the White Album and have no vinyl, sadly.

Best: I do not line up to go into any saloon and I fear I would have had to; worst: No shrimp cocktail at St. Elmo and we’re only there once this year and it’s the second game of a road back to back so might not get in basketball season. May need Pacers to make Finals.

Did I pass?

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Q: Hello Doug. I recall Derozan saying that he was saving his best dunk last year for the final. I still think his first two were better than Griffin. How can we get Derozan to show us what else he's got? I was also wondering if there has ever been talk of skills competition between the Raptors? I know certainly not this year and would see it more like an open practice and fun competition between friends.

Robert M, Charlottetown

A: I don’t think you’re going to get to see it; I understand DeMar is done with dunk contests, as well he should be, having been robbed in a fixed one last year.

And I’ve never heard of any plans to ever hold an all-around skills competition but to watch ‘em go against each other in, say, ball-handling, shooting, speed dribbling, obstacle course stuff would be great. They should do it full-blown at an open, free practice next year at training camp. Or, better yet, this year on some off-day to reward long-suffering fans.

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Q: Hey Doug. In one of your posts earlier you mentioned that it'd be a long shot for Bargnani to be picked as a reserve player for the All-Star game and it got me thinking... if DeRozan is NOT selected to partake in the dunk competition, Toronto likely won't have ANY players there for any of the festivities. No rookie, no soft more (I highly doubt Davis is going for the rookies vs Softmores), no 3 point comp, no obstacle course, no All-Star game and like I mentioned, possibly no dunk comp.

I never noticed before I guess, but does this happen to teams all the time? Zero representation?

On a side note, I don't really care that much for the dunk competition anymore with all the silly gimmicks now, but if I did, I would think there are much better dunkers than DeRozan this year and he hasn't exactly been "posterizing" anyone this season either.

Thanks again for a great blog and great read every day.

Julian H, Oakville

A: The only evidence I have that it’s happened often before is that a handful of colleagues like to gloat over the fact they can take all-star weekend off ‘cause their teams are not represented. So, it happens, probably often.

Is the best yet to come? I wonder

Okay, that was, at times, a rather sloppily-played game between two teams that still have a lot of work to do which leads me to wonder one thing:

What’s it going to be like Monday in Washington when each of them is playing its third game in four nights?

Anyway …

You’ve all read the mail, I’m sure; now read this while the airplane takes me to rainy South Florida.

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THREE POINTERS

Highest compliment

A couple of weeks ago – or maybe it’s only a week ago since this season seems to be just one long week – Dwane Casey paid, for him, maybe the highest compliment he could give James Johnson.

“He never gives up on a play.”

And we saw early last night a perfect example.

Defending a smaller guard in transition, Johnson reached around and stripped whoever it was before he could get into the paint. Wizards got the loose ball, it went to the other side of the lane and Johnson recovered in time to come from the weak side and block a shot. If that wasn’t enough, he hustled in transition the other way and had a follow dunk of a missed that was waved off on a questionable basket-interference call.

Never mind that, Johnson’s hustle and work ethic are, right now, something to be impressed by. He may not make many shots but if he keeps giving that kind of effort, he has to keep playing.

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So much for being sick

Great line from Casey on Leandro Barbosa, who had to sit out Friday’s shootaround with the flu – or “flu-like symptoms” if you want to go by the team’s statement.

Well, Barbosa cheats death, comes to the game, leads ‘em in scoring with 19 points even though he’s sick and his ankle’s not 100 per cent. Typical Leandro game.

“Whatever he ate last night that made him sick, we’re going to give it to him again tonight … I thought he was a little weak but he still performed and did a good job of really giving us a spark in the first half.”

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Linas’s time

As we mentioned in the gamer (go here to read all about it), Dwane’s decision to go to Kleiza early in the second half was to jump-start a stagnant offence and quell a Wizards run.

Worked pretty well, didn’t it?

But for those who wondered why he didn’t get used in the first half, it had everything to do with the way the game was going (well) rather than any worries about over-extending Kleiza, Casey said.

“We want to make sure we watch his minutes a little bit; he’s not on a minute restriction, I just wanted to be cautious with him.”

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And now …

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Okay, pet peeve/digression time. And it’s been said before but today’s a pretty good day to bring it up again.

I presume a lot of you are planning some social event for The Big Game on Sunday afternoon and it could very well involve a stop at whatever local you call home, right?

Well, do me a favour?

Spend some money.

I know people who are in charge of saloons (Hi, Stef!) and one of the pet peeves of all tavern owners on days like Super Bowl Sunday is that too many patrons show up at 3 or 4 p.m., order maybe one soft drink or something a wee bit stronger and they might nurse it for hours.

Now, I’m not saying you have to go out and drink and eat until the cows come home and spend yourself into bankruptcy. But servers don’t make an awful lot of money – by law their employers don’t even have to give them minimum wage, which I think stinks – and they live on tips.

If tables aren’t being turned over, and they rarely are on Big Game days, and you stiff the guy or gal serving you because you’re tipping on a tiny, tiny bill, that’s wrong.

Take care of the people who are taking care of you. Please.

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Hey, guess who was at the game on a rare night work assignment?

Stevie Boy.

And here’s what he’s got for you.

Good work, no?

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A very nice piece here by Cathal may leave one with a different perspective on Bargnani, who opened up in a big way away from the practice court.

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With news of another relapse catching everyone on off guard, I can’t for a second begin to understand the demons in Josh Hamilton’s mind.

The Texas Ranger slugger – and who didn’t marvel at his home run contest performance that night in New York – is back in the news after having “a few” drinks this week, losing for a moment his fight against a life-threatening addiction.

What grips a man, or a woman, to become addicted in the first place has to be scary enough and something few of us, thankfully, will ever have to deal with. What the fight must be like daily to stay clean and focused and not give in to a physical urging and mental temptation that’s omnipresent takes a strength of will I’m sure I don’t have and a strength I imagine few do.

I would hope that sports fans who appreciate the immense skills that Hamilton possesses, are not angry, nor pitiful of a man going through a time that must be unspeakably difficult. I know none of us are close to him, we appreciate him from afar but if there is a way to offer mental support rather than scorn, that would be a good idea.

It is easy for fans to ridicule from afar when things go bad with the men and woman we idolize for their athletic exploits. It’s also wrong and what’s that old saw: “There but for the grace of God go I?”

Take a second when you read that story to wonder how you would deal with the same situation had Hamilton been a family member or a close friend.

I don’t know addiction at all, it would seem to be a scary and unexplainable condition that is the most difficult thing in the world to deal with.

We love watching Hamilton hit and run and throw; he deserves now to have some peace and space to deal with his demons. His human failings are laid out for all to see; this is a sad story.