Cheer the people, not the jerseys

I’m sure you might have heard about the Raptors and the camouflage jerseys they’ll wear tomorrow night against Chicago – and three other times this season – as a tribute to the Canadian Forces.

Not sure exactly how I feel about that; I can see it as a bit of co-opting an issue (support for the men and women who put their lives on line for us every day) but I can also see the “honouring” aspect of it and whatever we can do to increase awareness of the risks these men and women take and thank them for it, we should do.

It also helps that some of the proceeds will go to Forces family fund that, among other things, is used to construct sports facilities for the children of servicemen and women.

And it is part of a longstanding relationship between Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment that dates back years; they give time and money and support to the forces and that’s a tremendous thing.

There will be members of the armed forces and their families who are at the game as guests of the Raptors and that’s another good thing.

And I will tell you this:

We can debate until the cows come home Canada’s involvement in various conflicts around the world, it is a discussion not really suited for here, but when they get around to recognizing the servicemen and women and their families in the arena, whether it’s by trotting them out to the court or playing some video tribute, I would think a standing ovation would be in order.

These men and woman have chosen, at great personal sacrifice in many cases and knowing full well the dangers inherent in their choices, to put their lives on the line daily for our country. They deserve all the accolades they can get, and we need to give them the respect they deserve. It doesn’t really matter, I don’t think, what your opinion is of what we do, you cannot help but feel respect for our soldiers.

Still, doesn’t something rankle, just a little bit? Can’t really put my finger on it, whether it’s a level of exploitation or something like that, or trivializing what the men and women do each day but there’s just an uneasiness about it.

I guess, on the whole, it’s not a bad thing when everything is taken into consideration.

The jerseys themselves are, um, unique. As a one-off thing seeing a guy standing around wearing them and they don’t look too bad; I’m wondering what the totality of the view will be when there are five of them running around a confined space. I can see the retina-burning possibilities there for sure.

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Wow.

Peter The Irregular sends this in and it’s classic:

More than half of the Raptors 30 losses this season have been closer than Monday night’s 8-0 Leaves game.

Take that to your MLSE Trivia Contest. Means nothing but kind of nice to know.

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Oh yeah, C. Kelly is in New York for the big tilt tonight; I’m planning a restful night so the IGBT will be back tomorrow for the Bulls.

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Guess the Old Smith Reverse Jinx worked well with the football, no?

Peyton Manning’s headed to Denver – and doesn’t that tempt fates taking work away from Tim Tebow – and all the Alex Smith stuff quiets down a little bit.

And another Alert Irregular points out that there is speculation that Smith will indeed change representation and, frankly, I think he should regardless of where Manning ends up.

Tebow? Mythical Just Win Quarterback should probably stay put and be a backup to a guy who took his job after having four neck surgeries and who is in the mid-30s. Will make Tebow’s return to pick up the pieces if or when Manning gets hurt all that much more dramatic.

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Only saw snippets because Bulls-Magic was a bit compelling at times and Celtics-Hawks was like watching a train wreck but totally underwhelming inaugural performance by DWTS pre-show favourite Martina Navratilova.

Too bad.

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I’m sure you’ve all read the dispatches this morning about the HOTH and the fact that it’s about 99 per cent that Jose Calderon will return tonight (he’ll go through shootaround just to be sure the wonky ankle is okay) and he’ll be right back in the starting lineup.

As he should be.

Forget for a minute that I don’t believe guys should lose starting spots – generally – simply because they are injured; I will repeat this one more time: The Raptors are simply better with him running the offence.

Andrea Bargnani thrives more with a point guard who is accomplished at running high screen and roll stuff; Calderon is a better distributor all around and everyone else is more effective.

It is, to me, a no-brainer.

But that is not to say the Jerryd Bayless hasn’t filled in admirably and isn’t playing some fine basketball.

I’ve seen him, and continue to see him, in some kind of backup, score-first energy guy coming off the bench, kind of a Barbosa Lite right now, a quick fearless guard able to take his man off the dribble and one who’s shooting better now than he has at perhaps any time in his career. There is a spot for a guy like that on this team and unencumbered by the presence of Barbosa, whose “take three steps back, drive the ball just about every time he touches it” style kind of limited what his second-unit backcourt mate can do.

That’s Bayless’s job now and I would think he could shine in it.

Barring any further setbacks for Calderon, the rest of this season amounts to a 21-game audition for Bayless to see what he can do; he is a restricted free agent in the summer with no 100 per cent guarantee to be back. I know the organization is high on him, they see a young, accomplished scorer with solid defensive skills and in many ways, the departure of Barbosa was done so they could get a good look at Bayless in a role they see quite suitable for him.

Hope he takes the ball and runs with it; and I fully expect he will.

 

 

 

Comments

[D-Mac Ottawa]

Another banner day on the ol' Doug Bloggerooney. A fine oasis, this.
Cheers. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWApqG3j3ao&feature=related
Go Raps!

[SAS]

@steve well because Bayless hasn't been given a real shot based on the stigma of him being a combo guard. Look this game is a mental game. If you tell someone that your only a combo guard and only good enough to come off the bench and score then eventually that's what your going to believe. If you tell someone your the starter and you have the keys, it's a different mental approach that's why Bayless averages 20 and 7 in his last 5 as a starter and he averaged similar numbers at the end of last year when he started. Unless the raps get Nash, theyll be better off going with Bayless as opposed to trying to draft a point or trading for a "score first" pg who the league is full of.

[Chris]

@ Rob V. Your use of "naive" and "uniformed" in describing armed forces members is certainly ironic.

Your comment about the over 30 enlistment is ignorant. Of course you can join after 30, or 40... or 50. The majority of the forces, especially the reserves, are actually over 30 so your basing your comments on nothing. The opportunity is there for most who want it, providing a job that can provide higher wages than some can make elsewhere but this is not like other countries where people have forced service or even aggressively pressured or are economically forced in to the military, like a neighbor of ours. I will agree that knowledge of the dangers should be reinforced to cadets and younger people trying to join but I think in Canada more than ever, people know what they are getting themselves into.

Most importantly, most of what the Canadian forces are doing is PEACE work, holding up the values you hold so dear. Your statements demean that sacrifice

As for "Armed Forces", it's a statement of fact, they could be called the Super Fun Marshmellow Forces, but it not quite as factual. Not to mention, it's generally referred to as "Canadian Forces" anyway. Seriously though, it would be amazing if every country agreed to dissolve all militaries and weapons but until then I would prefer to not be vulnerable, our military is suprisingly small as it is.

[Steve]

@SAS He got strings of starts in Portland too, you (and others) keep focussing on how many points he can score yet that is clearly not what is holding him back from being a starting PG in this league.

[doug]

@Steve you say me using Billups as a example is a poor one, how is it a poor one?...Bayless is exactly the kind of player that Billups was/is...Billups had a hard time getting playing time as he wasn't a true pg, but he was what he is and is what he is, Billups was and is never a true PG, but he was named a 5 time all-star and 3 time all-defensive player as a guard...to me I judge players on talent, and Bayless is talented, whatever you want to call him...so to me the Raps are making a big mistake,because as a earlier poster said, in todays NBA a true PG is not warranted or even necessary, that's why Billups excelled, that's why Rose excels, and Williams does...in todays NBA a PG has to score and attack, as Nash does as well, Jose and Bayless are both talented, so to say it's one or the other would be a huge mistake from a organizational point of view...and I don't have a clue what Stefanski's plan is, but whenever I hear of a management team speaking of a "plan" it makes me nervous...as sometimes "plans" discount what is right in front of them as talent is talent plain and simple...