Is the Heat hype dying down just a bit?

I recall chatting with Chris Bosh at all-star weekend in a rather quiet moment – the throngs were over bothering Dwight Howard about his future and Chris was been left pretty much alone.

We were talking about that very thing, how the Heat were, it seemed, close to “just another team” rather than a circus sideshow that they had become their first year together.

He liked it, of course, and figured that maybe all the hoopla was, in some good way, dying down.

It has. But only to a point.

The Heat pays its only visit of the season to Toronto tonight and they come in carrying much less baggage and intrigue than they did last season.

They are good, no question, but they don’t seem to be The Basketball Beatles any more. They attract crowds but not nutty ones; they are popular but not as loathed.

Guess that’s natural with the passage of time and the calming of emotions, but the one thing they’ve done to help ease thing is not do anything stupid; they’ve played – and played extremely well for most of the season – but they have pretty much just gone about the business of doing it.

It will be interesting to see the reaction they get tonight from the audience, which might be a full house but that’s not assured since a check of ticket availability Thursday afternoon showed all kinds still out there ready to be purchased for exorbitant prices.

I’m sure there will be a smattering of boos for Bosh (still contend he needs more cheers than boos for the seven years he gave the franchise; seven years where he was never really, truly surrounded by another star for long enough) and I’m sure there will be a smattering of cheers for LeBron (although certainly not to the disproportionate level of love shown, say, Kobe Bryant or Jeremy Lin).

But the overall sense I get, and it is perhaps because we haven’t over-hyped the game (I remember going to Indy a day before the Heat came here a year ago for the express purpose of seeing Chris), is that this is just another game, albeit one against a marquee opponent.

I could be proved wrong but there seems to be a lack of the venom which was free-flowing a season ago.

How they manipulated the system is still wrong and still rankles but it seems to rankle a little bit less.

Agree?

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I am all about apps.

A week after the switch, I gotta tell you, I’m quite okay with this iPhone thingy.

Have learned to type using the pads of my thumbs rather than the nails (hello, autocorrect!), the speed is amazing and we’re good to go.

Apps time, people. I don’t play games, would rather have printed information that video and all suggestions gratefully accepted.

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Mail?

I have no idea when our website got entirely back to normal – huge glitches yesterday – so I have no idea how many, if any, of you got to check things out yesterday.

But if you didn’t, I really need some mail and you can click here to send it.

Say hi, I don’t bite.

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Brawl?

They call that TFC-Santos dust-up the other night a brawl?

I’ve been around a few bouts of fisticuffs in my day – I’ve seen flares lit in Greek arenas and machine gun-toting guards flanking fans for their safety, I remember a Canada-Brazil (I believe it was) tussle in Montreal where a chair might have flown, recall a minor Canada-New Zealand scrape in either London or Kitchener a few years back.

What’d they all have in common?

A lot of guys swinging while backing up and looking askance for teammates, coaches or police officers to come in and save the day.

Sure, it’s emotional and there’s lots of jawing and chatting and gesticulating but brawl? In the loosest form of the word, I guess.

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So, how many of you looked at the giant jar of pennies somewhere on some counter in the house last night and thought:

“What the heck am I going to do with these now?”

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With our website issues, not sure if you’ll be able to find Nothin’ But Net or all the stuff that goes with it. Suffice it to say, it deals with the surging San Antonio Spurs, mainly, and how you cannot discount them as a legitimate championship contender.

But it also includes a very good Dwane Casey line that came from when we were talking about the Heat and how you go about playing them.

“Make sure you go to mass in the morning, that’s the key.”

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This one caught me entirely by surprise yesterday.

The NBL Canada has lost its commissioner – John Kennedy has to step down after this weekend’s all-star weekend in Halifax due to a “family emergency.”

That’s a tough blow to the league – and I don’t know what the private family emergency is but I hope it’s not too too serious because John’s a good guy who helped me a lot this season – and the next hire is even more important.

A lot of groundwork went into getting ready for this huge off-season when sponsorship deals have to be put in place, expansion needs to be discussed and some franchises need to be guided through tough markets.

One of the problems leading into the first season was the short time some teams had to make deals; they need the entirety of this season to get ready for Year 2 and the board now has to act quickly – and get the right man – for the job.

Better polish my resume, eh?

(I keed, I keed)

 

Comments

[Matt Daub]

Good Morning Doug, After watching Coach Casey and the way he handles himself in front of the media and again after the visit to Sick Kids, I am completley convinced that he was a very good hire for the organization. More and more coming out of time outs, we are seeing well drawn up and well executed plays, open looks etc. Hope the Raps can hang tuff tonight.. a great App is called Big Oven....thousands of recipies, punch in three things in your fridge and it will tell you what you can turn them into!

[Peter]

There's one reason, and one reason only, why you're not suited to take the NBL job. If Pizza Pizza came to you with a league saving sponsorship deal where if a team scored 100 points... Well, you know. :)

[jc]

Even the Heat can't beat the excitement of what the TOD pulled off yesterday. Getting the winning run on a walk, steal second, steal third, steal home? Never seen that before. Ahhh spring...

[Diego]

Hey Doug - FYI but the link to the mailbag is "broken" (not sure if it's just my computer/connection).

On another note - any sense of how Bosh, in that quiet moment you had with him at the All-Star weekend, is adjusting to being in Miami and playing with Wade and James?

Thanks

[Andrew]

Best iPhone app is flipboard to better present your twitter streams.

[Eric-in-NS]

At 8:45 ET I can't get your Star Sports front web page to load.
Had the same problem last night. Don't think the problem is at my end.

[snapback]

Thank you for it ! Really intreresting! It have been always interesting to read shuch news!

[JC]

Doug, the Star website has been down since early yesterday. I'm surprised the blogs work. Any idea when it will be fixed?

[Gus]

Hey I saw you at the Subway where I work yesterday in Mississauga, meatball marinara fan eh? I kept looking at you funny because you looked familiar then I realized after who you were. A little taller than i expected, but maybe because your always standing beside NBA players, duh.You should come more often, big fan.

[sam]

I'm still having issues connecting to the Star website- for some reason I was able to access the Blog through my Facebook page.
I've been considering an iPhone as well - have played with the ipad, own a mac desktop, but have been a dedicated Blackberry user, owning a playbook (bought on sale) and smartphone. For the young uns in my office the iphone is an extension of their daily, sometimes hourly activities. Constantly snapping, surfing, texting and uploading - very rarely using it as a phone.

Looking forward to seeing Bosh tonight. Also looking forward to a HOTH win. . . or at least a hard fought game.

[Tim H.]

Hey Doug:

Do you think you _could_ do a good job as Commissioner of the NBL? I assume that you wouldn't want it, but do you think you'd be able to?
Thanks!

Blogger's note: No, have no business acumen whatsoever

[Dan]

I disagree with you on the Heat. Not about the hoopla dying down- it has for sure- but I disagree with your claim that they manipulated the system or that it should rankle at all. There's no evidence they did anything any other team doesn't do. They were just extremely successful. Dan Gilbert tried to make a case that the Heat circumvented the rules, but he came up empty. It's fair for people to resent a winner (especially if you live in Toronto), but that doesn't mean anything nefarious was involved.

[marc in panama]

Hola Doug,

Moving to an iPhone, was this a personal decision, or is this a corporate move away from BB? How does this move impact your job regarding communicating to players, agents and sources? Was a platform like BBM used much for that, or was it email and phone call based? Seeing the players like you do, what would you say are devices they use? It amazed me during the Lombardi trophy presentation at the Super Bowl, how many Giants whipped out iPhones to record the trophy being marched up the platform through the team. As for apps, WhatsApp is a great multi platform messaging app that works a lot like BBM. And since you are always looking for new places in cities you visit, Urbanspoon might be another good one to look at.

Ciao amigo,

marc in panama

Blogger's note: Company move; gives me more ways to "engage" people

[Nasko]

hey Doug, not sure if it is me, but I can't find Nothin' but Net on the site.
There is no link in your blog either. Have a good one

Blogger's note: We had some major website issues the last day or so

[Andre]

Not sur if you saw this on Grantland: http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/22559/the-versatility-of-andrea-bargnani

It is an analysis of how the Raps used the pick and roll during the Denver game. It is an interesting breakdown of the game at a pivotal point.

[Rob]

I don't agree at all that it's "Wrong how they manipulated the system".
They were free agents, they had a right to sign with whichever team they chose. It doesn't rankle me at all. Never did. Why would I blame Bosh for leaving when we couldn't do anything to entice him to stay?
I'm rooting for them to win this year. I don't have any hate on for Bosh. I'm STILL far more disappointed with Vince for not trying while he was here and demanding a trade.

[Tom]

I know it's an aside from Basketball, but I was at the Leafs game last night and was really cracked up when the Leafs fell behind 7-1 and the fans started chanting, "Go Blue Jays Go". Too funny. And as bad as things have been for the HOTH they are still playing hard and competing and the crowd at least appreciates the effort. You can at least see a light at the end of the tunnel....

[Steve]

The only thing Miami did "wrong" was provide an attractive enough destination for big free agents that they were willing to take a pay cut to go there because they felt that the management was capable of putting the pieces around them to give them a shot at a title.

[Mich G.]

One of my favourite apps, and I'm an admitted Macophile, is Flipboard. It's an app that essentially lets you create your own magazine. It works really well with Goggle Reader, an rss feed reader.

You basically put all your RSS feeds into Google reader, then once in Flipboard you login to Google reader (one time initial setup). The result is a beautiful intuitive magazine with all the content you want to read. You can also follow people via twitter.

This app would be excellent for you to follow your colleagues in other cities.

[david]

Fans should cheer Bosh tonight, as the team is moving in a better direction without him. When he was here, it was all about him.

An iPhone app you might find useful in your travails is called Bulova Time. It has a World Time page where you can set up a tabulation of local times in as many cities as you want. The app is relatively new and might still have some bugs - but the price is right (it's free).

[Peter]

I made a comment this morning that wasn't offensive. I don't see it posted. I'm assuming it's a technical glitch, just thought I'd pass this information along. Of course, you could be sick of me by now. :)

Blogger's note: Got caught up in our glitch, sorry

[Lorie]

Doug!
For one of the most enlightened men I know I am shocked - shocked, I tell you. "Right (*ahem*) MAN (*ahem*) for the job"? Now, I don't intend to go all ballistic on you. I know you really meant to type "Right PERSON for the job", so I'll make this gentle. Less Helen Reddy, more Peggy Lee. In fact this one by Peggy Lee should do nicely. Cheers! Enlightened Inclusive Ones! And, of course, Go Raps!
http://youtu.be/rfz-aSyPIBo

[doug]

you know someone mentioned the Grantlland piece , it made me think that yesterday your mention and description of the Raps "one four clearout" was interesting and received some positive feedback...so maybe you could have a play of the game analysis, or even in the slow times have a basketball 101 type thing...as I was fortunate to start playing ball at 14 with a excellent coach, so we had zones such as 1-3-1, 2-1-2, box and 1,triangle and 2 etc, ingrained in our brain, plus how to try to beat them on defense, also pick and rolls, double screens, princeton O...again if your taught it you recognize it during games, but it's a hard thing to pick up as a casual b-ball observer...my friend who became a b-ball fan later in life, is constantly asking about this and that, I am more then happy to explain, as the more of the theory and technical side you understand, the more the game comes to life....there is much talk about the players, teams, trades, etc...but the last couple days made me recognize not enough time is spent analyzing the "chess match" nature of the game, and their is a whack of it going on or not going on (such as some coaches trying things, others don't respond etc)....ok cheers, and the Spurs piece was good, as there a team no one talks about or mentions but watch out for them..be interesting playoffs..

[Mike kovacs]

The best use is FaceTime - can talk to and look at people via the i-web without long distance charges as long as they have an i-phone, ipad or i-pod touch.

[JT's Hoops Blog]

I was happy for Bosh when he left for Miami. I rooted for him in the Finals and I still root for him now. He gave Toronto seven great years with little or no success. I believe he has earned his right to be on a championship team, even though it is not Toronto.

There should not be any hatred towards him. He did not pull a Vince Carter tanking his season forcing the Raptors to trade him for minimum value. He has stayed classy throughout. He never cried that he wanted a trade. he saw an opportunity to contend for a title and he took it. Who would not have chosen playing along side Lebron James and Dwayne Wade for a chance at the NBA title, over languishing over the next six or so years on a mediocre team.