Heat show the two-man domination; and who shines in a Game 7?

So that was pretty much what the Miami Heat can do and there are two thoughts in the wake of their series-clinching win over the Pacers last night:

Can they do it eight more times and win a title?

Why haven’t they done it 100 times before?

That was as good a two-man game as I’ve seen in a very long time (guess Wade’s feeling pretty healthy after that five-point Game 3, no?) and showed, for one night at least, just how potent Wade and James can be playing with, and off, each other.

They ran pretty much the same play with a slightly different look when they took control in the fourth quarter, one of them using a high screen, the other flaring to the sideline and it was unstoppable.

I don’t know if the Pacers got the Heat so riled up that Miami put any differences or egos or whatever aside but the two of them in the final three games of that series might have been as good as they’ve looked as a “team” rather than two individuals all year.

I don’t know if they can keep it up, though; something always seems slightly askew with that team, there’s always some drama and the rest of the roster is so flawed I don’t know if they can beat either Boston (if that’s who it is) or the survivor of the Western Conference final.

But for last night, it was a sight to behold; no disrespect to a Pacers team that played hard and never really quit but that was completely one-sided from about the second quarter on and it never felt like Indy could steal a win.

-

We all know that the Philadelphia-Boston series that will wind up Saturday night has been far from esthetically pleasing – downright ugly at times would probably be a more apt description – but you have to admit, there’s nothing like a Game 7.

In almost any sport, any round of any playoffs, if things come down to one game it’s worth watching and paying attention to.

You get to see who can put aside the inevitable nerves and angst, see who can deal best with the mounting pressure, find out who shrinks and who shines.

The games, at least the ones I can recall well, aren’t generally the greatest ever played, most likely because everyone’s been careful not to make the one glaring mistake that will cost their teams so dearly. It adds a whole different layer to the narrative, finding the one guy who can take over with so much on the line.

We saw the great Kobe Bryant had a dog of a Game 7 in the Finals against Boston a couple of years ago; but I also saw Tim Duncan have 25 points and 11 rebounds in a sublime Game 7 for San Antonio against Detroit in 2005, as good a basketball Game 7 performance I can recall in the last decade and a half.

And talking about dog games, I’m not even going to mention John Starks for the Knicks against Houston (well, guess I am).

Trying to figure out who might shine Saturday in Boston is a mug’s game but if I had to come up with one name, I’d figure Paul Pierce has seen it all, been through it all and this is a game he could simply take over.

-

Speaking of Philadelphia, was typing the city name and this came to mind.

Not bad, eh?

-

Seriously, outside of the days when there’s been some contentious issue or hard news, I can’t think of too many times where there have been better comments and more fun than we had yesterday.

Thanks.

But I don’t know that I saw in a single ‘favourite concert’ note one mention of any of the SummerFests at Rich Stadium.

People? Really.

-

Looks like rain which means I’ll escape any kind of yardwork for at least a bit today so before they make me clean inside, give me some more mail to do, would you?

Click. Write. Send. Make a fella happy.

-

Hey!

Mighty Red Tigers some number.

Dastardly Other Team some number MINUS ONE!

Yep, we may not have an unbeaten season but we’re not going to have a winless one, either.

Gonna make tomorrow’s very long, very full practice a bit easier to take.

-

This really has nothing to do with anything except a couple of friends I have down there and a general angst about the future of our industry but news this week that the New Orleans Times-Picayune was going to basically shut operations as a daily paper were jarring.

It’ll still publish three days a week but it’ll be a horrible replica of what’s out there now as the owners shift to a total web-based news operation; jobs – many jobs, I fear – will be lost and, frankly, the people of New Orleans will be short-changed as it becomes the only “major” United States city without a daily newspaper.

Two things stand out:

Cities like New Orleans “need” a paper if for no other reason than to do good, solid reporting that keeps civic officials, business leaders and, yes, cops in check. Papers – physical papers – still provide an invaluable service to their readers and their cities; they are watchdogs as much as information-deliverers and it simply is not the same if those words are on a computer screen because (a) I’m not sure they carry the same weight and (b) not everyone in that city spends an awful lot of time at a desk reading; you always saw the Times-Pic in coffee shops and the odd cocktail lounge it struck me they has always been well used.

The second is, and this is totally personal and reflects my age, I fear, is that I truly believe newspaper reading is close to a tactile exercise as it anything else. I truly think kids these days – and far too many adults, too – are missing something by not sitting leisurely for at least a little bit every day flipping through the pages of a physical paper if they’re just looking at some screen on some laptop, tablet or phone.

It’s fun to read with paper in your hand, kind of relaxing and you should try it sometime.

We’ve been lucky here in Canada that we haven’t lost any major papers, we have ownership still willing to weather any financial storm, we have designers who make them look pleasing and inviting and, right across the country, we have brilliant reporters and columnists who serve readers in so many different ways.

That might translate to a fully-web-based publication but I doubt it and I’m glad we haven’t had to find out.

-

 

 

 

Comments

[john g]

My sister works for the Globe and is just in the process of finding out if she's to be laid off for 3 months or if the Globe will accept the union's Rae days offer. They're going firewall online, NYT style this fall.
I had a Globe subscription (and read this rag and others online), but I've cut it out.
Personally, and this has been echoed by some friends, there are a handful of great writers on all the papers (I read you and John Doyle both, though I don't watch tv or follow basketball that much), but newspapers have been cutting investigative reporting and farming news out to AP too much for me.
I now get more commentary and news from bloggers and activists sites. The Globe particularly, but all MSM seem to be shying away from true investigative work and giving all government levels too easy a ride. From McGuinty, Ford and Harper, all have had it easy with their issues. I would have loved for Ford to have been charged with attempted assault, for instance, for charging your reporter.

Rant over, back to sports.
Nice column.

Blogger's note: The "rag" line was a bit much. But thanks

[Chris]

Hi Doug,
Perhaps it's a function of my age as well but I see no difference in enjoyment between reading a paper online and reading a paper version. Not having ink stained fingers not having piles of paper to throw in the recycling, and not worrying about the papers blowing in the wind is actually a big plus for me.

[David in Oakville]

Good morning Doug, very thoughtful column as always. Delivering your fine newspaper to homes in Burlington was pretty much my first job and the first brush with commerce for many young people in the past as well. Not sure how many young people experience that now either. My wife is a life long subscriber to your sister paper in Hamilton and as is sadly common now, the newspaper is thrown at our doorstep from a car around 4 am each morning.

Why don't more people subscribe to a daily newspaper... in my case it is quite simply GUILT. I always felt terrible about putting barely read newspapers into the blue bin and I felt even worse looking at a stack of them growing adding another item to my "to do list".

But you are right, very few things measure up to a Sunday morning spent sitting on the porch listening to the CBC as I thumb my way through the Sunday Star.

[Mr. Cook]

I don't live in Mother Star's geographic wheelhouse so I read it online. As part of my cornucopia of past jobs I have had to read immense amounts of the 'news' section of newspapers in Canada and the US national papers and I would agree with John G that specialized websites--and some blogs--have become better at investigative reporting. I will always buy physical copies of the weekend Globe for as long as they print Mr. Simpson's cryptic crossword but the moment they stop, I will stop buying it. That paper, in particular, has lost all its gusto for actual journalism. The lack of journalism in favour of 'commentary' is also my biggest problem with all newspaper outlets these days as well. I'm more likely to find a scoop or breaking news in the US from Talking Points Memo than I am from the WaPo or NYT (in fact, they've both been scooped recently on some major electoral news) and for human security issues you'd be better off reading Glenn Greenwald's blog or Jeremy Scahill's twitter feed (seriously? seriously) than any MSM outlet. Beyond your points about the tactile nature of reading a newspaper--and I agree with that even though I don't do it anymore--I would say the broader danger is becoming used to online sites that create an information feedback loop. As you mentioned, newspapers function as watchdogs and its one of their most important roles. Local websites are never as good as newspapers are for the nitty-gritty details and only the more prolific national level websites get the proper amount of access necessary to break stories, though they do it well. But if you read the same ones every day you also miss out on another major function of newspapers which is to challenge your worldview with factual information and good journalism. If you read HuffPo, Think Progress and Talking Points Memo Every day (I do) then you miss out on virtually anything that runs counter to the way you think already because the editorial slant of each of those is designed to agree with their reader demographic's opinion. Well balanced news outlets, even ones that seem slanted like the Guardian, the Nation, Harpers, and so on, avoid that and I would suggest to anyone that reads all their news online to go to sites they generally disagree with and read them each day--for me that would mean things like Post, Globe and Quebecor Media groups. As a veteran reporter, Doug, it must be crazy for you to watch this change in the industry and I'm not sure what any outlet can do about it. An earlier comment mentioned the Globe is going behind a paywall, and that made me giggle, I read the entire NYT online every day and I've never paid a cent for it--newspaper paywalls decrease readership and are quite literally one of the easiest things in the world to get around.

[horsetickler]

Hi Doug. I've been a silent Irregular since the original Nothing but (Inter)Net days, but your talk of newspapers has inspired me to break my silence. As a person of a vintage just slightly less seasoned than you I miss the tactility of actual paper, but I miss solid investigative reporting even more. Good reporting costs money and I for one would be more than happy to pay a reasonable amount to access quality online news. I've always thought it was a mistake for media outlets to start giving their work away for free and I fear now we're paying for that with more 'recycled' stories, more surficial reporting, and less diversity in the media landscape. Quality journalism is essential to a healthy democracy as it stimulates and informs public discourse and holds power to account, but that has to be paid for and unless we want news that is beholding to the interests of corporate advertisers it has to be paid for by us...if we care about our democratic society and values that is. Thanks for the the excellent job you do and for the chance to share my two cents (or my nickel I guess since there's no more pennies).

[Rob.V (Captiva Island)]

I'm not sure I agree. Maybe I'm of the same vintage as Chris however an actual paper makes zero sense to me. Everything should be paperless really.
-
I haven't picked up a newspaper in years until this past week (because the resort I am at keeps delivering them). Now, I suppose it is nice to be able to read some US news I wouldnt normally read however other than this (no offense) it's more or less been another daily recycling concern.
-
And if it weren't for this tablet of mine, a guy wouldn't be able to go off and get married while still having the ability to check in here the odd time for all the irregular hijinks (like yesterday-which was really good, sorry I missed it).
-
I suppose there are others travelling around the world doing the same as well. This is great advantage for papers and readers alike however the actual "paper" may be obsolete.

[jb]

I think the Heat should be able to beat Boston. They get 3 days of rest while Boston has to play game 7...Boston needs the rest more.

I'm not sure the Heat can beat the Thunder or the Spurs without a healthy Bosh...even then it would be competitive.

I'm looking forward to the Thunder and Spurs match up. Youth and athleticism vs experience, Pop's coaching and of course the legendary and yet for some odd reason still underrated Tim Duncan. Should be a great series.

[john g]

Apologies if offence was taken for the 'rag' comment. I had assumed it was just slang for a paper, not a derogatory term.

I agree with David's comments about reading various sources. I have a list of sources with right and left wing slants, and though my politics are probably a bit left of this paper I find the constraints of the torstar style tend to limit my reading here, other then arts and sports.

It does seem that the papers are missing the central point in this time of declining readership. We want to find out what's going on in the world, and if you're not digging everywhere and working hard to tell us in as unbiased a way as possible, we'll look elsewhere.

And once again, Doug, thanks for this column. You have my readership based on a combination of respect for the athletes and your readers as well as your personal takes.

Blogger's note: All cool, thanks

[marc in panama]

Hola Doug,

Just wondering mi amigo, do you miss the clickity-clickity-clack, Ding!! of the old Underwoods in the newsroom too? It's a technological "Circle of Life", isn't it? Scribes were replaced by the printing press, and the printing press is being replaced by electronic distribution, which one day will be replaced by a yet as undiscovered technology. "A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away. Turn! Turn! Turn!"

Ciao amigo.

marc in panama

[Chris]

Doug you're right about almost everything in your newspaper digression. But Canada has lost a "big-city" daily recently. Transcontinental pulled the plug on the Halifax Daily News in 2008. It wasn't the greatest paper ever, but it pushed the stodgy old Chronicle-Herald, which, in the absence of real competition, has since reverted back to being terrible.

[JT]

Doug,

Saw a news story on TV yesterday about Magloire and within the news story (community work by Jamal), they said he is to re-sign with the Raptors sometime this summer. Have you heard anything?

Blogger's note: He wants to come back, there's mutual interest and we'll see where they are in July when they can do something

[Gary Mugford]

Doug,

As a former member of the brotherhood (I've had my byline appear in your fine paper, amongst others), it pains me to watch an institution crumble. The problem, surprisingly, with the shift to bits and bytes on the intertubes is that you can't happen upon a story as easily as you could with the real dead-tree version of the news. Scanning the pages with a real newspaper allows you to discover stories and pictures that isn't replicated on the web. Sure, there are links aplenty, but they are a pre-selected throughline that writers/editors decide on at the site. I've got more focused abilities to get the news I KNOW I want, but less of an ability to sponge up new ideas and information than I had when I was a Star delivery customer. But delivery problems prompted me to cut that out three years ago, a truly horrible decision to make. And I regret it occasionally. But not every day.

One piece of good news is that Warren Buffett has actually been BUYING newspapers of late. More than 60 at last count. The man buys to hold, too. So, unless he's gotten stupid suddenly, maybe there's still something about the newspaper business that has some life in it that we don't see. Mind you, he's buying small town papers.

If ANY town needed a reporting watchdog, it's the Big Easy. You have to wonder if a number of potential story targets aren't holding a bit of a celebration today. Three days today. Tomorrow?

[Chris C]

So it seems like superstars from other teams are putting out public endorsements to try and bring players in as free agents. Latest is Dirk for Deron Williams. Over the past few off seasons, this seems to be more of an effective recruting tool than talking to agents. Are our "stars" doing anything on this front that you know of?

Blogger's note: No

[jb]

To the poster above me.

Umm, we don't have any "stars". We essentially have a bunch role players on a contending playoff team(if the raps ever became contenders).

Who the heck would want to come to Toronto given the players we have...unless the raps grossly over pay.

[Chris C]

@ jb, thats why I put stars in " " . its tough to detect sarcasm sometimes but thanks for explaining my point to everyone else.

[Vincent Lam]

A more underrated song from the Philadelphia sound track is the one by Neil Young. It's his haunting voice and a piano. That's it. Just incredible.

[Andrew Potter]

Hey Doug,

Regarding the last section in today's blog, you should YouTube (it's a verb now!) David Simon's hour-long keynote speech to a group of Berkeley students and professors regarding media, journalism and newspapers.

Simon had worked for the Baltimore Sun, as well as the police department before going on to collect numerous accolades for creating what many critics contend to be the greatest television show of all time: HBO's The Wire. Also of relevance to today's post regarding the paper in the Big Easy is that post-Wire, Simon went on to create the television show Treme, about musicians in New Orleans in the aftermath of the hurricane.

The man is incredibly well-spoken and given his abundance of life experiences is able to offer a very compelling case for the future of 'the Paper' and of media in general. Well worth a view, even if you are unfamiliar with his television work (which, if you are unfamiliar with, you should also watch sooner than later; it's fantastic).

Cheers!

Here is the Berkeley speech: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRt46W3k-qw

Here is a shorter version adapted for a speech to the Senate: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTJl0gWySJA

Blogger's note: Treme might be the best show on TV

[sam]

It wasn't long ago that we heard satellite radio was going to be the death of terrestrial radio. Hasn't happen yet and I doubt it ever will. Satellite radio remains a relatively small percentage of weekly listeners. If anything over the air radio continues to grow. Perhaps a little more fragmented, but still highly regarded and listened to.

Newspaper is a different kettle of fish unfortunately. In some locales the local papers have become nothing more than a vehicle to disperse grocery and hardware store flyers among other things. Papers of a more national level should continue to do well.

Doug is right though, there's nothing more enjoyable than flipping through the pages of a news paper. Awhile back I let my subscription to the Star go by the wayside, because I could read what I wanted online. My Saturday Mornings weren't quite the same though,and I found myself missing the routine of scanning the front section of the paper - reading the sports front to back and then tackling the crossword puzzle. The lady of the house even commented that she missed seeing me read the paper.
I'm afraid that the world moves a little too fast and there is a trend to have instant news, communication and analysis of absolutely everything. Websites deliver that -

[m]

I wouldn't miss the Sun chain of papers though. They are thoroughly trash.

[Peter T]

Mr Needham (?) who had a column on the bottom right side of the editorial page called the Globe the "Mop and Pail"

Does that show my vintage?

Lots of good comments on the newspaper business.

[Lorie]

Hi Doug,
Lots of great stuff today from you, (well, as usual!) and commenters about newspapers. And why we need them. I still two daily papers on week days and try to finish three on Saturday and Sunday. And like a previous commenter, preferably while on the deck, and while listening to the CBC. Oh, yes; I'm smitten by newsprint. And it started early. I grew up in a home where we kids literally fought with each other in order to be first to read our favourite section of the paper. I recently came across this little item that reflects many of my thoughts concerning the importance of newspapers. Don't imagine it's out of date. So, here's a Top 10: Reasons For Reading a Newspaper.
1. My newspaper has never crashed, gone down or flashed animated ads at me. There's a feeling of an almost personal escape in holding a newspaper - or book - and the last thing I want are ads flashing, icons beeping or other interruptions to my total absorption in what I'm reading.
2. Anywhere I travel, my newspaper goes with me. I don't need a laptop or a wireless connection or a PDA.
3. I can read my newspaper while standing, while eating, while riding a bus, but not while driving my car, which is just as well since I should be paying attention to the road.
4. If I read a story I like, I can tear it out and save it, and not have to pay to read it 30 days later.
5. I don't have to sign in or customize or register or remember passwords to read my newspaper. And I often enjoy articles in my newspaper on topics I wouldn't normally think I'd be interest in. There's that serendipitous thing.
6. My newspaper has high resolution pictures and type on large papers that make it easy to browse and enjoy.
7. My newspaper is cheap, disposable and easy to replace. If it's lost or stolen, it's no big deal.
8. My newspaper is not made of unrecyclable toxic materials.
9. If my newspaper makes a mistake, the correction is posted with an explanation. It's not sneakily applied to the original story after I've read it.
10. I can read my newspaper sitting outside on a nice day in the sun, even if a breeze is blowing, because I know how to fold a newspaper.
And what's a comment from me without some music attached? That includes a newspaper. And Frank Sinatra.
http://youtu.be/_m0yN3j7fLU

[doug]

one of the most enjoyable things for me to do ...is not be in a rush, go to a local coffee shop that has booths (I scope them out) order the breakfast special and peruse a newspaper from front to back...I tend to be a regular at certain spots as I say the table has to be big enough, and the waitress's know to just plop down my meal right on the paper I have spread out in front of me....have did it for a long time, and it's one of my little pleasures in life,nothing to me beats the printed page.......cheers...

[doug]

this is a very interesting article on the Spurs and their lack of attention they get...I agree with points in it and strongly disagree....be a good talking point I feel on here sometime...ok cheers

http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/25/us/san-antonio-spurs-ambivalence/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

[Dan]

Just thinking that my newspaper reading over the past ten years has shown me the repeated biases of many of the mother companies. I am in need of reading as many perspectives of the same story as possible and therefore really appreciate the access and ease of online reporting. There is so much focus on angles and spin and messaging I find it really tough to believe much of what I read. I have found a few writers that I respect and find credible, but for the most part I am very skeptical of large corporate news outlets.