People who don't think, a quagmire of a draft and a great is gone

You know what?

Sometimes people are so idiotic it makes me laugh and wonder how they ever got as far in life as they have.

Really.

Two prime examples this week, one from the world of sports, one from the world of politics, each lacking common sense, tact and brains to the point you just shake your head.

The first is Amar’e Stoudemire, who used a gay slur in a tweet and ended up being fined $50,000 by the NBA, which is entirely cognizant of the damage that can be done by mere words and the impact they can have.

The second is this Canadian Senator, Patrick Brazeau, who, as far as I can tell, is famous for some comical boxing match with Justin Trudeau, a farce that probably had Justin’s dad rolling in his grave.

Anyway, here’s the story on this Brazeau guy and we can only wish there was a league to fine him; instead he’ll keep eating at the trough with one of the greatest “I don’t really have to do an honest day of work the rest of my life” jobs out there.

My point, and it’s certainly not limited to these two because we know so well, is that athletes, entertainers and politicians, is that twitter can be a dangerous thing and people who use it – people who tend to have many followers – need to be, simply, smarter.

This whole “connecting with the people” aspect of all social media can, indeed, be a wonderful thing. There are athletes who crack jokes, make points, give insight to themselves that you might not otherwise get and used correctly, it can be a powerful tool. For people like me, it can be a tip sheet, it can plant a seed for a future story, it can provide a jumping off point to a nice conversation.

The trouble is, it also lays bare the dopiness of some. It’s a rush to make proclamations, it’s speaking (or typing) without thinking and it makes you wonder about the common sense factor of some of these men and women and if you don’t have simple common sense, it’s going to make it very difficult for you to succeed in whatever is your chosen field.

I know people in the media relations field who shudder at the very thought of their players or clients holding an iPad or a Blackberry or an iPhone with idle time and anger on their minds. It is truly fraught with peril and often leads to the embarrassments that were Stoudemire and Brazeau this week.

These are men that should know better and they obviously don’t, it’s one thing to open yourself to the world if you can handle it; it’s awfully telling about your personality if you can’t.

End of digression.

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Unconfirmed by anyone of importance around the ACC, of course, but there’s every reason to expect Real Madrid to be here this fall for an exhibition game.

It’ll be fun, it’s often nice to see other teams, and despite it being mind-numbing pre-season ball, the words of one wise man resonated yesterday.

“It’s better than watching Detroit scrubs.”

It is. Marginally.

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So, it turns out I know another Hall of Famer and I can’t think of a better pucks scribbler I’ve known in my years than Paul Hunter. Dude covered the Leaves for decades and did it with aplomb and class and dignity and never mind a Hall of Fame mention, he should probably get a medal.

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Oh yeah, the NBA Draft.

Well, I’m sure you read this story that gets you up to speed with the HOTH (although I would imagine things have changed in the 16 or so hours since we talked to Bryan) and I’m sure you’ve looked wistfully through this photo gallery of the past Raptors choices.

(Man, there were some funny looking uniforms, weren’t there)

But here’s the thing about this draft: There is no telling what’s going to happen and the speed with which information filters out may make these words obsolete by the time you read them.

Had one guy tell me yesterday no one has a firm grasp on what’s going to happen two through seven – will Charlotte trade back, what’s Houston doing, who does Portland like, how big a splash does Golden State want to make – so it’s impossible to know what will be there at No. 8.

Yes, Bryan said he had three names in mind – if I had to absolutely guess it’d be Dion Waiters, Austin Rivers, maybe Perry Jones or Jeremy Lamb if you think Lillard wll be gone – but that list is elastic.

If, for instance, Phoenix finds a way to trade up, it’s to get Waiters so he’s gone; if Houston finds a high lottery deal with Orlando no one knows what the Magic might do; Portland may love Lillard but can’t pass on Waiters. It’s totally mixed up right now and all my advice to you would be is to sit back, enjoy the speculation, check back here later today and then forget it all because a lot of the real stuff won’t happen until tomorrow morning.

Yes, it makes it impossible for me to do the Mock Draft they want but what the heck, doing the impossible is what we do.

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Of course everyone remembers this vignette from When Harry Met Sally (I heard it being played somewhere in Casa Doug last evening) and it is a classic.

(Meg Ryan’s hot, eh?)

But if you want to talk about lives well led, and led with depth and talent in so many ways, and lives complete, there was so much more to Nora Ephron it’s amazing.

Read the obit – and make sure you read Heather Mallick’s accompanying piece – and marvel at the depth of talent.

No, they don’t make ‘em like that any more; the world’s a bit worse off today.

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Mail?

Sure, let’s start.

I imagine there’ll be a flood Friday morning after Thursday night’s shenanigans but I’m sure there’s other stuff on your mind, right?

Click. Write. Say hello. Send.

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I see Cathal’s tipping Portugal which means I should take Spain to give it some juice and conflict except I’d like Spain to win and in the whole reverse-jinx life I lead I wonder if that’s wise.

It’s so confusing.

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Okay, a mock draft -- picks 1-14, to do this morning and you can probably start mocking the mock this afternoon when it’s posted here.

Was thinking about extending it to the second round but didn’t know where I’d slot Remon van de Hare or Giorgos Printezis or Tyson Wheeler or Jimmy King or DeeAndre Hulett.

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Comments

[LeeZ]

Ah, Meg. Why oh why did you have to get all those restraining orders issued against me? It wasn't stalking so much as lusting from afar...Great seeing that clip again, and great seeing Billy Chrystal pre-botox and face lift. And as some of you probably know, the woman who says "I'll have what she's having" was none other than Rob "Meathead" Reiner's mom, who also passed away a couple of years ago.

[Heath]

So, was this past season the swan song for the exec of the year? Still haven't heard why he hung up his black Chuck Taylors.

Blogger's note: Still waiting to reach some people

[David in Oakville]

Looking at that list of Raptors drafts is both nostalgic and informing. It seems, of all the GM's, Isiah did the best, Grunwald and Colangelo's records are mediocre at best (okay in the case of BC a lot is left to be written) and Rob Babcock really was the disaster we all remember him to be. Say what you will about Isiah, but looking back he sure laid a pretty decent foundation for this franchise.

Happy to hear you are backing Spain Doug ;).

[Rob.V]

I don't own a twitter account however I'm not sure I would want one. I've heard Howard Stern go on about how his "fans" are relentless in taking jabs and him all day long so I imagine it's probably very difficult for atheletes to manage aswell, no?
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I mean they probably take a barrage of negativity every day from people and I'm not so sure I'd want to read that stuff if I were in their position. I'm not absolving amare however I imagine this guy caught him on a bad day and Amare responded without thinking.
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Now, he certainly could have chosen to use a different word however having to endure jack ass after jack ass coming at you via twitter on a daily basis might even get the best of us sometimes.
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The intent is to connect with your fans however you unfortunately have to connect with the public... and we all know that the public are well.... um... crazy people!!!
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In the end, the guy had the nerve to ask Amare for free tickets to a game... I give Amare a pass.
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Meg Ryan was a cutie however the pull back and the botox in the lips have not been friendly to her. Unfortunate really. What ever happend to aging with grace?

[DaveT (Ottawa)]

I think shedding the Dino+pinstripe uniforms in favor of the solid white home and purple road uniforms (oh, and that draft pick from 1998, what was his name again? I never say it...) helped make Toronto a viable franchise. Yes, the dinos on the front were that bad. Naming a franchise the year after "Jurassic Park" came out is always a risky business. Where are the Huskies?? I think a husky would be able to evade a raptor in a dense jungle and I'm quite sure it could take down a Bobcat or two.

But I have to say, I have a soft spot for the purple uniforms. Maybe it's just fond memories of the clean-up crew of V.C, A.D, JYD, Alvin Williams and Mo Pete... I agree we have too many uniforms, but I wouldn't mind a throwback game with the purples.

...I'd prefer 40 or so wins, though.

[sam]

I know Amare makes a lot of money, and I know his tweet/comment was wrong on so many levels - but $50,000 fine seems absurd. I understand that every action has a reaction. David Stern as the moral compass of the NBA? Shouldn't he fine himself for the inane comment he made to Jim Rome a few weeks back?

The NBA draft is reaching a fever pitch, and the pundents choice at number 8 vary - Let's get it over with and start he free agent shopping/trade portion of our summer.

Meg Ryan was the ultimate girl next door type...

[Scott T.]

If you forced me to predict what is going to happen, I'd say that BC has very little interest in Waiters and is using him as a decoy because he wants someone else. If you have 8 guys on your board ahead of Waiters it makes sense to build him up and hope someone takes him before you.

This seems like the same strategy BC used when he told everyone about how he liked Jrue Holiday and basically every mock had him taking Jrue and then he skips over him to take DeMar. I highly doubt that we end up with Waiters and would expect that if he's available BC would pass over him.

[John_S]

@ Scott T

There was a feature on NBA TV which showed the behind the scenes for the 2009 draft. Apparently Demar was the guy from day 1 (Masai Ujiri said that it was his "sole duty" to make sure that Demar was there at 9) but they did really like Jru Holliday.

Also not sure what mocks you read prior to the 2009 draft. Draftexpress, ESPN, SI, collegehoops.net, NBC sports, hoopsworld, probasketballnews all had Toronto taking Demar.

To be quite honest, I would guess that most people haven't seen a lot of these guys play other than a few NCAA games here and there. Obviously alot of people would be familiar with Davis and Barnes but if anyone can say with a straight face why Lillard would be a great pick based off of more than some youtube clips and mock drafts then they are either Lillard's mom or outright lying.

Here's hoping that the Raps have done their due dilligence and will pick the best available player regardless of position because we need all the help we can get.

[doug]

I agree with the above poster..yes Amare was completely wrong in posting what he did but how can Stern fine him $50,000 especially after he made a bigger disgrace of himself....I am growing tired of these commish'e new edict being "we are the moral compass of our league's"...come on let's get real here...Stern in the last couple years just seems to have lost all credibility and I think his compass needs to be re-set......"Meg Ryan is the ultimate girl next door type" true statement that, but she paid the price career wise for having a affair and then subsequent divorce, too bad as people want their stars to be in real life it seems to me what they appear to be on screen....and it just isn't so...I'll be glad when the draft is over, then to me the real off-season begins, trades, free agency etc...the draft in all sports the last few years have taken on a life of their own, so much hyperbole for not much .....like going on a date with the best looking girl in school, all excited only to find that the other girl that sits beside you in english class is funnier and more interesting to be with....thats why to me the draft isn't high on my list , results 3 years later yes, not now , as people no one has a clue zero,nada,zilch as how these players will ultimately be as pros....ok cheers...

[Dave B]

I predict the Raptors will not pick at number 8 for themselves. They will either move up or down in the draft. I would like to see them get Rivers. He genuinely seemed to want to go to Toronto.
I also hope they don't take on Nash with a big contract. I am afraid he could become another Olajuwon, past his prime.

I know GMs can't talk to Free Agents until the first of July. Can they talk to agents? In other words, can they get an indication from the agent as to if Nash being interested in going to Toronto or not?

Blogger's note: Technically no

[Mos High]

I have to agree with John S. Majority of us have no real clue how these players play. Only what we here or what is put out there.

For years Ive been saying that Raptors scouting has been sub par. They need to make a splash with a good pick at #8...Or again I think they deal that pick in a useful trade. Its time for Raptors to make a realistic positive move. No more Joey Grahams or Arujo type pic's.

Ed Davis wasnt bad pick but I think he will need couple more years to develop. Not sure if Raptors have the time to groom so many youngsters. WE NEED PLAYOFF BASKETBALL IN THIS TOWN!!!

[Mike kovacs]

If you read Brazeau's 'apology' it is not an apology at all. Any comments on the Bobcats/Pistons trade? It seems a large price to pay for a draft pick.

[jaunty]

I want to comment on a reader from a few week past - The reader wrote that there was a "new era" for old school Raps uni's with the younger generation. Which was di-missed by the host! Since that coment (as I work and live in dwn twn T.O - not sure what is Happening out in North Mississuaga) BUT I have been paying attention to such since that post and would have to agree (now) that I am seeing lost and lots of the Purple/Red hats, hoodies, jerseys and even one lad wearing a spring coat. I did notice aswell they all seemed to be under 15.Too young to even remeber Vince, Tone, Oak and Mcbaby.

I just read your (mock draft) and yes they are a crap shoot for the most part - BUT I hope your right with the guesstamation of Rivers. I believe he has that "winning is eveything and losing is not exceptable" attitude...love it! The attitude winners are made of. This Raps team NEEDS that - he should be a cant miss prospect. OR if not Liliard is going to be a great player in this league (forget about he played at a small school) so did S. Curry and look what he has done in GS. I would (personaly) rather Rivers then a trade for Lowry - unless they trade the 8th for Lowry and the 16th pick that has been rumoured and pray for Rivers or Liliard to drop (doubtful tho). There are just as good PG's as FA's this year (Goran Dragic) would be wonderful on this team then to trade the pick. Then Calderon for Deng (as rumoured this week) would be a perfect day!

[Andrew Gregg]

HI Doug:

Not going to mock your mock. I love reading all the stuff out there but I think some of the mocks have gotten carried away with trying to be different. I saw one that had the Raps taking Tyler Zeller at 8. Don't see it happening, though I think Zeller will be a decent, serviceable pro. But the real question should focus on where Coangelo sees the team going at this point. Bargnani's flash of excellent play last year, before he got hurt, was a sign that the Raps could be a play off team right now, if you consider them a 7 or an 8 seed.

The fans in this city have waited long enough, so they won't be interested in drafting a project who could be good in three or four years. I think Coangelo has to go for the surest thing available at 8, and that might mean Rivers, if Waiters is gone. Rivers has pedigree and swagger and from what I hear a willingness to work hard. So maybe he fits best as a rookie on a playoff contender. With Waiters skipping out on the workouts, it makes you wonder if this guy's value isn't overhyped right now. Same with Lillard--his lack of first-tier competition in college might translate into mediocrity in the NBA--at least in the short term.

I also think that Coangelo can slough off a bit of the pressure because he already has a ROY candidate in Valanciunas.

The other element in play is who are the Raps going to pick up on the FA market (Wallace, Landry)? With the amnesty and the space under the cap, I expect us to be watching a very different, more competitive team this coming season. I think Casey is the right coach in the right place and this team can grow quickly under him. Call me a hopeless optimist, but I can see good things happening. The pick will be the first indication, for me, of where Coangelo sees his team going this year.

AG, Toronto

[jaunty]

For the Host -
Blogger's note: "Please at least have rudimentary knowledge of the rules, can't amnesty a guy and sign him back". This was your respeonse to me when I gave you 5 good option on how we can improve the PG position and get rid of Calderon. My point was that Calderon is not going to be a back up PG at 10.7 mil, my point wasnt the amnesty rule. 1 of my 5 realistic options were for JC to be amnestyed then sign him back - at whick time I wrote "mabey"...meaning not sure how that rule works, so I gace 4 more options. SO, excuse me for making the statement I wasn't sure (and noted that), but I encourage you to read the post people send through and thru - not get caught up in the what or why people dont like your golden child - JC. We are allowed taht. And excuse me if I dont know every last detialed rule (especially the ones that are only months old) Im not supposed too - not my job - you dont know them all and it is your job. No one not even coaches know every last detail of every rule (even when they are commenting on or coaching on them)...so why should I??? I gave 4 solid realistc other options...which is enivatablely going to be done (because BC and big Ed have both said they want to improve that spot) soooo..BYE BYE JC....wont miss ya one bit!

[Lorie]

Yes, yes, Meg Ryan's adorable in that clip, but wasn't her 'acting' :) in that scene was eclipsed by Nora Ephron's perfectly tuned climactic line: "I'll have what she's having."? With that one line, she was speaking for the rest of us saying: "Yeah, we may not all be as young and cute as Meg, but we want some of that and dammit, we're going to enjoy it, too." I loved Nora Ephron's writing - her films, books and essays. She was the big sister I never had; born just enough years ahead of me to have already encountered, survived, and written about - in a witty, acerbic way - much of the life stuff I'd soon be going through. About impending motherhood: "If pregnancy were a book they would cut out the last two chapters." About kids: "When your children are teenagers, it's important to have a dog so that someone in the house is happy to see you." And finally, recently, about aging: "Your cleavage looks like a peach pit. If your elbows faced forward, you would kill yourself. You're two inches shorter than you used to be...Your hands don't work as well as they once did and you can't open bottles, jars, wrappers. If you were stranded on a desert island and your food were sealed in plastic packaging, you would starve." She made everything seem as though it was going to be okay. And eventually laughable. Or at least endured with a wry smile. And in her films, her writing always found the pitch perfect punchline, so this is my favourite "When Harry Met Sally" scene.
http://youtu.be/zMo36SfyQhw

[Nick M]

Had a read of the mock draft. If the choice is between Waiters and Rivers I hope the Raps go with Rivers. I agree with many of the posters, we may not know a lot about these players but we know the school's they come from and the reputations those schools have. We have a def. minded coach and Waiters comes from the home of the zone that has a reputation for producing players whose first priority is definitely not defense...
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@jaunty, I am going to preface this by saying I am a Jose fan, but realize that there is a need for an upgrade at PG. That being said, I don't know whether keeping Jose is right or wrong, next year the Raps are getting PERHAPS 3 good new players (JV, this draft pick - or a solid player if he is traded and possibly a good/solid free agent). I see keeping Jose as insulation for BC from himself because we are all aware that BC can get carried away with overhauling a team.
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This is all speculation, but rather than amnestying Jose and spending all the money this year, by keeping Jose the BC allows the new players to help improve the team but also leaves financial flexibility for next summer should certain players not pan out.

[jaunty]

@ Nick M...I would personally like Calderon back next year BUT only as a back up PG...only on these two occasions: 1 - its for 4 million or less (which is impossiable to happen) and 2 - If Bayless doesn't accept the qualifier (if offered) then JC is perfect for that role with this team. Bayless can score in bunches, run a team, play D, start if you need hm too...he just needs to stay healthy (thats his biggest headline) I would still run with Bayless as the back up over JC, tho...my opinion!.

[Angelo]

hmm, so if Lillard is available at 8 according to your mock draft the Raps would pick Rivers over Lillard? Find that doubtful but we'll see.

[doug]

they say beauty is all in the eye of the beholder...out of the many sayings out there this one to me is a very true statement, as there are many examples we all know that make it so....well when they call soccer "the beautiful game' i really can't concur, I would rather watch ice barrel jumping on the old Wide World of Sports, or Chris Schenkel calling Saturday afternoon bowling on ABC (which as a kid I use to watch religiously) or even and I know others remember it Putt Putt golf world tour...soccer has great moments but during that game today I found myself channel surfing to re-runs of King of Queens...it's a incredibly boring game, water polo and European handball have more action...so it isn't the beautiful game to me, it's the game with one true moment of action if your lucky...todays game was poorly played and yes it went to shoot-out but come on it was like watching paint dry....cheers...

[J]

@Jaunty:

Not your job to know the rules, no, but it would make reading your so-called good opinions less of a waste of time... "mabey". =P

[Scott T.]

@John S. The thing is, yes, a lot of the 2009 mock drafts final picks on the day of the draft had the Raps on DeMar, because I think they finally sniffed it out. The same thing this year as a lot of the final mocks today have the Raps off Waiters. But my point was that early on they had the Raps on Jrue because the Raps were talking him up and then he got so hyped that some of the final mocks even had him going ahead of the Raps. That same thing is happening to Waiters as a lot of the final mocks have him going ahead of pick 8 which is ludicrous. My guess is he most certainly is available at 8 and that the Raps pass on him.

Again I'm not saying he won't be a good player like Jrue is, but that his rise into the lottery and ultimately all the way into the top 8 is not going to happen. Teams talk up players for various reasons and it's usually because they don't want the player. Of course this is the only thing mocks have to go by so you can't fault them for moving Dion up.