Hardly a thriller but at least something was on the line

That was a dog of an all-star game, wasn’t it?

Over before it really began and I cannot imagine anyone in the world expected Justin Verlander to get lit up for five runs in the top of the first, pretty much rendering the next few hours moot.

But the National League now gets home field advantage in the World Series and, you know what, I’m fine with it.

Sure, it’s an all-star game and maybe not everyone’s at the highest level of intensity all night but it does add a level of competitiveness that might otherwise be absent. If you listen to players, they do care who wins and some of that has to do with what’s on the line.

It’s not the olden days, when there was no inter-league play and there was a true rivalry between the National and American leagues but putting some kind of edge on the game can’t hurt.

I’d much rather something like home field decided in a contest rather than by some arbitrary method like alternating years or record.

I guess regular season record would be the second alternative but the baseball schedule is so unbalanced, I’m not sure that’s fair. I can see it in the NBA, where the schedule is at least a bit more balanced and it’s records of the two teams in the final that determine who has Game 7 at home.

Now, as all-star games go, I’d probably have a tie at the top of the list between baseball, where there is some strategy and no hitter or pitcher wants to be embarrassed on such a grand scale, and basketball, where the first three quarters or so are for show before a fourth quarter can be quite entertaining and competitive.

Hockey? It’s never got anything approximating an “edge.”

Football? Yeah, right. It’s so far fourth it can’t even see third.

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Theme week digression time.

Been a few days of US Armed Services sitcom memories, hasn’t it?

Well, M*A*S*H* is the gold standard and that’s not even open to debate.

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Well, Mr. Stein got someone else on the phone last night and found out it didn’t take long for Jerryd Bayless to make a move.

Bayless is off to Memphis – no terms – and while it’s kind of tough to see a good guy go, it’s just part of doing business.

Raptors needed the money on the offer sheet to have a cushion to do their other deals, there’s a logjam at the positions he plays here and was just time to go, I guess.

Not sure it’s a huge on-court loss for Toronto. They have two proven NBA point guards in Calderon and Lowry, they have DeRozan, Fields and the rookie Ross they want to develop at shooting guard and I don’t know how happy Jerryd would have been as a fifth or sixth backcourt guy.

Good for him that he found a landing spot quickly, hope he likes barbecue and blues. A bunch of time at BB King’s or the Rendezvous isn’t a bad time at all.

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Oh yeah, the qualifying offer to Sonny Weems is off the table, too.

Not entirely sure why, it was worth next to nothing (about $1 million I believe) and was non-guaranteed but it’s gone.

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I read somewhere early this morning that the Dwight Howard Saga should end today.

Seriously. I did.

Can’t come soon enough if it’s true.

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I think I’m going to need a big decompression day sometime soon so if you wanted to start the mail today, that’d be greatly appreciated.

Think we’ll have a moratorium on Nash questions and “why Fields” queries, okay? Thanks.

Click. Write. Send. As usual.

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Hey, we’re coming to Montreal and Rama, I see.

Rama caught be a bit by surprise, hadn’t heard about moving the intra-squad game – guess it’s a bit of a show for a different audience and had a grown a bit stale at the end of a week of training – but Montreal was kind of rumoured for a bit and I’m glad they got it taken care of and announced.

Great city, as we know; was a great event when we were there a couple of years ago and kind of looking forward to getting back there.

Plus, we’ll have the added bonus of sitting around the media room telling “What if Nash did this” stories and I can get some inside stuff on Landry Fields.

The last training camp rumbling I heard was Halifax, not sure where that sounds but it’s going to be another cross-Eastern Canada kind of month. And that’s not a bad thing at all.

Oh yeah, Winnipeg gets Minnesota and Detroit in a pre-season game as the league expands its global tours to include a game other than one featuring the Raptors or Steve Nash.

Guess it makes sense with the Timberwolves for the geographic reason and I would assume the game would draw a sizeable crowd.

I’m just wondering when they’re going to make the Grizzlies go play somewhere up here; Vancouver would be sweet, no?

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Not sure how I missed this but yesterday there was some kind of celebration of the 2015 Pan Am Games that are coming here; three years from opening day and can you feel the excitement?

No, me neither.

For what I’ve gathered and read about the games, a truly second-rate multi-sports event in the global sense, they are stuck in a morass of political bickering and delays and unknown costs to the taxpayer.

Maybe they get it all worked out and maybe there’s a buzz a couple of years from now but at this moment, they are so far off the radar, I’m not sure spending even a dime to tell people it’s three years to kick off was a good idea.

Yes, if there is a legacy of first-class facilities for youngsters to use in the future, that’s a good thing; hands up anyone who thinks that’s going to come without some significant cost. If at all.

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Howard saga stinks on a lot of levels and a real Home Run Derby

As you listen to the out-of-world Dwight Howard trade scenarios (and it’s beginning to make Toronto’s four-team, double sign-and-trade epic that ended up with Turk with the Raptors seem like a simple transaction) one word keeps popping into mind:

Why?

Why would the Cleveland Cavaliers want to help the Brooklyn Nets get any better?

Why would the Los Angeles Clippers or Charlotte Bobcats – the possible fourth teams in the convoluted transaction – come late to the table to facilitate a trade that makes a rival better.

Take the Cavs, for instance.

At one point they were going to get – and may still get – Kris Humphries as the centerpiece of their end of the transaction. Now, I like Hump a lot and he’s become a very solid player now that he realizes what he’s with and I hope he has a long and productive and lucrative career. But doesn’t he play the same spot as Tristan Thompson, a younger, cheaper Cav piece as that team tries to re-establish itself.

And shouldn’t the Cavs, more than any team in pro sports perhaps, be averse to letting other teams create all-star casts?

Didn’t the scream bloody murder when LeBron exercised his contractual right to join another team with two other all-stars and now they’re perhaps going out of their way to let a star get his way despite him not being able to move freely on his own?

I don’t get it, I truly don’t.

The league, once again, will look ridiculous when this is all over and done with if Howard has finagled his way to the one team he wanted to go to.

It will once again send the message that petulant players – and their agents – can hold teams hostage to get whatever they want.

I’m sure there will be more venting and whining and commenting if and when this gets done but right now, the salient points are that if I was a fan of a team facilitating a deal that would seemingly make a rival far stronger, I’d be ticked.

And for those who might think this is a player – Howard – getting tired of being treated like chattel and trying to simply work where he wants, here’s the main point: He willing told his team last March that he was “all in” and would stick around this year; he made quite the fuss about that and now it’s apparent he cannot be trusted.

This is not a free agent finding a new home, I have no problem with that regardless of the team a guy wants to go, this is a guy holding a franchise hostage with his petulance.

If I’m the Magic, I find some trade with some team that isn’t New Jersey, force Howard to go there, play a season and then become a free agent so he can go wherever he wants. For the salary that’s available next summer.

This whole Howard saga has stunk since it started, I guess it’s fitting that the greatest stench will come when it’s over. And will permeate the entire NBA.

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Apropos of nothing and only because a reader mentioned it and it made me smile, I think you need to put Bilko on a par with McHale, don’t you?

(And, yes, we need to some day take a poll of the greatest of the old-time sitcoms).

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Got another one of the silliest e-mails we get on a regular basis yesterday:

“Wade undergoes successful surgery”

Duh.

I’m waiting for the one that lands and says:

“Player X in danger of losing leg after minor surgery goes horribly awry”

Or:

“We think the doctors did a good job, as soon as the leeches get done cleaning up the wound we’ll know for sure.”

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I’m honoured to work in a craft with some great writers, insightful commentators, excellent reporters and generally good women and men.

And when I read something like this – my man Marc Stein’s tremendous recap of the Steve Nash story – it reaffirms that thought a hundredfold.

This is as good as it gets for its thoroughness and insight. And I know our business; this story could only be written after years and years of getting to know players and coaches and agents.

It’s great. I told Marc that last night; you need to read it.

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So, of all the contrived, made-for-TV pre-all-star events in any sport, I think I’ve got the home run derby near the bottom.

It drones on and Chris Berman has got to go and it was weird seeing a BP pitcher looking like he was pitching around Jose Bautista in the final round. The kids in outfield are kind of cute, I guess, but I half expected some brawl to break out when they were fighting over pop ups.

Now, I will admit it’s a shallow pool – the Saturday night of the NBA all-star weekend and the pucks thing are far from must-see TV – but I’d probably like to see four innings of a prospects game and some other skills competitions than three hours of batting practice.

Besides, the only true Home Run Derby has been off the air for decades.

Remember this?

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Oh yeah, the Raptors.

A whole bunch of travelling yesterday as Bryan, the Henchmen, the coaching staff and various others headed to Vegas for the Summer League (a little training camp this week, games start later on) so it was uber-quiet on the roster front.

But now that BC’s out there with a couple of dozen other GMs, who knows what might happen. The sense on the weekend was that things were going to calm down a bit, I hope that’s the case but, as we know, things have a way of heating up rather quickly.

One thing we don’t know yet, though, is who’s on the Summer League roster. It’s a rather fluid situation as teams try to piece together workable groups and agents try to get their clients into the most enviable situations.

One thing to know, though: The only people on the Toronto roster who really matter are Ed Davis, Terrence Ross and, to a somewhat lesser degree, Quincy Acy.

The rest is flotsam and jetsam and while someone will undoubtedly score a lot of points and make their names known, this is all about seeing how Davis and Ross and Acy perform.

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It's fun watching the true greats master their craft

Here’s one for you:

How good is Roger Federer?

I was lounging around a bit Sunday morning with the Wimbledon final on as white noise in the background and all of a sudden I was drawn into it totally, amazed by the mastery of Federer and what he does in his sport.

There is no real sense in comparing athletes of different eras or different sports – it’s good bar stool talk and a solid discussion-generator but it’s somewhat pointless – but I will say this.

I think you could make the case that we have seen in Federer the absolute greatest. He is beating time and all comers, he is a master at his craft without much pomp, he is beauty rather than brawn and that’s always more alluring to me.

He is 30, practically geriatric in the world of professional tennis, yet he awakens today as the No. 1 player in the world, with his seventh Wimbledon title, his 17th Grand Slam and his first tennis major since 2010 to put on his mantle.

I don’t know much about the game, actually, I tend to catch the final weeks of Wimbledon, the French Open and U.S. Open, so my knowledge of the intricacies of Federer’s game is quite limited.

But I do know greatness when I see it, do know when I am watching someone do something at the absolute top of his game and what he’s accomplished is nothing short of amazing.

As I mentioned, it’s folly to compare sports and athletes and eras.

But there’s this:

In the individual sports, and I guess you could even put team sports in there as well, we might have lived through a career that will be unmatched in the annals of time.

Yes, others have come at him – Nadal and Djokovic chief among them – and there was Sampras and Laver and all the rest of them but there is just something about Federer that makes him stand out.

It’s his longevity, as silly as that sounds about a guy who’s 30; it’s his calm and his class and the way he surgically wins matches with guile and drop shots and little slices rather than brute strength.

Is he the greatest individual sport athlete of all time?

If he isn’t, he’s in the discussion.

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No, they don’t make ‘em like McHale’s Navy anymore, do they?

I’ve to put that sitcom near the top of the list of the oldies, not sure it got the recognition it deserves; where do you put it?

And by “you” I mean Irregulars Of A Certain Vintage who can remember it.

RIP Ernest.

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Yes, Aaron Gray is coming back (Marc Stein got it from his agent Saturday night) and it’s a two-year deal although the second’s at his option.

Not big money – the first year is comparable to the $2.5 million he made last season – and he is well thought of by the coaching staff.

He sets good screens, realizes his limitations offensively and just goes about his business; solid pro to have around.

Now, thing I wonder about – and have since this possibility existed – is that it’s awfully crowded up front.

You’ve got five bigs who could legitimately expect to play in Valanciunas, Bargnani, Gray, Davis and Amir Johnson and that’s a lot especially when you have a bit of an option of moving Kleiza to a stretch four in some matchups.

I figure this move isn’t necessarily a precursor to another but it’s going to be a delicate balancing act if they begin the season with all of them in the fold.

You would think this might diminish the chance of Jamaal Magloire returning as well but that possibility will improve if Bryan moves out one of his excess bigs – and I maintain that’s been Johnson and Davis since the end of last season.

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Only in Canada could you be sitting on a stool at 8 p.m. on Saturday, July 7 and divert your eyes from Red Sox-Yankees and see someone named Stajan score for the Leaves on some goaler named Raycroft from the Coloradoes.

Surely to goodness there was something more pertinent on somewhere? Oh, wait, it’s the pucks and Canada. Wrong.

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Hey, did you hear?

Dwight Howard might be getting traded.

Yawn.

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Not a bad showing at all by the Canadian men’s under-17 team at the world championships that just finished up in Lithuania.

They went 5-3 overall, finished fifth after beating Argentina in their final game and got some valuable experience that should help them greatly as they proceed through the junior ranks to perhaps the senior men’s team.

Thanks to FIBA here’s a little video snippet.

This puts the lid on the significant international season for Canada – there is the Olympics left for the women, of course – and it was a solid summer.

The junior men and women both qualified for next year’s world championships, the senior women got Canada back to the Olympic and the senior men … well, there wasn’t a senior men’s team and that’s cool, no need to do anything with nothing to play for. It’s next year that they have to hit the ground running with the qualification process for 2014 world championships.

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Hey, Bryan?

I’ve got about a billion Olympic things to do this week and I know you and the gang are headed to Vegas for a little training camp and then Summer League so if you’re going to do anything roster-wise, can you do it early in the week?

Much appreciated.

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So, the best basketball story of the weekend?

It’s easily Nigeria beating Dominican Republic on Sunday night to get the final berth in the London Olympics.

And the fact they did it against a team coached by mercenary John Calipari makes it even sweeter in some corners.

But the magnitude of Nigeria’s efforts at the final qualifier cannot be under-stated.

The beat Lithuania in the first round, Greece in a win-or-go home game and then the Dominican with everything on the line.

It’s a huge statement – they have at times dominated the African competition, but this is the first time they’ve taken on traditional globally good teams and come out on top.

I was e-mailing briefly with Masai Ujiri after the win over Greece to offer my congratulations and he was full of pride at that point. Having been instrumental is developing the sport in his country, Masai’s been directly involved in getting these kids to American schools and giving them the opportunity to be the best they can.

It’s a great thing that’s happened – Russia and Lithuania got the other two London berths, by the way – and I can’t wait to see the first game Nigeria plays at the Olympics.

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The end of the weekend mail

Okay, this is way too long but have fun with it.

It’s Super Grandpa’s 84th birthday bash today, if something significant happens and I have to work, I’m going to be royally miffed.

Be back tonight some time to see what kind of day you’ve had.

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Q: Doug: With tongue in cheek, I ask: Will the Raps fans rabidly cheer Nash, if and when the Lakers visit next year? He usually gets a great deal of applause for good but not spectacular plays. I hope that finally fans can get past the Canadian love affair.

Ken B, Matheson

A: Tongue in cheek, I will say this: Whenever the Lakers are in town, it seems there are more Lakers fans in the building than Raptors fans so I’m not sure there’ll be a difference.

In all seriousness I will say this and take the hits, as I’m sure I will on the days leading up to the game:

Ever since the NBA season ended, and even before now that I think of it, the message from Steve Nash was consistent.

He would take a look at all the offers in front of them, weigh them in a variety of different ways including, but not limited to, quality of life, teammates, city, chance to win, impact on his total life.

He did that, of that there can be no question and decided what he decided. Good for him. He told us what he’d do and did it and if you want honourable, that’s honourable.

I don’t see why anyone would have a problem with that, it’s not like he broke his word or even deviated from it one iota so to treat him differently this time when he’s in town from the other times he’s been in down would be, frankly, bush league and immature.

And I hope there are enough right-thinking people who agree with me that the fans don’t embarrass themselves.

Steve did what he said all along he would do and for that he deserves credit.

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Q: Hey Doug. I was watching Prime Time Sports the other day and you were on it discussing the Landry Fields acquisition. When taking about Fields you mentioned he was very intelligent and how this was a positive.

Bob disagreed saying that his intelligence didn’t matter. However, I disagree. The league is littered with example of players who aren't the most athletic but because their intelligence they are able to make up for the physical shortcomings (Nash, Pau, etc).

On the other hand there are a plethora of players with amazing athleticism, that just can't seem to put it together (McGee, PJ Tucker, etc)

So with all that said: What do you think about the role of intelligence in basketball (or pro-sports)? Do you think it depends on position (ie pg's have to be smarter than C's)?

Rob H, St. John’s

A: I think intelligence is important but not the be all and end all.

And I’m not talking about book smarts, where you know Pythagorean’s Theory (A squared equals B squared plus C squared, if I recall) or this Higgs Boson thing (don’t ask what that is other than the God Particle, which is equally confusing).

What I’m talking about is the intelligence to process information quickly and correctly, having an analytical and inquisitive mind. About being able to process time and space quickly, to know time and score specifically and I don’t know that you can discount that.

It’s intelligence of a different vein and it’s terribly important.

No, the league isn’t populated by Ivy Leaguers or Stanford grads or dozens of others from the great academic colleges; it is dominated at the highest level, however, by smart people who have those attributes I just mentioned.

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Q: Greetings, regarding Steve Nash angst specifically and angst in general. Not always immediately apparent is the distinction between sports as entertainment and sports as the pure pursuit of perfection (ie: winning, being the "best"). Realistically the expectation of perpetual dominance has to be more than a little misguided. Alternatively, being competitive, supports the concept of both the entertainment aspect of sport and, obviously the purer goal of the competition in the first place. Our HOTH were surprisingly competitive last season if one views the season game by game.

There has been mention of the "relevance" of the Raps, presumably based on their lack of on court results, however the strides necessary to build a contender appear to be happening.

So, finally the question, what truly could Bryan and the Henchmen really have done any differently than they have to get to this point? Bringing in Dwane has obviously paid dividends, whether they could win a championship with him is moot, in my opinion. Player and franchise development is still a few years away from being in a position where they are expected to win. And the supporting cast a few years hence may contain few of today's faces.

Thanks for what you do.

Doug T, Brantford

PS- Like a good IPA? try Muskoka Brewery's Mad Tom.

PSS- Looking forward to Downchild and Johnny Max at the Sanderson here in town a few weeks hence

A: I guess what they could have done differently – and this is Bryan rather than Dwane – is hit some home runs in transactions instead of bunt singles or pop ups.

They’ve tried a few things, none of worked spectacularly well, so I guess there’s not much more they could have done.

Now, Dwane’s a different case. What he has to do is transfer the development he got out of a team with no training camp, barely an exhibition season, an abbreviated regular season with precious little practice time to a team that’s ready to hit the ground running in September.

That’s where the progress is going to come.

PS: Had a Hop City ale last night while out with Stumpy and some friends; quite tasty.

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Q: Hello Doug!. What a week, indeed! And that's only from my perspective. When the rumours, speculation, frenzy became too, too much at least I had the choice to shut down the computer, the phone and the all-sports-all-the-time radio shows and find some peace and pause on a patio with an adult bevie (or three) and watch the world pass me by. Not so for you, obviously, but at least your week included a beach volleyball gig. Which has got to be a pretty nice assignment! (It was women's beach volleyball, right???)

So, that brings me to (one of) my questions. And since so many of the questions, comments, whining and wailing lately have been so deeply and passionately felt, I'm going to keep this light and sort of silly, (which is pretty much my modus operandi, I guess) but still expecting an answer to which you've given your full concentration!

First, you mentioned today an article you wrote eons and eons ago about beach volleyball's initial Olympic exposure in Atlanta: do you have a link to the !_ article? It would be very cool to read! Was it when you were with The Star? Or did the Tillsonburg paper send you as its roving correspondent?

And second, lots and lots and LOTS of comments this week, and one of your commenter's comment commented (whew!) on the sheer number of them and wondered if it was maybe an all-time high? And you said that there'd been a fair number back in the TJ-Jose-PG-brouhaha (which oddly enough is when I started commenting, I think. No connection though I'm sure.) And for the first time I made use of the wonderful Archive feature on your blog page trying to discover when that record setting number of comments occurred. (Yes, I had a nice chunk of free time on my hands this week. And it was too hot to do much else.)

Anyway, wow! We are quite the prolifically opinionated, knowledgeable and even sometimes entertaining collection of people here, aren't we? And I only got as far back as Sam's firing...So, I'm wondering, Doug, (here's the question) have you ever - as I did this past week - had the inclination - and time - to take a stroll down your very own blog's Memory Lane?

The Raptor's complete story, I think - both the historical and hysterical - to be found there! Thank you!

Lorie P, London

A: I seldom look for a couple reasons:

One, I don’t need the aggravation (I keed, a little bit) and it’s rather time-consuming.

I have at times looked back at various blogs and stories to confirm things I’ve thought; that’s about the only time.

And I was scribbling for The Canadian Press at the Atlanta Games and I got the beach volleyball assignment. Was pretty neat, as I recall.

And after having spent about four hours watching a couple of matches and writing about them, hope I get to do a bit more in London.

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Q: Hey Doug, just wondering if you know when Lowry will be introduced? Do you think they will wait until Fields is officially signed so they can introduce them at the same time?

David S, Calgary

A: No real clue, they’ll likely wait because the whole organization is packing up kit and caboodle and heading off to Vegas tomorrow for summer league.

Hope they take their time, I have a whole bunch of Olympic writing to do and need a couple of days.

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Q: Hi Doug. Will you get a few minutes this season to sit with Steve Nash and get a more complete version of his thought process in this decision?

I hope he gets a shot at a championship this year, as playing for the Raptors would have helped the team while taking him one year closer to retirement.

Kevin M, Maple

A: I presume I’ll see him the day before the first Laker-Raptors game but not likely before unless I run into him in London or something.

The start of the weekend mail

Here’s the deal:

Shut the machine down about 6 p.m. Friday, lazed my way through part of this morning and this is what I got done.

There’s about a zillion left over that I’ll get to for tomorrow.

Enjoy.

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Q: Hi Doug. This question isn't about the Toronto sports teams but their fans.

Is it just me or has fan reaction to trades and losing seasons become more and more extreme over the past few years? Burke can do no right and the hate is vitriolic, TFC fans are calling for Anselmi's ouster and want to burn him in effigy, and even the Vince Carter trade didn't generate as much histronics as the failed Nash bid. In their eyes, none of the players measure up to championship standards, they are lambasted for mistakes and any good play is dismissed as "being lucky".

How close are Toronto fans to the psychological pessimistic tipping point where nothing MLSE does can repair the confidence of the fanbase? Might the fans resort to drastic actions against MLSE? What do you think is required to pull them back from this precipice?

Brad B, Ottawa

A: I wish I could get a read on fans, I really do. I think what’s happening is in many instances there is just too much rush to judgement, everything has to be over-analyzed without context and everyone wants instant validation, which you cannot get.

But because they are fans and despite the fact they've supported mostly losing teams for almost half a century, I don’t think there’ll ever be a time when everyone throws up their arms and walks away; they will find some snippet of optimism to keep them interested and engaged.

And there truly is one magic elixir the people at MLSE can do: Put better teams out there. I know it’s hard to do and it doesn’t happen overnight but they need to win and that will appease the masses more than anything.

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Q: Hi Doug. As of today how many players to the Raps have under contract for next season, and what's the chances someone from the summer league makes the team in a bit role to fill out the roster?

What's the plan for Acey? He seems be a high motor guy that might push Ed in practice??? Any chance he gets some PT next year?

Thanks!

Jeffrey M, Saint John

A: If you count the first two picks as signed, and they will be by Monday so they can play in the summer league, they have:

Calderon, Lowry, DeRozan, James Johnson, Bargnani, Davis, Valanciunas, Amir Johnson, Kleiza and Ross and Acy. How many is that? 11? Yep. Toss in Fields as a likely (there’s no indication the Knicks will match) and that’s 12.

With a bunch of spaces to fill, it wouldn’t surprise me if Uzoh isn’t the third point guard coming out of Summer League, Alan Anderson remains a possibility and we’ll see where they go from there.

And while I don’t know if Acy will get much time in games but they’d be quite happy if he makes life miserable for Davis in practice.

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Q: Hey Doug. Not so much a question as an appeal to begin your Olympic coverage early. Canada recently sent 4 beach volleyball pairs (2 mens, 2 womens) to Mexico to secure a berth in the Olympics through continental qualifying. Both sides were successful, but can only send through one pair each. As such, the battle for which team goes through will occur Saturday at Ashbridges Bay.

It's not often you will see this in a team sport so it should be great emotion, intensity and competition and it'd be great for the sport to get some Star coverage! (Plus, it may earn you some time at Horse Guards Parade for the big show - not the worst gig at the Olympics, if you ask me!)

Felix T, Loughborough, UK

A: Funny you should ask. Beach volleyball and I go way back, I covered the very first Olympic event at the Atlanta Games and wrote what I thought was a very nice story contrasting the Olympic movement, bikinis and the smell of Coppertone and loud music. And then I saw the final gold medal game in the illustrious career of American stars Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh in Beijing.

And, despite all this hullabaloo about the NBA this week, the plan indeed is to be at Ashbridge’s Bay this afternoon. Of course, the thunderstorm that’s just started may scuttle those plans.

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Q: Hey Doug. What are some of the basic elements of a good pick-and-roll, both from the perspective of a big and a guard?

Thanks,

Diego S, Toronto

A: If you asked four coaches you might get four answers but I think these two points are most salient and would be agreed on.

The big has to set himself square, shoulders and hips, and not be sliding; the guard – and he’s the most important guy in the play, has to wait for the big to get set, no setting up his teammate for an illegal screen – and he has to run his man as close to the guy setting the screen as possible.

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Q: Long time reader, first time writer (if you had a dollar for every time you'd heard that....)

Read a few draft grade reports already, but we all know evaluations after a week won't tell us anything. What length of time (three years? five years?) is a good length of time to grade drafted players - and the organizations that draft 'em? And can we see a Smith grading of drafts of (three years? five years? your choice?) past?

Ian B, Edmonton

A: Well, knowing that every player is different, I don’t think you can truly judge what you’ve got from a young kid until at least the middle of his second season and, in the case of big men, likely the start of their third. And I guess by extension that’s when you’ve got to see how an organization did.

I’m not a big look-back guy and other things seem to come up so I’m not sure you’ll ever get a grade of past drafts top to bottom. Kind of labour-intensive work that could likely be put to better means.

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Q: How many picks can the Raptors lose in the Lowry Trade?

Richard S, Lethbridge

A: One.

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Q: How much does the Jeremy Lin to Houston offer sheet have to do with the Rockets maintaining their status as China's favourite basketball team?

Chad N, Toronto

A: None, sorry.

Not even sure that’s true any more but even if it was, it would not have a place in the decision to try and fill a spot they have no one at.

Good deals take times and, man, is it hot out

So, Kyle Lowry.

Knew they’ve had interest for quite a while, know he’ll be a huge hit with Dwane Casey and I think some of you might need to give Bryan a bit of a break today.

He got a guy who can help, cost him basically nothing and he kept the pick in the last draft.

Not bad, eh?

But the most important thing, I think, was moving quickly. There was a whole lot of angst in the world yesterday morning – some of it quite over the top – and I can promise you that he heard it and knew what was going on around the league where it concerned the Raptors.

So he did what any good GM would do, he identified a possibility that had existed for some time, worked it hard and got it done.

Two points:

This is the kind of trade that appears to have come together quickly, like in a day, but that’s not the case. All those times we talk in February or training camp or early in season or at the end of the season about general managers having their requisite conversations and doing their due diligence are precisely for moments like yesterday.

The seeds of this deal were sewn a while ago, Toronto expressed an interest, wasn’t rebuffed and while nothing happened in March or around the draft, the groundwork was in place because some homework had been done.

For all those times when people wonder what GMs actually do, this is your answer. They do their work, chat, explore, propose, pull back, call again, chat some more and just because nothing goes on at the trade deadline doesn’t mean no work got done.

It’s how the business works and days like yesterday are the result. What looks “quick” is often the culmination of a lot of behind-the-scenes work.

Second?

I had at least a couple of people ask about the draft pick, at least one warning that even a protected first was significant because it could be “another piece.”

Yawn.

It won’t be the first overall pick ever, it might not be the second or even the third and consider this as one of the worst case scenarios.

Let’s say the Raptors miss the playoffs next year but are close and have, say, the 10th pick in the draft?

Do you think for a second the 10th pick in any draft is better than having Kyle Lowry under contract and with your team?

No, neither do I.

It’s a good trade at basically no cost.

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Read somewhere it’s Rocky’s birthday (the boxer, not the guy with the flying squirrel as a friend) and I’m wondering where the film (and I hated all the sequels so we’ll only deal with the original) ranks in the sports-flick genre?

I’d say low, too trite, a bit cliché, no?

Anyway …

Oh yeah, Rocky himself is tiny and those steps at the Philly museum of art aren’t nearly as imposing as you’d think.

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Some esoteric numbers stuff.

My rudimentary math was correct yesterday (I know! There’s a first time for everything) and, by including Gary Forbes in the Lowry deal, the Raptors do not have to use the amnesty clause on anyone to absorb both Lowry and Landry Fields.

Oh yeah, one other note:

About 10 seconds after the Lowry deal got out, I had e-mails or calls from about four guys wondering if the Raptors would have to use amnesty on Calderon to get the deal done because the teams they were connected with would surely be interested enough to put in a bid.

Isn’t going to happen, though; makes no sense at the moment.

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I’d say 70-80 per cent of the mail I got was a variation of “what the hell is Bryan going to do now” or “what would it take to get Kyle Lowry” or “how the hell can you tell people to stay calm and see what happens, you nincompoop” so …

Yeah, we need some legit questions to get us through the weekend me through the day so click, write, send.

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It’s not often you win a game on a walk-off passed ball but in wacky world of The Mighty Red Tigers, you take your dramatic 4-3 victories anyway you can get them.

Was good to be back in park, too; it’d been a week.

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Hey, whichever deity running things up there, can we get a break from this heat, please.

Supposed to be mid-30s here today, will feel hotter (like mid-30s isn’t bad enough) and, frankly, I’m not built for the heat.

And I’m wondering what the five worst jobs would be in this weather?

I’ve got, in no particular order and I’m glad I don’t have to do any other them:

Roofer

Yeah, those black shingles and heat beating down on you must be a dream gig.

Drycleaner

There’s one across the street from our office and when I walk by on days like today and the back door’s open, it’s like a blast furnace.

Paver

Yeah, I’d LUV to be working on a driveway today.

Pizza chef

Those ovens get a tad hot, don’t they?

And the absolute worst?

Tobacco picker

Not sure if they even have them around these parts any more and I’m not entirely sure this is the season but way back in my mis-spent youth, I worked in the heart of southwestern Ontario’s then-thriving tobacco industry and because I’m a dolt – or because I lost a bet, I’m not sure – volunteered to do it one day just to see what it was like.

Never. Again. Ever.

(This was after I figured out the difference between tobacco and corn and it took me a day or two; farming ain’t my gig).

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A related heat note:

Super Son began summer school this week, trying to make thing easier on himself next semester and he’s supposed to go 8:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

First day, call comes about noon and he’s done and we’re wondering why? Did he get thrown out already? Did he learn everything in 2 1-2 hours?

Nope.

Too hot.

Guess they don’t air condition schools because no one’s there in the summer and they shut things down early because it was too uncomfortable.

Probably no reason for him to go at all today, right?

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Sorry for the digressions but we’ve been far, far too serious here of late.

But here’s a basketball question for your consideration:

In a world where Brandon Roy gets a $10 million deal in Minnesota and Jeremy Lin gets almost $30 million off 25 starts and 309-year-old Jason Kidd could get about $10 million, is the Landry Fields offer sheet totally out of whack?

Not a chance.

Speaking off Kidd ….

Ring, ring, ring

(That’s the sound of a telephone ringing)

“Hello?”

“Jason? Jason Kidd? You there?”

“I am, just left the Mavs facility, going to go sign a new deal.”

“This is John Salmons. Don’t do it. You don’t have to.”

“Hmm. Okay. Gotta run, gotta find Glen Grunwald’s number.”

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Taking your best shot sometimes doesn't work out; time to move on

All right, everyone calmed down a little bit?

Steve Nash is a Laker, a bit surprising, a bit out of nowhere but it’s done and, finally, the saga is over.

Good for him.

Closer to his family (he shares custody of three kids and is an hour flight away), with an exponentially better chance to win a ring (hands up all of you who were clamouring for him to demand a trade to a contender the last two years as a fitting denouement to his career) and for about an $8 million haircut on the Raptors offer ($28 million according the Arizona Republic against $36 million in Toronto according to ESPN.com).

Good for him.

Life factors, chance to win, no holding one against the other for more money. What’s to complain about?

Look, we’ll never know how serious he was about listening to Toronto’s pitch (his agent, Bill Duffy said after the fact he’d have been okay with either Toronto or New York but I’m skeptical) but doesn’t it really matter?

The Raptors saw what they thought they wanted and went after it. You can’t blame Bryan for trying, can you? Guy gave it his best shot, loaded an offer financially, made it all glitzy and sweet and was told no. What’s wrong with that? That’s his fault?

It’s not a repudiation of Canada – that’s so trite it should be dismissed out of hand; it’s not a repudiation of Toronto – 100 NBA free agents given the choice of the Lakers team and this Raptors team would take this Lakers team 100 times; if anything, it’s a repudiation of a team that’s been out of the playoffs for four years and needs to get closer to respectability before it can make a bold move like this.

No, you can’t blame a GM for trying; perhaps the only thing you can do is think, ‘okay, what’s next?’ And seeing how little has worked out of late, that’s fair comment. The pressure’s on him to do something to make the team better, a big trade most likely since the free agent market’s really limited right now but that’s to discuss here later today because I have to have something to do with my day.

Can he do something significant to make the team significantly better? The next few days will tell; history would suggest the answer is no, I’m willing to wait and see because, well, because what else is there to do?

But, really, what did this whole Nash thing cost the Raptors?

Some time.

That’s it.

It’s not like a gaggle of legitimate free agent prospects signed while they were waiting (and you should thank your lucky stars Goran Dragic went to Phoenix over night for something like $30 million over four years); it’s not like they still don’t have money to spend either on a free agent or in taking on salary in trade because they still do.

And, no matter what you might think, it’s not as if Bryan and Ed and the rest of Henchman have been twiddling their thumbs since Sunday. They’ve been talking and now they can act, knowing the landscape once and for all.

Look, the Steve Nash thing came down to this:

They made a great offer and went all-in and it didn’t work out for a variety of reasons real and perceived. Tough noogies. Time to move on.

It’s not like they can, or should, throw their hands in the air and give up, there’s a roster to build, games to play and a future to worry about.

No pity parties.

For anyone.

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Totally missed this yesterday in the whole Andy Griffiths thing but an alert reader from Hazelville pointed it out.

Ben Davidson, a great football player and perhaps even a greater TV pitchman/thespian passed away.

Young ‘un aren’t likely to have any idea who he is, nor what he did on TV but, I tell you, there wasn’t much better than the series of Miller Lite commercials way back in the day.

If there is such a thing, they were destination viewing, weren’t they?

RIP Ben.

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Mail?

That’d be nice. Promise I’ll do some Nash but not too much, think everything you need to know is explained here.

You know the drill.

Click. Write. Send. Even if you have to do it in code.

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Hey, Seamheads?

Steve Nash vs. Yu Darvish.

Discuss.

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Look at yesterday this way:

No one here even paid a bit of attention to Dwight Howard.

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So, what’s up for the HOTH?

Well, they won’t get Dragic (no big loss), doesn’t look like they’ll get Lin (he’ll shop himself, Knicks wlll assuredly match whatever offer he gets) and all of that is fine with me.

However, the trouble is, and we’ll discuss this is more detail later, Dragic leaving the Rockets and Lin probably going back to New York takes Lowry out of play.

Too bad; of the three I liked him best as part of a succession plan, post-Jose, who is as good, if not better, than any of them.

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One last word on a rather hectic Wednesday.

You know my feelings on the need for immediacy in reporting, even if it’s not confirmed, and the insatiable need of people to have information now, if not sooner.

Well, it was a perfect case in point, watching the Nash thing unfold from about noon on.

He was going to New York, he was still toying with Dallas, the Raptors weren’t giving up; it seemed every 30 minutes there was some breathless update. And some of it might even have been right.

We rush too much, as a craft, as a society, and it causes untold stress and angst and, yes, work.

I’m not going to tilt at windmills and shake my head and roll my eyes because it’s a losing battle. We are where we are; I don’t particularly like it but if you don’t adapt, you get left behind and no one gets left behind.

But I still think it’s prudent to take a few minutes to provide context, to check information, to take a deep breath before any sky-is-falling or this-is-done proclamations.

Yes, the way it is now makes for interesting times, but a lot of wasted time. It isn’t right, but it’s the way it is, I guess.

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The wait goes on, but it's probably worth it

While we’re waiting for Godot Nash, we continue to wonder what Plans C, D, E are for the Raptors after Plan B was kind of revealed with the Landry Fields thing yesterday.

It’s a sensible move, as we tried to explain here, but surely there has to be more and, eventually, we’ll find out.

No way Bryan can sell this team if they don’t get Nash by simply re-signing Jerryd Bayless and adding Fields and keeping “flexibility” for the future, can he? No way.

The Fields thing probably means they’ll be out of the Ersan Ilyasova thing – if he’s a three, they might just have acquired one; if he’s a four, they have a lot of them – and the same probably rings true for Nic Batum because I have a feeling each of those guys are going to get offers sooner rather than later.

Other than that? If there’s no Nash – and despite the slowness of the process there is no indication from anyone I’ve talked to that it’s anything more than a guy taking his time to make a decision, as infuriating as that may be to you – what is there?

The usual suspects.

Goran Dragic – and it looks like it’s not going to work for him in Houston, which probably takes Kyle Lowry out of play.

Jeremy Lin – he’s okay, as we’ve said, in the “unproven outside of 26 games” thing but even if you back-load an offer sheet there, the Knicks might match and some other team may come in with a big offer anyway.

Past that?

Yikes.

We’ve known all along that this was a suspect free agent crop, a couple of interesting pieces, a bunch of guys who are just different from what’s here and not necessarily better, and the most intriguing ones will likely be snapped up by the end of the week, either with offer sheets or by staying with their current teams.

I’ve been all in favour of going all-in on Nash, I think he’s just what they need on the court and will immediately bring some relevancy back to a somewhat forgotten franchise. There’s no reason to back off of that now, even if the wait’s killing you, oh well. Imagine what it’s doing in the Ivory Tower down at the ACC.

But it may be worth it; or it may turn out to be a gamble that didn’t work and, as we’ve said so many times, I’d far prefer to have an organization gamble and lose than not gamble at all.

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May have mentioned before that I believe the only people who appreciate whistling are those doing the whistling but, in memoriam, this is one of most familiar whistled ditties ever.

RIP, Andy.

And who doesn’t remember Barney, Otis, Goober, Aunt Bea and Floyd fondly? To nothing of Opie.

(And there’s no way Andy’s turn as Matlock beats out Andy’s work as Andy, right?)

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We’ve given very short shrift to the Canadian cadets men’s team that’s in the under-17 world basketball championships over in Lithuania – my fault entirely with the focus on the women and the Saga Of Steve – but let’s play catch up.

The lads finished their preliminary round with a 3-2 record – wins over Argentina, Korea and Lithuania, losses to Croatia and Spain – and they’ll be off to the knockout quarter-finals on Friday against an opponent still to be determined, with the best guess being Australia.

It’s a pretty good young Canadian team coached by Dave DeAveiro that might have a shot at top 4 finish in its first appearance at a world under-17 championship. They’re missing a couple of key players who moved up and played under-19 – Andrew Wiggins and Trey Lyles – but a solid showing so far and it’s as much about the experience as anything.

We’ll follow ‘em a bit more closely when the quarter-finals unfold later this week.

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Oh, can I just toss this out there:

I am soooooooooo tired of Dwight Howard it’s not even funny and I don’t care what happens to him, where he plays, where he wants to play and how he handles himself in the interim.

I didn’t think a player in a few years would evoke such ridicule, anger, mocking and then yawning as LeBron James did but this Howard stuff is putting The Decision right out of mind.

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Hey, any Irregulars south of the border, Happy Birthday

Growing up on the border, with a very strong influence from the American side and a neighbour who worked “across the river” the Fourth was kind of a big deal back in the day. Not as big as Canada Day, of course, but still a reason for a big backyard barbecue and I’m thinking hot dogs and a cooler might be a fine way to end this afternoon.

And in the world of Doug’s Reverse Jinxes, as soon as the flame is lit, the Nash news will break.

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Remind me again why the NBA had the lockout?

Was it so teams wouldn’t offer horrid contracts to relatively marginal talents and would be fiscally responsible?

Yeah, right.

Look, I fully admit Roy Hibbert and Eric Gordon are fine young basketball players but to think either of them is “worthy” of a maximum value contract as a restricted free agent – Hibbert from Portland, Gordon from Phoenix – is laughable.

I can kind of understand Toronto back-loading the Fields deal to make it uncomfortable for New York to match and for Houston to do the same thing to the Bulls on an Omer Asik deal but, really, that’s just ridiculous spending and if the owners dare come back in a few years and talk about how the system is broken and needs fixing, they should be ridiculed beyond belief.

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Oops.

Know how one of the fears about Jonas Valanciunas was going to be foul trouble and how he’d have to figure things out as he went along?

Well, he had four fouls and five points but could only play nine minutes as Lithuania drilled Venezuela 100-82 at the Olympic qualifier in Caracas on Tuesday.

The good news?

Linas Kleiza went berserk, hitting 11 of 16 shots for 28 points.

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Whatever else happens, it better happen quickly

You see Atlanta making all kinds of trades and Brooklyn making deals and Utah getting in on the action and Portland signs a guy to a lucrative offer sheet and a lot of teams are entertaining a lot of free agents both high profile and low and I know you’re thinking:

What the heck is going on here in Toronto?

Basically, it’s waiting for on the one big shoe to drop and until Steve Nash decides what he’s going to do, there’s not a whole lot to report.

The Raptors have gone so far all-in on Captain Canada it might be stretch to say it’s hamstringing them on doing anything else but that’s not too far off.

Sure, I’m certain they’re having quiet conversations with a couple of other guys – if they’re not, Bryan’s not doing his job and he’s always been one to make sure bases are being covered so I can’t imagine he’s sitting on his thumbs in his office – but they can’t really do anything for real right now.

Money is a bit of an issue – they’ll have to figure out how much they need to clear to get Nash, they’ll have to figure who, if anyone, they’ll have to amnesty if they don’t – but it’s more a matter of timing.

If they get him, all they have to do is concentrate on a three; if they don’t get him, they’ll need to figure out if they’re okay with Jose as the point guard for another year at least – I think they should be – and then find the other pieces they so sorely need armed with whatever cash they decide to clear up.

What I do expect, from the very few conversations I’ve had since before free agency began, is that things will happen rather rapidly once they know what’s going on with the big fish they’re chasing.

It won’t take two or three or four days for them to basically fill out the roster if they get Nash – he’s got that kind of allure to other free agents – and if they don’t, they have to be ready to hit the ground running with Plans B and C and D.

Things around the office have been eerily quiet and calm, no one’s talking even privately, but you have to hope that beneath that calm, there’s some furious paddling being done and once the No. 1 issue is resolved that things will move at a rapid pace.

I don’t think anyone wants to hear “we’ve got some flexibility, let’s see how we can use it in the future.” They want to hear “we’ve got our No. 1 guy now here are our Nos. 2, 3, and 4” or “we didn’t get the big guy but we’ve got these guys locked up” and they want to hear it quickly.

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It’s official:

After having the TV on as white noise while I’ve been working away at Casa Doug these last couple of days, Criminal Minds is sooooooo much better with Joe Mantegna than it was with Mandy Patinkin it’s not even funny.

Agree?

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Let’s get this straight:

The Atlanta Hawks are going to trade away a perennial all-star and very much the face of their franchise and a guy, love him or hate him, who can make those dramatic late-game baskets and they’re getting back a gaggle of nobodies and a lottery-protected draft pick and somehow they “won” the Joe Johnson trade?

Yes, it is a wonderful sport, isn’t it?

And the next time someone tells you some NBA contract is “untradeable” please laugh out loud; the Nets took on Johnson knowing they’ll have to pay him $25 million in three years.

There are no “untradeable” contracts.

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Tom Cruise turns 50 today; I think we should all jump around on our couches and act like fools.

Ya with me?

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TOD for a minute?

How hard is it to watch Ricky Romero these days?

Had a nice quiet night last night waiting on non-existent Nash news with the ball game on in the background and it was startling to see the ace of the staff scuffling so much.

Now, I don’t profess to know nearly enough about the intricacies of pitching – all I remember is that I couldn’t hit it – but I don’t have any real doubt that, eventually, Romero’s going to find the stuff that made him so good just a year or so ago.

It’s a weird business, professional sports. I don’t know what minor thing can turn a guy from good to bad, make strikes become balls, ground balls turn into hits, bleeders become doubles.

But I do know – and we’ve seen it countless times in baseball and other sports – that just as quickly as things go south they can turn around again and go north. Maybe it’s one pitch, or one strikeout, or one rocket that turns into a threat-killing double play; something happens and things are good again.

I’d love to be able to examine the brain of a scuffling pro athlete to see how much confidence plays into it, too. Every good athlete I’ve ever known has been supremely confident, they just “know” things are going to work out for them and there’s nothing to indicate a crisis of confidence in the relatively young lefty.

Sure, he’s got to be wondering what the hell is going on but I guarantee you he thinks his next start is when he gets back on track and that might be the most important thing he’s got going for him.

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Going to be a little bit of CanCon on the Raptors summer league team, I hear.

The full roster hasn’t been announced yet – it’s hard to get firm commitments with players weighing different offers – but Oregon guard and Toronto native Devoe Joseph has been lined up.

Toss in such other luminaries as Ed Davis, Terrence Ross, Quincy Acy and Mr. Triple Double Ben Uzoh and the team’s eight-game summer league winning streak looks in peril, not to mention it might be hard for them to defend their championship.

I, of course, will be paying scant attention.

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Hmm.

Three weeks today I land in London. Guess it’s time to start getting up to speed on the Olympics, no?

And I hear it was the wettest June in a long time over there, remind me to pack the brolly, would you?

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A great story and getting ready for the other moves

Time for full disclosure and it runs counter to the whole “we can’t be fans” thing that we hold near and dear to our hearts.

Can’t tell you how happy I was for the senior women’s team when it made it to London on Sunday afternoon.

This truly is an exceptional story and a good group of ladies who have indeed sacrificed a tremendous amount just to take a shot at returning Canada to the Olympic stage for the first time in 12 years.

Yes, I know there are any number of other athletes who’ve done the same and they should, and will be, celebrated but I’ve kind of followed this basketball team a bit closely for the last eight or 10 years – at least as closely as I could given the paucity of games and other tugs on life – and it’s kind of special.

You’ve got two veterans – Teresa Gabriele and Kim Smith – who didn’t have basketball jobs last winter but somehow found the will and determination to work every day on their own to stay in shape and improve their skills so they’d have one last shot at the Games.

Think about it. No team to play for, no basketball salary to help out, no great competition every in practices and games and yet they hung in their on the strength of their own will to be ready for the tournament that wound up Sunday in Turkey.

That’s pretty good, isn’t it?

And if London is the end of those two careers with the national team, what a perfect way to go out.

The same goes for Allison McNeill, who has coached this group to unimaginable heights and gotten every ounce possible out of them. The global arc is incredible: Canada hadn’t been to a world championship in 12 years when it qualified under McNeill’s tutelage in 2006 and then the women got back to the worlds in 2010. Now the Olympics after a 12-year drought? Very, very cool.

The women had these T-shirts printed up after they didn’t make it to the Beijing Games and it kind of sums up the whole process:

“It’s not every four years, it’s every day for four years.”

Kind of rings true and I fully admit to cracking a wide smile when they realized their goal.

I have no idea how they might do in London – they are in an excruciatingly tough group with Australia, Brazil, France, Russia and Great Britain – but it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if they didn’t make at least a wee bit of an impression.

I do know this, though: You’re going to get to know this team a bit better between now and the end of the Games and you will like them. Promise.

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Ha, ha!

Fooled ya.

Had Spain all along.

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So what’s Plan B?

We’ve been all over this Nash stuff, the other aspects of free agency for the Raptors seem to have been gone by the wayside and they shouldn’t.

Remember that a cone of silence like I’ve never seen before has descended over the franchise so we don’t know very much for sure but piecing together bits and pieces of conversations and knowing what’s out there gives a glimpse into what they might have in mind.

Trouble is, there aren’t a whole lot of options at small forward – the most dire need – and if Nash dithers at all, it could mean Toronto misses out on other guys while it waits on a decision.

Nic Batum is high on their list but Minnesota’s in the mix; perhaps the best thing about Batum is that Portland has so much money tied up in a max-contract offer to Roy Hibbert that maybe they don’t match.

Other than that? Yikes, there isn’t a lot.

Grant Hill? Can’t see it happening if they don’t get Nash; Mickeal Pietrus? He probably gives Boston a bit of a discount because he likes it there so much. Other than that? Gerald Wallace is gone; not sure there’s any love for Boris Diaw and there are those in the organization a bit cool on Ersan Ilyasova because they see him more of a four but I say make him an offer and let Dwane figure it all out.

You figured the Point Guard Plan B is pretty set, I know they’ve had discussions with Houston about (a) Lowry and (b) they like Goran Dragic a little bit and I still can’t see a scenario by which Houston goes into camp with both those guys so that’s one place to keep an eye.

But I also heard one interesting name the other day – at least it’ll be interesting to a few of you – and that’s Jeremy Lin.

Not sure how they can structure a contract offer that will make it impossible – or at least difficult – for the Knicks to match but he’s at least in the corner of their sights.

Oh yeah, best educated guess on Nash?

We’ll know by dinnertime Wednesday, maybe before, which way he’s going to go.

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After having written about a zillion words on the weekend while sitting looking at texts and e-mails for a while, was so worn out I had to bail on The Newsroom last night.

Should I invest two hours in HBO On Demand sometime today and get caught up?

Whaddya think?

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Coming soon – and I can’t tell you how over-the-moon thrilled I am about this – is the Raptors Summer League roster, or at least snippets of it, and there was one bit of minor news that slipped through the cracks last week.

To the surprise of no one, the Raps did not pick up the option on Solo’s contract and he’s now an unrestricted free agent. But – and this will warm the cockles of some hearts – he’s going to be in Vegas playing summer league ball for Toronto.

Can’t wait.

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Oh yeah.

While in a bit of downtime sometime on the weekend – and with all the drivel we produced there wasn’t an awful lot of it – figured I’d do a little looking into Terrence Ross because, well, because I don’t know why.

Anyway, here’s one for you:

Of the 60 or so draft eligibles at the Chicago combine, the newest HOTH had the lowest body fat percentage of them all.

Now, those who know me probably realize that body fat percentage is not something I care to think an awful lot about but Ross’s being 3.2 per cent was kind of jarring.

That’s good, right?

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