A couple of weeks until a truly competitive camp starts

You got the official word on Jamaal Magloire, right?

As we told you weeks ago, he’ll be back in camp with a small guarantee on his one-year deal and if he doesn’t stick – and with Bargnani, Valanciunas, Davis, Amir Johnson, Aaron Gray and Qincy Acy I’m not sure there’s an awful lot of room for another big – Jamaal’s likely to move into some kind of basketball development job.

I can’t see any trades on the horizon – teams tend to sit back in camp and the first few weeks of the season to see what they’ve got before making any moves – the Raptors are probably going to have to pay off the small guarantee to either Magloire or Dominic McGuire to get down to the 15 player limit.

It’s not going to be the most compelling story of camp – who they keep to fill the end of the roster – but it will give us one news story to write at some point and no one looks down on a news story during the long, long training camp and pre-season period.

In fact, and we’ll get to this in far more detail once things really get going, this is shaping up to be one of the most interesting training camp and exhibition seasons in a very, very long time for the HOTH.

Kind of can’t wait to see who emerges as the starting small forward, how the front court works out beside Bargnani and it’s going to be truly telling to see how DeMar DeRozan performs. They went out and got two guys – Ross and Fields – who can at least play the same position a little bit and for the first time in DeRozan’s career, I don’t think he’s assured of anything when he first gets on the court.

Should be fun to see how he handles true competition for a job.

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I’m going to preface this by saying I generally loathe reality TV; it’s become something of a caricature of itself, there are so many idiotic shows (seriously, one about people opening storage lockers!) with some many idiotic premises (seriously, do we care about chefs who yell at subordinates in the guise of “entertainment?”) that it can’t be seen as anything more than a cheap way to fill time.

That said …

The original “reality TV” show – and it wasn’t really TV but you know what I mean -- was one of the very best and it came from the incredible film and sound skills of NFL Films and the incomparable Steve Sabol, who died yesterday.

I know gambling and now fantasy leagues are what drives the NFL but NFL Films brought us inside the game like nothing had before.

It was, and is, pretty cool; it was also the first and that made it even more special.

And this remains one of my favourites. Makes me want to matriculate the ball down the field all the time.

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By the way, I can highly recommend Sir John A on Elgin if you ever get to Ottawa and need a pub.

Good local brews – the lagers were nice, at least the ones I tried – good company with some new friends and a solid night all around.

Too bad we’re not coming back for camp.

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One more kick at the can? Why not?

Anyone find that faux apology from Yunel Escobar satisfactory?

I didn’t.

Yes, I get the whole linguistic nuance to the issue, always did; didn’t make it right, though, and I didn’t hear nearly enough explanation and it kind of left me empty.

Three games, a suspension levied by the team but after consultation with the union and the league, also seems a bit cheap to me but I’m not the one doling out the punishment.

What I’m most pleased about is the team’s plan to donate the lost salary to the two gay and lesbian advocacy groups, that’s a good start and I know organizations like that can always use some extra funds.

And if in some small way this helps increase awareness of a problem that still permeates pro sports to a startling degree, that’s the best thing to come out of the whole sorry episode.

I’d like to think that it would but I’m not entirely sure about that. It may for the moment put an issue before the public but the need now is to keep it there.

Not sure how the team can do it, not sure what the players can do but if this is a baby step, it’s time someone connected with the organization keeps those steps coming.

And now we move on; I’m kind of interested to see what, if any, reaction there is to Escobar when he gets back to the dome later this week.

This episode, coupled with the fact he’s having a so-so season at best, might create some buzz among the fans, don’t you think?

You got the official word on Jamaal Magloire, right?

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Seriously, I’ll ask again.

Anyone miss the pucks?

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Get your mail in now; not sure what time I’ll have – I’m riding the rails with a bunch of Olympians and Paralympians tonight – but there might be a few minutes to get some done.

Click. Write. Send.

As you usually do.

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Comments

[Wayne]

I do not like the thing about judging the quality of someones apology. Once again, he was apologizing in his second language and was probably coached up by the PR team to say exactly what he did so as to take no chance of making things worse. That is how these things go. Also, $92,000 is a heck of a price to pay for showing poor judgement. I do not care how rich the person is, that is a hefty fine to pay.

[AT]

What a great NFL film clip... hilarious...
aside from the apology,l I think what stood out and what I can't get my head around is that he gets paid $82,000 (or $92,000 as someone pointed out here) for 3 games or less and a weeks' "work". If that doesn't tell you those guys live in a different world, not sure what would. And in this different world they think they play by different rules.

[David in Oakville]

Good Morning Doug,

I have to confess that I was eager to see what you would write today given what you were calling for yesterday.

But I am not too surprised. You don't really do "outrage" or "bombast", just thoughtful and measured criticism.

Certainly, a little outrage might be in order given how that press conference and AA's radio interviews later were short on real answers.

I can accept that the language barrier does not allow me to fully know how remorseful Yunel is. I think he sort of gets it now. And I believe cultural differences played some role in this. My guess, in five years from now, Yunel will be fully ashamed at what he did and just a little angry about how he has been vilified for it.

But what I don't accept is how no one else in the clubhouse seems to take some responsibility for this. Greg Zaun made a lot of interesting points on Prime Time Sports yesterday about the lack of consequences for mental mistakes / lack of professionalism in the BlueJays' clubhouse. AA seems to completely dismiss this. I think the results and the incidences enumerated by Zaun tell a different story that needs to be addressed in the off season.

The one question I would have about the HOTH, is that given the number of new and very young faces on this team, where does the veteran leadership come from? Barnagni? (not likely), Jose (maybe if he sticks around) or from Casey himself.

Blogger's note: Casey for sure, maybe Magloire if he sticks around and it'll be interesting to see how Lowry fits in

[Bo4]

To me, Escobar looked like he was waiting in a dentist's office to have all of his teeth pulled (no offense meant to the dentists out there). AND Farrell was in a major state of denial. The tall foreheads had better get some sensitivity training planned for the entire team before they all dig a deeper hole to crawl into.

[TLI]

Have to admit I'm a little ambivalent about the Escobar thing... I work in the advertising biz and I often see how slippery it can get translating the slang of one language into the slang of another language. I've heard Spanish-speakers claim that the word Escobar used means "faggot" and I can't see how that's literally true. It doesn't mean "bundle of sticks," for sure. So then it does get very nuanced - like "sissy" has at times meant weak and "unmanly" and it has also been used to mean homosexual. So if we call a guy a sissy, are we calling out his weak character or his sexual orientation. It's nasty either way, but one slams the individual and one attacks a whole population.

So does "maricon" mean "faggot" or "sissy" or "weak" or "queer" or what? I bet even Escobar's buddies in Cuba couldn't all agree, but I think he got a little blindsided by this.

And I think someone in the clubhouse should have clued him in to the trouble it could bring in Canada.

[jb]

I thought Escobar's apology was a joke.

"I'm sorry for (my) actions," Escobar said during a press conference in New York Tuesday. "It was not intended to be offensive."

How is writing what amounts to be "You are a faggot" not intended to be offensive....there's no other way to take it except as a derogatory slur against gays. Also, Escobar didn't think what he did was wrong. In his apology, he said he didn't intend to offend anyone not that he was wrong and to add insult to injury he said he has friends who are gay (man who decorates his house and the man who cuts his hair)....which makes it alright.

And I can't believe not one player or coach saw what was written on the eyeblack. What are they doing in the dugout, staring at each other's feet?

When asked if homophobia was a problem in the baseball, John Farrell says "I don’t believe so". Yet one of his players writes a gay slur below his eye and another one (Omar Vizquel) sees nothing wrong with it and the excuse is a cultural issue. Except they don't play in Latin America, they play in North America. The manager is suppose to be one of the leaders in the club house, it's sad Farrell sees nothing.

But I'm more disappointed in the Jays organization for giving the lenient punishment. Wow, 3 game suspension out of 162 games...that will teach him. It's pretty insulting.

[HopeCaper]

I find the whole politically correct thing to be getting somewhat tiresome. I don't speak Spanish so the only offensive part I find in this whole thing is that others found it offensive and therefore I should be outraged and upset with Escobar. Really. You are telling me how to feel? The other problem I have is that if you have something negative to say about a homosexual, yes that is the word, you are "afraid" and hence the label "homophobic". Apprently someone decided some time ago that if you don't agree or speak out against homosexuality you are subconciously afraid of being one yourself. The only problem I have with that is that it's not true. No one it seems (from the media) bothered to ask Escobar how he felt about homosexuality, what did the message on his face mean, and was it his intention to insult people based on their sexual preference. Nope. All we get is off with his head. You know Doug you are usually a little more pragmatic in your commentary. A little more level headed.

Blogger's note: Of course they asked him, repeatedly. First chance they had. Maybe you missed it.

[Andrew Gregg]

Hi Doug:

I think those gay and lesbian groups would have been better off with Escobar's salary from a 30 game suspension, rather than three. I mean, if that's what we're talking about here--"education"--then why not make it mean something other than a token gesture? Three games? Silly.

AG, Toronto

[Mike kovacs]

First I do not think that what Escobar did was excusable in any way. One aspect of the Escobar incident that is not being appreciated is that the harm of what he did is, in reality, magnified by the huge media reaction because now evryone has heard about it at least 5 times. I guess you could say that this is 'preventative' for the future but in reality a story like this is unfortunately used to fill air time etc. by well-meaning individuals. Where is the line?

[Henry]

Doug, I'm also excited to see what the raps starting lineup looks coming out of training camp. By the way, do you know when the television schedule is going to be released for the Raptors? I imagine that the usual suspects (sportsnet, sportsnet one, tsn, tsn2) will be dividing them up, but I just wanted that confirmed.

Blogger's note: Could be this week, I'm told

[JC]

As there was no confirmation otherwise, are we left to assume that the magloire signing significantly shifts the balance of power in the East? :).

Blogger's note: Well played.

[Dave T (Ottawa)]

Hey Doug,

Sir John A. was a solid choice -- actually, my friend's wife works the bar there, so I'm kind of partial. The one thing to love about Ottawa is the pub scene -- particularly down the Elgin strip.

I did an Elgin pub crawl earlier this year (first time, surprisingly). We didn't hit every one, but we got to many, and I'd say it would be tough to find that sort of quality of pubs up and back on a street.

And then there's Hess village in Hamilton.

[D-Mac Ottawa]

G'day Doug,
Did you know that you are now approaching single-name celebrity stature – right in there with Cher, Prince, Bono, Bjork, Madonna, Seal, Oprah and Trigger?
Why, do you ask, would I make such an outlandish suggestion? Well, thanks for asking... because if you simply google "d-o-u-g" these days... the very first suggested entry just so happens to be "Doug Smith" and the very first result of that next click is, voila, "Doug Smith Sports Blog". That's Star power, sir.
The next step toward google superstardom, of course, would be conjuring up "Doug Smith" by inputting only "d-o-u"... but so far, the winners there are "double double" and "douchebag" ("doug gilmour" is a distant 4th, but he's a distant 5th in the "d-o-u-g" category, so go figure).
Anyway, there you go. from now on, it's all "Doug" all the time...
Doug. The Grunt One. The Blogfather.
Nice going. Cheers.
P.S. How many hits you up to these days anyway... Doug...

[J]

"Apprently someone decided some time ago that if you don't agree or speak out against homosexuality you are subconciously afraid of being one yourself."

@Hope Caper:

Um, that's not really the pertinent issue here (and it's a rather narrow interpretation of the issue), and I don't think anyone had brought it up until you did. Whatever your personal beliefs about homosexuality, nobody deserves to be ridiculed, harassed or made to feel less human than the rest of the population when it's something they cannot change. You can substitute any ethnic or gender group for homosexuality and the same would apply. You mention not being able to say anything bad about a homosexual; if you criticize someone who just happens to be homosexual (for instance, for being a jerk), that's perfectly fine, but if your criticizing them because they are homosexual, then you deserve to be called out for it. Don't confuse or exaggerate the former with the latter.

[J]

One last tidbit:

Before we start pushing the sentiment that we can't say anything anymore these days, please note that bigotry is still alive and well among our youths. One look at any high school or internet forum would make anyone aware of that fact. The fight for awareness is far from over.

[511]

@J: What you say is eloquently stated and impossible to argue with, but … if what Yunel Escobar did was a ‘hate-crime’ then let those who think it is, say it out loud and plain-as-day. If it is not a hate-crime, then it was a case of utter stupidity (no argument there) but that is a very long way from what some are so eager to pin on him. Stupidity in and of itself is not a crime, hateful or otherwise … and you just can’t have it both ways so that it conveniently fits one’s agenda or argument. For those who feel that his livelihood should be taken away, which would possibly (or likely) be the effect of him being banished from the team, the crime should fit the punishment (the reversal is intentional). And to my mind, that just isn’t the case here.

[511]

And PS ... I think what AA sentenced Escobar to - 3 games w/out pay - was perfect, maybe brilliant. I hope that's as far as it goes.

[john]

Hey Doug, i think you missed calling out the reality show where a bunch of
C list, has been actors and athletes compete to see who can two step and spin around in a contest judged by people whom the public has never heard of and the skills in which the general public has very little technical knowledge of what good and what isn't...just saying...