It'll be a change that might take some getting used to

So, five practices in, two practices to go and we all wonder where the lads are at this early point in a long, long season.

Well, since we don’t see nearly enough of practice ourselves, I have to go on information provided by people who are in the gym and conversations we have and all I can say is the over-riding emotion right now is cautiously optimistic, like it was before the whole process began.

Dwane’s been lamenting the number of turnovers and, as one fellow told me “they’re throwing the ball all over the gym” but I guess that’s to be expected a little bit at this time of this season.

If Dwane’s entirely committed to changing the offensive system to some kind of up-temp style – not Seven Second Or Less but at least at something that tries to take advantage of opportunities to push the ball – it’s going to take some time for the players to get used to it.

And it’s going to be ugly at times as they try to force things rather than sit back and wait to patiently execute what they want to do.

I’m dubious, to tell the truth.

Sure, it’s all well and good to try and score easy baskets in transition – every team in the history of the game has wanted to do that – but if you don’t have the horses, and I wonder if these guys do, it’s not something that can be forced.

I just wonder how long it will last; or if we’ll be hearing a month or two into the season that the turnovers are too high, too many opponents are getting too many easy baskets and they need to slow down a bit and take better care of the ball.

Other than that, the information is as expected:

Amir Johnson looks pretty good; Fields is as smart a player as they’ve had in a very long while and DeRozan’s being pushed hard every day by the likes of Ross and even the likes of Dom McGuire and Chris Wright and DeRozan does look a bit more aggressive.

But that’s what you’d expect to hear, I’m kind of anxious to see them Monday night against Madrid to get a close, personal look at them. It won’t be a telltale test – first exhibition games never are – but it’ll be interesting.

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How about this!

We’ve somehow now finagled tickets to this big old Alexander Keith’s birthday bash (a guy knows a guy who knows a guy and the hours some people have put in at this joint called the Lower Deck has paid off) and I can’t think of a better way to end a week than that. I'm hearing that ALan Doyle of Great Big Sea will be playing so that's an entirely added bonus.

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I now firmly believe Mike Trout should retire today to hasten his entrance into the Hall of Fame five years hence.

That’s all.

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Right.

Mail. Please.

And a spot to go answer questions this afternoon, please. Somewhere close. Thanks. And maybe somewhere I can watch at last the start of the ball games, which will be one by Atlanta and Texas, by the way.

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Just in case you care, I will say with great confidence that the Henry House here – the joint once owned by Father of Confederation William Alexander Henry that I mentioned the other day – might be the best pub I’ve ever been to in Canada.

It’s got great history, a quiet basement, a great variety of taps, excellent food and an atmosphere that’s just basically good.

And what it doesn’t have makes it even better:

No TVs.

Yeah, I know, a stool and a game and some company is a fine way to while away some time but there’s something to be said for a very cool joint where you have to talk to the people you’re with and can’t get lost in the haze of a TV.

Anyway, if you get here and don’t go, you’ll have missed something.

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Now, after Jack and I hung at Henry House for a while – and if you’re talking bar conversations and fun and a great way to spend time you can’t go wrong with Jack – there was a pit stop at a sports bar to meet some others and watch some football because there’s a huge interest in USC from one of ‘em.

(Not sure if that carries over to the basketball program run by the one and only Kevin O’Neill; we shall see).

My back’s to the TV with the game while I’m talking with The First Lady Of The Beat but when I did glance up at the NFL game on the dozens of other screens, there was a guy lying motionless on the field and it was just about the breaking point for me and football.

I mean this guy looked like he was done, face down, no movement at all and I’m thinking, do I really need to pay attention to this stuff? Is it worth it? Is that guy ever going to get up?

I’m finding it more and more off-putting every time I see something like that and it’s happening so often, I wonder if there aren’t others like me who wonder if it’s worth paying attention to any more?

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Comments

[Eric-in-NS]

Any further consideration for an informal get together of Nova Scotia Irregulars sometime post intra-squad game Saturday? Any suggestions re how and when to see players, coach, (you?) before the game? If only to say Hi and wave?

Blogger's note: I'm actually getting out Saturday evening because I have to do a relatively early practice back home Sunday
I'd guess the best thing to see guys is get there as early as possible

[john]

Hey Doug,
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Tastes great or less filling?

Blogger's note: All about taste

[Rob.V]

I agree on the NFL.
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I've been a Bills fan for years (was just there for the whooping they took this past week).
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There was a time when a bone crushing hit was admired in this corner however there has already been 3 or 4 occasions this season (and I don't watch much NFL) where I've seen a player take a huge hit and either had trouble getting up or had to be carted off. What's the point?
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In my 20's: "meh", it's part of the game.
Mid 30's: Geez, I hope that cats okay?
Today (with kids ages 2 & 4): It just seems that there are far more important things in life than than watching your team win at the expense of another persons concussion or serious injury.
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Are we older and wiser?, maybe just old!!!... either way I agree, it is definitely somewhat off-putting.

[Mike D.]

I played football (badly), coached it (better), I loved the game and I used to revel in mega-hits. But during about a decade of intense involvement I don't remember people getting seriously hurt on a regular basis. Now it seems to happen all the time....not just in the NFL, but at the college/university and high school levels too....and I would prefer that my kids fall in love with a different sport.

Oh, and Doug: LESS FILLING!!!

[AT]

Glad to see the league is going to be coming down on flopping. I just hope they don't just review the calls on the floor. They should have someone at the league reviewing as many as possible so even though refs may have missed it during the game, they still get nailed by the league... but you gotta love Wayne Embry's approach to the problem.. but there is too much of a "love in" around the league for that type of self-policing to exist in the game today

[larry lukeeborg]

Great taste!

[Jeff]

I have to say, I'm pretty disappointed in your approach to the Cabrera-Trout discussion, Doug. I've always admired how you've taken an even-headed approach to basketball and the Raptors... never too irate when things aren't working, never to swept up and carried away on rare occasions when things go well.

With the MVP discussion however, you basically dismissed anyone who is interested in more advance statistical analysis as some kind of calculator-clutching nerd who doesn't "get it." You dismiss anyone who would lobby for Trout with a "you've got to be kidding" and yet when a commenter reflects the same words back at you, you get defensive and say "for having an opinion?" That's all anyone who favours Trout's year is expressing, and you've just dismissed them out of hand with the exact same phrase! (You threw it out there first, in fact.) Seems like a little cognitive dissonance to me. Now the hyperbole of framing Trout supporters as overzealously touting him as a Hall-of-Famer? Snarky, in a way that is beneath you.

Believe it or not, there IS a case to made for a player as MVP when he hits .326, gets 30 HR and 85 RBI from the *leadoff spot*, has on OBP of .399, leads the league in SB (49) and Runs (129), plus plays gold-glove calibre defense in a premium defensive position. No, there's not a tidy little name for that season like Triple Crown, but it's equally historic. And do you see any fWAR, OPS+ or other "newfangled" stats up there? I'll also restate what others point out about the Angels having the better record, in defense of the "lead them to the playoffs" argument.

See, I'm as entitled to my opinion as you are to yours Doug, and to be so rudely dismissive of my viewpoint leaves me sour. And this from a regular reader who is almost always on your side of things on things, for what it's worth.

Blogger's note: You and others absolutely are; I made my opinion known and by their very nature, opinions can be neither "wrong" nor "right."

[Derek L]

Doug, in the era of 3 star basketball teams, are the Raptors giving any considerations to adding some established stars to their team, or are they seeking to buck the trend?

Blogger's note: Um, no.

[james]

The last time I paid really close attention to the NFL was to watch Flutie play for the Bills. Now that we KNOW what happens to these players as a result of the way this game is played (brain damage, premature dementia and death) it's more than hard to watch. Nostalgia keeps me watching the CFL so I certainly can't claim any consistency here. But it's clear we're not all that far removed from the Roman Colosseum. Bring on the lions!

[doug]

too me the interesting thing about the Raps this year will be watching the growth or lack of from Casey....as every coach comes in with their strengths which is easy to coach but it's their weaknesses and how they deal with them that defines them and ultimately their success..Casey is a defensive coach and the Raps fell to near last in offense last year which was to be expected and Casey talks about improving offense this year etc. well talk is cheap it needs to and has to happen...so for Casey as a defensive minded coach turnovers are now his mantra and cutting back on them, well you can't it have it both ways no team ever has, to have a NBA caliber offense it has to be up-tempo, and in that there will be TO's especially with a team learning to play with one another, we can't go back to what it was and too me that is why Jose should be moved or should have been by now as it's to comfy a fall back position for Casey and not the direction in which we need to go to improve...so too me the onus is on Casey and will he allow the offense to grow, be interesting to see ....cheers

[D-Mac Ottawa]

What an ugly, ugly ball game in Atlanta. This is playoff baseball?!
People shouldn't worry overly much about Toronto being a sports laughingstock. Atlanta leads the way on a lot of different levels. Sure, it may be a playoff town, and in multiple sports. But it's not a sports town like most real sports towns are. Starting with the 'chop', and it just goes downhill from there. It's not so much the teams themselves as it is the fan base. Odd bunch.
So cheers, go Raps and Happy Thanksgiving! Hit it, Disco Turkey: http://images.businessweek.com/ss/05/11/egreetings/image/01.swf

[charles n.]

Infield fly rule is designed to prevent the defense in baseball from upending the logic of how outs are made. It's an "unfair" double play if an infielder deliberately drops an infield fly with runners on first and second or bases loaded and less than two outs, and , because runners have to stay by their bases, turns the deliberate drop into a double play. It makes a farce of the rules which require runners not to run if an infielder can catch a ball. But here's the rub: in the play the other night the infielder went way out into the outfield to start to make the play. Even if he HAD deliberately dropped the ball he was too far from the infield to turn that play into a double play. We might ask: what if Brett Lawrie is repositioned in middle right field ( as is starting to happen sometimes on shifts ) - and he receives a fly ball under infield fly rule conditions..he can go ahead and deliberately drop it but he CANNOT make a double play out of it. So the umpire in the playoff game concentrated too much on the technical details of whether the rule should be in effect and ignored the deeper logic of why the rule exists in the first place. On that play since the infielder was all but turned into an outfielder on the play NO INFIELD FLY RULE should have been called. But since many of us dislike the Braves so much, we can also say it was good that the umpire made this particular error. Hope this helps to explain what went on the other night in Atlanta.