Oh oh. It might get loud at the start of practices

Oh, great.

Rap music at practice? Please, tell me no.

That’s one of Dwane’s ideas and while you have to give him credit for being NBA-innovative, I’m sure hoping he sticks to his original plan and only allows it during stretching or the early part of practice, when the grunts are either sitting in the hall waiting or driving to some arena.

The idea comes from a visit he made for a couple days to the Seattle Seahawks training camp, kind of a professional development outing for him at his summer place.

Casey and the Seahawks punter are neighbours, Dwane was invited to spend a couple of days observing because he wanted to see how other teams in other sports do things – kind of a cool and smart idea – and he was surprised to see coach Pete Carroll allow blaring music during practice.

“Coach Carroll’s philosophy is these guys listen to music the minute they walk off the field anyway and it gets them going and it gets me going as a coach so that’s something we may look at as far as stretching … I don’t know if I can go the whole practice or not.”

Whew!

Of course, it might not be music I’d like; or that Dwane would feel entirely comfortable with.

“I told DeMar and Ed to pick out some clean rap music … I’m kind of a country and western guy being from Kentucky but to pick out some good music where they can get loose to, whatever it takes.”

Not sure precisely how workable it is but any coach willing to give it a shot seems to be pretty open to change.

“I want to be innovative and try new things, there’s more than one way to skin a cat.”

Casey also came away impressed with how an NFL staff handles its duties on a daily basis, saying they are way ahead of the curve compared to any other North American pro sports coach.

“What I’d like to do in future is take my staff and maybe spend a whole week … it was very rewarding for me and clarified what I’m teaching and how I try to teach and things that I do.

“I would recommend any coach … to go and watch an N FL practice and see how meticulous they are with technique, footwork, and how they really utilize the clock.”

-

No rap, please.

But if Case wants to go with his first love, I dare him to do this:

Nothing like a little Patsy Cline to start an NBA practice (that’s country and western, isn’t it?)

-

Not sure which Irregular gave us the Economy Shoe Shop up on Argyle but The First Lady Of The Beat and I were quite impressed with a cool pub with no TVs and life jazz on a Monday night. Solid food, good selection of taps and when the Other Two Grunts arrived after a long day of writing and travel, it was a fine opening night to the road.

Thanks.

-

So, media day.

It was what it always is, a series of never-ending scrums with a few hoary clichés and players running hither and yon doing scrums and photo shoots and all the mundane stuff that goes with the first day.

I didn’t get a chance to listen to all the scrums because it’s a much a time for me to schmooze and try to find out some interesting storylines to explore in the next little while but John Lucas III was pretty entertaining; Jonas seemed a bit taken aback by the scope of it and everyone else was on their best behaviour.

Damn.

And it struck me that there were more of us around which I believe has as much to do with the proliferation of social media sites as it does the absence of pucks. Didn’t see single hockey-centric scribbler at all; but it’s early.

-

I’ve got two hours, 56 minutes as the over-under on today’s first practice and since they tell us we’ve got a nice room to hang out in at the Canada Games Centre and a place for coffee and lunch in the building, I’m quite fine with that.

-

Only bit of quasi-news?

Bryan is talking to DeMar’s agent about an extension – it has to be done by Oct. 31 – but I wonder if it’ll get done.

Or whether it should, actually.

From Bryan:

“I have spoken to his agent multiple times over the last several weeks to start to establish a dialogue, a concrete dialogue and a meaningful dialogue with respect to whether or not it’s going to work out from a timing perspective for both sides.

“We’ve also agreed that should we not come to a conclusion with respect to an extension at this time, clearly it’s not the end of the world. We may have to grow together more before that deal is imminent.”

I think it’s time for prudence and to see where DeMar goes this season before you think about locking him up for any length of time.

I like many aspects of his game but he’s got room for improvement and I’m not sure tying him up for years and years right now is prudent.

-

I’m not sure how the four of us four a hotel steps from the Alexander Keith’s brewery but if that’s not fortuitous housing, I don’t know what is.

Yes, work could very well get in the way (two practices, writing in between) and I have other spots to get to but an afternoon between practices taking a tour sounds like a good idea, doesn’t it?

And I'm told it's Alexander's birthday this week; that isn't fraught with peril, is it?

-

You know, normally I’d be all excited to sit on a stool and watch some baseball every night this week but the pennant and wild card races really have fizzled, haven’t they?

Too bad, it’s usually such a great time of the year.

But since there’s only one practice Thursday, I was really hoping for a playoff game; looks like I’m going to have to wait until Friday and hope a nice Irregular Haligonian will give me a good sports bar to sit and watch games in, if I get the chance.

-

 

 

 

Comments

[Lorie]

Hello, Doug!
Well, if Dwane is serious about wanting to be innovative and try 'new stuff', I think he could do a lot worse than examine some of the 'older' musical stuff for his practices. Rap? Seriously? That is soooo tired. So cliche. So overdone. Why not be the team that not only stretches the quads, obliques and latisimuss dorsi of its players, but at the same time expand their musical experiences. And Patsy Cline is great, but I'm talking even older. First, to warm up I suggest this little number from Verdi's "Nabucco". (A hit from 1842!)
http://youtu.be/D6JN0l7A_mE Breathe. Extend. Hold. Release.
And then when they're warmed up pick up the pace with a little Strauss conducted by the incomparable Von Karajan and featuring some jolly "Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!" from the orchestra! How could the Raps not be a happy and motivated team - not to mention thoroughly stretched after this music?!
http://youtu.be/qMKYfWgUCeY
Bravo, indeed!!!

[jon]

Hey Doug ,

Check out the Old Triangle on Prince St. My favourite pub in the city!

Blogger's note: Highly recommended by many, thanks. Definitely on the list for at least a while. Work getting in the way, though

[Matty-Pix]

Take the lady to the Middle Spoon (dessert and drinks bar) on Barrington street. Try to grab a propeller bitter at a local establishment (Darryls 'Peanut butter Burger' is worth the visit to Queen street). Recommend Garrison or Propeller breweries - great local beer (forget Keith's). Maxwell's Plum has tons of good brew on tap.

[Ben]

Doug,

If you're looking for a sports bar to watch ball in, I'd suggest Bubba Rays on Spring Garden. It's nice and shiny, with over 50 TVs and over 50 types of wings. The staff is pretty friendly as well, and since they have all of the requisite sports packages, you can get essentially any game put on a TV close to you.

Also, if you're looking for breweries, do yourself a favour and forget about Keiths in favour of Garrisson (by the farmers market on the water, you can pull up a stool and get samplers) Propellor (close to Citadel hill on the beginning of Gottingen street) or my personal fave, Rogue's Roost Pub (microbrewery with fantastic beer that they only serve there).

[Brad B.]

Hi Doug,

If Dwayne wants to incorporate music into practices, then why doesn't he make it a team building exercise and allow each player to choose two up-beat, up-tempo songs, regardless of genre, and put them on shuffle?

Personally, I'd love to see someone put on "Gangnam Style" so they could all practice the dance during breaks.

[Dave B]

Rap Music indeed. I am not sure this is a big hit with Andre, Linas, Jose, Jonas, Jamaal and Aaron. This is a type of music enjoyed by young Americans.

I had to read this a few times to understand that you are a few (or four) steps from Alexander Keith's, "I’m not sure how the four of us four a hotel steps from the Alexander Keith’s brewery but if that’s not fortuitous housing, I don’t know what is. " It seems the fumes are drifting your way. I keed, I keed.

Kyle probably haven't made too many friends in Halifax with his comment that it should be a good training camp because they are going to Halifax and there is nothing else to do there.

Enjoy the fresh air and local food and refreshments.

[David in Oakville]

Morning Doug,

Surely you jest! Patsy Cline's Crazy would make a great first dance song at a wedding (perhaps) but as a warm up song.... I hesitate to think about the injuries that would accrue to anyone who tried to warm up with that.

I have only been to Halifax two or three times and every time we have ended up in a smallish pub with a great live band. I have to say that Halifax may be one of the best, if not the best, (never been to St John's) little cities for live music and friendly pubs in our great country.

[Peter]

This is my greatest fear! If there's one thing that's going to cause our favourite grunt to retire, it's not going to be dumb comments, it's not going to be terrible travel schedules, it's going to be bad music.

We all know how sensitive you are to good vs. bad music. This could be bad! I'd be curious to know if this has any benefit to the team by mid-season. I can't see it helping all that much, if at all.

[Alex Chan]

It's a bit of tourist trap, but I've always had a good time at The Five Fisherman (http://www.fivefishermen.com/index.htm). The place is ripe with history, and since I"m half Thai, I like to plug anything to do with Thailand. The restaurant has an interesting connection to Siam as well at the Titanic. The woman who inspired "The King and I," the broadway musical about The King of Siam and later the hollywood movie "Anna and the King" opened up an Art School in the building which ended up instructing future Group of Seven artist Arthur Lismer.

[D-Mac Ottawa]

I always thought the HWSNBN teams would have been perfect candidates for music during actual floor practice, not just warm-ups. Fast-tempo GOOD stuff to get everyone moving at tempo, in rhythm – I absolutely believe that tempo and rhythm would transfer to game time (muscle memory, pure enjoyment memory). HWSNBN was a drum major – he would have led that march with style points to spare.
This group might have that same kind of wavelength. They show some swagger already and it looks like they're into having some high energy fun. Just add tunes. Yeah, might even be rap... as the mighty Q said back in 1989, "I would contend that... that Rap is here to stay".
I might start 'em off with some drum and bass, maybe some Black Eyed Peas ("Pump It"!), and then, like @Brad B. suggested, let something from the team-building contributions take it home from there.
Cheers. Yeah, go Rap!

[Wayne]

You do seem seem like a Maxwell's Plumb type of guy. May be I will see you there.

[Mike D.]

Doug, was it just me (watching the videos on raptors.com) or has Jonas' spoken english vastly improved from draft day? He didn't seem to have any trouble at all with the questions I watched. If so, it's a good thing because he seems pretty charismatic when he's comfortable.

Kyle Lowry may have a bit of Smitch-esque edge to him, in that he doesn't spend a lot of time on questions he considers, um, weak.

Blogger's note: Jonas is better, still a ways to go

[doug]

you know I like listening to or reading what BC has to say always, as no matter what people think of him he isn't afraid to correct a wrong he made (trading Hedo,O'Neal), or make a change in coaching (Jay to Dwane as he felt and has been proven right Dwane is more the type of coach this team needed) and to change style of play team plays and go after those type of players....so with AA facing a interesting off-season be interesting to see if he displays any of those same traits as a GM, GM's need to adapt on the fly, admit mistakes and not be stubborn in their ways...to me that is why i respect BC and my own thoughts on AA are still undecided...I think the posters idea to let each player pick a couple and shuffle them is bang-on..ok cheers

[David "Howard" Lang]

Isn't the Seattle Seahawks punter Canadian (Jon Ryan from Regina)?

[Steve]

Given they insist on playing music pretty much throughout the actual games in the NBA (which I would prefer they didn't but it's not going anywhere) I don't really see a huge issue with doing the same for practice...

[GM]

As someone who never liked what everyone else was listening to, this news made me sympathetic to any player on the team who isn't a fan of rap, clean or otherwise. Why should DeMar and Ed get to choose what everyone else listens to? I like @Brad B's suggestion that everyone gets to choose two tracks and put it on shuffle. That's a great idea. I'll stop short at his suggestion of Gangnam Style, though!

As for "locking up" DeMar, since you believe (as I do) that no contract is untradeable, why would you hesitate? If it doesn't work out, ship him out.

Blogger's note: It might take you longer to unload him than you want, guess that would be my main thinking

[Beer]

Doug, a couple underrated spots in Halifax for you that are literally a triple jump away from Economy Shoe Shop.

The Seahorse Tavern - lots of character, and they have a legendary Allman Brothers cover band

Ela Taverna - Greek food at its best with a great, private ambiance.

[D-Mac Ottawa]

Mug's game time: I'll stick a toe in the murky waters with a forecast of – "as currently constructed" – 38 to 40 wins for the Raps, a bit out of playoff range. Now if they become no longer "as currently constructed" – i.e., I'd say the chances are pretty good Jose won't be seeing much of Toronto after February – then, depending on what parts come back in return, they could edge over the .500 mark, and may still not reach that #8 playoff slot. Anyone?
Cheers. Go Raps!

[Phil A]

I like the idea of playing upbeat music during practice. They do it during regular season games so why not do it during a practice.

[BlesInLondon]

Hi Doug,

I'm a bit surprised that the "rap" anecdote/ mini storyline is generating such um "feedback"... Is it not a coach's perogative to utilize whatever means THEY see fit to exploit in the interests of getting the best/ most out of players? In my opinion, its irrelevant/ moot what we irregulars/ keyboard coaches think of the music genre. Who's to say its not liked by player/s "A" or favored only by player/s "B".

My point summation... Its not even the FIRST PRACTICE completed and we're already critiquing the approach... Are we really that fickle?! Are we really keyboard micromanagers?

[Dan]

"personal development" assignment -how awesome is Casey! very clever...so proud that he is on our side!

[RichardY]

Our high school basketball team used to warm up to Prism's Spaceship Superstar. Nice build up as the warm up got more energetic.
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=sSyYqD9v_wo&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DsSyYqD9v_wo

[J]

@D-Mac:

Can't wager a guess at how many wins either way (it's always a fool's task when you have rookies slated as part of the main rotation), but if we did finish .500 or better, I'd be surprised if we didn't make the playoffs. The last time an Eastern Conference team missed the playoffs while .500 or better was in 2004-2005 (Cleveland). Nothing during this off-season has indicated to me that this trend will end.