Playing fans for pawns; and trying to handle pressure

Did you get a load of this?

The pucks poohbahs are using a small focus group run by Republican Party strategists to figure out how owners might try to bamboozle fans about the lockout?

(Here’s the story, it’s quite something)

I guess I shouldn’t at all be surprised, in every sports labour stoppage fans are pawns and rarely taken into consideration. It’s a fight between rich players and richer owners and if there’s a few other people hurt (and I know one bar – hello, Harbour Sports Grille! – that’s cutting its opening hours because the lockout’s taking business) well, that’s just too stinking bad.

But to think the owners are getting some right-wingish strategist to find out how best to “massage” their message should piss off fans to no end.

It signals – with equivocation – that all this lip-service to the fans is just that. Bull designed to fool them rather that inform them and if there was any doubt about wanting to pull the wool over fans’ eyes all you really have to do is digest this statement from the group:

“It’s not what you say, it’s what they hear.”

Pretty blatant, no? You find a slogan or a few buzzwords, stay “on message” and try, simply, to fool the people who actually pay the bills and who are genuinely damaged by this lockout.

There aren’t bartenders or ushers or concession workers heading to Europe to find work; the arenas are dark and real people are really suffering and the NHL is hiring heavily-connected consultants to tell them how to massage the people they’re hurting the most?

Yeah, that sucks. Big time.

-

Right, the Raptors.

Well, it’s good for them that Kyle Lowry’s back on the court (here’s yesterday’s missive in case you missed it and shame on you if you did.)

And this is a critical week for them, without question.

Games Wednesday, Friday and Monday are the perfect time to start to fine-tune what they do, get into some kind of quasi-regular rotation and work even harder on their own stuff at real speed against real NBA opposition.

To this point, this group is intriguing. It’s deeper, it can score more prolifically than last year (you’ll see more overall production out of small forward and centre than you ever saw last year) but there has been some defensive slippage.

And as we’ve mentioned before, the early-season schedule is a blur; another reason to be ready to hit the ground running and another reason this is a key week of preparation.

-

You know what would be really, really cool?

If, on opening night, they carved a hole in the roof of the Air Canada Centre and The Chicken parachuted through it right to midcourt.

From space!!!!!

Seriously. Think what we could learn to further the cause of stuffed animals everywhere!

-

So let me get this straight.

Dude who leads the province decides he doesn’t want to do the job any more, packs it in and basically shuts down the legislature for some time because he’s either got personal issues or wants a better job or can’t handle the fight to get his party’s bills passed?

I (don’t heart) Politicians.

-

I type the following words fully aware that I don’t imagine I’ve ever strung them together before and full cognizant that I might not ever again.

I can’t wait to find a stool to sit and watch the Canadian men’s soccer team play today.

They’re in Honduras, need a win or a draw to move on to the next stage of World Cup qualifying and I’m told be people who know (hello, First Lady Of The Beat and Not Grace Kelly) that it could be a cracker of a game.

(Cracker?! Yeah, I’ve gone over to the dark side)

Anyway, I can’t debate or even discuss 4-4-2 or whatever but I can say this: The players and coaches have put so much pressure on themselves with their public declarations of how important this game it that it will be fascinating to see how they react.

Athletes I’ve covered have a tendency to play down games like this in public utterances, they talk about just playing their game and their style, treating it as another game, just trying to do what they.

For days, it seems, we’ve heard coaches and players suggest this might be the biggest game they’ve ever played; a true statement but not one most athletes will make in public.

We’d like to think they can rise to the occasion and not be overwhelmed by it; that they will take the challenge well, not shirk from it; that they will dominate rather than cower.

The one person I’ve seen lately who did that was My All-Time Favourite Trampolinist Rosie McLennan (I know, it’s a short list but she’s at the top) because at the moment of the most pressure in the most significant competition of her life, she came up with the best performance of her career and won an Olympic gold medal.

That’s handling stuff well.

Wonder if the soccer team has that kind of effort in it?

-

Hey, I’ve got a crazy week ahead with practices, games, flights (Porter to Montreal will be a new experience) and then a super-secret mission later on.

So let’s start doing mail, shall we?

Click. Write. Send.

-

Oh, remember how last week was perhaps the greatest week in baseball playoff history?

Well, I think we need Tigers and Yankees and Giants and Cards to pick it up a little bit, it’s been a totally underwhelming few days.

-

 

 

A stunt's a stunt no matter what; and Jeter's loss tough for fans

So if this space diver guy had landed in my front yard, I might have looked up to see what the ruckus was about.

Might have.

Now, if it’d been Evil Knievel jumping over buses or something …

Here’s the thing about the skydive from a kabillion metres or whatever it was that kind of rankled me. It was made out in some parts as some big deal yesterday afternoon and lauded as some kind of historical moment akin to Neil Armstrong walking on the moon.

Getting to the moon was a moment of historical accomplishment; a guy making, I presume, all kinds of money off a sponsorship from a drink company to jump out of a balloon was more a stunt than anything.

Sure, it was something no one else has done before and maybe it belongs in the Guinness Book of Records and good for him; as an historical achievement I cannot see how it expands the knowledge of the world’s great minds, it doesn’t open any new frontiers, it was little more than a lark when understanding how the universe works is concerned.

The Mars thing? The moon landing?

They contributed something significant to scientists.

This? This was a stunt, a cool stunt and, I guess, fun to watch, but it was Snake River Canyon, it was the guy walking across Niagara Falls; it was no a moment of huge significance in the world.

It seemed at times as much about the energy drink as anything else and that’s kind of off-putting.

But good on him, glad he lived, glad he finally got it done, now we can get back to not knowing or caring who he is.

-

So the ACC was ready for Rush last night, we’ll get to see it set up again today and tomorrow getting ready for tomorrow night and then I hear they’ll be in Montreal on our off-night Thursday.

Since I’m apparently being stalked by them …

-

Three things that would be good for the Raptors this week:

Andrea Bargnani makes some shots.

He’s a bit out of game shape, his shot is flat, I presume it come back, now would be a good time for him to start rounding into form.

Kyle Lowry plays

The point guard practiced Sunday, we’ll find out today how he came through it but it’s pretty important they get him in at least one game this week. With only four pre-season games to go, he needs to start figuring out what it’s like to play with his new teammates.

A rotation emerges

There are still too many guys playing too many scattered minutes and with four games left it’s about time to start figuring out who plays when. They need to settle on four bigs, maybe three wings and a couple of point guards and let them get a little used to their roles. Figure that starts happening for real on Friday in Montreal.

-

Speaking of Montreal, kind of wish I was going to have more time in that great city because I’m sure there’s all kinds of nooks and crannies Irregulars could point out.

But a dinner time arrival on Thursday, Friday morning shootaround an early story to write Friday afternoon (we have wretched deadlines for the Saturday paper) and the game Friday kind of make it busy.

So, knowing that …

Whaddya got for me?

-

Man, that sure sucks about Derek Jeter, doesn’t it?

(Yeah, I know, a little late but first chance we’ve had)

I don’t know that I’ve ever spoken to Jeter even in a scrum but he is one of those athletes you admire and to see him with a broken ankle and his season over right when the games were getting to the most important part of the year was, well, heart-breaking.

In this day and age, Jeter seemed to be one of the true greats in any sport who carried himself with dignity and class; he plays the game hard and extremely well (if he’s not a first ballot Hall of Famer they ought to do away with the Hall of Fame and you know how I feel about Halls of Fame and how easy it is to get into them) and he seemed to handle everything thrown his way with professionalism.

As a former fan of the Red Sox, he was supposed to be one of the Evil Empire guys you were supposed to loathe but you couldn’t. I can’t imagine it’s easy for anyone to be the face of a sporting monolith like the Yankees, to be the team captain carries a level of responsibility that doesn’t exist in too many other places and all Jeter did was act like a grown up, he knew what he was to so many people and I don’t know if he ever let them down.

He was, and is, the kind of athlete I think we can all appreciate, one team for his entire career, a distinguished career focused as much on team goals as individual accolades and it looked all the time like he took every game – and his place in the game – seriously.

There probably aren’t a handful of guys who could do what he’s done over a career spent in the media capital of world, where “gotcha journalism” is in full vogue and everyone’s life is dissected far too much.

To an outsider, he was a pro’s pro; a class act; an excellent player.

And with the best post-season I can ever remember unfolding before our very eyes, it’s really too bad he won’t be on that stage.

Even if you hate the Yankees – and more than a few of us do – I think you had to appreciate Jeter and feel bad that his season is over.

 

The end of the weekend mail

Strong finish again, folks.

Sorry I’m a bit late, I blame Jose Valverde for being a bit sluggish and tardy today.

Enjoy your day. And this.

-

Q: Hey Doug: In your IGBT, someone asked about Kleiza playing the four. You replied that "It's a once-in-a-while matchup..."

Could you give an example of when that would be? Does it depend who the other team has on the floor? Which other Raps are on the floor?

As usual, thanks for taking the time to keep us informed!

Tim H, Windsor

A: It would depend more on who’s on the other floor than who is playing for the Raptors, I’m told. You wouldn’t want Kleiza guarding a 6-11 power forward who likes to play in the post; you’d rather have him facing some “stretch four” like, for instance, a Ryan Anderson or, as he did the other night against Detroit, Austin Daye.

As I said, it’s certainly not something you’ll see regularly but it’s something Dwane has in his back pocket.

-

Q: Another for the mailbag. What stories about other teams/players/etc., are you looking forward to writing this season? Something like Nash taking his talents to Hollywood seems obvious, but what about smaller things like ex-Raptor P.J. Tucker making his way back to the league after bouncing around places like Israel, Puerto Rico and the Ukraine for 5 years? Any interesting angles you hope to cover (that is, unless other writers see them here and pinch them)? Cheers.

Jonathan M, Toronto

A: Sure, Nash and the Lakers are a great story, hope I get to do it sooner rather than later.

Otherwise? To tell you the truth, I kind of wait and see what develops. But right now I’m quite intrigued by the Knicks because I can see them either having an okay season or going right in the toilet. I know they have lots of talent but – and I’ll get into this more as the preview stuff gets done – there’s little evidence that Chandler, Stoudemire and Anthony can succeed together (they were best when one was out last season) and a team that, really, barely crept into the playoffs added a so-so point guard and a bunch of old guys.

Other than that? San Antonio taking one last shot (I know, we say that every year) should be intriguing, as will Oklahoma City when they do whatever they do with Harden before Halloween.

-

Q: Do any of the players ever look like they are having fun? Any smiles or all serious. Can you come up with a nickname for one of the Raps right now?

Lefty F, Cape Breton

A: Sure, they’re all having fun but they are also concentrating and have a level of intensity that doesn’t allow them to smile an awful lot on the court. Magic Johnson, of course, was the exception.

And we’ve got two nicknames we’re making stick.

Ed Davis, thanks to himself as told to E. Koreen, shall hitherto be known as Boss (not The Boss, just Boss).

And for Bargnani and Valanciunas, I’m dubbing them The Ivory Towers.

More to come, I hope, but I will avoid The Big Anything because it’s cliché and everyone does it.

-

Q: Your editors have special talents and now a hockey piece by DS! Impressive young man. Nice job.

I like Terrance Ross. I think he could be a real sleeper pick. I know, we'll see in 2 yrs.

This is a key year for the management team and a good opportunity to strengthen and grow their customer base with the hockey hiatus.

I recognize that everybody wants to roll right out of the gate, is there a sense of urgency to get off to a good start by the hierarchy?

John C, Mississauga

A: There is, but it’s not just because there are marketing and ticket sales possibilities – although that does play into it.

(As an aside, my biggest concern is that all of a sudden Pucks-Minded Tall Foreheads will say: “Hey, we have a basketball team? We should cover it more”)

I think the reason they need to get off to a good start is to prove to the players that what the coach is preaching will work; they can ill afford to have doubt creep into their minds, or be worried that what the bosses want won’t work.

It’s going to be tough, though. I think 15 of the first 22 or something like that are on the road and that’s a bear of a schedule.

Yeah, me and Junior Pucks. Who’d a’thunk it!

-

Q: Hello Doug. Long time reader, 1st time writer (that's been posted anyway, lol).

I'd like to begin with your thoughts on any contrasts you observed in the Raptors approach between the 2 Piston's match-ups. Do you feel adjustments were made with the opponent in mind, or were changes just the result of dividing minutes and exploring on-court combinations? I ask because Detroit is on the short-list of teams we will be competing with directly for the last playoff spots.

Also, I have been scratching my head trying to unravel the acronym "HOTH". Hoops on the hill?? What's the origin there? HELP!!

Thanks a million Doug! I've kept an eye on your blog through the baseball season, but seriously, nice to have you back on hoops; basketball is just plain better.

Matthew T, Toronto

A: At this time of the pre-season, there are no adjustments made with opponents in mind, it’s all about working on your own stuff, as Dwane told us all week. Sure, they had a cursory scouting report on the Pistons but what they did in Friday’s game was pretty much exactly what they did in Wednesday’s game; try to execute their own plays and defensive assignments.

And it’s Heroes Of The Hardcourt.

The start of the weekend mail

Hmm.

Seems it was a bit slow around here this week (I blame tryptophan) but we’re slogging through. Have a few left over for tomorrow, some time to kill this afternoon so if you want to get in on the fun …

Click. Write. Send.

And enjoy the day.

-

Q: What's in a Name? As a Montreal Expos fan in the late 70's, you had to appreciate Bill "The Spaceman" Lee.

Joanne W, Etobicoke

A: And as a Boston Red Sox fan, I certainly concur.

--

Q: Hi Doug. This question may have been asked before but I can't remember. Have the Raptors ever applied to host the all-star game? If not do you know of any plans to apply? What factors are working for or against them here?

Bryan B, Toronto

A: I don’t believe they have ever formally applied; they have had some minor discussions but, frankly, I can’t ever see it happening.

There is a distinct lack of space in the Air Canada Centre for the back-of-house needs, the league does like – all things being equal – to go to warm weather climes and there’s generally a tie-in with some city like the opening of a new arena (Orlando), a new owner (New Orleans) or past success (L.A., Houston).

Besides – and I’ve said this often – the weekends are, for the most part, more trouble than they’re worth. There are basically no tickets to the game or the Saturday night stuff for locals (corporate “partners” snap them up), you’re chance of getting to one of the big parties is as good as mine and the fanfest is fun but bring your bank card and be ready to stand in line.

-

Q: Hi Doug. Just a few weird questions.

Would you rather tear down the Rogers Centre or The Metro Convention Centre?

Will Solo make the New Orleans team? (Not the Man from Uncle, not the one from Star Wars)

Any tips on how to get your puppy to throw up? So far, only three rush treatments at the Ottawa Vet Hospital.

As far as baseball names go, how about Mark, "the Bird", Fidrych?

Bob E, Kanata

A: I’m whacking Rogers Centre for a smaller, more authentic baseball part (retractable roof with grass) the first chance I get.

I’m not liking Solo’s chances, actually. Great guy, game never developed.

Doctor, the first sign of any Super Dog ailment and I’m out, that’s Super Wife’s gig; too queasy for me.

-

Q: A few questions for you:

What do hear about one of my favourite players, Derrick Rose? How's he recovering from his injury and when will he be back?

In light of the recent NFL referees strike, was there ever a time when the NBA used replacement referees?

Joe D, Mississauga

A: His recovery is on pace, he might perhaps be ready after all-star but he did say a couple of times in the past few weeks that if the rehab slows, he’s more than willing to take the full year off.

And, yes, they had replacement officials in 2009; it was carnage and settled before the season began.

-

Q: Nice list of Libran's B-Days. Bruce S, Bryan Ferry and John Lennon, Oct 9.

Choosing dining options in Montreal can be overwhelming. Sooooo many choices. I'll start the ball rolling with an Anthony Bourdain recommendation, L'Express, short ride from downtown, wonderful Parisan Bistro. I grabbed a spot at the bar, gotta love when an establishment has no signage!

Try to check out BOBBY KEYS, legendary sax man with the Stones. Sound Academy Oct 19, perhaps Super Son would enjoy!

Noticed the NBA has a strong commitment to international pre-season games. Do you think the NBA will be the 1st major to establish an international franchise?

John C, Mississauga

A: I’d love to see Bobby Keys with Super Son but, alas, I’ll be in Montreal chronicling the Raptors.

As for international franchises, it’s always been David Stern’s contention that he’d like to have five over there but there’s a lack of good enough arenas, not major TV deals to be had and he wonders if the economics of ticket pricing would fly. So do I.

But if one league is going to do it, the NBA would be my bet.

-

Q: Raptors played OK last night but I was impressed with Andre Drummond. Pretty good night for the rookie. Apparently he went 9th in the draft, 2 ahead of Ross.

Was Drummond ever a consideration by the Raptors, given they already have several big men? This kid was impressive -- maybe a lucky night -- but he played much better than any of the Raptors big men.

Arlene E, Chesley

A: He got scant consideration. They had Valanciunas coming as a drafted big man and had no interest in a guy whose game, and attitude, were in question. And the other night notwithstanding, they still are; let’s check back in, say, three years and see where Terrence Ross and Andre Drummond are, I couldn’t guess who’d be good and bad.

-

Q: Hi Doug. So, was this "scout" at the same game you were on Wednesday? Via Sam Amico's twitter: Asked scout at Raptors-Pistons game to describe Jonas Valanciunas' debut in a word. He bounced between "soft" and "scared."

Danny P, Montreal

A: I saw that, I smiled, went on with life.

-

Q: Good day Mr. Smith! I'm really enthused with the new kids on this team, Terrence Ross looks like he'll have us forgetting about Derozan in due time. I was a little disturbed to see Sam Amico rain on the parade though. He tweeted that a scout described Jonas as soft and scared after the Detroit game. Where did this come from? He seemed anything but scared or soft. Your report seems to contradict this, do you have anything further to add to this? You must know Sam, any word on who the scout was? Actually be pretty funny if it was AP!

Shawn L, Bowmanville

A: No clue who it was, don’t really care. Not sure anyone should, actually.

The Goods On The Game, Pistons at Raptors

Hey everyone.

Having good days?

What's in a name? A lot of creativity once upon a time

Okay, list time!

(Remember those?)

I’m watching the ball games last night and I’m hearing all about ARod this and ARod that and I’m figuring we, as a people, have given up on good nicknames.

Boring, entirely boring.

And with the voice of a friend who thinks Catfish might be one of the best nicknames ever roiling around the brain, and recalling an esoteric mention of an obscure nickname the other night, I’ve come to the conclusion that baseball, old time baseball, had the greatest collection of nicknames in sport history.

Maybe it was a more creative time, maybe there was less political correctness, maybe it was just more fun to come up with cool names than to simply know people by initials or adding a “y” to their last night.

Yawn.

My top 10?

Jim (Catfish) Hunter

Sure it was fake and a product of Charlie Finley’s marketing mind but it is indeed pretty cool. Besides, who doesn't like a nice piece of blackened catfish?

Mordecai (Three Fingers) Brown

Yeah I know. Obvious but still ..

Fred (Bonehead) Merkle

Guy makes one critical and crucial mistake and has to go through the rest of his life known as “Bonehead?” That’s cold. Funny, but cold.

Sal (The Barber) Maglie

The guy was born in Niagara Falls, N.Y., and I’ve played games on fields named after him. Never got thrown at, though, which is how he became The Barber ‘cause he’d “shave” hitters.

Lou Gehrig, The Iron Horse

Now I use to more facetiously for those who might play through too much pain (insert obligatory shot at whatever soft Raptor you wish) it’s pretty cool.

Smoky Joe Wood

Dude threw hard, had nothing to do with fresh air.

Cool Papa Bell

So quick he could flip the switch and be in bed before the room got dark.

Branch Rickey, The Mahatma

Smart, and very religious. Effective combination.

The Fordham Flash Frankie Frisch

Today, that might be the name of a Super Hero.

Ted Williams, The Splendid Splinter

Only because he might be close to the top of The Greatest Hitter Ever list and the John Updike New Yorker essay that could be the best sports writing ever.

There are dozens, if not hundreds more (Shoeless Joe, Charlie Hustle, Mr. October, The Say Hey Kid, The Yankee Clipper), but those might be on the top of my list.

What have you got?

Oh, and the Raptors?

I can think of two worth mentioning and with any level of creativity.

Boogie for Alvin Williams and The Big Kitchen for John Thomas. I guess Mighty Mouse would be a close third. And if I find the guy who first called Oliver Miller The Big O, he and I are going to have to have a very serious chat. Sacrilege.

-

Guess I missed some big debate last night?

The Second-In-Commands south of us?

Too bad but I keep hearing the old guy might have schooled the young guy and being an old guy, I’m all for that.

And I also notice that I’ll be in Oklahoma City covering a game on U.S. election night, wonder what that’ll be like?

-

Mail?

Please. We might have some game stuff tomorrow morning -- not an awful lot, it still is the pre-season – but we’ll need some questions and we haven’t been inundated.

You know the drill, right?

Just click, write, send.

-

Right. The Raptors.

Well, a ho-hum day yesterday, going over the mistakes of the night before, trying to put some more offence in now that Valanciunas is fully ready and then some media obligations for the organization that I assure you they all loved like puppy dogs and rainbows.

In other words, a rather slow day in the middle of a pre-season that’s about two weeks long.

But I know the one thing Dwane was hammering home more than any other: Improvement on defence.

As we’ve mentioned a couple of times, there’s been some slippage from last year and I know that can’t be sitting well with the coach.

No reason to sound the alarms, they’re two games into a two-game pre-season and there are about two weeks worth of practice days left.

But listening him post-game the other night in Detroit, there was no question he was miffed and it’s time to really buckle down.

“What was it? 99 points? That’s plenty of points, plenty of points. We’ve got to cut down on the 50 per cent defensive field goal percentage, that’s my biggest concern.”

Rightly so.

-

Are the baseball playoffs the best playoffs in all of pro sports?

Gotta say yes.

Hardly any days off, every game takes on its own character and more drama – usually – than you can shake a stick at and if this past week hasn’t been the best in recent memory and doesn’t prove that point, I’m not sure what would.

You’ve had game-winning extra-inning homers and ninth-inning heroics and great offensive games and every time Justin Verlander pitches we all need to watch. It’s been wonderful, compelling, dramatic theatre day after day after day and you cannot get that in any other sport.

It’s been so good it’s almost been tiring. You sit and watch three dramatic at-bats late in the San Francisco-Cincinnati game and get worn out mentally and then Jason Werth wins a game in the bottom of the night and you take a deep breath and think, wow, what a day.

Then the Yankees and Orloles go 13 innings with the inherent ARod drama and it’s almost too much until you see the masterful Verlander throw a complete game, series-winning shutout that was one of those “sit back kids, I’ll win this one for you” moments that make sports special. You’ve got four Division Series all going the full five games and I cannot see how the league championship series or World Series can match the overall drama of the last week. Hope they do; can’t see how it’s possible.

-

 

 

No big numbers is really no big deal in a solid debut

So, what’d you think?

Kid looked okay, didn’t he?

I was trying to figure out along with my boys Tim and Sid on the radio yesterday afternoon where the debut of Jonas Valanciunas fits in the history of the Raptors and we figure there was probably more interest in him than in anyone before.

Maybe Vince but Carter sat out a lockout and didn’t have a pre-season so that doesn’t really count; no one else created as much buzz, I don’t think.

Sure, it had a lot to do with the delay because of the injury and the proliferation of social media that makes everything a talking point for everyone but I don’t recall a more anticipated pre-season game maybe ever.

Unfair? Probably. Sign of the times? Unquestionably.

So how’d the kid do?

Just fine, I’d say.

Didn’t fill up the stats sheet but I don’t imagine he will very often this season. But he seems to make the right basketball play almost every time, he’s in the right spot at both ends of the floor, he’s active, quick, willing to bang and looked pretty comfortable.

Sure, there was the blip when he took the ball off the rim for a goaltending call that would have been a good play in Europe but he also set solid screens to get guards free and rolled hard and quickly to the basket after setting them that attracted enough attention to free Andrea Bargnani for open corner threes.

The kid’s going to be okay and I know there will be all kinds of expectations on him when he gets home but there seems to be nothing in his makeup to suggest that he’ll be at all fazed by them.

Here's the game story.

-

If that wasn’t the best finish to a night of baseball in a very, very, very long time, I don’t know what was.

We were courtside when Ibanez hit the game-tying homer in the ninth – a tad incredulous that they hit for ARod – but saw the extra-inning homer in the press lounge after writing. Gutsy call to hit for Rodriquez, as thrilling a finish as I can remember.

And then after a quick stop for a couple and some wings at Hoops (yeah, the Winter Diet is upon us) was back in the room watching the A’s go berserk with three in the ninth to beat the Tigers (I can only imagine the angst in Detroit today) to win that game.

It was a brilliant end to a night; man, you’ve got to love sports, don’t you?

And I’m sitting here about 7 a.m., finishing this missive off and Mike and Mike on ESPN are replaying the final two Ibanez at-bats with the television call and it’s being done by Dan Shulman and we need to repatriate the guy if at all possible.

-

Yeah, this is Bob Seger land in a lot of ways but …

Who doesn’t like a little Motown?

This would be near the top of the list, right?

Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, not bad. Didn’t hear it at the game, or anything like it. Should have, though.

-

Yes, that was a pretty solid play to try and win the game at the buzzer for the Raptors.

A bunch of cuts off Bargani with the ball at about the elbow and a Jose three-pointer from the top.

Familiar?

Should be, we saw it about three or four times last season – they got a good shot every time, the one I remember best was in Utah when a shot tied the game at the buzzer, I believe – and it was entirely predictable.

I know, and you know, Dwane’s got some other last-season play calls in the bag of tricks and he broke into a rather sneaky smile when he was asked about it.

“We have a few (more), we can’t give them away at this time. We always get good looks on it … there’s counters to it so they’re ready. But again, we don’t have a lot of our offensive sets in.”

Best thing about it, by far?

That it was a three-pointer to win or lose; if they’d gone for two and the tie, there would have been some angry people around because pre-season overtime should not be allowed.

Settle it with free throws, or a sprint, a blind draw; anything but overtime. So, thanks Dwane.

-

Mail?

Please.

And don’t forget there’s a game on Friday so anything to do with stuff like rotations or whatever might not be all the timely.

But you know I love to hear from you – and it was very nice to see some familiar names around the IGBT last night – so do you’re stuff.

Click. Write. Send.

-

We’re sitting in the lobby of the luxuriously appointed Auburn Hills Courtyard Marriott (three whole floors, just down the driveway from Wendy’s and Tim Horton’s, which are the only joints for lunch within possible distance) and who comes around the corner?

Anthony Parker.

He’s now working as a scout for Orlando, was finishing a Chicago-Auburn Hills back-to-back and he’s getting a bit more use to how the other half of the NBA’s travelling circus lives during the season.

No complaints, though; that’s not his style at all.

-

The Things You See, Vol. 182,391,457

We’re staying on Opdyke Road just down from the Palace between the old Silverdome and the arena, an area we’ve frequented an awful lot over the course of 15, 16 years.

There’s this place on a corner, Harry’s Liquors, that’s been there forever and it’s a rather rough tumble joint. One floor, kind of like an old gas station building, bars on windows, hand-written signs for any manner of booze and a rather scary looking place, to tell you the truth.

(The only thing that would make the tableau more perfect would be in the joint next door was a gun shop, or a massage parlour)

Have never gone in, it would either confirm my suspicions about the seediness of it or all illusions would be gone if it was even close to nice inside and I don’t want to chance that.

Anyway …

We’re driving by yesterday and see a new sign that offers:

Two 40-ounce bottles of Bud for $6!

That’s 80 ounces of beer for six bucks?

Can you imagine the kind of crowd that deal would attract?

No, we didn’t go in.

Next time we’re here is for an off-night on the Thursday of American Thanksgiving.

Can’t wait to see what the specials are that day. A buck a bottle of Wild Turkey, perchance?

-

 

 

The Goods On The Game, Raptors at Pistons

Hi

Here we go.

It's all about Valanciunas, on and off the court

Oh, yeah we’re all kind of interested to see what Jonas Valanciunas can bring tonight, if in fact he plays and it would be a shock to me if he didn’t.

In a fun turn of events, we got in to see a fair amount of practice yesterday – mainly because they were working on the main court where there’s the physical room for the prying eyes of the media that doesn’t exist in the practice court – and Valanciunas kind of stood out.

Not sure what he’ll be like in a real game but you can see tremendous talent regardless of the circumstances. He’s quick – watching him run full-court sprints long before Monday’s game was eye-opening, he’s not a plodding 7-footer by any stretch – and he just seems to always be around the ball all the time.

I’m not about to laud him as some budding all-star but I can’t see how he doesn’t give this team something special; it’ll take some time to figure out the game and his teammates but the raw talent is undeniable.

Speaking of Valanciunas …

Got a chance to see The Other Dream Team the other day, the 90-minute movie about the 1992 Lithuanian basketball team at the Barcelona Olympics, the one that won the bronze medal in the first major competition after the tiny country broke away from the Soviet Union.

Powerful, powerful stuff and I don’t know if or when you’ll get a chance to see it but if you do, do it.

Valanciunas (and his mom) plays a role, kind of prominent because he’s the first international “star” to be born after the country gained its independence and it’s interesting to see how highly he’s thought of in his homeland.

But it’s far deeper than that.

I’ve mentioned before how seriously basketball is taken in that small country so that fact shouldn’t surprise you. But to hear about the first major event, the emotion that accompanied it and to hear the words of men involved in that time really is incredible.

I don’t think it resonates with anyone here as strongly as it should. We’ve never been “occupied” and never had to answer to masters far away who held our fate in their hands. It’s life and a time not many of us can fathom and you can see the emotion in their eyes and hear it in our voices.

And the role basketball played was huge. It was a rallying point for a small country trying to find its way; a game that truly brought a country together. Great stuff.

Plus there’s all kinds of footage of Arvydas Sabonis when he was young and among the very best basketball players in the world.

If you can, see it. You won’t be sorry.

-

We’re baaaaaack.

Remember the IGBT? Let’s get it started again tonight, shall we?

I think I remember how to do it – the other night’s twitter-fest was something of an aberration and not close to interactive enough so be here around 7:30 p.m. and we’ll see how things go.

Oh, and if you’re so inclined, we should probably start the mail thing.

Here. Click. Write. Send.

You know you want to.

-

Yep, Super Son’s working on the Jungleland sax solo and getting it down pretty well.

He gets this one in his repertoire next and home’s going to be that much sweeter.

Bob Seger’s got some music chops, doesn’t he?

-

Yes, I would love to tell you how Kyle Lowry feels in his own words, would like to have added a few paragraphs to the Valanciunas story yesterday with Lowry letting everyone know how his leg felt but, nope.

The kid back-doored us at practice yesterday, got out before doing what is basically an obligatory media thing and, yeah, we’re a bit ticked as a collective.

Perhaps you’ve noticed that Lowry is not the most communicative or accommodating player with the media, he’s generally sour with gusts to surly and that’s fine. That’s his personality and we don’t want it to change, nor should it.

But that doesn’t mean he can’t, or shouldn’t, come out and grunt his way through a three-minute interview every now and then, especially when there’s a legitimate story developing.

It’s part of the gig when you’re a pro athlete and if it’s distasteful, well, tough. Suck it up, do the right thing and answer a few questions.

We’ll try again tonight and see where it goes; the one thing we know for sure is that he’s not going to play. But he needs to talk.

-

If you can wade through all the Tigers stuff on the local sports thing, you’ll find this about the Pistons.

-

Oh, boy.

The Pistons were dead last in attendance last season, I can’t see how they’ve demonstrably improved their team, this is their first pre-season game and the Tigers are playing a huge AL playoff game at 9 p.m.

If there are 5,000 people in the Palace, I’ll be stunned.

-

A four-baseball game day?

Too bad that pesky basketball game is going to get in the way because it could be a great one.

But I have to tell you, on the long drive down here with a couple of other grunts, we were listening to the Reds-Giants until we lost the signal and if you think Chris Berman is tough to take doing baseball play-by-play on television, you can’t imagine what it’s like when a great game is raging and he’s doing radio.

-

 

 

An athlete rips fans who deserve to be ripped, and more

I’m a day late to the dance on this but, man, am I proud of this NFL guy I’d never heard of before yesterday.

Eric Winston’s his name, he plays for the Kansas City Chiefs and this video clip should be played on every scoreboard in every arena or stadium every week to remind fans of what’s real and what’s not acceptable behaviour.

Look, I get booing, I really do; it’s not something I can recall doing even once in my life and I will go to my grave contending that the kneejerk reaction of some fans has to take away from the overall enjoyment level of a night out but, go ahead, do as you wish.

I much less appreciate jeering of opponents, a lot of times – at least the stuff I’ve heard, is far too personal, immature (‘you’re a jerk, Joe Blow’ isn’t quite a caustic comment and something you’d expect to hear at some high school game) and I’d find it bothersome if I was sitting next to some loudmouth incessantly ripping the other team. But, again, I’m not the arbiter of fan comportment even if that’d be cool job, wouldn’t it?

Cheering, I get. A lot. It keeps fans a bit more attached and involved, it’s what makes the atmosphere in arenas and stadiums so sweet. The screams and chants that energize buildings sometimes give me goosebumps, honestly. It’s one of the best parts of the gig.

But for fans to cheer for an injury? That’s sick. Totally disgusting and uncalled for. Doesn’t matter if it’s a home team player or a visiting team player; it’s shocking to me that anyone in their right mind would even think to do it.

And to do it in an NFL game, where we know the long-term toll that injuries can extract makes it even more deplorable.

What Winston said, and how he said it, was first-class and bang-on. Not sure many of us could have written it any better.

I don’t know if it’ll work, I would hope that it does and fear that it doesn’t but the fact an athlete issued a forceful rebuke of a handful of idiot fans was one of the best sporting moments of the year.

-

Tough story out of Detroit, where we are motoring tonight (in someone else’s nice car instead of The Smelly Ford Focus, thankfully) about Alex Karras and his dying days.

Now, who doesn’t remember Webster, recall him on Monday Night Football and I would put him among the very first athletes who truly crossed over into pop culture.

Oh, right. There was that whole Mongo thing in one of the all-time classics.

Remember?

-

Right, the Raptors game.

It was, as one would expect, a bit spotty (quite spotty at times) but they won and they liked that part of the evening.

It’s tough to get a true read after 48 minutes against a team that plays a somewhat unorthodox style by North American standards for a Toronto team missing two players who are expected to be large parts of the rotation when things start for real.

So don’t be looking for any pronouncements here and don’t go rushing to judgement yourself, if that’s possible. There were, however:

Some Good

Amir Johnson looked really good for most of the night, getting to the rim on rolls like he does; Ed Davis didn’t look great offensively but he still managed to grab 10 rebounds and John Lucas III was as advertised: A scorer, pure and simple.

Johnson had been okay for most of camp was the word I was getting so a good game was a welcome sight and Davis has been possibly the most impressive guy overall since the convened in Halifax a week or so ago.

Lucas? I still don’t know if there’s any time for him once Lowry gets back but he can score, of that there can be no doubt.

Some Bad

Moments of weak transition defence had to have Dwane clawing at his eyes but that’s fixable; they committed 30 fouls, a lot of ‘em simply because they were lazy, to put Real on the line 44 times and they managed to miss 12 of their own 29 free throws, a percentage that they simply cannot live with.

But, it’s early, crazy early, and if those same traits are present, say, a week from Friday in Montreal against New York, then there might be cause of concern.

Now? They’re probably right about where they want to be, maybe a couple of steps behind because they haven’t had Valanciunas in a practice yet.

-

Oh yeah, if this is Tuesday I must be a half hour late with this after the 7 a.m. drop off at school.

I need to look closely at the schedule see how many road games I have to be at that’ll save me from this.

(Super Wife: If you’re reading this, I’m kidding. A bit)

-

I don’t know about you but Dick Stockton and Ernie Johnson may be fine men and veteran broadcasters but listening them do baseball is odd or something.

Not lyrical enough.

-

Back to the game for a second.

No one got a look at Valanciunas – if I had to guess, I’d say they get him to full work later this week and he plays a week Wednesday against Washington – and Acy only played the final few seconds.

But there was a lot of Terrence Ross and I think you might like him as the season goes on. Got a pretty shot, had had a tough time at camp getting used to the three-point but the two he made from behind the arc were sweet.

Dwane’s assessment?

“Typical rookie, couple of brain locks as far as not knowing where he’s supposed to be inoffensive sets. Typical rookie mistakes but he did a good job of going to his strength, which is shooting the ball.

“Like we always said, he’s not going to lose that skill, he just has to learn the other nuances.”

-

No, we didn’t do an IGBT Monday night, I did do some tweeting but wanted to get my feet wet in game coverage.

Think we’ll get back to the usual on Wednesday from Detroit if you’d like?

-