These are the darkest days in a long, long time

Well, this trip can’t end fast enough and all that stands between me and comfort of home is a flight to Vancouver, a couple hours of laying around and then a long flight back.

Fitting end.

Anyway, one last late one thanks to the time zone thing …

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THREE POINTERS

Gotta do something

I’ve been around this team for a very long time and know the misery of some bad seasons and horrid stretches.

This is close to the worst I’ve seen in many a year.

There just seems to be a lethargy that envelopes this group at key times in games and the mood is dark almost consistently.

Now, that’s entirely predictable given the circumstances and I’m not getting the sense that everyone truly hates each other but they are 4-18 and nerves are on edge.

Everyone knows something has to happen – big trade, small trade, something else – if for no other reason than to change for change’s sake. I’m not usually a proponent of that and I do honestly believe there are some nice pieces here but …

It’s 4-18, no one’s happy, no one can possibly be anything close to happy and the sense you get is that more than a few of the people around the team want something to happen just to get it done and over with.

That puts a lot of pressure – even more than usual – on Bryan and Dwane but that’s what they get the big bucks for.

I don’t know what it’ll be but something’s gotta give before people start punching each other.

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An odd sight

If you had asked me which of the Raptors would throw a mouthpiece at a referee I would have had to go far down the list before I got to Amir Johnson.

That was so totally out of character it’s not even funny.

But out of character or not, you cannot throw things at officials, and you can’t hit them with what you’ve thrown and you can’t get to the point where you’re physically restrained from going after him.

Now, no one knows what was or wasn’t said – Amir said there were no words spoken, but I suspect a couple might have been – and David Jones, the referee, is not blameless in this at all.

But throwing stuff?

I’m thinking Amir’s lucky if all he gets is a two-game suspension and three or four might be more likely.

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Whither Kyle?

I am not at all laying the blame for this totally at the feet of the new starting point guard but I’m wondering where all this “leadership” and “grittiness” stuff we heard so much about has gone.

There is more than enough blame to be spread around but I thought – and was told – that Lowry had one of those “screw this, I’m getting us out of this funk” attitudes in him.

Haven’t seen a lick of it, which is too bad because this team needs someone to take it by the collective neck and shake vigorously.

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More? Very little since I have to run to write off-day stuff and catch a plane.

We’ll recap my own highlights and lowlights of the trip tomorrow morning.

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I haven’t seen a lot of “cool” people in various airport lines over the years that have me want to say something to them.

I can remember seeing some TV guy – home repair dude, if I recall correctly and a friend I was talking to at the time tried to get me to say hello but I didn’t – but that might have been it.

But I did run into the parents of the Notre Dame football kid, Manti Te’o, while waiting in a never-ending security line at LAX on Monday morning; we were off to Portland, they were going to Honolulu and I did take the time to tell them how proud they should be of their son, who seems as grounded and as normal as you’d hope. Plus, I understand the kid can play a little bit.

They were equally polite and seemed a bit taken aback that a guy from Canada would even know about their son and his exploits.

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I had no idea who or what Sklyar Grey was but I knew someone sung this song and it seems a tad appropriate to me.

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I’m going to tell you, the highlight of the trip (at least the part that didn’t involve finding a very cool bar and new beer in Salt Lake City) had to be the half hour I spent hanging out with Christine Sinclair on Monday afternoon for this piece.

I don’t see an awful lot of Canadian women’s soccer, although I did cover the bronze medal game in London and a couple of games in Beijing, so the only interaction I’ve had with her have been in post-game scrums and mixed zone interviews.

Not surprisingly, she’s far more engaging and funny and witty in a one-on-one situation sitting outside at a Starbucks than in those stressed moments right after a game.

A couple of snippets that didn’t make the story.

On the bronze medal, post-game euphoria:

“My parents, they joke, ‘you’re not in any of the celebration pictures, where were you?’ … I just collapsed on the field in tears.

"You’re just exhausted and just completely overcome with emotions. You’re so happy and it was just too much.”

On the team’s place in the world now:

“For so often when we played the Americans, and not just the Americans but the other top teams in the world, like Germany and Japan, it’s almost like we’ve gone in there sort of going, ‘ok, we’re going to lose, we might have a chance at winning’ and John Herdmann, who I can’t believe isn’t up for coach of the year, he should have won it hands down, he changed our mindset, he changed our attitude, he had us believing we could beat any team in the world and it didn’t have to be a fluke.”

Anyway, a lovely time, made this horrid trip a large bit better.

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Not sure the out-of-town Irregulars will get this but there was a big bike lane controversy in Toronto a little while ago; I imagine the Bully Mayor (who may not be the Mayor next month) would have a conniption if he saw this that I saw yesterday in Portland.

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Okay, I’m out; if you’ve got some pressing queries or want to say high and try to make my life a tad better, let’s start the mail.

Here. Now. Thanks.

Oh yeah, I have a two-hour layover in Vancouver in a bit but that's the only time I'm going to get to posting comments until close to 10 tonight so ...

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Comments

[D-Mac Ottawa]

Man, I see the jackals and buzzards are out somethin’ fierce. Rough crowd, I tell ya! Ya know, maybe they’re gonna rebrand The Raptors. Call ’em The Dangerfields. New tagline: “No respect.”
It’s rough, ya know, I mean rough. The team psychiatrist says, “Fug-ged-a-boud-it, Brian, they’re hopeless.” Mr. Colangelo says maybe he wants a second opinion… the psychiatrist says, “All right, they’re ugly too.” No respect, man.
MLSE asked Brian if he wanted to join their bridge club. “Sure thing,” he says. They tell him he’s scheduled to jump next Wednesday. Tough crowd, ya know what I mean?
I hear they’ve already posted a beat cop with a megaphone out front of the ACC: “Move along, people. There’s nothing to see here.” No respect, I’m tellin’ ya.
Cheers. And stay clear of the jackals and buzzards, capeesh?

[p00ka]

doug how can anything you say have credibility anymore.

last week you were telling fans not to panic. And this week it's all about how these are the darkest days the franchise has ever seen.

you are about as consistent as bargnani, great reporting.

Blogger's note: Thanks for reading; maybe brush up on comprehension and the difference in 10 days but thanks anyway.

[JT]

I still like the Raptors but it has become a bit of a gong show.
If you break down the roster (starting 5 and then the bench) individually compared to the rest of the league, they shouldn't be as bad as they are. However, the intangible of team chemistry or playing well together as a team simply isn't there. There's no team offense or defense. Last year, we saw solid team defense and just enough team offense to have optimism for this year. Right now in looking at the players (both offense and defense compared to the rest of starters in the league of 30 teams) I would rank them as such:
Lowry: 15-20th best in the league out of 30 starting PG; When we started the season, we may have thought he's in the 8-15th ranking.
DeRozan: as much as he's grown offensively, his D really leaves a lot to be desired. Around 15-20th.
SF: Your pick of any of the guys who's started there. 30th. Zero offensive or defensive production.
Bargs: Bottom 1/3 in the league. Lots of optimism before season because of last season but he's gone back to the same no D and passive Bargs of years past.
Val: Hate to rank him because he's a rookie but I think on the overall, he's probably in the bottom 1/3 of the league.
The bench has not been as good as we thought it would be. We thought this Raptors team could be 8-10 deep in its rotation but the inconsistency and mostly negligible production has hurt them. No one on the bench seems to have a role or expectations. Raptors don't have anyone who is particularly good at any one thing coming off the bench. No instant offense guy. No defensively lock-down guy. No guy who you can count on for 3s. No one guy you can get consistent rebounds from (although Ed Davis is starting to become that guy).

[Liam]

Jose has reportedly asked for a trade, and Bco is trying hard to dump Bargnani.
http://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/2012/12/11/toronto_raptors_andrea_bargnani_trade_talk_jose_calderon_unhappy/

Blogger's note: Bit of a stretch but okay; if the Bargnani news surprises you, I'm shocked. It's about two weeks old

[Mike kovacs]

Doug next time you are talking to your tall foreheads perhaps you could arrange to get a bonus for everyone word in the comments section.

[Jerry]

Tomorrow, if the ACC crowd chanted "Fire Isaiah" in unison, it would be the highlight of the season, and I would weep tears of joy.

[who cares]

Season is nearly over, so hopefully the tall foreheads fire BC asap.

Fire BC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[frizzer1]

No matter how bad a sports team is there are usually a few players that one would like to keep or build with.
With the leafs,for me it was Gardiner and Reilly.
For last year's blue jays,it was Brett laurie,bautista and a few others.
With the raptors,there are no players I care about...none I would want to build with..even the hyped valenciunis,who may have potential..but I'm sick of potential.
And any Gm who takes over will inherit thismess of a team and likely not even get to enjoy the lottery pick that bad teams usually get.
Enough...I give up..

[doug]

someone hit the nail on the head earlier I believe @Peter...Lowry should be shopped not that he isn't and won't be a valuable player but his situation is what it is and we need to be sure we retain assets for him ....now Anderson Varejao is on the market supposedly, I would love to get that guy as would 29 other teams, I don't feel we have the package to acquire him though too bad Bargs wasn't having a career year or better year then there might be a match...be interesting too see how next little while unfolds...cheers..

[DC]

re: Blogger's note: Go find where you wrote 4-18; prove your prescience. Dare ya

Correction: it has come to my attention that it was not the 15th, but after the 12th game and a record of 3-9, i commented on your blog that the raptors could easily go another 3-9 (which would be 6-18). I also suggested they had the talent needed to be much better than a 20 win team. I sincerely, and without reservation, apologize for incorrectly recalling the exact wins and losses and point in the season and for ever suggesting the talent level was much better than a 20 win team. pound the rock.

[david]

Is there any chance that Bargnani could be part of a deal for Kevin Love given that he just slammed the owner and GM in Minnesota?
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--kevin-love-remains-unsure-about-timberwolves--future-200009299.html

[LeeZ]

@RobV: Definitely interested in those tickets! Are they closer to half court or to the end line?

[Robert Moses]

>Blogger's note: Not sure about expectations but if any Raptors fan thought they were more than a possibility for the seventh or eighth playoff spot and, perhaps, high-30s wins, they were delusional; but there is an attitude that permeates Toronto teams that isn't good<

Yeah, like you did Doug.

Hypocritical lapdog.

Blogger's note: Nice last post. Bye. And it was 37-38 wins; you could have found that out before you were done here.

[jc]

Doug may be of a certain vintage but I think he's sticking to his basketball roots

By the way, if we're handing out prizes, when the Raps were 3-10, in the permanence of the web, I called 4-21. Just waiting to see if they prove me right. I hope they don't. The bolder prediction was that I said if it happens, don't worry.

[jc]

sorry...this clip was supposed to be there
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=8nJghlxZplo