Find a better time to deliver popcorn and soda

I guess sometime they might learn.

But part of me doubts it entirely.

We all know that one of the great things about the NBA is the proximity of fan to players courtside, people could literally have a player land in their lap and we’ve seen collisions courtside dozens and dozens and dozens of times.

But last night in New York it got kind of silly when San Antonio’s Stephen Jackson sprained an ankle falling back after he took a corner three-pointer.

But it wasn’t a fan he bumped into, it was a waitress delivering an order to a front row patron and that’s just wrong.

That the patron may or may not have been New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg just makes the story a bit more titillating; the issue is what the hell was a waitress doing inches from the court when play was going on anyway?

Couldn’t she have waited for a timeout or a quarter break or halftime? Did that popcorn or soda really have to get there right then?

I love the fact that fans in their seats are close to the action (except for the doofuses – doofi? – who get on the phone and wave when the TV cameras are on them) because it kind of lends an energy to the game.

But staff?

Staff needs to either get the food and drink to the fans from behind or wait until there’s a break in the play to do their jobs. Surely the people making the orders can wait, right?

I’d suggest fans are close enough to the action and there is simply not enough physical room for anyone else between them and the court.

And while we’re on the matter, how about moving the baseline photographers back a foot or two? Wouldn’t that be a good idea?

So the list of five things they need to change about the NBA game experience is pretty clear, isn’t it?

No at-seat service in the front row.

Just during the play, they can send popcorn or soda or sushi or whatever during breaks in the action like timeouts and quarter breaks. Can’t do it at simple whistles because there’s not enough time.

No music during the game

It’s entirely annoying, does nothing to add to the game experience and it’s not usually music more than it is blaring noise.

Move the photographers

They might get mad but a few feet with the technology available to them and their own skill will not make a bit of a difference, I don’t think.

No contests

At least no boring ones during timeouts. Find something creative that engages the fans rather than forces them to sit there in relative silence while two or three fans play games.

Bust the script

Every break and every timeout seems scripted; I think game ops people need to have the freedom to make changes if the game dictates it. Your team’s making a run? Get it loud and get people going, don’t sap the energy from the building just because the script says it’s time for something else.

-

You know how some of you have, in the past, pined for the return of Sonny Weems?

Well, quite aside from basketball issues, check out this Russian television commercial and it must make you wonder if Sonny would even want to come back.

Life looks pretty good, doesn’t it?

-

Yes, there has been a good bit of mail but there’s always room for some more.

The drill’s the same.

Click. Write. Send.

-

Oh yeah, the Raptors.

Not really an awful lot to say, the conversations going on around me at practice yesterday (when I got a quick peak at DeRozan’s holiday activities on what was a typical Nothing But Net day) continued to be centred on keeping everyone on an even keel despite this recent success.

They do seem still grounded, no one’s boasting publicly about what they accomplished, mainly because they’ve only managed to stop the bleeding from a wretched start.

But maybe that’s what will make this team special in the next couple of months, maybe they will just keep their heads down and their egos in check and go about their business having fun and winning some games.

Now, we all know there is going to be a three- or four-game losing streak some time in their future, it’s bound to happen because eventually the schedule will turn hard, someone’s play will drop off (slumps happen to them all) and that’s when we’ll find the true measure of the guys.

So far, they have shown an ability to bounce back from long, long, long bad stretches and they’ve shown an ability to handle success.

Let’s talk the next time they have to handle difficulty because it’s inevitably going to come.

-

Saw this story yesterday about the sale of farmland made famous by the movie Field of Dreams and, of course, it got me thinking.

Yeah, thinking about how I’m not at all surprised they are going to continue to try and make money off the ballparks and cornfields so many of us remember from that movie. That’s just the way the world works and while a 12-field facility and various cabins seems a bit much, who am I to suggest they not try to capitalize on it, even if the movie is more than 20 years old.

(MORE THAN TWO DECADES OLD? WOW. I AM AGING)

Anyway, it did make me think Field of Dreams is the best baseball movie of that genre every made, right?

Better than The Natural Bang The Drum Slowly or Damn Yankees, correct?

That’s the short list of, I guess, dramatic fantasy flicks about the grand old game. We’ll not have any discussion about the fact Bull Durham’s the best baseball comedy ever made, though; that list ends at one.

-

Yes, IGBT tonight. Be here around 7, please.

-

 

 

 

Comments

[Vincent Lam]

Who's that other player that's in the Sonny Weems commercial? Is that Marko Jaric?

Blogger's note: Nenad Krstic

[RK]

At least Sonny's commercial ends the debate about ex-Raptors with best pizza commercials - Turk's was no match for that!:)
The other player in the tub? Nenad Krstic, former Thunder and Celtics centre, now Sonny's teammate at CSKA Moscow.

[Matt G]

Costner also should win the trifecta for best movie about a retired baseball player: The Upside of Anger. Biting and funny little film. Plus made being a retired baseball player look like a fun gig.

[coachd]

Hi Doug,
Costner baseball movies are always outstanding, but Field of Dreams is special. Way to go Sonny. Pizza commercials in Russia are far more interesting than in North America.

[JHP]

Just wondering how Sonny is actually doing playing basketball ? Guess the commercial indicates he's doing ok :-)

Since it's Papa Pizza we know the words !

[DaveB]

During Scrums Casey keeps referring to digging themselves out of a hole. You can't dig yourself out of a hole. At least recently he said that if you are in a hole, stop digging. I think they dug a deep hole and are now filling it back in. They have it half filled. They now need to win eight more games than they lose just to get a ground level or ground zero. You may want to suggest to Casey that he can use this analogy and state that they are still filling in the hole and haven't started building anything yet. You and Casey are welcome!

I wrote a long comment yesterday about Andrea that wasn't posted. I think I messed up the posting. It probably wanted me to a enter a scrambled word to activate the posting and I closed the browser without noticing it.

Anyway, my point briefly was that Andrea needs to come back and play well to raise his value. Then he might be trade-able, even for a good draft pick. I also think he needs to play closer to the basket, much like Boss. His 15 to 18 foot shot is good whereas his 22 foot shot is not good this year. I also think he needs someone feeding him the ball in the right spots to be successful and at the beginning of the year, Lowry was playing too much HERO ball.

And in reference to yesterday's question about getting through winter, we are going to Padre Island (near Corpus Christie, TX) for a month starting the 8th of February. With the drive through Memphis going down and the drive through Austin, Dallas and Oklahoma City on the way back we should be out of the snow for 6 weeks or more. This is the first year that we are retired and can do that. It will be interesting to see how that goes.

As for HOTH, I think their first lost may be against a weaker team more so than a stronger team. Let's hope for another win tonight.

[Matthieu]

Re yesterday's information regarding the last time a team had won with three starters going scoreless: the correct date was December 2, 1994 when the Suns beat the Cs 107-102: http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/199412020BOS.html

Blogger's note: Thanks

[David in Oakville]

Good Morning Doug,

That extra rest isn't doing much in the "I'm Grumpy and I know it" department.

NO CONTESTS.. really? My wife and I always cheer when there is a contest of some sort going on and my recollection is that others do as well.. depending on the contest. Please tell me you mean NO MUSIC DURING GAME PLAY. if there was no music at the game how would I know what the young uns are listening to?
What's next.. NO T-SHIRT CANNON?
+
It didn't work out so well for the last Rap who made a Pizza commercial.. I think Sonny's agent should have steered him towards WINGS or BURGERS, lest he end up in Novosobirsk.

[D-Mac Ottawa]

With truly amazing movies being produced from unlikely books these days (anyone putting "The Life of Pi 3D" among their top 10 these days?), wouldn't you love to see a Costner or an Ang Li take a crack at Kinsella's other gem, "The Iowa Baseball Confederacy"? Cheers. Go Raps!

[Dennis]

Doug, just read the piece on Derozan. Do you think this extra work effort is a direct result of spending time on the U.S. national team practice squad and seeing first hand what great players like Kobe do on a daily basis?

Blogger's note: I think there's no question it did

[larry lukeeborg]

no music during play...one can dream, i suppose. truly annoying it is, but for some reason the thick heads don't understand that fans don't like it

[Eric-in-NS]

Can't argue with the movie choices.
A very good, overlooked movie: Cooperstown, made for TV in 1993:
"Alan Arkin and Graham Greene are terrific in this poignant, funny look at friendship, regret and unrealized dreams played out against a background of baseball as it was before multimillion-dollar contracts and prima donna stars." (from an imdb user review).
PS. I have never understood the end of the Iowa Baseball Confederacy; maybe a movie version would help!

[Geoff Read]

Field of Dreams? I suppose that might be right.

Bull Durham is the best baseball comedy movie ever made, but if you enjoyed that, you really, really need to check out the show "Eastbound and Down" and its main character Kenny Powers. It's kind of Bull Durham (starring John Kruk) meets Bad Santa. It is always funny and never politically correct.

I have to give the love to the Raptors these days. They have really turned things around. If they continue to play with this much passion and commitment for the rest of the year, playoffs or no playoffs I'll be happy. It started with Calderon, Anderson, and Johnson's leadership and now it's spilled over to just about everyone on the roster. It's been fun to watch. Lowry's been great coming off the bench - kudos to him for putting his ego second and the team first.

Which makes me wonder: will Bargnani's return screw up the team chemistry that's developed?

[Kevin]

Here's a behind the scenes clip of the Weems pizza commercial --

http://youtu.be/-f9Tcg3bxDE

I guess the Euroleague doesn't have any rules about cheerleaders cavorting with the players.

Weems seems to be doing well. I read an article about him being the best American player playing in Europe right now.

Cheers Doug and have a Happy and Healthy 2013! Your blog is one of the first things I read every day.

[Drew]

Wow, Doug, you're on fire today! 3 articles in the paper, plus one of the most entertaining blog posts I've ever read here. Kudos good sir.

Quick question RE: the awesome Stephan Curry article (who happens to be one of my favs) - I know I've read, possibly here, that he attended a lot of Dell's games back in the Raptor's golden days and that he would shoot around. The question is, over 10 years ago, did you and the other grunts suspect or even expect Steph to have a pro-level impact this good?

PS that Sunny Weems commercial - gold, Jerry, gold!

Blogger's note: Anyone who saw him shoot those days with his Dad knew he had a chance to be really good. Not sure we thought NBA all-star calibre point guard but we all thought he had a chance

[Dell]

I agree with the no music during play. The MSG organ is still a very effective means of getting the crowd going in NY. What is even worse with the TO DJ is the lousy intro music they seem to put on year after year. The songs are always boring and really have nothing to do with the team. As much as I like the track "hate me now" by nas (intro a few years ago), it really sent the wrong message for the team. The intro music for the Bulls during the Jordan era comes to mind as true intro music. When the lights when dim, the guitar rift comes on, the bull starts snorting on the screen...it sent chills down your spine and made the crowd wild.

[james]

As much as I admire the baseball movies you've mentioned, I read far too many books of baseball history when I was younger, so it's "Eight Men Out" for me. Director Sayles skillfully manipulates an enormous cast and evokes eye-popping period detail while telling the story of a couple of beat grunts getting to the bottom of every sports league's worst nightmare (he plays the famous grunt himself and hires a famous grunt to play the writer who bells the cat). Somehow he finds a doppelganger for Kenesaw Mountain Landis, without whom David Stern would not exist.

[Geoff Read]

Oh, and I totally agree about the music during play. I haaaaate that. It's part of the NBA's marketing strategy where they market a party atmosphere as much as the sport of basketball.

[Mr. Cook]

@Drew - I'm a few years older than Steph Curry and I can remember seeing him shoot around on the court on a handful of occasions because my Dad and I would always go to the arena extra early to see the players get their warm-ups in (and we were travelling from out of town so it's nice to get of the car for a longer amount of time). Anyway, I can remember being about 16 to his 12 and marvelling at the fact that he could hit upwards of four or five NBA threes in a row. Incredible range for a kid that couldn't have been more than 95lbs at the time.

Interestingly, Leo Rautins has another son besides Andy (the NBAer for a couple seasons there) named Mike who was always a better baseball player than basketball player but had the only comparable, young-teen-shooting-range I have seen in my life to Curry's. I seem to recall him playing against our regional team from Central Ontario in a tournament in Albany, NY (though it may have been at a camp session in Canton, NY) and hitting two shots from nearly the hash marks at age 15 or so.

@Doug - Irregulars of a certain...uhh....newer vintage, will fondly remember the Sand Lot as one of the best child-demographic baseball movies of all time. A great film about how sports can bring friends together and act as an escape for youth.

[D-Mac Ottawa]

Hi Doug, Looking forward to the game tonight.
Just wanted to point out that I did manage to find this week's Nothin' But Net and today's Dino-Bytes... however, Nothin' But Net was embedded in the general Sports section, not the Basketball section, and the Bytes were in the Basketball section, but used to be posted as a late-day entry in your blog. Never too sure when or where to find your good stuff one week to the next... and lord knows we don't want to miss out. on your good stuff. Cheers. Go Raps! Keep them dogies rollin': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdR6MN2jKYs

[Stavros]

Toss up on The Natural or Field of dreams; both great. Another really good baseball drama I saw many years ago was Fear Strikes Out starring Anthony Perkins. It’s based on a true story apparently. Red Sox star prospect with mental health issues and overbearing Dad (Karl Malden) who keeps pushing him to be great. The guy finally snaps. I'd say they got the casting right anyway.

Speaking of casting, hopefully Sonny got a chance to provide some input for the commercial.

Blogger's note: Jimmy Piersall was the name of the player, good movie

[doug]

I know the game optics to you must be getting stale as you've done over a thousand games live (whats your total you have a any clue)...but a few years ago i took my then 9 year old nephew to a game and he was captivated/enthralled by the whole thing...so I think in small doses the game experience does what it is suppose to do entertain....Field of Dreams was alright, its not my even fav Costner baseball movie, nor even Bull Durham I thoroughly enjoyed his role as a ex-player in Upside of Anger....driving home from the EL Mo heard this song on the Q, it has to be the coolest song ever, i cranked it as I don't hear it too often but when i do I realize its the ultimate coolest tune song by the coolest dude ever..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwTtl8IydcA

[sportschic]

At least you're not calling for removal of the Chicken! He/she/it was in good form the other night. :)