Dunking and things that should disappear with the penny

We should hear this week about who’ll do what on the All-Star (Boring) Saturday night in Houston pretty soon and that means breathless anticipation for a day or two on whether or not Terrence Ross will dunk.

On the face of it, he probably should be asked, he is tremendously athletic, can jump out of the gym as they say and if they want to keep it among “rising stars” you don’t get much younger than the kid who just turned 22 on the weekend.

Dwyane Wade, who’ll captain the East team in what’s now a conference vs. conference night for money that goes to charity, said last week he’d like to have Ross do it, too.

So?

Ross sounded a bit ambivalent about it when we asked him about it on the weekend.

“There’s so much pressure to do it, I’d rather say yes than no.”

Don’t blame him, actually.

With all the props and schticks and stuff that have turned it into theatre rather than athletics, I’d be a bit ambivalent, too. You’ve had guys jump over guys, you’ve had guys jump over cars (although I contend there are 20 guys in the NBA who could do that) and it’s all about the show than the skill.

And Ross, bless his heart, is a quiet kid, not given to great shows of theatrics and I wonder what he’d come up with or how he’d handle the whole thing.

And seeing how his teammate, DeMar DeRozan, was cheated out of what probably should have been a win a couple of years back, maybe Ross will have second thoughts, if he’s asked.

“He said it’s tough, you don’t have any warmup, it’s like: “It’s your turn, go.” There’s a lot of pressure, a lot of people so you get a little nervous. If I get invited I might as well just take my time and hopefully I don’t mess up.”

Now, there is no doubting Ross’s skills in the flow of the game. He’s had some amazing dunks this season already – the one on Friday against the Clippers gave Dwane Casey rise to suggest it was one of the best he’d ever seen – but the whole contest has gone so far away from “amazing” that I’m not sure true skill shines through.

And, truth be told, the dunk contest, like all of the Saturday night stuff, has become a wee bit stale, no?

Even Ross admits that.

“For a person who’s doing the dunks, you wish people weren’t using the props but as a person, a fan, you’ve seen every dunk that there is. You keep seeing the same thing every year, you’re going to get tired of it so of course people bring out some props and are jumping over cars, stuff like that.”

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Oh yeah, we’re about to finalize a noon hour Q and A session for this Thursday if you want to put it in your calendar.

Should have it nailed down tomorrow.

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Sure, Reg Presley passes away and it’s all Wild Thing for those who recall the Troggs fondly.

This wasn’t so bad either, was it?

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No more pennies, I hear.

No big deal, right?

They were basically worthless, didn’t really count for anything and have clogged up enough space on counters and bedroom penny jars that it’s time they went away.

But where?

I’d suggest you all bundle them up and if you don’t want to take them to the bank, find some charity – the Canadian Cancer Society would be worthy cause – and donate them there.

You’ll be glad you did.

Anyway, the penny’s demise got me to thinking, what else can we get rid of that no one would miss. A list?

VCR players

Really, do you need the flashing 12:00 any more? Didn’t think so.

Baby toes

Think about it. Pain the butt to clip the nails, they generally look ugly and I’m not even sure we need them for balance when we walk. Seriously, what good are they?

(I know. Super Son told me he learned in biology that we indeed need them for balance – I’m stunned and proud he was paying that close attention – but if each of us lost both, wouldn’t that cancel things out)

Canadian Tire money

Ever remember bringing a big paper bag of it to the store to buy a hockey stick for about $1.99? I do.

Now? I’m sure there’s hundreds of dollars of it sitting around somewhere clogging up a shelf or a cupboard.

Phone answering machines

Come on. No one uses a phone answering machine any more, do they? Heck, I imagine a lot of you don’t even have a home phone.

Any tapes

8-tracks, cassettes, those little mini tapes we used to use in recorders, what have you. Pretty useless, no? If you’re like me, they’re collecting dust in some bookcase somewhere next to the DVDs.

What have you got?

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This might be interesting to see.

For the first time since about the first week of December, it would appear Dwane Casey will have a full complement of players available to him for tomorrow night against Boston.

Wonder how he handles who plays where and with whom.

I still think a nine-man rotation works best, 10 if there’s foul trouble, and with Rudy Gay obviously a big minute eater – he’s going to play between 38-40 each night – it’s going to be a balancing act for the coach.

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Comments

[Kyle]

Hi Doug,

Since you were being asked about the guy sitting next to you, how about the gorgeous lady who always sits next to you in the game? I believe she is one of the game ops as she has the headphone on all the time.

Blogger's note: TV floor producer

[George]

Things that should disappear with the penny:
1. Business card rolodex/folders
2. Pay phone bays in hotels
3. Reality shows about mundane things - like shipping, auctioning storage items...

[Steve]

"My lord, this team has really only played one game together and Lowry gets called out for ‘Hero Ball’? How about the fans (and media) watch the next 5 games to see how things are going to shake out before pigeon holing players."

Perhaps a tad rich after your reaction here to the win over the Clippers john.

[Geoff Read]

Oh for the love of... - I'm not saying Kyle Lowry's played hero ball of late I'm saying I don't like hero ball and I've found him to be guilty of it in the past. It was a quick joke - you guys are way over-thinking it. Who knew Kyle Lowry fans were so touchy? Personally, I hope Lowry continues to improve and proves Colangelo right. I'm just not ready to anoint him the franchise's next go-to point guard for years to come quite yet.

saatuk - if you don't know who Ann Coulter is I'd keep it that way. She's a right-wing commentator who like so many of her ilk makes her living by being obnoxious rather than by offering substantive and well-considered opinions. She's like Rush Limbaugh's brat kid sister. She has some value as a few have joked as entertainment... but she's pretty corrosive. Her Islamophobia is particularly deranged and borders at times on hate-speech.

[KX]

Nice new picture Doug, looks like you're ready for the GQ cover ;)

Blogger's note: All right, Mr. DeMille. I'm ready for my closeup

[john]

@Steve, All I am saying is that calling Lowry out for Hero Ball at this point and time is a bit silly.
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@GR - I am not a huge Lowry fan (but could grow to be one) and I am in no way ready to hang Lowry's jersy from the rafters but for crying out loud can all fans (not just you) at least let them play a couple games before labelling the players? It drove me nuts that RG was already a defensive liability before he even got to town. That he and KL were going to be ball stopping dominators and the two of them would just play best friend hero ball. Its not just your post, its the general angst of fans and media in general looking at how things are going to go sideways without having seen a game.
Two years ago BC was being lambasted by everyone over the contract he gave to Amir, now there's posts saying how he has screwed up and didn't sign him to enough years!!! ARGHHH. EOR.

[PK]

Know what would be fun and must watch TV, the 'aging' stars dunk contest. Let's see what guys like Vince, Grant Hill, KG, Duncan, etc. have left in their tank. I would for sure tune in for that.

[LeeZ]

@James: You had me at Cutter's Way, but mentioning the legendary Peter Green in the next breath? I salute you, sir. As for Ann Coulter, there is a current of opinion out there that she actually, deep deep DEEP down doesn't believe half the vile crap that spews from her mouth, but a girl's gotta sell books, and look at us, we're talking about her, so I guess it works!

[NK]

Alan Anderson has been the one playing a bit too much hero ball. Lowry just needs to balance his aggressiveness (haven't seen much of it since he came back from injury) with making sure his teammates see the ball as well. Staying healthy would be nice too.

[ewandro]

Hi Doug

Would be possible to check with the big heads if they can solve the issue with the IGBT and the iPad. It's still not possible to post at IGBT form an iPad, and this little thing is a lot better than a laptop to IGBTee watching the game.

Cheers

Blogger's note: Passed on

[coachd]

Hi Doug,

I'd like to see Rob Ford go away like the penny. Heck, I think that the penny is of more use to me than Ford is.

[Geoff Read]

Doug: Where is your glare??? Your new photo makes you look downright pleasant. Were you unable to channel your inner rage and are your editors displeased at your congeniality? (thanks to KX for drawing attention to the revamped portrait)

PS - I apologize for all the postings today... I'm marking essays and the blog is a nice distraction between papers.

Blogger's note: Always keep 'em guessing

[Gary Mugford]

Doug,

Home phones? I had a ROTARY dial phone (and line) up until two years ago when I dumped Bell to go digital with my phone calls ... including now obsolete long-distance calling charges (in North America).

Still have a VCR in three rooms of the house and a mountain of kid's tapes to occupy the occupants if they come a-visitin'. Problem is that the baby of the group celebrates her 18th birthday this year and has seemingly lost all interest in Disney flicks. Still, can grand children be that far away?

My list of items/people/organizations that can't become obsolete too soon, include:

The Tea Party and their flawed memories of the 50's, umpires/referees with large ears, larger egos and small amounts of patience, monopolies or virtual monopolies by cable companies, the right-hand panel at thestar.ca, the ever-lasting Phoenix Coyotes disaster, the unwillingess by the NCAA and the Canadian Hockey League to share more of their media/web revenue with the youngsters that provide the basis for their massive income (and yes, I know, an education is a valuable thing) and finally, the two-decade long absence from the playoffs by the Toronto Blue Jays. I'm a Habs fan, so the drought for the 'other' team bothers me naught.

Things or people gone before their time:

Brian Burke (hey, he was entertaining!), Jose Calderon in Toronto (in another universe, he's a Raptor lifer), Jet bars (Orange sherbert on a stick with a chocolate coating), my ability to each chocolate (kidney stones and diabetes ... be smarter than me kids) and reasonable traffic in the Metro area (is EVERY street under construction, EVERY where?)

Things gone because their vendors thought WRONGLY that the old version obsolete:

The old KFC french fries, reasonable car insurance rates (Brampton, no further explanation needed), plain lemon pudding cups ... without any soggy meringue, the Monday panel on McCown's radio show and the balanced schedule in sports that have wild-card spots for the play-offs.

Things or people that I'm happy ARE obsolete and gone:

Buying a gazillion replacement light bulbs every year and replacing every socket in the house at least once every two years, Sarah Palin, charges for calling Mom and Dad down at the lake and my brother up north, having a vat of fat around for frying chips when a teaspoon will do in the T-Fal Fryer, Pierre Gauthier as GM of the Montreal Canadiens and watching shows first-run on TV when the whole experience is SOOOOOO much better when viewing the DVD sets or via one of the Netflix-like services. Doug, you HAVE to agree on that one.

Blogger's note:. Not entirely sure what I'm supposed to agree with but watching shows on a tablet or TV when you want is cool

[doug]

does anyone else think after reading this article that maybe just maybe the NBA has it's priorities a little out of whack??...officiating stinks and is a league wide problem with no end in sight to alleviating it, but this is what the NBA is concerned about...forget credibility of the game fashion police is the NBA's big concern...unreal...ok cheers..

http://www.usatoday.com/story/gameon/2013/02/05/joakim-noah-chicago-bulls/1892129/

[sportschic]

Thank you for the fashion alert! You know I always appreciate those. ;) I get what they're saying (sort of), but I wonder if Noah had a different hair style if they would have gone after him. Say he was rocking serious lenses and different (dare I say shorter) hair. Just sayin'

Oh, and I'm with you on the 'more serious things', even though I take fashion seriously. ;)