The reaction will be telling and help stop bullying, please

Yeah, this is a bit late again and once again it’s a lot of little things but soon one item will trump all the others.

Or not.

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If there’s one trait these fellows in the red, white or black uniforms have shown this year – besides the innate ability not to close games for the first six or seven games of the year – it’s an impressive level of resiliency.

Coming off that stinky effort the other night, it’ll be interesting to see how they bounce back tonight here in Cleveland.

Couple of issues at play:

Do they think that they just have to show up and they’ll win because Cleveland won an emotional road game last night in Chicago and that might be just satisfying for them?

And do they look at the fact Kyrie Irving didn’t play last night because of a sore and hyper-extended right knee and figure if he plays he’s not going to be 100 per cent anyway?

And do they look at the Cavs’ record and think, well, this is a win.

I wonder.

There have been nights this season where the sense of collective entitlement among the Raptors has been disproportionate to their talent and standing among the league’s teams. Dwane’s been harping on it for months; they have to play “desperate” basketball against whatever opponent is in front of them, they can’t think they’re just going to win because of who they are.

Sometimes they do and they have been feeling pretty good about themselves thanks to that run of six wins in seven games. There’s a fine line between confidence and over-confidence, I wonder how this group will walk it.

I am certainly not at the point where this is considered a “must-win” game for any reason (plus, I still think they’ll play important games in April but eventually fall short of their ultimate goal) but I do think it’ll be telling to see how they come out play.

Hard or passive?

Desperate or thinking they can turn it on when it’s needed?

Interesting.

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Having been here often, I don’t particularly agree that Cleveland rocks but it was a good theme song to a pretty good show and I’m okay with Ian Hunter.

(And I believe there’s a very bad word mumbled at the start of this, be warned)

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Hey, do we have any New Yorkers here?

Do me a favour? Call up you state fathers and GET THE DAMN THRUWAY FIXED!

I tell you, for a toll road in what purports to be a major state, that road from Buffalo to the Pennsylvania border is atrocious. Spend some of the dang money you collect to, perhaps, paint some lane lines on the road, or put up some lighting here or there and maybe get a rest stop or something.

And if this is some kind of federal issue, get on those dopes in Washington to fork out some infrastructure money to make some improvements.

Sure, it was rainy and slushy and windy and a slow drive anyway but, yeesh, that stretch of road is so substandard it’s not even funny.

End of rant.

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Mail?

Yeah, we could use more mail, I’ll have a lot of time today and Friday to get some done and with a crazy 6 a.m. flight out Saturday to Milwaukee, I need to get some stuff started today.

It’s the link over there to the right or it’s at askdoug@thestar.ca; come on and say hello, it’s fun.

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So I get to the room late last night (drive was about six freaking hours thanks to road and weather) and I turn on the machine to catch up and hear the breathless reports about this incident in the Pacers-Warriors game.

And all I hear is chatter about the “brawl” and the “fight” and I’m thinking, well, that was more “skirmish” than anything and if had been contained on the court, not sure how big a deal it would have been.

But there are assuredly going to be suspensions – and I’d guess more than one game – to a handful of players because “brawl” or “fight” or “skirmish” you cannot have that kind of incident.

The interesting angle to the HOTH is how hard the league comes down on these teams, specifically the Pacers.

Indiana plays its next game at home on Thursday before heading to Toronto for Friday night so multi-game bans for, say, Hibbert and West will have an impact on a pretty significant Raptors game

The funny part of the whole thing: The goonish Tyler Hansbrough was nowhere near it.

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I am such a dope.

We all know there is in the closet a shirt that some might deem pink, although I’m convinced it can be called a very light red.

Anyway, I see today is the day everyone’s supposed to wear pink for anti-bullying awareness and I am really ticked I forgot to pack the correct shirt.

As the father of a teenage Super Son, there have been days when I’ve worried about bullying, and having read all the stories about how devastating it can be to some young children, I cannot stress enough how we have to eradicate it as much as we can.

It is something that can scar, or do worse, to impressionable young people and I really think it’s incumbent on parents to get the message out to their children that they have to talk openly about it with someone if it’s a factor in a child’s life.

So do me a favour, would you? If you have the chance and your children are of that age, please have a word with them today about it, would you?

My good friends run this website – differentiscool.com – and we have to make sure our children and teens realize they need to respect each other, to let everyone be themselves.

Thanks.

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IGBT tonight? You bet. See you around 7 p.m.

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Comments

[Juan]

Doug while you purport to know little about finance, you have nailed one of the biggest issues facing the US today and the source of much political debate. Infrastructure around the country is literally crumbling (remember the bridge in Minnesota I think) yet the partisanship is so extreme right now there seems to be no consensus on how it will be repaired. My guess is it gets a lot worse before it gets better.

[jwss]

I haven't traveled that stretch of the Thruway in over 20 years - and it was horrible back then. I regularly use the stretch between Rochester and Albany though and it's a great stretch of highway. Maybe Western New York is too far from the capital to get the attention it deserves???

[Sharkey]

Hey Doug, talking about anti-bullying today, this story is fantastic. JP Arencibia surprises an Autistic fan on Twitter who's been bullied with opening day tickets: http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130226&content_id=42006254&vkey=news_tor&c_id=tor

Blogger's note: Matt Harvey is a relative of mine and that's an amazing JP gesture

[Steve]

Another trap I discovered on a recent trip to Pittsburgh is that some of the exits that are sign posted as having a gas station/rest stop actually mean a small outfit in the nearest town that closes early (must have been about 8-9pm when I got off at one of these).

[Mike K.]

I travel I-90 a few times a year on the way to visit family in Ohio - the rest stop at Angola is actually pretty good, but I'm pretty sure it's the only one on that entire stretch. I guess I'm lucky I've never had to drive it in a snowstorm!

Wish I'd known about the "wear pink" think, I'd have worn my pink shirt for sure. I have 3-year-old twins who both have autism, I'm absolutely terrified of them being bullied once they get old enough and start school.

[LeeZ]

Doug, please pass along to Matt the congratulations of all us Irregulars. I think I'm speaking for all of us when I say what a fine young man he seems to be, and tell him to have an outstanding time at the game!

Blogger's note: I absolutely will, thanks

[David in Oakville]

Good Morning Doug,

Glad you made it safe & sound to Cleveland.

If I was the Governor of NY, with limited resources, I would spend more time maintaining the roads to the Finger Lakes, Adirondacks and the Big Apple too. Why make it more pleasant for people to travel to the outlet malls in PA? But I have to agree, a poorly maintained toll road is quite shameful.

I had the opportunity to drive around parts of France this past summer and I was completely impressed by how well the highways were maintained (expensive tolls) and how well behaved French drivers are. They put us to shame.

What's good to eat in Cleveland, in case I should ever have the opportunity to travel down that highway to see the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame or follow the Jays on the road?

Blogger's note: Not much here; seem to recall a good seafood joint right around the city square but it's kind of urban blight-ish

[DaveB]

I agree that if you have to pay tolls to use the road it should be in a good state of repair. I will be traveling the 90 from Ohio to Syracuse in a month or so so I am hoping the East bound side is better. A couple of weeks ago I was going through Houston (North East to South) following my trusty GPS. It put me on a toll beltway. The problem was that you needed a Texas Tag to use it. There wasn't any cash option. I had to find my way back through the multiple level of over and underpasses to go through the heart of the city to get to the Johnson Space Center. It was the first time I had run into that situation and there wasn't any warning until we saw "last exit before tollway, Texas tag only". So now I have the avoid toll roads selected for the rest of my time in Texas. I just have to remember to turn it off before I head back home because I don't think I can get there without using toll roads.

I raised three daughters and I think the bullying with girls is much worst than with boys. The boys will have a good punch out and it is usually over. It is emotional with girls and it never seems to end. The 7th grade seems to be especially bad. They either have to a part of the group bullying others or be a victim. There doesn't seem to be any thing in between.

I guess Tyler Hansbrough got his in with Will Bynum a few night ago. However, Will got caught on the retaliation and got the suspension.

[Geoff Read]

You gotta love the fact the Youtube clip can't be seen because of the NBA. What clowns.

I know the highway of which you speak and it is a bit horrendous. Crumbling infrastructure is a big problem in both the US and Canada. Someone should point out to voters that you need to pay taxes if you want the state to maintain infrastructure. It's just another sign of how the reigning mantra of low taxes is hollowing out our societies.

[doug]

toll roads should be maintained but many aren't guess funds go into general revenue pot...buddy and I were going to Chicago and just outside of it we were on toll road....we went over a huge pothole, nearly swallowed up that little Sprint...a few seconds later i asked buddy (as i was driving) to stick head out window as I thought we had a flat...he looks frontward and says yes, turns to back tire again affirmative...2 flats on one side on a toll road what a nightmare that night became...kudos to JP and moreso Matt cheers

[Mike kovacs]

You can see the clip at nba.com . The coaches did a good job keeping the bench on the bench (too bad for the raps about that).
Our eldest was unfortunately bullied a lot in grade school and little was done. We had to choose an out of boundary high school as a result for him and all is fine there. Unfortunately there is a lot of lip service about bullying but many schools still like to still keep it quiet or refuse to admit that some kids are just bad.

[charles n.]

Talk about a well-done three pointer:
*toll road crumbling
*need for anti bullying activism
*Raps + you, Doug, on the road.
Prop jet across the lake next time? Fishing boat? Thanks for road wisdom - hope the HOTH match your gutsy road effort tonight.

[Cluck Kent]

Not many folks like to talk about bullying because it doesn't ever stop. There bullies everywhere, in every business and organization. Like most other behavioual issues, it's a result of poor parenting. You have to have a license to drive, hunt, fish and gosh knows what else, but you do not have to have a license to bring a child into this world. Too bad.

[D-Mac Ottawa]

Neat story! Looks like the Jays, that TOD, have as great a collection of characters and citizens as they do a collection of ball players. Should be one heck of a season!
Did you see where the Ottawa NBL team has now decided it needs to back off on its team name, the Tomahawks (as in the dunk)? Umm, what?!
Guess Hammers is out – blacksmiths and Neanderthals worldwide might protest. So much for Steamrollers – construction crews and dry launderers may take understandable umbrage. Avros? Nope. Wouldn't be politically prudent, would it?
Hey, who's in charge of Ottawa sporting names anyway? Anybody? Has there ever been ANY public discussion at all? Buehler?
Otters. How about Otters. Mean, but cute and loveable otters. Would they protest? Ambassadors? Could it get any safer or more bland than Ambassadors? How about a nod to a certain grunt we all know... the Ottawa Doofuses! Who could possibly complain about that?!
Anyway. Cheers. Go Raps! Go Bargs!

Blogger's note: You took away my morning rant. But I may anyway

[DMcG]

@DaveB

My experience was quite different with girls going through school. Somehow she went all the way through public school with essentially the same class in a French immersion program. Their close knit group not only always served as an "in between" bullies and victims, but managed to make the treatment of a mentally challenged kid into sense of pride for an entire large high school.

[D-Mac Ottawa]

Sorry, I got carried away, and in mid-rant I like totally forgot my declensions... so it has to be the Ottawa Doofi, right? More than one doofus... doofi. More than one It's-a-Burger... Them's-a-Burger. More than one Jazz... Jammin'? Dunno. Cheers. Go Amir!

[GM]

Have you seen this basketball clip? Warning: get out your hankies.

http://www.viddler.com/embed/70d1d214/?f=1&offset=0&autoplay=0&secret=48017121&disablebranding=0

Blogger's note: Not a dry eye in the house

[james]

I agree with Cluck that there are "bullies everywhere, in every business and organization". One problem, it seems to me, is that in the adult world bullies and bullying behaviour are often hugely rewarded. Kids see this and the contradiction must be confusing in the extreme. For example, I'd argue that the current federal government has turned bullying into an art form. Will they be rewarded in the next election? We shall see.

Perhaps the Ottawa NBL team should expropriate Rough Riders before someone else takes it. Where will that team play, by the way? Is there still an arena under the north stands at Landsdowne?

[J]

IMO, a big contributor to bullying is the attitude adults (parents, teachers and school administrators) tend to take toward it. In school, the two immortal mantras were "boys will be boys" (apparently girls will be girls, too) and "don't be a tattletale." I remember being told the latter after months of putting up with a bully, after I had tried negotiating, ignoring, and even fighting back. I'm embarrassed to admit that it wasn't long before I started exhibiting bullying tendencies toward those who were even lower on the social ladder. Some lesson.

When we're trying to raise our children to be responsible adults, it amazes me that we let slide behavior that often would land the perpetrator in jail if they were on the wrong side of the age of majority. Is it a surprise, then, that kids who are not taught their behavior is wrong continue to commit such acts when they are older? Unfortunately, it is no consolation to the victims of bullying that the person largely responsible for their emotional damage and social dysfunction finally has a rap sheet.

[doug]

@GM that is one of the best clips I have seen,,,,every teacher/company/parent should show that to whomever...there is hope for humanity after seeing this and the reactions Mitchell stirs in people...cheers..