A significant step towards a more accepting society

I like to think the league that I cover is the leader, probably worldwide, in a lot of societal aspects.

It’s got a great track record for minority hirings in positions of authority, its charitable endeavours and global initiatives get to the heart of some significant issues, it is truly an inclusive organization that should be proud of what it does and should be held up as a beacon to the other North American professional leagues.

Now, I understand a lot of its worldwide efforts come because of basketball’s popularity around the world, it dwarfs hockey and football and baseball so it’s logical that the NBA would reach out to Asia and Africa and Europe a bit more.

But there was a story that caught my eye yesterday that shows the pucks are doing the same kind of thing and should be lauded.

The NHL and its players association have struck an agreement with the You Can Play Project, the advocacy group that fights homophobia in sports.

The news is here and it should be welcomed by all; it formalizes what’s already been in practice and that’s a good step.

The NBA is already aligned with Athlete Ally and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, those groups provide educational sessions as part of the league’s rookie orientation program last year and this and it’s another huge step in the right direction.

Professional sports is a powerful vehicle in our society, they reach people across all economic and social strata and we’re not talking just about players, coaches and team officials who can and will benefit from formalized programs to fight discrimination simply because of sexual preference.

Fans – the most important group because their lives are far more normal and likely to include contact with gay and lesbian groups. They need to know that the people they look up to, the athletes they admire, are more than willing to be open and accepting of others, regardless of their lifestyles.

Sports has come a long way in this regard – the Neanderthals are being weeded out and enlightened by educational programs and peer pressure – and the NHL’s move yesterday and the NBA’s continued educational programs are moving the needle in the right direction quickly.

It may not be quickly enough – this is an awareness process that is going to take time – but each step is important in creating a more open and accepting society.

Good on them.

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I’m sure someone out there will like this, not sure you all will, but for some reason I can’t quite pick out from the deep, dark recesses of my mind, this came into my head yesterday.

Yeah, it’s The Cure.

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Vote early, vote often?

Nah, probably can’t get away with that since everything’s done electronically and pretty well tracked but it’s almost time to cast the post-season ballots for the NBA awards.

For some reason known only to the administrators at the league office I have votes in all seven categories – MPV, rookie, coach, defensive player, most improved, sixth man and the three all-NBA teams – and if I had to vote yesterday, here’s how I would have done it, as the Nothin’ But Net main suggests.

But I will tell you this, in all but MVP and rookie, there were probably five or six potential winners in each category; I’ve been involved in this in some way for about the last 10 or 12 years and I can’t think of a year where so many players or coaches could legitimately win so many awards.

I think I got them right but who knows.

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Mail?

Please. It’s askdoug@thestar.ca and while there was some yesterday, there’s always room for more.

And I have to congratulate you; it’s been at least two weeks since I’ve been inundated with Andrea Bargnani questions. Well done.

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Okay, if you’ve been here often enough you’ll know that I think Vin Scully is the gold standard for every broadcaster in the world.

A wonderfully under-stated manner, the ability to weave stories in and out of games without distracting from the action at hand; a calm, soothing presence in a business populated by far, far, far too many screamers who think they’re a larger part of the event than they actually are.

And this is long and I apologize for that but if you’ve got 10 minutes listen to Scully do a one-man play-by-play of a Dodger-Padres brawl and tell me who else in the world could have pulled it off with such class and understated perfection.

Others would be yelling and chatting over each other in multi-broadcaster booths; Scully would have none of that.

It’s a classic.

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The Raptors?

Well, they’re banged up as this little item from yesterday’s practice mentions but I did see Valanciunas headed to a signing session well after practice was done and he was neck brace-free and his usual jovial self so that was a good sign.

And since he’s become much more a force on the court, you have to hope he plays the last four games so the folks can see him three more times at home.

He’s become something to watch, as Dwane pointed out.

“He shrinks the floor, we’re playing inside-out a little bit more and the defence has to compact a little bit and that opens up Rudy and DeMar on the perimeter a little bit more, and Kyle.

“He’s doing a good job of finding people once the defence does collapse so it’s an umbrella effect but it all starts with JV having the confidence and the respect of the defence.

“To this point, his growth in the last month and half has been tremendous.”

I’d say it was a pretty inspired draft pick, wouldn’t you?

Go back at look at who was behind him two seasons ago and ask, right now and I know it’s early, that you’d rather have on the team you cheer for.

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Yes, IGBT thing tonight, Not Grace is scribbling the gory game details but we’ll be around just before 7 p.m. for all the fun and frivolity as this season continues to wind down to the time when the real work begins.

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For whatever reason, The Masters is a don't-miss event

It’s been a couple of days now that I’ve been trying to figure out just what it is about The Masters that makes it so special because it is one of those annual sports events like Wimbledon or the U.S. Open that you just have to pay attention to, even if you’re just a casual fan.

It’s not the depth of the field because there are too many non-contenders; there are probably half a dozen or more events in the summer that have better fields.

It’s certainly not the sappy and syrupy announcers because that’s the one thing that might drive me away from the coverage. I get it that the azaleas are pretty and that there’s tradition to uphold but if I hear Jim Nance wax poetic much more about Augusta I might barf. Really, it’s too too too over the top.

And it’s not like it’s an Open Championship test of golf, the course is, basically, rough free and not all that challenging in many respects.

And it is absolutely not the history of the club with its exclusionary history and questionable treatment of minorities and women. That is Augusta’s shame and I get it entirely that private clubs can invite as members anyone they want and don’t have to defend their practice to anyone because, well, because they’re private.

So what it is it?

Just that it’s a right of spring? A sign of better days ahead with sun and green grass and flowers and all that annual season renewal crap?

Is it that you never know who might shoot 30 on the back nine on Sunday or who might shoot 40 and because each of those chances exists the tournament is always in doubt until late that afternoon?

Is it Tiger? Or the unknown guy who hangs around until Sunday morning against all odds before fading back into oblivion? Is it the old dudes taking the ceremonial first tee shot that evokes memories of past greats?

I don’t know but there is something magical about it in a lot of ways and it’s one of those events you just pay attention to. Isn’t it?

But I’m going to tell you one thing about the Masters that will never, ever leave my mind.

Mike Weir’s win, a decade ago.

Now, full disclosure, Mike’s a friend of mine, our families are friends, we’ve known each other for decades so there’s that to take into consideration.

I will say, though, that when it comes to great Canadian sports moments of the last half century or so, that has to rank right up there in the top three doesn’t it?

Even people who paid no attention to the sport were caught up in it; it was a great, galvanizing moment for Canadian sports and one of the greatest individual accomplishments by one of our own of all time.

That it’s 10 years ago stuns me because I can remember sitting on the couch riveted to the final few holes and getting a bit terse with Super Son, just a tot at the time, because he was standing in front of the TV mimicking the pressure packed putt on 18 on the Sunday and I couldn’t see.

Ten years ago?

Man, time flies.

And if you can see this, you should.

 

Caught a bit of it last night and it looks outstanding.

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So Super Wife and Super Sister-In-Law-To-Be go motoring down the highway to Hamilton last night while I’m sitting in the Cawthra auditorium getting the low-down on a Super Son journey to Philly next week.

Yeah, I’d rather have been listening to these guys, too. But you do what you gotta do, I guess.

And, yes, it is a bit hard to believe that Great Big Sea is on its 20th anniversary tour.

I am officially old.

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Sure, it’s a bit rainy and there’s a storm warning here and whoever is screwing with the weather had better stop it or I’m going to be miffed but it’s really, really that time of yearn now:

No socks.

Yep, I’m talking to a friend the other day and we come to the conclusion that the less you wear socks the cooler the person you are.

And we all want to be cool, right?

Besides, who doesn’t like a little ankle?

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The Raptors?

Wish I had something but it was a dead quiet day yesterday and after we got the little Valanciunas update, all that was left to do was sit out the inevitable flight delay – thanks, United! – and try to figure out how the last week of the regular season will go for them and can they avoid the ignominy of another 50-loss season.

It’s not that big a deal but there is something about looking a record and seeing 48 or 49 losses that doesn’t make it as bad as the big, fat 5-0.

I don’t know that they can win three of their last four because there are some pretty solid opponents in Chicago, Brooklyn, Atlanta and Boston. Of course, we have no clue who’ll actually end up playing for each team because playoff matchups are getting set and there could actually be a Chicago-Atlanta tank-fest to see who can fall to sixth and avoid Miami until the conference finals, perhaps.

But we also don’t know who’ll end up playing for Toronto, either, since the little story said that Valanciunas will be re-evaluated today and I’ll bet you dollars to donuts the report is that he’s going to see how he feels tomorrow before anyone will know if he’ll play.

That, my ticket-buying friends, is about the best you can hope for and would be a bit better, I’d guess, than hearing that he’s definitely out.

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Okay, tiny amount of mail yesterday, need more hellos and stuff so it’s at askdoug@thestar.ca please and thank you.

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Small but hard hits are part of the game

Okay, all together now …

Four. Eight. Sixteen.

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THREE POINTERS

Tiny collisions between big fellas

It’s hard to explain unless you’ve been right up close to a game – like front row or second row close – but the speed and physical nature of these guys is something to behold.

The way they hit and bang doesn’t really translate to television, I don’t think; these are thick, strong, fit young men who are unprotected by any padding and when they slam into each other, you notice it.

And then there’s the subtle kind of collisions like the one that Jonas Valanciunas and Rudy Gay were involved in last night that ended up with Valanciunas spending the night in a Chicago hospital.

Subtle but you’re talking about a 7-foot, 250-pound guy hitting a 6-8 and 230 and even if it wasn’t at full speed, that’s two rather gigantic men colliding.

I’m surprised, a bit, that there aren’t more injuries because these guys are huge and go at a pretty high speed.

And, no, we have no update on Valanciunas other than it was going to take too long to get test results last night to hold the team charter so he stayed behind and will likely get home to Toronto today.

And with the team off, it’s going to be late this afternoon, at the earliest, before we get any update.

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Good move out of necessity

So it’s a two-point game in the final 30 seconds or so after a Bulls basket and I’m kind of thankful because a timeout as to be coming and it’ll give me a chance to catch my breath and chat with the people.

But nooooo.

For the first time I can remember they didn’t call a timeout, they got the ball up the court, DeMar was fouled and the game played out.

And then I check and, yep, they only had one timeout left and Dwane needed to keep it in case they needed a last-second shot or something like that so the move was made out of necessity more than anything.

Too bad because I’m all in favour of letting them play, in part because it doesn’t allow the defence to get rested and set and a bit of helter-skelter play isn’t all that bad sometimes.

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In the right hands

Yes, Kyle didn’t have a bad game at all (he’s actually finishing the season strongly) but there were far too many times as they were spitting up that 16-point lead that someone other than the point guard had the ball in his hands to get it up the court.

Gay at least twice, DeRozan once and at those times, Lowry has to demand the ball, bring some calm to the team, get things organized and settle everyone down.

It’s one of his failings and something he has to work on.

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More?

There’s always more.

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When I rule the travel world – which cannot come soon enough – here’s what I’d have, besides more wall outlets in every hotel room so I could find a place to plug in an iron.

Every hotel room needs to have one of those little guides that tells you what station is where on the TV dial, I hate having to shuffle through 50 stations to find something I want.

If I know TNT is here and USA is there and ESPN is over there, I can move around the cable system; if I have to go station to station, who knows what I’ll miss because there are commercials on.

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Sure, we did this at the start of the IGBT last night but what the heck, lots of you wouldn’t have seen it and if you did, there’s never too much Francis Albert.

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So how about those Lakers, eh?

The league’s longest-running soap opera is lurching to its dramatic end – at least for the regular season – and now I’m of two entirely different minds about the fate I hope befalls them.

Yes, it would be nice to see them get into the playoffs so we can hear about how dangerous they are as a No. 8 seed and I guess that’d be fun.

(Although they have done nothing at all to suggest they’d be anything other than an easy out for either the Spurs or Thunder and those who think otherwise haven’t been paying much attention to the teams L.A. is beating)

But I think in some strange way it’d be better if they faded and didn’t make it, that would seem to be a fitting end to the sorry saga of The Super Team That Wasn’t.

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Rain and ice pellets back home? Weather warning? What in tarnation is going on back there, people? But while you’ve got some time because there’s no reason to go out, start your visit to the mail bag: It’s askdoug@thestar.ca and you don’t have to have any secret codes or passwords to get involved.

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So, it’s getting to be decision time around here. The e-mail arrived from the league last week with the ballots for the annual regular season awards and I have a vote in all seven of the categories.

And aside from LeBron James being the MVP – and if it’s not unanimous or almost unanimous we’re going to have some issues with my voting confreres – I think this might be the toughest year to make the calls.

And, yes, I’ll share them but it’s going to be more difficult than it’s been in a long time.

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Okay, I hear the weather back home is crap, it’s foggy and gloomy here so wish me luck on the Air Canada flight back home.

I think I’ll need it.

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The Goods On The Game, Raptors at Bulls

Good evening.

Thanks for coming.

More franchise-altering gaffes

Boy, some of you got pretty riled up with the Babcock/Hammond thing yesterday, didn’t you?

Was just a thought/comment that seemed timely since I saw John for the first time in a while the other night.

But since you liked that …

What, pray tell, have been the four mostly ownership/management mistakes of the past decade or so? And I’m only going back that far because before that, the franchise was basically irrelevant.

So, whatcha got?

I’ve got these, in no particular order.

Firing Glen Grunwald

Made no sense, it wasn’t necessary and it started things on a terribly slippery slope into oblivion for a while.

Glen had to put up with KO as his coach – a hire that had as much to do with the wishes of people above him than anything else – and the team wasn’t that bad at all.

There was no reason to do it.

Trading Vince Carter

In no small part because of the horrible package they got but also because ONE NIGHT EARLIER Carter had spoken to his coaches in an attempt to work things out for the better.

One night earlier!!!

It wasn’t as if the team was horrible, it wasn’t as if the deadline was upon them and they had to do something quick to fix an entirely unworkable situation.

It was a panic move, pure and simple, or a move to teach the kid a lesson or something like that; it was ridiculous because he was, at that time, one of the biggest assets they had and they minimized it.

Gave it away.

Having no roster replacement in place made it even more shockingly bad.

Drafting Rafael Araujo

This might be the most ridiculous of them all.

If they feared, or knew, there might be an issue with Vince and the new general manager, wouldn’t drafting someone who might eventually replace him make the most sense?

Guy like, oh, I dunno, Andre Iguodala, just to have some insurance?

Nope.

Take the big guy who could not play because a consultant thought Araujo was a throwback to the Pistons Bad Boy era, even if that era was dead and gone. And everyone knew it.

Letting Bosh walk for nothing

The situation was misread, in large part – and this is the absolute truth – because Bosh was less than honest with management and ownership and they believed him.

Now, they tried to move him – they were willing to take back the atrocious Baron Davis contract from the Clippers along with a draft pick for Bosh and L.A. said no – but they needed to be more proactive, as it turns out.

Now, I’m going to hear all day about Jermaine O’Neal and Shawn Marion and I’m sure Jason Kapono but those moves were all defensible when they were made and I’d rather have a proactive guy in charge than one who makes what turn out to be mistakes and can’t fix them.

Each, on its own, made sense.

Turk was the best free agent of a summer and decided to come to Toronto; that he was coddled at his first camp a bit and never warmed to his teammates or his coach or his situation couldn’t be known.

Marion was a rental, pure and simple.

Kapono? Guy didn’t make a shot but no one could have seen that coming.

They were blips, those other four were egregious mistakes that truly set the franchise back many steps.

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Chicago?

The blues?

Got some right here.

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So, was the basketball game any good?

Let me guess.

Lots of missed shots, shoddy officiating, over-coaching except they don’t run any plays and lots of syrupy commentary about the heart of the kids and the drama of the tournament.

Did I get it right?

And, you know, I feel terrible for the kid Ware from Louisville, it was as gruesome a broken leg suffered on TV in a big game than I’ve seen and in this day and age, it became an international sensation.

But, really.

It’s a broken leg, he’ll be back, doctors fix broken legs all the time and the four kazillion shots of him on the broadcast last night was too much.

No, that’s not heartless, it’s just me.

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Now, I don’t have an opinion on the politics at all but in my era, I can’t think of a stronger – and polarizing – national leader than Margaret Thatcher.

We should mourn her passing, I don’t know that we’ll see another one like her.

But isn’t strong and polarizing what we want in our leaders? There was no wishy-washy, no bend, no compromising to her; she had principles and stuck to them and even if you didn’t agree with them, you had to respect the resolve.

To me, that’s leadership. And I think it might be in short supply around the world these days.

Oh, and check out my friend Mighty’s obit, it’s really good.

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Oh, and RIP Annette, too.

Not nearly as socially significant as Lady Thatcher but …

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So the lads practiced at Loyola University here yesterday – the Lakeshore campus as we found out after walking aimlessly around the Water Tower downtown campus looking for the gym – and that’s three colleges we’ve been at this year.

And obviously I’d rank them UCLA first by a mile, Loyola and then George Washington but Not Grace and Gumby talked glowingly about Georgetown, a trip I missed.

So, what’d they do?

Back to basis, Dwane said.

“We want to go out to compete to win but the main thing is our approach, our execution, working on our zone, working on our pick-and-roll defence, all those things that are going to be our staples next year going into the season. (We’re) treating these last couple of weeks like a mini-camp so to speak.”

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Was a time to play "what if" the other night with an old friend

It’s after the game in Miiwaukee on Saturday night and I’m waking down the hall to the Raptors locker room to see what’s up and I ran into an old friend I hadn’t seen in too long.

John Hammond.

And the first thing that came to mind – even before congratulating him for getting the Bucks to the playoffs was:

What if?

What if the Raptors hadn’t screwed up so many years ago when they had the chance to hire Hammond?

What if they hadn’t blown it by going through a ridiculous process of whittling a large group to four only to say they were going to open up the process again only to come back to the same four and eventually picking Rob Babcock.

The four – Babcock, Jeff Weltman, Mark Warkentien and Tony DiLeo (remember that Gang of Four?) – were basically underwhelming at that time and that the Raptors – and I am pointing a finger directly at Richard Peddie – didn’t even deign to interview Hammond, who was the No. 1 man to Joe Dumars in Deroit at the time, was a shocking blown opportunity.

John wanted the job and deserved to have a shot at it; the short-sightedness of Peddie and his people set the franchise back years, so far that they might still be digging out almost a decade later.

Look, you all know that I understand completely that nothing in professional sports is linear, you can’t say with certainty that if this had happened, that would have happened and this other thing would have happened and the future would have been differently.

However, I can say, with the utmost confidence, that the course of Raptors history would be incredibly different if they had at least the sense to interview Hammond and offer him a job he wanted so many years ago.

Of course, I go to “if ifs and buts were candies and nuts, we’d all have a Merry Christmas” but seeing John and chatting with him briefly made me realize what a blown opportunity it was way back then.

The fact I’d spoken briefly to Rob the night before in Minneapolis had sent me down memory lane, talking to John on Saturday made the trip a bit more wistful.

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No, I was not glued to a TV last night watching the crooners at the Country Music Awards but when decompression was needed after that Saturday night carnage in Milwaukee it did mean a visit to Buck Bradley’s, the usual post-game haunt.

And as Jimbo The Bartender and I are reminiscing about legendary Grunts who’ve been on the same stools, this comes on the juke box.

Not bad.

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It wasn’t exactly the most picturesque ride in the history of transportation but the train between Milwaukee and Chicago is easy, quick and now I’m trying to figure out how I can do more next season.

It’s downtown to downtown, no Institutionalized Security Paranoia to deal with and you can get up and walk around if you want to.

And since your bag never leaves your sight, Amtrak can’t lose it.

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Now, I’ve mentioned before that I think the Davis Cup has lost a lot of its allure and that a team event for an individual sport is somehow odd but, by all reports, Milos Raonic and the rest of them captured the imagination of even casual sports fan back home.

And that’s pretty cool.

I’m not the biggest tennis fan in the world, that’s for sure; my interest generally lies in the final weekends of the Grand Slams. But I am a fan of sports and compelling stories and history and I think even the most short-sighted among you need to realize what was accomplished on the weekend.

Now, I understand that vagaries of scheduling given the individual pursuits these athletes have to make but isn’t it too bad that we’ll have to wait until September to see the semifinals of the Davis Cup?

Maybe not, actually.

Isn’t part of what made the weekend special the fact that big events like that don’t come around too often? It’s not like we get to cheer for Canada every couple of weeks or even every month so when they do play, the focus is even more intense.

Whatever, I can probably say this for the first time in my life: I wish I’d been able to see Canada’s tennis team play on the weekend.

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Another first.

Can’t recall ever sitting in a sports bar surrounded by 40 or so televisions and asking the dude at the door to switch one from a Sunday night baseball game to a women’s university basketball game.

Yep. Sure did.

That’s what covering the Canadian team will do to a guy, that and a compelling story of Notre Dame and Connecticut meeting for the fourth time this season.

Now, the play was far from crisp – I think Notre Dame shot a Raptors-like 30 per cent or something like that – but it was fun to watch Natalie Achonwa again and, besides, the 312 was quite tasty.

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I honestly don’t care one lick about the college game tonight but since the NBA has ceded the night to the kids, I’ll be watching and I just hope the kid from Mississauga makes a shot or two so I can brag.

And guess I’d like to see Michigan win, if only to make Jalen happy.

Over and under on the number of times we see cutaway shots to The Fab Five is a dozen.

Yawn.

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The end of the weekend mail

Told you there was more coming, lots as it turns out.

Enjoy and we’ll be back with some of the regular fare in the morning.

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Q: Hi Doug

I have been following the Kevin Ware story over here in the UK with great interest. It is clear that NCAA March Madness is a massive money maker, and people obviously are making bucket loads of money off of the backs of student athletes. When events are globally televised and have massive advertising revenue it clearly is showcasing professional sports at a high level. The notion that this is amateur is laughable and it seems like blatant exploitation. Now we don't have amazing basketball over here in the UK, but our football (soccer) format is far different from North American professional sports. We have many levels of professional football (10+) ; everything from Junior Mens, where the players are making 100 pounds a game (while holding down other jobs), all the way up to players like Wayne Rooney earning 208,000 pounds per game. My point is, having many different levels of professional sports is a far better way of operating and that the NCAA needs to crawl out of the dark-ages and start profit sharing with their professional student athletes. You thoughts?!

Andy

A: Of course, it does. The NCAA is a singularly evil institution that makes billions off the backs of kids and won’t even provide them with a weekly stipend. It’s dead wrong and should be changed. And don’t even get me started on its selective rules enforcement and the awful double standard on kids who want to transfer as opposed to coaches who lie and leave jobs and kids hanging.

But I don’t see reform, the men and women who run it are too much into self-preservation as enlightened leadership.

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Q: Hi Doug

I went over the list of past champions and it seems only 2 teams have been crowned NBA champs without a current all star on the roster and both times are because there was no all star game(1950 and 1999). With your comment that you don't see an all start on this team now or in the foreseeable future (can't say I disagree at the moment) begs the question, what do they need to do to acquire an all star or create one? Will it come down to the luck of the draft or a big expiring contract of an aging star to land in our lap? Building a champion in second tier NBA city seems like a long tough road, how does a team market itself to the players to become a destination? Is it as simple as winning? Did Nike get it right?

Scott R

A: Winning is the biggest marketing tool a team can have but second would be playing time with a promising roster being the third, in my opinion. But the acquistion of talent generally has to come through trades or the good fortune to find some untapped talent in a lightly-regarded free agent.

The draft’s a possbility, sure, but that takes some luck and foresight as well, neither of which is guaranteed.

And there’s always the chance that someting truly clicks with some of your own young palyers and they exceed expectations as well.

It’s certainly not science and there’s no one direct route.

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Hi Doug

Last week I asked a question about records. This week I'm curious about personal statistics. Somewhere I read that Lebron James wanted to be the triple double king and played till the end even thought the game was clearly won trying to get that last rebound or assist to complete that triple double. It also reminds me of the time last year when Miguel Cabrera was going for the triple crown and the Detroit manager only played him as long as his batting average was in tact. To me it seems a little manufactured, but do you think it's part of the game? In what situations is it ok? And when is it a little much?

Thanks,

Chris M, Toronto

A: I think the game you’re referring to he came out of a rout with about a minute left missing a triple doulbe by an assist, I believe. Sure, he was a bit upset but nothing too serious.

And, yes, pursuits of some records are manufactured and I think they should not be “managed” rather than be achieved in the normal course of a game or a season. Not sure that was right about Cabrera but they should all be like Ted Williams, playing both ends of a doubleheader on last day of season, going 6-for-8 and preserving .406 average.

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Q: Well, the Angst of April, which differs only from the Futility of February and the Malaise of March by the ability now to flip over to the Jays' games during Raptors' ones - and rather than dwell on depressing Dino stuff, or the repulsive Rice-Rutgers situation, or even the tentative start by the TOD, let's talk about something bursting with proud potential: the Canadian Senior Women's Basketball Team.

Your interview with Lisa Thomaidis had me wondering about a couple of things. Ms. Thomaidis said that her first target is a third straight appearance at the World Championships, and that she's already begun preparing for the qualification process taking place in Xalapa, Veracruz this September.

Now, the Canadian women's team is currently ranked 9th in the World, so it's not unrealistic to think they will move on to the World Championship next year in Turkey, right?

My understanding is that 6 teams from North and Central America (Canada, Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and Mexico) and four teams that will qualify from the South American Championships will compete and only three teams will move on to the Worlds. I remember the exciting series of games last year that resulted in our women's team playing at the London 2012 Olympics, but I wonder how many of that great team will be back?

Didn't Teresa Gabriele announce she was retiring? Or is she going to come back? Have Natalie Achonwa and Courtnay Pilypaitis signed on to participate in this tournament? And Allison wasn't the only member of the McNeill family who coached the team - her husband Mike was an assistant; has he retired, too, and if so does this mean the women's team is looking for two new assistants? An additional challenge for Lisa, no?

And - most important - will you be heading to Veracruz to chronicle this tournament? Thank you!

(And, great that Jonas Valanciunas was recognized as being the Eastern Conference Rookie for March; but you know what's most impressive about this to me? That he's played this well with nothing 'on the line', at the end of a long, tough, tiring, disappointing season when so many other players seem to be merely going through the motions. If that. Well done, Jonas.)

Lorie P, London

A: Getting to the worlds is always fraught with peril but with three teams coming out of FIBA Americas not including the USA (automatic entries by virtue of Olympic gold) it’ll be the usual suspects – Canada, Brazil, Cuba, Argentina and, perhaps, Mexico – lining up for those three spots. Won’t be easy but should be doable.

As for the roster, Lisa told me she that, yes, Teresa and Chelsea Aubry have retired but the other women had been contacted and no one had said no; it’s a while until they have to start playing so who knows who might change their minds in the future.

We could hear in the next few weeks who’ll be on Lisa’s staff, she did say she expected to have to on-court assistants and hoped to add someone who would work on the video end of things, a much-needed support position.

Me? Mexico? Can’t see it happening, sadly. Not sure the beancounters go for that one.

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Q: Hey Doug.

At the beginning of the season, I was led to believe that Kyle Lowery was more of a scoring minded point guard than Jose. Being touted as a score-first guard, I expected somewhere near 16 points per game and only 4-6 assists per game. After watching Kyle play this season, overall I think that I'm disappointed. He did have some injuries earlier in the season and he did have to come off the bench which perhaps effected his play. I'm disappointed not because he not as efficient as Jose, but because he isn't scoring as much as expected.

So Doug, why hasn't this occurred? Is the offensive scheme of the team not allowing him to get the shots he wants? Is he not fully healthy/confident in looking for his own offence? Or were the expectations wrong and he just does not have the ability to score 16 points a night consistently?

One more thing, when Jose played with us and Kyle was injured, Jose was logging heavy minutes (40+ minutes sometimes). Now with Kyle as the starting point guard for the team, he seems to play less than Jose did per game. Even back in Feb when they had those meaningful games, I think he was only averaging just over 30 minutes per game. Is this for a health reason (triceps, foot, back) or conditioning or does the coach just not want him in the game that much?

Thanks,

Jay

A: Lowry may not be scoring as much as you’d like but there’s not a lot wrong with this team’s points output, they’re getting scoring from a lot of other spots – DeRozan, Gay, Valanciunas, Anderson – that they don’t need it. Don’t see it being even a bit of an issue, actually. If they really needed him to score more, I presume he would be capable of it. The disappointment, to me, is his defensive play and leadership skills.

Not sure about the minutes thing, either. There were only two times in the entire season when Jose played 40 minutes or more; the split between point guards, when they’ve been healthy, has always been about 30-18, 28-20, 32-16 which I think works out well to keep everyone fresh and to give a backup time to actually get into the flow of the game.

The start of the weekend mail

All right, folks, here’s the deal.

You have some fun with this at the moment, I’ve got lots more to do when I’m riding the rails later today from Milwaukee to Chicago and I’ll get the rest up something later today or this evening.

Sound all right?

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Q: Hey Doug,

It's been a while. I'm now a bit of an irregular, irregular – spending more time in Marriott concierge lounges around North America like you and less time following the daily developments of the HOTH.

Forgive me if this has been covered before: It is just me, or do you also think that Terrence Ross' rookie season bears a certain resemblance to that of Tracy McGrady's rookie season back in 1997? I remember seeing Tracy make a handful of plays that spoke to his promise as a future all-star, but also remember how his lack of playing time and contentious relationship with Darrell Walker culminated in him being somewhat dispirited, if not depressed. I suspect that young players with as much talent potential as Terrence sometimes struggle to make the necessary mental adjustment from being heralded to being benched during their first couple of seasons in the NBA. Being anointed the slam-dunk champion at the All-Star game probably didn't help matters either.

David T, Nashua, NH

A: I'm not sure Terrence has the raw ability of a teenaged McGrady but I do see some physical similarities and slight similarities in their skill.

But I don't think there is any level of frustration over spotty playing time or contention in his relationship with Dwane and the staff that has caused his struggles in the second half.

I think he's mentally and physically worn down from year unlike any other he's had in his life. I think his confidence is down because that fatigue won't let him do what he knows he can do and it will be telling to see what kind of physical condition he comes back in next fall.

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Q: My recent trip across the US got me thinking about time zones and where the best place in N.A. is to be a sports fan (in relation to radio and television viewing).

I've heard your fan/reporter debate so I'm sure you might have two answers for this. I loved being in Phoenix at 4pm and getting the "excuse" to pop open a beer because the game was starting (it was 5 o'clock somewhere....).

That being said, I hated it once everyone else was I'm bed for the night and I'm looking around for a game only to realise they're all done around 10:30pm. I was in Hawaii several years ago and loved getting up a 7am and all the early NFL games were just starting, or along those same lines having Premiership games here on early Saturday/Sunday mornings.

My vote would be for C.T.; games aren't too early and you don't get stuck up too late. Your opinion?

Heath M

A: Oh, I’m with you entirely on the Central time zone being the best. When we were in Minneapolis the other night, I was able to see the Thunder-Spurs game (the late on in the East) and still be in bed at a reasonable time and I bet in Chicago tonight, I’ll be able to stay up and alert for the entire Notre Dame-Connecticut women’s game.

I am not a big fan of the Pacific time zone because it’s simply over too early; and Mountain would probably be my second choice.

East might be last since I’m not a big late-night guy and some of those 10:30 p.m. starts are beyond me.

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Q: Hi Doug. Just answering your plea for mail.

You've mentioned on a number of occasions that you cannot be a fan of a team as a reporter as it would affect your objectivity, and would be unprofessional. As such, you don't cheer for teams. I certainly think that's fair, however, I wonder if on occasion you wind up being a fan of a potential story.

For example, if a player returns from a long layoff (say due to injury), and gets the ball in his hands in the dying seconds of a tie game, do you find yourself rooting (?hoping) for the player to make the shot, because it makes a good story?

Thanks for keeping the blog interesting.

Sohail G

A: Hell yeah. We all cheer for our stories, or good stories, regardless of which team or player is involved. That’s Acceptable Grunt Behaviour.

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Q: Hey Doug, I realize this is beyond his control, but which scenario do you think Brian C would prefer (assuming of course, he stays):

Luck into a top 3 pick in this year's lottery, or

Close out that trade and be sure of having a 2014 first round pick at his disposal?

Gary, Ottawa

A: Regardless of how the draft is perceived – and this one is said to be historically average with gusts to bad – picks are still assets and I know he’d like to have as many assets as he can in the May-June period.

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Q: Take a look at the below links and tell us what you think.

I know you have already commented that this has been the worst year in a long time when it comes to this and as a lead on the BWAA it might not be your place to bring this up but the question has to be asked does it not?

Mountain out of a molehill here?

NBA Is Rigged? Fan Shows Some Suspect Proof The NBA Needs Lakers In The Playoffs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZatX_6i5WY

Also

Are The Referees Trying To Get The Lakers To The Playoffs?

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjkiebus/are-the-referees-helping-the-lakers-make-the-playoffs

Scott R

A: I think it's ridiculous and that too many people have too much time on their hands and too easy access to have crap published.

But it's a doozy because you might be talking about a conspiracy of, what, 50 referees, a handful of executives and the league commissioner -- the man behind the curtain -- all will to risk a multi-billion dollar business for the sake of one franchise and keeping that secret despite the breadth of the circle of knowledge.

Man, they should have had the group run the Watergate burglary and the Nixon White House.

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Q: With a nod and wink to Chuck, are you kiddin' me? The Raptor tall foreheads still appear to believe they are building a contender. Who do they think they're fooling? The problem is that analytics and hyperbole can't trump on court performance. Sure, there are some bright lights, but overall the team simply doesn't execute. Offensively, the ball sticks when it should move, our point guard of the future makes more boneheaded plays than good decisions, chemistry is hard to demonstrate, and on and on. Defensively, except for the odd stretch, the team is downright bad. To characterize the team's attitude, you might try to find a tune by Kyle and the Whiners to post someday. You might look in the Doo Wop catalogue, as a lot of those groups had five members. The lack of a real leader lets the few selfish,

whining individuals affect this bunch unduly. Coaching? I don't know what happened this year, but it's hard to see the positives, either during a game or overall. Dwayne and his lads don't seem to be up to the task of managing this group. The tall forehead management is even more suspect and the salary commitments are ludicrous. Hey, isn't there a rapper with a name that sounds like that?

So, here's my question. Why should I continue to buy season tickets? As it is, the bread and circuses aspects of the show detract from seriously watching the game.

Cheers

JP B

A: Whether you buy season tickets or single game tickets or tickets to ride truly is so little of my concern it's laughable. I get paid regardless. You do paint a rosy picture, though.

Plus, there are two things you should never do:

Tell people how to spend their money or raise their kids.

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Q: Referring to your previous blog (Smith/Anselmi) you wrote that Anselmi is looking for a quality finish by the Raptors. By my account It's been pretty uneven, close to unwatchable (Thank You for the IGBT, your wit and repartee is most enjoyable).

I acknowledge it's the slow death of a disappointing season, I must admit feeling a degree of apathy as the season ends "Quality finish" seems to be subjective.

Is it wins, play hard, play the rookies, compete?

What do you think the Raptors have to do to keep the status quo in the management positions as the season winds down?

Cheers

Johnny C, Mississauga

A: It’s been a bad finish in many ways but I don’t know if it’s wins and losses more than effort and cohesion and promise at some level that ownership and upper management are looking at.

I can’t see that it’s one thing more than the other, it’ll be a wide-ranging numbers of issues that will include things like personal relationships between management, the coach and the coaching staff and relationships between the coach, the coaching staff and the players.

If it was simply wins and losses, the spectre of a 6-20 finish after a 4-19 start would be horrible.

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Q: Hi Doug.

In a perfect world while watching a game I would love to be able to have a volume setting for the announcers and another for "sounds of the game"

I think they should at least compromise and raise up more court noise. From where you sit, do you pick up a lot of profanity that might prevent that from ever happening?

Over the last several games I see Lowry improving as a point guard who should look to pass and get his teammates the ball more often. My complaint which has been there all season is trying to make a bounce pass in the paint when it is packed with bodies, low percentage play and usually translates into turnovers. I think that more passes up high with JV rolling to the basket next year will be beneficial, he has good hands and has shown the ability to finish and if fouled he is great at the free throw line.

Not too many games for you to soldier through, hang in there!

Matt D, Dorchester

A: There’s enough vulgarity – a lot of it screamed in frustration at missed shots, blown plays, not of it aimed at anyone in particular – that more “sounds” of the game would a dangerous thing to do.

As for Lowry, I actually think he’s been okay in the last couple of weeks but, yes, he’s a high-turnover point guard, especially when compared to the guy he replaced and sometimes you’ve got to live with some blown passes because others will be completed.

The Goods On The Game, Raptors at Bucks

Good evening.

And here we go again.

Taking turns with the minutes, and travel horror

You know the drill …

Six. Twelve. Twenty-four.

(Yeah, this is late, cut me some slack and read all the way to the bottom)

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THREE POINTERS

It was his turn

And the HOTH were better off for it.

Landry Fields didn’t do an awful lot if you look at the boxscore, he had two points and seven rebounds in 19 minutes but Dwane called him the “MVP” of the game.

And he’s probably right.

It was another one of those typical Fields nights, made some smart plays, was always around the ball and he grabbed an offensive rebound in the dying seconds that might have been the play of the game.

Under-stated. But effective. As he’s been most of the season.

Now, if they can get his jump shot fixed – and I’m not sure they can – he’s going to be even more valuable, as it is, he does a lot of the little things that no one else on the team does.

Oh, and why did Fields sit the entire first half?

The kids, said Casey. Specifically Acy.

“The key is we’re trying to give mintues to Q and those are Landry’s minutes we’re giving to Q.”

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Same old lament

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before.

Raptors shot just 16 free throws, the Timberwolves shot 40 and I don’t know if I can count the number of times they settled for long twos and ill-advised jump shots rather than trying – even unsuccessfully – to drive the ball.

And yes, they won and that’s better than the alternative every day of the week but no self-respecting NBA team should get a grand total of two – TWO! – free throws from starting wings who played a combined total of about 71 minutes.

One each for Gay and DeRozan, even if they combined for 51 points, isn’t good enough. Never will be.

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Speaking of …

It’s Toronto’s last possession, Gay has the ball and everyone in the arena figures he’ll drive.

Oh, no.

A spin move – followed by another spin that avoided what would have been a game-losing turnover had he not been aware of a lurking guard – ends with a feeble 18-footer that didn’t have a chance.

Now, no, Dwane did not want that but what’s a coach to do? He can’t storm the court or anything like that.

“You have to live with their decisions.”

Sometimes they’re good; sometimes they’re learning opportunities.

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More?

As always.

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Now, you know I’m a peninsula guy who might enjoy a tall glass on a stool every now and then and since we’re in Milwaukee, what’s better than …

Walter Ostanek!

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You know your flight is too early when you get to the airport, check in and clear security and your search for coffee gets to you to a Starbucks THAT ISN’T EVEN OPEN YET!

Yes, I will give MSP all the credit in the world for being one of the best airports I go to but, really, if security is open and passengers are there, why can’t a coffee joint be open.

Best thing I saw like that was in, I believe, Oklahoma City. We were coming out stupid early one morning, I think it might have after a game in the Western Conference final, and there were no coffee places open at 4:30 in the morning.

But there, right in the middle of a concourse about 50 metres from my gate, was a table set up with those huge carafes of coffee, free to the weary morning fliers.

Will Rogers is hardly one of the most modern or well appointed airports on the circuit but that little gesture vaulted it right near the top of the list.

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We all know about the Nik Stauskas kid from Hazelville and Michigan in the Final Four and you should check it out if you can.

But you need to find somewhere Sunday to watch the women’s Final Four semis to check out Notre Dame and Natalie Achonwa.

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So, the alarm goes at 3:30 a.m. (and this after solving all the problems of the Raptors world with Jack Armstrong at an Irish place – try Finnegan’s, it’s good), I’m through security by about 4:45 a.m. and comfortably on the plane at 5:40 a.m. for the 6 a.m. trip to Chicago to catch the early flight to Milwaukee.

(Never take the last flight of a day, or the only one, if it’s a game day)

Anyway, about 6:40 a.m. the pilot tells us there’s a mechanical issue with a battery charger and that a mechanic in Minneapolis is talking to a mechanic in San Francisco (!) and they’ll be maybe get it worked out.

About 6:50 a.m., when I can maybe make the connection, pilot says we’re ready to go, at 6:53 a.m. he reports that, oops, battery is still screwed up and we’re not going anywhere.

The nice lady at United gets me on about a 7:10 flight to Chicago, it lands one gate down from the original connection and, presto, I talk myself onto that one, despite having a boarding pass for a 10:45 a.m. flight.

End of story:

I get to Milwaukee a bit stressed but at about the same time; my bag is either in Minneapolis, or Chicago or on Mars.

When’s it going to get here?

“Today sometime. Probably.”

I’m not entirely optimistic.

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