Close games aren't always good games; and a TV show list

Shorties, a list and a little shot or two; fine way to end a week, no?

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Got comfy on the couch to take a bit of Bulls-Nets last night and while I can appreciate the grind-it-out nature of NBA playoff basketball as well as the next guy and better than a few, that bordered on unwatchable at times.

It wasn’t so much that the defences were stifling as much as it was the offences were inept and a 79-76 game will do nothing to enhance the viewing experience.

Of course, if you’re a Bulls fan you really don’t care and that might have been the game that turns the series but the Nets at one point went something ridiculous like 1-for-25 from the field; that’s just ugly. Not Good Ugly, either.

There are purists who will suggest it doesn’t matter, I will suggest it does matter, a lot. And if you asked any fan in her or his heart of hearts whether a 79-76 grindfest is even remotely as interesting as, say, Golden State’s 131-117 win in Denver the other night, if they don’t say the Warrior game, they’re probably lying.

Or related to Tom Thibodeau.

Maybe it was just a one-off event, maybe not but I will say this, the Eastern Conference series have been dogs compared to the West, if we could only get the West games to start a reasonable hour, we’d all be better off for it.

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How in the world would anyone be surprised there were some minor issues with the pucks and the online pre-selling of playoff tickets.

It’s not like they had the internet the last time they were in, right?

Didn’t men wear suits and fedoras to those games?

Anyway, I hear the big kafuffle about the ticket prices; huge boosts for even the worst seats in the house and I’m thinking, yeah, it’s much ado about nothing as the guy once wrote.

They – and every sports team on earth – can charge what they can get and you know the pucks fans around here, they’ll gladly fork over whatever it takes to see a game. And a playoff game is even better.

I guess the one concern they should have – and I’m not sure they care an awful lot about this anyway – is that if they price these ones out of the realm of reality, is it going to be hard for regular folk to pay regular season prices knowing they’ve probably got no shot at affording post-season tickets in eight or nine years when they’re back in the playoffs.

Is that a big deal though? Apparently not.

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For no particular reason, The Kinks.

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Okay, there’s frost on the car and I’m hearing about skiing at Blue Mountain and it’s April Freaking Twenty-Sixth!!

We can stop this now, right? Isn’t it patio time? And golf season?

Really.

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List time. Again.

Thanks to a fine Irregular, I learned something yesterday when we were thinking about bit characters. Warren Coolidge of White Shadow fame once showed up on St. Elsewhere, wearing his Carver t-shirt.

Cool, no.

Anyway, of course that got me thinking about the best sports-related TV shows of all time and while there’ve been a few clunkers, there’s also been a few good ones.

Would this be a Top 5 that’s suitable for you all, from No. 1-5?

(And the only debate I had with myself is whether Cheers is a sports-based show or a bar-based show and I went with bar because, well, because this is arbitrary and I wanted to)

So …

Friday Night Lights

I have to admit I haven’t seen all that much of it, it used to be on Fridays, right? And I used to do a lot of basketball games and never did the PVR or On Demand thing.

But I did read the book and I agree with the general consensus that it’s the best of the best.

Not sure I could name a character or three but if it wasn’t first, this wouldn’t be a legit list. Although, personal preference and the opinion of others I respect suggest the gap between No. 1 and 2 isn’t all that wide.

White Shadow

For its time, it was kind of cutting edge, wasn’t it? Dealt with issues of the day and probably should have lasted longer.

Best character?

Salami. No cheese.

Sports Night

Any show that had Felicity Huffman and Joshua Molina and Peter Krause and was an Aaron Sorkin production should have had a long and illustrious run. One of the vastly under-rated programs of the era, no?

There will be those who suggest it’s No. 2 and I could probably live with that.

Check this out and tell me I’m wrong.

Coach

Sure, a bit hokey but what the heck, weren’t we all Minnesota State Screaming Eagles fans.

And, sure, Jerry Van Dyke and Shelley Fabares were good supporting bits but didn’t some of us have a crush on Hayden’s daughter?

Jumped the shark, big time, when he started coaching in the pros.

Arliss

Had a pretty good run and a solid, solid cast, might have been a bit cliché but they got good guests to show up.

And Sandra Oh was all right, too.

Sound like a solid Top 5?

And can anyone match my vague, vague recollection of a show about sports talk radio or something like that with Jason Alexander and the kid who was Cosby’s son?

Seems to me it lasted about a week.

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Really, folks.

While I appreciate you not pestering me with “who can they trade Andrea for” questions and that you must want me to shut it down for a big chunk of the weekend, there’s not nearly enough mail to even get me/us through a day.

Help a fellow out at askdoug@thestar.ca if you want.

Thanks.

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A record to be proud of, and to hope lasts forever

So the good folks at NBA Canada put me at the same table with Robert Horry for a delightful hour-long conversation yesterday and it was really cool.

He was here on a media tour to beat the drums for the NBA playoffs and it was an excellent chat, telling stories and talking about people and events; relaxing and interesting.

And given that the guy’s got seven NBA championship rings and hit just about every big shot he ever took, pretty topical for this time of year.

Given what’s going on this year, it was interesting to hear him say that his second most favourite championship – a close second to the 1995 “Never underestimate the heart of a champion” Houston Rockets – was the 2001 Lakers, who went an astonishing 16-1 on their way to a title.

He did mention that it’s all well and good to think that records are made to be broken and it’s the polite thing to say but, deep in his heart, he hopes that one stands for all time. The one loss – in Game 1 of the Finals against Allen Iverson and the Sixers – became a bitter pill.

“I think I took that loss harder than almost any loss … That was something special that would never, ever happen. Sweep everybody in the playoffs? I know David (Stern) and the big guys were mad because we swept everybody but we were just rolling. We came together as a team and we were clicking.”

Now, the context, of course, is whether the Miami Heat could go 16-0 this year given how overwhelming a favourite they are for a second straight championship.

I don’t think it can happen – it wouldn’t shock me if they ran the table in the East but there’s going to be someone awfully good waiting for them in the Finals – and I guess that just underscores what Horry and those Lakers did back then.

Think about it?

These are generally good and well-rested opponents who are quite capable of making in-series adjustments that should allow at least one of them to steal a game or two here or there, no?

But to go 12-0 before losing? And then to put that one loss – that was the game Iverson made the shot in the corner in front of the bench and stepped over Tyron Lue as we recalled – behind them and get four more in a row?

When we’re talking about all-time great playoff accomplishments – and we might with the Heat as this year’s post-season progresses – it’d be wise to keep that Laker team in mind, and in context.

(Of course, in the jinx world I live in, the Bucks will beat the Heat tonight and the talk will be moot but at least it’s good for this morning.)

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So Alan Arbus dies and what’s a guy to think about?

One of the best sitcom themes of all time.

Alan Arbus?

You don’t know?

How about Dr. Sindey Freedman?

Now, on the list of deep supporting characters in great TV shows, he’d probably be up there with Rev. Jim, right?

Who else have you got?

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Speaking of readers …

I need some writers. Letter writers. Mailbag letter writers.

Please. You know the drill, askdoug@thestar.ca and ask away.

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After gathering Super Son at the end of his work shift – and why there was a line of seven people with full carts at a Loblaws at 10:45 p.m. is beyond me – caught a second or two of Spurs-Lakers before crashing.

And how weird was it to see, for a few minutes at least, Cory Joseph out there going at Steve Nash.

There’s your past and your future of Canada’s national team point guard position and I’m not going to get all trite about the passing of the torch or anything like that but I imagine, deep in their hearts, it was a moment they thought about.

There’ll be more on Nash in the Nothing But Net stuff I have to type later this morning but I bet he thought at one point, well, my national program looks like it might be in good and capable hands.

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Okay, so I got to see the TFC-Impact game last night so I can get the lay of the land and learn at the feet of the masters before flying solo on Saturday afternoon and someone asks:

“Hey, how are you going to feel covering the soccer.”

I check the TFC season results to date and it becomes crystal clear:

"They lose buzzer-beaters and never make the playoffs."

I’m right at home.

But, really, it was kind of enlightening. Now, I’ve covered some soccer before – mostly the women’s national team the one time they played Brazil here and a handful of times at the Beijing and London Olympics but that was my first TFC game.

A couple of differences and a similarity from the usual gig:

You are very, very, very far away

I’ve had some dubious seats at some NBA games – sometimes in hockey press boxes – but not for a while and there’s quite a gap between where you sit and the someone what huge playing field.

It’s antiseptic

Now, I’m told that once the weather turns the windows open and that has to be better but last night it was like watching a game on TV with no sound. It made for a very odd experience, you really couldn’t get a feel for the energy a crowd might provide and the only noise was fingers on keyboard and me asking Not Grace, “hey, what did I just see?”

Routine post-game

Yeah, you get marshalled into a tiny room, the coach comes in, answers some questions and then you move on to the locker room area – and it’s a workout area rather than a real room – to get quotes from the players. That was entirely familiar and, yes, didn’t yield an awful lot of great quotes, just like with the basketball.

Not sure how often I’ll have to be around the games – we need to start working on a replacement for the irreplaceable D. Girard and Not Grace is going be around – but I think I can get the hang of it quickly.

Get ready to sleep fast Saturday night because the first gamer’s in Sunday’s paper. Lucky, lucky readers.

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Loutish fans just need to behave better

So the conversation with a couple of guys yesterday afternoon turns to what I do for a living and when the one gentleman finds out, he’s interested in knowing whether I do any baseball.

Turns out he’s got a beef and it doesn’t have to do with Gibby or the inability to field and the offence that’s gone south.

Totally anecdotal but he’s got a problem with Rogers Centre fans and that seems to be a bit of an ongoing issue.

Seems he had his children, both under 10 if I recall correctly, at a Junior Jays day, up in the 500 level and he’s aghast at the fights and the booze and vile language and the general boorishness of the people around him. It go so bad he and his family are considering dumping the rest of their flex pack tickets or at least moving to another part of the stadium.

Sound familiar?

I know the TV shows incessant looks at shiny, happy people but I’ve had a few friends and acquaintances tell me basic horror stories about the misbehaviour of people in the stands.

I find it quite remarkable, and quite informative that in some sections of the stadium, it’s like olden Argo days down at the Ex where it was a party more than a game.

Now, I’m all for having a good time at a ball game, it absolutely lends itself to a beer or two, a glacial pace to the action gives you all kinds of time to chat with the people you’re with and enjoy an afternoon or an evening.

But the lack of common sense, or common courtesy, appalls me.

I hear it at games I’m at – it is not limited solely to the Jays – but it seems worse with baseball this year.

There are youtube videos of Opening Day fights, we’ve read about people throwing things into the bullpen and my new acquaintance painted a picture that wasn’t pretty at all.

Now, I’m sure, like always, it’s a few that are spoiling for the majority but that’s always the case; the knucklheads get the attention.

So what’s the answer?

I don’t think it’s more police or more security or more no-booze sections because Rogers has to sell an awful lot of $530,600 beers to meet payroll.

No, it’s on the idiots to grow up and like civil humans.

Sure, cheer, yell, do what you want but act like respectful humans.

Respect those around you by not getting smashed and dropping F-bombs all over when there might be kids around, or grownups who don’t appreciate the vulgarity.

Respect yourself by taking into consideration those around you.

End of rant.

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Day late, I know

RIP Richie

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Mike Brown is back in Cleveland and Mike Dunlap is out in Charlotte and the NBA coaching carousel swings a wee it more.

The Dunlap firing is classic, totally classic.

Not only does it – yet again – bring into question the suitability of Michael Jordan as an owner and top executive (there’s a book to be written about his screw ups) but it gets to a point I’ve made repeatedly.

With very, very few exceptions – and I can’t think of one in the last 15 years -- college coaches cannot move to the NBA and succeed.

I know Dunlap was highly regarded and had some NBA experience but how in the world anyone thought it was fair to pluck a guy out of an assistant’s role at college and make him the head coach of a dreadful NBA team and be successful is beyond me.

I wonder if he’ll ever get another head coaching gig and it’s too bad, he might turn out to be okay (I have my doubts) but he was put in a position to fail by questionable ownership and then had the rug pulled out from under him probably too quickly.

It is forever thus.

Mike Brown? Guess there are Second Acts. Good luck with that.

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Can I just say that walking Super Dog in flipflops and sweats in the dawn hours is a good sign that summer might be actually approaching?

And I know there are those among you who share the affinity for that kind of understated fashion wear.

And when it gets to shorts and t-shirts, we’ll really talk.

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Hey, someone ask me what I’m doing Saturday.

“Hey, grunt, what’s up Saturday?”

“You’ll never guess. Really.”

“Are you running a marathon? Doing the pucks?”

“Nope. Get this: I am scribbling about the TFCs!”

Yep, the one and only Dan Girard, as universally loved a colleague as I’ve ever had, has left the newspaper to pursue other interests and they need to someone to fill in.

And, guess who got the gig for this weekend?

No, I don’t know the intricacies of the game but as long as I’ve got The First Lady Of The Beat (a noted football scribbler) sitting nearby and Not Grace’s e-mail, I’ll be cool.

But, no, there will be no IGBT because how many times can I write: “Hey, he kicked it far! Wow, he kicked it hard. Hey, he kicked it backwards!”

All I hope is that whatever I write ultimately makes sense.

Wish me luck. You’ll need it.

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There’s every chance I’m going to shut it down one day this weekend – think that might be the new schedule – so early mail is good mail.

Can you help a fella out? You know the drill, it’s askdoug@thestar.ca.

Appreciate it.

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Told you Denver-Golden State would be the best and most fun first-round series out there.

Any time a team scores 131 points in a regulation time playoff game, you have to know it’s great, interesting basketball and now if we could just do something about the late start times, we’d be flying.

The rest of ‘em?

Still quite yawny, no?

Maybe we’ll get some juice tonight if some series get tied 1-1 but I doubt it; think we’re in for one really good one, a handful of yawners and the hope that the second round’s better.

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Strong message forcefully delivered

Told you I didn’t think there’d be an awful lot of news out of the DC BC Chinwag yesterday and seems I was right.

Outside of a rather obvious defence of his coach and their relationship (you can take a read of it here if you missed it yesterday afternoon) the somewhat defiant Mr. Colangelo made one point crystal clear to all concerned:

He’s okay – to a point – with where things are.

Don’t really blame him, and haven’t for a while.

Sure, there are holes – they need toughness, experience, point guard depth at the top of the list – but there is a consistency to the top end of the roster that hasn’t existed in years and I don’t think it should be messed with.

The most interesting to me was some open criticism of Kyle Lowry, even if it was couched in a dated reference to a surgery he had about a year ago.

Yes, Lowry has to be less recalcitrant and less of a contrarian and in better physical condition and it was a long up and down season for him but to hear the general manager make all those points in a very public forum was good.

The entire message – and don’t for a second think that ownership was listening, or had people listening for them – was that the president and general manager is backing his coach and the path they are on.

Whether you like it or agree with it or not is entirely up to you, I thought Colangelo’s hit-first effort – and he brought up the two salient points with no prodding – was an excellent way to deliver a message.

Now, whether it works or not long-term is impossible to tell but given where the roster is and the franchise is headed and the possibilities that exist, I think the only prudent thing to do is stay the upwards course.

No, things have not gone as quickly upwards as many would like – and that includes everyone with a title connected with the team – but progress sometimes comes in baby steps, not giant leaps.

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So I heard of this in the course of a conversation over the past week, music to aid in the relaxation process.

Can’t said I’d ever heard of The xx but …

Whaddya think?

Not bad at all.

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Here’s one for you Raptors fans out there to chew on:

Did you know that none of the current assistant coaches have guaranteed deals for next year, all have team options that have to be exercised?

They, along with every other staff member throughout the organization, will be going through annual end-of-season reviews over the next little while – a typical course of action – and there’s no work on when anything might be decided.

Now, I don’t think there needs to be sweeping change at all, I think there is something to be said for continuity on the staff, too.

Players have rabbis or make allegiances with certain assistants who act as sounding boards or buffer zones between player and head coach and since so much is dependent on everyone getting along – or at least feeling comfortable enough with someone to vent to – familiar faces need to be around, relationships built need to be continued.

That said, however, I do think there needs to be an ex-player on the staff – someone not too long out of the league – who can reach players at a different level.

I have it on pretty good authority that nothing in that vein is going to happen too soon but I also caution this:

If feet-dragging ownership waits too long to do the sensible thing and gives Bryan the year deal it should, it’s going to slow up every bit of every process and that means the pool of assistant coaching talent could diminish as well.

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I’m telling you something, this whole TOD thing is starting to tick me off.

Some days they can’t pitch.

Some days they can’t hit.

Some days they can’t catch.

Some days they can’t throw.

Sure, it’s only, what, 20 or so games in and there’s all kinds of time left but this sure isn’t close to the start to the season anyone there expected.

And I’m wondering one thing:

How are they going to find happy, shiny people to show on the TV broadcast of home games EVERY SINGLE SPARE MINUTE!

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I did the NBA voting in the drag-down style they set up where you had to click on the name of the guy you were voting for.

And I promise you – and least I hope so because there needs to be a federal inquiry if not – that Jordan Crawford got a vote because someone clicked on his name instead of Jamal Crawford.

But the first of the results does bear out very important fact:

Ballots are distributed in some cases to people who don’t take the time – or have the knowledge – to fill them out correctly.

I suspect – and the league doesn’t make individual votes public despite some urgings from the PBWA, most writers put theirs out for all to see – that there are more than a few homer broadcasters, both radio and TV, who simply think, ‘oh, what the heck, I’ll put our guy down’ who lessen the overall process.

Not sure what the answer is, but there has to be a more equitable, and legitimate, distribution of ballots somehow.

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Okay, you know me and Halls of Fame, right?

Too easy to get into too many, we bestow honours like that too quickly in some cases and I guess it’s because standards are in some ways slipping.

But …

Heard yesterday that the good folks out in British Columbia had the good sense to induct both Allison McNeill and Teresa Gabriele in their Hall of Fame on the weekend and I cannot think of two more worthy recipients of the honour.

Allison helped build the national women’s program from ashes to global significance and on pretty much every step of the way, she was alongside Gabriele, one of the most dedicated international athletes – in any sport – to ever represent our country.

It was my pleasure to have chronicled, a little bit, both of their journeys and to have careers capped with a Hall of Fame moment is entirely fitting.

Not enough of you know about the talent possessed and sacrifices made by women involved in the national program, now at least when people read or learn about that Hall, maybe that’ll change a bit.

As it should.

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Tough times, and tough questions, in Chicago

Wonder what it’s like to be a Chicago Bulls fan today?

Not only did your team get drilled in the opener in Brooklyn -- and it wasn’t really close at all, was it? – there is one huge issue that has to be gnawing at you every single day.

You watch Joakim Noah on a bad foot try to hobble through one of the biggest games of the year, obviously in pain and nowhere near 100 per cent and there’s Derrick Rose, still watching and letting everyone know that it’s his decision not to have played in last month or so, despite taking part in full practices.

Now, I’ve been around long enough to know that it’s never wise to question the pain threshold or injury status of a player who says he can’t go.

(Remember JR Richard?)

But I have also been around long enough to know that there are times when the difference between hurt and injured has to be put aside and if you’re not 100 per cent but won’t do further damage, you need to suck it up and get out there and try to help your team.

Rose’s is an exceptional case because of his stature in the game, his place within the franchise and his long-term future. He has, at least from the outside, been a bit coddled, everyone is leaving a return solely up to him and he seems to have garnered enough goodwill among the Chicago faithful that the rumblings are not only not loud, they’re basically non-existent.

And that’s fine, if it’s his decision, it’s his decision and everyone has to live with it; we don’t walk in his shoes, or run on his surgically-repaired knee or know how he truly thinks.

But in contrast to Noah, who probably shouldn’t have been out there at all, Rose is looking even worse to the casual observer.

Now, the fact none of the other Bulls played remotely well in that opening game blowout exacerbates the issue; they have played through all kinds of tough times this year on the strength of their defence and Tom Thibodeau’s ability to get the most out of a shortened roster.

Maybe they can again but if this continues – one guy playing when he most likely shouldn’t and another watching – things are not going to end well.

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No, didn’t see the Junos but, man, this woman’s got some pipes and I hear the speech was really, really cool.

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Hey, I hear today’s Earth Day?

Good for you, Earth.

Wonder how many of us could probe the dark corners of closets and find some “earth shoes?”

Remember those ugly things?

If you do find them, think they’d be gathering dust next to a pet rock or a cabbage patch kid?

Yes, I had a pet rock but, no, I never wore an earth shoe, or a clog for that matter, and never had a cabbage patch kid.

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Well, that was a pretty stinky weekend of playoff basketball, wasn’t it?

All the home teams win, I think the only really “good” game was the Denver-Golden State one and the average margin of victory had to be around 15 points, didn’t it?

Guess the biggest disappointment to me had to be Memphis, which didn’t impose any kind of physical will on the Clippers and bowed relatively meekly.

Chicago, as we mentioned, had to be the other and we can only hope that all of the weekend losers find some way to get it together because I don’t want to go through a whole end-of-the-week reading “Game 3s are pivotal in 2-0 series” stories.

Thanks.

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So we get to chat with Dwane Casey and Bryan Colangelo this morning for the annual end-of-the season chinwag.

Expect fireworks?

Not a chance.

They’ll go separately, which is good, but I don’t imagine we’ll get a lot of earth-shattering news, although I do think ownership should come out this morning and announce what they’re going to do about Colangelo’s contract.

It would take the elephant out of the room and shorten the news conference by a question or six but there’s no indication at moment that they have that much common sense.

They should, though. Without question.

But barring any big news – and, who knows, maybe they’ll surprise us – here’s what I think the “talking points” will be because I’d like to save you all some time.

They’ll point out that the slow start was the season-killer but that once things settled down the record wasn’t too bad.

They will suggest it was really three different season – the first 20 or so games, the turnaround portion in December and January and the post-trade period of getting familiar with a newish team.

It’s all stuff we’ve heard before and nothing like the greatest end-of-season story, ever.

KO.

Remember?

We all hustle back from Milwaukee because you never knew what KO would do and he’d been working his way to a departure for about two weeks.

Well, he gets up and go berserk, a scorched-earth speech lambasting people in the organization for “not caring about winning” and “just wanting to be friends with the players” and it was a pre-meditated rant as you can imagine.

And, yep, he got fired the next day, to the surprise of no one and, frankly, exactly what he wanted, some money to go away.

That was classic; I’m imagining today will be boring.

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Pucks in the post-season?

Good for them.

And good for me because once the playoffs start, I’ll be writing briefs for so far back in the section you won’t be able to find them with a search warrant.

And I’m quite fine with that.

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Hmm.

KD Lang?

Or Leonard Cohen?

Same song, slightly different styles.

Who ya got?

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The end of the weekend mail

Told you there’d be a little bit more, got some of the lollygaggers in and some I’d mised.

Have fun.

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Q: Hi - not sure if this is too late to fit in the mailbox, but sending it anyway.

This is good news and bad news. The bad news (I think!) is that the Raps are no longer your beat. (That is bad news for Irregulars, for you .....?) The good news is that you are now a roving reporter and you can cover whatever games you like. What are your dream road trips *with* matchups you'd like to see and why?

Sportschic

A: If I’m reading this right, it’s what other basketball games I could cover? Well, you know how I do those three games to watch as part of Nothing But Net each Friday? I’d love to have the budget and the space in the paper to wake up each Friday and find two compelling games in the next five days and go write lengthy takeouts on either people or issues that would run twice a week while I do the normal morning stuff. Alas, that’s a pipedream.

Now, if you’t taking me out of basketbal “beat” coverage entirely, I’d like to carve out a job where I could go write about the four major North American championships, the World Cup or whatever signficant summer event there was and the EuroLeague basketball championships.

That’d fill a year, wouldn’t it?

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Q: Well, as you mentioned "Another Bites the Dust". If making the playoffs was the goal than it was a poor showing. If improving the team and learning to play together and play for each other, than I think the season was a little more of a success than a lot of folks might think.

I agree the team does need a solid veteran big with an attitude, and I think that is more important than a backup PG. I think that John

Lucas has shown that he can fill the job. He may not be all one would like but he provides a change of pace, and he can shoot which means

teams cannot play off him as they might at times with Telfair or another like him. If Fields can fix his shot, or if they find another 3/4 who can shoot the three and also get to the basket, than it is just the end of the bench.

I know I am just repeating stuff I have gathered from you over the course of the season, but your insight has made it easier for me to understand what I am watching and what I should be looking for.

And I thank you for that. It has made the games that much more enjoyable.

Gerry T

A: John Lucas, while a good guy, good teammate, good shooter, doesn’t have the necessary decision-making skills that a point guard needs. He doesn’t see open teammates, has a hard time getting the team into a halfcourt set. He’s a good third guard for emergencies and a shooter off the bench.

But I agree he might have been a better fit for this team than Telfair was in his 20 or so games.

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Q: Hello Doug,

Hope you're enjoying your summer holiday (Although, I don't know about where you live but this morning there's snow resting on the almost-ready-to-bloom daylilies in my front garden. Guess I should turn the air conditioner off.)

So, in the blog the other day you spoke of the 'coaching carousel' and the old familiar faces and I'm wondering if you could name a couple of names we're all less than familiar with who you'd like to see get a chance to coach in the NBA. And, do you know if Pat Summit was ever approached to join an NBA coaching staff? Thank you.

And speaking of 'old-timers', didn't that old fossil Cliff Richard (who actually looked pretty fabulous carrying that torch at London 2012...do you think he and Tim Duncan sip from the same Fountain of Youth? Or is Cliff's more of a 'medical' miracle than a medicinal one..?) have a nifty hit way back when about a 'Summer Holiday'? Remember singing it with my sisters annually as the old family jalopy chugged and gasped its way up to Fenelon Falls.

Lorie P, London

A: The ice and the snow on the Smelly Ford Taurus this morning was a shock to my system, not to mention Super Dog. Sit on a patio one day, winter coat the next. Some Decompression Days.

The names I've got are basically familiar, they are current assistants like Mike Budenholzer in San Antonio, everyone expects Brian Shaw to be successful and I have long held that Michael Malone would be an excellent choice.

But I want to find a GM bold -- and secure enough -- to give Butch Carter another job and I don't think anyone would regret hiring Brendan Malone, either.

And I don't know about Pat Summit 100 per cent but I would doubt it, the time just wasn't right.

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Q: Hey Doug,

When are the closing interviews going to take place?

Thanks,

Nick

A: For the media? Already done over the course of the last week of the season, lots of players had early flights out Thursday so there was no one day, which was 100 per cent fine with many of us, it allowed us to do end-of-season stories rather than inconsequential game stories in the last four or five games. And that stand around and wait Thursday after a season ends is, to me, the worst day of the year, by far. You never get anything to interesting and it's about five hours in a tiny room for about 40 minutes of actual work.

Bryan and Dwane are doing media sessions on Monday late-morning.

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Q: Hi Doug,

Maybe you've already covered this, but what do you think will happen with Gary Payton's (my all-time favourite player) induction into the HOF? Obviously, he will go under the Sonics name, but with the rights being held by the Thunder how do you envision that all going down?

Thanks

Felix Tsui

A: I think it'll be wildly entertaining, pretty emotional and full of good stories. And there's a slight chance we'll understand them all despite Gary's rather unique use of the English language.

But there is not a question that regardless of how or where he finished his career, he will always be known as a Sonic.

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Q: Doug:

I have never been an Andrea basher. While I still see his potential, I acknowledge that his 2012-2013 season was terrible. I can accept that it might be in everyone's interest if he were to be traded in the off season.

That being said, you and others have suggested that the Raptors might very well have to include another piece with him in order to find another team willing to take back Andrea's contract.

My question is what piece do you foresee as having to go with Andrea? I would assume that the five starters (Rudy, JV, Demar, Kyle, Amir) are to be included in the core that everyone talks about the Raptors have moving forward and wouldn't be a throw in to get Andrea moved.

Kleiza will likely be amnestied and Pietrus' career appears to be over and doesn't constitute an expiring contract, so they are out. Alan Anderson and Sebastian Telfair are free agents, so they could only be part of sign and trade and that wouldn't be an enticement on taking Andrea. Landry Fields' contract is a significant amount as well and given his need to recover from the nerve issue and rebuild his shot, I can't imagine that he'd be considered an incentive piece. So that leaves, Aaron Gray (a serviceable 5th big) and John Lucas III (a serviceable 3rd PG) -- neither of which would be an incentive -- and Quincy Acy and Terrence Ross. So I assuming the other piece will have to be one of them. Correct?

David H

A: I see your point but there are all kinds of possibilities; hear me out:

What if a team needed cap or tax relief at a small level at the end of next year and even the year after and would take Kleiza to have two consecutive expiring deals?

What if a team needed some quick, small financial fix and would take Lowry (a PG would have to come back) and waive him to save more than $5 million this summer?

We’ve seen a summer that included a four-team, double sign-and-trade transaction so who knows what a creative mind could come up with.

I’m not suggesting any of those things would happen but there are ways to make a deal out of nowhere sometimes.

The start of the weekend mail

Okay, here’s the deal, folks.

Got these done, I see a couple of late-comers there this morning (and you know who you are) so have at these and we’ll be back in the morning with a bit more and a bit of look back at today’s game since I imagine there’s going to be some decompression time watching TV.

Sound good?

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Q: Hi Doug

How do you assess the saga of Carmelo and the Knicks? Against some big coach-changing odds and many ups and downs with styles of play and adding lots of new players, somehow this team did come together and play with strength. Carmelo himself seemed finally to find a very comfortable place from which to exercise his tremendous abilities.

How did they do this? What does this story tell us about super-stars and how they do-don't adapt to a new team; about how a new team grows around such a star?

Their chances in playoffs?

Charles N, Toronto

A: I believe that, at some point, the game’s top players come to realize that winning cures a lot of ills and if there have to be subtle changes in attitude and play, it’s more than worth it.

I don’t think Anthony is a substantially different player today than he was a year ago today but he seems more comfortable in the team dynamic and, just important, his teammates and coaches are comfortable with him, too.

It takes time to figure things out for everyone connected with a franchise. And, it helps that the Knicks had tremendous success right off the bat to start the season so every saw how well it could work.

That said, I can see them getting to the conference final but that’s about it. I can also see them getting some injuries that won’t allow them to get past whoever they meet in the second round.

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Q: Since you asked -- I have a question about "perspective."

I think of how the Coaches for any team, and especially struggling teams, have to keep a kind of perspective on their fortunes and misfortunes that will help them to keep on battling no matter how their future seems to be, for any given season. You've commented often on the "supreme confidence" of athletes at this level who will always always believe they can make the next shot or beat any team.

Then I think of the Coaches who have turned commentators who often offer us some useful insight into just how bleak things really are and why they are that way. Whether it's "Coach" Jack Armstrong or Stan Van, the ex-coaches

have no problem at all seeing real deficits in a team's make-up or its style of play or personnel issues.

So - and I understand that this is not the position you're in personally, but you do know some people - is there a real shift in perspective when

these coaches move from the bench to the booth? Do they actually start to see things differently, or do they simply work differently on how they respond to what they see on the court?

Thanks for keeping a tough season enjoyable, Doug!

TL I

A: Not sure there’s a shift in perspective more than an ability to speak openly and honestly that doesn’t exist when a coach is employed.

There is no way an active coach is going to be publicly and openly critical of another team or pick apart the abilities of players.

They think it – just like they think of and know the limitations of their own players – but it’s not politically astute to broadcast it worldwide when they’re actually working.

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Q: Hi Doug

You've asked for questions so I shall give you one. But before that I would like to express my thanks for helping us go through this not so good

season. Without the blog and all, following the Raps would be close to unbearable. Anyways.

Going through Thursday's Q&A I noticed you said that the HOTH would not have started 4-19 with Nash on the team because "he wouldn't let it

happen". Would you be willing to expand a bit on that? Can a veteran presence on a team make such a difference? Wasn't José able to provide this?

Many thanks,

Matthieu B, Bern

A: Yes, a veteran can make a huge difference in a team’s performance down the stretch of games. I can say with 100 per cent certainty that some of those last second losses wouldn’t have occurred with Steve running the show, he would have gotten someone a good shot, made one himself and just brought a sense of calm to everything.

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Q: I think we were all surprised to see Dwane spend much of training camp and the early season focusing on offence. His rep was as a defensive specialist and we saw improvement in that regard last year. So I'm wondering if Dwane was trying to do it Bryan's way at the start of the season but as we know that did not go well. It seemed out of character for Dwane but maybe he was trying to keep the boss happy. Thoughts?

Dave M, Puslinch

A: Not sure if it was totally trying to keep the boss happy but that might have been a small part of it. I do know they – organizationally – thought the offence was a problem last season and needed some work.

I agree they probably had too much focus on an area that could work itself out and I am certain Dwane regrets not putting more emphasis on defence at camp, he said as much to us in the middle of the season.

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Q: Hi Doug

Bill Simmons wrote this in his April 18, 2013 column:

"As for Valanciunas, the promising Raptors big man who's been averaging a 15-7 since mid-March, here's a true story: When Sam Presti was quietly shopping James Harden last October, he called Toronto to feel out a Jonas package. And got rebuffed. Quickly."

And there is a footnote to it:

"Our pal Chris Broussard told me this one and nearly made my eyeballs fly out of my head. But I got it confirmed - it's true.”

I'm wondering if you know more of the details of that proposal and I presume that other significant pieces were being sought as well. Because otherwise I find it astonishing.

Tom O

A: Astonishing? Why?

Don’t know what, if any, other significant pieces would have been included but they would have been substantial in order to make a maximum contract deal with Harden.

I don’t find it astonishing at all that Bryan wouldn’t want to include his best young player – a 7-footer with unlimited potential in a deal.

That’s not surprising at all.

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Q: Hi Doug,

I was wondering why you are talking about the Raptors including an asset of some degree in a Bargs trade. Why not just amnesty Andrea. I feel like this would be best as it would get rid of him, and we wouldn't lose anything (i.e. draft picks, or someone else). MLSE has the money. It is times like this they need to use it.

Thanks,

Isaac H, Toronto

A: Giving away assets for nothing to get nothing? Not the way I’d do business.

And to amnesty him gains you nothing, cap-wise, to bring anything back.

Look, this hate of Bargnani is out of all proportion and the scape-goating of him is ridiculous. Yes, he had a terrible, injury-plagued year; no, his NBA career is not over and he still a player in the league, regardless of what people here might think.

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Q: Doug,

Thanks for all the season-ending news and reflections. Following up on your article handing out grades earlier this week, I am wondering if you'd be prepared to tell us what your grades would have been for Calderon and Davis had their seasons continued in the same fashion as they started with the HOTH.

Thank you!

Kevin, Toronto

A: Probably C-pluses, but we also can never know since they were gone for about 30 games.

The coaching carnage begins anew

So Doug Collins hangs ‘em up again, Lawrence Frank and Byron Scott both get fired and the NBA does its NFL imitation by whacking coaches the day after the regular season ends.

Right? Or wrong?

I can’t really speak to too many of the specifics in each case because I’m not around Philly, Detroit or Cleveland to really know enough but it strikes me that – once again – coaches pay the price for, frankly, not doing enough with limited talent at their disposal.

It’s not fair, but then life never is, because I don’t think Lawrence Frank or Byron Scott became “bad” coaches all of a sudden; I would presume they did as much as possible with the rosters at their disposal and, as the old saying goes, you can’t make chicken salad out of chicken poop.

But the thing I find interesting is whether Frank and Scott will once again get on that zany coaching carousel and find head coaching jobs in the future.

Both have had success in the past when they had to be considered “good” coaches and with what seems to be a limited pool to choose from, I’m sure you’ll hear their names mentioned for head coaching jobs in the future.

That’s a problem, isn’t it?

Teams – and their fans – are often loathe to accept as head coaches people with no experience but the track record of recycled coaches isn’t very good.

I would think that some GMs need to be a bit more bold in their hiring practices, try to find new people to elevate to a top job and then give them the support and time to succeed.

I entirely get the idea of finding someone with a track record because it’s the safe route to take and GMs – always with their own futures in mind – prefer safe to risky. They can sell a guy who’s been a head coach before far more easily than someone with no experience, sell them to both their bosses and the team’s fans.

But going out on a limb, taking a shot, is the kind of bolder move that I appreciate. Giving someone new their first chance – and then not pulling the rug out from under them too quickly when things inevitably go poorly – is the kind of leadership I like.

This is nothing against guys like Frank or Scott or even Collins – he left of his own volition and you have to respect that – but recycling isn’t the way I’d go except in a very few situations.

Yes, there are good unemployed former coaches out there – Jerry Sloan, the Van Gundys and Phil Jackson come quickly to mind – but the merry-go-round of the second tier and their inclusion in every new job search is tiring.

And not effective.

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Oh, you knew I was going to do this, didn’t you?

It was Hall of Fame night last night so it’s only logical.

Sorry to some of you but I can’t resist.

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Here’s the deal: Need some more mail, and if I get it all done while decompressing this afternoon, will put two files together and have wee mailbags each weekend day. Sound okay?

But you have to do your part. It’s askdoug@thestar.ca and it’s always nice to hear from you.

And if you are wondering what we've already answered, here's yesterday's chat

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As part of our Nothing But Net thing yesterday (here’s the main item in case you somehow got busy and missed it), we had this little look at five free agents out there for you to digest.

And, no, it’s not exactly an overwhelming list but I do think it’s kind of realistic given all the various circumstances.

There won’t be untold riches in the kitty for Bryan to spend thanks to the moves he’s already made and the way the roster is constructed right now.

The only possible new starter – barring anything earth-shattering happening – would be a tough four but other than that, they are looking for backups and depth.

And you’re not going to spend crazy money on them.

The list of available free agents is hardly overwhelming anyway; some dopey GM is going to overpay and give Josh Smith a maximum value contract that the team will regret in about 18 months but past that, there doesn’t seem to be any significant movement on the horizon.

So, unless Bryan goes berserk on me and starts major more major change, this might turn out to be a calm summer.

(Yes, I know, the Jinx is now officially in place).

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So I’m out walking Super Dog in the dawn hours this morning and two things come to mind:

I need Super Son to get his butt back from a school trip to Philly so he can do some dog-walking duties …

And, I can hear the birds chirping and it’s a nice, calm morning.

(And if I ever type anything ever again about birds chirping, you as my friends have permission to give me a slap in the head)

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All right, part of Decompression Day Vol. 1.0 included a bit of the early evening on a stool in a place with a lot of TVs (Hi, Jack Astor’s Square One!) and a few of them have the TOD game on.

It was the first one I’ve watched even remotely closely since opening night – work/life always got in the way – and I have to tell you:

I am dead tired already of shots of fans in the seats eating popcorn and apparently having all kinds of fun, the number sponsored bits and in-inning advertisements is shocking and having an ad superimposed on the hitter’s background in the center field is shocking.

It really takes away from the game and I understand they need to make money to pay the salaries and build interest in a somewhat sluggish start to the season but, yeesh, it’s entirely over the top.

The one thing I didn’t see – and was quite glad for it – were repeated shots from a center field bar; that was the worst part of the opening night show.

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Another one -- more bad than good -- comes to a close

Where does the time go?

Seems like it was just yesterday we were packing for Halifax amid all kinds of optimism and now we’re staring into the off-season abyss wondering what’s going to happen.

Actually, I lie.

That was, without doubt, one of the longest seasons I can remember, and I can remember an awful lot of them.

Now, it’s not like I didn’t have any fun and, as we know, it’s all about me.

I was lucky enough of the course of the season to meet some great new people and that’s of paramount importance to me; we had some fun on the road every now and then and, frankly, got through it relatively unscathed.

Some quick highlights and lowlights?

Don’t mind if I do.

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Where’s it rank?

Well, it wasn’t 16-66 and it wasn’t the drama of the KO year and the players and coaches themselves are as good a group of people as they’ve had around here.

Not an electrifying gaggle of personalities and awful young but, still, a good group.

But overall?

This one has to be among the worst three or four given the expectations, the mid-season upheaval and the angst that carried through almost from the first week of the year.

Losing, and not living up to a billing, takes its toll on people and there were times when nerves were frayed and people were on such edge that the whining factor went off the charts.

Now, that in itself isn’t unusual, happens with every team in the same circumstances throughout the league but the cumulative effect can get to a guy.

And as this one wound down, it was like we couldn’t wait for it to get over.

Too bad, took some of the fun away from being around various arenas.

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Best trip, personally?

Milwaukee-San Francisco-Phoenix-LA

(Well, maybe except the Milwaukee beginning but it was only one night)

Buena Vista to meet Dennis Franz’s daughter and a great dinner at Tomasso’s in San Fran; another good meal and a day off in Phoenix and a great hotel right across from Staples Centre for the first time ever.

Have no recollection who won the games – that was kind of secondary to the season at that point – but good cities with days off wasn’t that bad.

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An aside

Somewhere, Stompin’ Tom and Rita are making some music, I’d think; some good music.

RIP

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Lowest point

The night the season died, Vol. 1

We’re in Portland, the season is pretty much slipping away and the HOTH get absolutely drilled to go to 4-18 on the season.

It’s the end of a long trip, Lowry gets hurt, Andrea gets hurt, I have to rush to get anything of any substance in the paper because it’s so late.

There are two tiny hallways in the bowels of the Rose Garden, one that leads right to the locker room before it ends and a long one that leads out to the area where the bus waits.

Well, Bryan’s on the trip and I’ve never seen him as disappointed/angry/sad as he was as he stood against one wall and I’ve never seen Dwane at such a loss for answers as he stood in the long hallway about 15 feet away trying to figure out what went wrong and what was going on.

It was being at a funeral; the season was the corpse.

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Best win

A day of fun

In the grand scheme of things it was just a home win over a team with a sub-.500 record and you’re supposed to beat teams like that but the Sunday afternoon win over the Lakers might have been the most fun day of the season.

Huge crowd, lots of buzz in the building and everyone seemed to leave happy, even the thousands of Kobe fans in the joint.

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The night the season died, Vol. 2

Washington-Cleveland back to back losses in late-February that really laid waste to any suggestion they could climb back into playoff legitimacy.

Was a time to show what they were made of; losing at home to the team with the worst road record in the league (the Wizards) and then on the road to a team missing its best player (Kyrie Irving) was pretty telling.

And fatal to their slim chances.

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Another aside?

I really need some mail, folks.

Yes, we have the chat here at noon and I’m sure we’ll through a lot of stuff but for those who can’t make it, drop a line at askdoug@thestar.ca and make a guy’s day.

Thanks.

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Big finish?

I have been known to rag on the game ops people down at the arena every now and then.

But the little pre-game ceremony to honour and remember the victims of Monday’s bomb blast in Boston was as well done as anything ever.

Congrats.

And we did get some Sweet Caroline, just no singing. Which might be a good thing, all things considered.

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One enduring memory

It sort of put the human picture of sports in laser-like focus.

It was the Night Of The Big Trade in Atlanta and even an interloper just standing in the middle of a silent locker room basically eavesdropping couldn’t help but feel the emotion.

These were close friends being separated by outside influences, these were men with families being told, ‘okay, thanks for your services but you’ve been transferred to another country and you start work there tomorrow” and while it wasn’t like someone died, seeing the teary eyes and long faces and emotional hugs between good friends put a real human face on things.

Sure, I get that pro sports is a business, a ruthless business at times, but that was a tough few minutes to watch.

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All right, I’ve got some Nothin’ But Net to get at see some of you around noon, I hope.

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The Goods On The Game, Celtics at Raptors

Hey, folks.

Welcome back for the last one.

Have fun.