New Raptors logo

In light of the NBA Toronto Raptors' recent 10-3 record, I suggest a more appropriate logo...

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Baby, how'd we ever get this way?

How does an average guy in a decidedly below average organization "earn" over $9 million a year? DeMar DeRosan just signed a four-year deal with the NBA Toronto Raptors, a team which has only made the playoffs five times in their 16 year history, only once advancing to the second round; a team with an all-time "winning" percentage of an embarrassing 42%.

How much does the average guy where you work make? Has your company failed miserably for the last 16 years? Of course not--they'd be out of business. So, why is it that this band of losers is not only still making money, but paying huge salaries to everyone responsible for their massive ongoing failure? You know these losers wouldn't be paid so much if you losers out there wouldn't pay to watch a horrible team night after night, year after year, decade after decade. What--you just can't get your fill of failure? We have people homeless and children hungry while assholes pay big bucks to watch bigger assholes paid bigger bucks by bigger assholes to play another squad of assholes who are paid even bigger bucks...


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Stuff that doesn't make sense

The Toronto Raptors and the New Jersey Nets of the NBA (National Basketball Association) are having a two-game series in London, England this weekend. My question is...
Why would the league send over two of the very worst teams if their aim is to garner interest???
Their records are 17 and 43, and 17 and 44. I don't think it matters which belongs to whom.

Maybe the league hopes their plane will go down. That would be a quick and inexpensive way to improve league play dramatically. If it happened, those teetotallers across the pond just might take an interest in our basketball.



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How much further...

...can the quality of "journalism" sink? If I haven't made it apparent, yet, I am a stickler for spelling and grammar and I am continually shocked and appalled by the new depths it reaches. There seems to be no bounds beneath which it will not go and there is no apparant reason to believe the bottom is anywhere near imminent. The logical conclusion is that one day, sooner rather than later, virtually everthing you read, regardless of source or author, will resemble the worst jibberish one witnesses on intenet message boards, instant messenger chat sessions and mobile text messages.

What's got me in a snit this time? I ckicked on a news story brought to me as part of a collection by Google (by clicking on "News" on the Google portal) and my jaw dropped. It's not as if I stumbled onto the page of an obscure amateur blogger--I'm talking about an otherwise legitimate news service. Here are a few small samples of this "professional" journalist's work:

No really, what kind of idiot would go on tv, in Turkey or anywhere in earth

Get a loud of some of this crap that Hedo spews..

Who knew, Toronto a hard place to play on athletes??????

Now, you might think that perhaps the author has some redeeming talents such as a keen insight into the subject matter or perhaps he weaves a rivetting story. Perhaps you'd be wrong. He offers little insight into anything...other than his abysmal command of the English language, and as for his ability to weave--I'm sure he is far more suited to performing the activity using baskets rather than the English language.

You be the judge.

Maybe I should just accept that the world is changing and learn to change along with it. i thnk ill start rite now, c u ltr..........


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By how many points...

...will the Raptors lose to the lowly 21-47 Golden State who have lost their last six? 5 points? 10 points? 15? More?

Raptors, who have lost 7 of their last 8, have given a much-needed lift to several teams lately who were in a slump. Multi-million dollar contracts and they get out of the way every time the opposition heads to the basket. Three nights ago, Sacramento scored almost half their points with layups and 43 points in the third quarter alone. I think it's disgusting. Frankly, I don't know why anyone would want to pay to watch them. It's sick. And sickening.

Do the honourable thing and find another line of work. Here's a novel idea: earn your money. White and blue-collar workers alike are mostly not thrilled with their co-workers, bosses and working conditions, yet they bust their humps for their few shekels. With a multi-million dollar salary, why can't you put whatever BS is bothering your sensibilities aside and do your job?! If not for your employer, do it for your own pride and/or for your fans.

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In the news...

NBA Cleveland Cavaliers player, Anderson Varejao, has been suspended by the team for moonlighting as an actor. It came to light that Varejao has been guest starring on the popular Fox Network show The Simpsons as Sideshow Bob.




(Varejao as himself in the upper image.)


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Chris Bosh is a wild man

No offence to Chris Bosh, who is one of my favourite basketball players and an all round stand-up guy, but from the moment I saw him with his relatively recent new hair style, it reminded me of someone. You tell me if there's a resemblance:

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Quote

Shaquille O'neal of the Phoenix Suns after scoring 45 points against Toronto Raptors last Friday night:

“I’m the only player who looks at each and every centre and says to myself, ‘That’s barbecued chicken down there.”’

Excuse my enthusiasm

It's not often I have something to get excited about when it comes to my beloved basketball team. Last night was one of those precious times...

If anyone wasn't sure how important point guard Jose Calderon is to the success of the Toronto Raptors, they should know now. After being out for 11 games during which Raps had lost the last seven straight, Calderon's return last night punctuated his worth. He scored a game-high 23 points (on nine of ten from the field including a three-pointer), had ten assists and was a perfect four for four from the free throw line, leading Raps to an easy ten-point victory (114-104) over the Chicago Bulls. And he needed only 29 minutes to do it-he was on a minutes watch due to his return from his injury.

In doing so, Calderon became the owner of the second-longest consecutive free-throw streak in NBA history. He is a perfect 80 for 80 this season plus three from last season. The record is 97. At Jose's current pace, he may be in a position to break it within the next six games.

Nice gig if you can get it

$14 million per year. How does that sound? That's what Brian Colangelo, Toronto Raptors President and General Manager negotiated to pay Jermaine O'Neal. This, for a guy who has a history of bad knees. It seems an excessive wager. I wouldn't pay that much for the best knees in the world. To be honest, I haven't followed NBA salaries since--well, never. But J.O.'s season seems to agree with my point of view.

He had a very slow start, putting up numbers like 4-6 points per game. Then, just as he was starting to click with a few high-scoring games, he flopped like a fish out of water. I don't recall how many games he was out for. I don't remember because he's been out several different times already and we're only in the middle of the season. He's probably missed almost as many games as he has played.

Now, there are trade rumours, but who in their right mind will take a chance on him now that they've seen confirmation that he is washed up? Colangelo, for the most part, was hailed as the second coming of Christ in Toronto, but the sheen on his halo has been fading about as fast as the Raptors have been sliding down the Eastern Division standings--currently on a seven-game losing streak.

Colangelo has collected a team of somewhat talented, nice guys who lack the killer instinct necessary to compete in the NBA. No team has blown more double-digit leads than the Raps--once coughing up an 18-point lead. They have the most porous defense in the league. I have seen players literally get out of the way to allow opposing players direct access to the basket. I don't like to name names, but his initials are "Jamario Moon". As a big basketball fan, this is almost unbearable to watch night in and night out.

This team has to be among the most underachieving in the history of the NBA. We have Chris Bosh, a strong, young mutiple all-star averaging over 20 points per game. Bargnagni, who has finally blossomed into one of the most well-rounded seven-footers in the game, also averaging over 20 in the last 10-12 games. Jose Calderon was one the premier point guards in the league before going down with a hamstring injury and who incidentally is perfect from the free-throw line for this entire season--76, I think. We have Jason Kapono, who won the three-throwing competition easily at last year's all-star game. Moon can almost fly to the moon--if he weren't afraid of getting hit. The rest of the supporting cast on a given night can shine.

Despite all that, they lose far more than their share of games. I believe the reason is that you can't have too many softies on one team--no matter how good they are. You can get away with one or two, but load up the squad and you're asking for trouble. You need toughness. And this team is lacking it big time. Are you listening, Bryan?

On Jose's free-throw streak.

And more.

Wizards lack magic

to overcome the Toronto Raptors' 21-point lead. In a battle of two of the worst teams in the NBA, Raptors, true to form, built a big lead in the first half, but despite allowing Washington to get close late in the contest, Raps hung on to win 99-93. Wizards scratched their way to within 5 points with just 39 seconds remaining, but I had given them too much credit, having predicted Raps would win by only 3 pooints.

It's not easy

being a Toronto Raptor's fan. This NBA team has lost more games in which they led by double-digits than any other team in the league. Their game against the Milwaukee Bucks this past Monday was nothing short of a showcase for how to give up a lead late in a game. The Raptors had led for almost the entire game. Now, with 34 seconds left and the Raps on top by 3, I suppose it's not entirely uncommon to lose such a game. But what is very uncommon is that in those 34 seconds, Toronto allowed Milwaukee to score 13 unanswered points, winning by 10. Once again, they folded like a cheap tent.

I posted on a message board just a day before that game that the Raptors have all the talent they need to be contenders, but the one thing they lack is grit. Call it determination. Call it hunger. Call it killer instinct. Whatever you want to call it, it is what often separates winners from losers. Without it, you cannot win consistently.

Case in point: Last year, in a game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Raps led by as many as 22 points in the third quarter. This should have been enough to allow them to coast to a victory, right? Wrong. Not only did they lose the game, they gave up the lead while still in the third quarter! That was the night that Kobe Bryant scored his historic 81 points, handing the Raps a hard-to-swallow 104-122 loss.

So, the question now is what will Raptors do tonight in Washington? Really, it shouldn't matter. The Wizards have only won seven games all season. But the Raptors have lost to such teams before. It's a tough call. They may win by 20 or maybe lose by 10. Here's my prediction: Raps will build a sizable lead--perhaps 15 points. In the end, it will be a nail-biter that will see them narrowly squeak out a 3-point win.