All Star Weekend WWE Like. Bring on Marionmania?

I said All Star Saturday Night reminded me of World Wrestling Entertainment. Well Sunday's All Star Game stayed with that theme. Right to the very end with the cheesy Mega Powers Reunion of Kobe and Shaq as co-MVP's. This has to have been one of the worst All Star Weekends I can remember in recent memory. This year was like a Wrestlemania 9. But next year has the makings of a Wrestlemania 3 like all star event. In the new stadium in Dallas Mark Cuban wants to fill it with 100,000 people. Lebron James being in the dunk contest on Saturday just might fill the house if it happens. For those who may not be wrestling fans let me explain the Wrestlemania 3 reference. It was when Hulk Hogan faced Andre the Giant and it filled the Pontiac Silverdome and had a crowd that was said to have been over 80,000. If the NBA can pack in 100,000 people in the new stadium in Dallas that would be an event the likes the NBA All-Star game has never scene. The NBA has been played in big stadiums before like the Silverdome not only hosted the Wrestlemania, but was the home of the Pistons for a time. Here in Toronto the Raptors started out playing at Skydome before the Air Canada Centre was built. If they can get a huge massive crowd in Dallas many will forget this year's All Star Weekend fast and that is a good thing. Given the events of this weekend that is a good thing.

Still a few days before the Raptors get back to work and it will be new faces they will see at practice with the trade Bryan Colangelo made at the start of All Star Weekend. Shawn Marion will be coming to town. The lovely and talented Trish Stratus did a wrestling move called "The Matrix" but Marion is the "The Matrix". I know let the wrestling thing die. Marion will be looking to do a couple of things in his time in Toronto which I believe will be short. I am not buying into Bryan Colangelo and his talking about the chance of Marion staying long term. So given that Marion will be looking to up his value in the free agent market and play well in Toronto. He will also look to shake the label of being a system player in Phoenix. I don't get that to be honest as before Mike D'Antoni and Steve Nash came a long Marion was still a very good player. However did the system and Steve Nash make him better? No question about that. Can Jose Calderon make the Matrix reload? We will see how that works out. If anything it will encourage Calderon to push the ball more and hopefully with the rest from a long All Star break he will be able to do that.

Another thing I am not buying is truly this team should or can make the playoffs. I think in adding the conditional pick to this trade it was a clear sign Raptors a lottery bound not playoff time. There is no way anyone can give me an argument that makes any sense that this team making the playoffs does them any good at all. The Raptors at best out looking at a 7th seed more likely an 8th if they were to go on some kind of run. Getting pounded in the first round and losing your first pick for that. No thanks I will pass. This was done for next season and rebuilding around Chris Bosh. That is why it was done. A lottery pick is part of that plan or should be. By the way I am going to give a shout out to the folks that have made a group on facebook with the sole purpose of trying to let Chris Bosh know Toronto wants him to stay in 2010. Click on this link and be part of the group that wants CB4 here for the long term. I like people that are positive. You may say who cares and it doesn't matter what people do on facebook and all that. However does it make any more sense to boo a guy that has busted his butt for this franchise? I will side with the positive dreamers everyday of the week.

I believe a lot more in CB4 than I do in Marionmania running wild and the Raptors making the playoffs. I think that is a dream as well and it does not have the positive outcome that you might think. But the key is Raptors will have a chance to rebuild this team and make a strong case to Chris Bosh to remain a Raptor. I think ultimately that is what he would like to do. It has nothing to do with the extra 30 million dollars that he would get from that. It has to do with following through on something Bosh said awhile ago. He wants to be part of the solution in Toronto and I think he still does. He wants an NBA title ring some day to go along with the Olympic one he picked up in Arizona.

If you can't wait for Wednesday for some basketball come check out a marquee NCAA Match-Up as Pitt looks to knock off number 1 in the nation UConn and the Dino Blogger is live blogging it for The Score. 7pm is tip time so come on out and see the beast that is Thabeet. He had 25 points 20 rebounds and 9 blocks for UConn on the weekend that is beyond good.

UConn and Pitt Live Blog Link- 7pm

Hope to see some of you there tonight for a great NCAA match-up. For the rest of you I will see you tomorrow.