The Summer Of B.C

Things are slowing down as we approach the end of August. However what a summer it has been for Bryan Colangelo. He truly has recreated the Toronto Raptors and done what most felt was near impossible. Only the core of this Raptor roster remains from opening night in Philadelphia last year. How it will all work out is up for debate but no one can question that Bryan has not been hard at work reconstructing this Raptor roster. He even in a interview on the Fan 590 this past week suggests he may not be done.

If there was an off-season G.M of the year award it would go hands down to Bryan Colangelo. He has given Jay Triano a number of tools and options to allow him to be a success in his first full year as head coach of the Raptors. It has to be a good feeling for Triano to know that his G.M would put in so much work and is always striving to make this team better. It allows him to just focus on the task of coaching this squad and getting them prepared to be successful. Speaking of Jay, Romy Aquino of Hoops Head North had a chance to interview Jay as he was out in Halifax. I got to know Romy as he did a bit of work live blogging with us on The Score.com, so congrats to him on being able to land an interview with Jay Triano.

In a summer that started with rumours of if Chris Bosh would be traded it has drastically changed for the better. I entered into this off-season feeling unsure about the Raptors future. Now that we are approaching the end of it, I find myself the most optimistic I have been in a long time. Sure there still is a lot of questions to be answered. The biggest of which is if Chris Bosh will remain with the Raptors beyond this season. However the team Colangelo has built gives me hope that it is possible to see a path that may lead Bosh to stay in Toronto. At the start of this off-season that was a lonely dark road that few people dared go down.

I had said in this blog long before this reconstruction started that the number one goal of Bryan Colangelo was to keep Chris Bosh and not trade him. I am not sure how many people believed me when I said it, but now do you believe? You should because Colangelo said that part of why he came here was to build a team around a talent like Chris Bosh. I think to often Bosh is not given the true respect he is due at times. He is a top talent in the NBA however you cut it and he gives all that he has to try to win. Vince Carter was and is a guy with immense talent but seldom lives up to it. Chris Bosh as worked is way to NBA stardom and he continues to do so.

This summer could mark the turn of not just Raptors chances for this upcoming season but for the franchise as a whole. Bryan Colangelo can change the perception of this franchise once and for all if he can re-sign Chris Bosh. That will end all of the V.C, T-Mac and Damon Stoudamire leaving talk in the history books where it belongs.

So Could You Do Better Than B.C?


I got approached by Ngozika Nwaneri about a fantasy basketball game called Mock GM. I took a look at the game and concept and it seemed pretty interesting and something very different from you average fantasy sports game. Now in the past I have taken part in all kinds of basketball related games. From sim leagues to fantasy leagues there is nothing I have not given a shot over the years. It seems fairly obvious that if you write a blog on basketball you would be a junkie for anything basketball related. I was asked if I wanted to set up a league for the Dino Nation Blog to try this out, I thought it looked interesting so after exchanging some e-mails, we did create a league for all of you to take part in if you like. Here is the link to our league on Mock GM. It is free to play and it will not cost you anything. How is works is unique. Instead of you standard fantasy game in which you would hold draft and pick players, you start with the current NBA franchise you sign up to be G.M of and go from there. You can also choose to go the Jerry Maguire route and be an agent for up to 30 NBA players. The league is set to launch on Friday at 7pm (Toronto Time) and basically it works on a first come first serve basis. I am going to allow some reader the chance to run the Raptors and I will take on some other team. I may even decide to be an agent. If you want some background on how all of this work I will provide a couple links to the basics and the rules. Mock G.M Basketball 101 and the rules to play as a G.M or Agent. However I thought it might be a good idea to have Ngozika pay a visit to the starting 5 as well to give me and you an overview of the game and tell us more about it.



It seem interesting enough to try. I still will have your more tradition fantasy options for you when the season approaches. But this offers a chance for fans who all think they have the answers to go out and prove it. Same goes for bloggers as well. It is very easy to say what you would do in a G.M's shoes but this game comes as close to putting you in that chair as you are likely going to get. As mentioned interview as well if you are a bit foggy on how the CBA works this will provide you some real life experience as to how it does. So if you think you have the stuff or just are looking to have some fun in the dog days of summer sign up at PASPN.net and get ready for the fun to start Friday. If you have friends or family that you want to join up feel free to invite them to play as well.