DNB Reporting From Camp

Well a 5 and half hour drive through the night from Hamilton and I made it for the morning session here in Ottawa. I have to admit my memory sucks in terms of getting around this place. However did manage to find the Ravens basketball court. I was pretty wiped out for the morning session. Once we got into practice the guys were just shooting free throws and a few were trying some crazy bank shots. Jarrett Jack part of that crew. I decided to chat with Reggie Evans and was in a scrum with Jay Triano. You may see my large hand on Raps T.V not sure. I am not going to put the audio together while I am up here. I will save it for next week. Reggie was great to talk with and we chatted about the comparisons to Charles Oakley that some people have made in the fan base and myself included. Also talked about getting to play his former team a couple of times in the pre-season along with what he is doing to help this team get tougher up here in Ottawa.

On my Radar for tonight is Demar DeRozan and Jarrett Jack. Get some thoughts from both of those guys. Will see what I can pull off. I have to admit I was taken back by this whole experience. Maybe it was watching the kids try and sneak some autographs during the Raptors taking a break that made me realize how fortunate I am. This is a really cool experience that I am sure many would love to have. Having the chance to report on a team is a great thrill and it should never get old. I hope if I am doing this stuff 10 years from now I am just as excited and thrilled as I am today.

If I am not you all have the right to call me out on it. But I am here in Ottawa for the next 24 hours or so before the long drive home. I am going to try and make the most of it. I am also proud that I was actually able to set up this computer without having to call down to the hotel lobby. Who knows maybe by next year I will have a blackberry. However thanks to Jay Triano's new rules I would not be able to tweet from practice anyway. Besides I watched Holly MacKenzine bang on those little keys and took one look at my rather large hands and said not possible. Also ran into Matt Devlin who is truly bought into this Canadian lifestyle. After we chatted about how each other was he showed me the way to the Tim Horton's Donuts in the athletic facility at CU.

Thanks to all the Raptor PR staff lead by Jim LaBumbard for making me feel welcome here. It is much appreciated. Well the late session and final practice before the big scrimmage will be getting underway shortly so got to get some food and get back over there. Still going to do my weekly appearance on Off The Bench if all goes well. Maybe a little later as I have not decided if I am going to part take in the Ottawa night life such as it is. You can catch the show on www.CJLO.com unless you happen to be in the Montreal area.