Spain's Civil War Round One

Knowing Jose Calderon it is unlikely he is going to say a bad thing about Ricky Rubio. However it has always been a tense relationship between the two as they have battled for playing time in the summer for Spain over the years. That battle now hits the floors of the NBA and the first one will take place in Toronto. Rubio has dazzled the NBA after his long awaited debut. Drafted all the way back in 2009 he finally has made his way to the NBA. So if you are upset having to wait a year for Jonas Valanciunas think how people in Minnesota have felt. The Raptors only hope the transition for him goes as well as it has for Rubio. Personally I took a flyer on Rubio in fantasy basketball and am one happy owner. He has impressive stats across the board with 9.9 points per game, 7.6 assists, 1.1 steals and is averaging 50% from behind the 3 point line with a hair under 4 rebounds a game at 3.9 rebounds per game. Calderon has better numbers overall with 12.4 points per game, 9.4 assists the one major difference is in 3 point % where Rubio has the clear advantage with Calderon at just 38.7%. Spain will be watching even if North America in general might find the T-Wolves vs Raptors a snooze.

So three points for tonight's Match-Up:

Ed and Demar Please Stand Up- It has been a rough go for the Raptors two most recent draft picks on the roster. Both are in bad need of good nights. As the Raptors begin this back to back to back it is vital these guys get going in the right direction.

Energy Level- Raptors will have a tough time dealing with Kevin Love who is taking his "Numbers" to incredible levels. I mean his stats not his cheesy PR driven fragrance for men. The Raptors will need to match the T-Wolves energy and battle hard on the glass. If they don't you can see a result like they had vs the Nets or worse like they had vs the Sixers.

Limit Rubio- If there is anyone that would have a good scouting report on what Ricky Rubio can do it has to be Jose Calderon right? So will see if Jose is able to help his Raptor amigos in how to stop the Spanish Fly that is Ricky Rubio on defence.

Win lose or draw Raps will hop on a plane and head for Washington. They will not get to visit Obama though. The Mavs are doing that today and Vince Carter is meeting the President. Doesn't that just turn your stomach? Leave it to Vince to find a way to meet the President of the United States without winning a championship. That being said Lebron James has met him several times and campaigned for him in the last election. When people liked Lebron in Ohio which in politics is a big swing state. But that is a different story for another blog. In terms of this blog we are not asking for much, just a game that I can watch and not feel like I am being punished for doing something wrong.

Meltdown In Minny and At DNB HQ

Raptors had beat the T-Wolves 12 straight but as Raptor fans have learned of late no streak is safe these days. Was that foreshadowing? You are darn right it was.

Just to get the Rap fan base all riled up naturally Beasley gets the opening hoop. Raps were slugging it out and led 6-5 early make that 8 as Sonny Weems made a basket but missed on next trip on a jumper on the break not a wise choice. Bargnani was not exactly on target from 3 but decided to drive for score. Wish choice and Raps lead 14-11. Oh by the way all you Beasley fans you boy is 1-7 after making that opening score. You still want him? Maybe it is the losing streak but it is another close game with T-Wolves up 19-16. They all seem to be blending together and feeling the same. I was as dead about this game as the Minny crowd was. Bayless with a nice jumper cuts it to a 1 point game. He would blow a lay-up to take the lead but Ajinca would eventually score to give Raps the lead. But T-Wolves would end quarter with a 21-20 lead.

This game just really didn't not have a good vibe for me. No real follow to it and very disjointed. Maybe that is what you get with a team last has lost 10 straight vs team that has lost 6 straight. The team on the 6 game loser was out to a 27-23. Really this was a brutal game both teams shooting in 30% range and T-Wolves on top 34-27 at the mid point on the 2nd Quarter. Thing were getting worse for the Raptors before they were going to get better if they were. T-Wolves were up 42-32. T-Wolves were on a 9-0 run and the lead was up to 13. Raptors were 3-18 in the 2nd Quarter. Raptors were shooting just 28% and should feel fortunate to be down just 10 at the half 42-32.

So after watching some real basketball at the halftime break with Texas taking on the Mizzou and they ended up winning by the way. I was back for the 2nd half. No really I was. But I have no proof to over you as my Internet went down and somewhere floating around in Cyber space is my recap of the 3rd. What I can tell you is in the 3rd things went way south for the Raptors anyway. Being out scored in 3rd 31-20 and a 10 point halftime lead was 21 heading into the final quarter. But I still had no Internet access what to do? To the cloud!!! Nah screw the cloud to Double R aka Ryan who pitched in and summed up anything in the 4th of note as most of you let's be honest had long turned this one off. Take it away Ryan.

The only bright spot for the Raptors in that 4th quarter was the play of Ed Davis. With this game already decided the rook was getting valuable minutes in which to show the coaching staff what he can do. He would finish the game with 15 points, 10 of which can in the fourth quarter. He also had a team high 11 rebounds, which was 8 more than Bargnani’s total on the night, in 6 less minutes of playtime. Whether it was jumpers, tip-ins, layups or dunks, Davis was doing it all in this quarter and if he gets increased minutes in the future, the coaching staff would expect him to mirror if not surpass this fourth performance. The one area where he has to improve if his free throw shooting as he finished 1-4 from the charity stripe, with a couple of those misses coming in the forth quarter. Other than Davis the Raptors pretty much waved the white flag as Soloman Alabi got 7 minutes of playtime and in the end the Timberwolves ended their six-game losing skid and pushed the Raptors skid to 11 games with a 103-87 victory.

It is me again your friendly Dino Blogger aka James Borbath. It was a rough night for the DNB and a rougher night for the Raptors. But we showed more hustle in trying to recap this game than the Raptors did in it. That is the sad reality and what is also very real is the Raptors have lost 11 straight. It gets to the point is hard to imagine where the next Raptor win comes from. Someone joked with me on Twitter were better than the Cavs. Which is true but the only time the Raptors see them is not till some time in April. These are tough times and you have to wonder is there ever a point Jay Triano's job security becomes an issue? Also what do we do about Andrea and his total lack or ability/effort on defence. When teams run the pick and roll on him and Calderon it is almost as sure a 2 points as slam dunk.

No Love No Love!!!

After watching Andrew Bogut tear through the Raptors now they face Kevin Love. Minnesota has their own losing streak to worry about losing 6 straight including their own heartbreaking OT loss to OKC on Wednesday and a loss to the Jazz last night. I am sure more than one person will mention the fact the Raptors could have had Michael Beasley as part of a Bosh sign and trade with Miami. He is coming off a career high 7 assists vs OKC on Wednesday. he had 16 points and 11 rebounds in that loss to the Jazz and has really had a nice season with Minnesota the only team that wanted him it appeared. Beasley the former 2nd overall pick is averaging a career high 20.6 points and career high 2.1 assists. Retrospect is a beautiful thing but given his off the court track record the Raptors along with 27 other NBA teams were not willing to take the risk. There was also probably some thought in not wanting to help out Miami. They were desperate to unload him in order to construct their Big 3 and friends roster. Speaking of career highs Kevin Love has those in both points and rebounds. He leads the league averaging 15.7 rebounds and is averaging 21.6 points that is a heck of a double double. he is on a streak of 32 straight double doubles. They also have Darko so a lot of big bodies to deal with for Toronto and despite 10-36 record this could be tough match up.

The Basics: Raptors 13-34 (Last Win On Road Jan 5th) T-Wolves 10-36 (6-3 vs East at Home)

When Last We Saw Them: I was there live and in person to watch the Raptors fight hard to get to OT for first time this season. But the problem that was Andrew Bogut continued into overtime. The Big Aussie was far to much for Italy's finest and the Raptors went down to defeat for the 10th straight time first time since a streak from Mar-Apr of 2006. Amir Johnson had a warrior like performance worth noting with season high 24 points.

Key Match-Ups: Simple as this... the boards. Kevin Love is a beast on the glass and the Raptors minus Reggie Evans struggle to complete on the glass. If the Raptors can't rebound they are likely dead. If you don't get rebounds it is hard to get out in transition and run. Unless you create a lot of turnovers which is possible vs T-Wolves. Amir Johnson will likely draw the assignment of Love. They wouldn't put Andrea on him would they? No they can't do that. They just can't. Andrea might have enough issues with Drako who himself was a 2nd pick, one that Detroit still regrets to this day. The other concern will be Beasley who will see a combination of Sonny Weems and Julian Wright tonight.

Other Things of Note: Nothing to do with this game but I have been talking about the Raptors future being in Texas. Well read about your future as Ryan Wolstat from the Sun has a great feature on Cory Joesph and Tristan Thompson. Also of note the two latest members of team blackberry will be in the blog this week. That would be myself and Jack Armstrong. Going to catch up with Jack when the Raptors are in Atlanta. I just wanted to also say that in having access and getting to go in the locker rooms it really changes your prospective. You see how hard these guys are trying to shake this losing streak. It gives you a sense of empathy for them. That being said they know just as much as anyone that they have to break through and get a win some how some way.

Where is it on? TSN (What no post ALL-Star Draft Breakdown show? Shocking)

Raptors vs Wolves (The Tweet Cap)

So I am not sure if this has ever been attempted before but we are going to give it a shot. For lack of a more creative name this is the TweetCap of Raptors game tonight in Minny. I am often entertained by the various tweets that pop up during a Raptors game and I thought it might be fun to try to take some of the best ones and put them altogether in some form of a recap of the game as it happens on Twitter. This will ether be really cool or an epic failure. Let's hope for the first one. So here we go with you Pre-Game Tweets.

Pre-Game

dan667 @dinonationblog sorry James, I'm late on the action..what is TWEETCAP?

It is something new I am trying for Recaps taking all the fun of Twitter and bringing it to the Dino Nation Blog.

@RaptorspaceKat Don't forget to catch your Raptors tonight at 8pm on TSN2. .. grabbin' the kicks and headin' to the gym

Yup Jack Armstrong and Matt Devlin have the call of this CLASSIC...OK Maybe not Raps have beat Wolves 11 straight and T-Wolves have lost 12 straight
heading into this one.

@kevhooker #letsgoraptors...we need this win #raptors

BIG UNDERSTATEMENT...Jazz and Nuggets next 2....GOT TO GET IT!!!

@RapsFan Raptors by 22 tonight, I feel it

Bold prediction think I will just say win by any number.

@KID_RAPTOR Catch our Toronto #Raptors face Minnesota #Timberwolves right now on @TSN2 & @Fan590! #LetsGoRaptors!

Kid Raptor does a promo like no ones business and he is cute so how can you not love the kid?

1st Quarter

@Raps_fan I have a feeling Hedo is ready to #ball tonight - breakout game?

he DO or He Don't that is the question. Early answer is no as Hedo misses a 3 tied at 2-2 Wolves and Raps

@Ronny006 Bosh getting owned by Jefferson....that's not good

But it is his Birthday Wednesday let's be nice ok? Well at least for now although it is 6-2 Wolves.

@_Lenito@dinonationblog #DNBTweetcap - your own hash tag - why is Hedo making crap loads of money doing what I can do?

I have never seen Lanny play ball so I can't really answer this but with the 10-4 Minny lead I bet he gets back in this again for night is done

@_Lenito @Eric__Smith Darko Milicic is still in the league??

And according to The Basketball Jones he wants to start next year and play 30 minutes plus good luck with that Darko. Unlike Hedo who checks out with 2
Early fouls.

@kevhooker Where's the effort on defense?? Oh yeah that's right, we can't play defense. #raptors

Where is @Raptorspacekat with a defense chant when you need it? 13-8 Wolves,Wright off the bench hits 2.

dan667 @kevhooker yea DeRozan isa dangerous off the dribble especially off the pass from the wing or the baseline

We could use a Derozan Dunk to get this game going.

@Nat77 its crazy how busted @demar_derozan's jumper is on the road. Looks pretty smooth at the ACC #raptors

Jumpers are good to but I want a slam....not demar anymore Weems in for him and scores then another great play to Wright from Weems 6-0 Raps run and
it is 13-12 Wolves.

@Ronny006 Finally we see some energy...weems deserves more minutes & @Raps_fan clearly, Sonny Weems is the answer. lol #raptors

Better than Joey Graham Jess? The answer is Yes....Raps in the lead 17-16.

@altraps Sonny > Andrea

Ouch.

@Ronny006 Johnny Flynn has 200 turnovers on the season...pretty sure that's more than the total amount of rebounds bargnani has this season

Everyone has forgot I wanted Raptors to draft Flynn right? Bargs getting hammred on the Twitter Machine tonight.

@altraps @Ronny006 I work hard for my money. I am the polar opposite of Andrea in that sense.

Me too I just wish I made Andrea's Money.....UGH 22-21 Wolves lead Raps but at least this Tweet cap has been good right?

2nd Quarter

A HELLO from Jack Armstrong and were back for the 2nd Quarter of the TweetCap.

@Eric__Smith End of the 1st QRT ... Minnesota leads Toronto 22-21. Jefferson leads all scorers with 8. Jose/Turk/Bargs - all 2 fouls each

Not good news from E Smith tweeting from Minny.

@dan667 @RapsFan Raps will blow them out in the 3rd

Hope he is right but down 24-21 at moment start of 2nd.

@dan667 WHY THE HELL DID WE RUN A PLAY FOR REGGIE

Cause Triano fears Reggie as we all should? Still down 3. Jack with a rare SLAM...make that a 1 point lead.

@RapsFan Jack with the dunk on the break!!! #raptors

I know I just said that 26-25 Wolves....Does Jessie Ventura still go to Wolves games?

@Nat77 umm. Jarret Jack can dunk? oh and Amir needs to stop thinking he has an outside game... #raptors

He and @Liston are the only ones that think that...meanwhile foul 3 for HeDon't he came he fouled he left.

@RapsFan The only thing Reggie Evans can reasonably well is rebound, and he lets Darko take that last one away from him

Note to Mr.Evans I didn't say that he did...Speaking of darko he just hit a jumper wolves lead 32-28.

@RapsFan Bosh needs to hit that jumper

Or drive the ball is also good.

@dan667 nice feed from jack to bosh

If only Favors and Lawal played that well G-Tech would still be in the madness.

@dinonationblog Sonny Friggin Weems Wow

Follow that guy he is very good...What a finish on the Alley Oop Raps still behind though 37-34

@Raps_fan Marcus Banks makes me smile. I freakin love him! #NeverThoughIdSayThat lol

But not playing in this one Jack was thought and did well off the bench.

@Eric__Smith 2 FTs to come after the timeout for Bosh ... could give TOR the lead back. Minnesota up right now, 39-38 with 2:52 to go in the half

This Moment in Raptors history brought to you by @Outsidethenba

@outsidethenba @ekoreen Don't forget about the historic 2007 trade deadline deal: Fred Jones for Juan Dixon

Meanwhile Raps and T-Wolves in epic struggle tied at 43.

@Raps_fan Uros Slokar? RT @altraps Who is lazier: Andrea or McGrady?

Speaking of Raptors history...Uros Slokar was apperntly a computer Wiz but not much of a baller. Tied at 45 at the half.

@raptorsrepublic At the half, Raptors up 46-45. Bosh with a 10 and 8, but the story is the injection from the bench....

There was a review and Raps ended up with Extra Point. now to the out of town Tweetboard please

@GamePointBlog Attention #Raptors fans: New Jersey leads the Heat at half 53-52. Would be much appreciated NJ. Please and thanks. #NBA

This can't last I remember the Raps last game if I need a reminder.

3rd Quarter

@Ronny006 Whats with the jumpers?? Get the rock in the paint and draw some fouls!!!

That could be said in any random Raptor game couldn't it....DD has a slam for you sir....Raps creating turnovers and lead 55-48.

@ ryhar46 Hey, look.....a good 3rd quarter start? Where have you been all month? #raptors

For future Tweetcaps I love sarcasm it will get you in here for sure.

@Eric__Smith TOR opens the half with a 9-3 run and takes a 55-48 lead with 9:12 to go in the 3rd quarter Keep this in mind w/ the scoring so low (and TOR now leading 55-48 in the 3rd). TOR is 20-0 this season when holdin opponents under 100 PTS

@ kevhooker Heat up 83-71 against the Nets. Thanks Nets, you've failed again.

said it wouldn't last but this Raps lead just might up 57-48 now

@Ronny006 Flynn just keeps adding to his 200+ turnovers in the season #LETSGORAPTORS

Derozan > Flynn? Raps > Wolves yup 66-52 with 5:30 to play

@stackmack And against the Cavs and Lakers, too. RT @TasMelas: The Toronto Raptors look pretty decent against not-so-decent teams. #nba

Ahh Decent that is what we strive for. A decent 10 point lead 66-56. But I know Holly wasn't suggesting we could beat Cavs in playoffs right. But for record Raptors do have wins over Cavs, Lakers and Mavs to name but 3.

@bboyrev Are the #Raptors gonna win a 3rd quarter? LoL

hold phone 9-0 Minny run 66-61 Raps heDO to the Rescue with a 3?

@thejockocracy I want to eat pizza with Hedo one night. That would be cool

Ok sure why not, just make sure it's a pizza pizza.

@Ronny006 Is it really that big a deal that raps are 22-14 when bargnani gets 6+ rebounds?

No but when Raps hold teams under 100 they are 20-0 and after 3...looks good 78-66.

@TasMelas Hedo Turkoglu's game most definitely belongs in Europe. #raptors #nba

do they have Pizza pizza in Europe? hell with 53 million Hedo could buy his own.

@swirsk054 4th quarter bulls up 72 66. Vdn ejected. Calls going against bulls

4th Quarter


4th here to not quite get out salami and cheese yet...80-68 Raptors.

@dan667 Nah...Raps will be fine...don't think Wolves will score 26 points in the remaining time

No because they can't shoot 3's advantage RAPTORS!!!(I will regret this line later)

@altraps I would like to see Hedo with a mullet. Or hit with a mallet. Whichever.

line of the night material. Still no Salami or cheese 82-76.

@RapsFan Rambis just looks weird without the thick glasses

he likely broke the old ones watching this team...Triano making Clipboards nervous...84-80 Raps.

@Ronny006 Come on Barglazy you gotta hit that shot not throw up an airball

What happen to Barney you know...I love you...You Love me...I can rebound wait and see...LOL

@_Lenito @Eric__Smith if there is a Video of Jonesy doing the Robot we gotta see it!

Say what? That may be more entertaining than this game...Raps hanging on for dear life and we ain't talking Bucks. Bulls winning by 11 by the way.

@ Ronny006 @dinonationblog Smitch would not have allowed raps to blow a 14 point lead against his former team...that would be unacceptable

True...lead is 2....5 T.O's for CB4 Sam would have got in Bosh's ear about that as well.

@ryhar46 TURKOGLU! #raptors

Hedo 3, Gomes 3...Wright 3...yes it is officially raining 3's in Minny. (

@ _Lenito K fellas we know you can score no doubts BUT y'all need STOPS, DEFENSIVE STOPS

Right D-FENSE D-Fense....99-92....that under 100 thing getting dicey with 2:10 to play.

@kevhooker Can we PLEASE play defense? #raptors

I cheered what do you want....6 Bosh T.O's not helping...Jack drive and score is 103-98 Raps....less then a minute.

@swirsk054 Rose is spectacular 27pts 8assts 7 reb bulls up 92 86 48sec left

Remember when he said those nice things about us. I think Bargnani misses chuck and that is why he struggles...LOL...103-100 Raps, someone Tell
Chuck would ya?

@ekoreen Ridiculous foul by Bosh. He's got to be smarter than that.

This is just one of many examples of No Love for CB4 at the moment. Jose at the line splits a pair...Remember when he never missed when it never mattered...I do....104-100 Raps. So much for that 20-0 thing.

@ dan667 omg Raptors are sooooo good

Not really but Raps hang on and win the game 106-100

@Liston #LetsGoRaptors a win is a win!! Upset against Utah or Denver coming!

Easy now Tommy...how many fingers am I holding up....won't be easy but hope your right. So that is a Tweetcap in the books. Hope you enjoyed. To everyone who's tweets I used...thanks this TweetCap could not happen without you. So big thanks to all that I follow and that follow me. Raps win 2 in a row on the road in the first time in forever. Translation sometime in January.

Go Huskies Go

No we have not become a blog on the UConn Huskies. The Raptors bust out the retro Toronto Huskies uniforms. The Toronto Huskies hosted the New York Knickerbockers on November 1st 1946 for the first game in NBA history. The Huskies would only last that first season and finish with a record of 22-38. Former Raptor and Celtic Dee Brown will be in the house tonight for this one. He was most famous for winning a Slam Dunk Title as a Celtic with his dunk hiding his eyes as he jammed it home. He played in the later stages of his career with the Raptors and was one of the players on those early Raptor teams pushing to make the playoffs. The current Raptors turned Huskies for the night are looking for their 3rd straight win. The Raps have won 10 straight games vs the T-Wolves in the recent history of this match-up. No idea if the Huskies every played the Minneapolis Lakers. I do joke about being old, but I am no where close to that old.

The Raptors look to keep the ball rolling as this is the first half of yet another back to back. The Raps will be off to Milwaukee after this one to take on the surprising Bucks and Brandon Jennings. First thing first though as the T-Wolves have a new direction under Kurt Rambis but to this point the same old results they have had in the post K.G era. They have there own stud rookie as well in Jonny Flynn. I am a huge fan of Flynn and around the draft he was my choice for the Raptors but he never made it to the Raptors pick.at #9. Who the Raptors did pick in Demar DeRozan is starting to show signs as he has scored in double figures in his last 3 games.

Kevin Love will be in the line-up for the T-Wolves. I personally have never been high on Love. The player of course. He may have his most notable things happening off the court and on Twitter as he leaked the firing of Kevin McCale and for blasting his team during the draft via twitter. He returns from injury and will be a force on the glass that the Raptors(Oops Huskies) must account for.

I wonder if this means in 55 years they will bring back the purple dino uniforms. There is something to live the next 55 years to find out. Wonder what the kids in 2065 will think of those?

You have to hope the Raptors keep the foot on the gas pedal tonight and do not let up thinking that the T-wolves are an easy win. If the Raptors have learned anything from their struggles early on in this season, it should be that they can not afford to take anyone lightly. The Raps have a realistic shot at winning 4 games in a row if they can take this back to back set they will have done it. After that they will return to the place where they bottomed out as they will host the Hawks on Friday. Only makes sense the Raptors will be motivated to perform better in that one. Hard to imagine they could play much worse.

So for tonight Go Huskies Go.

Basketball and Raptor Fans Deserve Better

I am going to be honest. I have no desire to write a recap of the Raptors game from tonight. The Raptors got a win over Minnesota and it is the 10th straight over the T-Wolves. They had to come back after a pitiful performance early. Bosh and Bargnani tied for the scoring lead with 26. In the end it really doesn't mean a whole lot to the grand scheme of things. I mean no disrespect by this. If the Raptors are able to beat the Suns maybe there is reason to get excited but will see about that Friday. Raps for the record win it 118-110. Joey Graham left the game with an injury. I will post a link to both the boxscore and the Recap if you want more details that I would normally provide myself.

Raptors Recap
Raptors Boxscore

So that is a very short look at tonight's game. I have another thing that I want to talk about which I started talking about when I was totally driven of the deep end by the fact TSN actually had a game on the main network tonight. But almost fitting it was delayed by curling. Please spare me on educating me on how things work. I know how they do and understand that believe it or not, curling is a major property for TSN. It also draws great ratings. I know that will be shocking for some. However it is the truth. That being said I don't care. Why should I. After all has TSN cared at all about me or any of you with this TSN 2 mess? They have been deadly silent on the issue. It is clear that they have no desire to treat basketball with any form of respect. I feel sorry for the fine folks like Jack Armstrong and all of the other folks that work hard on the Raptor Broadcasts. Even Rod Black who to be honest I am not a huge fan of.

So here is the thing. I love basketball and that would be fairly obvious to you all I would think. You do not invest all the time and work that I have even long before the blog joined up with The Score if you did not. I am guessing if you are here reading this, you at the very least like basketball or may even love it as much as me. I think you would agree that being a basketball fan in this country is not easy. Turn on the shows that do the highlights and the main thing you will see is hockey. It is something you are forced to accept being here in Canada. NBA's recent trade deadline got all of a 30 minute show on Raptors T.V and nothing from any of the other networks. Yet in a few weeks we will see day long coverage of the NHL trade deadline. I am not trying to take away from the hockey people getting their due. Personally do I think that is insane? Absolutely. However they do it because enough folks are watching it.

I actually like a few people in Hockey broadcasting. James Duthie is a great guy who I got to know in my brief time at TSN. He is a super guy and does quality work. I also have had fun with Doug McLean on the Game Plan as he co-hosts with Jack Armstrong. I even listen to she show when Jack is off covering the Raptors. Doug has mentioned me in referencing when Basketball is coming on the show. I take it as compliment, in the sense that I am representing folks that listen that want to have basketball as part of that show. The truth is there was a time when I considered myself a hockey fan. I have always loved the Buffalo Sabres and they have been around longer than the Raptors. That may not make the Dino Blogger very popular with Leaf/Raptors fans. But so be it. I grew up listening to Rick Jenneret. People talk about Chuck Swirsky being a homer. But Rick is maybe even more so. When I was a kid he was broadcasting to me. But you want a reason why I am not a Leaf fan? Check out what they did on the other side of MLSE today. Raised ticket prices on poor suffering Leaf fans. That is how they treat the Leaf Nation. Raptors prices did not increase. Reason why is pretty simple. The folks at MLSE can not be certain that Raptor fans will just show up. In the case of the Leafs, for ever person they push away, they will have 10 people willing to jump in that seat and gladly pay insane prices to watch a team, that is heading no where fast. I like to think and hope that Raptor fans, will always be smarter and learn from what goes on down the hall. It is clear if the day comes that the Raptors reach a level that fans do not hold this team accountable we will all be screwed.

The fact that this organization can have the balls to raise prices, in an economy that sees people losing jobs and earning less is truly beyond words. However why should it shock Raptor fans really. I mean this season we have watched MLSE sit back and do nothing while TSN and Rogers go to war over TSN 2. The main victim in that dispute is the Raptor fan base. Where is MLSE sticking up for us? To busy selling condos and building Maple Leaf Square to care much about it. They would likely disagree with that. I would understand that. However where is the statement from Richard Peddie on that issue? He was sure quick enough to get out there and spin away as to why Leaf tickets were increasing. He gave a justification of rising costs and upgrades to the ACC. Funny how the Raptors do not have these same issues. I mean Raptors play in same build. Bring in the same lower Canadian currency. Maybe I should be quiet now, or they may re-think things and raise Raptor prices as well. MLSE talks about wanting to win Stanley Cups and NBA Titles but ultimately they are about the bottom line and making money. Some will say that is the way they should be. I am not out to say they should not be concerned with that. However they could learn a lot in the way it comes to dealing with fan bases for the franchises they own. Would it have been so difficult to make a public statement that said something on the TSN 2 issue? I mean am I the only one that finds it totally hilarious that Rogers sponsors a segment on TSN through it's Raptors advertising? You know Rogers did you know? Here is what I know, it is that instead of listening to your fan base you ignore them. Dino Nation Blog, Raptor Blog, Raptors Republic and a bunch of other sites that you can find in the directory on this site, this is your fan base talking to you. We are the people that care about this franchise and actually want to see it succeed. The readers of these blogs care as well as the people that write them. It is a touch of irony that all of us depend on the franchise in a way to create our content. However we also offer you a public service in seeing what your fans think about this team and you. At the very least could you make it a bit easier to do that without having to scramble to find your product? Some how the people in the blog community manage to get along with each other. Ironically the two partners that will broadcast the Olympics in 2010 and 2012 can not agree to broadcast Raptor Games. I mean it is pretty simple to fix this. If you have the guts to raise ticket prices on your fans in the worst economic times since the great depression have the guts to do this. TSN 2 mess gets solved right away with a very simple action from MLSE. If TSN and Rogers can not agree it is fine. Just make the suggestion the when the Leafs T.V comes up to be renewed that you may consider taking games elsewhere. Tell me people are not falling all over each other to make a deal if that was thrown out there. After all TSN and Rogers are much like the Leafs fans they can not afford to walk away from the Leafs. It would be a disaster for TSN or Rogers to be without the Leafs. However no one has the guts to do that at MLSE it would appear. They choose to sit and let the Raptor fan base suffer. Again they may disagree but show me the example where they have publicly done anything on this issue. It just doesn't exist. Not even a simple apology to Raptors fans.

See that goes back to my point about Hockey. I use to enjoy hockey but thanks to the complete over kill of the media coverage, a general decline in the sport in my view, a season long lock out that cost fans a entire season, it has all lead to me having little care or regard for the sport. Doug McLean once said on the Game Plan that I was anti-hockey. It was done in fun, but I guess there is some truth in it. However it is the media that has made me that way. Starving me of coverage of basketball and other sports I enjoy, to have more hockey coverage. I make no apologies for how I feel. I also understand that it is rare for a Canadian to feel that way. It is not that I am against hockey at all. I am cool with it and if people enjoy it I do not hold it against them. I know people that do drugs. That is not something I have done but hey if that is what you want to do I am not going to judge anyone based on that. The sport of hockey is almost a drug in a way. Look at any Leaf fan and tell me they do not suffer from an addiction.

It goes back to what I said at the beginning of this. I love basketball. I am very proud that I have started to turn that love into a job for me. Part of that job in my view is to stick up for and represent all of you out there that love it to. I will always do whatever I can to make more people become fans of the sport. I will defend all of those that already do. There are a lot of different opinions that exist out there. About how the game should be played. What players are good. What players are bad. How to fix the Raptors. Who is better Kobe or Lebron. However at the end of it all. Even though we may not always agree on any of these issues and thousands more. Here is something we all must come together and unity around. It is something that I have often said is at the core of what this blog has always been about. To stand together as a united group on one single issue. Well two actually. We love basketball and hopefully, despite all that has gone on, love the Raptors.

If we can agree on that. Here is the next step to that which in part we are all already out here doing. Make people fans of the sport. Do whatever you can to make that happen. I invest countless hours into that one purpose. I bust my butt to bring guests to this blog. Some will say that sure but you are doing that for you. Part of that is true. However the more people we have that care about basketball as much as I do fighting to bring everything I have to expanding the sport. That is a good thing. The one thing that everyone I deal with in working doing this have a common love of basketball. It is cool in this country to be a proud fan of hockey. Well I am proud of being a fan of the game invented by someone that was from this great country we call Canada.

So for the TSN and MLSE it is time to wake up and treat everyone that loves this sport of basketball with common decency and respect. We have taken to much B.S for far to long. You can do all the stupid things that you have done. However it will not change the simple facts that:

1. WE LOVE BASKTBALL

&

2. WE DESERVE BETTER.

I am sure the rush to create 12 hours of useless T.V for the Hockey Trade Deadline will make it impossible for you to address this matter. However it will still be here and so will we the sports minority of basketball fans.

Mirage Or Reality...Will Find Out Tonight

The Raptors truly have become like that box of chocolates that Tom Hanks spoke of. You truly to never know what your going to get. That is probably the biggest reason I have had no confidence that this team can put together a run to make it to the playoffs. All that being said, no matter what happens in these last 20 plus game sit will mean something. Tough choices lie ahead for all involved in this organization and it begins at the top with Bryan Colangelo. Next season will define this Raptor franchise for many years to come. That will all be tied to the future of Chris Bosh which is in serious doubt. Is he going to stay is he going to go? It has become the focus of this season already. No matter what lies ahead I am going to stick behind Chris Bosh. He has given all he has to this franchise and been loyal to it. I want him to remain and I hope that he will. The way some of tried to devalue his importance to this franchise is just silly. I mean is he Lebron James or Kobe Bryant? No he isn't but that does not mean he is not a very talented player. The thing I think that gets lost for Raptor fans is listen to what people say outside of Toronto. Chris Bosh is respected around the league and the fact that so many people are talking about him moving is a product of 2 things. First that Chris Bosh is a 4 time All Star that is clearly talented. The second is that the Raptors are struggling and that makes him the logical choice to be talked about.

This Off-Season will be the most important and interesting in the history of the Raptors Franchise. It is going to change the direction of this franchise one way or the other. Forgive me if I am not ready to embrace the idea of a team built around Andrea Bargnani. I have seen that movie in Dallas with a better actor in the lead roll and it has not worked out so well. I also don't get how people are so fast jump on board with some players. Andrea Bargnani for 3 years has been up and down and is finally getting to the point of being somewhat consistent. You have Joey Graham who you can just add a year to that and have the same answer. Yet the bandwagons for both are filling up fast as can be. I will stick with guy that has been a 4 time all-star and has shown improvement in almost every season he has been in the league. CB4Life hopefully here in Toronto but still I will always respect Chris even if it isn't. If there is anything you have learned in reading this blog, I hope it is that I am loyal to people and remain so. It may be an old outdated concept but it is not something I am willing to give up. However if Bosh does leave it will make it very hard for me personally to invest myself in the next face of the franchise. If that ends up being Andrea Bargnani it will be very easy not to get invested in him. I just have not really been a big fan of him. I don't know if it is because of his inconsistent play of the past. If it is the fact he is a European and I can't get into that. I mean there are some European players that I enjoy. Tony Parker is a guy that I like. Although if you didn't know any better you would swear he was North American. Whatever the case is I just don't seem to get into Andrea. But there will be lots of time to talk about the off-season when it gets here and it is going to be longer from what we have been use to.

Randy And D.J On The Raps

Randy and D.J who have been guests here get into a discussion about Andrea as well and talk about the past 2 games against the Knicks:



They also talk about the deadline and more NBA stuff is you want to check that out here is the link. So there is some love for them as they will be doing their thing on Court Surfing tonight.

Raps and T-Wolves Match-Up

I will be watching to see if the Raptors can make it two in a row. Here is the preview of this classic. The Raptors were 110-102 winners in Minnesota not that long ago. The T-Wolves are a team with out their best player in Al Jefferson. Kevin Love matched against CB4 is a huge advantage Raptors. This perhaps can be a jump off point for Bosh to get back in the flow after his knee injury. Here is your breakdown of the match up stats wise.

Dino Blogger Talking All Star Game For T.O In Industry

Lastly after the All Star Weekend was a complete dud it puts the article in a new light. Yesterday Eric Smith shared his thoughts on All Star Weekend and he was not impressed as well. That being said it has not crushed my hope that the Weekend should come here to Toronto. That was the topic of my article in The Industry Magazine which is a urban culture Magazine that I write on basketball for them. In this article you can find quotes on the topic from Chuck Swirsky, Jack Armstrong, Eric Smith and Scott Carefoot of RaptorBlog fame. But they also cover Music and the entire Toronto urban experience. So check out the Dino Blogger on pages 17-18, but check out the rest of the Magazine as well. Lisa and the entire crew at the Industry have a great magazine and are working hard at it.

Some Blog Notes:

Raptor Rewind will be a tad bit delayed, as I am going to be covering an NCAA Game for The Score doing the Live Blog of Florida and LSU. Even if it is just for fun, I think we will have a Dino Nation Blog NCAA Pool. I will put something together. Also be happy your a Raptor fan. Raptor tickets remain the same(according to Fan 590) but the Leafs tickets cost more. I can not imagine they had much choice at MLSE to not raise Raptor prices. However you want a reason I am not a Leafs fan that is a pretty good reason why. People are struggling out there and MLSE just keeps raising prices on the poor Leaf Fans. Just be thankful we were able to escape without having to pay more. Given the season for the team and TSN 2 debacle even folks at MLSE could see raising Raptor prices was not the right move. If they could only see that getting games on T.V is we would be getting somewhere. I mean they do I know but they have done little to act upon it. God forbid any Leaf Game was not broadcast there would be riots in the streets. In part because that is the only way the average fan can afford to see them. All this sports is a business stuff SUCKS. It may be true but I don't have to like it.

Raps Get A Win But Change Still Must Come To Raptor Land

O.K to start an apology as there were some issues with Raptors Rewind. It had started off o.k, but I ended up helping out on the live blog on The Score and I had planned on finishing it up but I was feeling a bit under the weather. I tried to finish it this morning but something happened and it was deleted so allow me to give you a Coles notes version of a Raptors Rewind.

1st Quarter:

It was the Joey G show and the Raptors road that to a lead after one quarter.

2nd Quarter:

Raps gave up a 15-0 run to close out the second quarter. They trail at the half.

3rd Quarter:

T-Wolves after A Raptor push would lead by 13. However the Raptors would fight back a bit and eventually both teams would score 32 in the quarter.

4th Quarter:

Raptors picked up the defense and got Jason Kapono going. They would out score the T-Wolves 37-22 in the final quarter for a 110-102 victory.

Things of Note and Boxscore:

• Joey Graham ties career high with 24. Was on fire in the opening quarter
• O'Neal had 22 and was a key factor taking rookie Kevin Love to school.
• Andrea Bargnani had a bounce back game made couple key baskets.
  
• A much needed win, But given schedule it changes little.

Recap From The Score

Boxscore

Colangelo Addresses The Masses Via Radio and T.V

A win is never a bad thing. That being said this game did nothing to change my opinion of where this team is at. Changes must happen and if you listened to Bryan Colangelo last night on Prime Time Sports it like is going to happen if he gets his way. Bryan was on for the entire hour and talked about a number of topics. The first and foremost was the future of Chris Bosh as a Raptor.

He stuck to his guns in saying that he and Bosh have not had a conversation about him leaving. He said that when they talk in the summer the future of Bosh will be the main topic. Technically speaking the Raptors could sign Bosh to an extension this summer. However that is not going to happen which even Colangelo admitted that it would make little sense for Bosh to do that from a business point of view. However it will allow the two parties to get together and talk about the future. Colangelo was clear that he was not entertaining any offers for Bosh at this trade deadline. He said he cuts of any inquires right away and has no desire to consider anything at this time in terms of Bosh. He also said that the plan is still to built around Bosh and has not changed.

He would not go into specifics but did indicate that there were teams that were interested in J.O. He even admitted to a few calls he had received on Jose Calderon. He would mention that last year at this time he took 16 calls on Jose Calderon that is over half the league for you math majors out there. The question is was one of those calls from the Suns and was Steve Nash the name Colangelo would say he wants in return. It is clear Nash is unhappy with the Suns. Calderon would be a fit for the system that Porter is trying to run. But will in happen? Won't take long to find out. Colangelo said it had been a very busy time on the phones for all G.M's this year and more so than in the past. If you think it is crazy the Nash move do not be so sure as the Suns are desperate to cut payroll and Nash is clearly not happy. What does adding a Nash do for a guy like CB4? It may just make him re-evaluate. Not to mention from a public relations and marketing standpoint it would be the biggest move in Raptors history. People love Jose, but Canada loves Nash more. It could happen and it could save Jay Triano his job if it does.

That was perhaps the one thing that was surprising the amount of support Colangelo had for Triano. It seemed clear that Mitchell and Colangelo relationship was not ideal despite Bryan take the high road on the subject again. He seemed clear he had no regret in the choice he made and seems to have a lot more faith in Triano than me. He would not rule him out as a candidate for the job in the off-season. He did however say that he would have to look at what else was out there. Maybe Colangelo is just being kind or maybe that whole Nash idea is not so crazy? Whatever the case it seemed Bryan has not been dismayed in the slightest by the performance of Triano. He in fact seemed happy in the job he had done despite the record.

The one thing Colangelo seemed to make very clear is that change was going to come by next Thursday if he had anything to say about it. He suggested it could be a few big things or a few minor moves. But the suggestion was very clear that the Raptors are open for business for the trade deadline. Colangelo needs a big deadline for a lot of reasons. First and foremost to restore the faith of his star player which no matter what you choose to believe as relates to him we all can agree on that. Restore some faith of him the fan base as well. I saw a poll last night comparing Babcock to Colangelo. That says all you want to know about the sinking of B.C's rep. The fact someone would have that poll and not expect 100% response in favour of B.C (which it was not) tells you all you need to know in how far he has fallen with fan base.

Is Bryan the god like figure he was made out to be when he first got here? No...He likely said that himself. However is that same man now the village idiot? No. In fact he was very honest when talking about his big trade for J.O and how he was taking a swing for the fences. This time Colangelo stuck out. However like all home run hitters he is ready to get back in their and hack away. He suggested that he does not feel the team is that far away. Given the record they have it seems hard to imagine but if you stop and think about it he could be right. A solid draft pick coming, some cap flexibility if you can make a deal for J.O. What is that expression? It is always darkest before the dawn? Bryan Colangelo hopes that dawn comes by next Thursday.

MVP and ROY Blogger Rankings

It has been a week of me not getting things to work out. I also was not able to get a ballot in for the ROY and MVP voting. But Lebron keeps in the lead with or without my support. Check out the rest of the list below

MVP/ROY RANKINGS

So tonight Matt Bonner, the Red Hot Red Rocket comes to town with the Spurs. The party over a win over Minnesota will be a short one I have a feeling. But hopefully change is on the way. It is clear we need it even after a win last night.