WWE and Raptors have invaded PHX.

My two world's have officially collided in Phoenix Arizona. The Raptors and the WWE are in the same town on the same day. Clearly the Raptors need some motivation so how about we have some WWE Superstars attempt to motivate the Raptors. This has the potential to be a total train wreck of a blog or one of the best ever. So are you ready? I SAID ARE YOU READY? Than for thousands reading this blog and the millions that really should be......Let get ready to S%#K IT!!!

Up first Santino Marella.

Santino: So really I have just one question? Where is he?

Amir: He who?

Santino: My all time favourite basketball player? Andrea Bargnani!!! That is one reason I am doing this to get an autograph and picture.

Amir: Well he ain't here so guess your out of luck.

Santino: Some one is going to pay for this and it might just be you my big tattooed basket baller.

( Santino attempts to apply the cobra. but is far to short so he grabs a chair stands on it and Amir blocks the cobra and takes the chair smashes Santino with it then slams him into the locker room door and throws him out )

Amir: NEXT!

(Kane's Theme music plays and in walks the 7 foot masked monster)

Kane: I know why you all lose. You are to nice. You must embrace the hate. (He looks at Demar DeRozan) You need to channel your anger and take it out on your opponent. You will not win until you drive to the net with hate in your heart. Then and only then will you find what you are looking for.

Rasaul Butler(Under His Breath): This is stupid. Everyone knows Wrestling is fake.

Kane(Turns to Butler): I am fake? I have seen you play and you are impersonating a basketball player. I will show you fake!!!

(Kane picks up Butler by the throat slams him into a Locker and chock slams him into a laundry bin.)

Kane: Any Questions?

(Kane Leaves and the lights in the Locker room go out. A figure with lights flashing on his jacket extends his arms and posses then exits and lights come back on)

Jose: Who was that?

Jamaal: Chris Jericho he is Canadian like me.

( Zack Ryder enters the locker room)

Aaron Gray: Zack Ryder you are my hero man.

Zack Ryder: Thanks Broski.

Jose: What is a Broski?

Aaron Gray: It is like what you would call an amigo.

Zack: Was Kane here?

Demar: He Definitely was just ask Rasaul!!!

( Zack looks in the Laundry bin and sees Rasaul Butler laid out)

Zack: Looks like Kane had a slam dunk. Anyway I was told you guys needed some motivation or something. So basically I was a no talent hack and started doing a show on Youtube became popular and got to become a star.

Amir: I make funny videos.

Zack: Cool how many hits do your videos get I am at like 100k a week.

(Amir Scowls)

Zack: Sorry bro!!! Any way time for me to go. make sure you like me on Facebook....Follow me on Twitter and buy all this cool Zack Ryder Stuff on WWE.Com....Take Care and Spike your Hair....WOO WOO WOO....You Know It!!!

Aaron Gray: Bye Zack!!! I think I am going to Spike my hair like "The Birdman"

(Zack sticks his head in the door)

Zack (Looks at Amir) Anyone ever told you that you look like Andre 3000?

(Amir throws a towel at the door and Zack leaves. In walks John Cena wearing a throw back Celtics Jersey)

John Cena: Later Zack. Hey guys. Now I am here to help you become more like a good team, like the Boston Celtics. See they, like me have " Hustle, Loyalty and Respect" It all starts from there.

Raptors (as a group): CENA SUCKS!!! CENA SUCKS!!!

(Cena turns and heads for the door)

John Cena (Talking to himself) : Seriously the Toronto Raptors told me I suck? They would know right? Maybe I do suck....No your John Cena and you are loved by millions of kids under the age of 13 and you do not suck!!!

Demar: You know maybe this is working that is the first thing we have done as a team all year!!!

(C.M Punk the WWE Champion enters the Locker Room. )

C.M Punk: What are you doing in my locker room.

James Johnson: This is our locker room.

C.M Punk: I am the best in the world and I got this (Raises the WWE Championship)

James Johnson: I train in MMA I don't sweat you.

C.M Punk: That a fact so I am suppose to be scared now right? You want to hear some reality. All of you basketball players are soft. You never had to earn anything in your privileged jock existence. You sign million dollar contracts and forget where you come from. I have seen fights in basketball games and trust me I don't sweat anyone in this room.

James Johnson: You talk a lot of smack for a little guy.

C.M Punk: Least I have reason to talk smack what have you done? You are the starter on one of the worst teams in the NBA. Congratulations!!!

James Johnson: We're just having some bad luck!!!

C.M Punk: Luck is for losers. What you all need to do is ask yourself if you want things to change. So do you!!!

Raptors (as a group) Yes!!!

C.M Punk: So what are you going to do about it!!!

Raptors (As A Group) Pound The Rock?

C.M Punk: Pounding the Rock is nice. I am not a fan. But honestly I don't need your help to do that, you need to pound the other team. Anyway this has all been fun in a strange sort of way. But I really have better things to do like tweet to my followers on Twitter. So later.

(James Johnson attacks C.M Punk from behind. Putting him in a rear naked chock hold. C.M Punk kicks him the groin and walks out )

Linas: I guess that means I am starting tonight.

(Andrea Bargnani walks in)

Andrea: I have good news. Tonight I am going to play.

Raptors (as group): About Damn Time.

( Santino Morella rushes back into the locker room)

Santino: Son of gun. It is you. I am your number 1 fan. This is a big honour for Santino. Can we get a picture?

Andrea: Sure

(Santino gets on a chair stands on it next to Andrea and loses his balance falling on Bargnani's foot)

Amir: Now see what you did.

Andrea: I think it's broken.

Raptors as a group have a collective Sigh!!

Hope you enjoyed this. No basketball players or WWE Superstars were hurt in the actual writing of this blog. The opinions expressed are totally 100% fake and would never actually happen. But in a season like this it sure beats talking about losing every single day.

Playoffs In July?

First off today there was an issue that occurred in early morning hours that rendered the Jack Armstrong Interview unplayable. I have fixed the problem and apologize to anyone that was not able to listen to it. You can hear it now here is a link to it.Thanks to a number of readers that made me aware of this problem. It has been a big couple days for the blog and thanks to all of you that have made that happen.

I have no guest today it is just me. Maybe I should interview myself? That would be odd wouldn't it? Something you might see in say the WWE? I admit that I totally forgot about Shaq hosting Raw on Monday night. But I was able to see the highlights yesterday. It was classic Shaq and I got some chuckles but WWE is not what it use to be. But the line of the night was not said by Shaq. It was said by Chris Jericho.

Jericho- " When I heard we were having the most dominant player in the NBA(As guest host of Raw) I naturally assumed it was Kobe Bryant "

Shaq could only respond by calling Jericho... Christina. That was pretty old and dated. WWE writers have gotten old and predictable. Same might be said for Shaq himself. No doubt the big man will be in the spotlight playing Robin to Lebron James as Batman. Will it work? That is one of the bigger questions heading into this NBA season.

In fact all top 4 teams in the East have made moves that they hope will upgrade their talent. Orlando has Ex-Raptor Vince Carter. Who I was reading the new NBA Live 10 when it comes out will get booed by Toronto fans in video game as well. Truly EA tries to live up to there motto of "If It's in the Game, It's in the Game". Rasheed Wallace is going to be a Celtic. Boston has had a number of trade rumours still buzzing so it is clear Danny Angie is not done. The Atlanta Hawks also have added Jamal Crawford to the mix. I think it is safe to say all 4 of these teams make the playoffs again unless something goes drastically wrong.

So that leaves 4 spots that last season were held by Miami, Chicago, Philadelphia and Detroit. All of which have done very little in terms of getting better this off-season with exception of Detroit. Philadelphia has a new coach in Eddie Jordon. But they have lost there point guard Andre Miller. Miami has not exactly been loading up to keep D-Wade happy have they? Chicago lost Ben Gordon to the Pistons and he was a big part of what they did in the playoffs. Gordon along with Charlie Villianeuva are now Pistons. But really will this help the Pistons be better? The are former teammates at UConn.

Bottom line of all of it is for Raptors to make playoffs it takes one of these teams to fall back for them to get in. Truth be told you could make a case that all 4 of these teams could miss the playoffs. If I was going to rank who is most likely going to miss out it would go like this. With most likely team at top and least likely at the bottom.

Philadelphia (Sorry Jason Kapono and Eddie Jordan)
Chicago (Sorry Chuck Swirsky)
Detroit ( Joe Dumars prays I am wrong)
Miami ( D-Wade on his own can save the Heat )

I could see easily that 3 of the 4 may not make the playoffs. If that is true who the heck moves into those spots? Well here are my 3 picks to fill out the playoff field.

Toronto Raptors ( Seriously with all the moves if they don't it is a disaster of an epic nature)
Charlotte Bobcats ( Young and up coming Bobcats. Tyson Chandler might push them over top)
Washington Wizards ( Subject to Gilbert Arenas making it to opening night )

So what will it look like (Subject To Change)

1. Cleveland
2. Boston
3. Orlando
4. Atlanta
5. Toronto
6. Washington
7. Charlotte
8. Miami

Remember when people laughed about the the Southeast Division? 4 teams in the playoffs can that be right? It could be. Washington and Charlotte have a very small margin of error for me. Detroit and the Bulls should be teams right there if they should slip. This is just a snapshot thought and things can change. As for the Raptors being 5th? It seems the right place for them. They are not better than any of the top 4. Atlanta maybe is the closest with the other 3 miles ahead.

If I change my mind on this over the summer I will let you know. If you want to doubt this hey by all means. Predictions are subjective. I will point out though that I did predict the NBA Finals last year prior to the season. Not to many folks had the Orlando Magic playing the L.A Lakers did they? I got to brag about it now because really can I successfully call it 2 years in a row? That would have some long odds I am thinking.

Tweets and Twits

I have an Interview later today so I am just going to have some little things in like Twitter form on some things from around the league. Speaking of Twitter some Twitter NBA News. My favourite player is now on Twitter. T.J Ford is now the latest player to embrace the Twitter generation of the NBA. Another Ex-Raptor was moonlighting on the NBA TV Twitter. Charlie V who has one of the more famous Twitter moments when he started tweeting from the locker room at halftime.

Keeping with are Twitteriffic theme. The man who perhaps is the most famous tweeter, or at least one of the biggest in Shaq. The big man has been a movie star, he has been a Rapper but never a Raptor, Officer of the law and now coming soon....Sports Broadcaster. The big man has enrolled in a crash course on sports broadcasting for ex athletes and current ones that is done at Syracuse University. The Cuse has been a university that has produced a ton of broadcasting talent and there are to many to mention. So TNT or some network better find a really big chair for the big man to sit in once he decided to call it quits.

Chris Bosh of course did the broadcasting thing for NBA-TV and The Tonight Show. Could Bosh and O'Neal be battling some day off the court in a broadcasting booth? Maybe some day but Bosh still has a lot more years to go. Shaq also plans on playing ball for a few more years.

I mentioned yesterday the battle between the WWE and the Denver Nuggets. Well it is all over and you do not have to worry about any Nuggets getting hit with steel chairs prior to game 4. The WWE Monday Night Raw has been moved to the home of the Nuggets opponents in this series the Lakers. So Kobe and Melo are at the Pepsi Centre and John Cena and the rest of the WWE will be taking over Staples Centre. I would expect there will be lots of NBA references in that show. Vince McManon has never been known as a good loser about these kind of things. Maybe WWE can swing getting Blake Griffin to show up. He will be playing in that arena as well. Not as a Laker but as a Clipper. If you doubt the Clippers are going to take Griffin the ad campaign they have launched makes it seem pretty much a lock.

So that is all for now. The guest this afternoon to the best of my knowledge is not on Twitter. Maybe I can convince him to hope on board the Twitter Nation. I can not believe how big Twitter has gotten it is crazy. Is it here to stay or is it just a passing fad? Who knows time will tell. All the links in this article are to the Twitter accounts of the people mentioned. The Dino Nation Blog is on Twitter as well. Follow the DNB if you are not already.

Live Blogging The Night Away

What a fun night last night was. Had our draft lottery Live Blog here and then off to work over at The Score.com for a great basketball game between the Nuggets and Lakers. I have a ton of fun doing what I do. It is a good thing I love basketball in general or it would be tough to just focus on the Raptors. The Raptors were not winners last night in the lottery but they were not losers on the other hand. The big losers on the night were the Sacramento Kings and the Washington Wizards. They dropped to 4 and 5 and that is awful for both of those franchises. So it could have been worse for the Raptors. In the end they get the draft pick that they earned in picking 9th. It seems odd to say it that way. So now we will see what the Raptors do. It seems clear to me the plan is to keep the pick at 9 and look for a pick late in the first round and bring in 2 players to add to the mix via the draft. The Raptors have cash considerations that they can turn into that second pick. In these tough economic times some teams late in that first round may not be all that excited about giving a contract that is guaranteed to a player that is part of what most consider a weak draft class. The risk and reward in this draft is far more risk and few rewards the Raptors will be looking to find that reward. It is going to be tough. But so is everything that faces the Raptors this off-season.

Bosh Has Had Enough

At the heart of that is Chris Bosh. If you are part of Twitter and follow Bosh you may have noticed this tweet he posted yesterday.

Chris Bosh (Via Twitter) " Everyone, please stop asking me to come and play for the team in your city. I get that question everyday now. I just want to enjoy my summer"

I can understand the frustration of Bosh. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. U.S media on mass from writers on Yahoo to reporters on ESPN and everywhere in between all think that Bosh is going to leave Toronto and it is a question of when and not if. Should Bosh remain with the Raptors heading into next season this kind of speculation is only going to increase and go on and could grow to become a great distraction not just for Bosh but the Raptors as a whole. Bosh could end all of this by saying that I am staying in Toronto and that is that. He could say it on Twitter or Facebook, heck if he wants to come on the Dino Nation Blog and say it he would be welcome. However that is not going to happen because it makes no sense for Bosh to do that. Even if he plans to stay he is not going to sign and extension and he is going to wait it out and have the chance to be a free agent. He can make the most money by going this route. In the economy today I can not blame anyone for doing what is best for them.

So this becomes the problem for Bryan Colangelo. How can he move forward and build this franchise when the major piece of it sits in limbo. The trouble is with all the speculation and drama can Bryan get anything close to true value for Bosh? Well he could if he traded problem for problem. But if you traded for another guy that is part of that 2010 free agent class that is perhaps a step below Bosh you face the same problem. In the end if anyone thinks the Raptors can trade Bosh and get better in the short term as a result I think they are dreaming. It seems to be the cool thing to do to try to devalue Bosh but he is a talent and just because he didn't make the ALL NBA squads does not suggest to me he is any less a talent. He averaged 20 and 10 only 3 guys in the entire league did that. Blake Griffin or anyone in this draft class is not doing that. I am not sure what the answer is if you are Bryan Colangelo. I personally would take the risk and ride it out. The last thing this franchise needs is to make a bad deal for it's best player by a wide margin. I know this much about Bosh in that he will work with the Raptors to do a sign and trade should he eventual leave and never gets moved this year. It is also the best move for him money wise as well. Unless the perfect deal comes along it really makes little sense to move Bosh to me.

Rob Babcock made a complete mess of the Vince Carter situation and I do not expect that Bryan Colangelo will do the same. First of all he has a much more willing partner in Bosh to make a deal that will benefit both the Raptors and Bosh. I personally hold out hope that it never has to come to this. I have enjoyed watching Chris Bosh develop into the player and person he is. I would be very disappointed to see him go. I find it a shame that so many folks have decided to bash this guy and try to take away from all that he has accomplished as a player. Let's be honest about things. When he was drafted did anyone expect him to be as good as Lebron James or Carmelo Anthony. Heck even Dwyane Wade was thought to be a better talent. But Bosh has proven to be a top level player and been able to hold his own and be a player that is part of what was a great draft class. To compare Bosh to a Lebron, Melo or Wade is a bit unfair to a point. All of those players can handle the ball and as an individual and create their own scoring. For Bosh not unlike a Dwight Howard he has to depend on the team around him to get his points. That for me does not make him a bad player it is just the reality of being a post player.

Bottom line of all of this is that Chris Bosh is a very good player and the best the Raptors have and to my mind the Raptors can not get a player better them him with what they have. Bosh may not like it but this is only the start of the storm that will surround him until 2010. It is part of the price you will pay for getting those big dollars. But he should enjoy his summer because it is only going to get worse unless Bryan Colangelo were to pull a trigger on a deal. Even than where Bosh lands that team will wonder if he stays for the long term or ends up being a one year rental.

Vince McManon vs Denver Nuggets

I got a huge laugh out of the mess over game 4 of the Lakers and Denver series that kicked off last night. What a great game that was and full marks to the Lakers for pulling out the win. They may have a lot of big fans now. Guys like HHH, The Big Show, Batista and the rest of the WWE Roster. It seems the Denver Nuggets made a mistake. They happened to book the popular wrestling show Monday Night Raw which airs at 9pm EST on the same night as Game 4 scheduled to start at same time. McManon never one to back away from a spotlight, he came out full guns blazing. He challenged the owner of the Nuggets to a steel cage match. He suggested his lack of leadership would be why the Lakers would likely knock off the Nuggets. It was a pretty good wrestling promo on behalf of the Lakers. To make it even more strange the interview was conducted by Johnathan Coachman on ESPN. Coachman who before he was in the WWE was a sports reporter in Kansas City I believe. It made the whole interview all the more strange. Vince McManon claims the WWE trucks are heading for Denver and who knows what to expect. My guess is that Raw would be forced to be taped in the afternoon if McManon will not back down. The NBA has stated that the date can not be changed so it is a mess to be sorted out. So if Kobe gets hit with a steel chair in game 4 something has gone wrong.

These issues have happened before. I recall a time that Dora the Explorer hi-jacked an NHL Playoff game. Well Vince McManon is not any kind of warm fuzzy kid's show. Expect the WWE to make this an issue in the shows going forward. Do not be shocked if you see a few wrestlers rocking the Lakers gold and purple in the coming days. After all as Vince will tell you he beat the federal government in court. He fears no one and can always see a situation as a chance to promote his product of the WWE. The WWE is claiming to be the best value in entertainment in these tough economic times. Well given that the NBA does not have playoffs on PPV I will suggest that the WWE has a long way to go to live up to that slogan. But this was to funny not to talk about. I know in the past I have enjoyed wrestling and know some of the readers of the Dino Nation Blog have been or are fans. The 2 worlds came together if only for one day. Craig Sager better watch his back he could get a chair shot. Oh wait he is safe he is doing the Eastern Conference series. Sager the way he dresses could be considered the NBA's Mouth of the South.

So how do you top that? I don't think you can so that is all for today. Enjoy the playoffs they have been great.

Actually one last thing. The Clippers won the lottery do you need anymore proof that Blake Griffin is going to be a bust?