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.

All Star Saturday Not Exactly Dazzling.

All Star Saturday Night was not exactly the thrilling spectacular we are use to. I guess we will start with the only Raptor taking part in the 3 point shoot out. In perhaps the weakest field Kapono has faced in the event he did make it to the final. However much like his season with the Raptors he was not exactly in top form. He would barely make the final and go up against Rashard Lewis from the Magic and Daequan Cook of the Miami Heat. Kapono was forced to shot back to back after being the last to shot he was first up in the finals. That seemed to be costly and he would put up a very low score and was a dead man walking. Lewis who was a surprise finalist to me only because of the way he shoots and it taking so much of a jump in his shot, I thought he was doomed. But he would beat Kapono and sat in the lead. Cook who not many people would claim to know unless you are a true NBA junkie or a fantasy junkie. But dude can make the 3 ball shot and he would deliver a ho hum effort that was good enough to be the best on this night.

So, down goes Kapono, down goes Kapono. Not exactly inspiring. let's rewind to way back before the All Saturday night got going. Outside in the parking lot we saw the first edition of GEICO which you may know as HORSE. Even this was not exactly thrilling. A shot from the stands that were part of the set they created for this was probably the highlight. Kevin Durant who have a record in the rookie and sophomore game of 46 points, he would ride that momentum to be your first Geico champion. Hopeful they improve this event and bring it back but it failed to meet the high expectations it had. That would be a theme for the night ahead.

I guess I will mention the Detroit team who that shooting stars thing. You know that waste of time that I think is designed to promote the WNBA but in reality makes me yawn. The contest takes a current NBA Star, A WNBA star and A NBA Legend and they make shots from various spots on the floor. This event to me does nothing for the NBA Players in it. Does even less for WNBA players and makes legends look old and that can be embarrassing. This event is an embarrassment and it needs to go. If anyone likes this thing and wants to defend it with a comment be my guest. However I think I am in the majority on this one.

Derrick Rose won the weird little obstacle course race they have that they call Skills Challenge. He would throw down a dunk at the end that would be better than what we saw from the eventual winner. Throwing balls through tires and dribbling around obstacles is just not doing it for me. I have never really got this event. It attracts a quality field for it but the competition lacks the sizzle that the entry list would suggest.

Now on to the main event of the evening and this was almost WWE like in nature. I don't mean that is a good way. We had almost a pre-determined final. Could Rudy Fernandez and J.R Smith have done anything to get in the final? based on all the staged events would see after that I would say not likely. Dwight Howard's return of Superman was much like a Superman sequel. It was ok and the whole phone booth thing was a nice touch. He also had a net that could be raised up and he would dunk on the higher basket which was far more impressive than it looked. The winner would be Nate Robinson who would bust out green gear and play up the whole superman gimmick. He would even do a dunk in which he leaped over Howard. But Howard did kinda duck a little. That was about the only dunk he did that impressed me. Nate Robinson gets inflated love for what he does based on his size and size alone. Dwight Howard's catch dunk off the side of the backboard was best of a night of lackluster stuff. It all was like a WWE event right up to the clearly staged moment in which prior to the final dunks Lebron James in the crowd was interviewed.

So, Lebron will you be in the slam dunk contest next year? When he answered Yes that he would, as he put it conditionally put his name in the Dunk contest for next year, it automatically made the end of the dunk contest and after thought. I have said it many times nobody does All Star Weekend better than the NBA. However this year to this point All Star Weekend has been like a forgettable WrestleMania. Like say Wrestlemania 9. Point is this will not be an All Star Weekend that will make the history books to this point.

We still have the Game today but so far thumbs way down from the Dino Blogger.

4 Wins? 4 Time All Star? Here In 4 Years?

Well I have always said it, no one asks how you win games at end of year just if you did. That being said, give Devin Harris that shot I think he makes it 9 out of 10 times. The Raptors were due some good karma in a season where they have had a lot of things not go their way. Thanks to the struggles of others like the Nets the Raptors at 9 games below .500 they still are very much alive for the playoffs. I had kind of written off their chances. But it seems they remain alive. That is the advantage of playing in the East. I heard a stat on Toronto radio last night that surprised me but likely should not have. In 7 of the last 8 years the 8th seed in the East has had a sub .500 record. One year the Celtics got in with just 36 wins. That was prior to the Big 3 obviously. I am highly conflicted if this is a good or bad thing. If the Raptors get in at an 8th seed what does it really do for the franchise long term? I can't come up with to many things. It would be different if this team had not been in the playoffs the 2 year prior to this. There is no question getting in as the 8th helped the Atlanta Hawks last year to this year. They also performed well once they got there. Some will say that well maybe the Raptors could do the same. But I have been watching the Celtics this year and if they finish on top I think the Hawks taught them a lesson last year that whoever they play this year will pay for. Kevin Garnett did say anything is possible and it is. But for the 8th seed in the East be it the Raptors or not, I am not liking their chances. Just as a pure fan you always want your team to get into the playoffs. It sucks to watch 16 teams play after April 15th with out your team. But when you look long term I can not find a benefit of the Raptors making it in as an 8th seed. Even if they were able to sneak up to 7th seed the challenge is almost as great. However despite all my thinking about all this I do agree with Chris Bosh in saying he is glad people thinking like me our not on his team. Players and coaches should always be focused on winning basketball games. It is for management to figure out the long term stuff. People that are covering the team tend to fall somewhere in the middle leaning to the long term and not the short.

So Will He Be An All Star?

I was pleased to hear the comments of Chris Bosh last night when the topic of the All Star Game came up. There has been a wide variety of opinion on if he will make it when the reserves are announced tonight. However the majority feel that Bosh will make the game including Paul Jones who visited us the other day. I have been quite concerned that he might not. It is not that I don't think he is worthy. I think he is more than worthy. I just was concerned that the Raptors record may hold him back. Danny Granger is in the same kind of spot as Bosh. The difference is that Bosh has made it 3 times already. I often wonder how seriously coaches who do the voting for the reserves take this task. There is no doubt it gets huge conversation with fans and in the media. I think and would hope that coaches take it just as seriously. Tonight we will find out who is in ans who is out and the debate will rage on who did not make it in the game. This process becomes almost more important in comparison to the game itself. It is a status thing as much as anything. When you can say you were an all star it is something you can take with you the rest of your life. Not unlike being a former champion in boxing. When you are old and people introduce you they can say this is Chris Bosh he was an All Star this many times. However having a ring that says you were a champion means just a bit more. That is something Vince Carter never seemed to understand. I was pleased to see that Chris did not take for granted that he would hear his name called tomorrow. It gives me some hope that I have not been wrong in my thinking about other things.

Here in 4 years?

Sounds like something for politics. A term in office of a president is four years. But this is about if Chris Bosh will be in Toronto in 4 years. If you listen to Jalen Rose he is done in 2 years. Eric Smith laid out a challenge to Paul Jones to try and get Jalen as a guest on Hoops tonight. Paul said he would try to make it happen. I would be very interested to hear from Jalen if he does get him. Rose has wanted a career in broadcasting for a long time and to boldly put his reputation on the line saying that Chris Bosh will be in New York in 2 years is a highly risky move if you are not certain. That is why Jalen sounding so confident concerns me. However at the end of the day Chris Bosh will be the one that makes that call. If you listen to Rose he already has. But I just can't see that being the case. If I was advising Bosh as an agent. Yeah I know fat chance. However the best advice would be to re-sign in Toronto. Because what happens after 2010 may be more important. The season after that the collective bargaining agreement ends. Given the state of the economy I think it is safe to say that will not benefit the players. So he should sign a contract with Toronto and get all that he can. If Toronto is not on a path to winning once the new CBA is set up or even before you can ask to be moved and walk away with a better contract. That is what Vince Carter did. It is really the best thing to do. I have mentioned all this 2010 talk could end up being much like the doomsday talk around Y2K. In the end it is still a year and a half away. You have people already saying trade Bosh based on this minor amount of speculation. What is it going to be like next year? A zoo and not one that I am looking forward too.

I will tell you this though. If I am wrong and Bosh bolts and leaves for New York or somewhere else. I am done getting behind players on this team. I am going to approach it like I would supporting a college team. I only will see the name on the front and screw the name on the back. I just can't be bothered getting emotionally invested in any of these guys if the end result will be they leave. Bosh is a lot of ways is my last hope in that not all athletes are like Vince Carter. I really have felt Chris is far different from Carter. However if he leaves and does the same thing as Vince it will be hard to make that argument and I would not bother wasting the time trying too. So I hope that Chris Bosh is here for far longer than 4 more years. I want Chris Bosh to be here for life. Well for the life of his NBA career. It maybe be unrealistic and not in the whole this is a business way of thinking. I don't care and you know what for fans it is not about a business for us. It is about emotionally investing in people and far to often having that investment get stomped on as athletes walk out the door. It is hard to be a fan in the modern sports world.

What Does #4 Have To Say?

Eric Smith tracked down Chris to find out what he had to say about Jalen Rose and his comments.

E.Smith Exclusive With CB4

Wiz And Raps Share Common Ground

When this season started both Wizard and Raptor fans expected much more. Eddie Jordan and Sam Mitchell were coaches that had earned some level of success. Jordan was a coach of an All Star Game for the Eastern Conference not all that long ago. Sam Mitchell of course was the Coach of the Year just a few seasons ago. The Wizards have been without Gilbert Arenas for the majority of last season and all of this season. The irony is the Wizards made the choice to re-sign Arenas for over a 100 million dollars worth of contract. You would think they would know his health better than anyone else. But still they made the choice to bring him back. The Raptors have had issues with health that some might say they should have known better about as well. Jose Calderon after an injury at the Olympics after he had resigned with the Raptors has continued to have some minor injuries that have plagued him through out the year, Jermaine O'Neal has had a long history of injuries and time missed. He has had some minor injuries as well. Both will be out for this game as they did not travel with the Raptors on this mini two game road trip. Two teams with playoff goals are not even in the playoffs as it stands now. While there is still hope Raptors could sneak back into the playoff race it would seem that the Wizards are done as far as that idea for this season. After all they sit in dead last in the conference and to be able to just pass all the teams in front of them would seem unlikely. After winning their first back to back games of the season the Wizards have lost 3 of 4 games since that time. The Raptors have not been able to string wins together as well. After winning the first 3 games of the year the Raptors have not been able to win more than 2 in a row since. They had a chance to change that against the Bucks but would fall short. So two teams desperate for a win it should be fun.

Trade Winds Continue To Blow

A day does not go by without another rumour about the Toronto Raptors. It has to be difficult for the players and their families. That is a fact that often is lost in all of this thirst for change. But unless you name is Chris Bosh you have heard your name in some rumour if you are a Toronto Raptor. Even Nathan Jawai who has yet to play a game I saw in a trade rumour. But the latest and most loudest of the rumour mill has been talk that Bryan Colangelo has been shopping around Jermaine O'Neal and his big contract with all that cap space in 2010. Colangelo has only confirmed that he has no interest in trading Chris Bosh. It is not like he has done much to stop all of the talk about his players. It makes sense to let the rumour mill run wild if you are Colangelo. If he can build interest in players on this roster it can only help his chances of making a move. I personally am starting to think Colangelo is looking to make a major move. If he wanted to just do some minor tweaks you have to think he could have made a move by now. What is clear is with each passing day the expectation level of fan base for what Colangelo will do increases. The chances of people feeling that he has not done enough will increase as well.

But the challenge that faces Colangelo is a difficult one indeed. If you accept that the plan is to keep Chris Bosh in 2010. Which Colangelo has given ever indication that it is. He faces the difficult task of trying to improve this team and keep or restore the confidence of Bosh in him. But in doing that he may have to give away some of that massive amount of cap space he has been able to acquire. The majority of which lies in the contract of Jermaine O'Neal. The performance recently of Andrea Bargnani has left some to think the Raptors need to leave him as the starting center. But for that to happen Jermaine O'Neal would have to be put on the bench. This is not a good thing on any level. You can only expect that O'Neal would be less than happy about that. A drop in his performance and production would likely follow. This would all impact on his value as a player for the next season and a half. Now if a team is making the move just to get the cap space his contract and is not concerned with anything else that is not as big an issue. But that would mean he would need to go to a team that is not it the playoff hunt but still could be a reasonable option to attract free agents in 2010. That would likely eliminate a lot of Eastern Conference teams as there are still a lot of teams thinking they can make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. Still would you really want to bash your brains out to make the playoffs only to have to try and beat the Celtics, Cavs or Magic in a 7 game series. Sure the Hawks took Celtics to 7 games and they did drop an overtime loss to the Bobcats and have struggled in recent days. But a better draft choice and a way to sell your fans that help is on the way in 2010. It is a nice way for a G.M to buy some time. These are the type of thoughts that could be going on for G.M's that might be considering taking on Jermaine O'Neal.

Is Bosh A Lock For The All Star Game?

It seems farily clear at this point that Chris Bosh will not be getting voted into the All-Star Game as a starter. So that will leave it in the hands of coaches in the league. Bosh has been well respected around the league and the fact he played so well for Team U.S.A doesn't hurt as well. That should have nothing to do with this but hey the coaches making the choices are all Americans and proud ones I am thinking. But with the Raptors less than impressive record will that cost Chris Bosh? I am thinking that it will not and Bosh will make it to the roster for the Eastern Conference. He is still one of the best at his position in the conference. I will say it will not be the slam dunk guarantee that it has been in the past. I think it will be something that will be interesting to watch. If Bosh some how got left on the sidelines how would he re-act to that? Hopefully we will not need to find out. I would think it would be a personal disappointment. That being said it is not as huge an event to Bosh as it might have been to a guy like Vince Carter who missed the All-Star Game last year for first time in a long time. Bosh would also get a rest if he was not in the game and it may not be a totally awful thing if he was able to relax for a bit. Although the Raptors do get an entire week off based on the schedule around the all-star game. They face the Spurs on the 11th and do not play again till the 18th taking on the Cavs. They are both games that are at home at the ACC. This could be a chance for Triano to get some of that much wanted practice time he has needed.

Almost Forgot

So that is about it for today. Oh yeah one last thing. I have kind of been having some fun about this on facebook. Chuck Swirsky is returning to Toronto next week but he will be coming to the Dino Nation Blog in the Starting 5 before that. I have not figured out the exact day that I am going to have that interview in the blog. But it has already been done and is all ready to roll. I just wanted to let some folks know about it and try to get a few more people aware of the blog. I mean it is how things work. Cabbie interviewed Kobe Bryant and that is not going to hit the air till February. I am looking forward to that. Maybe I can convince Cabbie to visit here and talk about it. I will see if I can. But for now it is the Dino Blogger one on one with the Swirsk. I think I can post him up and score. Well no it is not that one on one it is an interview. I am not sure how I'd fair in b-ball against Cabbie. We both are of the same body type. It would not be a classic contest by any means.

Update- Joey Graham will Start Tonight In Place Of Moon- Noon

Jamario Moon is heading back to Alabama to be at the birth of his child. That has Joey Graham getting the call to start in tonight's game against the Wizard's. News comes from Eric Smith of the Fan 590. So all of the Joey G fans will get a chance to see a lot more Joey against the Wizards. This makes a even shorter roster for the Raptors who are already without Jose Calderon, Jermaine O'Neal and Nathan Jawai who has yet to make his NBA debut as he works back into shape after being sidelined with heart concerns. Calderon has the bad hamstring and J.O the bruised knee.

While I am writing should give this a mention the latest trade rumour that has been floating around. Andrea Bargnani and Anthony Parker to the Mavs for Josh Howard and two other players. Hoopsworld claims this deal is close to happening.