Raptors Split The Road Trip

To say I was able to play close attention to the Raptors game tonight would be stretching the truth. I was at Real Sports and hanging out with some great folks at the Raptors Tweet-Up with Akil, Kat and some Raptor fans. They were taping stuff for Raptorspace, so I guess you will see me on there tomorrow at 6pm (NBA TV CANADA) or at one of the several times it re-airs. I am the only one at these things that doesn't tweet. Mainly because I don't own a Blackberry or IPhone. It reminds me of when I was a kid and would get invited to a Birthday Party at a pizza place and bring a peanut butter sandwich. Why? Well I had a thing as a kid that I didn't like anything mixed together and Pizza is by nature that. Truth is the first time I ate Pizza was like when I was 13. I know strange isn't it? Kinda like this Raptors recent 4-game road trip.

It started with an unexpected win in Orlando. Then an acceptable showing vs Miami. A terrible effort vs Washington and that left you wondering what to expect tonight? Andrea Bargnani was coming in off a terrible 12 point and 2 rebound effort vs the Wizards. About the only Raptor that came to play was Sonny Weems.

Fast forward to this evening and it was Bargnani with a big night and another career night for Sonny "Money" Weems. This road trip has been a solid one for Sonny with the big shot vs Orlando and it has been good for him personally for this whole trip for the most part.

By the way Kat is doing one of those interactive fan events at Real Sports Apparel @2:30 on November 20th with both Sonny and Demar. I suggested they should let Sonny and Demar go at it against each other at something. That likely won't happen but you will have a chance to ask them questions and get an autograph. Sonny and Demar are both great guys and I have been lucky to talk with both several times. I like both of them and having the two of them at the same time should be entertaining. Kat will have her hands full with those two.

Anyway back to this evening. Weems had another career high 25 points as he remains in the starting line-up. I said from the start of this year that DeRozan and Weems needed to be on the floor at the same time and glad Jay Triano finally agrees. They are just to dynamic together not to be on the same time. That being said was a very quiet night for Demar with only 4 points with 5 assists and I will bet a few of those were to Sonny.

But the star of the show on this night was Andrea Bargnani with 30 points and 7 rebounds in what probably, most would agree, was his best night so far this season? Also a great night off the bench for Jose with 12 points and 8 assists. These two have taken their lumps in the Dino Nation Blog and elsewhere but on this night both were very good and deserve props.

Was a close game pretty much all the way through until the 4th. The Raptors would pull away in the late going on route to winning the final quarter 25-15 and the game itself 94-86. There might not be a lot of style points for the win, but the Raptors margin for error is not that big and they must win games vs the teams at our below their level. Philly clearly qualifies. It should be noted that Andre Iguodala was not in the line-up and he normally kills the Raptors. Something about us picking so kid from Brazil that use to play in the NBA instead of him. So that should at least be noted for next time around. But the Raptors faced a similar scenario yesterday with John Wall out and failed to capitalize on it.

Sixers only shot 36% and Raptors 44% so while you could say the Raptors D was better, it might be more accurate to say Philly's offence, is well offensive. Still they never ask how you win games just if you won them. Bargnani having a big night was needed, for this team, and for himself most likely. In season though I am never going to complain about a Raptor win. While some seem set to talk about the draft already and Raptors in effect tanking. I am not a fan of that and there is just no guarantee that having the worst record in league gets you anything. You could end up with 4th pick if your luck is very bad. But at the end of the day, you want to have a culture that is about winning. It is needed for young players to develop. Play hard and good or bad, the record will take care of itself.

Had a great time watching the game at Real Sports. First time being there for a Raptor game. It is a minding blowing place and if you haven't made your way there it is worth checking out. While some may question MLSE in terms of the on court/ice/field with their sports franchises. This Sports Bar does not have a record with wins and losses but if it did would be close to undefeated. I am just grateful there is not one here because I would likely go there way to much.

Will be interesting to see what Raptors we get vs the Rockets after this road trip, it is any one's guess. But you can now say that the Raptors are out of both the Eastern Conference and Atlantic Division basements. Which, if for nothing else, is good for moral. Not just the team and organization, but the fans too. Losing just will never be fun. Why do you think finding a Clipper fan in L.A is so tough. Lakers win, Clippers lose, and everyone loves a winner and on this night the Raptors were that...a winner.

Raptors Dance Pak's Candice In DNB's Starting 5

In the past the Dino Nation Blog has done features on the Raptors Dance Pak. They have been some of the most popular features we have done in the Dino Nation Blog. The answer as to why is far from rocket science. Obviously, the young ladies that make up the Dance Pak are attractive young women. But also hopefully, in these features you have got to know that these ladies have a passion for what they do just like the players that make up the Raptors roster. Candice is in her 3rd year as a member of the Raptors Dance Pak. She is the Co-Captain of 2010-11 Raptors Dance Pak. She already had a brief appearance in the Dino Nation Blog as part of our stuff from this season's Fan Jam. But this is a longer visit as we talk about how Candice became a part of the Dance Pak. We talk about all the travelling she has done this year, with stops in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Montreal and Halifax. We also talk about the Raptors Dance Pak Blog on Raptors.com. There are videos on there from the trips the ladies made with Kat and some of the other ladies from the Dance Pak. Candice also made her debut on Twitter as have a number of other ladies on the Dance Pak joining Kat who started up on Twitter last season. @CptCandice documented her experience getting on to Twitter in the Dance Pak Blog. We have a great conversation and have a lot of fun. In fact this is the most fun I have had doing an interview for the DNB. Candice was great to talk with and think you will enjoy hearing from her.

So as mentioned at the end of the interview, we are going to try and get one of these done a month at least. I said in a tweet recently, that I have grown to have a lot of respect for what these ladies do and the credit for that goes to Kat. To be honest most times when I am watching sports I am always locked in on the game itself. But in meeting Kat, and now Candice, I have started to learn how hard these ladies work and contribute to the overall experience at Raptors game. Not to mention all the other things they do in the promotion of the Raptors. I know you are thinking as a guy you didn't notice the Dance Pak? I might have noticed but never paid close attention. So in doing these the goal is to try and get across just how hard these ladies work and let you get to know them better in a fun and relaxed way. Candice has been so nice in helping me pull this thing off. These ladies have busy schedules and so do I, so the hardest part sometimes is just finding the time to make it happen. I hope these help you get to know these great young women, that have a passion for dancing, and for the Raptors and basketball. So thanks to Candice for taking time to help me do that for all of you. Seeing as we both had a good time, be fun to do again sometime during the season.

Starting 5- Goes Behind The Scenes With Raptorspace

On Friday we talked with Kat the Captain of your Raptors Dance Pak. We talked about her taking on the role of hosting Raptorspace on Raptors T.V. The man that produces that show and tries to make Kat look good is Akil Augustine, you also have likely seen him on camera doing work with Sherman Hamilton on Raptors T.V as well. He puts together the Raptorspace show that airs on Thursday @6:30 on Raptors T.V. We get into a whole discussion about how the show came to be, where it is at and where it is going. We also discuss the differences between Leafs Nation which the Dino Blogger is not a member and the Raptors Nation or as we like to say here the Dino Nation. It is an interesting interview that gives you some insight into what MLSE and Raptors T.V is trying to accomplish with this project. Hope you will enjoy it.

Akil Augustine from Raps-TV

DNB PRODUCTION

Raptorspace.com is where all of the fan content comes from. I got stuff on the show so If I can do it maybe you can too? The one thing that came from this interview that I liked most of all is the idea of growing basketball across this country. I have always thought it was important and something the Raptors and MLSE should do more of. It is nice to know that the people working there have that goal as well. In the end be it MLSE or the average basketball fan it is in everyone's best interest to grow the sport and the Raptors brand. If done successfully it can hopefully lead to more people in the media awaking to the fact that basketball fans in fact "do exist" in this country from coast to coast. It can hopefully impact and have changes to how things are covered and allow for more basketball coverage in this country. Does a show like Raptorspace accomplish that goal on it's own? No but it is something that at least helps take us in that direction. We did invent this sport after all, and I feel it is everyone's job that loves it to help promote it. From me to you and all the way to folks at MLSE and all points in between.

Starting 5- With Kat From Your Raptors Dance Pak

Today in the Starting 5 with have the Captain of you Raptors Dance Pak and the host of Raptors Space on Raptors-TV...Kat. I have sometimes set some things through Twitter in the past and this is how I got to know her. This was something that I was going to do awhile ago but there were some snags on both sides of things. Making schedules fit together and what not. However I am kind of happy it took a bit. Reason I say this is cause through tweeting back and forth I got to know her a bit and hope that makes this interview better for it. The Raptors started the project that is Raptorspace which is for lack of a better term the Raptor version of facebook I guess. The website has also turned into a T.V show on Raps T.V that attempts to make the fans the star of the show or at least part of it. In fact I actually have been on I am told. It must be true I saw a Tweet promoting the show that had my Twitter in it. The host for this show is of course Kat. So in are conversation we talk about how this all came to be. We get into all of how she came to be the host of this show and how she balances that along with still being part of the Dance Pak. In addition the Dance Pak got to perform as part of the Vanilla Ice halftime show and we talk about that whole experience. Along with her taking on a rather large role in the interacting with the fan base. This plus some other wacky fun. She really is a great person and I actually met her in my travels around the ACC while covering the Nets game this past Wednesday. You can follow her on Twitter @RaptorspaceKat which we also talk about. By the way the same person actually designed our twitter background's a Raptors fan in Poland who is a regular reader of the Dino Nation Blog. She is someone who has drive and passion for what she is doing and as I say to her in the interview I can see her being a Raptor fan even if she was not on the Dance Pak or Raps T.V. We had fun chatting so hope you will enjoy it.

Kat From Raptors Dance Pak and Raptorspace

DNB Production

I promised that I would go back and see what Lexi had answered to the whole dances with the stars thing and my memory rocks it was Mo-P. I hope you enjoyed this chat with Kat and you can see her out on the floor and doing all her stuff with the Dance Pak as well as on Raptorspace which I believe normally airs at 6:30 on Thursdays and it can be found on Raptors.com as well eventually. There is also of course the Website Raptorspace.com as well. That is where some of the material gets taken for the show. In addition Kat does a hit on the Gate 5 live show for Raptors home games on Raps T.V. It was fun talking with her and hopefully she will make some time to come visit again down the line. Here is a picture of her with the Hip Hoop Junkies who are like the Dino Nation Blog part of the family here at The Score Sports Federation. You can often catch some stuff from them on the RaptorSpace show.

Just a reminder as well you can still get Raptors Dance Pak Calenders with money from that going to the Team Up Foundation which some may remember as the Raptors Foundation. They do great work with mostly things geared at youth in Toronto and Southern Ontario.