Couple Minor Raps Moves

The Raptors made a couple of announcements today. The first being they have waived Dwyane Jones. Who? He came to the Raptors as part of the Hedo for Barbosa deal and was going to be moved on to Charlotte as part of that second trade that never happened. So basically, Dwyane Jones was a Raptors for about the same amount of time as Roy Hibbert. Difference being, I wish we had Roy Hibbert. It would seem logically to see Jones pop up on the Charlotte roster one would assume.

The other news of the day is the Raptors have added to the coaching staff. Adding Scott Roth to the staff. He is familiar to Triano as the two actually playing ball at the same time in Turkey. Roth has stops with Mavs, Grizzlies as an assistant and most recently with the Bucks as a scout and advisor. He also has international head coaching experience as the head coach of Turkey in 2000-01 and the Dominican Republic in 2007-08. Shame we have no Hedo or Charlie V anymore who played for those countries.

Triano has this to say on Roth in the press release from the Raptors:

Jay Triano “Scott and I have a long history dating back to playing professionally at the same time in Turkey,” said Triano. “He is a coach who brings to us experience from many different levels of basketball – International, D-League and the NBA."

Mark Iavaroni had left to join the staff with Vinny Del Negro in L.A with the Clippers. While earlier in the off-season the Raptors added P.J Carleimo. Another person familiar with Triano. It was said at the time that P.J was not being brought in to replace anyone. So it would appear by this move the Raptors wanted to add some depth to the coaching staff and with Ivaroni leaving they were left with the same number they had in the past. It isn't to the Mavericks level of coaching depth. I think Mark Cuban built a staff large enough the water boy in Dallas as a coach. So will see what becomes of this and what Roth's role will be.

Took me a few minutes to realize this, but Roth was actually a guest with us when he was coaching the Jam in the D-League. He came on to talk with me about recently (at the time) acquired Patrick O'Bryant. It is a small world. Here is a link to that interview.

Coaching News- Ivaroni and English Are In

It always makes me laugh how many times I just finish something and the Raptors create a little news with in minutes. The most famous example was my interview with Darren Rovell of CNBC. It was a really great interview and one of my best in my view. Never heard it? Here is why, it was on the same day the Raptors traded J.O. If that peaked your interest use the search engine on the right and look it up. But on to the news.

In perhaps one of the worst kept secrets in Raptors history. Mark Ivaroni will be an assistant for the Toronto Raptors. No details on if the Raptors had to give the Grizzlies any cash. They were trying to shake down MLSE for a few hundred grand. But according to Doug Smith in the Toronto Star it is a done deal for Ivaroni. Also Alex English will be back as well. Alex is a great man and I have to be honest when the talk was he was going to be out it made me feel bad. But no need to be as he will return. Mike Evans appears to be the guy with out a seat.

There is also the Alvin Williams addition that has still to have been hammered out. But given all of the media talk and buzz about that it would seem highly unlikely that does not get done as well. So we will see who else completes the staff in the coming days. Eric Smith of the Fan 590 had said Triano was hoping to have everything set to go in terms of his staff by next week. It seems that they are well on the way to meeting that goal.

Raptors cancelled draft workouts yesterday but they are in full effect today with Syracuse star Jonny Flynn headlining the list of Future NBAers in town. Chuck Swirsky in our interview raved about the type of person Flynn is. Not just him but Holly Mackenzie of Slam and The Score Court Surfing is a huge fan of Flynn and his game. Hard not to be after he had a gutsy run to and through the NCAA tournament. Jack Armstrong also had good things to say about both Flynn and Ty Lawson in his interview with us earlier in the week.Also Jrue Holiday (UCLA), Chase Budinger ( Arizona), Damion James (Texas), Alade Aminu (Georgia Tech), Goran Suton (Michigan State) were all scheduled to workout as well.

So before you know it the draft will be here. That is all for now. Have a great weekend folks.

Getting NASHTY On A Wednesday

I this year for the first time in a long time am actually interested in the NBA Playoffs despite the Raptors not being in them. Normally I find it to painful to watch a lot of the playoffs without the Raptors in it. Steve Nash is much like me it would seem. Normally as a player when he is not involved he doesn't like watching. However this year he has been watching. He is on Twitter and Facebook. I became a fan of Steve Nash on Facebook and he has been giving his thoughts on the playoffs it is an interesting read to say the least. To get the take of one of the better players in the game. That is what is good about this new world we live in. You can get info that even 10 years ago would have been not possible. Steve also has a diet that he follows on his facebook fan page as well. You may have read that I am pretty convinced that having Steve Nash come to the Raptors might be an answer. You may not agree but that is cool. I think Steve Nash as a Raptor could be the answer in the short term for the Raps to turn it around quickly. Nash even at his age is better than Jose Calderon. If Nash is the plans of Colangeo that is good news for Jay Triano.

Triano and Nash are know to have a great relationship and if Nash is coming it only makes the idea of a Triano era as head coach. Colangelo is said to have meet with Triano yesterday and I would love to know if the name of Nash came up. It would make sense it would as both Triano and Colangelo know him well. That would be only 1 of a number of topics that would be on the table. It was telling when Colangelo said that he had not talked to anyone about the coaching job in Toronto. It would seem as I said the other day, unless Triano showed up with a lamp shade on his head in his underwear the job was likely his. Just a matter of the details. Those details will include a new coaching staff. Mark Ivaroni will be the lead assistant in that staff. If Triano was not down with that he basically would shoot himself in the foot. It is key for a G.M and coach to have a good working relationship however can Triano really be anything but a yes man to Colangelo? I don't mean it as it sounds. However what bothers me is that Triano really is faced with a tough situation. Despite what everyone says I am not convinced you could not bring in someone with a better resume. Washington has hired Flip Saunders to take their coaching job. He would not be a choice of mine for the job here. However if you compare resumes is it even close in comparison to Triano. There are lots of other guys that you could say the same about. So is a combination of Ivaroni, Triano and Colangelo going to work? Can Jay feel secure at all in his job if Ivaroni is sitting on the bench with him? Ivaroni was long said to be Colangelo's guy and if not for Sam Mitchell winning coach of the year many feel Ivaroni would have been named the head coach and Sam would be fired. If you brought in Nash that may balance things out a bit and give Jay a little more security. However you cut it the idea of Triano as head coach makes me feel uneasy. Based on the fact he is Canadian I have always wanted to see him have success. I may not think he is the right guy but he is our guy. It makes me think if Jay Triano was from Fort Worth Texas and not Niagara Falls Ontario does anyone think people would be so calm about all this? That being said people like Jack Armstrong, Paul Jones and others have confidence in Triano and I respect them and hope they are right and I am wrong.

Taking a look at NBA Awards no surprises to this point. Mike Brown is the coach of the year. He did a great job and has that Lebron guy to make him look good. Dwight Howard was the defensive player of the year and it is well deserved. Lebron James could have got this award but I suspect another award is coming his way. Today Derrick Rose is going to be announced as the Rookie of the Year. He ran away with the award and is taking his Bulls to places few thought they would go at the start of the year.

Lastly a fond farewell to Stephen A Smith. It seems that he was on the edge of keeping his job. Makes all that Bosh stuff ring kind of hollow doesn't it? Well least Stephen A Smith can have sometime to have some cheese doodles. If you have not seen this on You Tube before here it is from 2006 Draft.



So there you have it. Cheese doodles were also a favourite snack of Madonna back in the days when she made the movie Desperately Seeking Susan. So Stephen A and Madonna have that in common. The Stephen A Smith era on ESPN lasted far to long.This blog hopeful did not.

Excuses, Spin and Ping Pong Balls...Oh My

This might be a wet blanket on what was a great win for the Raptors against the Magic. However the Cavs lost to the Wizards last night. Is anyone saying that the Wizards have finally got it? Is there talk that their interim coach will return next year? That being said the Wizards actually have Gilbert Arenas back and he had 11 points and 10 assists. You have to wonder why the heck Arenas is playing in these games down the stretch for the Wizards. But the point is the Cavs should crush Wizards with or without Gilbert. So the Raptors win over the Magic could be considered a bump in the road and the fact the Raps actually split with the Magic on the season a strange thing. Not unlike how the Bobcats always seem to have the Lakers number. The Raptors winning 5 in a row is nothing to get that excited about though. It has just allowed people to try to put a positive spin on an ugly season but I am not buying in. Raptors are already starting drop in the lottery standings. They passed the Knicks who have been in a free fall of late. A few weeks ago the Knicks still have a outside shot at the playoffs. Those days are long gone. But if the Raptors keep winning there are other teams like the Pacers, Bucks and others they could pass and decrease their odds in the lottery. I am not a big fan of cheering for a team to lose. However when you consider that this team is more than likely going to get a huge overhaul in the off-season, it is not like the Raptors can build off this heading into next season really.

It is becoming increasing likely that Jay Triano will remain and that is shocking for most fans. When you listen lately though a lot of folks are drinking the Kool Aid about Triano. I am not among them. This win streak at the end of the year should not impact on how you feel about Jay. He took over a team that was 1 game below .500 and that would be likely good enough to make the playoffs. No need to list all the excuses as to why Triano has been let off the hook by most of the media and Bryan Colangelo. Injuries, a major trade and a new system. I get all of that. However despite all of that Jay Triano is part of the organization and has been part of the culture of this team. I think that is not a good thing. Raptors need someone that will have a new prospective and push this team to perform when it matters. I just think this team needs a new prospective from someone who is an outsider. Someone who is not committed to pushing that Jose Calderon is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Someone that has not watched Chris Bosh grow to the point he is at. Someone that can come in and shake up this team. Triano through no fault of his own can not offer any of that. If he had been successful I would not feel this is required. However he has not been. I am a huge supporter of anything Canadian and that includes Jay. However I am not willing to ignore his record and because he is Canadian just look the other way. I just can't do it as much as part of me would really like to do it. I hope if Jay remains he can prove me wrong. However I am not feeling optimistic that he can.

I would thing that part of the sell job in keeping Triano will be a re-tooling of the coaching staff. That could see both Alex English and Mike Evans shown the door. That would leave a spot open to bring in Mark Ivaroni as the lead assistant and perhaps coach in waiting if Triano fails. It has long been rumoured that Colangelo is a big supporter of Ivaroni and if Ivaroni is not able to find a head coaching job this would be the next best thing. Given what he did in Memphis I am guessing the people will not be pounding on his door to offer him a head coaching job. He was in town already under the guides of being a consultant. Ironically the Raptors started winning. I am not sure if that means anything at all other than it is ironic.

On of the things I admired about Sam Mitchell was he would never allow anyone on his clubs to use injuries as an excuse. Yet since his departure it has been excuses of injuries and lots of other ones that have been made to justify a horrible season. There is no excuses that I will accept. Jose Calderon has been playing through injury through out the season and people say now he is healthy and that is the real Jose we see now. Here is also the real Jose that he played through an injury that he should not have. It was a bad choice by him and this team. It made his injury worse and it cost this team. I can hear people screaming at me for that. However I am not blaming Jose totally for this in fact he is not the major person I blame on this issue. Bryan Colangelo is the one I blame. He failed to address the back-up point guard position and that leads to all the issues at least in part. Calderon was over used and coming off an Olympics that he was injured in as well. To enter this season expecting Will Solomon and Roko Ukic to be the back-up for a guy in his first year as a starter coming off an injury was a major blunder. In fact main will point to the Jermaine O'Neal trade as the biggest mistake Colangelo made this season. No doubt it was a bust of a move. However the lack of a true legit back-up point guard was just as big a mistake for this team. Jose Calderon despite how some view him is not immortal and not able to leap buildings in a single bound. He can dunk a basketball though...who knew? Colangelo gambled far to much on Calderon and it cost him greatly. People will pump up Jose as this all-star in waiting heading into next season and I remain unconvinced of that. He is a good to great point guard that has skills. That being said he is not a stand alone play 35-40 minutes guy. So is Roko ready next season to fill that role as back up? If not Colangelo needs to find a legit point guard to play behind Jose. That is assuming that Calderon is back which is likely a safe bet as well. That being said the Suns not making the playoffs could present an option to have Steve Nash be moved. Colangelo no doubt will have some interest in that. You would think. Jose Calderon is not as good as Steve Nash and likely never will be. But Nash only has a few years left in the tank. It would be an interesting choice if it ends up on Colangelo's desk.

You also have the future of Bosh that will be determined. If he is traded this team clearly will be totally different and likely not for the better in the short term. The fact Bosh made a comment on the future of Jay Triano is a bit of a sign that Bosh expects to be back next year perhaps. However if he is not in it for the long haul it would seem highly unlikely that he will remain. Colangelo without a long term agreement with Bosh at least in principal if not in writing it would not seem likely that Colangelo would not move him. In fact it would be insane for him to do that.

You also have lots of other questions on this roster. Shawn Marion at the top of that list. Do the Raptors want to keep him? But more importantly does he even want to stay at all. The pay cut for Marion is going to be large and you would think that if he is going to take that hit he would rather do that on a contender. However the Raptors will have money to spend. At the very least a sign and trade for Marion is a likely outcome that could happen. Joey Graham and Pops Mensah-Bonsu as well as a returning Carlos Delfino(??) would all be restricted free agents as well. Pops seems a lock to be back if the Raptors can get him on a reasonable deal. Colangelo said he would be interested in bringing back Delfino as well. Joey Graham of the 3 is likely the odd man out. That will disappoint the Joey Graham fan base but it likely makes the best sense. Anthony Parker has expressed he is willing to stay in Toronto. However do the Raptors want him to remain? Should they? Great guy that A.P is the answer seems likely no. He is a free agent and could go where ever he likes. Unlike Marion he would not command the dollars that would make a sign and trade an option with him.

The worst case scenario for the Raptors is that they take to much from this late season push and think it means something. This team needs change. Colangelo is smart enough to know that and I hope will be at his best this off season. It is clear he will need to be. The returning of Jay Triano is far less of a concern the more new faces he would see at his first training camp. If he returns it could be a sign that major change to the roster is on the way. Even if the Raps roll off 6,7 and dare I say 8 wins in a row it will not change anything. It will just give fuel for supporters of a Triano return and offer excuses for the people that choose to make excuses for this team. There is not excuse that can explain this season away. There just isn't.

What Do You Say After That- Holy Bobcats Batman!!!

I have sat here for about hour and half thinking about what to write today. There have been low moments in the season, a lot of them, but some how I have always figured out something to say. Today I have not that much to say. I mean honestly what can you say? The Raptors got smoked it really is as simple as that. The smile from Sunday quickly washed away.

All year I have tried to avoid, to a point, not to go to far about Jose Calderon. I mean it is no secret he was not my choice to be point guard of this team. But seriously gloves off for me. This goes far beyond who is better him or T.J. This is about the fact that he just isn't good enough and that is the bottom line. Kenny Smith earlier in the year suggested Calderon was not even a guy who should be a starter in this league. I am not going quite that far. He does have skill but is he the All Star Point Guard that he was projected to be? Not even close. He gets numbers when it comes to assists and if you want him for your fantasy basketball team you should pick him up. However in basketball, in reality he is a failure and the Raptors over paid to keep him. There has been talk he has been injured throughout this season. I have no reason to think that is not the case. However if you are going to put on a uniform and play than you can not use it as an excuse if you don't perform. Now Jose personally has not but it has been out there enough that he really has not had too. I just don't see with the changes that the Raptors have made from a standpoint of offensive system. Calderon is a point guard that operates in a half court system. He has his entire life played basketball a certain way. To expect him to change and suddenly become a run and gun point guard is far to much to expect in my view. If Chris Bosh leaves part of the blame in that will be the failure of Calderon to live up to expectations. Calderon is not the point guard for this basketball team. The point guard for this basketball team is wearing 13 for the Suns. Nash is older and may only have a few years left. But the impact he can have on a young Roko Ukic could help speed up the learning curve for him. I am convinced of this fact and no one will change my mind about it. This is the move that will fix a lot of the problems with the Raptors.

The Raptors have damaged their profile not just locally but nationally. They always talk about wanting to be Canada's team, well go get Canada's greatest player. Jose Calderon from a marketing stand point does nothing. You think people care about some guy from Spain in Calgary, Halifax, Montreal or any city you care to insert. I am not talking hardcore basketball fans. I am talking the average guy on the street. Would that same average person on the street be excited about Steve Nash coming to play for the Raptors. You bet they would. There is a legit basketball debate to have on if Nash could have an impact. However I think Nash would welcome that debate and the challenge of playing for Canada's team. Who in this country has the guts to bet against Steve Nash? I mean this guy avoids playing for Canada basketball and people hardly make a peep about it and are more than willing to give him a pass. So if he comes to play for the Raptors is anyone going to challenge that he can't play anymore? Not a chance and if they do people will jump on them and bash them with no mercy.

There is also chatter that Mark Ivaroni is going to be around Toronto for a few days. He was an assistant with the Suns and there seems to be suggestions that Ivaroni may in fact become the lead assistant and the coach in waiting should the struggles for Jay Triano expand into next season. If there is no Steve Nash I would think this is a stupid idea. However if the plan is to run and Ivaroni was the lead assistant to Mike D'Antoni. I think with Nash in the mix it would work well and give Triano a bit of job security based on their relationship. I just think when I look around I see the table set for a Steve Nash move to Toronto. Maybe I am crazy and the losing is getting to me. Maybe I am just looking for some ray of hope. But I think there is more than just a crazy idea in this. When you take time to think about it given all that has gone on this season it really makes a lot of sense. It really is the only short term answer that could perhaps save this team from having it totally blown up and starting over. I am just thinking that is not the case and not what MLSE wants or will do. An empty ACC at playoff time is not something the folks at MLSE want. The Leafs are already in a rebuild mode and I can not imagine they are willing to send the Raptors down the path again.

March Madness @ DNB

The folks at The Score are putting up a Sony Mp3 Player for the winner of the Dino Nation Blog's Madness group on the Score. So sign up for the bracket buster contest and than join the Dino Nation Blog group with the info below.

Group Name: DNBMadness
Password: Raptor

If you have trouble signing up please contact me and I will send you a personal invitation and get you set up. Use the e-mail over on the right to get in touch with me anytime. It is dinonationblog@sourcecable.net. If you had signed up for the facebook Madness pool please note that NO PRIZES will be awarded for that and you only way to be eligible to win the MP3 player is to be in The Score Bracket Buster in the DNB Madness group.

Lowest Point In Raptors History?

The Dino Nation Blog has only been around a couple years now. So the lowest point in the history of the Dino Nation Blog is for certain. The Dino Blogger has been a fan from day one long before there was blogs or a Dino Blogger. In the entire history of this franchise has there been a worse moment? The Vince Carter trade was a low moment and comes to mind. That was a low point but we had Chris Bosh as the young star who was going to lead us back from that. Which he did and took this franchise to some places that Vince never did. There was a 16 win season way back a long time ago. However in that season the Raptors level of expectation was not all that great. When you add up all that is going on with this team on and off the floor it could be the worst point ever. Bosh is now being painted with the same brush as Vince Carter and already is considered a dead lock to leave but many folks out there. In watching that mess last night in Memphis it is hard to make the case for Chris Bosh to stay. If you are Bryan Colangelo how do you look Bosh in the eye and say I will fix this and make it better. I mean this is a team that Colangelo built and he claimed was the most talented he has had in his time in Toronto. In firing Sam Mitchell that only served to put the spotlight of attention on Bryan. What has become clear is that Mitchell was not the only problem. Given how this team performed since he has left may just speak to how good a coach Mitchell was. People may debate that but hey this team has never played to a level that was better since Mitchell had his pay checks forwarded to Atlanta. The Raptors are now in a spot where they are bad but are not going to be bad enough to benefit at this point. That is unless they get lucky in the lottery. Today will attempt to go through all the bad and see what can be done to fix it short and long term for this franchise.

T.V Please

This one is the easiest of all. MLSE needs to tell Rogers and TSN to get their issue solved and they need to do it in a way that these folks will understand. How is that you ask? Well MLSE owns another property that both Rogers and TSN drool over. That being the Toronto Maple Leafs. It becomes really simple. MLSE can just hold the future of leafs broadcast over the head of both and say that they are fully willing to pull games from both Sportsnet and TSN in the future and put them on Leafs T.V. If you did that how fast do you think Rogers and TSN are a table signing a deal and singing we are the world. I am saying that it would take under 24 hours max.

I have been saying it all year. Regardless of who is the real villain, they all have insulted us as basketball fans. Even the best game of the year was buried on TSN. Maybe I am wrong screw the folks at MLSE. David Stern was a lawyer can you come up here and fix this mess. After all you brought basketball to Canada and I am sure you would like most of the country to be able to watch it. If they are unwilling to make a deal go to the CRTC and say that you want the rules changed so Raptors broadcasts can be part of NBA League Pass in Canada. But someone needs to step up and help us the fans of basketball here in Canada. Watching games on feeds and hoping you can find them. It may be fine for some. However to me it is just unacceptable to have to hunt down a game. It is not like I am trying to watch porn, I want to watch a basketball game. So why do I have to be made to feel dirty as if I were hunting the net for free porn?

2009/10 Starts Now

No more of this nonsense talk about the playoffs. The focus needs to be on next year and what the future of this franchise will be. The big question is will that future include Chris Bosh. If it is going to it will take an amazing effort from Bryan Colangelo to turn this team around in a hurry like he did when he first arrived on the scene. This is a lot more difficult a task however because Colangelo is not cleaning up a mess that was here and not his own. This is his mess and his mistakes that are looking back at him. Would another G.M walk in to this franchise and not blink in trading an Andrea Bargnani or even a Jose Calderon. They may if they felt they were not the right guys. It is always hard to admit you were wrong for anyone. You also are fearful that you give up on a player to soon and have that come back to bite you.

Joel Bosh Save Us!!!

Maybe they should sign Joel Bosh and that will convince Bosh to stay? I am only kidding but a fellow blogger had a chance to interview Joel and I wanted to give him a hook up with a link. So if you want to know more about Joel Bosh check out this interview.

But the serious changes that need to happen must start to happen now. Start looking for a real head coach for this franchise. Jay Triano is no doubt a smart basketball person but just has not been able to make that near impossible transition from assistant to head coach with the same organization. Not that he would but if I was making a list for Bryan Colangelo with my coaching candidates to take over this franchise here is my list.

Coaching Candidates of Dino Blogger

3. Avery Johnson- I like what he did in Dallas and think Mark Cuban over re-acted in his firing. The question would be in could Colangelo even convince him to come? Memphis tried and failed to get him out of his broadcasting job. Given that Grizzlies have young talent and Raptors are lacking in that regard and not much better it could be a very tough sell.

2. Jeff Van Gundy- Another person very happy in broadcasting. He also recently expressed his desire to have family time now that broadcasting allows. But he clearly still has the coaching bug. If Jeff Van Gundy can't make this defense better who on planet earth can? Again a tough sales job may be needed to convince him. If not for that he would be on top of this list. In my conversations with Jack Armstrong he speaks highly of both Stan and Jeff as coaches and I think he is a good fit to restore pride in this Raptor franchise that is in bad need of some.

1. Eddie Jordan- Look at what he did with the Wizards with very little. It all fell a part this year. But how long can any coach be expected to keep a team going with a star player that writes more blogs than plays basketball games. He has a good sound system of offense and without Gilbert Arenas has had the Wizards be able to play decent to great defense. He may not be on the top of many lists you will find out there to get this job, but hey lots of the people writing the lists also thought this team would be good. I was one of those as well. But point is there are no perfect answers.

Some names not on my list:

Mark Ivaroni- He to me had a chance to show his stuff with Grizzlies and failed to get it done. I am not sold on him and think he is a guy that was an assistant that showed he can not make the transition to being a head coach. Just cause Colangelo knows him and was rumoured to want him in the past does not mean he is or should be a candidate for this job.

Ettore Messina- I am not going to try to take away from what this man has accomplished. It is impressive what he has done in Europe and the Euro-League. That being said that is not the NBA. It has different rules and a entire different culture of how teams work and function. The power of the players in Europe is far less than that of the NBA players. I will not get into the nuts and bolts. Just in general coaches have far more power and control. There is also obvious rule variations and a learning curve for a coach as well. Any Euro coach that would come here great or not. Euro players have to take time to adjust to the NBA so why would a coach be any different? No thanks not now. Chris Bosh is not staying and no North American star player will go near Toronto to be part of this Euro experiment. The fact this guy's name is out there speaks to me that Maurizio Gherardini has to much of a voice in this team. I am tired of Raptors ignoring North American options for European ones. This team needs to stop having a Euro Bias and fast. In hiring Messina it would only increase that issue and make this team look more like a Euro League team than a NBA franchise which it is.

Don't Buy Into The Mirage

You can think this is Joey Graham bashing or whatever you care to think. But this is just proof of what I have said all along about Joey. When it means the least Joey plays his best. You can buy into all the hype and nonsense if you choose too. He is a athlete the likes this franchise has never seen. I include Vince Carter in that mix and anyone else. But here is the difference. Graham does not have the ability to show up and play in games when they mean something. Joey has always thrived at points when this team has been at some of it's worst points as a franchise. If you or more importantly the Raptors get fooled into it so badly that Graham is re-signed with the Raptors you will both get what you deserve. That is a flat out slap in the face back to reality when Joey fades back into the player he has always been. Flashes of great play after 4 years is not reason to lose your mind and ignore the 3 and half years that happened before it.

Ask yourself this when has Joey performed well when it meant a lot in his career other than his play down the stretch in the Division title year that some point too. Personally I think that gets overrated. Also I hear a lot of people saying trade Bosh and keep J.O? What has happened this season that makes people think that? When healthy which as been few and far between J.O has played well but better than Bosh? I mean Bosh is going to the All Star Game not J.O. Bosh was on team U.S.A not J.O. When J.O was team U.S.A had one of the worst performances ever internationally. But that is going far off topic. Point is Chris has a solid history with this team that has been disrespected and tossed aside. Why? Just because a couple knuckleheads like Jalen Rose and Steven A Smith said he was leaving? Even prior to that fans were booing the guy. This team is in rough shape and Chris has given everything he has all the time he has been here. A lot of the same people on his case now are the same ones that were on Vince Carter and saying he did not try and gave up on the team. Well Bosh has busted his butt and you hate on him too. So what is it exactly that you want? It seriously makes me sick. Some fans that can chat M.V.P for a guy and in a short amount of time later want to run a guy out of town. But it is nothing new. T.J Ford after his injury got a nice and well deserved cheer from the ACC crowd. By April he was booed and eventual wanted out of town by this same part of the fan base. I am a loyal person in all that I do and to see that kind of lack of loyalty in people really makes me angry. If you have never liked Chris Bosh or T.J Ford or whoever that is one thing. But to go with the wind or mob as the case maybe... is another. May people in your lives treat you that way as well. I mean seriously how would you like that. It is not fun if it happens to you.

The thing I find in all of this is it will bring out the worst in some people and it is just sad and painful to watch. I have said many times everyone wants what is best for this team but the way some of you go about that is just wrong. You can be upset, you can be angry, all of that. Heck, I am all of those things myself. But that does not mean you have to become some kind of person that is part of a mob of hate. Be angry at what has happened and not the people it is happening too. Judge them on their entire record not just the latest chapter of the story. Just some things to consider before you write that next Bosh hating post, or Colangelo, or whoever it is you blame for this mess. You can still have class and express your displeasure. It is possible but it is a lot easier to just react and say whatever is on the top of your head. It is going to be a very long trip to April 15th.

There is much more to cover, but hey by April 15th I am sure I will get to it all.

Adnan Virk From The Score Visits The Dino Nation Blog

I was very excited to get the chance to talk with Adnan Virk. Many know Adnan from his work on Raptor broadcasts and on the show Court Surfing that he was the host of. I have known Adnan prior to him being a part of The Score. We had worked together at another network and he remembered me. It was just a matter of getting in touch with him and he was happy to be a guest. So here is are conversation on the state of the Raptors as we talk about a number of issues for Toronto's basketball franchise.

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I look forward to having him back as a guest in the future. He is a great guy and I am very happy for all the success he has had in his time working for The Score. He is the co-host on The Score's morning show talking all sports not just basketball. I thank him for taking the time and it was really great to catch-up with him after many years. That story off the top of the interview is 100% true as I really was excited to have a chance to have him as a guest. A special thanks to Randy Urban who got us together to make this happen. The Dino Nation Blog has always done it's best to bring you a variety of opinions from knowledgeable media people and Adnan would be on that list.