Happy Scoreaversary

It was a year ago today that The Score.com announced the launch of it's sports federation. The Dino Nation Blog is proud to have been part of just 2 basketball blogs that were part of that launch. I want to thank Scott Carefoot and The Score for a great year together. It has been a great thrill to work with a network that I feel has always had a passion and love for basketball. I have really been proud to have a The Score logo on this blog for the last year. I hope this partnership will last for years to come. Next week it will be the Blog's anniversary so I will not go to much into what has gone on in the last year for now. But needless to say I have come a long way and taken the Dino Nation Blog to exciting new heights. I thank Scott for all his hard work on behalf of the Sports Federation and he has always been great to me personally and I have enjoyed being able to work with him over this past year. In that year I have also got to meet and know several other folks from The Score and they have all been great to me. Holly Mackenzie, Randy Urban, D.J Bennett and others. It has been great to know them as well. It also great the we have now added Nat from Heels On Hardwood and Romy for Hip Hoop Junkies to our basketball family of the sports fed. Also Scott of course has Raptor blog as well.

Now on to what we do talking Raptors basketball and the NBA. The Raps return to the ACC with a 5-7 record and 1-3 west coast road trip in the rear view mirror. A though test for the Raps in D-Wade and the Miami Heat. The Heat like the Raps come in on a losing streak and have lost 3 of their last 4 games. Despite doing little in the off-season the Heat have had a decent start to the season prior to this skid in the last 4. The Heat are basically a team that goes as it star does. D-Wade has struggled and so has the Heat. After a fast start to the year Jermaine O'Neal has been having injury issues of late. I know that will shock both Pacer and Raptors fans.

Miami is a team on a given night that can get hot from beyond the arc. Chalmers is a youngster that can make the shot and when he is hot make it consistently. They also have Richardson who in his time with the Suns was a deadly 3 point gunner. The Raptors defense has been leaking every where as of late though not just at the 3 point line. The Raps have been dealing with injuries to Hedo and Wright and have yet to see Reggie Evans suit up for a game that counts. Depending on who is healthy for the Raps it will make the match-ups a challenge.

Michael Beasley is growing into a solid NBA player in his second season. He is another guy that you must account for. The Raps need to get on the glass and avoid giving up second chances. That happened far to often against Utah. Amir Johnson has been doing a solid job working at on the glasses. Jay Triano has been giving Amir lots of minutes based on his hustle and effort. Unfortunately despite the work of Amir and Bosh on the boards it has not rubbed off on some of the other folks. Andrea Bargnani has a couple big rebound night's on his scorecard but has not been getting on the glass in the way you would hope given his size. He also has had his defensive effort called into question. He has been struggling and when people mention the struggles of Calderon on defense his name comes a close second.

What becomes frustrating for the fans and I am sure Jay Triano as well is the lack of consistent effort from his team from quarter to quarter forget game to game. The start tonight will be key. The Raps need to engage an A.C.C crowd that should they see the type of start we saw in Utah could turn early. The expectation level of fans was to expect a team that would be improved on defense and they have seen anything but that. Flashes of it but very few full 4 quarter efforts. If you wanted to be the complete optimist you could say the Raps for parts of the games on this trip did not look out of place playing Suns, Nuggets and Jazz. They have proven that they really can score with anyone in this league. All of that being done with point guard play from Calderon and Jack that is far from what booth can do on the offensive end.

Raptors badly could use a win heading into what will be another tough challenge vs Orlando. They will not have Jameer Nelson but will have both Vince Carter and Rashard Lewis which they did not the last time they visited the ACC earlier in the month. Raps at worst need to get 2 out of 3 on this home stand. The one major difference from the team that won a Division Title to now is the way they play at home. The win total at the A.C.C has been on a steady decline in recent years. The fans still fill the building and if you give them reason to cheer they will. But as great as fans can be they can not defend anyone and they can not make shots. It takes the team to light the fuse to allow the A.C.C to explode.

Chris Bosh is playing like an all-star and the Raps need to take advantage of this great stretch by Chris and start getting some wins out of it. While Chris might need to step up off the floor and challenge this team to be better. Maybe that has happened behind closed doors we never really know. However a more vocal Chris Bosh might mean a better Raptors team as a result. I remember a game on the west coast in which he got into Andrea Bargnani. I wouldn't mind seeing some more of that when needed. Not just directed at Andrea but at anyone that is not pulling their weight on the floor.

I will be live blogging this one for The Score. I picked up that job along the way in this year. That is a lot of fun as well and nothing for me beats getting to do a Raptors game. So please come join me and be part of the fun that is a Score Live Blog. I will post the links later in the day (When I get them) both here and on Twitter. Speaking of Twitter, I chatted with Reggie Evans on there yesterday. I had an idea for a new feature for the Dino Nation Blog based on Reggie. I wanted to get his blessing before I did it and he did give the thumbs up. So over the weekend we will have the first edition of "Bet That". Which if you have ever tweeted with Reggie is a popular response of his when someone tweets something he likes or agrees with. It is meant to be a fun thing and hopefully everyone will enjoying. Including Reggie cause if he doesn't I may not make it to another year of working with The Score. Only kidding Reggie is a great guy and I thank him for his blessing of my new segment for the blog. We all look forward to when he can get out there and contribute. Still not sure when that will be. Hopefully soon. Last and not least the DNB is heading back to the ACC. I am going down to cover the last game of this home stand where T.J Ford and the Pacers come to visit. It should be fun to finally met up with T.J face to face. I was thrilled to have him as a guest here over the summer. I will be working hard to get lots of cool stuff for the Dino Nation Blog while I am in the house at the ACC. It is not something I get to do on a regular basis so I try to make the most of these chances.

Playoffs, Raptors And A Good Cause

I have mentioned him in the blog on many occasions but this is the first time I have had him as a guest. Scott Carefoot who writes Raptor Blog, and is the person that offered me a chance to team up with The Score, is our guest today. He has stopped by to talk about the NBA Playoffs, NBA Draft and the Raptors of course. But there was also another reason I invited Scott to come talk with me. Over to the right you may have notice the Team Maxwell link. Scott has a 3 year old son who has been diagnosed with Autism. Scott and his wife are taking part in a charity event to raise funds to help find a cure for this and help all the children that have this affliction. I do not have any kids of my own but have always loved kids and anything that helps children is something I am willing to support. So I hope you enjoy are conversation about basketball and at the end of that Scott talks about what he is doing to help find a cure for Autism. After hearing the interview or even if you do not and want to help please click on the link on the right and help out if you are able to do so.




So I hope you enjoyed that. It took a good cause to get me to get Scott to come talk ball with us here at the Dino Nation Blog. However he is a smart guy and has done this longer than anyone out there. Raptor Blog has been around longer than any blog out there. It is pretty much the first ever blog on the net covering the Raptors. I personally think that is something to be respected for. I have the chance to interact with Scott quite a lot and respect his opinions on basketball and the Raps. I may not always agree but I respect his views. So bottom line is this is something we will do again.

So anything people can do to help please do, it is for a good cause.

The Round Ball Review Is Reborn

Hi folks I am not sure if you have seen the Raptor Blog News that Scott Carefoot has been doing over at Raptor Blog. I have become a fan of them. They are for sure PG-13 rated at least but a good laugh for sure. I decided to use the idea for use here at Dino Nation Blog. Some may recall me making reference to my old radio show The Round Ball Review. Well is was a segment of a show called Jock Talk actually. I decided to restore that show in this cartoon like format. The host of the show is J.B Superstar which was a nickname I had on my college radio station I worked at. The co-host is Joey G. No not Joey Graham but a Joe that was my co-host for the actual round ball review for a couple years. I am not sure if these guys are anything like us but they at least have our names. I hope you enjoy this first episode of the show. I had a lot of fun making it. They will pop in once in awhile to fill in for me and give us all a laugh hopefully.





So that is a wrap for today I hope you enjoyed it. I had an article to get submitted for the Industry Magazine and was on the Radio in Montreal this morning so I wanted to have a little fun in doing the blog so I hope you enjoyed this and I will try to do a few more as the season goes along. Maybe the guys will work on the weekends and give me a bit of a break. Talk with you folks tomorrow as the Celtics take on the Raptors.

What Everyone Else Is Saying.

I just thought I would do something that I rarely do. Shut up and read what everyone else is saying. Well not exactly but I have been running around and do not have a lot to say beyond my recap of last night's game for now. There is some good news. My Score B-Ball running mate is off the IR. For those who do not know Scott Carefoot has been in rough shape lately. But he was well enough to check in over at Raptor Blog. Maybe he has been watching a lot of movies cause he is talking Pulp Fiction and the Raptors. Scott always can take things that I would never put together with the Raptors and turn it into something interesting.

RaptorBlog- Pulp Fiction Raptors Remix

Scott introduced me to this next person on my recommended reading list. Well technically she introduced herself because Scott was running late. She is going to become a regular guest here at the Dino Nation Blog as well if she would stop working long enough to have time to do an interview. She talks about watching a whole lot of work fall into a puddle. Some stuff on the Raptors and a few other things. She is doing it all from back home in Nova Scotia. Holly writes for both Slam and The Score on Court Surfing. I love her work and she is one of the most positive uplifting writers I read on a regular basis. Girls can know basketball and Holly is living proof. So till she visits us hear check her out over on Court Surfing. When she does visit here we are going to take a look around at the rest of the NBA. Holly has had access at the ACC this year and talked to a ton of the guys from around the league that have visited the ACC.

Notes and Quotes From Nova Scotia

Over on Court Surfing Scott and Holly and a couple of the other Court Surfing crew members come up with an NCAA style ranking system for the NBA Teams. It is the " Sweet Sixteen " NBA style. The Number 1 and 2 teams held there rank from week 3 to week 4. The new number 3 team is a team I told you would be good this year and they are. They just are not getting the love that Cleveland, Celtics and Lakers have. But they are Super or they at least have a Super man.

Court Surfing NBA Sweet 16

The Score is like my new family and I am getting to know them bit by bit. The Dino Nation Blog had it's own little family of guests prior to that. Two of the members of that family are Eric Smith and Paul Jones. They both have blogs that you can find in find in the Dino Directory. This is the latest edition of the Vlog that are part of " The Rap " which is Eric's blog. This edition #14 was taped prior to the Raptors big win vs the Clippers. From a back alley in Beverly Hills. Jones and Smith will not get mistaken for cast members of 90210 but they do have fun as they bounce around the NBA. This is a good example of that. I am head of the Vlog fan club. I am such a fan I may be bringing the Vlog concept to the Dino Nation Blog and see if I can keep up with the guys. Not likely cause they are doing some quality stuff.

Smith and Jones Vlog 14

So that is a wrap with some good stuff from a bunch of people the Dino Blogger is high on. They I all hope respect me as much as I do them. Happy Holidays and drive safe out there. I'll be back tomorrow for Christmas Eve.

Do They Know It's Christmas Time In Raptorland?

After a tough loss yesterday the mood in Raptorland has sunk to even lower levels. In a time when people should be happy with thoughts of Santa and presents under the tree, it is instead more about what is wrong with the Raptors. Not unlike in society as a whole which is concerned with the global economy and how to pay for Christmas gifts. These are tough times. Sports is sometimes used as an escape from all of that doom and gloom but when you turn to the Raptors there is just more of the same to be found. Now if the Raptors win or lose is not the same as if you can afford to do any Christmas shopping. But still, it is important for people that care and love this franchise. When you look forward for signs of hope it can be tough to see any on the horizon. The Raptors next game is against the Cleveland Cavs. They are on a roll with the third best record in the league. Despite my thinking that Moe Williams would not be the point guard that the Cavs needed. But we all can be wrong once in awhile and Cavs fans and Lebron James would be happy to tell me that I was.

I have went through the schedule in the blog before. If you take the time to look at the rest of the games prior to Christmas try to find a easy win for the Raptors. It isn't an easy task to do. Maybe the Pacers would be the answer for some. But the fact you will have a lot of motivated folks based on the trade between to the two in the summer. Also despite a poor record like the Raptors, the Pacers have shown an ability to rise to a higher level. The Pacers have beat both the Lakers and Celtics in this young season. They are the only team in the NBA that can make that claim. So the message is if they are a motivated group with the Raptors on the second half of a back to back it will not be easy.

My fellow Blogger Scott Carefoot was not a fan of Twitter. I will be honest I am on Twitter and I really don't get it exactly. But I noticed that Chris Bosh is on Twitter as well. So I am following Bosh on twitter. He rarely makes entries on it. But his last one is interesting. "To struggle is to grow". That entry was made after the game versus Utah. I think it says a lot to the mood of this Raptor team. They are struggling in a lot of ways. They are struggling to meet expectations from the Organization, the fans, their team and their own personal ones. By having expectations you run the risk of failure. But if you do not have expectations or goals to reach it can making getting ahead very hard. I may not understand what it is like to play in the NBA and live the life of someone that does. But I do understand having expectations and goals. That is something that we all can relate to I think. Think back to when you were a kid if you are older. If you are not just think back. How did you feel when you did bad on a test or exam in school. Were you concerned that your parents would be unhappy with you? Were you unhappy with yourself? Well every game in the NBA is a test of sorts. But in this test there is only 50% of the people taking it that will pass. So back to the Bosh comment of "To struggle is to grow". Sometimes in life we need a failure or two to learn how to get to a new level of understanding. That is how we can grow as people and in this case for Bosh as a basketball player as well. He had done a lot of that heading into this season and maybe he thought he was ready and got it. But life can always make you re-evaluate and often when you think you have all the answers that is when new questions come along.

The other thing that happens in times of struggle is you find out who you can count on and who is truly loyal. Some folks will jump on and off a sports team's band wagon. The frustration level of even the most loyal fans will have a lot of angry and passion to it. Everyone wants to find that magic answer as to why this has happened and how you can fix it. I am no different in that respect. If I could find a way to fix the Raptors I would want to do it. But at the top of that list is Bryan Colangelo who actually can do it. He is likely the least happy of all when it comes to the performance of this team. He will not sit by and watch this team continue to lose. He proved that in firing Sam Mitchell. If that is not enough I do expect there will be more changes to come.

That is why the one point loss yesterday was so painful. This team needed something good to happen for it. They did show more fight and effort. But they still failed to get the ultimate goal. But as they wake up this morning and look in the mirror they can feel a lot better about the effort they put in. The Raptors have had some U.S exposure as of late so many eyes have watched them fail. The last game with the eyes of America on the Raptors is Tuesday on NBA T.V against the Cavs. So let's see what the Raptors can do for a last impression on the U.S.A.

It is hard to think about Christmas when things on your job are a mess. The thought of what to buy for the people you love is not exactly at the front of your mind. But that being said despite all of this every player in the NBA, be it a Raptor or a member of the truly struggling Thunder, they all can be safe in the knowledge they are blessed to have the money to buy the gifts to go under the tree. That is why some fans who are likely not as fortunate can not understand when they see a lack of effort from the teams they cheer for. A game like yesterday in painful to lose for players and fans. But if fans can believe that the team gave all that it could and made the effort that is something most can live with. That is all sports fans can truly ask for and expect is the best effort of all the people in the organization they support.

So while many of us get set for the Christmas holidays it is important to remember some things. There are far worse things than losing streaks and under performing players in a sport. Some people are truly in need in this holiday season. So if you stop just for a second and remember that it may give you some much needed prospective in all of this. I had that message hit home for me. A few days ago. Scott Carefoot who writes RaptorBlog and is responsible for bringing the Dino Nation Blog in to be part of the Score.com Sports Federation was given some tough news in this holiday season. Here is what he wrote about it a few days ago.

Scott Carefoot (Raptor Blog)-I'm closing this shootaround with something a little unusual and a lot more personal than what I usually post. Yesterday, my son, Max, was officially diagnosed asautistic by a pediatrician. My wife and I had suspected this was the case for quite a while now, so it wasn't really a shock to have our suspicions confirmed. However, we have a long road ahead of us working with Max towards living a relatively normal life, and research and support for autistic children is sadly underfunded in Canada. So, from now until Christmas, I will post a link asking you to donate to Autism Society Canada on Max's behalf. (Click here to find out what your donation would help support.) Max is a terrific little dude and he's my pride and joy, and any bit of support the smart, attractive and talented readers of RaptorBlog (how's my sucking up?) can give would be greatly appreciated.

I have just started getting to know Scott over the past few months. I have never met his family or his little boy. But it is a reminder that there are lots of worthy causes that can use your support. I hope that for those that can help would do so. If not for this cause. There are a ton of others that all would be grateful for the support. So for those of you that have the means in this Christmas season please remember people out there can use help if you can afford to give that help you should. The Raptors win or lose have always been out there in the community helping people. Chris Bosh has donated huge amounts of money to a lot of worthy causes in his time in Toronto. Let's all try and follow that example. So if you can give to Scott's cause or any worthy cause in this Christmas season please do so.

After that if you want to write a letter to Santa to bring us a back-up point guard or a small forward that can score feel free to do so. But always remember as bad as it gets with the Raptors or any other sports team does it really matter in the grand scheme of things? I love the Raptors and am making or trying to make a living based on them. But the health of my mother is more important to me than any game win or lose. Christmas is not about gifts and money it is about family and caring and sharing. We all share a love of basketball and the Raptors and that is a great thing as well. So hopefully that made you forget about all the problems that face this Raptor team even if for just a minute or two.

Tough December Marches On

The Portland Trailblazers are coming into Toronto after getting taken care of by the Boston Celtics 93-78. That made them 7-7 on the road this season. But they have not lost a game at home this season. They are 8-2 in their last 10 games and have an overall 14-7 record. The Raptors left for the west coast hoping to be able to steal a win out of the 3 game trip. They come home with no wins and no Sam Mitchell. I think it is one of the worst road trips in the history of this franchise. The early Sunday start time of 1pm is not playing in the Raptors favour as well coming off that west coast swing. Jay Triano has had little time to work with this basketball team. I think by the performance against Utah it was evident. The Raptors under Triano are going to look different eventually but it is going to take time. However with the Raptors on a 3-game losing streak and facing a very tough schedule that is not exactly the message fans want to hear.

Nicolas Batum who was someone the Raptors had brought in to work out. He was thought to have heart issues ironically and it caused a lot of teams to pass on him. But those concerns have not stopped Batum as he was having a nice start to his rookie season with the Blazers who acquired him in a draft night trade. But he has cooled off as of late with just 3 points in his last 3 games. But prior to that Batum had been tearing it up.

But the Blazer rookie that is the center of attention is Greg Oden. He has not exactly tore up the league as many had said he would. An injury in his very first game after a year out prior to that. It has not been exactly the dream season for Greg Oden. I thought him winning the ROY was going to be a lock. O.J Mayo, Derrick Rose and a number of others disagree and have shown their stuff. Even on his own team Rudy Fernandez has been better than him. The Blazers are a young and hungry talented team that will be looking to bounce back from a tough loss to Boston.

For the Raptors Kris Humphries is listed as day to day with some knee soreness. The Raptors will be in a tough battle to get a win this afternoon at the ACC. They need to be much better on defense and need to start shooting like the team with great shooter that they are billed to be. Raptor Rewind will have the answers but you can also check in on the live blog over at the score. Scott Carefoot of RaptorBlog will be at the controls. So here is a link to that live blog

Heat and Raptors Where Are You?

yes here we are just hours from the tip off and where or if we can see the game is up in the air. At this time I think we should all give a big thank you to the folks at Rogers and Bell Globe Media for showing how much they truly care about us. One exec claimed it is only one game and it is not a big deal. I would like to hear that same guy tell us that about a Leaf Game. I think it is safe to say people would gather with pitch forks in protest on both companies. But Raptor Fans have been forced to take it.

So if today's Raptors Rewind is not as good as it always is, please send you complaints to Rogers and Bell Globe Media. In fact maybe I will just forward them to them for you. It really is a pain in the butt. The other question after you figure out how the heck to see this game is if you will see Jose Calderon once you do. That is a question that does not have an answer yet as well. But Doug Smith is suggesting that we could see (Well Maybe) Andrea Bargnani start at the 3 spot. Scott Carefoot who Doug said he wouldn't know if he ran over with a truck, had an interesting thought in Raptor Blog this week. He suggested that maybe it is Bosh that should shift over to play at the 3 spot and put Bargnani at the 4. I admit that is an interesting thought. The thing is that Scott is doubtful Sam Mitchell would do it and there is also the idea of getting you star player to buy into it. Both seem like hard sells. But the point made by Scott is a valid one. Bosh hash more foot speed than Bargnani. In fact to bother Bosh teams in the past have taken small forwards and had them guard him like Richard Jefferson and Rashard Lewis. But one experiment at a time.

THIS HAS NOW BEEN CONFIRMED BARGNANI WILL START ON RAPS TV

Jose Calderon WILL BE ACTIVE BUT Will Solomon Is Starting ACCORDING TO RAPS TV.

( I don't get this one at all, Jose should be in or out )

So Miami enters this game with a 5-4 mark and are 1-3 on the road. Dwyane Wade is back to the old D-Wade that helped the Heat win a title not that long ago. Shawn Marion and Michael Beasley our also big players for this post Shaq version of the Heat. Raptors with Calderon would be a favourite but without him I am not so sure.

But however it happens we will all find out. If all else fails and you are in the dark when 1pm hits. Paul Jones and Eric Smith will have the Radio Call on the Fan 590. Rogers still has that station on the air. I will admit I have not turned on my radio today but I am confident they are still broadcasting. So go old school and listen to the radio if all else fails. Paul and Eric do a good job as well. It is just I think we all would much prefer see the game if we had the choice. A number of places having been saying they are going to find Internet feeds if they do or this game appears on Raps T.V I'll add an update with a link or details on how you can see this game. It is like trying to find the secret location to a bush party. Do kids still have those? Anyway whatever the case I will try to steer you in the right direction. Here is hoping we all get to see this game.

Update 11:38

Well Raps-TV for now is out. But we do have an online link for you. Thanks to a Raptors Forum poster. So give this a shot.

Raps Repulic has the feed.

Rock The Vote For Raptors

I had tried to embed an All Star voting widget on the side bar but it was not working right. So if you want to vote for all-stars I will place it here: