Season Debut of The Starting 5 With Jack Armstrong

One of the things at the Dino Nation Blog I am most proud of is The Starting 5. It has been the driving force that has made this blog as well known as it is. Given how the NBA Season was sprung on all of us, I did not want to impose on guests during the holiday season as they tried to prepare for an NBA Season, that none of us were sure would happen and when. So, it has been awhile now and we are back at it with the Starting 5. There have been many guests we have had the thrill of having over the years. But this man is by far our favourite he is the colour analyst for the Raptors since the last time we had a lockout prior to this one on Radio at first and now for many years on T.V. Hello Jack Armstrong and welcome back to The Starting 5 for another season. In this episode we talk about the NBA and it's crazy schedule. Jack shares his thoughts on everything from Pounding The Rock to the age old question of if he will ever be joining the rest of the world on Twitter. An in depth look at the struggles of Demar DeRozan. Thoughts on Dwane Casey and the new coaching staff. As well as his thoughts on the new and improved Andrea Bargnani and why he can succeed potentially where Chris Bosh could not. It is all in there in a in depth 30 minute chat with our good friend Jack Armstrong.



Thanks to Jack and now that the Starting 5 is back you can expect all of the guests we have had in the past like Paul Jones, Matt Devlin and our ever growing list of regular guests to be popping by. In addition to any new ones we come across along the way. So hope you enjoyed this one and thanks for your support of the Starting 5 and please make sure to visit us daily for all our work covering the Toronto Raptors. It has been a 4 year plus ride of a lifetime for me. I am so thrilled to have the chance to bring you quality guests like Jack and hopefully some quality info and opinion on a daily basis.

Christmas, Love and Basketball

One of the things I try to do when I talk with NBA players is find things they have in common with all of us. At Christmas time we all can think back to the gifts we got and remember them fondly. One of the things we also have in common is a love of basketball. So when we were small, be it NBA players, bloggers or just fans we all likely got some basketball memories from Christmas. Some that may have even sparked why we love the game today. We all likely have a story of some basketball related gift we got from Santa or Mom and Dad. So when I was at the last game I covered before the holiday break asked a number of Raptors and former Raptor Kris Humphries the best basketball gift they got as a kid at Christmas.

Like I said decided to include some of you as well as some of my colleagues on the Internet and twitter followers too. So here is what some of their answers were.

Holly Mackenzie From The Score AKA @Stackmack- For as long as I can remember have always got a basketball book and a Lakers Calender, even thought I am more just a fan of the game now.

Adam Francis from Raptors HQ- I'd have to say a Mark Price poster (used to be a Cavs fan) of him hitting a free-throw with the slogan "Right on the Money."He was killing the "career free-throw percentage" category at the time, and even with some sub-par seasons post-Cavs, still holds the record!

Tom Liston from Raptors Republic- Wasn't for Christmas, but it was trip to see Bird/McHale/Parrish/DJ/Ainge at the Boston Gaaaaarrden. Amazing memory.

Ray Bala from Can Ball Report- The closest thing that I've gotten that was basketball related was a video game-Double Dribble for NES or Bulls vs Blazers for Sega Genisis.

Audley Stephenenson From NBA Breakdown- It had to be the Double Dribble video game for my Nintendo!! talk about cheesy graphics! I loved the close-up graphics when you went in for a dunk. I still remember the digitized voice when it started up "Double Dribble" (computer voice) Played for days with no water or food

Ryan McNeill From Hoops Addict.com - I got was a Huffy basketball net back in the day.

Danielle De Graauw From OUR DNB Staff- A Magic Johnson vintage t-shirt from sister. She saved up to buy it for me. Plus in high school, my parents got me a pair of tear aways I still wear and oh yeah, that Shaquille O'Neal bath set with the sponge as a basketball and net to dunk as I washed..for sentimentality the t-shirt and for humour the SHAQ gift.

Kid Raptor from Kiss 92.5 and Twitter - My Kid Raptor jersey =) <-- which he got from his Uncle Mocha. His dad @TheRounder said a Raptors Dance Pak calender <--but I am pretty sure they didn't have those back when he was a kid or Raptors for that matter.

Brett Poirier a Raps Fan and DNB Reader- When I was 12 I opened a tiny box that had hotel reservations for a spot in Toronto, another note in the box said open my next gift, their I say plane tickets for my family to Toronto. I started getting really excited, and finally got to the last box, in it were Raptors tickets 5 rows ups!!! They played the Nuggets that day, with melo and A.I on the team. ill never ever forget that x-mas gift.

Some other ones from folks on Twitter.

@BayanQ- As a kid my best bbal gift was a bball net outside my home. I would have loved court side seats though! :P

@ThatPatty- Lil Sport Hoops. I was using that bball net well into my teens. It owes me nothing after years of rim abuse.

@Yarock- Trashcan backboard! I dunked so many homework assignments in my Carter jersey

@RyanJHTurvey- Best x-mas gift I got was the Jordan book Rare Air. Looked through it thousands of times.

You might say what is the point to all of this. Well there are a few of them. First be people NBA stars or just the average person we all have memories of being kids. Second we all have a common bond in a love of basketball. Aside from that it great to share our fond memories of the holidays. May these holidays create some new memories for all of you that read the Dino Nation Blog. A special thanks from me to all of the people that contributed to this. May they and you all have a great holiday and get to enjoy family and friends and the spirit of the season. May still have one more DNB surprise before the day is done. But just in case not... Merry Christmas to you all.

Oh wait a second...I never answered this did I? Well for me my mom would always get me tickets to a Raptor game when she could manage to afford it. Actually more to the point a few games. My mom always tends to go above and beyond what you tell her. I remember, the Christmas after my father passed away, she asked me for a list of what I wanted. So I made one giving her what I thought was a list of options. Instead what I got was every single item on that list. I was floored and did not know what to say. But be it 1 gift under your tree or 101 this season is about having a good feeling in your heart and sharing that with the world. This is my gift to all of you that read the blog the whole year through. It never cost me a thing but time and effort and hopefully it made you think or made you smile. If it did that make sure you pass on that smile or thought to someone else.

The Tweet Heard Round The NBA.

Before it was hip and cool to be on Twitter Chris Bosh was already on there. He has been a trend setter in social media. He seldom uses the medium as he once did, but this weekend for the first time in awhile he was tweeting and everyone paid attention. In case you have been living under a rock, or happen to be part of that half of the world not on Twitter here is what he said.

@Chrisbosh

Been wanting to ask. Where should I go next season and why?

About 30 minutes later he changed the question

@Chrisbosh

Ok... Let me rephrase the question. Should I stay or should I go?

This got everyone talking so much, it even got a mention with the newly crowned 2 time M.V.P, who made news with Raptor fans for his comments about the Raptors. The Bosh tweet was mentioned and James was asked what he thought about it. He didn't think much of it, but went on to say how much he respected Bosh and kept door wide open on his own future, and the idea of playing with Bosh. Chris was obviously watching, because he had this to say not long after that interview.

@Chrisbosh My first time making ESPN or ABC this year! Thank you Mr. Wilbon and Mr. James.

This is a not so subtle mention of the Raptors lack of television coverage in the United States. Everyone seems to have an opinion on what Bosh has done with these tweets. I respect Chris and have for the most part have always supported him in this blog. If the goal of this was to get attention it is mission accomplished. But is anyone foolish enough to believe that what people on Twitter and what they say is going to make a difference? I mean if it honestly does, than Chris Bosh is not the intelligent person that I know he is. Bosh has always left it out there that he has not made up his mind about his future for next season. But he said in his exit interview that this was a decision that was about winning and having the chance to win a championship. Not about Twitter. Also if you believe as most do that Chris has made up his mind at least in terms of staying or going from Toronto. Isn't this just a bit on the cruel side, or at least insensitive side for Bosh to do this?

Bosh had handled this season with a great deal of class and intelligence. However this may turn out to be his "Vince Carter Moment" in terms of his leaving. If Bosh does leave after this twitter appeal to fans will those fans who did respond and want him to stay not be pissed? I am banking that they will and Bosh may hear it when he does return to Toronto. I just don't understand why bother doing it unless as I mentioned it is a simple attention grab.

Bosh on the court has been a stand out in his time here. It is a shame if his legacy ends up reduced to a couple silly things said on Twitter. It would be kind of ironic if Bosh the king of social media, had it come back and bite him in the butt. It may have got the attention it was after but it also rubbed a lot of folks the wrong way. Also, if Bosh wants people to take his real desire to win seriously, doing stunts like this do not exactly help in that regard. Lebron James isn't on Twitter and he is also a 2 time M.V.P, and may be on his way to his first title, time will tell. However, the point is James while no doubt a fixture off the court as well as on it, still comes off as a guy that cares about winning and getting a ring. Some may feel that Bosh is not and point to things like this as proof of that.

I am not saying that Chris doesn't feel the exact same way as Lebron. However to take something that is ultimately a huge choice in his career, and where it is heading, and turn it into a topic on Twitter takes away from that. Chris seemed to find it annoying that it was always a topic of fans attention to ask him where he is going. He had said the fact he was asked about it constantly was frustrating. Well he gave the impression at least. Just like the line about ABC/ESPN, Chris sometimes will say things without saying them.

I have always thought of Chris as a highly intelligent person and what he has accomplished on and off the floor is proof of that. This is a move that doesn't seem to have been that. Where Chris Bosh lands, if it is anywhere but Toronto, this is a move that people will remember. If Bosh did nothing, I feel that majority of folks would have accepted his leaving and understood it was business and not personal. However, by this appeal to seek out public opinion from his fans or followers has made this personal. People often wonder why people still hate Vince Carter in Toronto? The answer is simple, he made it personal and fans have never forgiven him and most never will.

I had always had the impression that Bosh watched how that went down and came to the conclusion that was not going to be him. Well fans may never hate Chris in those terms but he has opened the door to people being hurt. Some fans want to believe against logic that some how Chris Bosh will come back next season. Every action of late suggests that he is likely as good as gone.

I always hope that I am wrong and that Chris will be back with the Raptors and everything will work out. But that is something that seems a far off fantasy that has no touch with reality. See that is the trick to doing this. I really am a fan of Chris, that being said I owe it to myself and you people to look at things objectively. It can be hard to separate those but it is possible to do.

Is there ever really a way a divorce can be good? In terms of just it's nature it is admission of failure. In any divorce there is always 3 sides to it. There is the 2 parties involved, and their versions, along with the truth. The Raptors have made their mistakes to lead to this point. So has Chris. This one on twitter might be one that sticks with him after he gone. Maybe more to the point it may stick with fans.

Which is really sad to me. I think Chris has always cared about his fans and I think it has been a two way street. It is hard to watch your favourite player move on. Be it intentionally or unintentionally Chris Bosh has added to that pain for folks. The only way that isn't true is if Bosh has made up his mind and is returning to Toronto. If that is the case give the man an award for acting, because he has earned it. Every sign and every action seems to point in the opposite direction.

Personally I will always like Chris beyond his playing days here in Toronto. I wish him well and all the best. I still can't help but be a bit disappointing in him over this one. I just don't see the logic or sense in doing it. Especially when you consider he had handled himself in a professional way the entire season. Whatever you care to make of it, these "Tweets" had an impact and will lead to a wide range of opinions and this was mine.

I hope that my thoughts on the long term impact of this is wrong. However given the way things go in Toronto would it surprise anyone if Bosh comes back to boos in some other jersey to be determined? It is a long summer and if it goes the way as expected who know what other things are to come? It is almost impossible to pull off this trick. To leave, and not offend or upset people is hard thing to pull off. Chris Bosh came close to pulling it off.

If Bosh does stay he can have the last laugh at how everyone said he was gone. That clearly isn't the direction he seems to be heading in.

The Starting 5 with REGGIE!! REGGIE!!!

Prior to the Raptors game vs his former team Reggie Evans talked with the Dino Nation Blog about his return, Twitter and more. Reggie has always been fun to talk with and has been a hit with the fans. He was part of an All Access Event at Centre Sports with Raptors fans along with Jose Calderon this past Saturday. Reggie has been good to Toronto fans and they have been good to him. Although Reggie said nothing was worth going through his injury. I asked him if the great reaction from fans upon his return helped make it worth all his hard work to get back.

Reggie Evans " It felt good. It kind of mad me think that they must have felt my pain and struggle that I went through all of that. It felt pretty good."

and is everything good as far has coming back.

Reggie Evans " I can't complain everything is good. I don't have anything to complain about"

Now you can get out there and have an impact and bring your toughness and aggressive play to the floor that must feel good.

Reggie Evans " It is good to have an opportunity instead of just cheering my team on for the full 48 minutes. Now I can get out there and participate and help them out from a physical standpoint on the court. That definitely feels good."

There was that poll in Sports illustrated that ranks you number 1 as on of the meanest guys in the NBA do you take pride in something like that?

Reggie Evans " I just take it for whatever it is. It is cool that I got respect in this league. So it is cool I don't look at in a bad way at all"

Reggie often is giving tickets away on Twitter to his fans/followers on Twitter. I asked him about twitter and his involvement on it.

Reggie Evans " I never did something like it before. A friend of mine David asked me to to do twiiter. I was like alright cool let's make it happen. So he kind of broke it down for me. I was never into the internet stuff like that. So I did it and made it happen and stuff."

But giving tickets away was that something you did with other teams.

Reggie Evans " Never I never did that. I have only done that with Twitter."

Reggie often hops on Twitter and will ask fans some trivia question and first one to get it right wins tickets to a game courtesy of Reggie. Another thing just recently is Reggie tweeted if he reaches 10,000 followers he says he will shave off his beard. Was he serious?

Reggie Evans " Yeah once I get the 10,000 followers. Seems like no one wants to cut my beard off though because my followers slowed down. So it seems like people don't want me to do it."

Did you run this by family or friends or anything?

Reggie Evans " Nah nobody I just came up with it. I just said I get 10,000 followers I would do it. I am just doing it to have fun with the fans. I just came up with it. Really it is just about having some fun with the fans. "

Now I love my readers here at the DNB. I honestly do. But there is no way the Dino Blogger is putting his facial hair on the line for anyone. But the team is starting to get ready for the playoff push so how is Reggie feeling about his game heading into the stretch run?

Reggie Evans " Basically just getting back to my top notch shape like was in the pre-season before I got hurt..I want to be in top notch shape for the playoffs. "

Was it a mixed blessing with his injury that he will have more gas in his tank for the post season?

Reggie Evans- "No, you always wish you can be here to go through the ups and downs with your team.I could say yeah, but I can get rest during the off-season. I played 7 years of the full seasons and stuff like that. I am use to it"

As for March Madness Reggie is always a big supporter of Iowa as I found out during football season in the NCAA. He says if Iowa can't win then he hopes a Big Ten team can win it all. But Reggie will be busy doing what he can to get Raptors back on track. He is really one of the nicest guys off the floor. I can relate in some small way. I played football back in high school and I once got in a fight during a game. People were shocked that I was involved in something like that. Some people just have a different personality when they step on to the field or court. Raptor fans love both personalities of Reggie Evans. The guy on the floor that kicks butt and gives everything in his gas tank. If they have the chance to meet him or interact with him they love the nice caring giving person that legitimately cares about his fans. The Future of Reggie's Beard? He is 4,577 followers shy of being beardless. You can follow Reggie on Twitter @ReggieEvans30 and you may even end up being one of the lucky folks that gets tickets courtesy of Reggie.

You can expect plenty more Reggie Reggie chants at the ACC. I want to thank Reggie for taking the time to talk with me. Reggie Evans is a DNB favourite and like he likes to say on Twitter...BET THAT.

Rasho To The Rescue

Some folks were worried with no Chris Bosh would the Raptors be in trouble even though they were facing the awful New Jersey Nets. But never fear Raptor fans cause Rasho is here. He would replace Bosh in the starting line up and Andrea Bargnani would shift over to Bosh's normal spot at the 4 spot. Rasho had an amazing night of 16 points 7 rebounds and 4 assists. There was a time after the first quarter would where Rasho was on pace to have a triple double. Jarrett Jack also had a major bounce back to lead the Raptors with 18 points and he and Rasho were part of 7 players that reached double figures in a 106-89 win over the Nets.

It wouldn't be the Raptors if they did not give fans a scare. Devin Harris lead a charge that would get the Nets back to with in 6 points. He had 19 in the game and it was Brook Lopez with 22 points and was the games high scorer. The Raptors are back at it tonight with a game vs the Wizards who come in riding high off a win over Denver. Al Thornton one of the players that came in the Wizards fire sale at the deadline proved to be effective off the bench with 21 points.

Chris Bosh looks to be doubtful for basketball night in Canada as he missed the trip to New Jersey with a bad left ankle. However CB4 would still make an impact. Not on the floor but on Twitter. He tweeted #LetsGoRaptors and asked his twitter army of Raptor fans to do the same. Well they did and in huge numbers so much so that #LetsGoRaptors became a trending topic in Canada. That would not happen playing for the Knicks or the Heat. In a small way this king of demonstrates the power the Bosh has in terms of being the Franchise guy on the Raptors. He would just be the top guy in a city in the U.S. But here in Canada he not only gets Toronto but the pockets of basketball fans across this country. That is something unique that only the Raptors offer. That along with the extra 30 million that the Raptors can pay him.

So Bosh may just be in a suit helpless watching like all of us for tonight's game vs the Wizards. The Raptors will need more of what they got from New Jersey game. The Wizards are a step up the ladder from the 5 win Nets. They are not a major step up but a step none the less. Raptors without Bosh have a much smaller margin of error and need to get production from guys like Bargnani and Turkoglu who combined for 27 in the Nets game. Not great but with the complete team effort it was good enough.

So CB4 or not it is Basketball Night In Canada....Are You Ready? More importantly are the Raptors ready? I am liveblogging it for The Score so we can find out together. Link to come later today.

Tweak and Tweets

I have to admit that I am getting cranky waiting for the season to get started. I am getting misty for summer league at this point. I guess that I should have been paying attention to EuroBasket. It seems Hedo Turkoglu tweaked his ankle. Great another Raptor gets hurt in some game that means nothing for the Raptors. However according to Doug Smith Hedo will be ok according to the Raptors. This does bring up an issue that Raptors if they are going to be team United Nations are always going to have to deal with. If David Stern can be concerned about players on Twitter, how about being concerned about players playing internationally. I am pretty confident no player has ever been hurt tweeting but playing internationally is a growing list. Sorry to all the folks from various countries that make up the Raptors, I am only concerned about having healthy players and if Turkey, Italy or Spain suffer internationally...so be it. The Raptors paid Hedo 53 million dollars last time I checked. It is just something I am going to have to get use to doing, holding my breath each summer and praying players are safe. Mark Cuban has the odd rant about the topic but beyond that there does not seem to be many thinking this is an issue of those that matter.

Camp is just 2 weeks from tomorrow can you believe it? It is going to be a long 2 weeks I think. It has been a summer full of tweets and Ustreams and lots of change around the league. I just wonder when someone is going to stand up to David Stern? When he brought in a dress code I was convinced that some player would challenge that. An Iverson or a Ron Artest but it never happened. Now people being able to express themselves through social media is being questioned. This at the same time the league is starting to allow team to advertise on jerseys. Sure it is just practice uniforms for now but we all know it will not stop there right? How can you on the one hand turn players into billboards and on the other not allow them to express themselves. It really does not seem right. When is the NBA going to have a true rebel that challenges all of these things? The answer may be never as they all make far to much money not to play ball...to play ball if you get what I am saying.

The NBA has a good thing going with the whole Twitter craze. I was not surprised or shocked that Stern is looking to regulate it. I am actually surprised it took this long. However maybe I am being a bit hypocritical because I want to take away the choice of players playing for their country or not. However the NBA Players will just do what they have been told it seems. Unlike Alex Ovechkin who recently told the NHL that regardless of if they are going to the Olympics in 2014 he is. That takes some guts and pride in your country to do that. If the NBA is ever going to get out from under the thumb of David Stern it will take a major star like a Kobe or Lebron to do it. They are not likely to take any stands to save Twitter or anything else for that matter. In the case of Lebron it is much more of an issue that a video of some college kid dunking on you does not see the light of day. While Kobe has spent to much time restoring his image after his problems in Denver years ago. Not to mention there is no Kobe or Lebron on Twitter..at least not the real ones.

ESPN also sent out a memo about Twitter for their employees as well. Twitter is a cool thing and just like all things people are doing their best to screw up a very simple idea that has been successful. I have no idea if Twitter will be a fad, trend or it is here for good. But what I do know is when people are trying to regulate what people can and can't say that is not something I approve of. What happened to the concept of freedom of speech? Surely you don't give that away when you sign an NBA Contract do you? I watch basketball because of the personalities of these athletes just as much as I do for their jaw dropping skill and talent. I do not want to watch robots play the sport and David Stern needs to stop trying to regulate every aspect of his players. It is just putting out a corporate image that is fake.

You may think that this is a little nutty going off about Twitter. However it is just making a point that where exactly do these things end? Things have changed and thanks to the internet athletes are going to have there own say weather Stern likes that or not. I doubt Twitter will make it in the NBA's next CBA but players after all the dollars and cents are taken care of should take a stand for some of their personal rights.

I am still on Twitter @dinonationblog and happy to say nobody is telling me what I can or can't say for now. To quote Public Enemy...Fight the Power. Even if it is in 140 characters or less.

Jack Armstrong In DNB..But On Twitter?

It is always great to have Jack Armstrong come visit us here at the Dino Nation Blog. Who better to follow up having T.J Ford than one of my favourite guests in Jack. The last time Jack joined us I believe was prior to the NBA Draft. A lot has changed since that time and we go through a lot of the changes. As well we talk about Chris Bosh and his future this season and long term. Demar Derozan, Hedo Turkoglu, Jarrett Jack and others are all talked about. We also address something that a lot of people on Twitter want to know. When will Jack Armstrong be on Twitter? I talk with Jack and give some creative ideas on how we might be able to get Jack Armstrong to join the Twitter Universe. I would not have even tried if I did not feel it was something the people wanted. I also would not have tried if I had not known Jack would have some fun with it. But regardless of if he makes it on to Twitter or not I am always happy to say hello to him and talk basketball. Which is the majority of what we talked about. But I gave it the old college try at the end of the interview to give some ways for Jack to consider joining Twitter. I should have mentioned to him the Jeff Van Gundy is on there. Anyway it is always great chatting with him so hope you enjoy this latest visit from Jack Armstrong.









Hope you enjoyed that interview. Jack is truly a great guy and I consider it a privilege to have him as a guest. He may never get on Twitter but regardless of if he does or does not people will always love Jack. I think that is why so many would like to see him on there in the first place. But he will hopefully always be a guest here on the Dino Nation Blog cause I love having him.

Make it 7 Day- Basketball Editon

Today in Hamilton they are having a huge rally about this whole hockey team mess. I was on Fan 590 this week on Game Plan and suggested I'd rather of a NBDL franchise than an NHL one. Not that I am against my home town getting a hockey team. Just that living here all of my life I have come to doubt it would ever happen. I also have grown to be sick of the media and it's attempt to make Hockey the be all and end all in sports. If there ever is a make it 2 day in Vancouver I would be more likely to hop a plane and go to Vancouver for that than to hope in a car and drive to downtown Hamilton today. Also beyond it being make it 7 day it is The Score's Cabrel Richards aka Cabbie's Birthday. No idea how old he is but he has a child like nature that makes him who he is. So Happy Birthday to him. So in honour of Make it 7 day I have a bunch of lists of 7 for your pleasure today. We had a blog earlier this week brought to you by the letter D. Well today it is lucky 7's.

NBA Draft 7

1. L.A Clippers will select Blake Griffin
2. Memphis will select James Harden
3. OKC will select Haseem Thabeet
4. Scaramento will select Ricky Rubio
5. Washington will select Jordan Hill
6. Minnesota will select Tyreke Evans
7. Golden State will select Demar DeRozan ( OH NO Raptors Fans)

and a bonus pick at 9 your Toronto Raptors select...

Jonny Flynn

It is Friday as well. People who are on Twitter know that as Follow Friday. So I will give a little Follow Friday love here at the Dino Nation Blog with my 7 favourite twitter folks. I can not include myself but if you want to follow me it is @dinonationblog. Now on to my list.

7. @chrisbosh- CB4
6. @Rapsfan- One of the crew from Raptors Republic
5. @ JustinRWalsh- Recent guest in Dino Nation Blog
4- @NBATVAndre- Andre Aldridge of NBA T.V
3- @ Eric__Smith- Raptors own Eric Smith from @fan590
2- @jeskeets & @Tasmelas- Put these two together as they are together on The Basketball Jones
1-@stackmack- The lovely and Talented Holly Mackenzie of The Score Court Surfing and Slam

Honourable Mention to- @Nat77- Heels on Hardwood, @raps_fan- girl who loves basketball, @scottcarefoot- Raptor Blog and A guy I owe a ton too, @tj_ford- My Fav PG no matter what, and lots more should be on this list. But that will have to do.

To close out this list of 7's, Draft Express had a ton of interviews up on there site and You Tube. I watched a ton of them yesterday and here are 7 that stood out. They are in no particular order. Most come for the combine held in Chicago in late May.

DeJaun Blair (Projected 13th pick on Draft Express)



Pat Mills ( Projected 31st pick on Draft Express )



Stephen Curry ( Projected 7th pick on Draft Express )



Gerald Henderson ( Projected 12th pick on Draft Express )



Hassem Thabeet ( Projected 3rd pick on Draft Express )



Demar Derozan ( Projected 9th pick on Draft Express )



Jonny Flynn ( Projected 10th pick on Draft Express )





So that does it for me today. If the mood hits I may write something on the weekend but if not see you all Monday and enjoy your weekend. If you want to see more of these interviews head over to Draft Express I consider it the best draft site out there.

Round Ball Review- Puppets Suck Edition

Doing an interview hopefully sometime today. So that made a good chance to bring back the Round Ball Review. The regular crew of J.B and Joey Gee are in this episode. J.B wants to talk playoffs and Joey wants to talk about Puppets. Joey feels that the Nike Ads of Lebron and Kobe some how are stealing the thunder of the round ball review. That and some other fun stuff






Hope you enjoyed the Round Ball Review as much as I did in making it. Here is the latest of the Puppets as they are on the Sports Center set

Tweets and Twits

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

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

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

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

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

Live Blogging The Night Away

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

Bosh Has Had Enough

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

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

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

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

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

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

Vince McManon vs Denver Nuggets

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

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

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

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

The Retrun of "The Baller" Adnan Virk

It is great to welcome back Adnan Virk To the Dino Nation Blog. I am not sure if this was explained in the first episode with Adnan but we worked together at another T.V Network and since getting with the Score we have re-connected. I mention this because he refers to me as "Jimmy" which was his nickname for me back then. I do not remember the reason why? I would not want people to think he doesn't know who I am. Adnan is the only person that I will allow to refer to me as that name.

In this visit we have some fun and tackle some issues from as simple as athletes twittering to the more complex issues that face the Raptors and CB4. Hopefully you will find it entertaining and enjoyable.

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I have had a chance to be invited down to The Score a few times. Adnan has been a friendly face and has made me feel welcome. I am happy to have been able to have brought him to the Dino Nation Blog and had a chance to work with him. I am also proud to have the Adnan Virk endorsement as his favourite blogger. Adnan is a great guy and every bit the funny entertaining person you see on your T.V screen in real life.This maybe be news for Adnan seeing as he is not on Facebook but he does have a Facebook Group and I am a part of it. Thanks to Adnan for taking the time to be in the Dino Nation Blog as a guest.

Raptors Turning The Corner?

Chris Bosh felt on top of the World last night. At least that is what he was telling the folks on Twitter and Face book. In fact here is what was posted exactly.

Bosh From Twitter

"I'm on top of the world right now. I've seen the new light!"

That sure sounds encouraging doesn't it. I mean he has reason to think that way as well. The Raptors have won 3 out of 4 games and are starting to figure out how to hold leads and get wins. Sure the Wizards are a bad team but they did the same against the Magic and Rockets. At this point it really isn't as much about who the Raptors are playing as much as it is about if they are winning or losing. A brilliant football coach once said " You Play To Win The Game" now Herm Edwards may not have been able to get his Chiefs to do that very often but he is right. It is what it is all about when you cut through all the stuff that is written and said. It is about getting wins. When the season is over they don't ask you who you beat or how you beat them. They just ask how many times did you win. But it does seem clear the Raptors are starting to see the path back to the playoffs.

Andrea Has Figured It Out?

One of the biggest changes has been with Andrea Bargnani. I really was in the camp of the folks that wanted to trade him and move on. But he has shown some things that we have not scene from him in his two plus years in the NBA. The guy we have seen in the last 5 games is much more the one Bryan Colangelo had in mind when he drafted Bargnani with the first overall pick. A confident shooter that has ice water in his veins and makes and takes big shots at key points in games. When Andrea displays these kind of skills it makes the Raptors a much different team. The Wizards last night did all they could to make sure that Chris Bosh did not beat them last night. They succeed for the most part. What they did not count on was that Andrea Bargnani would.

The fear and concern is what happens when Jermaine O'Neal becomes healthy? Jay Triano when asked about if O'Neal would start when he returned ducked the question altogether. He said he had not even thought about it. I am not sure if that is true but eventually he will have to think about it. Bargnani when asked about if it matters if he started or not claims it does not. He seemed to suggest that it was more about the amount of time he gets on the floor and not if his name got called in the starting line-up. The biggest test of Triano as a coach will be when all three (Bosh, Bargnani and O'Neal) are healthy and able to play. The Raptors tried unsuccessfully for the most part to play all three together. Bargnani as an over sized small forward was a failure. So can Triano come up with a rotation that allows Andrea to get his floor time that he thinks he needs and based on his play of late as earned. It may be possible to make it work as you can try to keep O'Neal healthy by reducing his minutes and same for Bosh. You can use Andrea to fill the bulk of those minutes. It will take Triano to be able to convince all 3 players that it will be the best thing for the group as a whole. Based on the recent developments he can make a strong argument for it. The one problem will be when it comes to those last 6 minutes of games. I think it is clear that all 3 players want to be on the floor for those. Bosh as the franchise player is going to be 99.9% of the time. So it becomes a choice between O'Neal and Bargnani for those minutes. O'Neal is the better defender but not by as great a gap as you would have thought heading into the season. Bargnani is the better offensive weapon when he is on his game and going well. Just with the range he has he becomes a match-up problem for any team. I have no doubt Jay Triano wants to be the coach of this team going forward. No one likes to be interim anything. How he handles this issue will define him as a coaching candidate and will impact on what Bryan Colangelo might do in terms of moves for this roster. If Triano can show a way that Bosh, O'Neal and Bargnani can all play together and be productive it may allow Colangelo to feel he must hang on to all 3 players. Despite all of that this team still badly needs a slashing and scoring wing player. I am not convinced that player on a night to night basis is on this roster. So it will be interesting to see what happens. But some new questions have started to become part of figuring this all out.

Jose When He Returns Will That Help Or Hurt

Seems a bit silly of a question on the surface. But if you have been playing close attention some things have improved with no Jose. Those improvements are mostly on the defensive end of the floor. Jose Calderon when he returns must answer the challenge and work as hard on defense as he does on offense. It has to happen or this house of cards of improvement will all come crashing down. I am not saying he needs to be an all world defender. He needs to take a man blowing by him as personally as he takes it when he makes a rare turnover.

That will be what Jose will help with and improve on what has been happening of late. He is very good at protecting the ball and getting his team to play with less mistakes on the offensive end. He will need to take the odd chance as well to not break the momentum that has been built in his time away that was being established. But he was starting to show signs of starting to make those king of plays and choices. Jay Triano is slowly getting Jose to understand the benefits of taking chances and making it work at times in a game. I will give you an example from last night's game made by Will Solomon. He looked way up the floor and hit Anthony Parker( I think ) with a long pass and it lead to an easy score as Parker was ahead of the play. In the past if Jose was in the game he likely sees that same pass to make but views it as to much of a risk and just sets the team up in the half court. Transition points and easier chances can make life much more easy for any basketball team.

I have always said that Jose Calderon was a very good point guard. But he is not a great point guard. However if Jay Triano get work with Jose and tweak his game in some ways along with a true commitment to defensive improvement by Jose he could grow into being a great point guard. Jay Triano worked with Steve Nash on team Canada and Nash credits Triano with helping him a lot. It is not that Jose will become a Steve Nash like point guard. They are very different in a lot of ways. But can Triano give Jose the direction to make improvements in his game as he did for Steve Nash with his game. I was hopeful that he could and was starting to see signs that he was. Calderon is a great guy and people rush to his defense at times based on that. I like Jose but I just expect and want more from him. That is what signing that contract in the summer meant. To be the starting point guard in the city has always been a focus from day one with Damon Stoudamire and it continues to be to this day with Jose.

Matt Devlin last night suggested we may see a Jose return as soon as tomorrow against the Grizzlies. So it will be really interesting to see what the impact will be on the Raptors on both ends of the floor when he does. No one is saying Will Solomon and or Roko Ukic is going to steal his job. But maybe they could see more minutes if Calderon is not as effective in some aspects. Ultimately maybe it should happen any way as Calderon is really showing signs of wear this season. Sam Mitchell had no confidence it Solomon or Ukic and really over played Jose through the early part of the season much like he did with Chris Bosh.

Live Blogging on Monday

Just a note for all of you and an invitation. I am going to be working doing live blogs for The Score from time to time. Most of the time it will be for Raptor games. On these nights I will not being doing Raptor Rewinds as you have become use too. But I will provide you links and access to the live blog instead. The first of these is going to be on Monday for the Raptors and Celtics and as soon as I have the details of how you can take part I will provide you a link. These live blogs are great for those of you who are on the go and have the tech toys like Iphones or Blackberrys. If you want to keep up with what is going on with the game. If you are out on a date or visiting family and have to miss a game. Now you won't have to on these nights. Even if your watching the game it is a cool way to have interaction with your fellow fans. I will when I live blog try to show up a bit early and have a bit or an open pre game chat like portion and same for halftime and post game. You are all welcome to be a part.

So that is about it for today unless we have any breaking news to pass a long. I will be doing my usual Thursday thing in taking in the "Hoops" show on Fan 590 and Raps TV. Show has been gone last bit for holidays. I am not sure if Eric, Paul and Jack will be hosting but I will tune in regardless and likely call and have my view. So have a great day and take care. Tomorrow the O.J Mayo show hits Canada that should be fun.