CONFIDENCE, SMILE, HAIR FLICK, KILL IT.

Dear All You Fabulous, Beautiful, Drop Dead Gorgeous, And Talented Dancers,

The Raptors Dance Pak auditions are just around the corner... technically couple days, which is totally closer than around the corner, but my goal here is not to scare you. Four years ago today, I was in the exact same position you are in. Some of you have probably already made your trip to Lululemon, have your fake eyelashes all ready, or, if you're anything like me, you're a last minute child, and will decide on the colour of your half top and shorts the morning of the audition (from experience, I don't suggest this). James had asked me to do a piece on the Dance Pak auditions from my point of view. From woman-to-woman, I'm obviously going to give you so much more. I was on the Raptors Dance Pak for three years, and spent my third year as Co-Captain with Kat.

Three years on the Dance Pak gave me some of my best memories, my closest friends, my independence, a sense of leadership, teamwork, discipline, and kept me in the best shape. The Dance Pak became my life. We rehearsed three days a week, when games started, you're looking at 4-5 days a week with the team either in rehearsal, on court, or working at appearances. So, yes, the Dance Pak was a very intensive job. But, we're dancers, dancing 4-5 days a week is like a dream come true, well it was for me at least. 

Now, let's talk the audition. Please, don't be scared. First of all the Dance Pak choreographer, Amberley Waddell, is probably one of the most talented choreographers I know. I already know you are going to LOVE the combination. If you have never auditioned for anything like this before, again, don't be scared. Amberley will teach you the combination, you will get to practice for a bit. She will then split you up in groups of 6 or smaller, and you will get to strut your stuff to the judges. Amberley is looking for confidence (that is the number one thing), personality, dance ability, presence, attitude, flare, and style. I shouldn't have to remind you of these things though, you ladies are all professionals. James and I did a little interview on more of the audition process and what it is required to be part of Dance Pak, as well as some of my experiences both being on and since being part of the Dance Pak.

I consider myself a very lucky person to have experienced what I have with MLSE. The ladies on the Dance Pak became my family. They were the people who I would tell my Saturday night stories to during our Sunday morning on-court rehearsals. Through any breakup, happy day, or terrible day, I always looked forward to work. I will never call the Dance Pak a job, because it wasn't, it was my therapy. It got me through some of the most stressful moments in my life, up to now. If you're on the fence about auditioning Saturday, let me be the one to push you. GO. If I didn't put on that pink half top and fake eyelashes that Sunday morning at 8 am, 4 years ago, I would NOT be the same person I am today. 

So, now that you have made your final decision to go, I'm going to leave you with a HUGE GOOD LUCK. I'm sending you all of my love. And remember Confidence, Smile, Hair Flick, KILL IT!

xo- CK

P.S- You should also go check out the info for the auditions on Raptors.com as well as some more tips and tricks from them on how you can do your very best on audition day. 

"NBAz in 7 Dayz"

"It means a great deal to those who are oppressed to know that they are not alone. And never let anyone tell you that what you are doing is insignificant". - Bishop Desmond Tutu. I was at the ACC last night, ready to enjoy what the Raptors and Jazz had to offer. I heard the heights of ultimate cheering and praise for our men in red and white. I also heard the boos and verbal jeers toward a few calls (the referees were a different breed last night). But this isn't what struck me. What struck me was a "this team sucks" piercing through the air during the fourth quarter. This team doesn't suck. Whatever system they are using or decisions made to generate wins clearly did not work for them this season. That is the difference. I think it is hypocritical to cheer and show praise one minute and verbally abuse your 'so-called team' the next. Sure, be upset your team blew a 14 point lead in the fourth quarter. As a fan you have every right to be upset. But unless you are able to school the likes of Demar DeRozan, Leandro Barbosa or even Reggie Evans all on your own, you are not in a position to proclaim the level of talent a team has, especially in such an ignorant way. I read tweets from self proclaimed Raptors fans announcing they are jumping ship and supporting another team from now on based on what they have seen so far this season. This is a real shame. Despite the Raptors not finishing the game in their favour, I had a really good time. Besides the game, there were many ways I was entertained - especially the Raptors Dance Pak. They were so positive and energetic it made me want to scoop their workout regimen so I may raise my own level of athleticism. Aside from the company of one of my best friends Dave, the highlight of the night for me was when I saw an adult fan go ape crazy for a free t-shirt, pause to look at it and promptly shuffle it forward a few rows to an unsuspecting 5 year-old. Now if only the jaded fans in attendance Thursday night could have shown the same kind of compassion for the Toronto Raptors. Please be clear I am not saying Raptors fans have no right to be frustrated their team did not make the playoffs for one reason or another. I am asking you to direct said frustration to the right place and see the bigger picture.

Speaking of Playoffs...

NBA All-Star Weekend? Done. NBA Trade Deadline? Done and Done. The only thing left to look forward to now on your professional basketball calendar are the playoffs. Last year, the DNB staff made their picks and gave their individual reasons for their choices. As you may remember, I chose the Los Angeles Lakers to go all the way and I do so again this year. I realize Boston, Chicago and San Antonio are the only teams to clinch a playoff spot so far but I never go with the top teams unless I am confident they have shown they know how to win AND lose. San Antonio has bulldozed through most of the league at this point with a 52-12 record but ask yourself have they lost major games they should have won? How did they bounce back? This is the most important skill to have going into the playoffs since we all know this is the time for surprises and upsets. When the Lakers fell to the Cavs 104-99 on February 16th, even Magic Johnson was trash talking his former club for losing to the worst team in the league. I remained confident they would pull through and so did Lakers management since no changes were made to L.A.'s roster close to the deadline - not even the rumoured Ron Artest trade.

Fast forward to today. The Lakers are now showing their championship contending qualities and posting an 8 game win streak since the All-Star break. Tonight they play the Heat and are poised to stretch their win streak to nine. The Miami Heat have not shown - at least recently - they are able to handle the pressure and bounce back from adversity. The Lakers have. Having said this, if we were to toss the remainder of the season and start the 2011 'Battle Royale' for NBA supremacy right now, here are my match -ups:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

(1, 8) Boston Celtics - Indiana Pacers - BOSTON
(4, 5) Orlando Magic - Atlanta Hawks - ORLANDO
(3, 6) Miami Heat - New York Knicks - NEW YORK
(2, 7) Chicago Bulls - Philadelphia 76ers - CHICAGO

WESTERN CONFERENCE

(1, 8) San Antonio Spurs - Memphis Grizzlies - SAN ANTONIO
(4, 5) Oklahoma City Thunder - Denver Nuggets - OKLAHOMA CITY
(3, 6) Los Angeles Lakers - Portland Trail Blazers - LOS ANGELES
(2, 7) Dallas Mavericks - New Orleans Hornets - DALLAS

Think about this over the weekend. When you join me on Tuesday for more "NBAz in 7 Dayz", I will give you my reasons and fill in the rest. Thank-you for joining me today. As always I welcome your comments and suggestions. Please keep them coming by following me on Twitter (ddegraauw) and Facebook (Danielle de Graauw). Have a great weekend.

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

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

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

Dino Blogger's Sunday Thoughts

It is rare the Raptors do not play on Sunday so with that rare chance thought I would give some thoughts on The Raptors, who knows maybe even life itself. Before a day of football I sit with just my thoughts and a keyboard. So let's think deep thoughts. Or at least some quality thoughts.

Thought 1- This is not a new one. I have had this one since Summer League. Demar DeRozan and Sonny Weems need to be on the floor together. Even if Sonny doesn't agree with me. Klezia just doesn't do it for me like he does for others. If the Raptors are playing for the future that means Weems makes more sense. Despite the fact he is in a contract year. If you can get both Demar and Sonny out on the break...LOOK OUT BELOW!!! These two on the floor with each other will challenge each other, the same way they do when they go against each other in practice. Each will make the other better. Sonny can be the Robin to Demar's Batman and there will be no issue with it. Injuries have forced Jay Triano to go with this line-up and in my opinion it should remain. Do I expect it will happen? Nope. I also think it is only a matter of time before Amir steps in as the starting 4 on this team. I bet that happens before Sonny gets his shot. But ultimately all 3 former Young Gunz now Young Onez belong on the floor together. You market them together so play them together. It makes sense both basketball and marketing wise.

Thought 2- I see a future where Bargnani is passed by DeRozan and he is the best player on this roster. Bargnani is what he is and his upside is not as high as it is for Demar. Bargnani is just a frustrating player that lacks consistency within a game. If you can have a night like in Orlando, where Bargnani sets the the table and Demar starts to develop into a closer it could be a happy marriage of talent. But Bargnani is not, nor ever will be the guy. Demar has a chance to be a dynamic star in this league and by the end of this season that could be crystal clear. It really needs to be if the Raptors are going to be heading in the right direction. Bargnani is a scorer and will never be much more than that. A weak defender and not ever going to be a consistent rebounder. Demar has a chance to be a complete player. His defence has a long way to go as well. But I feel more confident based on his age and attitude he can improve on that. Bargnani is a lost cause he is what he is at this point. The first step in ending your frustration with Andrea is accepting that fact. He is never going to average a double double and at best he might not be a liability on defence.

Thought 3- Julian Wright it was said came into camp at less then ideal shape. Whatever it was this guy has been decent in every time we have seen him on the floor. He seems to be a good dude in the locker room as well. We have never heard him complain at all and he has waited for his chance and made the best of it. At first glance with Belinelli starting and playing well in New Orleans it looked like the Hornets won that trade hands down. They still may have won the trade but Marco was not working out here and Wright is at least starting to show some signs of doing that. So good for him. Also he changed his Twitter handle from DinoWright14. There is only room for on Dino in the Raptor Twitterverse and that is Dino Nation Blog. If people think that was serious give your head a shake.

BREAK- Time for DNB TRIVIA Question # 4:

3 Major events happen/have happened in November for the Dino Nation Blog in the month of November? What are they? Name 2 of the 3.

If you get all 3 will consider that a bonus and you get a lifeline if you get an answer wrong. Meaning if you get all 3 right and have answered another question wrong will give you credit for a right answer.

Thought 4- Can the Raptors keep this attitude going the whole season long as the loss total increases. The effort has been there with few exceptions and even with the recent adversity of injuries it has remained. It is very hard to keep playing that same way when the reality hits that you are not a playoff team. For the development of this team it is vital they continue to play hard for all 82 games. If that effort goes south it will be interesting to see what that means for Jay Triano. Keeping that effort and developing players are the keys to Triano's future. It appears that wins and losses don't matter in terms of Triano. As much as that pains me given this is his 3rd season with the head coaching job.

Thought 5- This is kind of an I told you so. Doug Smith broke a story that Alabi will be heading to the Erie BayHawks who are the Raptors D-League affiliate. Also it is likely the Ed Davis will spend some time there with him. Who said this to you going to happen back in the pre-season? That was me. So forgive me for giving myself a pat on the back. But do not let it confuse you. Sending both to the D-League is not only the right thing to do, it is going to help these guys in the long run. Alabi and Davis need to develop confidence and have playing time. Getting that on the Raptors at this time is likely not going to happen for Ed or Solomon. The D-League can be your friend if you use it correctly. The Raptors should eventually consider running their own D-League team just like they do on the Hockey side with the Marlies and Leafs. Hamilton or Buffalo would be good homes for such a franchise. They are close enough to be a car ride away and allow the Raptors to have total control and awareness of what is going on down there.

Ok I am tired from thinking so much. Not really. A reminder tomorrow we go 1 on 1 with Candice from your Raptors Dance Pak. Do not know your Dance Pak by name? Shame on you. This is Candice and she is here tomorrow:

DNB @ Fan Jam

Today is the start of a new season for the Toronto Raptors. I was down at Fan Jam and talked with a lot of fans and asked them basic questions. 1. What are you most excited about for this Raptor Season and 2. What are you most fearful about for this Raptor season. There is also some stuff with Akil Augustine from NBA TV Canada and Kat and Candice from your Dance Pac on the actual event from Sunday. Like I have been saying on Twitter it was a fun event and had a great time talking with Raptor fans. This worked out well and I can see us try something like this more then a few more times throughout the season. So have a listen to all the folks we talked with at Fan Jam.



Tonight is as mentioned is the start of another NBA season for the Toronto Raptors. It also is the start for me doing basketball for another season on The Score.com and Score Mobile. I will be there probably about 20 minutes before the tip and you can join me with this link. Or hit up the Score.com or Score Mobile. I love live blogging all the sports I do for The Score but there is nothing more fun for me then Raptor games. That is in part, because of all the great Raps fans that make the halftime and during the game fly by with all of their comments. I am going be at the ACC Friday on a secret mission for DNB Fans so I won't be covering it, but more info on that as it becomes available. For now a new season is here and ready to get it rolling. Thanks also one more time to Myck Kabongo for helping out with our NBA preview. He is a nice young man and I look forward to cheering him on down at Texas next season with his fellow Canadians Thompson and Joseph who start their freshman seasons at Texas this year.

So the time for talking from me and for you is over. It is time to see what happens when the lights come on for the Toronto Raptors this season.

Barnes Out The Door, Hope Not Far Behind?

Well now another would be Raptor is officially on another team. The Raptors after having a deal worked out to acquire Tyson Chandler from Charlotte, would watch him later get traded to Dallas. Now Matt Barnes who had agreed to a deal with Toronto only to have it fall apart is elsewhere officially. News now is that Barnes has signed a deal for far less money with the 2 time champion Lakers. Here are the details from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo. It is another situation where the Raptors miss out on someone in a very public way. It is hard to now stand up there and say, when you make other moves, these were the best ones. Clearly the Raptors had targeted players like Diaw, Chandler and Barnes and they will now become the measuring stick for other deals.

I used earlier in the week the Fred Jones example as having to go with a plan B in terms of signing someone. The Raptors are in bad need of both a legit center and a small forward. It seems hard to imagine the Raptors entering the season with Bargnani at the 5 spot backed up by a second round draft choice that is raw and unproven. The Raptors could use guys more suited to play the 2 and 4 spots to play at small forward, but that would cause issues on defense, for a team that claims to want to improve on that aspect.

It is not like Colangelo will stop trying though. It just is not in his nature to do so. However, if the Raptors remain true to the plan to remain below the tax threshold, the amount of wiggle room is very small. Colangelo has stated in interviews that although the Raptors had plans to venture into the Tax Threshold, those plans were based on having a re-signed Chris Bosh. No Bosh, and no tax seems to be the result. So that eliminates a lot of options. Including the use of that massive trade exception from the Bosh deal. It seems pretty clear the Raptors plan on holding that till next season, or at the earliest the trade deadline. It would take out of play the idea of trading for an Andrea Iguodala unless Philadelphia were to consider Calderon and some expiring contracts.

I am sure Bryan Colangelo has a plan. But what letter plan are we down to now? Plan C? D? It just does not look promising. This team as constructed now is no where close to being a playoff team in the East. This is without taking into account that Chris Paul is trying to force his way out of New Orleans we are told. He has given 3 options for his destination and one would hurt the Raptors very badly being the New York Knicks. According to the New York Post the Knicks are willing to trade anyone and anything other than Amare to land Paul. Adding Paul to the Knicks makes them a playoff team for sure in my opinion. The Raptors would tumble to at best 3rd in the division and with many teams in the east upgrading, hard to see Raptors being able to hold ground. Also, you may be aware of comments Paul is said to have made about establishing a New York big 3, with himself, Carmelo Anthony and Amare. I like the Young Guns as much as anyone but they are not on the level of these threesomes that are popping up in the East.

But Colangelo seems focused on what he can do under the new CBA. In the moves he tried to pull off their was a clear focus on clearing cap for the first free agency in 2012 after a new CBA would be in place. The hope being that it will be a much more tighter cap system and thus increase the value of cap room. While it would also decrease the amount of teams able to compete in the free agent market. Things like the out and out end to the Mid Level Exception have been thrown out there as possibilities under the new CBA. Even some hardliners talking about a hard cap at the end of it all. No one knows for sure the exact outcome. But everyone is predicting at the end of it the players side is going to lose. The sale of a team for 450 million dollars is not going to stop the NBA from pushing for a much tighter deal in the next CBA.

You must commend Colangelo for thinking ahead to this. When you consider he has still yet to sign an extension with the Raptors as he enters the final year of his deal. Most G.M's would try to save their own butt and say the heck with the future. But B.C clearly has one eye on this season and one eye on the NBA's new reality in a new CBA.

Unless something major breaks I am off for the weekend. Raptors are holding Dance Pak auditions, and sadly I have been passed over as a guest judge. If you are over the age of 18, and have 2 years of dance experience, and are female, you can take your shot to join the dance pak. Auditions start at 11am Saturday and you need to be at Gate 1 by 10 am according to the press release the Raptors issued. There you can get all signed up and registered. Good Luck to all the ladies that try out.

Starting 5 V-log Edition- Welcome To March

My Olympics beard is gone and I am looking more presentable in terms of getting on the camera. I admit in watching the Olympics and doing all my usual stuff I got to look a bit scruffy. For fans of the Round Ball Review (there are some I hope) they normally take this Monday spot in the blog but because of the Raptors playing tonight I have decided to leave them for another day. Raptors do not play again until Friday so there should be time to fit them in later in the week. So enjoy me and hopefully I am just as entertaining as my cartoon co-workers.



Also I have an announcement to make:



It has always been part of the goal of the Dino Nation Blog to grow basketball fans. This is a way to try and do that. The folks at Raptors Republic have run an event on Fridays in Toronto for a couple seasons now. I living in Hamilton have never made it down to one of those. I still will someday. However I decided to have a party here in Hamilton. Tyson that runs Brooklyn's the place this party is being held has been great and open to this idea. We both hope that this can be a success and will give Raptor fans a place to call home to cheer on the Raptors on a night. I know personally I have been out and had to beg places to throw the Raptors on T.V. Here no begging is required this is going to be your place to cheer on and have fun and root on the Raptors.

So join us at 291 Queenston Road in Hamilton. Here is more info on our Facebook Event Page



If you are not in the Hamilton area you can still help out by spreading the word and letting people know about this event it would be greatly appreciated and helpful. More details and info as event gets closer.