Friday Freelancer

I don't really have a lot to say today. It happens every now and again. Lots of little things to consider. So here is a list of what is rambling around in my brain. So with that off we go.

1. Rajon Rondo is the second best player in Boston. Bulls and Celtics series is showing you why.

2. I am a closet Blue Jay Fan again how did that happen? Oh yeah the Jays are winning.

3. Thanks to EA Sports for giving me something to do with my free time for the last 20 years or so.

4. I will miss John Madden. Great announcer and is part of many of my NFL memories.

5. Go Curry Go. Not sure if he fits with Raps but he is in the draft and I was huge fan of his dad Dell

6. What is wrong with the Hornets you are making me look bad come on CP3!!!

7. I have a new nickname...Mr Blowout. In my live blogging with The Score I am getting blow outs. Hawks and Heat on Saturday someone is winning BIG!!!

8. NFL Draft is Saturday...I watch it not sure why but I do.

9. Wonder If I am only person in Canada that has not watched a single NHL Playoff game.

10. CBS had a story about Joe Dumars having a restraining order on head coach Michael Curry. I guess safe to say he is getting fired?

11. K.G is not a guy I like but the Celtics without him show you who was the biggest factor in winning them a title.

12. Lots of guys getting in the NBA Draft it is going to be interesting. Rubio is in but it is going to cost him a ton of cash if he wants to play next season. Some people mention him if Raptors get a lotto pick. I am not thinking Mr.Calderon would be thrilled with that. I just don't think they like each other that much.

13. Western kid in NFL draft. over 300 bounds and runs a 4.89 in the 40 that is insane.

14. I just don't get the appeal of soccer. I mean Toronto FC won 1-0 how can that be exciting and how can you take a sport serious with a team name like that team they beat? Civas? I am not sure if I spelled that right and do not care if I did.

15. Belated happy birthday wishes to Scott Carefoot of Raptor Blog fame. Not sure how old he is and don't want to know cause he is likely younger than me.

16. Shout out to Basketball Jones guys. Tas is one of the live bloggers on The Score with me and I enjoy checking out his stuff.

17. Ron Artest on the Raptors? It might be interesting. I would like to see it.

18. Return of Rasho....Like to see that as well

19. Lebron James and Kobe Bryant are fun to watch and forget who is better it is a joy to watch both.

20. The time for MLSE to take advantage of being rich is now. Will they take advantage of it? History suggests no but hopefully I am wrong.

That is it. If you have things on your mind let's hear them or if you have a comment on any of my things here feel free to chime in as well. I love to hear from you folks. Leave a name if you leave a comment. It does not even have to be your own. But I would prefer it. Have a great weekend and I think so will yours truly so I will likely just do one weekend edition of the blog for the off season. Unless there is reason to do more like breaking news. But not much of that right now. Enjoy the nice weather if you are in Southern Ontario. If you are elsewhere hope you have nice weather to enjoy the weekend as well.

Pops Likes Us He Really Likes Us.

In my recent interview with Jack Armstrong, he and I got talking about how the mentality of Toronto needs to change. Well I failed in that I admit it. I can't help it think it is programed in my brain at this point. My mom is a fan of the Blue Jays and watches them quite a bit. The combination of their great start and the Raptors season being done has lead me to watching them a little bit. It is also a way to spend time with her which is always a good thing. Anyway as you may know already Pops Mensah-Bonsu was at the game last night. He said about 3 or 4 times that he hopes to be back with the Raptors next season. Anytime a player says he wants to be a Raptor you get warm and fuzzy feelings. I think we all get that way as most of us feel that players would not come to Toronto or want to be here. I am sure we all have a mental list of players we NEVER would think would come to Toronto. Here is mine off the top of my head.

Lebron James
Kobe Bryant
Andre Iguodala
Brandon Roy
Lamarcus Aldridge
Dwyane Wade
Chris Paul
Shaq
Kevin Garnett
Carmelo Anthony

I am sure you have your own list as well. Anytime that anyone says they like Toronto and want to play here is like a shock. However why should it be? We have a great fan base. The city itself is better than a lot of others in the NBA. Sure it is a different country but it is not like we are like guys going to play in Europe.

So Pops likes us and wants to stay. He has never even had a long run in the NBA why would he not want to stay? We need to have some confidence and walk taller. However if you buy into the fact that Toronto is limited in who will come here. That means you also need to cut Colangelo some slack. If he is limited on who he can get to come here than he is playing with a disadvantage.

I find that the negative far seems to out weight the positive in Raptorland. I am not just talking now but all the time. Even when things go well people wonder if we can keep players if things are going to stay together. I refuse to believe the only way you avoid this problem is turn the Raptors into a Euro Team to do it. That seems to be the path Colangelo took to get team going in right direction when he got here. He brought in Garbo, Parker and Bargnani. Delfino was another although he is not from Europe. I think all fans in Canada still remember a pouting Steve Francis when he drafted by the Grizzlies. It was a slap in the face to people in Vancouver and to a lesser degree all across Canada.

I say enough of all of this. This sport is invented by a Canadian and Canada is a great country and Toronto is a great city. Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Chris Bosh or whoever comes along is lucky to be here in Toronto and in Canada. That is how we need to start thinking. People in New York just assume that everyone wants to play there. You know if you can make it there you'll make it anywhere. However not everyone wants to play in New York. It is a myth that is created out of confidence. We here in Toronto need that confidence.

Getting NASHTY On A Wednesday

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

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

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

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



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

Playoff Thoughts From The Dino Blogger.

Well we are well underway with the NBA Playoffs and things are off to an interesting start. That being said nothing I have seen makes me think we are not still heading to the final destination that we all think we are heading. The Kobe vs Lebron Final is going to be a reality. That does not mean we can not enjoy the ride along the way.

The best series by far has been the Bulls and Celtics. The Celtics are running out of players and Rajon Rondo has been slowed. If Rondo goes down it is all over for the Celtics. He may not be the second best player on the Celtics but he is the second most important. Derrick Rose and the young Bulls have pushed the Celtics to limit. Ray Allen had to make a clutch shot or the Bulls would be heading home up 2-0. Chuck Swirsky, Brack Obama and Benny The Bull would have all been thrilled. Unlike last season the Celtics can not afford to get dragged into a long 7 game series. But that is the direction they seem to be heading. I am not sure of this but what happens to Celtics if they run out of players? It is starting to look that way. Powe is now likely out. Rondo is not 100% and of course K.G is likely done for the season. It has been high drama and I want to say the Celtics will take this series. It is the logical safe thing to say. However this series is not following a logical script.

Beyond that the Orlando Magic need to step up and be counted. In fact the entire state of Florida in the NBA will you please stand up? Miami and Orlando both laid an egg in game 1. The Magic looked to be on the way to the expected game 1 win. Someone forgot to tell the Sixers. While the Heat looked awful as the Hawks are determined to prove that they are no joke. There is lots of talk about how the Magic don't get enough talk and praise. Well if that is true Atlanta is in the witness protection program when it comes to talk. They broke out of it with a performance that was first rate. They took D-Wade and put the M.V.P candidate on ice and dared the rest of the Heat to beat them and they could not. So Florida wake the heck up you are making me look bad. Not that they care about that but for your own self pride get it together for game 2.

Meanwhile The Cavs are putting the final nail in a season for the Pistons that went wrong right from the point Joe Dumars hung up the phone after trading Chancey Billups. Which by the way the Nuggets were impressive in a win over the Hornets. But Lebron and the Cavs are just getting started. They are on a higher mission than the Pistons and it looks very obvious.

So that is the east and a touch of the west. Lakers played with the Jazz like a cat does with a ball or toy mouse. It was fun to watch unless you are a Jazz fan. Kobe took his spots when needed and the Lakers were great and looked to be in control from the start.

Spurs and Mavs was a tail of 2 games. I have live blogged both of these. In game one the Spurs looked like they were going to be fine but the Mavs made a comeback. They would take game 1 and looked like a team that could make an upset happen. Until they played game 2. The Mavs were destroyed by the Spurs and Mason Jr and Bonner who were non factors in game 1 were in game 2. But the story of game 2 was Tony Parker. Jason Kidd can not stop him and no one else on the Mavs could. He was brilliant and had 38.

Blazers and Rocket I admit that I have seen little of it. However it may be a case of the Blazers having to learn from losing in this first round. They may have to much of a task to get by Houston who is under a lot of pressure to escape the first round. If the Blazers bowed out it would be expected and no one would hold it against them.

So that is my little run through the playoffs with my thoughts. Jay Triano is meeting with Bryan Colangelo and you can bet that sooner rather than later he will be announced as the head coach of the Toronto Raptors. I am not on board with this. However I wish Jay the best and hope I am wrong. Seems clear that Colangelo is heading in the direction of hiring Jay and he has been laying the foundation for that for awhile in his media interviews and at his end of the year address yesterday confirmed everything he had said prior to that.

Colangelo State Of Raptors Address

Bryan Colangelo had his year end session with the media. It was interesting but not sure if it provided any answers but it did give lots of lines to read between. A couple things that seem a little more clear than most were these:

Jay Triano is going to have every chance in the world to remain as the head coach of the Raptors. Colangelo would say that he has talked to no one about the coaching position and he did confirm that people have inquired. However he stated that he will sit down with Jay and talk about everything. He also suggested that he would like the coaching issue to be dealt with quickly. He said that he feels it is important to have a coach in place to be part of the process in moving forward and looking at the draft and trade options. It all seemed to point that unless Jay Triano were to show up with a lamp shade on his head in his underwear the job is likely his. The one thing Bryan would say is that the coaching staff is going to change regardless of if Jay is hired as head coach or not. That would make what everyone has been saying about Mark Ivaroni as the lead assistant to Triano seem likely as well. It could also mean the end of the line for Alex English and Mike Evans. We will have to see.

The other thing that you can almost guarantee is that Carlos Delfino will be bringing sexy back to Toronto next season. Colangelo almost talked about Carlos as a part of the existing member of the Raptor roster. Which technically he is as the Raptors still hold his restricted free agent rights. It seemed very clear that he will be returning. He even made reference to a conversation he had with Jose Calderon about what was missing without Delfino this season. He suggested that Delfino was part of the grit that he admitted was lacking in this roster.

In fact he said flat out that he felt this team as a whole was to nice. He said that he will address that in some way. Perhaps if Shawn Marion does not return Ron Artest would add that tough attitude that Colangelo is said to be searching for. I am saying that of course Bryan could not say anything close to that cause that would be tampering. He said of Marion that he would like for him to return but it will be a case of the market determining if that will be possible. However he suggested there is always the option of a sign and trade that can be explored with Shawn Marion and his agent.

As for the draft. Colangelo suggested that not only the Raptors will more than likely keep their pick he is in the market shopping for perhaps another first round pick. That is something that should make people happy who are looking for the Raptors to get some help. It seems Colangelo would not be opposed to looking at a point guard and a swing man on his draft wish list. He clearly stated that there is really only one sure thing in this draft which would mean Blake Griffin. However he pointed out that even if the Raptors remain at where they sit you can find some good players. He mentioned his own picks of Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudamire as well as the selection of Paul Pierce at 10 for the Celtics.

He kept saying a few things. That he feels the core of this team is solid with Bargnani Bosh and Calderon. However he would not go as far as to say the core will remain. But he said it was likely it would. He said that he could not publicly say that he opposed to Jose Calderon playing for Spain. However he did about everything but saying that it would not be is Jose's best interest to do so for him and his career. He also talked about Roko Ukic and how they were hopeful about his development but suggested that team may look to address the issue in the off-season. He compare the Raptors situation to that of Boston at the point guard position. Rajon Rondo if he went down they did not have many options. He failed to even mention Stephon Marbury in talking about it. That may speak to his feelings on Marbury or the lack of performance by him. But it seemed clear he would not be opposed to adding to the depth at the point guard position. He also failed to mention Marcus Banks at all. So that may suggest that a buy out of that contract could be in the mix for the Raps? It may be the case. It seems unlikely the Raptors would carry 4 point guards.

Steve Nash was also mentioned with out being mentioned. Colangelo would not rule out the option of a Nash. He of course did not refer to him by name but did say that a veteran to mentor Ukic was one way the Raptors could go. They were talking in 2010 in this conversation however I am convinced that the conversation about Nash may happen sooner than that. I have said it for along time. When you consider all the things in play it points to Nash. Triano set to return as the head coach, Shawn Marion an option the Raptors want to explore. It all points to Steve Nash. You also have the whole Bosh drama to deal with. Yes there was talk of that as well.

Chris Bosh is still the cornerstone of this franchise. That is what Colangelo said. He said that he is not looking to move Bosh. He said that Bosh and him had a good conversation but did not talk about the future. He seemed that he was not concerned in having to move Bosh. He flat out said that he was not going to be pressured into moving Bosh for the sake of moving him. He said the only way Bosh would move is if it was a deal that would make the team better. In referencing him as a top 10 player in the league it would seem that would have to be a heck of a deal. He pointed out the fact that Raptors have the advantages of being able to sign him to a max deal and even could do that as part of a sign and trade should Bosh decide to play out his current contract. There is a window in which Bosh could sign a 3 year extension but that seems very unlikely. The bottom line of it all is Colangelo did not seem in any hurry to be moving Chris Bosh. So while Stephen A Smith is looking to get back on T.V can someone please let him know that.

It was a Colangelo that was clearly frustrated by the team and it's performance. However he feels that the team is not as far away as everyone in the media and the fan base may think. He was as confident as ever. He was asked if it upset him that people were being very hard on his job performance. He said that it did and it fuels him to prove people wrong. I like to hear that. I have some issues with some of the things that he has done. However I still have faith in him and know that he is a guy that hates to lose and there is no way he will sit still. The Raptors will look different next year and Bryan Colangelo seems to think that the road back to the playoffs is going to be a challenge but it is not as far off as some may feel. I think if you like Bryan or you do not you hope that he is right. There is no doubt this will be the most important off-season of his time in Toronto.

10 Things B.C Will Not Say At His Press Conference Today

I will have some thoughts on the Playoffs after game 1 of every series was played this weekend. But today Bryan Colangelo is going to address the media. I am not sure what he will have to say. However here are 10 things you can be certain you will not hear. So can we have a drum roll please?

(Drum Roll)

#10- I have decide to start a Twitter account The_Real_BC and tweet all summer about all my off-season work so fans can be in the loop.

#9- All 82 Raptors Games next season will be on TSN 2.

#8- I admit that I was wrong and am proud to announce that I have re-hired Sam Mitchell to coach the Raptors in 09/10 season

#7- Brian Burke thinks he is cool saying he will get the number 1 pick? I can top that. I am announcing today that it is my intention to bring Lebron James to Toronto in 2010.

#6- Chris Bosh has asked me to be in his latest YouTube Video.

#5- That Dino Blogger guy is right. Steve Nash is coming to Toronto. How the hell did he know that?

#4- Jose Calderon was a big mistake. If I had it to do over again I would have traded him and kept T.J Ford.

#3- Joey Graham will be signed to a long term contract this off-season

#2- I am not going to the NBA Draft Lottery out of shame. In my place I am sending The Raptor Mascot.

#1- Chris Bosh I promise that I won't screw up again just please comeback. I will even trade Andrea if you don't like him whatever it takes.

So that is just 10 things you will not here today. It is a fun game and you are free to play along in the comments. Just remember please no swearing because the Dino Nation Blog believes the children are the future and we do not want to be blamed for teaching them foul language. That is what shows like South Park are for. Some thoughts on the Playoffs and What B.C actually says later today or tomorrow.

Hello Again To Jack Armstrong

On his radio show the Game Plan the topic of who is your favourite analyst in sports. Many Raptors fans would answer that question with the name Jack Armstrong. I would be one of them. Jack has been a guest many times on the Dino Nation Blog. Even with the addition of his radio show, his own blog and all the stuff he already did with Raptors and now TSN he has continued to come talk with us. It is a special treat to have him pay us a visit. I had planned to talk a bit about Jeff and Stan Van Gundy. A bit on the Orlando Magic as the spoiler to the final that everyone seems to have selected of Cavs vs Lakers. Along with some Raptor related topics. We did get through all of that. We never got around to the draft but Jack said he will return to talk about the draft at some point between the lottery and the draft. Jack still covers college basketball as he is a former college coach which most are well aware. So he is a good person to talk with about that. But this conversation is a good one as well as Jack talks about his take on the future of CB4, Why he never lost faith in Andrea and Jay Triano and his future with Raps.




So Jack will be back in early June to talk about the draft and more on the Raps off-season. Perhaps some thoughts on the playoffs as well. If you have not checked out his radio show in the afternoon with Doug Maclean. They talk sports every afternoon from 2-4pm on Game Plan on Fan 590. You even hear me call in once in awhile. I am happy for all the success their show has had and wish Jack and Doug both nothing but the best going forward with it. So just because the Raptors are done does not mean Jack is and that is a great thing for all sports fans. After all this is going to be a very interesting off-season for the Raptors. I would venture to say the most important in the history of this franchise. Jack will be on the air giving his take on the Raps and all the other things happening in sports and that is good news. I use to miss Jack in the off-season but no longer have too.