Outside The NBA

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Oh when it all, it all falls down. I’m telling you ohh, it all falls down…

Seasons come and seasons go. As sports fans we are conditioned to have short term memories, reactions and expectations. When TFC missed the playoffs last year I was upset for 2 days before throwing myself headfirst into a new Leafs and Raptors season. When the Leafs season ended in disappointment I celebrated by throwing myself into the world beating Blue Jays (disclaimer: that title has a timed expiration date of… well, probably 2 weeks). This Raptors season for me, I don’t know. I can deal with bad teams, lord knows I’ve seen plenty coming out of the T-dot over the past few years. I can deal with teams underachieving, again, lord knows I’ve seen plenty of that coming out of the 416 area. What I don’t know if I can deal with is a collapse of epic proportions that screws several other teams and fan bases in the process. I don’t know if, as a sports fan, I WANT the Raptors to make the playoffs today. It feels… dirty that they even still have a chance. (more…)

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As you may or may not recall, I actually wrote two previews for this current Raptors squad. One was a glowing, optimistic preview. The other, a pessimistic, worst-case preview. So now we’re 21 games in to the season and it looks like (true to common sense), the Raptors have landed somewhere between the two predictions. (more…)

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I, and I think a lot of other Raptor fans have been impressed with Amir Johnson off of the bench. He has a very good motor, puts a lot of energy into getting on the glass, plays tough defense and seems like a good teammate who knows his role. (more…)

Around T.O. of late, much has been made about the lack of success we’ve had as a sports city. Outside of the Toronto Argonauts winning the Grey Cup in 1996, 1997 and 2004, and of course the Toronto Rock (lacrosse) title run that exhilarated dozens and dozens of Torontonians, the only Championship teams we’ve been able to celebrate were the 1992 and 1993 Toronto Blue Jays. (more…)

Remember how crazy the West was 2-through-9 last year? We knew no one would catch the Lakers, and we knew you’d have to win close to 50 games to make the playoffs, but we had no idea how everything would shake out in the end. There was one great team in the conference, a bunch of very good teams, and then a whole bunch of crap. No Western team won between 29 (Golden State) and 46 (Phoenix) games.

Well, the East is even crazier than that this year, but the action is all in the middle. I see three teams that should easily win more than 46 games as presently constructed and only two that might finish with fewer than 29. That’s almost what happened last season, but what’s even more interesting is that, if forced to predict team records this season, I’d argue that there are ten Eastern teams that could hover around the 40-42 win mark. (more…)

Ah yes a new season is upon us. It’s a time of wonderment, of unbridled optimism, of limitless possibilities. There are still a few weeks before the season starts and cold reality slaps the majority of the Association in the face, but I figured I’d get a head start. Optimism is running wild in Toronto, but there are a few pitfalls that Raptors Nation is overlooking. (more…)

Ah yes, a new season is upon us. It’s a time of wonderment, of unbridled optimism, of limitless possibilities. There are still a few weeks before the season starts and cold reality slaps the majority of the Association in the face, so I’m going to embrace the optimism. To those who know me, this is no surprise; optimism is practically my middle name. But this year just FEELS different for some reason. The Raptors have almost completely remade their team. With a new coach, new philosophy, new feel overall. (more…)