This Just In: Opening Night Observations

With the arrival of the NBA season, we’re starting a new segment. It won’t be exclusive to hoops, but the league’s new campaign gives us an excuse to trot it out. “This Just In” will bring you a night’s worth of thoughts in the ever-exciting and easy-to-read point form. Let’s get things rolling on our observations from the NBA’s real opening night.

==> Washington and Indiana played five quarters and earned Game of the Night status in this corner of the ’sphere. Considering Jermaine O’Neal and Troy Murphy were out of action for the Pacers, this one was closer than anyone expected. Gilbert “Agent Zero” Arenas picked up where he left off last season, nailing a three at the buzzer to send the game into overtime (it was the only trifecta he hit on eight attempts, but he’ll take it). Danny Granger, Mike Dunleavy, Jamaal Tinsley (who came close to a triple-double) and the gang pulled away in the extra period on home court. Talk about a statement by a Pacers team many had already written off.

==> Defensively, Jason Kapono played Philadelphia like a glove tonight. UCLA’s third all-time leading scorer can do more than hit threes. Anyone who thought he was a one-trick pony should take notice. Oh, and he made the decisive basket for Toronto. Ho-hum.

==> Sixers power forward Reggie Evans grabbed 15 rebounds in the aforementioned Toronto/Philadelphia game. This just in: the Raptors need to get better on the glass. Of course, it will be ignored for now, thanks to the 106-97 Toronto win.

==> Think Antawn Jamison was happy he didn’t have to battle with O’Neal? Here’s the evidence: 27 points, 16 rebounds, 3 3-pointers, 3 assists, a steal and a block. Arenas’ 38 point, 8 rebound, 3 assist night was what we’ve come to expect from the NBA’s resident class clown. You know what? I’m giving him a new nickname right here and now. David Stern, meet “The Producer”.

==> Bobby Simmons (yes, Bobby Simmons) picked up 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting in just 24 minutes for Milwaukee in their loss to Orlando. Could he be primed for a bounce-back year? It won’t be hard, given his negligible contributions last season.

==> Michael Buffer kicked off the Spurs/Grizzlies affair with his trademark phrase. Feel like having Buffer as your wedding emcee? It’ll cost you…$50,000 to be exact. So how was the game? Give Marc Iavaroni’s club credit. They hung with San Antonio until the game’s final seconds as Damon Stoudamire knocked down a three with 3.5 remaining. The Grizz came up juuuust short though in their upset bid, as the proven winners from San Antonio all but gave a clinic on how to close out a game, winning 104-101.

==> Should we call them the Big Four? Err…not quite. New Jersey’s Antoine “If Loving You Is Wrong, I Don’t Want to Be” Wright helped out with 21 points in 27 minutes in the Nets’ overtime loss to Chicago. Calm down, people. He hasn’t shown enough consistency to warrant a waiver pick-up. It was one game. That being said, Lawrence Frank’s club needs more than their three marquee contracts to contribute on a nightly basis.

==> Great to see P.J. Carlesimo back in a head coaching position in the NBA. The Sonics have a lot of question marks (including the possibility of relocation), but his return is well deserved.

==> So is this the same Cleveland team that made the NBA Finals last year? I guess they were a bit hungover tonight, losing by 18 in their home opener to the Dallas Mavericks. The Cavs shot a measly 36 percent from the field against a less than formidable Dallas defense. LeBron James really struggled, going 2-for-11 from the floor, getting 6 of his 10 points from the free-throw line and failing to register a point by half-time for the first time in his career. Should we be worried? Let’s give it a few games before we hit the big, red button.

==> Stephen A. Smith makes us want to turn off the TV and read a book. Also, I’m pretty sure the “A” stands for something you wouldn’t say in front of the kids.

==> Hubie Brown said something obvious, yet worthwhile. “They’re playing with heart right now,” uttered the veteran broadcaster, after a sequence in which we saw the Sonics reject a shot, run the floor and finish the fast break with a thunderous dunk. The three technical fouls in the first half were also a good indication that Hubie was on to something. Remember this was a road game, with four key additions still getting accustomed to one another. Kevin Durant’s first half of NBA action was a bit of a dud (3-for-14, 1-for-5 from 3-point range) but he did finish with 9 points, 5 boards and 3 steals in the first 24 minutes. More importantly, though, we saw flashes of what could make him an unstoppable force very soon.

==> We’d like to extend our deepest sympathies to all the Randy Foye owners out there in Fantasy Land. We feel your pain. Sure, Mike Bibby and others received worse news this past week, but at least we know what their fate will be. “Indefinite” and “lingering” have to be two of the most frustrating words in the fantasy sports lexicon, along with “platoon” and “bye”.

That’s it for now. As a sign at Air Canada Centre read tonight, may the Ford be with you.

Open the Door, Get on the Floor, Everybody Walk the Dinosaur

The leaves are turning. The temperature’s plummeting. Tim Donaghy jokes are more common than court-side entourages. These clues can only mean one thing:

The Raptors are back.

Granted, it’s still the pre-season. And yes, there’s a cloud of uncertainty following Chris Bosh around these days. But the fever that captivated a city last spring has been reignited with less than two weeks remaining until opening night, and it’s about time.

It’s about time a city that has such a complicated relationship with the other MLSE-owned franchise felt unconditional passion for a team that’s easy to get excited about. The biggest difference between the A.C.C. brethren? Leafs fans spend their waking hours praying John Ferguson, Jr. doesn’t give them another reason to disown the team they’ve supported since childhood. Raptors fans support almost every move made by two-time NBA Executive of the Year Bryan Colangelo. Can you blame them? Almost every move he’s made has paid serious dividends.

The Raptors will not win the NBA title. The Raptors will not have enough cap space to make a splash at the trade deadline. But one thing they’ll do (regardless of the final outcome) is offer hope. That’s something that’s about as scarce on the Toronto sports landscape as water in the Sahara.

Now, you might have conveniently forgotten this little tidbit, but not too long ago, the Dinos were a franchise in disarray. Kevin O’Neill, Rafer Alston, Rob Babcock and Rafael Araujo (among others) turned Canada’s lone basketball club into a perennial disappointment. It once seemed as though the scar left by the aftermath of the Vince Carter era would never fully heal. But then, a miracle fell into the lap of MLSE’s basketball wing. The saviour paraded into town and continued his already impressive legacy. Suddenly, it was cool to love the Toronto Raptors again.

In the grand scheme of things, it’s not inaccurate to say that the transformation happened overnight. But now that it has, the expectations have been raised. We all know how this city operates. Give them a taste of success, and they want—no, need–it from that moment on. The Toronto sports fan is a notorious front-runner (don’t be fooled by the sellout crowds at Leafs’ games…their Bay Street suits get lost in the more colourful sea of jerseys and paint). But despite the overwhelming expectations entering this year and the stubborn belief that it can only get better, you get the feeling that no matter the result, Raptors fans will be fine.

Whether they play in the Eastern Conference Finals or lose to Chicago in the second round, the city has embraced them. Like the O’Jays once sang, people in this city are riding the love train. This in a city that lambastes a Maple Leafs’ defenseman for a bonehead mistake in the eighth game of the season. Fast forward to November 16 (yes, the eighth game of the Raptors’ schedule). Final play of the game. Toronto leads Indiana by 3. Jason Kapono (with a contract similar to that defenseman) fouls Troy Murphy from beyond the arc and Murphy makes the shot and the free throw for the four-point play that decides the game.

How long does the fallout last?

Do we hear “Trade Kapono” campaigns for almost a week after the mistake?

Does anyone question the four-year, $24 million deal signed by Kapono in the off-season?

I hope my point is being made here. There is an element of trust with this edition of the Raptors that we simply have never seen before. Colangelo could start a cult (hasn’t he already?) and he’d have a GTA-sized group of followers. But they’re not sheep. They’re not naive.

They trust him.

Ferguson, take note. There is someone not too far from your office who might be able to teach you a thing or two. You guys have something in common. You both had to rise out of the shadow of your well respected father and create your own legacy. You’ve both done it, but on opposite sides of the spectrum.

You know, John, it wouldn’t hurt to make friends with Bryan. You might learn something.

Despising the Yankees: An October Tradition

Every October, If the New York Yankees have managed to avoid folding like a lawn chair under the pressure of the pennant race, I suddenly transform from a seemingly harmless and objective sports journalist into an idealistic and cynical Yankee hater, campaigning for their imminent demise. I’ve taken this change for granted for years now, but when the final out of Cleveland’s series-clinching 6-4 victory fell into catcher Kelly Shoppach’s glove last night, it struck me. Why had I been so strongly opposed to the game’s flagship franchise and their success?

I was sitting in my living room flanked by my two roommates. One of them, a die-hard Yankees fan, was watching reluctantly because my other roommate had the remote. He couldn’t bare to watch, instead distracting himself with a game on his laptop.

When I had burst in the room about an hour earlier, I reminded him that it could be the last hurrah for long-time manager Joe Torre, among others.

“That’s why I turned it off,” he fired back. “I don’t want to get depressed.” And this was a life-long Yankees fan talking. If it was so bad that he couldn’t even bare to witness it, you can imagine how delighted I was.

During the final out, I tried mightily to hold in the celebration that has always followed such a joyous moment, out of respect for my housemate. As I sat there, containing my bliss, I wondered. Why do I derive such joy out of seeing a baseball team lose?

With the highest payroll in the game year in and year out ($189 million on Opening Day 2007, for example), the Bronx Bombers assume they will challenge for, if not win, the World Series every single season. Is that realistic? Is that fair to the millions of loyal fans across the country, and world? By expecting a title every year, the Yankees repeatedly set themselves up for failure and disappointment, leaving the players unjustly blaming themselves and the fans, like my roommate, fighting depression. Expecting a championship every season will always leave you heartbroken. I know every coach and player says they want nothing less, but deep down, they know it’s a long-shot.

Expecting the unexpected should be what sports are all about. Great teams and dynasties can be good for the game, but not when it takes the gross domestic product of Tonga to get you there. To me, playoff baseball is about drama and excitement. Where’s the fun in seeing the same team spraying champagne every year? Thankfully, after New York’s titles in ‘96, ‘98, ‘99 and ‘00, they’ve been back to the Fall Classic only once, losing in dramatic fashion in ‘01 to Arizona. That very run of four titles in six years was really what sparked this for me in the first place, but unlike so many previously sane friends of mine, I refused to jump on the bandwagon.

Winning every year is too easy. Losing every year is hard. Winning once in a blue moon is terrific. Losing when you expect to win is failure.

Why do we root for underdogs? Sure, it’s a great story. But more importantly, it breaks a pattern. When the team nobody expected to even be in the playoffs knocks off a spoiled, rich perennial contender, it’s amazing. It’s David surprising everyone by slaying Goliath. It’s Appalachian State stunning Michigan. When these things happen, we remember them.

In fact, it all goes back to the playground. No one likes a bully, and the bullies themselves are always the ones with the deepest emotional problems. Just like the Yankees, they’re setting themselves up for constant disappointment and a meaningless existence.

Success and power are elements of the so-called ‘American Way’, but as it turns out, it’s actually possible to live a great life without the “greed is good” mentality.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I can understand the appeal. My father was born and raised in New York City. I’ve been to Yankee Stadium and watched Roger Clemens pitch. I’ve seen the propaganda. I know the history of the league’s most storied franchise like no one else I know. But this is a rift that cuts so deep, it goes beyond family ties and personal experience.

For me, seeing the Yankees logo is often all it takes to flip the switch. But, when you think about it, isn’t that healthy? I’m all for loving everyone and dancing around the Maypole when I’m in Dreamland, but in reality, we need natural rivals. It’s just part of our nature. It’s why Clark Kent has Lex Luthor, or why Luke Skywalker had Darth Vader. It’s why I, for all the reasons stated above, have the Yankees, baseball’s Evil Empire.

I might have been holding in my excitement in the living room last night, but I was ecstatic on the inside. Sure, there are things that give me much more enjoyment in life. You know, significant things and people. But as soon as the calendar flips to October, the anti-Bronx sentiment spreads through my bloodstream like the symbiote in Peter Parker. Then, when it’s all over (culminating in a New York loss, of course), everything returns to normal. The goals of journalistic integrity and objectivity are restored, and there is peace in the land once again.

Until four months later, when every season preview lists the Yankees as the team to beat.

Because 162 Games Just Weren’t Enough: Live Blogging the One-Game Playoff

I’ll acknowledge right off the bat that posts have been few and far between of late. So what better way to jump back into the blogging saddle than with everyone’s favourite time-honoured tradtion: the live blog!

We’re back, and thanks to MLB’s first one-game playoff in eight years, we’re better than ever.

Tonight, the Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres are facing off to determine, once and for all, who wants it the least. Colorado hasn’t been in the post-season spotlight since 1995. The Friars won National League pennants in 1984 and 1998, but since their latest run, the Pads have just one playoff victory in two Division Series losses to the St. Louis Cardinals in ‘05 and ‘06.

We’re just minutes away from the first pitch. San Diego ace Jake Peavy takes the hill against Josh Fogg. The Rockies have the luxury of playing this one on home turf. We’ll see if the rarefied air in Denver plays a role tonight.

Here we go! (All times EDT)

7:30: Turner Sports’ opening segment shows a few moments from previous play-in playoffs. Which raises the question: Can we call this a playoff game? Your official answer, of course, is no. But don’t tell that to the guys walking into Coors Field giving the bull horns. Will we see another Bobby Thomson tonight though? Rockies-Padres hardly has the cache or family-splitting rivalry effect of the Dodgers/Giants dynamic of the ’50s. Then again, you never know.

7:36: Analyst Joe Simpson, tell us about Josh Fogg. “His teammates call him the Dragon Slayer.” Dragons everywhere just got the best chuckle they’ve had since the whole Puff phase in the ’80s. That 10-9 record and 4.79 ERA isn’t scaring anyone.

7:40: “Fogg’s not a guy who’s going to strike out a lot of people,” says Simpson. “He’s not the kind that will walk a lot either.” Well, that’s encouraging. Maybe we can all be out of here before Monday Night Football starts in an hour.

7:43: Fogg strikes out Adrian Gonzalez, his second victim of the opening frame, to end the inning. Hey, Joe, do you want a do-over? The raucous crowd rises to its feet. The Rockies are rockin’. [Note: I'm allowing myself one rock-related play on words per three innings. I think I can stay at that pace.] Still a long way to go, though.

7:47: Oh, look, Colorado had the league’s best batting average at .340. Are we shocking anyone here, TBS? Kaz Matsui doubles in the lead-off spot. For Peavy, the nightmare begins.

7:51: Matt Holliday walks to load the bases. There is still nobody out. Todd “Captain Haddock” Helton stands in and cranks a sacrifice fly to deep center. 1-0 Stones.

7:55: RBI single, 2-0. Where’s the obligatory shot of fans sitting nervously in Petco Park? If we don’t see this by the third inning, I’m calling Ted Turner.

8:10: “Peavy’s trying to settle down here in the 2nd after a rocky first. No pun intended.” I guess the broadcast booth didn’t get the memo.

8:11: Yorvit Torrealba hits one high and deep to left….it’s gone! 3-0. Yorvit had a whopping 7 round-trippers in the previous 162 games. It has to be reassuring for San Diego watching their ace lobbing batting practice pitches so early on in the most important game of their season.

8:23: In the top of the 3rd, Adrian Gonzalez gets his second crack at Fogg and crushes one deep to right field. GRAND SLAM! Just like that, 4-3 San Diego. So what’s the over-under on this one? Meanwhile, Gonzalez reaches 30 sloberknockers and 100 runs driven in on the year, which means they’re counting statistics from this game. Hmmm.

8:28: The eighth hitter in the Padres’ order, Brady Clark, gives Colorado shortstop Kaz Matsui a routine double-play ball. But Geoff Blum’s hard slide into second produces a chip shot-looking toss to first and the runner is safe. 5-3.

8:34: Todd Helton sends one to right field (haven’t I written something like this before?) and it…is…gone! The solo shot makes it 5-4 Pads, and for Helton, it’s his 17th of the season. That’s far from his total of 49 in ‘01, or even the 32 he hit in ‘04. And those came in 162-game seasons. Just saying.

8:50: With 10:34 to go in first quarter, Patriots’ kicker Stephen Gostkowski drills a 31-yard field goal to give New England a 3-0 lead. MLB 9, NFL 3.

8:54: Rockies manager Clint Hurdle emerges from the dugout and takes the ball from Josh Fogg, who exits to a standing ovation. Welcome to Denver, where five earned runs on eight hits in four innings is like no-hitting the Yankees.

8:56: TBS throws up a promo for ‘Hot Corner’, a new column on MLB.com which apparently features hard-hitting analysis from Trevor Hoffman and Alyssa Milano. Too easy.

9:04: Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony are “in the house”. It’s the closest the Nuggets will get to post-season play this year.

9:06: Matt Holliday singles in Troy Tulowitzki to tie the game at 5-5. He’s also just tied Ryan Howard for the league RBI lead with 136. Ryan’s on the phone with Bud Selig as we speak, pleading for an asterisk.

9:13: After 5 innings, it’s 5-5. Meanwhile, on Monday Night Football, it’s still 3-0 New England with 2:37 to go in the first quarter.

9:17: And, on cue, Tom Brady hits Mike Vrabel (yes, Mike Vrabel) for a 1-yard touchdown. MLB 10, NFL 10. This is getting interesting.

9:28: Ryan Speier enters the game in the top of the sixth. He’s the third Rockies pitcher to trot in from the bullpen, and for those of you thinking it might have been Justin Speier, that’s not a bad comparison. Note to Ryan: that’s not a good thing.

9:35: Seth Smith, in his 9th career at-bat, smacks a pinch-hit triple to ignite the nail-biting Rockies faithful.

9:38: Kaz Matsui’s sac fly scores the rookie and it’s 6-5 Colorado.

9:40: Another triple! Or at least that’s how they’re ruling it, as San Diego center fielder Brady Clark leaps and drops Troy Tulowitzki’s drive to the wall. Elsewhere, it’s 10-7 Patriots in the football game. I think we can get to 17 at Coors. Come on, guys.

9:49: LaTroy Hawkins comes into the game, topping out at 97 mph. Lights out. So much for the 17. Inning over.

9:50: The distractions start mounting in the live blogging headquarters, literally, as a certain roommate (let’s call him T. Best…no, wait…Tony B.) decides to let us all know that he “likes steak and potatoes” while wearing nothing but a towel. Never a dull moment.

10:15: Brian Fuentes enters in relief for the Rockies. Is it just me or is he a dead ringer for Travis Hafner? Somebody check on Travis…I need to know if they’re the same person.

10:17: As if the outfield play couldn’t get any worse, Matt Holliday misplays Brian Giles’ hard liner in left. Geoff Blum comes in to count and the Padres have tied it up, 6-6.

10:32: Top of the ninth and Manny Corpas is on the mound for Colorado. That’s seven hurlers used now for the Rocks, who haven’t exactly rolled tonight. [There it is, folks. The last one, I promise.]

10:44: Heath Bell sits down Joe Koshansky in the bottom of the ninth, so we’re heading to extra innings! Twelve runs scored on twenty-two hits combined, and we’re deadlocked. Because 163 games just weren’t enough, let’s keep playing.

10:53: A Termell Sledge walk and Michael Barrett single give the Padres a chance with two outs in the top half of the tenth. Brian Giles grounds into a force out at second, though, and it’s all for naught. Get comfortable, folks.

11:03: It’s the bottom of the tenth now. Joe Simpson, impart your immense knowledge on us, if you please. (On Kaz Matsui) “Everybody’s a threat in this ballpark.” Thanks, Joe. I want the last ten seconds of my life back. No time for that though, we’re going to 11 innings.

11:09: Padres outfielder Scott Hairston reaches on the first error of the game. Not sure how that’s the case given the shaky outfield play of the last 10 innings, but okay. Kevin Kouzmanoff bunts Hairston to second and Adrian Gonzalez is issued a free pass. This qualifies as a rally with one out.

11:12: Well, at least it did until Khalil Greene grounded into the third-to-first double play. Inning over. Suddenly both teams decide to start leaving runners on base? We might have to turn this live blog into an anthology.

11:34: It’s the top of the 12th. After a Morgan Ensberg walk, Geoff Blum bunts him over to second for the first out of the inning. That’s two Houston Astros cast-offs mentioned in the same sentence. These are the things that amuse me right now.

11:39: Michael Barrett comes to bat with two outs. Somewhere, Carlos Zambrano just threw something at his TV. Imagine if the Cubs and Padres were to meet in the National League Championship Series. These are the things that amuse me right now. Barrett breaks his bat and grounds out. In that order.

11:55: Well, at long last, we have more runs. Scott Hairston–I repeat–Scott Hairston (10 HR, .240 on the season before this at-bat) takes advantage of a wild Jorge Julio, mashing a two-run shot in the top of the 13th inning. After 12 runs in the first eight innings, that was the first time anyone had scored in the last five. Interesting that Hairston was dumped by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Now, because of his clutch hit, San Diego has a chance to advance and could eventually play the team that threw him away for the N.L. pennant. I know, I know. But after nearly five hours of this, these are the things that amuse me now.

12:06: Trevor Hoffman comes in to close it out. I guess he told Alyssa to finish the column herself. Hoffman was once one of the game’s most dominant closers, but does he have any gas left in the tank?

12:09: And…Kaz Matsui cracks a double to the gap in right-center. Oh, boy. Here comes the beef.

12:13: You have GOT to be kidding me. Troy Tulowitzki doubles. 8-7.

12:14: Matt Holliday TRIPLES! 8-8. Brian Giles made a valiant effort at the wall but came up inches short. Holliday clinches the batting title and RBI crown. Oh, and his team is still alive. Wow. Still nobody out.

12:18: Jamey Carroll hits one to right field, Giles is under it…here’s the throw…and…Holliday is SAFE just under the tag! 9-8! Rockies win!

12:20: I just caught my breath. Unbelievable. Welcome to October, folks.

12:21: 13 innings. 17 runs. 29 hits. 4 hours, 44 minutes. Five runs in the 13th inning alone. This game had almost everything, and you actually stuck around for all of it. Congratulations. I think I need a shower, a drink and a change of underwear.