Last word (for now) on Chris Bosh
Chris Bosh, undoubtedly brimming with joy and confidence about his new lease on life in the land of fake breasts, indicated to the Miami Herald in a Sunday story that Toronto “smelled different” because it wasn’t in the United States. Now I’ve written about all I can stomach about the U.S. player/Toronto team thing, so I’ll leave it alone. However, the article’s writer, Israel Gutierrez, takes the usual absent-minded digs that many American journalists fall victim to, specifically saying that the league didn’t notice Bosh because he played in Toronto.
Didn’t notice? Wasn’t that Chris Bosh who did a week of hits on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno (before Leno screwed Conan) during the 2008 NBA Finals? Wasn’t that Chris Bosh who was voted by NBA fans to start the 2007 All-Star Game? The next thing they’ll tell us is Vince Carter left T.O. for better endorsements with the Nets, which isn’t true. After Vince left, I didn’t see his jersey in Fat Joe videos, like it was when he played here. But people have short (or no) memories.
Aah, to be a fan in the frozen tundra.
Bryan Colangelo took his shots at Bosh to Bob McCown on the FAN 590 Monday, admitting what was clear at the time, that he mentally checked out on the team down the stretch. In retrospect, it really was pathetic. After a rough March 26 loss to Denver on a last-second Carmelo Anthony jumper, I was in the locker room scrum and the Star’s Dave Feschuk was grilling him on his recent rash of turnovers. Bosh, in his laconic speaking style, just kept shrugging and mumbling. It sort of reminded of the time Shaq called him the “RuPaul of big men,” and he responded in a YouTube video by just giggling like someone to afraid to make a meaningful statement.
The Raptors acquire … David Amber
With the likelihood of any meaningful player additions decreasing by the day, the Raptors organization did bring into the fold veteran TV broadcaster David Amber, who was a Toronto-based reporter for ESPN, to replace Adnan Virk on pre- and post-game, who went to … ESPN.
Amber a solid guy and a knowledgeable ball fan who will be a good fit. And the reason it’s newsworthy is because this coming season, the team’s broadcasters may be worth watching more than the team itself.
Fun with Google Street View
If you go on Google Street View and type in “Johannesburg, South Africa” you can see anything in this turbulent, crime-ridden metropolis. Including a black Jeep Cherokee tailing behind the Google camera car wherever it goes in the downtown area. Black Jeep Cherokees are the preferred vehicles of government and private security forces in South Africa, like the ones Google would hire to protect that dumb-looking little car with the high camera.
So to summarize: Breaking news, Johannesburg is unsafe.
Everything is going just swimmingly in Raptorland
ESPN’s Marc Stein wrote early Tuesday that the Matt Barnes-to-Toronto deal has hit a snag, apparently because of sign-and-trade issues between the Magic and the Raps, given the MLE Bryan Colangelo just gave Linas Kleiza. There’s no definitive word yet, but the Raptors and Orlando were scheduled to talk later Tuesday in an attempt to perhaps hammer something out.
This is why NBA capology is a nightmare. You need an MBA and PhD, and on top of that basically have to be an idiot savant just to crunch the numbers involved in acquiring an averagely-talented swingman from UCLA. Meanwhile, some NHL teams run by borderline lunatics partially circumvent their own cap by giving players 17-year contracts which frontload and probably pay entry level salary at Bass Pro Shops in year 15.
You see, sports isn’t really fun any more, people. Plus, while incorrect, the whole thing gives off a whole “nobody wants to play here, and we don’t want anybody to play here either” stench from the Raptors. It doesn’t really matter if it’s correct though, because perception is reality.
What?
So apparently either MJ or Larry Brown realized they were acquiring Jose Calderon and changed their mind. As a result, Tyson Chandler, pictured, is now heading to Dallas. Take back half of what I said about Colangelo, even if this isn’t his fault. Any other suitors for Jose are out there? There was talk of Philly being interested, but it would probably require taking on Iguodala, which would mean the Raps would have to throw somebody else in. Unlikely.
Draw your own conclusions
Sure enough, Calderon on his way out of town. Tyson Chandler heading north from Charlotte according to Yahoo, which ain’t bad at $12.6 mil for only one season. Calderon’s contract is an albatross-in-the-making anyways. It’s still a rebuild because even with the additions the Raptors are nowhere near good enough to make the playoffs in the east. There’s still the glaring absence of a wing player who can score more than 9 a game consistently. But Colangelo has done what every NBA GM wants to do when the pieces around him don’t work — clear cap space for a year or two down the road. You gotta hand it to him, this situation could look much worse.
In BC we trust, again
Say want you want about Bryan Colangelo’s track record the past three years. But by managing to trade the virtually untradeable Hedo Turkoglu for Phoenix’s Leandro Barbosa and likely Boris Diaw by way of Charlotte — two solid parts — it shows there’s a reason he’s still considered a top-drawer NBA GM. He’s done this before after all, trading Rafael Araujo in 2006 for two, living, breathing human beings, one of whom (Kris Humphries) was a valuable asset.
Barbosa’s reported arrival is a definite plus despite the fact he’s not a pure point guard, and it’s likely to spell the end of either Calderon or Jack. Likely Calderon. More to come.
Thanks, Count Jackass
J.P. Ricciardi, whose career as a Major League Baseball GM was one of the more remarkable failures in recent memory, chimed in on American athletes and Toronto on the FAN 590 Thursday. “American players, Toronto is not going to be their first choice. Especially inner-city African-American kids,” Ricciardi explained in supposed reference to Chris Bosh.
Now how Ricciardi, a Worcester-born Bay Stater (Home of busing riots, Charles Stuart, Tom Yawkey and Joe Cronin), who seemed to mostly avoid black players as GM of the Blue Jays would know anything about “inner-city African-American kids” is beyond me. I guess he ignores the fact that the same said players love visiting the city because of the rainbow selection of women and nightlife that blows away 85% of American big league sports cities. As I’ve said over and over again, the reasons why Americans like visiting here and not living here is among minor conveniences no ESPN, ironically Ricciardi’s new employer. Yes, I suppose soul food restaurants are at a premium, because unlike U.S. cities, most blacks here are of Caribbean ancestry.
But are you trying to tell me, as NBA cities go, we are less desirable than Utah, Portland, Indianapolis, Cleveland and almost anybody else not in California, Texas, Florida or New York? Oklahoma City is desirable now. Because they have a team on the rise. But when they don’t? Baseball is completely different because of its moronic economic system, where every player in the bigs hopes to play in one of five markets so they can actually win a ring. Whatever the sport though, the concept of winning is foreign to Ricciardi. Billy Beane himself is one of the most overrated figures in baseball history, and J.P. owes his career to him.
By Ricciardi making a blanket statement like that, it gets Canada’s historically mediocre media perked up. Former PM Brian Mulroney was the one who described our press corps like that to Peter Newman, only to later make himself a prophet in his own time when CTV named his son the host of Canadian Idol. And Ricciardi, who is smart, knows this. He’s had a hard-on for Toronto since he was finally let go last year. He even said, upon recognizing a Canadian-born employee at ESPN, “glad you got out of the frozen tundra.”
So here we go. Puckheads stock up on ammo. The Raptors are leaving Toronto again.
