Showing posts with label Raptors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Raptors. Show all posts

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Raptors' 2011-12 Schedule

If the season actually happens...

Things get underway Nov.2 vs. the Sixers. It concludes Apr.18 in Washington.

Take a look!

- ER

Wednesday, April 06, 2011

Short Point: Jays 7 A's 6

Great comeback victory. But let's not ignore the shaky pitching from some of the hurlers. BTW, great stat line from DeRozan on the Raptors - 36 & 10. ER

Monday, March 21, 2011

Re. Paul Jones

The Raptors have won two games in a row. That hasn't been done since early in the season.

They played three good quarters against OKC and then nearly blew it in the 4th. But a win is a win.

Tell me...

Is there anything better than a super excited Paul Jones?

-ER

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Bobcats 114 Raptors 101

It's official.

The Raptors will be finishing below the 500 mark.

(Just in case you weren't sure)

- ER

Tuesday, February 01, 2011

Re. The 12-game Losing Streak

The only good thing about the Raptors' 12-game losing streak: Cleveland is on a 21-game losing streak.

The glass....she is half-full.

- ER

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Re. Reggie Evans

He might not be the best player on the Raptors, but Evans is creating a huge cult following. He's vocal and aggressive. That's something Toronto sports fans love.

- ER

Tuesday, November 09, 2010

Re. Jay Triano

Jay Triano's execution is imminent. Place your bets now. I say....Thursday.

Fans knew the Raptors would not be a winning team. They knew this team would finish well below 500. However, fans expected a better effort than what is being shown. Toronto is a club with some spark, but no fire. More "Hyde" than "Jekyll."

This can't go on forever.

- ER

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Raptors 2010-11 Schedule

The NBA/Raptors have released their 2010-11 regular season schedule.

Important dates:

Oct. 27 - Season opener vs. New York

Mar. 4-5 - Two games against New Jersey in London, England

Feb. 16 and April 13 - CB4 returns to the ACC

Feb. 25 - Turk returns to the ACC

- ER

Thursday, July 15, 2010

The Trades

A Raptor trade and a Blue Jay trade, all in the same day? I thought my poor head was going to explode. Some notes about both transactions:

Blue Jays

- The second Alex Gonzalez era has ended. Sorry to see him go, but his value is at its highest point and won't go any higher.

- Yunel Escobar has potential, but he's slumping and said to have off-field issues. Perhaps a change of location will lead to positive results.

- For the Blue Jays, this trade was about the future. For the Braves, this trade was about adding additional parts.

- Don't really have anything to say about the minor leaguers exchanged in the deal. Personally, I feel all minor leaguers are gambles. Labelling prospects is a waste of time.

Raptors

- Bye Turk.

- Barbosa is coming off an injury-plagued season. Wrists injuries can really affect a career. So forgive me for being a little skeptical.

- Barbosa, DeRozan, Calderon, Jack. One of these four won't be here in the fall. My guess (reluctantly) is Jose.

- Dwayne Jones will likely spend most of his time on the bench.

Something tells me BC & AA aren't done.

- ER

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Before the trade becomes official...

Bryan Colangelo sent this e-mail to every Raptor fan on the team's mailing list last week:

Dear ERIC,
What a spectacle! What we have all just witnessed is something unprecedented in professional basketball and possibly even in professional sports. In a year where multiple NBA teams positioned themselves for the ability to sign a "maximum" contract player (or players) in free agency, three of the NBA's bright young stars are teaming together in an attempt to win an NBA Championship. Kudos to the Miami Heat for pulling off such a feat.

I'm sure that there is frustration and disappointment, possibly even resentment, upon hearing the news that Chris Bosh is leaving Toronto to join forces with Dwyane Wade and LeBron James in South Beach. Well that certainly is the feeling from this vantage point as we lose a player that has been the centrepiece of our franchise for the last several years. I can assure you every move/investment made in the last four years to improve our basketball team was designed with the belief that putting the right pieces around Chris would get us closer to our goal of winning an NBA Championship. In fact, Chris actively participated in that process as transactions and changes were contemplated because I have always believed that a franchise player experiences a sense of ownership in team building. Unfortunately, we fell short of that goal and must now move on to a post-Bosh era in Toronto.

In completing a Sign-and-Trade transaction with Miami, we were able to extract a very valuable Trade Exception and future draft picks that will serve as building blocks in the process of re-tooling our basketball team. The Trade Exception can be used to acquire players under contract with other teams via trade, or it can be used to leverage the acquisition of additional future assets. Speaking of the future, I can't tell you how energized we all feel to see the positive growth and development of so much young athletic talent on our roster including re-signing Amir Johnson and the recent first-round draft selection of Ed Davis. While more changes to the roster are possible, even likely, we can promise you now that this team will compete every night they take to the floor.

We believe we have the best fans in the NBA and we believe in the city and country that we play in. Your passion, pride and support has been tremendous no matter what the circumstances, and we cannot thank you enough for that. We all share a commitment to winning both on and off the floor and MLSE/Toronto Raptors ownership and management will do whatever it takes to WIN while also making the community a better place. Our franchise will evolve and emerge stronger than before, and I assure you that our combined efforts will produce the WINNER you are hoping for.

Sincerely,

Bryan Colangelo

President and General Manager
Toronto Raptors Basketball Club


Very different from Dan Gilbert's tone.

- ER

Thursday, July 08, 2010

Re. Chris Bosh

And so, the Chris Bosh era has ended.

Can't say I'm surprised.

Fans knew he would leave if the Raptors weren't a winning team. For any fan, it was their biggest fear. I made peace with Bosh's eventual departure many months ago.

Bosh was solid player. He gave a full effort every night. He was respectful to the fans and the media. He never complained or embellished success. From my end - and I'm just one Raptor fan - there is no hate for Chris Bosh; only affection.

Could he have handled his free agency adventure better? Absolutely! But Twitter or no Twitter, Bosh was leaving the Raptors.

And I'm fine with that.

The Raptors survived without Damon Stoudamire, they survived without Vince Carter and they'll survive without CB4.

For the remaining roster, there is nothing but opportunity.

Almost every player has the chance to become the leader; the one to bring the troops together and lead them into battle. There are some good candidates: Jack, Bargnani, Turkoglu (if the rumours about making amends are true), even DeRozan and Ed Davis.

Don't be fooled. Bosh's presence will be missed and every player will need to step up their game. The upcoming season will not be pretty. But the outlook isn't consumed completely by darkness.

Bosh is gone and just like Carter, Stoudamire, Doug Flutie, Mats Sundin and Roy Halladay, it's time to move on.

- ER

Wednesday, June 09, 2010

Re. Hedo Turkoglu

(If the rumours are true)

Don't let the door hit you on the way out, Turk.

PS: Ball!

- ER

Tuesday, June 01, 2010

Re. P.J. Carlesimo

So it looks like P.J. Carlesimo is going to be an assistant coach with the Raptors.

P.J. & Marc Iavaroni?

Anyone thinking what I'm thinking?

Looks like Jay Triano will be working next season with an axe above his head.

- ER

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Re. 2009-10 Toronto Raptors

Don't hate the Chicago Bulls. The Raptors brought this upon themselves. No excuses here.

It was a very exhausting season. Quite frankly, I don't want to write about it. I can't remember a more frustrating season than this one. It's funny because I think I said the same thing about the '09 Blue Jays.

The Raptors' season can be summed up in three acts:

Act. 1 - The Bad (Start of season to early December)

Act. 2 - The Good (Early December to the All-Star break)

Act. 3 - The Ugly (All-Star break to end of season)

It was a total meltdown.

Let the post-mortem begin.

- ER

Wednesday, April 07, 2010

Re. Bucks, Bulls and Raptors

I am sending a huge THANK YOU gift to the Milwaukee Bucks. After that, I'm going to try to figure out a way to correct Bosh's facial fracture and get him back here asap. Has anyone seen my roll of duct tape and my box of popsicle sticks?

- ER

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Re. Hedo

Look, I don't care who's starting, who's coming off the bench and who's partying when they should be at home taking care of their stomach virus.

Just win.

That's all I want. Just win.

- ER

Monday, March 29, 2010

Raptor Rage

The Raptors were atrocious Sunday. They had Miami by the throat and let them get away. The loss to Denver was bad, but at least they gave an effort all the way to the end. Sunday was worse. That game made me really angry, giving me.....Raptor rage.

Right now, at this point, the Raptors will be lucky if they even make the playoffs.

- ER

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Re. The Raptors and Facebook

I really need to stop reading the comments on the Raptors' Facebook page. There are way too many psychos who post their thoughts. Lots of hate with very little logic.

- ER