In A World of Sports

So the NBA trade deadline has come and gone as of 3 p.m. today and as was fairly expected there wasn’t much action.  Most teams had made their significant moves in the months, weeks, and days leading up to the deadline, capped off yesterday by San Antonio acquiring their Shaq-insurance in the form of Kurt Thomas.  However, there were two trades of significance to me personally involving The Raptors, and their conference foes (and very possible playoff foe which is why I care so much) the Cleveland Cavaliers.  So let’s have a look at the moves both teams made at the deadline…

Toronto Raptors - I recently wrote a post describing a few trade options the Raptors had to change up their club, but realistically none were likely going to take place.  My trades centered around Andrea Bargnani who I think will be given at least one more year to show what he can do, and in light of this and the upcoming restricted free-agency of Calderon and Delfino, the Raptor deals I discussed were more fantasy than possibility.  The Raptors wanted to make sure they had the money to sign these guys back.  I expect though that next year the Raptors might be bigger players - with Nesterovic’s contract coming off the books at the end of next year (after he exercises his player option this year) which makes it a desirable contract - when they are a year older, wiser, and better equipped for the playoffs.  At that point Colangelo would have further assessed the needs of his team, have Calderon and Delfino under contract, and will know the fate (and true potential) of Il Mago. 

So ya, let’s talk about what they did this year.  Not much.  They traded the unhappy Juan Dixon for Primoz Brezec.  This trade is fine by me.  You get rid of a guy who is a distraction while he sits on the bench for a guy.  That’s about all Brezec is these days after a few decent years in Charlotte were derailed by a bad back, achilles tendon, and dehydration, yup dehydration.  Both contracts expire at the end of this year, so really this was a chemistry move.  The Raptors are only a couple moves away from being contenders for Eastern Conference champs, and I think next year could be the year Colangelo makes those necessary adjustments.  So Raptor fans will have to wait at least another year, but trust in Colangelo, he is one of the smartest minds in the NBA right now.

The Cleveland Cavaliers - The Cavs basically had to make a move.  They have arguably the best player in the league on their team who signed a 3-year extension in 2006.  That wasn’t the max he could sign, so the message was clear: give me talent to play with, and we’ll talk again, give me nothing, and I’m gone.  In recent weeks and days, Lebron has often been quoted as shocked and disappointed by moves teams around him were making and the lack of movement by his own club.  The Cavs were also rumoured to be hard persuers of a true point guard, namely Kidd or Bibby, which is an identified need for Lebron.  We all know how that turned out, Kidd went to Dallas, Bibby to Atlanta, so Cleveland went to Plan B. 

Plan B - In my opinion, Plan B was conceived in the minds of men who think that the New York Knicks have a good formula for building a ball club and want to emulate their team structure: acquire underachievers with huge contracts.  In case you can’t tell, I’m not a fan of this trade for Cleveland at all.  This is how the trade breaks down:  Cleveland picks up Ben Wallace, Wally Szczerbiak, point guard Delonte West, forward Joe Smith and a future second-round pick from the Bulls; The Bulls gets Drew Gooden, Larry Hughes (whose ESPN.com player profile pic finally explains what happened to Michael in the TV show Lost), Cedric Simmons, and Shannon Brown; Seattle gets Ira Newble, Adrian Grffin, and Donyell Mashall.  This how I think this will affect each team:

Sonics - I don’t know how Seattle got involved in this trade, but they came out the winners in my opinion.  This trade works for them because it immediately frees up about $3.5 million in cap space, and gives them about $2 million more in the summer from the difference between Newble’s and West’s contracts.  They are basically lowering payroll, they will load up on more youth in the draft, and get under the cap in the summer to save more cash.  Basically Seattle is making themselves more attractive for buyers.  I will give them an A for this trade because this accomplishes exactly what they needed to do at the deadline.

Bulls - So it didn’t take long for the Ben Wallace experiment to be abandoned in Chicago.  This is the best thing they’ve done all year.  Wallace is a liability on offense, and the defense that earned him his massive contract from Chicago has declined steadily in his 2 seasons in the windy city.  I don’t know what happened to Chicago this year (I believe that Kirk Hinrich’s horrendous year is a major reason for their downfall cause he is their leader and runs that team) but they needed to shake things up and they did just that.  In return for Wallace, Smith and Griffin, Chicago picks up Drew Gooden, who is a decent forward with the ability to score, rebound and defend, Larry Hughes, who carries a contract almost as ludicrous as Wallace’s, but has shown signs of maybe being healthy lately, and a couple of young guys who never panned out, in Simmons and Brown.  This trade doesn’t necessarily drastically improve or hurt the team.  I think it’s an upgrade simply because they needed to make changes, and more specifically because they needed to get rid of Big Ben.  Gooden and Hughes could potentially bring a couple more dimensions to the team, improving their depth which hasn’t been there this year.  The Bulls get a B minus in this deal.

Cavs - I don’t know what to say, I really don’t.  Losing out on the two most available and desirable point guards forced their hand, but Cleveland really Lost (hiyoooooo) their head here.  In a perfect world, Wallace will be their big stopper on D, Smith would replace Gooden, Wally would spread the floor (particularly when Gibson is on the bench), and West would help run said floor…

…well this world is far from perfect.  Wallace has lost a step or three.  Maybe his lack of defense and ability is a product of unhappiness, but I just think we will never see him play even close to the level that garnered him 3 Defensive Player of the Year Awards, and he basically makes every Cleveland offensive-possession into a 4 on 5, for the other team.  What’s worse is his decreased rebounding gets you fewer of those possessions a game too.  When asked about the trade, Wallace reportedly said his time in Chicago was “pretty good” then said “It is what it is”, a phrase made famous recently by former Roger Clemens’ trainer Brian McNamee.  I wonder if this was a secret message from Wallace.  McNamee said that it basically means “The truth is the truth”; what truth is Wallace talking about?  Does he know about Clemens?  Does he know what the shit is going on in Lost? We need to get Ben Wallace in front of a steroids and/or Lost committee to find out what he knows.  Smith cannot replace Gooden.  Simply put Smith just isn’t as good as Gooden, on the boards, defensively or offensively.  Gooden was also their second most consistent (not best, but consistent) scorer behind Lebron.  Smith is also older and has a contract that is only about a million shy of Gooden’s over the next 2 years.  Wally World can still shoot the long ball, and his FT and overall FG percentages are good, but at over $12 million a year for the next 2 years he is hardly worth the price tag.  Maybe I’m wrong about Wally though, his last name makes him hard to write about so I won’t cover him beyond this (and why I have decided to simply call him Wally), but maybe he will shock everyone and have the kind of affect Korver had on Utah (hint: He won’t).  Delonte West is being referred to as a PG, but he’s not, he’s a SG, and not a very good one.  I have to grade the Cavs with a D minus, but only because I don’t believe in failing people.  The only positive about this trade is that surprisingly they only added about $50,000 in salary after taking on the huge contracts of Wallace and Wally. 

Well that was some great deadline fun.  With the NHL’s deadline on the 26th and talks heating up their I will be sure to have something to write about very soon, and hopefully we’ll get more answers about Lost.

Normally when I go to a Leaf game I get tickets afforded me through a connection which gets me some good platinum seats about 6 rows off the ice.  Great seats in fact, the view is almost as good as watching it on an HD television.  But often we’re surrounded by the suits, the much talked about patrons of the Air Canada Centre (ACC) who are blamed for making the atmosphere in Toronto boring.  The guys you always see conducting business deals, reading papers, and talking about anything other than hockey.  Ya, it’s quiet down there by the ice, which I always attributed to the men in black, with their briefcases and clients.

The silence of a Leafs game has always bugged me; I’ve attended OHL games for the the London Knights, the Mississauga St. Mike’s Majors, the Oshawa Generals, and attended NHL games in Montreal where the atmosphere is ridiculously loud, and fun.  Ok, the Majors game wasn’t too loud, but that was because the rink was half empty, but my friends and I were so drunk we didn’t really notice, we were too busy heckeling Marc Staal (to this day we think he shot that puck at us on purpose).

Last night, however, I went to a Leaf game with my good friend, and fellow hockey fanatic Sachin, and we were standing room only, nose bleeds if you may.  Up with the hardcore fans, the real fans, the blue collar guy who worship the ice the Leafs skate on.  This may come off as sounding quite ignorant, but I had never attended a sporting event (save maybe the World Cup of Hockey in Montreal) so far from the action.  Needless to say, I was looking forward to it.  Sitting with these strangers, I expected to bond with them via errant high-fives on Leaf goals, to lose my mind and to hug every man, woman and child in sight out of the happiness of a Leaf victory.

If the silence in the platinums was upsetting, the silence up high was deafening.  

I can’t tell you if this is the product of Leaf fans being torn about whether to cheer or boo a win these days, but the atmosphere up top was surprisingly reminiscent of that of the suits.  I was distraught, sad, even angry.  I hear people complain about the suits all the time, the people who aren’t ”real” fans who ruin the ACC.  Well I am one of those platinum seaters on some nights and I must say, the noise level at the bottom of the ACC is chillingly similar to the noise level at the top.  I couldn’t be angrier.  Here are the real fans, sitting down, drinking a bit, shouting out a couple of insults to the usual targets (McCabe, Antropov, and any visiting big name player), but that is no different from the platinums.  It was actually sad in the sense that the fans up top yell to ears that will never hear the words, at least when I make fun of McCabe he might actually hear it.

It’s a delusion, that the suits ruin the atmosphere.  Something needs to be done here.  Me, I’m of the mind that the fans, both “rich” and “poor” aren’t entirely to blame.  MLSE and the ACC need to do their part as well, and with that in mind here are three quick fixes:

1)  Cheerleaders.  I don’t know why more hockey teams don’t have girls (attractive ones) running up and down the aisles entertaining the fans.  I know Carolina does it, or did it, and I’m pretty sure a couple other traditionally non-hockey markets, like Tampa Bay, do it too.  I like girls.  Let’s add them to hockey.

2)  Switch up the rest of the entertainment package too.  It’s stale.  The same songs, same gimmicks, all the time during the game.  The face of the Leaf crowd pleasers is a big stuffed bear named Carlton.  He is a silent character, as quiet as the fans.  That’s ok, no mascots really talk, but Raptor at least entertains a hell of a lot more than Carlton.  Raptor inflates and shrinks, falls down stairs and consumes security guards.  The Raptors do a much better job of entertaining the fans outside of the actual sport.  Leafs need to rethink their in-game entertainment cause what’s happening on the ice isn’t doing much for anyone right now.

3) Lower the cost of alcohol.  I’m serious.  I don’t expect the beer to be cheap, but reasonable is good.  I think that MLSE could lower the cost of beer a bit, and make more money out of the increased volume in beer sold.  2 large beers cost me just over $25 last night, $25.68 I believe.  Include a tip for the bartender and you’re talking about $28.  That’s not really affordable.  Get people a little more drunk, and the noise will come.  What amazes me though is despite the astronomical price of beer, people always manage to throw up at Leafs games in the washrooms.  Without fail I see spew at every game.  Last night I witnessed the cleanup which was impressive.  They use a powder that works like kitty litter on the stuff, cleans it right up, it should be in every household.

That’s it for now.  I’m sure there are more practical ways to get the fans boisterous again, like improving the hockey club, giving all the fans something to really cheer about, but I don’t see that happening anytime soon, even by the most optimistic standard.  But the silence of the fans is aggravating.  I don’t give any credence to the argument that if there were no suits at the ACC, it would be the loudest building in hockey. This theory was disproved to me last night the most definitive way possible: through the quiet that befalls the ACC when the Leafs take to the ice, no matter where you sit.  

With all the players being shipped before the trade deadline in the NBA, in particular a lot of big names being moved, it’s obvious teams are gearing up for the playoffs, trying to add the last piece to or two to the puzzle in the hopes of bringing a championship to their particular city. 

Well it’s been fun.  This kind of thing is great for a sport.  In recent weeks anything to do with the NBA has pretty much dominated headlines and for good reason; Superstars are being moved like the judges give out 10’s at the Dunk Contest (More on that in another post I’m writing).  This is also really good for the NBA because typically this league doesn’t make big moves, or risky moves.  In recent weeks however we have seen a couple of teams make gutsy moves (Shaq for Marion), stupid moves (Gasol for ?) and moves that got blocked (the Kidd deal which now seems to be a go if the semi-retired Van Horn can pass a physical).  That Devean George block was awesome too.  Kidd was sat against the Raps to ensure them an easy victory, but George started against Portland and shot 0-11 on the night.  I know it’s only February, but that might be the greatest sports story of the year.  If this was soccer and in Europe, Devean would have his house burned to the ground for that.

Well, all this news has been fun to read about and follow, but I have seen my Raptors do nothing so far which, to me is really ok.  I don’t expect any big moves to come from the Raptors this season.  They are a couple of key pieces away from getting into the same league as Detroit and Boston in the East, and that is excluding the Western powers.  Furthermore, with the crop of players they have, I think another year of growth will do them good. 

The Raptors also have to consider that they have a few players they are likely going to want to resign and I’m assuming Colangelo doesn’t want to bring a big contract on board to make sure he can keep a guy like Calderon.  Having said that, the Raptors have a couple of identified needs (mostly rebounding) that I would like to see addressed at some point, and therefore, I turned to that trustee tool on ESPN.com, called the Trade Machine.  This thing is great if you haven’t seen it, I hope they make one for the hockey on there too cause it is ridiculously addictive.  Below are a few deals I think could be intriguing but are unlikely to happen.

Andrea Bargnani for Emeka Okafor - Bargnani sometimes shows flashes of his unique skill set which had him compared to Dirk Nowitzki leading up to his being drafted 1st overall by the Raptors, and has turned it up a bit in the past few games.  However I think the Raptors would like him to be further along than he is right now.  I think he is very fragile mentally.  Ever since that Boston game his confidence has been better, but you can tell what kind of game Andrea will have within the first 4 minutes;  If he comes out shooting well, he can put up good numbers, if he comes out cold he is a waste of a man on the floor.  However, he is the shortest 7 footer on the floor every night, but I think he can still fetch decent value in return and Michael Jordan is dumb enough to make this trade.  Emeka Okafor is a pretty good banger who doesn’t need too many plays run through him so Bosh is still your man.  Okafor is a steady rebounder and inside presence which the Raptors sorely need.  Right now there salaries are very comparable, where I see a problem is Okafor will demand a hefty sum, a lot more than Bargnani would take to resign.

Bargnani for Andrew Bogut - Here we go with Bargnani again.  Most of the trades I worked on use him really.  But that is because I think outside of Bosh, Calderon, Parker, Ford, and Moon, he would be the most coveted piece the Raps have.  Bogut is again a decent rebounder and a solid passer for a big man.  Unfortunately I think he has already reached his ceiling.  What you see is what you’re gonna get with this guy.  Bargnani can still be a good player and I can see the Raps holding onto him for another year to give him time.

Bargnani/Nesterovic for Lamar Odom - This would be a dream come true.  I like Odom.  He brings a lot to the table.  He can score inside and outside, bang the glass, and distribute the ball when defenders converge on him.  This trade works financially and the Lakers may want to move Odom now that they have Gasol if Odom isn’t happy.  But this trade would never happen because Nesterovic has a player option for next year which he will never pass up ($8.4 million I think).  If it weren’t for that, if his contract expired at season’s end, he would be a desirable commodity for his large contract coming off the books.

Bargnani and Graham for David Lee and Malik Rose - I don’t see why this trade couldn’t be done.  It’s the Knicks for crying out loud.  Sure you have to take on Rose’s fat contract for another year after this one, but you ride yourself of the unhappy and disappointing Graham (who I always had high hopes for cause I thought he could be a perimeter stopper) for David Lee, Toronto’s next Matt Bonner.  Lee is a great hustle guy who can hit the boards with the bigs he needs to leave New York before people like Randolph and Marbury infect him.

Bargnani and Dixon for Kurt Thomas - This trade gets rid of the recently unhappy Dixon who has asked for a trade, and the frustrating Bargnani (I think he has the most travels in the NBA this year)  for Kurt Thomas who can still rebound pretty well at his age.  I wouldn’t do this trade as eagerly as I would straight up for Okafor or for Odom if the Lakers take drugs and want to move him for nothing, because Thomas might be gone at season’s end and really he is on the downside of his career and the Raptors are realistically 2 years away from being true contenders in the East.

Well, those are a few trade ideas.  As you can see, I centered all my trades around Bargnani.  I had a few that didn’t involve the big Italian, but most were lesser trades, such as Graham for Adonal Foyle, or Dixon for Channing Frye.  But at this point I think he is the most movable asset the Raptors have that will get decent returns.  He is still young enough that teams can see he has room to grow, but he hasn’t developed enough to make him untradeable. 

To tell you the truth, I can see the Raptors only making smaller moves, like moving Dixon and/or Graham for small pieces or maybe 2nd round picks.  Hopefully someone will be dumb enough to think a guy like Dixon can help them in the playoffs and give us a late first rounder for him which we can turn into something good down the line, but I’m just dreaming at this point.

*** Updated At Bottom

ESPN.com is reporting that trade talks between Dallas and New Jersey have heated up again after the two teams played each other in Jersey on Sunday, a game which featured only one team on the floor for most of the night (Nets won 101-82).

The report states that Dallas would be sending Devin Harris, Jerry Stackhouse, Desagna Diop, Devean George and another player to Jersey for Kidd, Malik Allen and Darrell Armstong.  Cash and future first-rounders are also to be sent New Jersey’s way. 

Obviously the Mavs will get one of the best point-guards in the league with Kidd, but I’m not sure he’s worth all that.  One of the Mavericks big strengths is their depth.  Their second unit production is often better than any team they play and to make this work they are giving up a few regular rotation players, most notably Harris, the guy they liked for their future, Stackhouse, and Diop.  But hell, for the sake of the trade I would do it, this is a team that has been close but not quite there in recent years and getting a strong guard like Kidd, and a dynamite distributor, may be a key missing piece. 

ESPN likes to point out that he hasn’t been very efficient and ranks low on player-efficiency, particularly for starting PGs in the NBA, but as evidenced by the recent Shaq deal, when you can get a superstar you get him.  Dallas was also a team extremely interested in Shaq’s services until Phoenix traded for him last week so maybe with Plan A out the window, Plan B became more prominent.

*** So it appears that this deal might be completed.  So the Mavs are basically getting Kidd for Harris, Stackhouse, Diop and 2 first rounders if the rumours are true.  Which made me think of an interesting sidenote, a couple actually.  This might be the first time a team has traded a player after he was named to that year’s all-star team before the actual all-star game took place.  So, now we assume Kidd will be added as a 13th man to the Western conference roster, opening up a vacancy on the Eastern side.  My hope is that the East will now add the overlooked Jose Calderon who somehow didn’t make it the first time through despite Gilbert Arenas’ feelings that this was a good move.

So here we are for another exciting chapter in the far too publicised but always entertaining world of steroids in baseball.  Well I guess steroids is rather narrow-minded, let’s use the term performance enhancing drugs, because that includes HGH (and others I’m sure), and makes them sound ambiguous.  They enhance performace = good, drugs = bad. 

So today is the day that Clemens and McNamee, appear on Capitol Hill, this has been a much balleyhooed event and really we have to assume that short of someone breaking down and confessing to all their sins, will resolve nothing.   Regardless, I decided to sit myself in front of the TV with a bottle of merlot and popcorn and watch the proceedings for the good of mankind.

So here they come, down the aisle and immediately I must admit that I give 2 points to Clemens for looking the best.  Clemens has a good physique for suits, he looks like he works out a lot and uses steroids to maintain that broad shouldered look.  He also looks cool, calm and collected in these circumstances whereas McNamee, and Scheeler are shifty characters.  More on appearances, the Chair of this committee looks really quite odd.  Kinda like the short professor from the Harry Potter movies, but maybe more villainous, like a Moleman type with really large ears.

The Committee Chair just finished talking about Chuck Knoblauch and Andy Pettite.  Wow.  They really like baseball in America.  He made Knoblauch and Pettite sound like martyrs or something.  He actually called Pettite a role model.  Role Models are the type of people who cheat and initially lie about it, until it’s proven they lied and then they tell the truth, that’s what children all around the world should aspire to be.

Scheeler has ADD, he can’t stop moving around, it’s very distracting, he is talking to people too and can’t stop looking around and jotting things on a pad of paper. I would like to see that pad of paper after he’s done with it;  I bet it has doodles of puppies, butterflies and syringes.

I just breathed a massive sigh of relief, apparently this is the last we’ll hear of this.  For some reason I don’t know if I believe that, stay tuned.

They just showed Debbie Clemens sitting behind her husband, she is a known HGH user at this point and it did wonders for her body for that SI bathing suit shoot, so I really don’t know why this is a bad thing.  She has awesome pink lipstick on.

My friend just called me and asked if I was watching the deposition, I said yes, then he laughed at me, told me to get a job then hung up.  Those words hit home and stung me but they ring true.

This Committee has decided to base it’s decision on the facts they have.  The facts. That’s a key word:  Facts.  You see because there is no such things as facts in this case.  It is all hearsay evidence which really amounts to nothing in a real court scenario.  This is dumb, the only physical evidence they may have are the syringes and gauze pads, which apparently are being largely ignored.  I don’t think the “test” results have come through yet so this whole show will change nothing.  We still going to hear the same stories, both people are going to get their credibility questioned but nothing is going to be solved today.

I would really hate to be one of those people that appears sporadically throughout these types of things.  You know who I’m talking about, the people that you can spot over the shoulders of whoever is currently in the foreground.  The guy over Davis’ shoulder right now looks like my friend Kyle and he also looks really tired.  He has several massive lines on his forehead like he is trying to force is eyes open right now.  I don’t blame him.

McNamee is a hardcore New Yorker.  Based on the way he looks I really didn’t expect him to have the voice he does, he looks much more like a weiner than he sounds.  He’s one of those guys, like Chuck Swirsky, whose voice you hear and envision someone else, and then when you see the face and hear the voice you are blown away. 

I think Barry Bonds has snuck his way into this hearing.  The woman over Elijah Cummings shoulder eerily resembles Bonds when he crossed dressed for spring training a couple years ago. 

I’m seeing all these bottles of water around the room and I’m wondering if this is a product placement move.  I haven’t caught the label just yet, but my goodness that is a great commercial idea - Need a way to cool off on a hot summer day?  Drink Dasani. Feeling the heat of congress during a televised deposition questioning your use of performance enhancing drugs under oath?  Drink Dasani.  Want to replenish the fluid that leaves your body during a hard workout?  Drink Dasani.  I can sell this stuff.

This is unreal, they keep questioning Clemens’ and McNamee’s credibility, and to do this they are using statements submitted by people like Jose Canseco.  Are we really using Canseco as a credible witness?  That guy is a joke.  I don’t understand this.

This is going nowhere, I can’t take this anymore.  This entire deposition could be dragged out like it is, or we could have it all wrapped up with the same outcome like this:

To Roger - “Did you do it?” “No” “Thank you”

To McNamee - “Did he do it?” “Yes” “Thank you”

Case closed.  Short of Clemens or McNamee breaking down and confessing to all their lies this is really going nowhere.  I’ll read about the rest of this later.  I’m sorry to have put you through this.  I grow tired of this story.  I can’t wait for my ball hockey game tonight, our team is really bad but it’s all in good fun. 

Oh wait, it has just gotten a bit more interesting…I’m not sure who it was (I’m listening online at this point, the Merlot has really hit me, and can barely keep my eyes open) but they just made a joke about what jersey Clemens will wear to the Hall of Fame, yup, they sure love baseball in America.

Now Clemens’ lawyer has lost his mind.  Rusty?  Is that you?  The lawyers aren’t even allowed to speak during these depositions and Rusty has gone off his rocker.

Ok, I have better things to do, like pet my dog and think about what I’m going to make myself for lunch. 

The Ottawa Senators have decided to shake up their lineup a bit to help get them out of the funk that has recently plagued the team.  Today they swapped Patrick Eaves and Joe Corvo for Cory Stillman and Mike Commodore.  This move comes in spite of a 6-1 statement win over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night. 

In this trade, Ottawa gets a couple of guys who have Stanley Cup experience.  Stillman has been a champion twice, once with the Lightning in 2004, and then also with Carolina in 2006.  Commodore was also a 2006 Stanley Cup winner with Carolina.  Stillman has pretty good offensive potential but I have never really been a fan of him.  His shoulder pads make him look like he has no neck and he’s pretty soft in my opinion.   In fact I straight up don’t like the guy, watch a few upcoming Sens games and you’ll just grow a distaste for the way he plays the game (he plays only when he has the puck).  Commodore is a pretty tough competitor on the blue line but his offensive game is very limited.  He is pretty responsible in his own zone but will never give you more than 8 or 9 goals from the back end.

Patrick Eaves is a pretty fast skater and I like his ability to upset the defense with his speed and intensity.   He is also ok in both ends of the ice, putting up some numbers and knowing that he has to play defensively as well.  He is also only 23, so I think his game is still going to grow, particularly his offensive output.  Corvo is a good puck moving defenseman and I think he will do well for Carolina in their bid to make the playoffs.

I understand this move in the sense that they want to win a cup badly in Ottawa, but talent wise I don’t think this is an upgrade.  You get a couple of guys who know what it’s like to win, but I don’t think this is the talent they need to get it done.  Also, both Commodore and Stillman are UFA at season’s end, so you really get a sense that they want to win this year.  Either they still have to make a major push for another top line guy (Mats Sundin or someone of this caliber) or they lost a couple of good players, especially Eaves, for two rentals that I don’t think brings them any closer to cup contention.

TSN is reporting that Bryan Murray, GM of the Senators, asked Wade Redden to waive his no trade clause today for a move that would have seen Redden move to the San Jose Sharks.  Redden, however, said no.  He wants to help guide The Sens to a Stanley Cup.  Redden as you know, is the guy the Sens picked over Chara and has since showed his appreciation for that massive vote of confidence by continually to stay the exact same and not improve his game.

What is unclear is what the Sharks offered up for the defenceman.  I would assume the only offer that makes sense is a Marleau for Redden swap.  Marleau needs out of San Jose and The Senators need greater offensive depth.   Could have been an interesting trade for both teams, but Redden wants to stay, despite apparently not being terribly wanted.

McNamee and his attorneys have turned over photographs of vials, syringes and even a crumpled beer can which will help persecute Clemens.  A beer can?  Tell me there isn’t something wrong with this picture.  I don’t think roid monkeys sit around and drink beer while they shoot themselves full of roids.  I can’t tell at this point if these are just pictures of some of the items McNamee has saved since 2000/2001, or if this is an image from 2000 or 2001 after they had an injecting party and McNamee took this photo to remember the good old steroid years. 

Either way this is really starting to smell of desperation.  Are you telling me that he has also kept a crumpled beer can?  In his defence, Clemens’ lawyer, Rusty Hardin (ya that’s really his name) said McNamee “has a total history of lying”.  So this is the company Roger keeps?  McNamee’s lawyers apparently even called Clemens for a DNA sample.  This is moronic. 

All this evidence seems completely staged to me.  I’m telling you now, it’s all faked.  Why is this all coming out now?  McNamee would have turned it over months ago during the Mitchell report.  This is a great soap opera, but I’m starting to grow tired of it.

Yes, tonight’s game against the Clippers marks Toronto’s 1000^th regular season game.  I’m impressed.  This team has had some serious growing pains but with a President/GM with a knack for picking talent and a solid vision for the team, I like their odds of remaining competitive for years to come.  Colangelo has built a great foundation for an up-tempo team with a lot of nice pieces.  The Raptors are still a couple key pieces away from being able to compete against the likes of Detroit or Boston in a seven game series, we still have a lot to cheer about when it comes to this team. 

So, in honour of this event, I have decided to come up with Toronto’s best line-up of all-time. 

To qualify for this list, a player simply had to have played at least a season for the Raptors.  And this list is based not only on their time as a Raptor, but career achievements as well.  They didn’t have to have their best years in a Raptor jersey.  So without further ado, here is my list of 5 starters, and 5 backups.  The backups aren’t necessarily career bench players, they are just the second best we’ve had in that spot.

Point Guard – Damon Stoudemire

“Mighty Mouse” says it all.  He played on a garbage team and put up some great numbers, and won rookie of the year honours. Sadly he was unhappy and shipped out of town to Portland.  The return package for him was pretty good though, Alvin Williams, two 1^st rounders and more?  Stoudemire never had numbers quite like he did in Toronto, but his play here helped pave the way for tonight’s 1000^th game.

Backup – T.J. Ford

This was a tough one.  Billups didn’t qualify because he played less than half a season for our beloved dinosaurs, otherwise he would have taken the starting job from Mighty.  Then it came down to a tri-fecta for me, Alvin Williams, T.J. Ford, and Jose Calderon.  Williams I just can’t pick here, his career was shortened by injuries and though he is the career assists leader for the Raptors, I couldn’t take him.  Calderon is great.  So efficient and smart, and he has great chemistry with this team.  But he has only been on the job as a starter for less than half a year.  So I went with Ford.  He had good years in college, and Milwaukee, and before his injury showed no signs of having his starting job threatened by Calderon.  But really I could this position could have gone to either one.

Shooting Guard – Vince Carter

First class douchebag.  Can’t stand a guy who quits on his team the way he did but I have to admit he truly ushered in the fans and helped this team avoid the fate that the Grizzlies suffered.  He also won rookie of the year in 98-99, and a dunk contest (which these days is a joke, the judges give out 10’s like hookers give out herpes).  Vincanity captivated a city and led us to the playoffs.  If he didn’t leave on such bad terms, the fans would still talk about him jumping over that 7 footer in the Olympics instead of placing him slightly lower than Hitler on their all-time list of most hated people.  Backup – Jalen Rose

This guy was a great interview.  I really dug his quotes, he is like Shaq’s little brother in that respect.  He also put up some pretty good numbers over his career and put in solid minutes and effort in T.O.  When he went to the bench, and came on with the second unit he was like a gift from God.  He excelled in this role for us despite the fact that I’m sure he didn’t like it.  He wasn’t very athletic though.  Watching him move around the floor he looked like a lazy person by nature and I just wonder how good he could have been if he was naturally athletic or knew how to run. 

Small Forward – Tracy McGrady

He didn’t have the best numbers as a Raptor but we got to see him represent us in an all-star game before he bolted the second he could for another city.  His wonky back is really holding him back and his knack for losing in the playoffs makes me not entirely sad to see him go, I just wish we got more for him (a future 1^st rounder, I can’t even tell you what that pick turned into).

Backup – Anthony Parker

I really dig this guy.  I could have put him at the shooting guard position but I moved him to small forward so I could include him on this list because Jalen’s career earns him the honour at SG.  He is a strong defender and can shoot the lights out from 3 when he’s on.  He can handle the ball and cut to the basket effectively as well.  Parker still gets plagued by inconsistent play on some nights and he is allergic to trying to defend Kobe Bryant. 

Power Forward – Chris Bosh

No question here.  Bosh is the man around whom this franchise will be built for years.  The 2003 draft had some ridiculous talent and I would only take Lebron over Bosh.  Give me Bosh over Wade or Carmelo.  I didn’t feel that way about Wade a couple years ago, but I feel Bosh is the second best product from that draft.  I love his attitude too, he is a consummate team player and tireless worker.  Nothing gets me more excited watching a game than seeing Bosh hustle for loose balls.  My only knock on him is he sometimes settles for the outside shot too often, especially when he is being defended by players not nearly in his class. Backup – Charles Oakley

He was a tough competitor and the best rebounder the Raps have ever had.  Oakley put in some pretty good years here but had his better years before he landed in Toronto.  He kept Carter in line for a few years though and helped keep this team in the game with his work ethic on the glass which is a problem that has plagued this team for as long as I can remember.

Center – Marcus Camby

So he only had a couple years with the Raptors.  I don’t care.  What he has matured into in Denver earns him this spot in my mind.  He struggled early in his career and was constantly questioned about his attitude and drive, but has turned into one of the best defensive players in the league.  He rebounds and blocks and I still like the fact that he punched Van Gundy.

Backup – Antonio Davis

Davis was another guy like Oakley who consistently gave you effort and went to his first and only all-star game as a member of the Raptors.  He came back in a stupid trade for Rose and a 1^st rounder which eventually saw him waived and possibly taint his years as a Raptor fan favourite, but he deserves this spot behind Camby.

If you disagree post a comment.  Give me your suggestions for players who should appear on this team.

After Clemens was in a congressional hearing yesterday for 5 hours during which he repeartedly defended his name by declaring he has never used steroids and HGH, his former trainer Brian McNamee gave federal prosecutors physical evidence against The Rocket.

Apparently McNamee has kept used syringes and gauze pads Clemens used in 2000 and 2001.  More is likely to come out on this after Thursday when McNamee has his meeting with committee staff where he will give his deposition.  If this is the case, shit will likely hit the fan for Clemens. 

I don’t really want to speculate on whether Clemens is guilty or not because I do believe that someone is innocent until proven guilty and not the other way around.  But I do think he took them.  Having said that, Clemens is a far more credible individual than McNamee who to me is coming off like a junkie through this whole process.  I mean the guy kept gauze pads and syringes from 2000 and 2001?  I keep random things around my house too, odd knick knacks and old toys, but used syringes?  This guy is left of centre. 

We’ll find out more on Thursday….the plot thickens.