Well that was expected -_-

CB4 came to town with his new team, the Miami Heat, and B4 he left blowing kisses to the crowd they won the 'grudge' game against the Toronto Raptors by the score of 103-95.

I'm impressed with the effort the Raptors put forth in playing the game for four quarters, and while I wasn't expecting any miracles, I'm glad they kept it close...for the most part.

The Boo Birds were out in full force, yet I couldn't help thinking that the Bosh chapter of the Same Old Story sounded so similar to the Vince Carter and Damon Stoudamire chapters from the same book.

I mean, we lost!

With that out of the way, Torontonians like me can focus on what is important: The Maple Leafs, the weather, and the snub of Justin Bieber by the Grammys (I'm just kidding...no one really cares about the weather). Now, a song by Justin Bieber to calm your nerves ^_^



If you like to read more about this game, check out REUTERS for their synopsis of the game. That is where I got that photo of Bosh...and Bieber...!

Bosh is Back, alright?

No, I'm not talking about the Backstreet Boys; I'm talking about former Toronto Raptor Chris Bosh and his new team, the Miami Heat, coming to Toronto for a first time since CB4 said "C YA" via Tweets to T.O.

As I said before in my Lebron blog posting in December of last year, I'm not too upset by what Bosh did. Letting the wrong word slip on Twitter, and misleading your city until you announce on a national broadcast you are going to Florida are two different things (or are they?).

Click here to find out what I wrote about Lebron. This blog will be here when you get back...>

Toronto has a history of booing players that leave the beloved Big Smoke for the opportunity to play for the Big Prize, Big Money, or both: Damon Stoudamire, Tracy McGrady, and even Vince Carter felt heaps of criticism for "walking out" on "Canada's Team". As for me, my "laissez-faire" attitude concerning Chris Bosh is in sharp contrast to the feelings of most Torontonians, who will be at tonight's game at the Air Canada Centre, and all but a few Cleveland supporters that believed Lebron was the "Second Coming".

1. The Team

My expectations for the Toronto Raptors were low, at best. I knew they wouldn't choke, but I knew they wouldn't do miracles either. Although, the 25-point comeback against Detroit at the Palace was a nice surprise...! Anyway, I don't go out of my way to watch the Raptors play because the return would not equal the amount of time I invest in the team. This would be unfathomable years ago, when Vinsanity hit the Raptors: I believed we had a chance in EVERY game, and we usually won more than we lost. I don't get that vibe this year, nevertheless I admire the Toronto Raptors for playing, which is more than I can say for other teams that take up the cross for their city, and mail it in on the road (Insert team name here:___________)

2. The Conference

If you have a sub-500 record and you are seventh in your conference, thank your lucky stars you are in Eastern Conference team.

3. The League

I'm not going to bore you with a expository piece on why I think the NBA is a scripted event. Instead, I will just put up bullet points...

a. If the Spurs score more than 100 points, I am convinced Tim Duncan will have a heart attack! Watching the San Antonio Spurs play basketball is like watching paint dry. You know they will drain buckets, but they will milk the clock before they do (how come they won four championships doing it?!).
b. NBA Finals: Lakers versus Heat/Celtics. The dream championship for any or all media outlets. If the Lakers get home court advantage, you know the series is going six/seven games.
c. There are some games and teams you can just write off, not just season by season, but game by game. I would be open to the idea of contraction, as long as the talent pool is there and it is done right. Toronto may be on the expendable list, but don't quote me on that o_O

In conclusion, Toronto had a history of players bolting the Raptors for a better deal. Bosh is just another player for fans to boo in an effort to take the focus off the current state of the team.

What is he going to do in response: Rebound?

Remembering Len Bias

If you know about the sport of basketball, then there is a good chance you know about a college player named Len Bias: The product of the University of Maryland with great skill, potential, and awesome promise. Drafted by the Boston Celtics in the '86 Draft just two days earlier, his life and career took a tragic turn when he died of heart failure stemming from a drug overdose.

Whether your passion is basketball or something else, it is something every player or future player should watch because it is a story of how success can be mishandled. The title of the film is "Without Bias", directed by Kirk Fraser. As the hall-of-fame Georgetown basketball coach Chuck Thompson said, there are not many stories of success in today's culture, so it is important to make the right choices in life, how they affect those around you, and why.

I am taking on more responsibility in my new occupation, and leadership isn't too far from my mind. No one hears about the right choices made in the business world, just the poor or ill-advised ones (see Lehman Bros., Bear Stearnes, Martha Stewart, etc). The right choice may not be the smart one, in terms of economic value, but there are things in this life that are worth more than dollar bills in your wallet or points on a scoreboard.

I recommend you see Kirk Fraser's film; I hope you will take something tangible from it. There are a series of articles form the Washington Post website about the Len Bias story here...

We Will Be Witnesses

December 2nd, 2010. The goods and evils of free agency and anti-trust will come together for one event in Cleveland, Ohio: Lebron James' return to the basketball court he called home for seven seasons for the first time since his scripted, less than noble live announcement on ESPN he would play for a team other than the Cavaliers.

If you are a regular reader of CB4, then you know I wrote about Lebron and The Cavaliers before. Feel free to check out my earlier posts for some background...

If there is laughter in Toronto about Miami's newest bench warmer, then there will be unrestrained furor in Cleveland for Miami's newest star player. Even with Bosh and Lebron respectively, the Heat are anything but on fire, and the fact Miami is less than stellar adds to the palpable fear and spectacle surrounding this game. Nevertheless, it begs the question of how long is too long to hold a grudge?

The boos Browns fans give the Baltimore Ravens are just as loud for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Arizona Cardinals, and any other NFL team that comes to town. When asked on a local telecast about where Lebron's exit ranks in Cleveland sports history, a fan paused and answered "right up there" with the departure of the old Browns franchise to Baltimore. As time passed, fans linked the new Browns with the old Browns in the name and the colours. Players are unknown until they show talent, and then they are no longer trusted (ie. Lebron James, Braylon Edwards, Josh Cribbs (?)). Should we assume that fans trust the franchise more than the players who play on the team? I hope not (ie. Baltimore Colts to Indianapolis, Winnipeg Jets to Phoenix, Los Angeles Rams to St. Louis).

I suppose there is a balance between favouring player and team, in particular in the current information age of WikiLeaks and thousands of blogs and credible "sources". Amidst all the fear and trembling, I would hope someone in Cleveland on Thursday, December 2nd, will find "decorum" or use discretion that night.

What Should I Do?

What should I do? The NBA season is already underway, but that is nothing compared to an eventful offseason involving Lebron James, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and his new employers the Miami Heat. There was significant backlash in the wake of Lebron's televised announcement, after months of denial and assurances Cleveland was his team.

You don't need links to find news media on the Cleveland backlash towards Lebron; they are all over websites like Google, YouTube, and Facebook, and on various blogs all over the world. Instead I posted a couple of videos: One by Lebron James in the wake of the departure, and the response (I found both on Youtube).

Now, what should I do? This is an open question to you, my readers. Everyone says I should be angry, indifferent, or happy, but what should I do? Write off the sport? Write off Lebron? Write off Cleveland?!

I know what it is like, Cleveland (See "I Miss Him. Every Game."). I know how you feel, but what should I do way out here in Toronto? Chris Bosh went to Miami, too, but I don't care enough to be as upset because he wasn't Lebron, and he wasn't Vince Carter. So, what should I do? Should I boo? Should I give a standing ovation? Should I go back to playing NHL 11?

Tell me; I want to know. What should I do?

THE TRADE THAT CHANGED BASKETBALL FOREVER!

I remember when the Hornets played for the city of Charlotte: Shooting guard Kendall Gill would shoot out the lights, power forward Larry Johnson (a.k.a. Grandmama) would put on a show, center Alonzo Mourning would pound the glass and dunk the ball, and the NBA's shortest ever point guard Muggsy Bogues would captain the offence and shutdown opponents on defence, and in response Charlotte would pack its Coliseum to watch their Hornets play.

Of course, this way of playing basketball was not brand new. The Lakers and Celtics of the 1980's transitioned out of the old center focus game of the "two-point" era popularized by Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell (Before 1979, all NBA baskets were worth two points anywhere on the court. Teams needed centers with strength and willpower to score and/or play defense). Fellow Eastern Conference championship contenders, Isiah Thomas' Detroit Pistons and Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls introduced a game of driving play and clutch perimeter shooting. The Charlotte Hornets were playoff contenders, but not championship caliber material: After their first 50-win season in 1994-95, the Hornets lost to the Bulls in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

A lost season followed, which began in the offseason with the Hornets trading away Alonzo Mourning to the Miami Heat for shooting star Glen Rice, a draft pick and two other players, and the Hornets failed to qualify for the playoffs. As the 1996 Draft approached, the Charlotte Hornets believed they were missing something: A person that could take over the game.

The day was July 1, 1996. The 1996 Draft was almost a week before with the Charlotte Hornets selecting two shooting guards in the first round. Their second pick (#16) was senior Tony Delk from Kentucky; the pick came to the Hornets in the Mourning trade. He led the Wildcats to another NCAA Championship in March of that year, so the Hornets felt they lucked out. Their first pick (#13) was a gamble out of Lower Merion High School in Pennsylvania, but Charlotte needed a strong inside presence to replace Alonzo Mourning. Thankfully, the struggling Los Angeles Lakers had something to offer.

The "Showtime era" of the 1980's was a distant memory for Lakers fans. The days of star center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and star players Magic Johnson, James Worthy, and Michael Cooper were gone; for the first time in team history, the center-driven game the Lakers popularized for the NBA's first fifty years of existence lost step with the rest of the league. The Lakers had Vlade Divac, their #1 pick from the 1989 Draft meant to replace the great Abdul-Jabbar yet the results were not there (For an in-depth synopsis of Lakers history, visit their website!)

Vlade Divac was an established NBA talent that could put the Charlotte Hornets over the top; all the Lakers wanted was their thirteenth pick from the '96 Draft: The unproven shooting guard out of high school.

July 1, 1996

To Charlotte Hornets: Vlade Divac, Center
To Los Angeles Lakers: #13 Pick from the 1996 NBA Draft (Kobe Bryant, Shooting Guard, Lower Merion HS, PA)

The focus on the Center position in basketball is not what it once was. In this one player transaction, the age of defense beginning and ending with the center, from the days of Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell, transitioned to the offense-oriented, perimeter focus of today. Charlotte never reached the NBA Finals, only reaching the conference finals once before moving to New Orleans after the 2002 season. During that time period, Kobe Bryant and then free agent acquisition Shaquille O'Neal racked up three consecutive NBA titles between 2000-02. However, the future of the game focused around players like Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, and Kevin Garnett. They are not giants, but none can understate their offensive and defensive presence on the perimeter as well as in close. Keep in mind there are great centers in the game today, such as Greg Oden of the Portland Trailblazers. Nevertheless, the focus of today's game is on guards and then forwards (see 2009 NBA Draft).

By the way, who did the Los Angeles Lakers select as their 24th pick in the 1996 NBA Draft? Derek Fisher, as in "0.4 shot" Derek Fisher :D

Greatest Basketball Commercial Ever.

You see it in the title. No basketball-only blog would be complete without a link to the greatest basketball commercial in the history of television. Enjoy!