I Blame the Media

Two games have passed since my last entry, and both were supposed to be wins. This past Friday, the Utah Jazz came to our wonderful city, and did they ever go to town.

For the first time ever - my view was front and center. One of my colleagues had planned a road-trip of sorts, meaning I would take his press-row seat. Good times.

That also meant that I’d be keeping score and letting the Fan 590 broadcast team of Paul Jones and Eric Smith know of any runs or droughts.

The game started off great for the Raptors. They had come out victorious in the opening quarter for the first time this season (21-18). After that, though, it was all downhill. In the 2^nd, the Jazz went on a 19-2 run; one that would last more than 6 minutes before the Raptors scored a bucket.

Jones gave on-air praise for my quick calculation – something a math teacher never did once throughout my entire scholastic career.

But number crunching aside, the Raptors let a very winnable ball game slip right through their fingers.

Jazz 99, Raptors 84

Mehmet Okur led Utah with 29 points and 12 rebounds, as the Jazz shot 50.7% from the field. Chris Bosh countered with 19 points and 10 rebounds; The Raps shot 42.6%

Aaron Williams was supposed to be the answer to their problems at center – or at least the best of 3 pivots – but he picked up 4 fouls in all of 10 and a half minutes.

Rafael Aroujo was proud of him.

The bright spots: Matt Bonner came out of his season-opening funk to record 12 points, 8 boards and 4 steals… and I got to sit courtside.

==

Before the game, I was asked to attend a media conference held by Basketball Canada. They announced a new membership program called “Be One,” which in short, is designed to train kids at a younger age how to play basketball properly – and unlike Jamaal Magloire – actually want to play for the Canadian National Team.

What I got out of the conference was:

- A little confusion as to what the program was all about

- A chance to network (I met one of the hosts of NBA XL - she asked if I was interested in making an appearance for a segment sometime – hell yes)

- A free T-Shirt

- A dry-erase basketball clipboard

- A cold (a writer from the Star was kind enough to cough on the side of my face during a scrum)

As I’m typing this, I sit here listening to Nina Simone (“I Hold No Grudge” – coincidentally), with a Kleenex draping from left nostril. Hey, you asked. No?

Well you should have.

==

Moving on – and back in time a day – The Raps played host to the Sonics, who had come into the ACC losers of their last three games (most recently a 41-point spanking courtesy of the Wizards).

This game would be seen by my eyes from the friendly confines of the radio station (again, my position at the game is easier to fill than the one as sportscaster - although I was already losing my voice – badly). My younger cousin came to job-shadow for a few hours as a school project. Another set of eyes never hurts.

What we witnessed was one of the most exciting Raptors games in a while – certainly the most entertaining this season.

The Raptors were down 18 points early in the fourth, when everyone – mainly Mike James and Charlie Villanueva – started going off. James made five 3-pointers in the final frame alone (finishing with a career-high 36 points), while Charlie-V did most of his 26 points and 12 boards of damage in the final 11 minutes, as well.

With the Raptors down by 3, James lined up for a long-ball with 4.7 seconds left… top of the arch, probably would have been good, had Ray Allen not fouled him (Allen’s 6^th) before the attempt. That pre-empted move put James on the line for two free throws (remember, the Raps were down 3). So he hit the first, and needed to miss the second and hope for a put-back.

This play maybe works once a season – but it worked to perfection on Sunday.

James’ high-arching free-throw hit back-rim, sailed up and into the hands of Charlie-V, who tried to bank it in, only to shoot wide. Chris Bosh was there, and finger-tipped it in as the buzzer sounded.

Off to overtime…

Bosh fouled out two minutes into the extra frame on a shady “moving-pick” call. The Sonics then rolled to victory as an open 3-ball from Jalen Rose went blank, and a poorly timed turnover from Jose Calderon spelt defeat (he did have 12 assists for what it’s worth).

Sonics 126, Raptors 121 (OT)

==

I went to shoot-around today with mic-in-hand, and Halls-in-mouth. Avoiding excessive coughing proved troublesome, as I had to leave numerous scrums just so I didn’t infect the players.

Seriously, not that I needed to be told, but the Media Relations guy told me “just don’t infect the players.”

What I did stick around long enough to hear, was Jalen again taking most of the blame for the losing: “Hopefully, when I finally have a good game, it will coincide with the team winning,”

The Raps are in Philly to start a home-and-home tomorrow night. On Wednesday, I’ll be courtside again. But right now, I’m sniffling up a storm.

That Nina song’s long over now… Grudge or no grudge, I blame the media.