When You Can't Get to Italy Fast Enough...

First of all, i want to apologize - sort of - for my lack of updating.
I was confronted by a friend/reader at the gym, pointing out that I needed fresh material.

The only problem is... there's no fresh material.

In fact, among the two topics I want to touch on... is OLD stuff.

Amid the madness that is called work, I found a little time to relax in front of the TV the other night. For the first time since some early USA vs. Puerto Rico tune-up action, I turned on RaptorsTV.

I'm sure as hell glad I did.

They're showing what they call the "Landmark Series" - the 2001 First Round playoff series against the Knicks.

Having that on television is like going back to an old fling, and having some good quality no-strings-attached fun. It's a guilt-free pleasure.

Watching the Raptors from when they were competitive.
Watching the Raptors, when the team boasted names like Charles Oakley, Dell Curry, Keon Clark... on top of your Vince Carters', Antonio Davis', Alvin Williams' (who torched New York repeatedly - as mentioned in the previous post, also nailed the "shot" (sorry MJ, Toronto fans get one too)).

Seeing the Jerome Williams', a young up-and-coming Mo Pete, and a Chris Childs before that disasterous 3-point attempt vs. Detroit, was just beautiful.

I almost cried.

There was pretty much a memory associated with every game.
Like, I'd remember watching game 1 of that series with my father on my parents couch... I remember my mother racing back in the car from Hamilton, as we listened to the start of game 3 on the radio, desperately trying to see the images from our own eyes (mother, not necessarily included)...
and fast forward a couple weeks, I remember exactly what I was doing when Vince Carter missed that basket at the buzzer, that would have beaten Philly and sent the Raptors into the Eastern Finals.

But that last one's a story for another post - perhaps.

I just wanted to share that feeling with you... and hope that you got/get a chance to see some of it, as well... because honestly, that's when this city went crazy for Raptors basketball. The bandwagon was never bigger.

And I'm sure I'm not the only one who will welcome further growth, when the on-court product is back to doing what this city demands/expects.

The past few years haven't been as kind, obviously... because of a number of reasons. Turmoil's a good word to use, I think... and turmoil's what one former player is dealing with right now.

I was catching up on what went on in the sports world between my sleeping hours, and came across this nugget: (keep in mind, the player to be mentioned signed a contract to play in Italy, just last week)

-kids... leave the guns at home-

(WASHINGTON AP) - Former NBA player Lonny Baxter was arrested by uniformed Secret Service agents on Wednesday after shots were fired from a vehicle about two blocks from the White House.

Baxter, a former Toronto Raptor who played with the Charlotte Bobcats last season, was taken into custody around 2:30 a.m. after a witness flagged down a Secret Service agent and reported shots fired from a white sport-utility vehicle, said Secret Service spokesman Eric Zahren.

Officers stopped the vehicle, which Baxter was driving, near the intersection of 17th and I streets in Northwest Washington.

"There were spent shell casings in plain view inside the vehicle," Zahren said. Officers also recovered a handgun.

Both Baxter, 27, and the vehicle's passenger, 35-year-old Irvin Martin, were charged with carrying a pistol without a license and other firearms charges. Police said it wasn't clear why they allegedly fired the gun.



"We're not sure at this point," Zahren said. "There may be some subsequent charges if we discover some additional information."

The two suspects are being held by District of Columbia police.

(thanks to the Associated Press)

...this just in... Irvin Martin is actually Robert Archibald... and they actually BANG, like brothers.

Chuck, you're a frikkin' prophet.