Anyone who made it down to the ACC last night was treated to one of the best experiences of the season, and not just because the Raptors beat the Knicks 100-98 in an enthralling encounter.

That’s because it was also fan night, which might explain why the game was a sell-out. (To be fair though, it was the eighth sell-out of the season for the Raptors, their most in four seasons.)

Not surprisingly, numerous guys were eager to have their photo taken with the Raptors Dance Pak. Unfortunately for the two men in this picture the snapper had trouble focusing.  (Not that I can blame him.)

At the opposite end of the spectrum, the Raptors mascot also made his inevitable appearance.  Here he is proving there’s no limit to his ego by only agreeing to pose with fans if all other colour is removed from the photos to make him stand out more:

As if that wasn’t bad enough, it was also custody night for the Raptor, hence he decided to bring his children to the game. (There’s no doubt in my mind that Mrs Raptor divorced his sorry ass years ago.)

As part of the half-time entertainment, rapper Young MC took to the court to put on a show.  I’m not really down with today’s music (ala Matt Devlin) so I have no idea who he is.  However, here’s a pretty collage of pictures to appease his fans:

Also enticing people to come out to the game last night was the opportunity to be one of 10,000 people to get a Kyle Lowry bobblehead:

In light of this promotion, it was fitting that Lowry got the game-winning shot, even though he caused me to have an anxiety attack with the amount of faffing around he did in the build-up.

Actually, speaking of players who faff around, here’s Dwane Casey welcoming Sebastian Telfair to the team:

Given the lack of enthusiasm surrounding the trade for Telfair, it wouldn’t surprise me if Casey is actually giving him a sucker punch to the stomach.  Or maybe he’s pissed off that the Raptors still have Andrea Bargnani and is just taking out his frustrations on the newest acquisition.

While we’re on the subject of Bargnani, I admit I was saddened when the fans booed him after he entered the game for the first time.  We have to accept the guy is here until at least the summer, so getting on his back isn’t going to help anyone:

However, despite having always been in the Italians corner, I’m at least objective enough to acknowledge it looked really bad when he still had zeroes across the board after 12 minutes of action.  Until this happened:

I’m joking of course. That never happened. Unfortunately the first (and only) contribution Bargnani made all night on the stat line was to foul someone.

Bargnani aside, the evening was a rousing success, with the Raptors now just 4.5 games back of the eighth-place Milwaukee Bucks.  And while it’s still a long shot to make the playoffs, I’m now officially on board and drinking the kool-aid. (Something tells me several more anxiety attacks are imminent.)

Photo credits: @StuColvin, @StopBooingMe, @strizzy & @CanSportsRT

If you have any questions, please email me at paul.taylor@bluetoro.ca

You can also follow us on Twitter @bluetoro_ca and like us on Facebook

• By paul.taylor
• February 23, 2013
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As you’re most probably aware, the Raptors Terrence Ross has been selected to participate in the 2013 Slam Dunk contest, which takes place this coming Saturday at All-Star Weekend:

Despite being a rookie, Ross is getting a lot of support from people who are convinced he can win, including a certain Dwyane Wade:

The #East got this! @t_dotflight31: First The Step now The Drive. Watch me in slo-mo. Crazy.bit.ly/WVOtAI

— Way of WADE (@DwyaneWade) February 11, 2013

Certainly there hasn’t been this much of a buzz surrounding the Slam Dunk contest in Raptors Nation since Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady took part in 2000.  (I’d apologise to Jamario Moon and DeMar DeRozan, but they know it’s true.)

As if to help feed into the excitement, Ross took to social media last night to post this Tweet to his followers:

Signed game-worn (and dunked in!) shoes to fan w/ most clever dunk. Tweet me a video of what you got. #RossShallDunk twitter.com/T_DotFlight31/…

— Terrence Ross (@T_DotFlight31) February 12, 2013

It sounds like a fun idea. However, you can imagine it will take a lot to impress Ross, if these dunks are anything to go by:

Lets just hope no one breaks their neck trying to imitate him.  It is only a pair of second-hand sneakers after all.

Photo credits: @TheDesiDon

 If you have any questions, please email me at paul.taylor@bluetoro.ca

 You can also follow us on Twitter @bluetoro_ca and like us on Facebook

• By paul.taylor
• February 12, 2013
• Comment

What is going on with the Raptors this season?  Bryan Colangelo is hanging on for dear life, Dwane Casey’s influence has regressed and Andrea Bargnani seems above doing certain things such as…..oh I don’t…..PLAYING DEFENCE.

It goes without saying (but I’ll say it anyway) that the Raptors are experiencing desperate times.  And as we know, desperate times often call for desperate measures.

In this respect, the Raptors could do worse than hire the A-Team, because let’s face it: They do have a problem and NO ONE else can help them.

Fortunately, the A-Team aren’t as hard to find these days if this photo is anything to go by:

I’m not sure how serious/genuine this is, but apparently Amir Johnson has decided to channel his inner-B.A. Baracus (right down to his new hairstyle) and buy the A-Team van.  But which of his teammates are capable (and indeed worthy) of completing the quartet?

The Raptors’s roster is full of unpredictable and undisciplined characters, so getting someone to replace “Howling Mad” Murdoch should be simple enough.  However, Johnson may struggle after this.

For example, whose going to take on the leadership role of John “Hannibal” Smith?  No one on the Raptors appears equipped to take charge of this mess.  And unlike the suave Templeton “Faceman” Peck, the team isn’t particularly pleasing to the eye or capable of using it’s charms to con the general public out of it’s hard-earned money.

Although to be fair, MLSE already has the Faceman role covered in terms of ripping off Toronto sports fans.

Photo credit: @IamAmirJohnson

• By paul.taylor
• December 10, 2012
• Comment

There are some things in life that just don’t go together: MLSE & winning professional franchises, the Toronto Star & objective reporting on anything to do with Rob Ford and Kevin Frankish & the ‘Sexiest Male award’.  (Oh….hold on,  that last one did actually happen?!)

Another one on the list is men and women going clothes shopping together.  We’ve all been there.  When you start dating someone, the first few times you go shopping with a new girlfriend you bounce around like a loved up demented puppy, enthusiastically saying things like; “Yes, definitely go with the blue dress. It compliments your eyes better” and “You want to go to Sears again? Fantastic!”

By around the fifth time, the magic of a new relationship is beginning to wear off and you start coming out with comments such as: “I’m not really sure which shoes I prefer, why don’t you just buy both pairs? “ and “Back to Sears? What happened to one-stop shopping?”

And by the tenth visit, the honeymoon period is well and truly over and you’re shouting;  “How many cushions does one woman need?” and “I would rather stick my penis in an electric toaster than go back to Sears again!”

It’s an unwritten rule that men and women try to go shopping together as little as possible.  But sometimes, Cindy and Tiffany just aren’t available, due to a broken nail or disaster at the hair saloon, and you have no choice but to accompany your woman.

And even worse, if you’re off work there’s no way to avoid it, which is pretty much why Landry Fields was forced to go shopping with his girlfriend, Elaine Alden, yesterday. Unfortunately he couldn’t even use his injury as an excuse as he injured his elbow rather than his leg, meaning a) he could still walk and b) he still had one arm free to carry several shopping bags.

I’m guessing from the tweet and photo below that Fields mental state is somewhere between that fifth and tenth trip to the shops with his other half:

Do your thing, @elainealden.. I’ll assume my usual position. instagr.am/p/SwGS8hJ9ke/

— Landry Fields (@landryfields) December 2, 2012

We definitely feel for you buddy.  However, don’t expect too much sympathy because we’ve seen what you’re girlfriend looks like:

And yes, you’re right.  We will use any excuse (no matter how tenuous) to publish photos of the delectable Ms. Alden.

Photo credits: @landryfields & @elainealden

• By paul.taylor
• December 3, 2012
• Comment

When I graduated from university, it was one of the highlights of my life.  Partly because I somehow managed to get first-class honours, but also because I got to meet our chancellor, actor Patrick Stewart.

However, one thing that did disappoint me about the day was the fact we were not awarded our actual degrees.  Instead, we were advised these would be received in the post sometime in the following six months!!

So why am I boring you with this story?  Well, it now appears that there’s a rather high profile organisation with similar issues:  the NBA.

The NBA held their first-ever social media awards event in June of this year, hosted by Shaquille O’Neal and Rick Fox.  The awards, voted for by fans, accounted for social activity across Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and so on.

One of the winners was the Raptors Landry Fields, who received the Snap Shot Award, given for posting the best picture of the year.  However, despite the event being held in June, he only just received his trophy yesterday, some four months later:

The @nba awarded me a surprisingly heavy trophy for “Best Social Picture”.. Thank you @jlin7! #CouchShot instagr.am/p/RJdgZ-p9m4/

— Landry Fields (@landryfields) October 24, 2012

So what about the actual picture that Fields received his award for?  Entitled ‘Couch made famous’, it featured the couch Jeremy Lin crashed on during the early part of his tenure with the New York Knicks.

Want to see the picture?  I can barely contain my excitement:

Ladies and gentlemen, the one and only couch made famous by @jlin7! Let the bidding begin..twitpic.com/8j2vf7

— Landry Fields (@landryfields) February 12, 2012

I’m trying the best to suppress my feelings that it isn’t exactly the most inspiring of choices to receive an award.  Hey, it’s just nice for the Raptors to win something for a change.  And yes, I’m totally ignoring the fact that technically Fields wasn’t actually with the team at the time.

Anyway, here’s Fields emotional acceptance speech after receiving his trophy during practice yesterday:

• By paul.taylor
• October 24, 2012
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• By ben.trattner
• July 11, 2012
• Comment

Toronto Raptors Demar DeRozan has new ink on his skin. Plenty of ink. Check out his new tattoo. He calls it “Ephesians 6:10-13″.

It’s not his first tattoo. On DeRozan’s forearm is a tribute to his grandmother. He also has a tattoo that reads “the Blessed One,” a nickname given to him by his grandmother.

• By ed
• April 26, 2012
• Comment

In the video above, Toronto Raptors prospect DeMar DeRozan (shooting guard) will show you what he did this summer: solid dunks. He was a 9th overall draft pick in 2009. His size: 6’7″, 220 lb. Age: 22. If you’re a fan, make sure to follow him on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/DeMar_DeRozan

• By ed
• October 17, 2011
• Comment