As the saying goes, winning cures all ills.  However, it also helps if you have teammates that actually like being around each other.  Whether it was intentional or not, one of the benefits of GM Bryan Colangelo building a young roster is that, as well as gradually gelling as a team on the court, they also grow together as friends off the court.

You only have to look on Twitter most days to find evidence of the players hanging out or joking around together, such as this photo taken before yesterdays game in New Orleans:

From listening to the Raptors post-game show after the win, people were frustrated by how DeMar DeRozan, Amir Johnson and company allowed a struggling team like the Hornets to come back from a 13-point deficit and force overtime.  However, keep in mind that the Raptors were, themselves, a struggling team until recently!

Also, after several fourth-quarter meltdowns earlier in the season, I’m just happy they are now winning games, no matter how they’re doing it!  Don’t think the team is resting on their laurels though.

Despite the advantages of having a young squad who can grow together, it still helps to have a veteran presence on the team.  Showing his leadership skills, Jose Calderon took to Twitter to compliment his team and sum up his feelings about how he played against the Hornets:

Sorry, @demar_derozan was huge today!Big time baskets down the stretch@demar_derozan estuvo enorme hoy.Importantpuntos en los ultimos min

— jose manuel calderon (@josemcalderon8) December 29, 2012

Overtime but good enough! Another win. Great game by Alan Anderson and @klow7 . Let’s get another one tomorrow. Me, pffff one of those days!

— jose manuel calderon (@josemcalderon8) December 29, 2012

Accepting the blame for a bad performance shows what a stand-up guy Calderon is.  At least Landry Fields was on hand to make him feel better:

@josemcalderon8 you’re still my hero!

— Landry Fields (@landryfields) December 29, 2012

I’m the first to admit I always try to look for the positives where the Raptors are concerned but I truly believe this is a team that gets on well together, which can only be of benefit down the line.  As the season continues, look for them to continue to improve.

They most probably won’t make the playoffs in 2013, but the Raptors are being built to contend for the long-term.  And depending on how this season pans out, they may just save Colangelo’s job yet.  (Cue collective groan from Raptors nation.)

Photo credits: @eddavis32

• By paul.taylor
• December 29, 2012
• Comment

Currently working in public-relations, our insider has maintained various contacts during his years employed within different areas of the Toronto sporting industry.

In news that will likely not sit well with Raptors fans, sources indicate that even when Andrea Bargnani returns from his current injury, he will not be getting traded anytime soon.

With the recent five-game winning streak highlighting the team’s improved team work and defensive effort without Bargnani, President and GM Bryan Colangelo has now envisioned a different role for him: to come off the bench and provide an offensive spark.

Colangelo has finally accepted Bargnani will never live up to his former number one overall draft pick status, but still feels he has a vital part to play, having previously succeeded when coming off the bench during his rookie year.  And unlike Kyle Lowry, there are no such concerns about the seven-footer rocking the boat.

Bargnani is renowned for being a laid back character, to the point that he is criticised for not being more emotional and focused on proving people wrong.  However, this now becomes a positive with the Italian likely willing to accept Colangelo’s decision.

Ironically, this move only transpired after efforts to trade Bargnani came to nothing.  His trade value has since been further eroded by the Raptors recent success while he has been sidelined by a strained right wrist and ligament tear in his right elbow.

Sceptics will argue this is merely a desperate attempt to find some way to showcase Bargani’s skill set and improve his trade stock with two years still remaining on his contract after this season.

However, there is no denying if Bargnani can prosper in his new role when he returns from injury, the Raptors will reap the benefits as they look to continue their current run of good form.

Photo credit: @AndreaBargnani

• By T.O.I.N.S.D.R.
• December 27, 2012
• Comment

Well it was a bit of a mixed bag this week on the Toronto sports scenes and if I’m honest, the ongoing farce surrounding the lockout talks and the Raptors losing streak have left a bitter taste in my mouth.  And at the end of the day, it is all about me.

Lets see if we can end the week on a high.  Here’s our pictures and photos of the week:

1) As the Raptors season lurches from one disaster to another, Steve Nash wakes up in a cold sweat:

You know it’s bad when someone is thankful to be injured and part of a 9-14 team rather than playing in Toronto.

2) Sticking with the Raptors, Andrea Bargnani shouldn’t worry too much about upsetting his newest sponsors, despite his recent slump in form:

3) I’m sorry.  As a Raptors fan myself, I’m genuinely feeling the pain as much as you are.  I’ll stop now………………after this one:

4) The Rock played their first game last weekend and while a 12-8 loss in pre-season isn’t too much to be concerned about, the same can’t be said for Damon Edwards.  I’m worried he’s been spending too much time in the gym concentrating on the upper half of his body:

5) Rumours abound that since Saddam Hussein left us, Satan found himself a new BFF:

Something tells me the NHLPA won’t be too surprised by this ‘revelation’.

6) Ironically enough, despite the absence of NHL action on the ice, Bettman may actually be stopping merchandise sales from slumping even further:

7) You’ll either smile or grimace at this image, depending on if you’re a Blue Jays or a Marlins fan:

8 ) Let’s finish with a couple of inspiring slogans from two of MLSE’s finest sporting organisations:

The Leafs slogan seems especially apt, since there were definitely times during last season on the ice when the team may as well have announced: “we’ll be there in spirit if nothing else.”

As for the Raptors, their motto is pretty much the same as saying: “well obviously I’d rather sleep with the hot blonde, but I guess I’ll settle for a kiss.”

Enjoy your weekend.

• By paul.taylor
• December 14, 2012
• Comment

Wow. It’s getting pretty ugly in Raptor land isn’t it?  At 4-19, and on a six-game losing streak, the Raptors now own the second-worst record in the entire NBA.

The team was only able to suit up eight healthy players* for last nights defeat at home to the Nets.  The fans are at breaking point and calling for heads to roll.  With the exception of the delightful Raptor mascot of course.

* I bet there’s nights’ when Hugh Hefner has more bodies to work with.

No prizes for guessing which two people in particular Raptors Nation want to see booted out of town:

I know this is a bit of a foreign concept for Toronto sports fans in general, but if you were actually able to look at the positive side, the Raptors fought hard last night and put in a solid effort despite only having eight players available. (Ed Davis in particular looked impressive with 24 points and 12 boards.)

Also, there were no further injuries to add to an ever-growing list that must be giving fans flashbacks to the Blue Jays 2012 campaign.  And let’s not forget the unexpected news that Amir Johnson (one of the more hard-working members on the roster) only had to serve a one-game suspension despite flinging a saliva-filled mouth guard at one of the officials*.

* I can’t even be bothered to find the refs name.  But they don’t really deserve the publicity anyway after their over-reaction to Johnson just wanting the damn ball.  (Copyright Keyshawn Johnson.)

Don’t get me wrong though, I realise that no matter how optimistic I want to try and be about the Raptors, this picture pretty much sums up their playoff hopes for the 2012-13 season as well as confirming how well they’ve been playing:

• By paul.taylor
• December 13, 2012
• Comment

What else can go wrong for the Raptors?  This season was meant to be a golden opportunity to use the NHL lockout as a chance to gain new fans.

Instead, with the Maple Leafs not around to distract Torontonians, it has merely highlighted the disarray surrounding the Raptors.  No wonder Bryan Colangelo sounded like he wanted to hang himself yesterday when he was being interviewed on the Fan590.

In many ways, last nights loss in Portland represented the season in a nutshell; Andrea Bargnani and Kyle Lowry left the game with injuries and the team equalled a season-low with 74 points.

And to top it all off, Amir Johnson was ejected under the most bizarre of circumstances:

On the positive side, at least Johnson showed some good accuracy by being able to hit the referee in the back.  Just be thankful that he only threw his mouth guard.  Imagine the repercussions if he’d thrown a fist, or even worse, himself, at the ref?!

No matter how much I think the official totally overacted, we can still expect a fine and suspension to be handed out from David Stern’s office.  The NBA may claim they care, but I’m not so sure sometimes.

• By paul.taylor
• December 11, 2012
• 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

Yes, Yes, I know it’s been a while.  As such, I now present an impromptu midweek edition of the Blue Toro mailbag.

Q. In light of the Argonauts Grey Cup run, which Toronto team will win a championship next?  And don’t say the Rock because we all know that doesn’t count.

Danielle - Brampton

A.  Wow, that’s a bit harsh isn’t it?  You do realise that in the history of the NLL, the Rock are joint top-all time with six championships, something Torontonians should be proud of.

However, while I personally am not prepared to downgrade the Rock’s achievements I appreciate there are lot of Toronto sports fans like Danielle out there, i.e. snobby, wannabe Americans.  As such, I will attempt to appease the masses.

I guess the easiest answer would be to pick the Blue Jays, especially with the moves they’ve made since the season ended.  However, we’ve seen the Jays splash the cash before (A.J. Burnett, B.J. Ryan, Vernon Wells, etc) and we all know how that turned out.

Also, despite upgrading the team, let’s not forget the new players helped contribute to the Marlins disastrous 2012 campaign.  Add to this various uncertainties such as Ricky Romero’s return to form and Jose Bautista’s full recovery from his wrist injury and suddenly a run at the World Series seems like a tougher proposition.  Not that the Jays don’t have a chance, but fans may need to show considerably more patience that Mike Wilner during ‘Jays Talk.’

The Leafs? I do actually think whenever the NHL starts playing again, the Leafs will finally end their league-leading playoff drought and make the post-season.  Why?  Well, first of all look at this chart:

If we accept that 90 points is normally enough to make the playoffs, the Leafs need to find another ten points from somewhere, which isn’t that many more.  Well, not if you can look at it in a positive light anyway.

With a relatively young roster and several prospects nearly ready to make the step up to the next level, I truly believe the Leafs aren’t that far away from being competitive on a regular basis.  This is where an experienced goaltender could help.

If the rumours of Roberto Luongo’s imminent signing are true, the Leafs will have that goaltender.  Whatever his limitations may be come playoff time, Luongo is a proven commodity during the regular season.  Just don’t expect a 14th Stanley Cup anytime soon.

It won’t be Toronto FC (I discuss them in slightly more detail later on in this column) and while the Raptors are verrrryyyy slooooowwwwly making progress, at this rate there will be an NBA franchise back in Vancouver before DeMar DeRozan and company are in position to challenge for a championship.

The Argonauts will be in the running for another Grey Cup as long as they have Ricky Ray under centre, but they won’t be able to use the element of surprise next year.

Plus, don’t downplay the effect on the franchise if the rumours of Eric Tillman replacing Jim Barker turn out to be true.  We all know what a great job Tillman did in Edmonton, destroying what was once seen as one of the model franchises in all of sports.  Besides, Barker is well liked by the players and it’s a dangerous game to mess around with a formula that worked so well this past season.

Soooooo, in answer to your question Danielle, I think the next Toronto team to win a championship will be…..(drum roll)…..the Rock.

Q. Steve Simmons commented at the weekend about how MLSE continues to make the same mistakes; in this case hiring Kevin Payne as President & GM of Toronto FC after the previous high-profile acquisitions of Bryan Colangelo and Brian Burke didn’t work out.  Is he right?

Steve - Halifax

A. I don’t want to live in a world where Steve Simmons is right.  (Although if the Mayan calendar turns out to be true, we might not have to.)

In any event, I don’t happen to agree that the appointment of Payne is a mistake.  This is a guy who helped D.C. United win an MLS record six championships.  And while the Colangelo and Burke acquisitions were quite rightly lauded at the time by the media and fans alike, the cold reality is they have only won one championship between them.

At this point, Toronto FC had to do something to restore the faith of their fanbase.  Last season marked the first time average attendances at BMO Field slipped below the 20,000 mark. Paul Mariner’s run-in with supporters pretty much epitomised the season and morale was at its absolute lowest.

Now?  I expect a major rebound in the team’s fortunes.  (Although can it technically be called a rebound if the team was never that good in the first place?)  With Payne’s undoubted abilities, new training facilities and academy, the return of key players from injury and invaluable experienced gained by some of the youngsters last season, things can only get better.

And not just because TFC set a franchise-low mark of 23 points in 2012.

• By paul.taylor
• December 5, 2012
• Comment

Last week saw the four-year anniversary of the appointment of Brian Burke as President & GM of the Maple Leafs.  Bizarrely, yesterday also marked another four-year anniversary that actually interests me more: the firing of Sam Mitchell as Raptors head coach.

Now at the time, I was not happy with the move.  Okay, so maybe the team had just suffered the fifth-largest defeat in franchise history, but hey, at least it wasn’t the worst.  And yes, the team had started a season of high expectations at only 8-9, but there were already dealing with injuries at that point.

Besides, let’s be honest. Raptors Nation would kill for that kind of a start to a season these days.

Today, with that wonderful commodity often used by the sports media, hindsight, I’m even more confounded, and in fact annoyed, by the decision to fire Mitchell.

I’m one of those people who believes it isn’t worth living in the past or going over old ground.  What’s done is done.  You can’t change what’s already happened.  However, I’m going to break this golden rule for once, just to see what has transpired in Raptorland since Mitchell was fired.

As we know, statistics can often be manipulated to back up any argument someone is trying to make.

(For example, the average four year old asks 400 questions a day.  Now if you wanted to present this statistic positively, this would make the child naturally inquisitive, a sign of high intelligence and wanting to absorb as much information as possible.  But if you wanted to portray the kid negatively, you could say that they were in fact a lazy idiot, incapable of working anything out for themselves.)

However, I truly believe the following facts and figures, no matter how they are presented, still present a damning indictment of Colangelo’s decision to sack Mitchell.

Sam Mitchell’s record as Raptors head coach:

Played: 345. Won-lost: 156-189 (45.2%)

Two playoff appearances

One division title (including a franchise-equalling 47 wins)

2007 NBA Coach of the Year

Raptors record since Mitchell left:

Played: 313. Won-lost: 114-199 (36.4%)

No playoff appearances

In fact, Mitchell’s record from a Raptors historical perspective also seems worthy of mention. Only Lenny Wilkens has a better winning percentage (45.9% versus 45.2%) while also being the only coach with more playoff games (17-11.) Overall, Mitchell has coached and won more games than anyone in franchise history.

So what does any of this have to do with anything?  Well not a lot really, other than confirming what I always suspected: that Colangelo made a hasty decision getting rid of Mitchell in the first place.

I’ve repeatedly been on record over the last few years, defending Bryan Colangelo whenever possible, but this is his one decision that bugs me most.  That’s right, even more than mistakenly believing that Chris Bosh, the guy who I sports-hate more than anyone else, was a franchise player.

Photo credit: www.hiphoopjunkies.com

• By paul.taylor
• December 4, 2012
• Comment

Well I hope you all enjoyed the Argonauts victory parade yesterday afternoon.  In fact, you might want to hold on to the memory as long as possible.

(With the obvious exception of the presence of Rob Ford.  Seriously, that guy should not have been allowed to hoist the Grey Cup under any circumstances)

As good as it was to celebrate another sports championship, yesterday marked the end of the festivities, leaving us with nothing to look forward to except a long, dark, miserable, cold winter.

Now some of you will be thinking ‘well what’s new?’ so I better clarify that I mean this in a sports sense.  As it stands, we have no Maple Leafs games on the horizon, despite the recent introduction of mediators to the ‘negotiating’ process.

Also, the memories of last season’s successful Marlies campaign are fast beginning to fade away.  Currently embroiled in a three-game losing streak, the team sits fourth in the North Division, nine points out of first place.

And finally, we have those (un)loveable losers, the Raptors.  As I sat there last night, watching them getting their asses handed to them by the Rockets, I felt a sudden sense of desperation descending upon me.  And not just because I was out of beer.

For everyone complaining about their inability to close out in their last four games, surely it’s a better option than last night’s effort?!  Being in a position to win against the likes of the San Antonio Spurs represents progress to me unlike the effort in the Houston game.

I have stood by this team through thick and (mostly) thin.  I have even been able to justify the majority of Bryan Colangelo’s decisions during his tenure.

(For example, whereas everyone turns into Captain Hindsight when it comes to criticising the signing of the likes of Jermaine O’Neal and Hedo Turkoglu, at the time everyone was excited about the moves.  In fact, the only major mistake Colangelo made was believing he could build a roster around Chris Bosh, who was quite clearly never a number one option of any real substance.)

However, we’ve now reached crunch time in the Colangelo era.  He has been patiently rebuilding the team since Bosh left, assembling a young squad that will hopefully be able to grow together both on and off the court (which actually appears to be the case.)

Call me crazy, but I still believe in Colangelo, Dwane Casey and the rest of the Raptors organisation.  They will turn it around eventually, I promise…………….we might just have to wait one more season.

And in the meantime?  Hey, it could be a lot worse.  This sure as hell has to beat living in Winnipeg or Saskatchewan, who have nothing to look forward to on the sports horizon for the foreseeable future.

Even Vancouver and Montreal will have to wait until March for the start of the MLS season.  Call me sadistic, but I’ll take watching losing teams over no teams any day of the week.

• By paul.taylor
• November 28, 2012
• Comment

I’m not sure what’s going on at the moment, but we’ve just enjoyed another eventful seven days in Toronto.  Not that I’m complaining.

John Gibbons gets rehired as Blue Jays manager, the Argonauts qualify for the 100th Grey Cup, Chad Owens wins the CFL Most Outstanding Player award and the Raptors……….err…………….hey, it’s just nice to have an NBA team isn’t it?  Here’s Blue Toro’s top pictures and stories of the week.

1) Apologies for showing this picture again, but we start off with my favourite photo of the week, taken from the NBA game between the Washington Wizards and Atlanta Hawks:

The sad thing is, most men would likely react in a similar way.  At least this boy has the excuse of not being an adult.

2) Of course in situations like the above, the blame has to be firmly placed on the father, who should have better prepared his son for what he was going to see at the game.

The smart move is to give your boy exposure to attractive women from an early age. A really early age:

Mark my words, that boy will be a Casanova by the time he grows up.

3) One of the benefits of being a professional athlete is the potential for some new pussy to jump onto the bandwagon.  In light of the Blue Jays recent off-season activity, it appears that their players will benefit from this particular perk of the job:

Oh come on!  What were you expecting?

4) Sticking with the Blue Jays, you have to wonder what John Farrell is thinking after jumping ship for the Red Sox.  This isn’t the most polished photo but I think the sentiment can be appreciated by Toronto (maybe not so much in Boston.)

5) Its safe to say ‘Grey Cup fever’ has gripped Southern Ontario, with the 100th Grey Cup taking place this weekend in Toronto.  However, this fan appears to be treating the whole event as if it were some version of the ‘bird flu virus.’

I guess it just shows how fearful some people are of becoming CFL fans, knowing how un-trendy it is to be one in Toronto.

6) With the Grey Cup in town, there were various events taking place during the week, meaning numerous opportunities for people to mix with celebrities.  Here’s one young lady who was fortunate enough to meet former Argos quarterback Damon Allen:

I’m not sure who the woman is, but she looks like she could hold her own in a game of football.  And I don’t mean the Lingerie Football League.

7) I think we’re all a bit down on how the Raptors campaign has started.  Rumours are already starting to circulate that GM Bryan Colangelo won’t be back next season.  Pictures like this won’t help his cause:

8 ) Hopefully Toronto FC fans won’t think we’re rubbing it in too much, but let’s finish with a look at the MLS Cup.

Not surprising, given that it will be his last ever game for the L.A. Galaxy, David Beckham will likely be the focal point of their final against the Houston Dynamos.

Having said that, you still have to feel sorry for teammate Robbie Keane.  Despite leading the Galaxy with 16 goals this season, it appears that he is still somewhat of an unknown quantity:

Enjoy your weekend and let’s all wish the Argonauts good luck for Sunday.

• By paul.taylor
• November 23, 2012
• Comment