Happy New Year!!
OK for just a second I'd like to go off the court for a second and list my top 5 sporting moments for 2008. I won't go into major detail but in reverse order:
5. Michael Phelps' performance in the Olympics was spectacular. Some countries don't or haven't won that many medals at the games or in their history.
4. The Tampa Bay Rays in the World Series. I know they didn't win it but what a great story. Always gives hope that you are never that far from turning it around.
3. The New York Giants Superbowl win. It was as intense and exciting a Superbowl as ever that actually went down to the final minutes.
2. Alright, I'm Jamaican born so to quote my guys, Sportsnet anchor, Jason Portuondo, and Raptors NBA TV's Sherman Hamilton, "Usain Bolt mus' in deh". Track at the Olympics is the ultimate competition. No referees judgement or time pressure to impact the results. It's very simple, run, and the first one to the finish line wins. Bigggg up yardie!! And folks, that is not a steroid looking body as it is the same somatotype as aforementioned Phelps so "no bodda wit me"...translation, don't go there.
1. Tiger Woods winning the U.S. Open. We find out later, he did it on one leg and witnessing it live as I walked the course at Torrey Pines was truly remarkable. Go check the PGA money list for 2008 and you can see what a great year Tiger had even playing only six events.
Looks like the Raptors could be in tough tonight against the Denver Nuggets particularly if Jermaine O'Neal and Jason Kapono can't go. O'Neal is still battling the flu and has a bruised knee suffered when he tried to come back the other night while fighting the flu in the Golden State game. Kapono was sitting with an ice pack on his right thigh post game and it didn't look like anything out of the ordinary or usual "icing down" after the game. But apparently it is a right quad contusion, what we used to call a "Charley Horse" back in the day.
The homestand will be a tough one for Toronto as the next three teams (Denver, Houston and Orlando) have a combined winning percentage of .674 (64-31). It is a key point in the season because if Toronto slips 10 games under the .500 mark as they currently sit at 12-19, it will be an uphill battle the rest of the season. The playoffs are not out of the picture as right now a 38-44 record gets you 8th spot. But that also means a date with either Boston or Cleveland and if you want to avoid either of those two it will take 46-47 wins based on the current standings to get sixth place in mid April.
I really dislike all this speculating about 2010 but I couldn't help seeing where "Captain Canada, Steve Nash, says that he has had a great run in Phoenix and mentions New York and Toronto as possible destinations when the 2010 free agent frenzy arrives.
The Houston Rockets are in town on Friday and it will be interesting to see if their newest signee, Dikembe Mutumbo will be with them. You always know when "Big Deke" is in town as his family members, usually decked out in traditional African dress, are boisterous in their support of both he and his team.
How about this one? I'm watching Portland and Boston last night and the Blazers score right before the end of the half with 6 men on the floor out of a time-out!! Nice play by Nate McMillan!! I bet that one works every time. But what makes it worse is Portland wins the game and official Mike Callahan issued this statement after the game. The NBA needs to amend the rule book and make this a correctable error. Yes Portland received a technical foul, after the fact but surely you take the basket away and go back to the replay and reset the clock. That is an easy one to correct but instead, they played on and those two points definitely impacted the way the game was played out from a strategic sense late in the game.
