While Kevin Garnett and George Karl have buried the hatchet, the NBA and players prepare for labour war.
I'm always asked what my favourite road city is and I guess I should start with a qualifier that says, any chance I get to see family on the road eases the angst that comes with being away from home, so my favourite cities are the ones where I get to see relatives.
So family was an added bonus in New York as for only the second time during the hoops season in my tenure as a Raptors broadcaster I happened to be in the same city as little brother who works for the "World Wide Leader," ESPN.
It was great to see him as he treated me to a seat beside him as he called the two games in the Jimmy V Classic at MSG.
A bit more about that later.
I only got out to the second game, Syracuse vs. Michigan State because "the broadcast family" had an outing to see the Broadway play Lombardi.
A plug for the play here, as in a word, it was tremendous. If you are an NFL football fan, particularly of my vintage, it's a must see.
Dan Lauria, renowned as the Dad in the ABC series "The Wonder Years," was outstanding in the lead role as Vince Lombardi. In fact, the entire cast was terrific and if you get a chance, and you're in the New York City area, it's a way to get some culture into your sports-minded body and learn a little bit more about life.
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A few observations on the college game between Michigan State and Syracuse, two Top 10 teams. It was an exciting game with an electric, NCAA tournament-type atmosphere. Heck, why not, it could be a Final Four matchup next spring. There's a huge difference in the intensity between the college game and the pro game and it's only natural when the college kids practice more than they play and will compete in half the number of games the pay-for-play guys do over the course of their respective seasons.
The college game is more "coach controlled" than the pro game and that's what happens when some players get to the next level and are finally set free.
They are given a chance to play at the pro level and find a happy medium between playing more freely while running a system that more than likely fits their talents better. I couldn't help but think of possibilities for some of the athletic players who played the game looking at the bench in fear that a mistake might land them a seat beside one of the coaches.
Don't get me wrong, I love the college game, but with the coaches forcing players to squeeze the ball at times, the games aren't nearly as good as they could be. Yes, I'm down off the soapbox….for now, but remember, March is only about three and a half months away.
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So after a tough loss in New York it's back-to-work for the Raptors and they are trying to break a three-game losing streak against a top team in the Denver Nuggets. Not that playing a tough team is a bad thing, as Toronto has played well against some of the NBA's best squads as we start the second quarter of the season.
At the quarter pole, the two main surprise teams in these eyes have been the San Antonio Spurs in the West (I guess my prediction of the Spurs and the Boston Celtics vying for the NBA title may come to fruition, albeit a year late) and the in the East, not sure how many expected the New York Knicks to be playing as well as they are right now.
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Kevin Garnett took a lot of heat over his alleged comments about cancer on the court against Charlie Villanueva last month. But KG had a chance to clear the air with Nuggets head coach George Karl following Karl's comments saying that Garnett crossed the line and if they were friends he would have told him so.
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And finally I sneak this in at the bottom because NOBODY wants to be fined by David Stern, so talking about the lockout to anyone in the NBA is like trying to find water in the Sahara.
It's sounds like its going to be one heck of a fight. In this corner representing the players: Billy Hunter accompanied by the end of the age restriction, no, or at least minimal change to the percentage structure of revenue sharing between owners and players and keeping the status quo.
And in this corner representing the owners: David Stern with a hard cap, a change to the current percentages of league revenue sharing and a sustainable business model where all 30 teams can compete for a championship.
You know who which group is going to have to tread lightly? The NCAA kids that are thinking about entering the draft as underclassmen.
