A Day, A Week, Hemant, A Year

This past weekend I flew out to Toronto and met Jeffrey who was arriving from Montreal. Jeffrey was interested in seeing a Raptors game while he was out in that part of the country, so that seemed like a pretty good excuse for me to meet him there. It had been over two years since I attended a Raptors game at the Air Canada Centre, so this was a great opportunity for me to feed my addiction. Since we were going to be there for a few days, we also got some tickets to Evil Dead : The Musical. It would also work out for me visit my many friends in Guelph.

Before I left Saskatoon on Friday, I checked the Toronto weather forecast for the weekend. It wasn’t looking good as there were major snow storm warnings issued for all of southern Ontario. I was lucky enough that I got in just before it started up so it didn’t affect my flight.

I got to Toronto early in the afternoon and decided to rent a car since I was going to be traveling between three cities. I was supposed to get a compact such as a Ford Focus, but for some reason I got downgraded to a sub-compact, getting stuck with a Hyundai Accent. To my surprise, it didn’t turn out to be as bad as I was expecting. I met Jeffrey downtown at the Eaton’s Centre. We had some time to kill before the Raptors game at seven o’clock so we went to the St. Lawrence Market and bummed around. Seeing that market again really made me wish that we had something like that in Saskatoon. We bought some fresh fruit and chowed down while being geeks on our respective internet tablets. You gotta love free wi-fi.

We headed to the Air Canada Centre a little early since I wanted to try and get my picture taken with, “the man, the myth, the voice”, Chuck Swirsky. For those of you who don’t know who this is, he is the play-by-play voice of the Toronto Raptors. He’s has become a favourite among the team’s fans, and has gathered somewhat of a cult following. He is known for his use of personal catchphrases during the games such as, “Get out the salami and cheese mamma! This game is over”, and “That was sick, wicked, and nasty!”.

I had emailed him to see if I could get a pic with him and he told me that he was always outside Gate 1 about 50 minutes prior to tipoff, and would be happy to meet me. So Jeffrey and I hung around the area waiting for him to show. We were about to give up, when he rolled in, blaming the storm for his tardiness. After he jumped in on the Raptors TV pre-game panel, I managed to swipe a picture with him.

Even though getting to meet Chuck was enough to make this whole trip worth it, I figured we should still go and check out the actual game versus the Washington Wizards. On the way to our seats we crossed paths with some of the Raptors Dance Pak. I couldn’t refuse after the ladies swooned over me and wanted to get their picture with me.

Our seats turned out to be better than I was expecting so that was a great. Another added bonus was that the ACC offers free wi-fi, letting Jeffrey and I further display our geekiness with our internet tablets. The game didn’t start off too well for the Raptors, but they got their act together creating a pretty entertaining match. It went into overtime, but the Raps couldn’t pull it off. Disappointing, but it was still and exciting game.

Following the game we grabbed a bite to eat before heading out to Chris and Kaleigh Kuzma’s pad. They are some friends of Jeffrey, Rachel, and Michelle and were nice enough to let the two of us stay with them. We did a little visiting, but we were all pretty tired and called it a night.

When we woke up Saturday morning, the snow was really coming down, and was accumulating very fast. Since the weather wasn’t cooperating and Jeffrey and I had done the Toronto tourist stuff multiple times, we just decided to go see some movies before we headed to the Evil Dead show. We saw 10,000 BC which I enjoyed more than I probably should have, and Semi-Pro which was just another cookie-cutter Will Ferrell flick. You can likely wait for both of these on DVD.

After the movies we met Chris and Kaleigh for dinner and then we headed to the Diesel Playhouse for the musical. I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but since it was critically acclaimed and had been voted “Toronto’s Favourite Show”, I had a pretty good feeling. The first two rows were called the “splatter zone”. You probably can imagine why it is called that. Jeffrey and I made sure to get tickets directly behind this zone since we didn’t want to get sprayed with blood. As it turned out, our seats were “unofficially” in the splatter zone. We were provided with ponchos to help keep the washable blood out of our clothes.

All I can say is that I completely enjoyed the show from the moment the curtains opened. It was much more of a farce than I was expecting and the music was great. Once the mayhem started to reach a climax in one of the final scenes, the blood started to fly. At one point I was taken by complete surprise and took a stream of the red stuff directly in my face. It was hilarious….but the “blood” definitely didn’t taste good. I can’t help but recommend anyone in the area to check out this show. It’s a great time.

Jeffrey was heading back to Montreal on Sunday, so I dropped him off at the train station. But not before having to dig the rental car out of a ton of snow. Knowing that this may be a tricky endeavor, it had been bothering me all weekend. As it turned out, with two shovels going we had the car out in no time. I headed out to Waterdown (just outside Hamilton) to visit my buddy Shawn, his wife Wendy and their new baby Sabrina. The highways were actually not too bad considering how hard the area was hit with snow that weekend, so I made it to their place with no catches. I spent the night with them, and we didn’t really do much other than visit and catch up on what has been going on in our respective lives. It was a great visit.

I left Waterdown Monday morning and headed to Guelph where I had lunch plans with some old friends from the Co-operators. I stopped in the office and said hi to some old colleagues before a bunch of us headed to a new pub close by. Since it was spring break, I didn’t get a chance to see a lot of people I wanted to, but it was great to see everyone else. Once we finished up there I went to see my old landlord Dominic. It may seem kind of weird to go visit a landlord, but this guy was awesome, and he and his wife did a lot for me. Probably the greatest landlord in history.

I was staying with my buddy Danny and his girlfriend Aislinn at their new house in Guelph so I headed over there. He gave me the grand tour and we spent the rest of the afternoon playing Guitar Hero : Rock the 80s. We went out to a pub for some pints and a bite to eat, and were lucky to have a couple of old buddies join us. The party animal Khamsy was a little disappointed that we were being so tame. He had big plans for me that night involving “praying at church” (ask me in person about this), but I wasn’t up for a crazy evening.

My flight back to Saskatoon was just after noon on Tuesday, so I said my farewells to Danny and Aislinn and made my way back to Pearson International in Toronto. Luckily all of the snow situations were under control and my flight was not in jeopardy. The trip was like a whirlwind, but it was awesome to see so many of my old friends, and get a chance to see Guelph again. I really love that city and was surprised to see how it has boomed over the last two years, becoming the fastest growing city in Canada. Toronto was fun as usual, but the terrible weather was a limiting factor…guess I’ll have to plan another trip.

You can see more pictures from the trip below.

• Thumbnails on Flickr
• Slideshow on Flickr
• Thumbnails on Picasa
• Slideshow on Picasa

I’ve managed to get the video of my call into the Hoops show that aired on Raptors NBA TV and The Fan 590 on Thursday, April 19, 2007. I had to be a little creative in getting it. I just recorded the segment with my digital camera during a rebroadcast since I don’t actually have a VCR or PVR hooked up to my entertainment system. Not the most high-tech solution, but it got the job done.

You can also listen to the audio broadcast of the entire show here.

Hoops is a weekly talk show that is broadcast on Raptors NBA TV and on the Fan 590, a sports radio station in south-western Ontario. It’s hosted by Eric Smith, “The Coach” Jack Armstrong, Paul Jones, and Sherman Hamilton.

Whether it’s on the court or off the court … HOOPS has all the stories covered regarding the Toronto Raptors, the NBA, and basketball in general.

With the Toronto Raptors set to face the New Jersey Nets in the opening round of the playoffs, excitement among fans is reaching explosive levels. You could see the enthusiasm amongst the Hoops hosts as well as the fans calling in. About halfway through the show, there was a call from Edmonton and Eric asked him if he was getting a sense of excitement amongst Edmontonians, and out west in general. Not surprisingly the caller said that if it wasn’t for satellite TV, he wouldn’t know anything going on with the Raptors.

Being a big Raptors basketball fan living in Saskatchewan, I knew where he was coming from. Eric then pointed out that there was a lot of calls coming in from all across Canada, and wanted to try and hear from all provinces. So with that, I decided to call in and continue the conversation of the popularity of Raptors and basketball in general across Canada.

It took a while to get past the busy signal, but I finally got through to the screener. He asked for my name, where I was from, and what my question was. After realizing that I was extremely intelligent, and probably incredibly handsome, he told me that he would put me on next.

“We have Hemant from Saskatoon. Hi you’re on Hoops.”

Eric may have pronounced my name properly, but the graphic on the TV sure had the spelling somewhere out in left field.

On the Phone
Hemond from Saskatoon

Oh well, I guess it’s better than Herman T. So since I was live on national television and radio, I put on my game-face and got down to business. I told the guys that I wanted to continue the discussion they started with the caller from Edmonton earlier. I explained that when the Vancouver Grizzlies and Toronto Raptors joined the league in 1995, it sparked an interest with me in the NBA. But it didn’t take long for me to realize that it was very difficult to actually see any coverage of the games since so few of them were actually broadcast in this part of the country.

My interest in the league continued, but I wasn’t very dedicated or involved. Then when I moved to Guelph, just outside of Toronto, all of the Raptor games were broadcast giving me what I needed to really feed my interest. The six years I was there was awesome for getting my fill of Raptors basketball. Then when I moved back to Saskatoon last year, I explained that I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to follow the team as easily.

As the guy from Edmonton stated earlier, I reiterated that with the help of today’s cable providers, one can get coverage of the Raptors for the entire season. I did emphasize however, that there are still some hoops (no pun intended) that need to be jumped through in order to achieve this, such as pay a premium fee to subscribe to Raptors NBA TV.

The question I fielded was why does the Raptors organization tout themselves as Canada’s team, but for areas outside of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) they are generally ignored by the sports media, and the sports networks make it so difficult to watch the team?

Out of everything the panel had to say in response to the question, Eric had the most intriguing statement. Actually, he started it off with a question to me.

In Saskatoon and area, do people tend to follow the Toronto Blue Jays, and get excited about the Major League Baseball season.

He already knew the answer, but he wanted me to answer it anyway. I responded with something along the lines of the following.

Yeah, I know a lot of people who follow the Toronto Blue Jays pretty religiously, and yeah, I think people tend to get excited about the baseball season.

Eric then when on to say that it took almost thirty years for that to happen. After ten years, the Blue Jays were ignored just as the Raptors are now outside of the GTA. He really feels that the same type of thing will happen with the Raptors – he just hopes (and me too) that it doesn’t take as long. I then asked the guys what sparked that interest in the Blue Jays to spread across the country, and the panel all agreed that it started to happen when the team began winning consistently, finding themselves at the top of the American League.

The call ended and I sat back to think about the conversation I just had. Even though it seems grim right now for interest in the Raptors to catch on in this part of the country, the guys over at Hoops seemed to have pointed out a little light at the end of the tunnel. And if their theory is correct, and the Raptors continue on this winning path that they have been following, the end of that tunnel may be closer than one thinks.

It’s been five years. Five long years. Almost an eternity since the Toronto Raptors qualified for the NBA post season. It was 2002 the last time the Raptors played in a playoffs and every season since then has been disappointing, depressing, frustrating, and maddening. But this year under a new president and general manager, Bryan Colangelo almost completely rebuilt the team resulting in nine new players. Despite the overhaul, analysts were still dismissing the team. The organization however knew they had something special, and the team set their own goals despite what the rest of the league were saying.

1. Qualify for the playoffs
2. Win the Atlantic Division
3. Get home-court advantage in playoffs

On Sunday, April 1st the Raptors defeated the Charlotte Bobcats to clinch a playoff berth. A few days later, Friday, April 6th, they seal the deal on winning the Atlantic Division for the first time in franchise history by defeating the Philadelphia 76ers. Then on Sunday, April 15 their third goal was met by taking down the New York Knicks – home-court advantage in the first round of the post season. Not bad for a team that wasn’t expected to make much noise this year.

And now the Toronto Raptors have been called one of the most dangerous teams in the east, many (including analysts Reggie Miller and Charles Barkley) expecting them to reach the Eastern Conference finals in a battle with the solid Detroit Pistons. Raptors coach Sam Mitchell who was called the worst coach in the league just last year is the favourite for this year’s Coach of the Year award. Bryan Colangelo is a guarantee for the Executive of the Year honours, and rookie Andrea Bargnani is at the top of the list for Rookie of the Year (although his emergency appendectomy a month ago resulted in him missing the last fourteen games, and likely his chances of winning the award). I mean winning twenty-plus games more than last season cannot go unnoticed.

We’re not sure who we’re going to see in the first round since the season is not quite over, but it’s currently a toss-up between the Washington Wizards and the New Jersey Nets, and will be decided in the final regular season game on Wednesday. Getting the Wiz would be the best scenario since they’ve just been hit by an injury bug, losing two key players in Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler. The Nets are a scary team with the “three-headed monster” in Jason Kidd, Richard Jefferson, and Vince Carter. Even though they’ll be finishing in either the sixth or seventh seed, they can do some serious damage. Despite this one cannot help finding a Raptors – Nets match up quite intriguing, getting a chance to see Vince Carter go up against his old team in the Raptors. It would be an intense battle, and the fans at the Air Canada Centre would be ruthless. This would definitely be a more high-profile series.

I’m torn on who I want to see in the first round. I want the Wiz so we get an easier opening series, but I want the Nets and VC for what will be an unforgettable and insane piece of entertainment. Either way, I’m just happy that the Raptors have made it to the post season and have an excellent chance of going deep. What does suck is that while I was living out there the team was terrible for most of the time. Then when I move away they get things straightened out and have the strongest team they’ve ever had. I can just imagine the atmosphere out there right now, especially since the Leafs suck and are done for the year.

The main reason for this post is to make a calling for those out there who don’t usually watch NBA ball, for whatever reason. I just ask that you tune into a Raptors playoff game this year – I guarantee that you’ll have a great time. They play an exciting and fast paced, team oriented style of ball that will keep you on the edge of your seat, plus they are Canada’s team. Or if that doesn’t convince you, the Raptors Dance Pak may be what is needed to lure you in.

If you were disappointed by March Madness this year (and I can’t imagine how you weren’t), come cheer on the Raps. Their first game will be either this Saturday or Sunday and will be televised across the nation. Check your local listings or raptors.com for scheduling.

Note: my playoff beard starts on their first game of the post season – I’m not sure what to expect.

Most people who know me are aware that I am a huge NBA fan. Since I was going to be in Los Angeles, there was no way I wasn’t going to see a basketball game. With two teams in the city, it was really a no-brainer to want to see the Lakers as opposed to the Clippers. Even though the Lakers are a playoff bound team, they would definitely not have much going for them if it wasn’t for Kobe Bryant.

Not only was I going to have the chance to see a legendary team and one of the premier players in the league – I was also going to see them play one of the best teams out there in the Phoenix Suns, featuring fellow Canadian and two-time league M.V.P., Steve Nash.

Tip-off was at 12:30 at the Staples Center. Ryan, Connie, and I were on the road by 10:00 and stopped for breakfast at a place whose portions sizes could feed a small family. Despite the restaurant being pretty busy, we were in and out of there in no time and on our way to the stadium.

It was about a 45 minute drive to downtown L.A. and traffic cooperated with us. I was not surprised to see a statue of Magic Johnson outside of the Staples Center, but I was surprised to see one of Wayne Gretzky. Ryan and I both agreed that he should have been wearing an Oilers jersey as opposed to a Kings jersey.

Prior to the game the three of us took a quick peak in the Lakers store to see if there was anything interesting that we wanted to buy. Since it was so busy we decided to go in there again after the game. We made our way to out seats in the upper 301 section. As far up as they were, the view was still pretty good. The stadium is built with the seating sections so steep that it is pretty hard to get a bad seat.

The usual celebrities were there including Jack Nicholson and Penny Marshall, as well as some other well-known stars such as Tobey Maguire and Terrence Howard sitting courtside. We were also graced by some NBA legends including Clyde Drexler and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

The actual game was not a complete blowout as we expected. The Lakers did a pretty good job of hanging around for most of the game, but Phoenix’s shooting and fast-paced game were too much for them to keep pace with. Ryan was cheering for the Lakers, but Connie and I were pulling for the Suns – although I did cheer for good plays by both sides. Kobe had some pretty sweet moves that you just couldn’t help but cheer for. Steve Nash’s penetration into the Lakers’ zone was completely dismantling the Lakers defense so I pointed out some defensive plays to Phil Jackson.

Following the game we made our way back to the Lakers store which was probably more busy than it was before the game. Connie got in the huge lineup while Ryan and I went through the store looking for something to buy. We both ended up buying a Kobe t-shirt illustrating his 81 point explosion last year against the Toronto Raptors. Since I couldn’t buy any actual Raptors merchandise at this store, I figured this was the next best thing – I get a little piece of Lakers and Raptors history.

After we left the stadium we just decided to drive around downtown for a bit so I could see it. This didn’t work out too well since a bunch of the major streets were closed off. After sitting in traffic jam after traffic jam, we just decided to head back to Rancho Cucamonga. You can see more pictures from the day here.

Since we had so much “fun” on Thursday night at The Magic Castle, we really didn’t think we could handle any more “fun” at a wine tasting in Temcula so we decided to just take it easy and do some shopping and see a movie. In the morning, Ryan and I went out to a nearby basketball court and played some hoops. We played some one-on-one, 21, and ran some shooting and post drills.

In the afternoon we went to a mall in the area and grabbed something to eat in the food court before going to see Grindhouse. I enjoyed it quite a bit, but it was pretty long, so be prepared. It’s almost three and a half hours long. After the movie I wanted to buy some clothes so we went to the Quicksilver store and I loaded up. I’m not sure I’ll have enough room in my suitcase to hold everything.