Retro Look

The recent visit by the Miami Heat team donning the old Miami Floridians uniform of the ABA team brings to mind the Toronto Raptors own team history , uniform wise.

When the Raptors entered the NBA as an expansion team, its uniform had the dinosaur logo on it. This uniform was worned by 'discards' from other NBA teams such as Ed Pickney , Acie Earl , Alvin Robertson etc . up to the days of players identifiable by a single name like Mighty Mouse ,T Mac , Oak , and Air Canada - half man , half amazing .

The team wanted to project a serious , not to mention tough professional basketball outfit so it removed the dino as part of the uniform . It is because the figure it chose to depict the city turned ' too cartoony ' especially after the popularity of Jurassic Park and worse its purple colored cousin . So, unlike, the Grizzlies or the Timberwolves , the Raptors cannot strike fear into the hearts of their opponents . T Mac will be more like T Rex the action figure.

Come to think of it , it would have been safer to stay away from symbols best reserved for college sports teams or the boy's CYO teams. Look at the Miami Heat or the Sacramento Kings . A more appropriate name should have been more contemporary and depicting the city population like perhaps the Toronto Ethnics , or its growing industry , Toronto Call Centers just like Seattle Sonics or should it be Toronto Guns ? I guess the latter is not politically correct following the demise of the Washington Bullets tag. In that case , the name Toronto Liberals should be well received in the city that refuses to change its political affiliation no matter what.

Of course , not eveybody was aware that Toronto had a professional baskeball team as early as 1946 . The team was known as the Toronto Huskies ( I guess the team has a history of using lame moniker ) and it was part a league which was the predecessor of the NBA. This and more can be found in the History Of Basketball In Canada .















NBA Body

In a basketball scout's vocabulary , a player has an NBA body if he is ready to battle it out with full pledge NBA players. Normally , the player has a man's body with fully developed muscles and all. No baby fat , I guess.

One case in point is LeBron James . It is amazing that even as a high schooler going straight to the NBA , his body built then was unlike any other 18 year old. Kevin Garnett , T Mac and Kobe were still underdeveloped bodywise ( not to mention skill ) . Look at their photos when they first entered the NBA. Its like Barry Bonds before steriod.

The Toronto Raptors have one player with an NBA body coming straight from college. He is Joey Graham . Its amazing that Joey's twin brother Stephen ( now playing for the Cavaliers ) , is much smaller . The fact that they are identical twins make their difference in body built obvious . I wonder what Oklahomans fed Joey .

Speaking of body , Scarlett Johansson was chosen as the sexiest star by FHM magazine. She definitely has an NBA body ....the players want.