Fred Jones Ready To Run With The Raptors

The Toronto Raptors held a press conference this afternoon to announce the signing of Fred Jones. The newest Raptor known for his high flying act sees himself as a perfect fit to Colangelo's system . ' What attracted me to Toronto is the style of play ' Indeed . Jones is known for leading Indiana's few fastbreak plays. ' He is a good finisher ' said Chris Bosh. Jones is a welcome addition to the Raptors. More than John Salmons who backed out of the verbal agreement with Colangelo to sign with the Sacramento Kings. I think B.C,. is lucky withj this welcome development .

Asked about the Indiana situation. ' I don't have a problem in Indiana but now I will be able to play an uptempo game like I did in college ' said the former Slam Dunk champion . ' I am from Portland and Damon Stoudamaire told me good things about Toronto. Talking of Portland , Alvin Williams , who is one of those the Raptors got in a trade with the Blazers for Stoudamaire , was waived by the Raptors early that day. One of the most popular Raptors because of his ability to play despite injuries , Williams was the longest serving Raptor. He underwent oprations in both knees 2 years ago and has not played except for a game or 2. So come the NBA season opener , expect Toronto to release its ' horses.'
Except Alvin of course.
Let's just say , Alvin is Barbaro !


Alvin : Me eutanished !

Tiger , MJ And Chuck On Politics

Tiger Woods cried like a baby on the shoulders of his caddy , Steve Williams , after winning his 11th major championshop at the British Open . ' That the human drama of athletic competition ' said ABC's Mark Tirico. It was the 1st majors since Tiger lost his father this May . Reminds one when Michael Jordan, Tiger's golfing buddy , won the NBA championship. MJ cried for a long time while hugging the ball . You see that year's NBA championship happened after MJ's father was murdered while sleeping in his car.

Tiger's Dad , Earl , once said that he will be bigger than Muhammad Ali because ' he's more educated '. I don't know about that . Tiger is more like Jordan who once said ' the Republicans wear shoes too ' when asked about his party affiliation.I know that Tiger likes his Stanford basketball team . That's all (photo left ) but Tiger normally stays out of choosing sides and issues unlike Ali. Both MJ and Woods are not vocal on issues that might jeopardize their marketability to mainstream America .

Another golfing buddy of Tiger and MJ is different. Charles Barkley declared that he has switched parties. A long time Republican , Chuck is now a Democrat. ' When I was poor , I'm for the Democratic Party but now that I'm rich , I am a Republican '. Chuck once said.
Hmmmm. Chuck must be poor again .
Must have lost a bundle on Barbaro !





Chuck : What ! kiss a donkey's ass
I just left the Party of the donkey!

The NBA Cares ...Even For Your Local Currencies !

NBA off season is the time normally when NBA ballers travel around the world to promote their favorite shoe apparels and to spread basketball goodwill . The NBA ballers are normally involved in gracing local 3 on 3 tournaments , signing autographs while in mall and guesting on TV shows . Asia is a favorite destination for such events with half of the world's population concentrated there.

So Kevin Garnett is now in Taipeh in Taiwan and Andre Iguodala and Channing Frye in the Philippines . Travelling with KG is the mascot of the Boston Celtics while with the 2 former Arizona Wildcats are the San Antonio Spurs dancers and Harry , the mascot of the Atlanta Hawks. One bad news for the Sixers fans, and slam dunk afficianados , Andre said in this trip that he's done dunking . O well,. there is always Harry !

Harry : I can do it !

Nelly Furtado And Steve Nash : Final Chapter

Finally , I he ard Nelly Furtado's song which mentions the NBA MVP Steve Nash. She was the celebrity guest of Canadian Idol last night and she wowed the Idol hopefuls with her chart topping song ' Promiscous ' . The controversial lines of the song goes like this :

" Is that the truth or are you talkin' trash ?
Are your game MVP like Steve Nash "

Nash said the rumour linking him to Ms. Furtado after the song was released is untrue. ' I'm completely flattered that she puts me in her song but I am completely in love with my wife and two baby girls '. I met her once - with my wife - when she performed at the game. That's the only time we ever met '. End of the story.

Philadelphia Still No Answer For The Answer

The Jim Rome Show asked it listeners what should it do with the Philadelphia basketball team. You probably noticed that all teams in its division have done some makeover . Drastic in the case of Toronto Raptors and key upgrades in the case of Boston Celtics and New Jersey. On the ongoing saga of trading ' The Answer ' , Allan Iverson. David Alridge of NBA TV , thinks that parting with AI will be a mistake . ' Trading the 2nd highest scorer in the NBA and who has more assist than ever is lunacy '.
Coach Calipari , appearing in The Best Damn Sports Show Ever is for trading AI although he ' puts bodies on the seats and that the Sixers management must insure there is no let down after the trade .'

The added problem is that the Sixers management appears so desperate to trade AI . ' It's a sellers' market ' is how Jim Rome puts it. Denver , Boston and Golden State are interested but seem unwilling to give equal value player(s) in return for AI. I am sure they do not want to commit the same mistake as Rob Babcock in case of Vince Carter. AI is now resigned to the change of address and reportedly said ' maybe this trade is not a bad thing '. Anyway , back to the calls to Mr. Rome.

1 one caller said that the Sixers get back GM Pat Croce who led the team in the Finals vs. the Lakers.Otherwise , perhaps have the whole team in his TV show !
2. one caller said that Philadelphia has not won anything since the American Revolution.

Boy o boy , Philly is really in a mess. I'd say Philly better get back Terrell Owens . Not to play football , but to complete the mess !





TO : Now that's heroic !

Parker Without A Desparate Housewife

This morning the Raptors brass introduced Anthony Parker , the latest Raptor , to the local media. Of course to those who follow professional basketball this side of town , Parker needs no introduction. He was the one who beat the Raptors in a pre season game last time by burying a jump shot in the last second of the game. Parker was then a member of Maccabi team of Israel . ' He cannot beat him then , so we got him ' joked Bryan Colangelo. Apparently , the former Suns GM tried to recruit Parker for Phoenix but his team has no buy out clause . He added ' that the presence of International players in the team is because of the availability of these quality ballers '.

I like Parker . He seems like a quality guy . ' I am 31 yrs. old and I think I have gained a lot of experience from playing abroad ' . It would be Parker's second stint in the NBA . ' I was playing behind Iverson and Stackhouse then Hughes . It was very hard to show your skills under coach Larry Brown ' said the former 76ers. ' .Parker will play behind Mo Pete or is he ? In our line up , Parker will be a small forward or an off guard ' said Colangelo when asked by Chuck Swirsky of Raptors TV what will be the role of Parker. Good . Better than Parker parking on the bench !

Mo Pete : Parker , Go sit on the bench !

If TO Is A Baller

Terrell Owens is in the news again . The former Philly Eagles is said to be ready to release another book. A tell all book on his stint with his former team and his fav whipping boy, Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb. Actually , the book was written with the help of his agent , ' Mr. Next Question Please ' , Drew Rosenhaus. In this book , TO said the main reason he is mad at McNabb was the quarterback failed to pass the ball to him when he was wide open . When TO confronted him at the sideline during a break , McNabb was said to heve cursed him . ' That's the whole story. No need to buy the 242 page book ' said one sportswriter.
That's a regular thing in the NBA. Not the cursing. The failure to find an open man. And TO expressed his desire to play in the NBA during off season in the NFL.


TO loves basketball. He was seen in different arenas watching the game. One time , he was photographed with the Maloof brothers , owners of the Sacramento Kings. In the last NBA Finals , TO was seen in a Miami Heat shirt and Dallas Mavericks cap. ' I am rooting for Dallas ( his new NFL site ) and Miami 'cause Shaq is a friend ' said TO.
A lot of folks who had seen him play ball said he has game . Just like Randy Moss .The both can play in the NBA. If T.O. decides to switch sports , he will be a small forward or an off guard. Should he play for the Philadelhia Sixers, he will have Allan Iverson as a point guard. He'll be lucky to touch the ball. So , TO better stick to football and thank your quarterback all the time.



Allan : You want the ball ,
buy your own ball.

Odd Sports And Odd Talent

1.The Michael Jordan of hotdog eating , Takeru Kobayashi , retained his crown by eating a new record 53 3/4 hotdogs in 12 minutes .He broke his previous record of 49 hotdogs he set last year . Kobayashi is now the champion for 6 straight years . Awesome.

2. The Matador , a group of big bellied guys who danced at the Chicago Bulls halftime entertainment got booted out of ' America's Got Talent ' contest . The men numbering about 10 in all danced to the tune of Hammer's dance hit .' Can't Touch This '. The crowd actually liked their act but the judges were not too impressed . It's a shame 'cos these ' healthy ' men had performed ouside US and are well known in the NBA circle. My advice is that , you guys stick to the NBA.

Like Father , Like Suns

With the inclusion of TJ Ford in the Raptors fold , Colangelo is getting closer to his desire to transform the Raptors into the Phoenix Suns of the East . This fact is no mystery to the whole of Raptorland . Upon BC 's hiring up to the drafting exercise . it was made known to all that that is his mission. In Behind The Draft feature of Raptors NBA TV , Colangelo reiterated this objective. ' Just like what we did at Phoenix , we hope to transform the Raptors into a running team ' Colangelo said. That's why Charle V. was sacrificed . TJ Ford will be the new Steve Nash. A faster Nash but can he shoot outside ? Nah. Ford needs to work on his long range shooting . The 3 pt. shot if he wants to be as effective as the 2 time MVP. Rightnow, TJ is only 1/2 MVP !

Chemistry should be no problem with Ford's inclusion. ' I am good friends with Chris ' said TJ when asked about his relationship with the Raptors star, Chris Bosh . ' We are both from Texas and I go to his place when we ( the Bucks ) play in Toronto and he goes to my place when they are in Milwaukee' he added. Yeh that's right. TJ is a friendly baller . Too friendly some will say. TJ was all smiles whenever his team is against the Raptors. A lot of hand slapping and hugging . You noticed how much TJ smiles during games. That the knock against Vince before by the Toronto press. ' Why can't he be like those hardnosed hockey players ' they asked.

Well what do you expect .

You asked for a Ford .

Not a Hummer !


Anyone asked for me ?