The other sports thread

[Sabres Fan in NS]

1 minute ago, French Collection said:

Vanvleet was clutch, making the 3 pointers that Danny Green was supposed to make. His D on Curry was good too.

Overall the Raptors were the better team.  And not only in this series.  The only scary point was in round two when the stubborn 76'ers refused to go away.  That Kawhi buzzer beater in game 7 was magic.

The Raptors were excellent in every aspect of the game, especially in the conference final and then the final final.

[dudacek]

10 hours ago, SwampD said:

That ending was awful, though.

 

It was the most anti-climatic prolonged mess to a dramatic game I have ever seen. Talk about delayed gratification.

Contrast that to linesman ignoring the last second icing as the Blues jumped off the bench.

10 hours ago, SwampD said:

So, um, do they always give the NBA championship trophy to the owners first?

 

The whole presentation thing, crowded on the podium with the owner and league president front-and-centre while everyone is forced to stop and listen to stilted interviews...it crushed what should have been a moment of unrestrained joy. 

Its not about the league, it’s about the players. Pull the camera back and just let us watch a rare unplanned, unrehearsed spectacle.

I always hear about the NBA being at the forefront of spectacle and getting it right in terms of giving fans what they want.

I was unimpressed.

The game, however, the story that unfolded on the court, that was well worth watching.

[WildCard]

4 minutes ago, dudacek said:

It was the most anti-climatic prolonged mess to a dramatic game I have ever seen. Talk about delayed gratification.

Contrast that to linesman ignoring the last second icing as the Blues jumped off the bench.

Indeed. I loved that they did that in the Cup Finals

[nfreeman]

That was a thrilling basketball game.  If Klay hadn't been injured, any outcome to the game and the series was possible.

Draymond, Klay and Lowry all had better games than Curry and Kawhi had.

I hope Kawhi stays with Toronto, although if Masai leaves, it's likely Kawhi will too.  I'm kinda skeptical that Masai will leave though, as the Raptors' organization and city are far superior to those of the Wizards, and I expect that the Raptors will match the Wizards' offer.

[WildCard]

This guy wins the night

[Hoss]

4 hours ago, WildCard said:

Well Durant will miss 9 months with a torn Achilles and Klay will miss around 6 with a torn ACL

They already said Durant will miss the entire season next year. I think Klay comes back around christmas.

5 hours ago, New Scotland (NS) said:

Thanks, but I'm not really a fan of the team, or the NBA, but am just glad that an underdog from a small(?) market city won it.  I am happy if that happens in any sport, really, especially when an unexpected (not sure if the Raptors winning was all that unexpected) team beats out the defending champs.

@Hoss, now he is a real fan and must be very happy.

I was up all night watching videos, basking in the celebration. Then I woke up in the morning and did it again. I’m in a beach town visiting some lifelong friends who just became parents a few months back so my screaming was very internal. This is fun.

[Samson's Flow]

5 hours ago, New Scotland (NS) said:

Thanks, but I'm not really a fan of the team, or the NBA, but am just glad that an underdog from a small(?) market city won it.  I am happy if that happens in any sport, really, especially when an unexpected (not sure if the Raptors winning was all that unexpected) team beats out the defending champs.

@Hoss, now he is a real fan and must be very happy.

Come on NS, I can get behind the "underdog" mentality of Toronto playing against the dynasty Warriors, and being the only team in Canada makes for a good storyline, but Toronto is not and cannot be called a "small market" team. Toronto is the 5th largest North American city behind Mexico City, NYC,  LA and Chicago.

[Hoss]

16 minutes ago, Samson's Flow said:

Come on NS, I can get behind the "underdog" mentality of Toronto playing against the dynasty Warriors, and being the only team in Canada makes for a good storyline, but Toronto is not and cannot be called a "small market" team. Toronto is the 5th largest North American city behind Mexico City, NYC,  LA and Chicago.

Toronto is 100% a small market NBA team.

[WildCard]

57 minutes ago, Hoss said:

They already said Durant will miss the entire season next year. I think Klay comes back around christmas.

Sucks for GS considering they're going to offer him and Klay 5 year max deals

Also, Boogie Cousins was a massive disappointment. Dude should've taken the max deal he would've gotten last year, cause he's not getting it now

[dudacek]

30 minutes ago, Hoss said:

Toronto is 100% a small market NBA team.

What does this mean?

How does one of the NBA’s biggest cities qualify among its small markets.

[Hoss]

30 minutes ago, WildCard said:

Sucks for GS considering they're going to offer him and Klay 5 year max deals

Also, Boogie Cousins was a massive disappointment. Dude should've taken the max deal he would've gotten last year, cause he's not getting it now

He wasn’t getting a max offer last year. He got a grand total of one contract offer - and it was the one he accepted from Golden State. Teams were scared away by his injury and his attitude. He had a few big moments in the finals, though. I think he’ll get a mediocre deal this offseason but better than last.

6 minutes ago, dudacek said:

What does this mean?

How does one of the NBA’s biggest cities qualify among its small markets.

It’s the only team in Canada and operates/is treated as a small market team. “Small market” these days doesn’t just boil down to how many bodies live in your city.

[Eleven]

1 hour ago, Samson's Flow said:

Come on NS, I can get behind the "underdog" mentality of Toronto playing against the dynasty Warriors, and being the only team in Canada makes for a good storyline, but Toronto is not and cannot be called a "small market" team. Toronto is the 5th largest North American city behind Mexico City, NYC,  LA and Chicago.

 

52 minutes ago, Hoss said:

Toronto is 100% a small market NBA team.

 

20 minutes ago, dudacek said:

What does this mean?

How does one of the NBA’s biggest cities qualify among its small markets.

I've got to agree with Hoss here.  And I think it's the same with baseball, too.  Toronto fans come out of the woodwork when the teams are great, but otherwise, not so much.  It's not long ago that the Blue Jays had Toonie Tuesdays (and those might well return).  It might be a big city, but it's not a reliable big market for the NBA.  Cf. Miami and the NHL.

Edited June 14, 2019 by Eleven

[dudacek]

So it’s kinda like saying Miami or even LA is a small market NHL team because even though there’s a huge market to exploit, there isn’t a huge amount of relative interest in the market?

Interesting way of looking at it. I’ve never heard of Vancouver being looked at as a big NHL market, but under those terms it certainly is. And Buffalo is a larger NHL market than Phoenix, under the same rationale?

Edited June 14, 2019 by dudacek

[inkman]

14 minutes ago, Eleven said:

  Cf. Miami and the NHL.

And baseball 

[Taro T]

1 hour ago, Eleven said:

 

 

I've got to agree with Hoss here.  And I think it's the same with baseball, too.  Toronto fans come out of the woodwork when the teams are great, but otherwise, not so much.  It's not long ago that the Blue Jays had Toonie Tuesdays (and those might well return).  It might be a big city, but it's not a reliable big market for the NBA.  Cf. Miami and the NHL.

 

51 minutes ago, inkman said:

And baseball 

Football too.

[Hoss]

1 hour ago, dudacek said:

So it’s kinda like saying Miami or even LA is a small market NHL team because even though there’s a huge market to exploit, there isn’t a huge amount of relative interest in the market?

Interesting way of looking at it. I’ve never heard of Vancouver being looked at as a big NHL market, but under those terms it certainly is. And Buffalo is a larger NHL market than Phoenix, under the same rationale?

Basically this but it also relates to how the leagues treat and market those teams, too.

[dudacek]

4 minutes ago, Hoss said:

Basically this but it also relates to how the leagues treat and market those teams, too.

So a dash of good old American myopia as well? ?

[Sabres Fan in NS]

Toronto is a small market team mostly because the NBA does not really care about them (until now), but mostly the players don't care about it.  Do you think LeBron ever would have chosen to go to Toronto?  Do you think that Kahwi would have signed in Toronto (I think he does sign there now ... max / max)?  Do you think he would have demanded a trade to Toronto.

[nfreeman]

1 hour ago, New Scotland (NS) said:

Toronto is a small market team mostly because the NBA does not really care about them (until now), but mostly the players don't care about it.  Do you think LeBron ever would have chosen to go to Toronto?  Do you think that Kahwi would have signed in Toronto (I think he does sign there now ... max / max)?  Do you think he would have demanded a trade to Toronto.

I think this is mostly accurate, but I don't think "small market" is quite the right description.  I think the Raptors make a ton of money locally and can spend as much as they want on players, management, facilities, etc. 

For example, I don't think the Raptors will bat an eye at spending whatever it takes to keep Masai, whereas true "small market" NBA teams would take a couple of draft picks, let him go and find someone cheaper.

[ubkev]

Sitting in the hospital waiting... watching Signs. 

I need to know Merrill Hess' OPS numbers. He held 5 MiLB HR records as well as the MiLB strikeouts record. In the current baseball climate he'd be a real commodity. K's don't seem to matter to teams anymore as long as you can hit the ball deep. I think he could have had a nice career.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

8 hours ago, ubkev said:

Sitting in the hospital waiting... watching Signs. 

I need to know Merrill Hess' OPS numbers. He held 5 MiLB HR records as well as the MiLB strikeouts record. In the current baseball climate he'd be a real commodity. K's don't seem to matter to teams anymore as long as you can hit the ball deep. I think he could have had a nice career.

Hospital?

What have I missed?  I hope that all is well.

[ubkev]

27 minutes ago, New Scotland (NS) said:

Hospital?

What have I missed?  I hope that all is well.

Oh, I'm just fine. Thought the wife needed emergency hernia surgery last night. All is well...she just needs regular hernia surgery in a few days. 

[shrader]

On 6/14/2019 at 10:26 PM, nfreeman said:

I think this is mostly accurate, but I don't think "small market" is quite the right description.  I think the Raptors make a ton of money locally and can spend as much as they want on players, management, facilities, etc. 

For example, I don't think the Raptors will bat an eye at spending whatever it takes to keep Masai, whereas true "small market" NBA teams would take a couple of draft picks, let him go and find someone cheaper.

I had the Lebetard show on in the background on friday and Amin Elhassan said that Toronto is going to become a basketball town because all of the hockey followers there are 50+ years old.  I just about fell out of my chair.  I know that sports radio tends towards utter cluelessness, but that one may have taken it to a whole new level.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

Anybody watching the Raptors parade?

I think today was declared a National Holiday by the leader of The Great Satan.

[Rudy Buffalo D.]

Quote

Do you think LeBron ever would have chosen to go to Toronto?  Do you think that Kahwi would have signed in Toronto (I think he does sign there now ... max / max)?  Do you think he would have demanded a trade to Toronto.

The Raptors right now feel a bit like how the Blue Jays felt back in the day. Guys like Dave Winfield or Ricky Henderson would never play in Toronto. Until the day came when they were eager to play in Toronto.