Browse >
Home / Archive: 14. March 2009
by Mark Milner…
I was getting some X-rays today (long story, don’t ask) and bumming myself out about the state of the Raptors when I decided to cheer myself up—by counting down my 10 favourite Rap wins.
And before you ask, yes there are 10 of them. One is even a playoff win, too.
10) Mar. 11, 2007: Toronto 120, Seattle 119
The Raptors make a quick comeback, with a rookie Bargnani hitting a couple clutch free throws to tie the game—just to force OT and sneak away with a pretty good win in the only Raptors game I’ve ever seen at the ACC.
9) Jan. 13, 2008: Toronto 116, Portland 109
A double OT game that I remember thinking the Raptors had lost (or had won) at least four or five times. For some reason this Raps team always matched up well against the Trailblazers. I dunno why.
Honourable mention 1:
Mar. 22, 1998: Toronto 100, Chicago 102
The Raptors take the 1998 Bulls - Jordan, Pippen, Rodman, et al - right down to the buzzer at the Skydome. Doug Christie and John Wallace (remember him anybody?) light it up, each scoring 20+. Easily the highlight of a 15-win season.
Feb. 27, 1998: Toronto 115, Orlando 107
The Raps pull out a win with a huge fourth quarter, then endure three overtimes against a pretty solid Magic. Christie and Wallace with big games, again. The only three OT game I remember the Raptors winning, though I’m sure there are more.
7) Nov. 3, 1995: Toronto 94, New Jersey 79
Not just Toronto’s first game, but their first home game and their first win, too. Alvin Robertson drops 30 and Damon Stoudamire has a double-double in his first NBA game.
6) Feb. 21, 1999: Toronto 102, Vancouver 87
Remember Kevin Willis? He had 17 points and 15 boards in this game, while VC netted 27 in a win over the hapless Grizzlies. And the Raptors played their first game in something called the Air Canada Centre on this night too.
5) Dec. 20, 2006: Toronto 98, Los Angeles Clippers 96
Despite being generally outplayed by a solid Clippers team—pretty much the same one that took the Suns to seven games the previous spring—TJ Ford hits a shot at the buzzer to win the game.
Clippers season-ticket holder and ESPN scribe Bill Simmons starts cryptically making hints towards Raptor truthers around this point. Maybe it’s not a great win, at the time it showed the Raptors weren’t just a team that looked only looked good against subpar opponents in the Atlantic division.
4) Feb. 27, 2000: Toronto 103, Phoenix 102
Not just a wildly entertaining game against a fun Suns team (Penny Hardaway and Jason Kidd on the floor at the same time!), but one where VC drops 51, still the team record. Why this isn’t shown more on Raptors TV is beyond me.
3) May 11, 2001: Toronto 102, Philadelphia 78
In game three of the 2001 Semifinals, VC drops 50 on the 76ers, while Antonio Davis and Chris Childs each get double-doubles. Not the most exciting game from a pretty frustrating series to remember, but a pretty big moment in Raptor history.
Honourable mention 2:
Feb. 27, 1996: Toronto 100, Houston 105
In a close game against a team just off back-to-back NBA titles, Stoudamire
has 17 points and 19 dimes, still a record for the Raptors.
2) Apr. 6, 2007: Toronto 94, Philadelphia 85
A late season win without a lot of drama, but an important win nonetheless - it clinched the Raptors first-ever Atlantic Division title. A very big moment for the team, although not as big as…
1) May 4, 2001: Toronto 93, New York 89
Toronto wins it’s first-ever (and still only) playoff series, on the road and in the deciding game—a pretty close one, as I recall.
VC, dueling against Spreewell, leads with 27 points while all five starters score in double digits. One of the only Raptors games I have a copy of DVD, too.
So that’s my top 10. What about you—what’s your favourite Raptors wins ever? That one against VC in the playoffs? The close win against Boston last year? That one where Mo Pete hit a ridiculous three to send the game to OT? I feel like I should know these things.
by Tommy G…
You can’t blame the players, because everyone learns and adapts at different rates.
In June 2004, Justin Pogge was just another junior goalie with potential in the CHL.
Otherwise, the Leafs would not have nabbed him at the 90th overall at that year’s draft.
Whether the Leafs noticed his potential and actually knew what they were doing or they just rolled the dice is not relevant.
What is important is that one year and four months later, he would begin the 2005-2006 WHL season, which has metaphorically raised his name and number to the Air Canada Centre rafters.
After winning a flurry of awards for the 2005-2006 season, including the CHL Goaltender of the Year Award, he began the 2006-2007 season as the frontrunner for Canada’s No. 1 goaltending spot at the 2006 World Junior Championships.
This is when Leafs Nation and the Toronto media really started to notice him and began to glorify him as the saviour of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Unlike Carey Price, who managed to do something very similar a year later, Pogge was not a fifth-overall draft pick and he’s not ready for the NHL. Pogge was a pleasant surprise for the Maple Leafs, and they don’t happen very often.
He is the kind of player that blooms at a later rate or maybe his better days are over, but putting this kind of pressure on a guy who was drafted 90th overall is idiotic.
As I mentioned, Price was a fifth overall pick, and he started his junior career earlier and something tells me he’s better prepared because of that reason. He probably focused on hockey more than Pogge in his childhood too.
This is only a speculation, because I don’t know that for a fact. However, the pressure that Price receives should not be bestowed on Pogge, and there shouldn’t even be any comparisons.
Instead, the Leafs should stop focusing on him as the goalie of the future and just let him have some fun. Let him develop with the Marlies and let him play in more international tournaments. Give him the chance to flourish at his own pace.
Don’t just give him a job that he’s not ready to handle. Toskala, when healthy, is more than capable to lead the Leafs in goals for the next three to four years.
Developing hockey players is like raising children. All the Leafs have to do is give their players the tools to succeed and then the players will decide what to do with them. Whether they develop or not is irrelevant, because any hockey team who wants to win should not be putting all their eggs in one basket.
Okay, maybe only the first part is like raising children.
by Stoker Dafire… On March 31, 2009, current WBC heavyweight champion “Dr. Ironfist” Vitali Klitschko will face his WBC mandatory challenger Juan Carlos Gomez in a 12-round title fight at the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer Halle in Stuttgart, Germany.
This will be Vitali’s first defense since defeating Samuel Peter after a four-year layoff and the game but smaller cruiserweight (Gomez) isn’t expected to be much of of a challenge.
Vitali Klitschko is the younger brother of Wladimir and the “littler” brother once fought a world ranked heavyweight from my home town.
Top ten heavyweight Kirk Johnson from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada was given a thorough beatdown and lost in the early rounds by referee stoppage.
In boxing, fighters are sometimes defined by their great wins, other times a great fight in a losing effort can also define them quite nicely.
Boxing trainer and HBO commentator Manny Steward from the legendary Kronk gym in Detroit works well with the Klitschkos, he has a historic legacy of teaching tall lanky fighters such as 80s phenom Tommy “Hitman” Hearns, and retired all-time top Heavyweight Champion Lennox Lewis.
The long jabbing style that Steward teaches is somewhat boring but extremely effective if mixed with the occasional right hand bomb that comes over the top.
Today when any one mentions the name Vitali Klitschko my mind reflects on his defining fight with one of the greatest heavyweight champions of all times.
On June 21 2003 Lennox Lewis was the undisputed Heavyweight Champion.
Lewis successfully defended his title in what may have been the toughest test of his long career from the surprisingly “big hearted” Vitali Klitschko.
These two Goliath’s were both six and a half feet tall with a combined weight of nearly 500 pounds; their bout was a classic from the standpoint that neither would take a backward step as they traded bombs in the center of the ring.
The heavyweight war ended at the end of the sixth round with Klitschko on his stool; he was battered and bleeding badly from a deep gash on his left eye-lid and another under the eye.
Fight fans are a notoriously fickle bunch and they love to see a bloody and tenacious underdog get a come-from-behind victory.
So it is understandable why the crowd suddenly turned on Lewis, who performed like a sloppy amateur throughout the match.
The rabid crowd booed the undisputed champion lustily while roaring for the still willing Klitschko after the match was stopped against the challenger’s courageous protest.
I’m highly doubtful that next Saturdays match will in any way mirror that heavyweight bloodbath, however both Gomez and Klitschko seem confident.
Gomez says, “I’m feeling sorry for Vitali, that he has to lose his title after such a short reign. But I worked long and hard to get this shot, and I will win the world championship.”
Klitschko replied by saying “The victory over Sam Peter and the WBC belt still feels amazing. I won’t let anybody take it away from me. Gomez is a very experienced, quick and dangerous opponent. I won’t underestimate him. But the belt will stay in the Klitschko family.”
In the clearing stands a boxer, and a fighter by his trade
And he carries the reminders of every glove that laid him down or cut him
til he cried out in his anger and his shame
I am leaving, I am leaving, but the fighter still remains
– SIMON AND GARFUNKEL
by Adam Greuel… On one hand, you have a 28-year-old right fielder from Puerto Rico. On the other hand, you have a 25-year-old, right fielder from America.
They are Alex Rios of the Toronto Blue Jays and Nick Markakis of the Baltimore Orioles.
As of now, Markakis has certainly had the better career, but certain players definitely develop faster then others.
Both players are five-tool talents, they both have rocket arms in the outfield, speed on the base paths, power in their swings, man their corner outfield spot well, and both know how to put the ball in play.
Rios struggled early last year, hitting for almost no power, but his resurgent second half had him finish with 15 home runs and gave many Jays fans high hopes for 2009. Rios has displayed a good power stroke in the past and he is just hitting the age where most hitters enter their prime.
Rios’ big advantage comes on the base paths. Cito Gaston allowed Rios free reign when it came to stealing bases last season, and it definitely paid off. Rios stole 32 bases, while only getting caught eight times. Markakis got caught seven times, but only stole 10 bases.
They both put up similar RBI numbers, but Rios would have put up more had he been put in the right position in the batting order and if not for Vernon Wells’ injury.
Another thing in Rios’ favor is the likelihood that he will be moved to center field, a much more important position then either corner outfield spot.
Overall, look for Rios to become an absolute monster this season, making him more valuable than Markakis for at least the next couple of years, until Rios hits his mid-30’s.
by Barney Corkhill… In this series, I will look at the greatest talents to grace various sports. Here, I look at football (soccer), counting down the top 10 central midfielders of all time.
Again, to avoid confusion, I have included defensive midfielders and attacking midfielders in this countdown.
Enjoy!
10. Ruud Gullit (NED)
Narrowly beating countless other legends onto this list is Ruud Gullit. Gullit was part of the famed Dutch trio who played for AC Milan in the late 1980s and early 1990s, along with Frank Rijkaard and Marco van Basten.
This combination helped Milan to unparalleled success, winning three Serie A titles and two European Cups. He won yet more silverware at his other clubs, including three Dutch league titles, a Dutch Cup, an Italian Cup, and an FA Cup.
For Holland, he played a huge part in the rebirth of “Total Football”, helping them to success in Euro ‘88. He went on to win 66 caps for the Netherlands. In 1987, Gullit was named the European and World Footballer of the Year, the latter of which he would win again two years later.
9. Lothar Matthaus (GER)
No player has played in more World Cup matches than Lothar Matthaus. He has appeared in 25, spanning five World Cups, another record for an outfield player. His commanding presence in the middle of the park made him the perfect candidate for captaincy, and he became one of the best skippers in German football history.
During his club career, he won seven Bundesliga titles, three German Cups, a Serie A title and two UEFA Cups, while at international level, he won the 1980 European Championships, and added a World Cup winners medal a decade later.
Individually, he was awarded the Ballon d’Or in 1990, and became the first ever winner of the World Player of the Year award a year later. His haul of 150 caps for Germany is the highest in the country’s history.
8. Zico (BRA)
Few, if any, players have been able to hit a free-kick like Zico, and his game in open play was just as impressive. He was often called “the White Pele”, and the real Pele once said that Zico was the one player that came closest to him.
His finishing was almost as clinical as Pele’s, as his goalscoring record clearly shows. He won seven Rio State Championships and four Brazilian Championships in his club career, but never managed to capture the World Cup with Brazil, despite being part of the great 1982 side.
He won 88 caps for Brazil, scoring a remarkable 66 goals from attacking midfield.
7. Raymond Kopa (FRA)
Equally adept at playing up front as he was in attacking midfield, Raymond Kopa was part of the great Real Madrid side of the late 1950s. After helping Stade de Reims to the 1956 European Cup final, in which they lost to Madrid, he was quickly snapped up by the Spanish giants.
In his career, Kopa won a whole host of silverware, including four French League titles, two Spanish League titles and three consecutive European Cups. He was also part of the French squad for the 1954 World Cup, in which he was named Young Player of the Tournament, and the 1958 World Cup, where he was named Player of the Tournament, becoming the only player to win both awards.
He went on to win 45 caps for France in his 10-year international career.
6. Michael Laudrup (DEN)
Michael Laudrup is one of very few players to have played for both Real Madrid and Barcelona. His elegant style made him a favourite with the fans, and his magnificent passing made him a favourite with his team-mates.
Raul has said that Laudrup is the best player he has ever played with while Romario agreed, going on to say that Laudrup was the fourth best player in the history of the game, level with Zinedine Zidane.
Unfortunately for Laudrup, however, he missed out on Denmark’s greatest triumph, the 1992 European Championships, after a dispute with the coach. Despite this, his trophy cabinet wasn’t exactly empty. He won a Serie A title, five La Liga titles, a Spanish Cup, a Dutch League title, a Dutch Cup, and a European Cup during his illustrious career.
Recent Comments