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Bill Wennington's 'Tales from the Bulls Hardwood'

Written by Sean Francois on .

As a lifelong Bulls fan (well, since I was 10 years old) anytime I can find some 80's and 90's Bulls nostalgia - especially 'new to me' material, I'm like a kid in a candy store!

I found this gem while doing some random Google-ing.

In this book (published in 2004), Montreal, Quebec, Canada native Bill Wennington recounts anecdotes from his years with the Chicago Bulls which spanned 1994 - 1999. He experienced the days immediately after Michael Jordan retired the first time in 1993, when Jordan returned in 1995, and then the second '3-Peat' championships the Bulls put together through the '95/'96 and '97/'98 seasons, and finally the season after the Bulls' Dynasty team was dissolved, '98/'99.

These days Bill is the gameday colour commentator for the Chicago Bulls radio broadcasts alongside Toronto Raptors fans' favourite play-by-play announcer, Chuck Swirsky.

The book is currently sold out on Chapters.Indigo.ca and on Amazon.ca (although 2nd hand copies are available on both sites), but through the first link I posted above you can read and view several of the chapters which are available via the Google Book Search preview.

I hope you enjoy re-living the Bulls' glory days while gaining some new 'behind the scenes' perspectives that only someone like Bill Wennington, who experienced it first hand, could provide.

[hype]

5 Q's with 3 Shades of Blue

Written by Romy Aquino on .

OJ!

3ShadesOfBlue.com is our Bloguin neighbour that covers the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzles, 2-8 in their last ten and the Raptors, 3-7 in their last ten face off tonight in Memphis. It's the battle of teams in the lower echelon of their respective conferences on a second game of a back to back. The Grizzlies are young, with such great talent in Rudy Gay, Marc Gasol and OJ Mayo who is a strong candidate for Rookie of the Year.

I was ableto ask Joshua at 3 Shades of Blue a few questions about the Grizzlies.

Hoop Heads North: In terms of Saturday's game against the Raptors, what are some of the Grizzlies' weaknesses that the Raptors should take advantage of?

Joshua (3ShadesOfBlue.com): The strength of the Grizzlies defense is being active, getting lots of deflections and then utilizing their speed on the fast break. But when it breaks down to a halfcourt game, the Grizzlies are suspect when it comes to offensive minded forwards and shifty point guards. If Chris Bosh and Jose Calderon both play like the normally do, then Memphis is in trouble. Bosh can absolutely abuse both Darrell Arthur and Hakim Warrick with his length and shooting touch and Calderon will probably be able to give Mike Conley fits all night, even though Mike has improved dramatically since the coaching change.

HHN: Obviously O.J. Mayo has had a successful rookie campaign, who else do you see as Rookie of the Year candidate?

Joshua: Right now, I think that it is a two-horse race between Mayo and Derrick Rose, although I do believe that Russell Westbrook, Eric Gordon, Brook Lopez and Kevin Love deserve some consideration as well with their high level of play. But ROY typically boils down to what shows up in both the stat sheets and the highlight reels, and that is where Rose and Mayo separate themselves from the herd in my opinion.

The intriguing thing is how different their games are from each other. Derrick Rose is fire, all explosiveness and jaw-dropping athleticism. O.J. Mayo is ice, the cold demeanor of an assassin sizing up his target, exploring his weaknesses before exploiting them.

HHN: Are the Grizzlies involved in any trade rumors? If so, whose name seems to be flying around the most?

Joshua: LOL -- What trade rumor have the Grizzlies not been involved in? Everything from lower-level trade talks about a Mike Conley for Ramon Sessions/Joe Alexander swap to a blockbuster involving Amare Stoudemire and Rudy Gay have come across my desk over the past few weeks. That's not to mention the possibilities of guys like Shawn Marion, Lamar Odom, Carlos Boozer and your own Chris Bosh that have been bandied about on blogs and message boards since the trade deadline started getting closer and closer on the horizon. My rule of thumb is this, though: If you hear a trade rumor, then you can pretty much dismiss that trade from ever occurring.



HHN: There's no doubt that Rudy Gay is crazy athletic but do you think he has the creativity to win this year's dunk contest?

Joshua: I think that he probably has the creativity and undoubtedly has the athleticism, but what really holds him back is the fact that he is much more impressive as an in-game dunker than at a staged event. Last year, I think that he worried too much about holding something in reserve for making the final round, so he didn't let it all hang out in the first go-round. That won't be an issue this year -- he has assured me of that.


HHN: If you could draft a starting five from the Raptors and Grizzlies rosters, who would they be?

Joshua: Wow -- great question! I'd probably draft them like this:

PG - Jose Calderon
SG - O.J. Mayo
SF - Rudy Gay
PF - Chris Bosh
C - Marc Gasol

I know that some people will insist that Andrea Bargnani should be the center in that lineup, but I believe that Gasol complements him better than Bargnani since he doesn't need touches to be effective, and I want chemistry -- even in a fantasy situation like this. The rest of them are no-brainers as far as I'm concerned.

Shoutouts to Joshua at 3ShadesofBlue.com for taking the time to answer the 5 Q's.

Photo credit: (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)

[hype]

Chris Bosh spreads love and thanks for his NBA All-Star selection

Written by Sean Francois on .

Chris posted this last week on his YouTube channel:

Unfortunately since then he has sprained his already injured right knee in the Raptors 115-107 home loss to the Lakers this past Wednesday night. He's currently day-to-day, so we'll see if he's able to participate in the upcoming NBA All-Star game on Valentine's Day weekend, or if a replacement is named for him.

In case you weren't up on it, Chris blogs frequently on his own site, so be sure to check out the musings from the mind of CB4. In the past he's done reviews on books he's read recently, 'direct to fan' giveaways, recounted classic anecdotes, and has posted video of some pretty hilarious alter egos he's come up with.

I appreciate that Bosh fully embraces technology and uses it to show the 'everyday Chris', and as a vehicle to speak his mind - as all of us fellow bloggers do. Wouldn't you have loved for Dennis Rodman to have had a blog back in the day?! On second thought...

[hype]

Hornets247.com Q&A: Raps-Hornets, James Posey & Tyson Chandler's blogging ability

Written by Romy Aquino on .

Welcome to N'awlins! The 19-32 Raptors face off against the 28-18 New Orleans Hornets tonight in New Orleans. Both the Hornets and Raptors are on a four game losing streak, and both teams are dealing with injuries with their star players. Chris Paul left their game against the Blazers on Monday with a mild groin strain. The Raptors on the other hand, have their own injured "Chris" to deal with, as Chris Bosh is doubtful for the game with a sprained right knee. The Hornets' four game losing skid is a season high for the team.

Last meeting between the two teams was December 14 where NO handled the Raps 99-91.

This may be a game full of reserves stepping as Chris Bosh, Jose Calderon, Tyson Chandler, Chris Paul and former Raptor, Morris Peterson will most likely sit this game out. It's going to be a Devin Brown-Roko Ukic show!

I got a chance to ask Niall from Hornets247.com a few questions about tonight's game. Hornets247.com is a New Orleans Hornets focused blog that is part of ESPN's True Hoop network. Niall discussed CP3's injury, James Posey and Tyson Chandler's blogging ability.

CP3!

HHN: What is Chris Paul's status for Friday?

Niall (Hornets247.com): He's listed as day-to-day after suffering a groin strain on Monday. Byron Scott has said that the best case scenario is to have CP back for Sunday vs. Minnesota. Chris has been injured a few times before in his career and usually seems to heal pretty quick, but I doubt he'll be back for the Raptors. No sense rushing him.

HHN: The Hornets blew a 20-point lead against the Blazers on Monday, what caused the collapse?

Niall: We were up 17 with 1:30 left in the third quarter when Paul limped off the floor and into the locker room. Our remaining guys proceeded to look lost and the Blazers smelled blood, outscoring the Hornets 38-15 in the fourth. Jerryd Bayless lit us up after he and Sergio Rodriguez had been eaten alive by Paul through the first three quarters. Rebounding was a big issue, too, with the Blazers owning a 17-4 edge in the final stanza. Much of the blame for that goes to Byron Scott, who opted to have David West as our only rebounder on the floor with three shooters and a point guard for the final nine minutes.

HHN: How has former Boston Celtic and two-time NBA champ, James Posey worked out for the Hornets this year?

Niall: Lately he's struggled mightily with his shot, but overall he's given us about what was promised. He gets us stops on D, hustles relentlessly and provides an extra deep threat (usually). But he also is prone to one or two dumb fouls and an annoyingly carefree grin each game. I guess we won't be able to measure his true value though until the playoffs. That's when he's really supposed to earn his money.

HHN: What can the Raptors do to take advantage of the Hornets on Friday?

Niall: Rebound hard, run the break, hassle Antonio Daniels, double David West and get hands in the faces of our shooters, especially the Serbian one. No team should have much trouble scoring on the Hornets without Chris Paul and Tyson Chandler, so if the Raps knuckle down on D they'll be fine.

HHN: How would you rate Tyson Chandler as a blogger?

Niall: He's pretty good. Melvin Ely, James Posey and Julian Wright have blogged some this season but none of them are as entertaining. Tyson seems like an honest, down-to-earth dude and that comes across in the blog. He's just a goofy 7-foot guy getting into regular mishaps and adventures.

Thanks again to Niall for taking the time for the Q&A, check out his site: hornets247.com


[hype]

Kobe & Co. Put on a Show

Written by Romy Aquino on .


Kobe BryantLakers 115, Raps 107

Another L, but damn was that entertaining.

For the Raptors, Jose Calderon was a no go for this game. Meaning another starting lineup change for the Raps. The Big Three of Bargs/Bosh/J.O. got the start again with Anthony Parker at the point and finally, Joey Graham at the shooting guard.

The Raps came out swinging. After letting almost 40 points in the first quarter to the Cavs in the Raps' last game, the Raptors actually corrected some of their mistakes. The Raps came out with intensity and Joey Graham got the crowd ignited with the slam to get a lead on the Lakers 15-7. And then, Anthony Parker got it going with a four point play. Yep, AP got off his three from the corner and got the foul for the four points. Here's my favorite four point play. Even though the Raptors got a quick jump on the Lakers, Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher hit back to back threes. And then Kobe nailed a couple more shots, to get it to a two point game as the Lakers went on a 12-2 run including a nice Kobe reverse layup.  Even though the Lakers made a run, the Raps looked a lot better in this first quarter, outscoring the Lakers 14-8 in the paint and up 31-26 after one. Kobe had 14 points in the first.

The second quarter had the Lakers tie the game up with a Lamar Odom layup. With Calderon on the shelf, Roko Ukic got some run today at backup PG slot. Joey Graham came out strong in this game, with tight defense, rebounding and nailing shots, he was getting it done. He had a tough defensive assignment in a player names Kobe Bryant butrose to the occasion.With the recent injury to Andrew Bynum, the Lakers were thin up front and the Raptors bigs were able to take advanage. Bosh/Bargnani/J.O. were getting shots down low, and when J.O. had the chance, he was nailing passes to the open man. Derek Fisher hit a buzzer beater at the half to get he Lakers within five. Raptors shot 51%, Joey Graham had 13, Bosh/Bargs/J.O. combined for 40pts atthe half.

I don't know, when you put AP at the point, he gets it rolling. In the third quarter,he wasspinning and nailing shots but then he would also drove it and kicking itto Joey Graham for the slam. Parker nailed his patented corner three to get the Raptors up 83-77. The Lakers made it a two point game when Jordan Farmar got the steal, passed the rock to Kobe who dished it to Lamar Odom for the slam. Joey Graham played confident tonight, hitting the jumper over Kobe. The Lakers outscored the Raptors in the third 27-24.

Andrea Bargnani started of the fourth quarter with a three to get up three. Roko got some run at the start of the fourth, and just blew by the Lakers for the easy layup.

The best sequence of the game? J.O.'s block on Josh Powell, for his 7th block of the game and the second time back down the floor, J.O. blocked Powell again.


Then the Lakers turned it up.

Sasha Vujacic got the Lakers' biggest lead of the game when he hit a three to get up 98-94. Matt Devlin had announced that Chris Bosh wouldn't return as he had a sprained right knee from a play in the second quarter. Kobe did his thing nailing a long jumper to get up four and then a long two to get up six. Raps couldn't get it done down low as Gasol played tight D on Jermaine. Anthony Parker hit a three to make it 107-103 and then Graham went one on one against Sasha Vujacic, got the layup and the And 1. Graham missed his free throw and Kobe hit the jumper on the next possession. Lakers closed it out in the final minutes beating the Raptors 115-107.

Key Notes:
Kobe Bryant got it done: 36 pts, 9 rebounds, 5 assists
Pau Gasol had 31 points, 15 boards
Lakers bench outscored the Raps bench, 21-10
Lakers shot 50%, Raptors shot 46%
Jermaine O'Neal flirted with a triple dub: 22 pts, 9 rebounds, 9 blocks!
The Raptors starters combined for 97 of the team 107 points
Probably his best game to date: Joey Graham, a career-high 24 pts

Raptors face the New Orleans Hornetson Friday.

Photo credit: (Photo by Ron Turenne/NBAE via Getty Images)


[hype]

Stephen A. Smith stands by his words

Written by Sean Francois on .

ESPN's Stephen A. Smith has updated his blog again this morning and he's not budging.

Stephen is standing by what he first reported on Sunday and re-stated on his blog on Monday, which was Chris Bosh has privately told Toronto Raptors management he is not interested in remaining with the team beyond his current contract:

[espn]3877144[/espn]

On Monday after Raptors practice, both Chris Bosh and Bryan Colangelo vehemenently denied the reports.

I don't like to buy into hype very often because there's usually no substance to the story (although they can definitely make an intriguing or shocking headline), but the fact that if Chris Bosh left it would be the biggest Raptors story since Vince Carter getting a new zip code, I only feel it's right to present all sides of the story now, and then we can all see where the chips will land down the road...

[hype]

Bron for 12000

Written by Romy Aquino on .

Lebron Freakin' JamesCavs 101, Raps 83

Lebron James became the youngest player to score 12,000 as the Cavs destroyed the Raptors 101-83.

The Raptors had to focus on the task at hand last night,facing the Cavs who were undefeated at home. There had been a big distraction with the Raptors, as Chris Bosh's name had recently been in rumors flying all over the internet about Bosh choosing to not return to Toronto according to ESPN analyst, Stephen A. Smith.

The Raptors made another lineup adjustment where Jermaine O'Neal got the start at forward, Jamario Moon moved to the bench and Bargnani remained the starting centre.

Lebron and the Cavs got it started early. In the first four minutes, Lebron slammed it home twice as the Cavs got to a quick 14-4 lead. Lebron James went 6-6 and had 16 points within the first eight minutes of the first. As far as the Raps...Andrea Bargnani's first three attempt? Airball.

As Lebron got it going, the rest of the team followed. Boobie Gibson and Mo Williams hit back to back threes to get up 32-14. And then, Boobie Gibson hit another three.

Jamario Moon's jumper? Airball. I mean, are the Raptors this bad? It's one thing to lose games and it's another thing when they're chucking up airballs. The Cavs nailed unconstested shots as the Raptors' D stunk. And their offense stunk as well in the first. The Raps finished the first quarter missing 7 straight shots. After one quarter, the Cavs led 37-15. Ugh.

The Raps played a bit better in the second outscoring the Cavs in the second 25-22 and the Cavs had a 19 point lead at the half. The Cavs shot 52% from the floor vs. the Raptors' 38%. For a team that is normally a good three point shooting team, the Raptors only hit one three in the first half.  With the three bigs in O'Neal, Bosh & Bargnani there to defend the middle, the Raptors were still outscored 22-12 in the paint.

In the third quarter, the Raptors continued their poor shooting until Joey Graham and Jermaine O'Neal helped make a run in the third. The Raptors defense had improved dramatically leading to better offensive opportunites. Joey Graham hit a jumper to make it a 9 point game and then J.O. hit the jumper to make it an 8 point game down 74-66. The Raptors outscored the Cavs 26-14 in the third quarter.

Chris Bosh had a stellar game leading to the fourth. J.O. and Bosh were getting it done inside against Anderson Varajeo. Bosh took it to Varajeo, got the foul, hit 1/2 free throws to get it within 7 points. As they were making the run, Bosh tried to slam it home, only to get it swatted by Lebron. Midway through the fourth, Lebron hit his 12,000th point to become the youngest player to achieve this feat. The wheels just fell off at that point, Cleveland would just drive the ball and kick it out to the three point shooter. Cleveland hit 11 threes against the Raptors' lone three to beat the Raps 101-83.

Key Notes:
Lebron James had 33 pts, 7 rebounds and 4 assists
Daniel "Boobie" Gibson had 18 off of the bench with 4 threes
Chris Bosh had 29 pts to lead the Raps
J.O. & Bargnani combined for 30 pts & 18 boards

First, Lebron, now Kobe, as the Raptors play the Lakers on Wednesday night.

[hype]

SUCKA FREE 7: Who didn't suck in the NBA last week

Written by Romy Aquino on .

Chris Paul

Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets didn't suck
Last week: 27 pts, 5.5 boards, 9.3 assists, 3.8 steals
CP3 was bananas last week. Two of his biggest games: He had 38 points against the San Antonio Spurs and on January 26th,the 08-09 all-star flirted with a quadruple double with 27 pts, 15 assists, 10 boards,7 steals against the Sixers. The Hornets sit three games behind San Antonio in the Southwest.

Antawn Jamison of the Washington Wizards didn't suck
Last week: 24.5 pts, 13 rebounds, 1.8 steals
Even though the Wizards sit at the bottom of the standings, Antawn Jamison remains a consistent performer.  Jamison had four consecutive double doubles in his last four games: 25pts/12reb, 25pts/15reb, 21pts/12reb and 27pts/13 rebounds.

Charlie Villanueva of the Milwaukee Bucks didn't suck
Last week: 24 pts, 8.3 rebounds, 3/5 assists, 1.4 blocks
With Michael Redd going down with a season ending torn MCL/ACL injury, Charlie V has scored some buckets. The former Raptor stuck it to his former team with 26 pts and 13 rebounds in the win and then topped off the Hawks with 27 points, 7 boards and six assists. Charlie V has put up numbers last week that are well above his 15 ppg season average.

Mo Williams of the Cleveland Cavaliers didn't suck
Last week: 25 pts, 4.5 rebounds, 6 assists
Mo Williams made an all-star run a little too late but put up a monster game against the Sacramento Kings last week. Mo Williams put up an almost-triple-dub with 43 pts, 11 assists and 8 boards. The Cavs are 6-1 in their last seven.

The San Antonio Spurs didn't suck
Last week: 3-0
We're a little tired of putting the Boston Celtics on this list, so we're gonna look at the West this week. The Spurs have gone 3-0 knocking off the Utah Jazz, the Phoenix Suns and the New Orleans Hornets.They beat the Jazz and Suns on the road building on their impressive 14-7 road record. Tony Parker was named to the all-star team last week and was also named the Player of the Week.

Check out the Manu Ginobili dunk on Hilton Armstrong from last week:


Smell that aftershave!


[hype]

Superman Super on Superbowl Sunday

Written by Romy Aquino on .

Dwight Howard
Magic 113, Raps 90

Dwight Howard just had a dunk contest on the Raps. Superman had 29 points on 11/19 shooting, 14 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block and a bajillion dunks on the Raptors.

The Magic just got it going, when you have a big man down low, a bunch of shooters on the outside and then have the Raps not play any D? Of course, it's going to lead to a Magic win.

The Goods for the Magic

The Three ball: Orlando had 13 threes. Rashard Lewis hit 4 threes, Jameer Nelson had 3 threes, Courtney Lee had 3 threes, Turkoglu, Pietrus and Anthony Johnson chipped in with1 three. The Raps threes? They only hit two. And when the Magic weren't shooting threes, they fed it to Dwight Howard inside, whofinished with29 points.

Dwight Howard: No one could touch him. He had 18 pts and 9 rebounds at halftime where the Magic led by six.

The Raps third quarter: Orlando Magic held the Toronto Raptors to only 18 points in the third quarter. TheMagic started the third on a 20-6 run. The Orlando Magic led 87-65 after the third quarter.

The Goods for the Raps
There wasn't much there.

Jose Calderon led the way for the Raptors scoring 16 pts, 6 assists and 2 steals.

Joey Graham had a double double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

You know it's a blowout when...

...Nathan Jawai get some PT.

Jawai Watch: 2:57 of garbage time and1 turnover

The Raptors fall to 19-30 and are 4 games out of the 8th spot. The Raps are at Cleveland on Tuesday.

Dwight Howard as Stan Van Gundy

Written by Romy Aquino on .

Orlando Magic coach, Stan Van Gundy can be a pretty animated guy on the bench. Apparently, Dwight Howard does a good Stan Van Gundy impression and before today's game he brought it out for Raptors TV.

 

[hype]
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