Sport Be Sporty: February 2010

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Shock And Awe

The picture is fitting right? Because doesn't Kevin Durant remind you of that cheap video game player your best friend always created? You know what I'm talking about, the one that was taller than anyone else at their position, could score from anywhere, could move incredibly fast for their height, and had 99 overall everything?

Well, that's what the Raptors had to deal with tonight. Except in this scenario, you nor they could press pause or choose to play another game. Instead, this team was forced to sit there and witness an absolute blitzkrieg in the form of the Thunder offense.

It wasn't even fair. And that was made obvious from the start.

Yet though the Thunder dug our grave, we certainly handed them the shovel. I lost count of how many silly or unforced turnovers the Raps committed; only for OKC to run it down our throat right after. Which brings me to my next point.

This season definitely has had its ups and downs. You never know which Raptors team we'll get to show up. But one thing we can be certain about - night in and night out - is that this team will struggle against athletic squads. This game had shades of what happened when we ran into Atlanta twice this season. Not pretty at all.

With the Olympics now over, the question "Do you believe?" can finally be replaced with "When does Chris Bosh come back?".

Because if you haven't noticed yet, the Raptors suddenly find themselves on the verge of slipping in the standings:

(5) Toronto: 31-27
(6) Chicago: 31-28
(7) Milwaukee: 30-29
(8) Charlotte: 28-29
(9) Miami: 29-31

In what was first a situation that had Raptors players telling the media that the playoffs were a guarantee, and all that mattered was where they finished; has now turned into something far from that. Only 3 games separate Miami from Toronto. And as usual with tight races, one of these four teams will unfortunately miss out on the post-season.

Yes, Canada beat USA for the gold medal in hockey.

And of course, Canada set a new standard in gold medal count at the Winter Games.

Heck, even Canada's own Blueprint Cru is invading the America's Best Dance Crew show.

So with that said, I guess you can't win them all - as long as you win more than Chicago, Milwaukee, Charlotte, and Miami that is.

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Maria sharapova beautifull tennis star

She was born on April 19, 1987 in Nyagan, a town in the Siberian region of Russia. In 1989, she moved with the family to the Black Sea resort town of Sochi. When she was 4 years old, a chance encounter changed her life, the father of tennis champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov, and the man gave her a racket. Since then, she started hitting tennis balls. The game became a passion for her.

With a deadly backhand, Maria Sharapova was the youngest titlist on the WTA Tour in 2003 with two championships under her belt. Although she has since curbed her enthusiasm somewhat, she was called to be the "Siberian Siren" because of her extremely loud grunting whenever she hit the ball

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Maria sharapova

Maria sharapova star player

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Maria sharapova

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Maria sharapova pic

Friday, February 26, 2010

Canada's Got Talent; With Chris Bosh As Guest Judge

You can't tell me it didn't cross his mind. At least once. It had to.

Forget American Idol. Who cares about America's Got Talent. This is the Canadian counterpart of the NBA, and it was the only thing that Chris Bosh cared about on this night.

Yeah sure, Shaq was out. But no one in their right mind would say O'Neal's absence would have more of an impact than Bosh's absence. The Raptors rely on CB4 every night, and as their MVP, Toronto has every right to do so. Averaging 24 points and 11 rebounds a game, he is Toronto's centerpiece in the grand scheme of things. With that in mind, no one expected the Raptors to even stand a chance tonight against the first place Cleveland Cavaliers. Perhaps not even Chris Bosh...

But boy was everyone who doubted the Raps in for a treat.

Though Toronto was unable to come away with the win in an attempt to satisfy the ruckus sold out crowd at the Air Canada Centre, they did manage to impress the most important fan. Tonight, the Raptors proved several things to Chris Bosh:

1. He is surrounded by a team who wants to win as bad as he does.
2. There is talent throughout the roster; both young and of the veteran type.
3. This team has a city ready to back it up.
4. The roster is built for him, meant to take advantage of his strengths.

Make no doubt about it. Chris Bosh probably walked away from that game feeling more satisfied than any of those who managed to take in the game on a Olympic Semi-Finals night. The fact that he was so engaged through the entire game speaks volumes about what he feels in regards to this franchise and city.

With that said, it's most definitely time for the captain to return. Let's all hope that ankle of his feels better soon, because the Bucks and Bulls are galloping for us fast. Momentum is everything in the NBA, and it's starting to feel like we're losing the steam we built up before the All-Star break.

Regardless, great game tonight boys. This city easily forgives you for letting this one slip away. The team played with passion, and that's all we ever ask. On top of that, we're all hopeful Chris Bosh saw what we saw tonight.

You take James away from Cleveland, or Wade away from Miami, and I can guarantee you their respective teams don't put up as big of a fight as Toronto did without their star. Bosh has got to feel good about that, and Toronto should too.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Cavs @ Raptors Preview: Reaching Over The Panic Button For My Coffee

It's not exactly time to push the big red button. Not just yet. Soon maybe. But not right now at least. Like Jarrett Jack always says - "It's best to stay even keel". Never get too high, nor too low. So with that said, let's look at what going good for the Raps, and what we can legitimately worry about.

First, the things that keep me up at night when it comes to our Raptors:

Since the team has come back from the All-Star break, they've been playing .500 ball with a record of 2-2.

Memphis L 102-109
New Jersey W 106-89
Washington W 109-104
Portland L 87-107

I'm going to ignore the New Jersey game, because any form of analysis that includes the Nets shouldn't be taken too seriously. So with that said, in our 3 most recent games, what I find most troubling is our defense. It feels like we've resorted back to our defensive ways from earlier on in the season. We're giving up 106 pts per game in each of our 3 losses. Obviously, the stats don't tell us everything, like the fact that the Memphis game went to Overtime, or that Bosh hasn't played in 3 of the 4 games. However, I can't even remember how many times I've heard Leo, Jack, and Matt Devlin talk about "Defense" during this recent stretch of games. With Bosh out, we lose a lot of our offensive firepower, and what's going to keep us afloat is steady defense. Gotta find it again!

The other negative: When's Bosh coming back?!?!

In these last few games, we've gotten a glimpse of what life would be like without Bosh. We had a scare in New Jersey, we almost lost to Washington, and we got our butts handed to us by Portland. To keep things short and sweet: Please hurry back, and please don't leave!

Now onto the greener grass!

Why exactly did I put up a picture of Hedo in his Magic jersey? Because that's the Hedo we've been seeing in the last two games now. Someone needs to look into the possibility that he may have an evil twin, before banning him from the Raptors locker room. This is the Turkoglu we've all been waiting for. One that's aggressive, willing to make the big play, and full of leadership. He doesn't exactly have that "Magic Swag" yet. But come playoff time, I fully expect him to start popping his Raptors jersey.

Secondly, how big has Jarrett Jack been? If there's one thing I've enjoyed while Bosh has been sidelined, it's the emergence of his fellow Yellow Jacket. Sure, he's had his big moments here and there, but lately, Jack has taken it to another level. It reminds me a lot of when TJ Ford took over when Bosh went down to injury in our Atlantic winning season. The guy has been smooth out there on the court. And speaking of smooth, I'm pretty sure I saw you downtown Toronto. I didn't bother you or anything, but you were wearing a hat that convinced me you could be Ne-Yo for Halloween. It's perfect considering that win against the Wizards was all "Because of You".

With all that said, it's time for another date with the Cleveland LeBrons. There's no Shaq, but there's also no Bosh. To me, that means no pressure! If Cleveland wins, we can genuinely point to the fact that we don't have our MVP. However if we win, it would be MAJOR IMPRESSIVE considering Cleveland was able to dismantle a Pierce-less Celtics team the night before.

It isn't the end of the world if we lose, but it sure would be nice if we could walk out of this with the win (especially with OKC and Houston on the horizon). Remember to catch the game tonight on TSN2 at 7:00 pm est.

P.S. Go Canada Go!

Batista wwe pictures

Batista wwe pic

Batista latest news

In the latest update on the official website of Batista, www.Demon-Wrestling.com, his people are saying he won't be cleared to return to the ring from injury for five or six months. WWE still had hopes for Batista to wrestle at WrestleMania, but that's off the cards now. Here is his website
's statement:

Dave's recovery is going very well. He's in the gym twice a day but being very cautious.

Looking forward to coming back as soon as he's able.

Doubtful he'll be cleared before 5-6 months but he'll be back stronger and better than ever