More World Juniors Action

After a shaky 6-3 win vs the Czech Republic, Team Canada had an easy game on their hands to tune up for tonight's game vs Sweden. Their game vs Norway was easy, despite being out 4 players (Zach Kassien - two-game suspension for a supposed "hit to the head" on a Czech player; Cody Eakin - injury to right hand - sat out game vs Norway; Calvin de Haan - leg injury vs Czech Repbulic; and Jaden Schwartz - out for entire tournament with fractured ankle. Kassien will also miss tonight's key game vs Sweden as well due to his suspension. Back to the game against Norway...the Canadians won 10-1 and budding star Brayden Schenn (younger brother of Toronto Maple Leafs player Luke Schenn) scored 4 goals (tieing a Canadian world juniors record for most goals in a game by a single player) and picked up an assist as well. Other big goal scorers were Casey Cizakas (who scored the game's first goal 2 minutes in), Erik Gudbranson who scored twice, and Marcus Foligno. Canada outshot Norway 43-32 and backup goaltender Mark Visentin was masterful, stopping all but 1 of the shots. He replaced wobbly starter Ollivier Roy (who is NOT related to former NHL great Patrick Roy by the way) and took advantage of the opportunity. During the game, captain Ryan Ellis also set a tournament record: by assisting on two of Schenn's 4 goals, he broke Reijo Ruotsalainen's record for most career tournament points by a defencemen. Now, the Canadians will need to get ready for the tough matchup tonight against Sweden. The game will air on TSN at 3:30 PM this afternoon. Until then, stay warm and have a happy New Year! Here's the recap: Depleted Canadian Roster Romps Over Weak Norwegians 

First World Junior Hockey Championships Post

So yesterday was the big day: the opening game of the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships for 2010-2011, held in Buffalo, New York. The match was between Canada and Russia. It was a close matchup until the 3td period, when Brayden Schenn and Ryan Johanesen scored twice to give Canada the lead for good at 5-3. Canada went 3-5 on the power-play, scoring 3 times while taking only 3 penalties themselves. Marcus Foligno scored first for Canada late in the 1st period to tie the game at 1-1. Team captain Ryan Ellis and Erik Gudbranson also scored in the 6-3 victory over Russia. Shots on goal for the game was Canada 42, Russia 27. Next, Canada plays against the Czech Republic tomorrow. We'll see how they will do against them. Here's the game recap: Canada Grits it out vs Russia in Win  Tonight, the Raptors return from their Christmas break to play in Memphis against the Grizzlies. Also too, Toronto re-signed Ronald Dupree: Dupree is Raptors 15th Man  Until tomorrow, I'll see you later!

HUGE NBA Trade, Raptors and Knights News

Wow, what a development! I've just come from reading about shocking NBA trade news involving the Washington Wizards, Phoenix Suns, and Orlando Magic. Orlando sent Vince Carter, Marcin Gortat, and Mickael Pietrus to Phoenix in return for Jason Richardson, Hedo Turkoglu, and Earl Clark. Jason Richardson can now team up once again with Quentin Richardson just like they did in their old days in L.A. when they were with the Clippers years ago. The only differences are: they're older, and swingman Darius Miles isn't with them as he was in the Clippers days. Orlando also sent Rashard Lewis to Washington for Gilbert Arenas in a separate trade move. This means that Raptors fans will NOT see Vince Carter play against the Raptors in Toronto until February 25. That will be the ONLY time this season that Vince returns to Toronto as well. Here are the links to the trade news: Suns Staff Reports on Trade, Wizards Staff Reports on Trade

In other news, Toronto pulled off a huge comeback against the Eastern-Conference-worst New Jersey Nets after two disappointing losses in a row to Charlotte and Chicago. Andrea Bargnani was great in this game, earning 32 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks in approximately 38 minutes of work. He was especially dominating in the 2nd half where he scored 24 points on 10-15 shooting. The other great thing about this game was that it featured the return of starting point guard Jose Calderon. This proved to be immediately effective as he scored a steady 15 points on 7-9 shooting and earned 14 assists. He, like Bargnani, was also better in the 2nd half, getting 11 points, 8 assists, and only 1 turnover. Now, about that comeback...it was earned by a solid 2nd half, ending with a superb 4th quarter. With New Jersey leading 79-73 with 9:27 left in the final quarter to play, Toronto used a 16-2 run over the next 4 minutes to take an 8-point lead. The Nets wouldn't back down however and pulled to within 2 points with 38 left. Then, on Toronto's next possession, Andrea Bargnani matched up against New Jersey star point guard Devin Harris and called for the ball. He promptly received it, and passed it to reserve guard Leandro Barbosa when a second New Jersey Nets player came over to double-team on Bargnani. Barbosa nailed down the 3-pointer to put Toronto up 97-92 with 15 seconds left. After that, it was over and T.O. won the game.

Some numbers before I talk about the London Knights...
- The Raptors picked up 26 assists on 40 shots.
- Reserve small forward Linus Kleiza picked up a career-high 12 rebounds and 4 assists in the game.
- With the Raptors win, Andrea Bargnani has led the team 15 times in scoring this year.
- Toronto has now won 6 straight games vs the New Jersey Nets.
- In the game on Friday, the Toronto starting lineup players combined for 85 points, which is a team-high this season.
Here is the recap for the game: Raptors Earn Another Comeback Victory

Toronto's next game is Sunday vs Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers at 1:00 PM. The game will air on TSN. Now, onto the Knights...

On Friday, the Knights played their final game before their Christmas break. It was at home in the John Labatt Centre against the Owen Sound Attack. London played a great game, winning 4-1. London owned the shots on goal category by a count of 41-30. Goals by the Knights were scored by Vladislav Namestnikov, Andreas Athanasiou, Scott Harrington and Stephen Sanza. Owen Sound's only goal came by Robby Mignardi. London now doesn't play until the 29th vs the Guelph Storm on the road. That game starts at 7:00 PM. Here's the recap of the victory vs the Owen Sound Attack: Knights get Christmas Present from Owen Sound

Well, that's all. Be sure to catch the action between the Raptors and the Lakers on Sunday. Until then, you all take care.  

Commenting on the BEST Raptors Comeback Ever, Other news...

On Saturday, the Toronto Raptors shocked the NBA...well, at least they shocked the Detroit Pistons anyway! This team came back from 25 points down to defeat Detroit in a thriller, 120-116. Of course, as life would have it, I couldn't see the game because I was at church. It's all right though; you have to put the most important things first or you risk committing idolatry. Back to the Raptors though...the Pistons in the game scored 72 first-half points and had the Raptors down by 25 points late in the 3rd quarter. With 10:37 left in the final frame, T.O. was still down by 17 before they embarked on their furious rally. They started with a 17-6 run to make the score 110-104. After that Toronto in effect said, "Bombs away!" and started nailing 3-pointers left and right! Key contributers and stars Leandro Barbosa, Andrea Bargnani, and Jerryd Bayless went back-to-back-to-back on the next three Raptors possessions to give the team a 113-110. Free throws sealed the deal after. The star of the game wasn't Andrea Bargnani, Sonny Weems, DeMar DeRozan, or even a solid player of the likes of Amir Johnson or Linus Kleiza. Instead, it was the reserve guard Jerryd Bayless, who has had to play on the starting lineup because of a current injury to Jose Calderon. He collected a career-high-tying 31 points to go along with 7 assists and 5 rebounds. However, Jerryd was, according to the recap, "just as guilty as several of his teammates for some troubling defensive play that led to easy Detroit buckets in the first half." I guess that's how good players are born though: you learn how to battle through the tough times to get the victory. Some final notes from the game before I give out the sports links: 
- The Raptors shot an unbelievable 64.3% from the 3-point line in the game.
- They also shot a torrid 62.9% overall for the entire contest. It must have been some game. Now the team gets to rest until Tuesday night when they travel to Charlotte, North Carolina to take on the Bobcats. That game starts at 7 PM on TSN. Read how Toronto achieved their AMAZING comeback! 


Now, for the London Knights...it's been a rough ride for them this year. They are currently sitting at 14-14, good for 7th place in the Ontario Hockey League's Western Conference. This weekend, they lost a tough game on Thursday to the Guelph Storm in London with a score of 4-3. Here's the recap for the Guelph game. After that, the Knights hosted the Erie Otters on Friday on the night of their annual "teddy bear toss". Fans will usually bring a teddy bear or any other stuffed animal to those games and throw them onto the ice when the Knights score their 1st goal. The goodies usually benefit a local London organization such as the Salvation Army. As for the game, the Knights were humiliated 9-4 at the hands of Erie. Here's that game.  The Knights finally got some good news to finish off their weekend. They defeated the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds 4-2 behind goals from Jared Knight, Daniel Erlich, Chris DeSouza, and Seth Griffith. The Greyhound goals came from Rudy Sulmonte and Brett Findlay. The shots on goal for the game benefited the London Knights by a count of 51-30. (Sounds like a halftime score for an NBA basketball game!) One final note: a fight took place in the game between London's Victor Terreri and Sault Ste. Marie's Dylan King. They both received a 5 minute major penalty for the fight. Here is the recap link.    


London now plays Friday vs the Owen Sound Attack to finish off their 4-game home-stand. The game starts at 7:30 PM. Also too, I have some bad news: the Miami Heat have now won 8 straight games and sit in 2nd place in the NBA's Eastern Conference. However, LeBron was booed almost every time he touched the ball in those wins, so it all evens out! Don't worry; there can still be upsets when it comes to the playoffs! Don't count out teams like the Spurs to trash Miami when those times come! Here are the recaps: Heat's Win vs Golden State, Heat's Win vs Sacramento Until the Raptors play next, take care!

Bargnani's Best Night Ever...and Still a Raptors Loss

Yes, it's true. Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors had his best night ever, scoring 41 points last night at Madison Square Garden in New York against the Knicks. However, it still wasn't enough to prevent a 3rd straight Raptors defeat at the hands of a mighty star by the name of Amare Stoudamire. Amare and Bargnani were both dominant in the 4th quarter, with Amare scoring 18 of his 34 points in that frame. Andrea meanwhile, scored 15 points of his own in the 4th, trying valiantly to keep up with the imposing power forward. In the end, however, it was a lucky Raymond Felton 3-pointer that sealed the deal for the Knicks, 113-110. That shot happened after Linus Kleiza was whistled for a pathetic 5-second inbounding violation! Yeah, that's right...even the pros make childish and rookie mistakes sometimes! I guess the Raptors were either well-defended by the Knicks or they were simply out of timeouts. Either way, that mistake proved fatal. Before that Felton three happened, Andrea Bargnani also hit a big three which tied the game at 110. He did get one last try for a 3-pointer after Raymond Felton's miracle shot, but it was much too deep for him to get a great shot off with 2.7 left to play. Andrea also picked up 7 rebounds and a surprising 6 assists along the way. As for Amare Stoudamire, he also picked up 14 rebounds in the 6th straight victory for the Knicks. Toronto has now lost all 3 times to the Knicks so far this season and are in danger of being the 1st Raptors roster since the Kevn O'Neil-coached 2003-2004 roster did it. To avoid that, they will have to defeat the Knicks in New York on April 5th. Other numbers from the game include:
- a 25-8 edge in terms of bench scoring for the Raptors
- Raptors giving up only 11 turnovers in the game
- a 60-48 edge in terms of points in the paint for the Raptors
Here is the recap for the heartbreaking loss in which Toronto played SO WELL: Andrea Bargnani Falls JUST Short of Winning it for Raps

Next up for the Raptors is a game against the Denver Nuggets on Friday back home at the Air Canada Centre. Denver has always been tough against the Raptors, especially since they feature players such as star forward Carmelo Anthony, Chris Anderson, Chauncey Billups (who won a championship with the Detroit Pistons back in 2004 vs the Los Angeles Lakers), J.R. Smith, Marcus Camby (who played for Toronto back in the 1997 and 1998 seasons, when the Raps were still an expansion club), Kenyon Martin, etc. Yep, it's going to be tough for Toronto but they must win if they want to break free of this 3-game slide which has knocked them down to being 10th in the Eastern Conference and again out of a playoff spot for the moment. The game starts at 7 PM on TSN.

Also in the news, the Miami Heat have won their 6th straight game. I'm not surprised now. Here's the recap: HORRIBLE Game from Jazz Helps Traitor King Win 6th Straight  The good thing is, LeBron got booed by the Utah crowd, even if he did almost get a triple-double in the game.

On a much happier note, Orlando Magic guard Vince Carter has apparently returned from an earlier injury and is now playing well for Orlando. They play tonight vs the Portland Trailblazers. Here's the game night info from the Magic's website: Magic vs Blazers Preview

Next blog entry...Raptors and Knights updates. The London Knights play tonight at home in the John Labatt Centre vs the Guelph Storm. Puck drop time is at 7 PM. I'm Nick White. See you next time!  

Raptors Left in Dust in Indiana

Another blog post, and there's another Raptor loss to discuss. The team finished their latest back-to-back by playing against the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis last night. Needless to say, it apparently must not have gone over well for Toronto who lost by a stunning 24 points, 124-100. I guess it's a good thing that I wasn't able to watch this debacle take place. This loss drops Toronto to 8-13, just a half-game ahead of Milwaukee, Charlotte, and Cleveland for 8th place in the Eastern Conference. The scarier part of all this is that only TWO games separate Toronto from the worst place East team, the New Jersey Nets! Indiana meanwhile, is only three games ahead of the Raptors! The Pacers improved to 10-9 on the year. Indiana had 7 of their players reach double-digits in scoring, including Brandon Rush with 26 points and Danny Granger with 21. Speaking of Rush, he went 10-18 from the floor, including shooting 6-8 on 3-pointers. As I said, this was a horrible night for the Raptors. Andrea Bargnani scored only 12 points on an off night. Now, Toronto goes to New York tomorrow night to seek revenge against the Knicks for defeating them BOTH TIMES at the Air Canada Centre this season. The game time is 7:30 PM. Here's the recap for this abomination of a basketball game: Pacers Run Over our Raptors in Indianapolis By the way, remember how I said that Milwaukee, Cleveland, and Charlotte are a half-game behind the Raptors? Well, the Miami Heat had a hand in that last night as they went to Milwaukee and defeated the Bucks 88-78 for their 5th straight win. All of a sudden, the criticisms and booing have seemed to stop. Fear not, readers; it will come up again if Miami fails to win the NBA championship this year. Mark my word, that WILL happen; Boston, Orlando, L.A. Lakers, and San Antonio have a MUCH better shot at that ring than do the 4th-place Eastern Conference Miami Heat! Here's the recap: Bucks Dropped by Heat

That's all for this entry. Be sure to tune in tomorrow night for Toronto's game in New York, where they've had better success in recent years against the pesky Knicks. Until then, game on readers...game on!  

Latest Raptors and Knights News

Here are the latest Raptors and Knights links:
Great 3rd Makes Thunder Not Heard in T.O. (In that 3rd quarter, Toronto finished 11-2 in fast break points, 12 assists and a 17-4 scoring run that gave the Raptors control of the game for good. For the game, Toronto shot 54.9% and Jose Calderon grabbed 15 assists. You can't ask for more.)

Knicks Crush Raptors Again, Amare is the Hero (The Raptors lost this game 116-99. This was a crushing defeat as this team struggles to maintain its 8th-place seeding in the East.)

Majors Victorious Against Knights; 4-1

Whalers Sink Knights in Plymouth; 4-1

Well, there you go. The Raptors are playing tonight vs the Pacers in Indiana to close out a back-to-back. The game can be seen on Rogers Sportsnet One if you get it. If not, you can always just tune in to the Fan 590 (a Toronto sports radio station) to hear the game. For the rest of us, we will just have to wait for the final scores and recaps tomorrow. Have a good day folks!

LeBron James the Lyin' King Puts on Show in Cleveland, Other Sports News

For all of you Cleveland Cavaliers fans out there, you heard right. Last night - the night that saw LeBron play in your arena for the first time since his "Decision" - the guy put on a show. The classless "King" himself decided to show off and rub it in your faces going for 38 points through 3 quarters of play. (He sat out the entire 4th quarter afterwards.) In the 3rd, he scored 24 points to break open your wounds even more and to top it all off, he even taunted your players bench in the period! And to think that he had told reporters before the game that it was all just a regular game! However, the statistics on LeBron for the night prove him to be nothing more than a dishonest liar: 38 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block. To your credit, most of you were well-behaved. Oh there were some drunken idiots and morons, but security quickly escorted them out of Quicken Loans Arena. The final score by the way was Miami 118, Cleveland 90. I was repulsed by LeBron's "show" and wished that he had played poorly to show actual appreciation for you in order to back up his empty politically-correct words. Heck, if you guys had of thrown a pie in his face, I would've laughed my butt off! Anyways, I'm done with all of this. Here's the recap for the game: Miami Routs Cleveland Behind their so-called "Royal Majesty" Here's to hoping that you guys have a great year and that you go deep in the playoffs if you make it there; you deserve it after what the NBA's "Judas Iscariot" has done to you!

Amidst all of the hoopla surrounding LeBron's disgraceful return to Cleveland, there was also some London Knights action taking place last night. In Owen Sound, the Knights had to face off against the Owen Sound Attack. London won the game 2-1 behind the scoring of Seth Griffith and Jared Knight. Owen Sound's lone goal came courtesy of Garrett Wilson. The shots on goal favoured Owen Sound 45-30. Here is the recap: Knights Survive Attack in Owen Sound  London plays tonight at home against the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors. The game starts at 7:30 PM. Also too, the Toronto Raptors get back at it inside the Air Canada Centre tonight when they host the Oklahoma City Thunder which features the exciting young duo of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. That game starts at 7 PM on TSN2. Well, that's all for now. Until next time readers, keep a rootin' for your teams!    

Latest NBA News, LeBron Returns to Cleveland Tonight

Well, there's been quite a lot of developments lately. Yesterday, the NBA Fanhouse website reported that Cleveland GM Dan Gilbert (whose famous letter to his fans is on this blog in the July 9 post) is apparently alleging that the Miami Heat "illegally tampered with LeBron James before signing him in July". You can read the stunning article here: LeBron's new team Under Investigation  All I can say is that if Gilbert is correct, then the Miami Heat should be made to pay for these actions. You should NEVER try to tamper with anyone; your only course of action should be trading for players and/or signing them using the NBA rules. As of right now however, this is only rumour-mill talk and we should not be getting upset over it at this point. LeBron, remember...your crimes will find you out, so beware!

All right, on to other news: the Toronto Raptors defeated the Washington Wizards last night at the Air Canada Centre 127-108. The game saw the debut of Raptors rookie and 13th overall pick Ed Davis put in a solid effort on the night. Davis poured in 11 points on a lot of tip-ins and energetic dunks and he also collected 6 rebounds and 2 blocks. Ed also was able to alter plenty of other Washington shots. Jerryd Bayless was also superb in his game last night: 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. Bayless mixed up his game, going both inside and outside and providing Toronto with a look at what he can bring to the team. The game changer for Toronto was DeMar DeRozan. He scored a team-high 20 points and attempted 7 free throws. He also made his only 3-point attempt on the night. As for putting the Wizards away, Toronto did that late in the 1st quarter. The game at the time was tied at 21 with 4:05 left in the 1st quarter. After that Toronto produced a 26-8 run over the next 7 minutes of game play that helped the team to a blowout lead and a season-high 72 points at the half. From there, it was all Raptors as they cruised to the victory. Finally for some numbers from this good effort from the Raptors:
- Toronto collected a season-high 52 rebounds in the game.
- The team is now 7-11 with the win. They sported the exact same record last year at this time.
- 127 points is the team's season-high mark in points.
- The Raptors scored a season-high 62 points in the paint against the Wizards.
- Toronto's bench has outscored their opponents reserves by a combined 112 points during their last 7 games.
Here is the game recap: Toronto Crushes the Spell of Washington's Wizards in Victory

Remember, Cleveland is hosting LeBron James and his Miami Heat team tonight. The game is on at 8 PM. If you can watch the game, DO SO! This will be the first time that LeBron has played in Cleveland since being "traded" from them back in the off-season. I'm rooting for a Cavs victory tonight. You all take care, and peace be with you.