Weekly Banter - ... Short Week

BOD - Sue Ellen Mischke

Short week with the Family Day holiday meant less time for mine and CSzem's workday drivel. Well... I guess not all of it is drivel... only some parts... what parts? ... The drivel parts. I can't say that word and not think of that classic Seinfeld dialogue between Alton Benes and George Costanza. On to the banter...

Gretzpo:

Email banter this week?

I'm not sure how much more I can talk about inflating Jose Bautista's, Travis Snider's and Brandon Morrow's 2011 projections.

Going to the Raps v. Bulls game tonight at the ACC ... although I'm confident only one of those teams will show up. **Note in complete hindsight: they won!

I haven't even watched a Raps game on TV in years ... I think the last game I went to in person was with Tewks against the Atlanta Hawks... I met Jack Armstrong...

"Hey! Jaaack Ahmstrhong!!!"
"Hey! How you doin'?"
(Silence)

I really fucked that interaction up ... I really wasn't expecting the level of sincerity in his voice... he may have actually cared how I was doing... and that surprised me...

A short list of celebrities I've met:

Jarome Iginla (as classy as you'd expect)

Marc Savard

Mike Vernon (a bit stand off-ish ... granted, he did just blow a 3 goal lead in the third period, so maybe give him the benefit of the doubt...)

Lanny MacDonald (what a fantastic moustache...)

John MacDonald's wife (Laura? ... You were there... you should remember... we exchanged pleasantries and canned goods)

JP Ricciardi... even if it was a simple "yo" after I yelled out his name when he was walking out of the Rogers Centre

I'm sure there are others...

Are you watching Survivor this season? I tuned in to see the Russell / Rob clash ... but am sticking around to see the implosion of Phillip... that guy's awesome.

CSzem:

I’m saying yes to e-mail banter. And frankly, I think you’ve got a lot of usable material in there. So consider that the first post. Besides, how are we going to gradually seize control from Tewks unless we out produce him in terms of content for the blog? Once upon a time, this was Gretzpo’s Sports Blog. And now that a much more talented (read: cocky) writer has taken it to new heights, it’s time to take it back. (And for the record, I know for a fact that you can talk a great deal more about inflated projections for Jays’ players)

Jack Armstrong absolutely cared how you were doing. Now, if it was Leo Rautins, he might have punched you in the face and taken your wallet (actually Leo Rautins seems like a good guy too).
I thought it was “Laura” when we met Mrs. John McDonald (“We’re really excited about your husband getting more playing time.” “Us too.”), but I think I’ve heard her referenced as “Lara” on some Jays broadcasts. Our entire relationship was built on a lie now. Although, it would allow me to say “Hey Lara, is John McDonald nice in real life?” (It’s either a really good thing, or a really bad thing that literally none of the readers just got that joke….but you did, Gretzpo, and that’s good enough for me)
I can’t believe you forgot that time we ambushed Aaron Hill and Reed Johnson as they were leaving a men’s washroom in Florida. “HEY! You’re Aaron Hill and Reed Johnson!!” Sadly, with Aaron Hill’s severe concussion just a few short months later, he has no recollection of the encounter.

I am totally on board with this season of Survivor. Phillip is absolutely insane, and I couldn’t be happier about it.

This hasn’t been funny enough, we need to take it in a different direction. Talk to me about the disheveled state of the NBA. This is a league where players can totally control where they want to play, and essentially hold their teams (and their fans) hostage. How can Deron Williams look himself in the mirror tomorrow knowing that he basically forced the longest tenured coach in all of sports (Jerry Sloan) to resign, only to (seemingly) orchestrate his own exit just a few short weeks later? And how is it that the “Melo-Drama” took 7 months, and the Williams deal happened in 3 seconds?

Gretzpo:

The inmates are running the asylum.

So, honestly, what are the chances that any NBA player will ever want to play in Toronto, ever? If collusion and selfishness are what's building the "superpowers" of the league, why would anyone spurn LA, New York or Miami to play in Canada, with all of it's difficulties for American players. (Currency, taxation... etc. You know... all that crap Antonio Davis whined about when he played here.)

Although, let's be honest ... our two marquee free agent signings in the organization have been Hedo Turkoglu and Hakeem Olajuwon's corpse. And Anthony Parker from Israel. Let me know if I'm missing anyone.

But can we really blame the athletes?

You've said yourself you were seriously considering colleges in the States ... I went to school in Budapest, and am looking to re-locate to the UK for my job... why would we expect athletes to not look for greener pastures, just like us?

*** to be continued... or something much more exciting could happen and we'll abandon this line of questioning altogether.