Things seemed peachy in June, when Wiggins—the most highly touted basketball prospect since LeBron James—was drafted first overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers. It looked like our hometown hero would be playing alongside Kyrie Irving and fellow Canadians Anthony Bennett and Tristan Thompson. What was not to love? I couldn’t wait for the season to start. […]
Girls with glasses sure would be beautiful if they didn’t wear glasses, huh? That’s what the movies would have you believe, anyway. You all know what I’m talking about. It’s a classic movie trope: the bookish, plain-looking girl with glasses is picked on by everyone because she wears glasses and she’s so boring. But one […]
Even though I expected it to happen, I still can’t believe it actually happened. When Kyle Lowry announced on Wednesday night that he would re-sign with the Toronto Raptors, he not only ensured that the team would get its best player back, but he helped dispel the notion that sought-after free agents won’t sign with […]
It’s a debate I’ve had with my friends a countless amount of times. “Who was the best pro athlete ever to play in Toronto?” This is a really hard question to try and figure out. The answer certainly isn’t all that obvious in Toronto’s case as opposed to other cities in North America. This isn’t […]
Did a UFO really crash in the city of Roswell, New Mexico in 1947? Is it true that the Bermuda Triangle makes ships and planes disappear? Was the moon landing just a hoax? Whether or not you believe in some of these wacky theories, they all have evidence to show that they could actually be […]
Getting back together with your ex is one of the stupidest things you can do. We’ve all been there before. Possibly several times. It’s never something you’re proud of doing, but hopefully it’s something you can at least learn from. When you break up with someone, you’re on top of the world. You no longer […]
Either Greivis Vasquez hadn’t talked things over with his agent, or he just hadn’t listened. Days after the Toronto Raptors’ season-ending game-seven loss to the Brooklyn Nets in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals in early May, players sat down for their exit interviews with team management. After that, they were trotted out one by one to […]
If you were anything like me in high school, you had a bit of trouble getting dates. I was scrawny. I had acne. I lacked the confident, I-don’t-give-a-damn-what-you-think-of-me attitude I have today. And I had a terrible haircut. Acne and confidence issues are normal for adolescents, but there was absolutely no excuse for that haircut. […]
Remember when Super Nintendo came out? I sure do. It was an unbelievable paradigm shift in gaming. Everything that I thought was great about the original Nintendo Entertainment System seemed like complete shit by comparison. The SNES was better in every way imaginable—the graphics, the sound, the controls. The fact that I could actually save […]
Here we are again. Another NBA Finals, another Miami Heat-San Antonio Spurs matchup. For the Heat, it’s their fourth straight trip to the Finals, where they’ll be gunning for the coveted three-peat. The likes of which hasn’t transpired since the early 2000’s when Kobe and Shaq were still teammates. For the Spurs, this is their […]
“Choose the form of the Destructor!” So spake Gozer the Gozerian during the climactic scene of Ghostbusters. The Ghostbusters found themselves atop Dana Barrett’s apartment building, prepared for an epic battle with supernatural forces, and poor Ray Stantz couldn’t help himself. He was only thinking of the most innocuous memory from his childhood—the Stay Puft […]
Well, the Miami Heat are going back to the NBA Finals. It feels like 1998 all over again, doesn’t it? Ah, 1998. I remember it like I remember losing my virginity. But 1998 lasted a lot longer and it was far more satisfying. I turned fourteen in 1998. I was one of about five kids […]
The inaugural “LOVE and Basketball 3 on 3 Tournament” lands in the HoopDome at Downsview Park on March 15th. Several hundred ballers and supporters will come together to raise money for Leave Out Violence, compete against Jonas Valanciunas in a game of ‘bump’, listen to community spokespeople including Jamaal Magloire of Raptor fame, and to […]
Masai Ujuri was already a recipient of the NBA Executive of the Year award when Toronto lured him out of Denver, and since coming to Toronto he has made a couple of huge trades to shed some cap off the Raptors’ books by dealing away bad contracts former GM Bryan Colangelo had given out. Yes, […]
First and foremost, for all you Michael J. Fox megafans (and really, who isn’t one?) expecting a recap of the delightful romp Doc Hollywood– a winning film concerning the comic and romantic entanglements of a big city doctor stuck in a small town- I sincerely apologize. This is not that article and, in all likelihood, […]
In the days between Game 6 and 7, I dreamed of the article I’d write after the Spurs won. Championing coherent role players, fluid ball movement, and hard nosed defense, another ring for Gregg Popovich, Tim Duncan, and the rest of the silver and black would cement their legacy as the only true post-Millennium dynasty […]
I want to give you a comprehensive overview of every struggle, every triumph of the Eastern Conference in the vein of this companion piece, but I’m afraid I lack the experiential evidence necessary to provide fresh insight. During the heightened feast of playoff season, particularly the earlier rounds, there are so many games, of so […]
The Western Conference playoffs started with a bang and ended in a whimper. Not to say the Spurs put down the Grizzlies without a fight, because the noble bears certainly mounted a worthy struggle, but after the first two dominating games, there was no competitive tension left in the series, the San Antonio victory already […]
Once again, the King was crowned MVP. Yeah, he had a stellar season and deserves it, but the vaulted company he joins as a four time winner feels more than a little premature. Like every step of his career, we rushed to decorate the greatest player in the world, fueling his sense of entitlement and […]
Following a Game 5 loss to the Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson accused the victors of “dirty plays” and intentionally targeting Steph Curry’s bum ankle. Whether or not he had ground for the insult, and it’s fairly clear he didn’t, it was a punk move by a supposed proponent of “old school” […]
In Los Angeles, we have a special way of solving just about any problem: throw money at it. Be it luxury homes, street whips, blockbuster movies, or sports franchises, the solution to Angelino woes is often a swift financial influx trying to buy the problem away. As often as it works, we are also given […]
In the fourth quarter against the Warriors, Kobe Bryant moved against Harrison Barnes and began a cut to the rim, falling well short with minor defensive contact and a sudden twist, an improbable foot placement and tension tweak that lead to a tear in his Achilles. Staggering, he made two free throws, tried to walk […]
Jay-Z loves the Game, any Game with a capital ‘G.’ He’s a born hustler, thriving off struggle and success, figuring out situational specifics on the fly. Having conquered the crack Game, the rap Game, and the entertainment mogul Game, he’s hungry for another contest and it’s led him straight to sports. Last week, Yankees second […]
There’s a lot to nitpick in college basketball, the often sloppy recklessness unappealing to seasoned NBA viewers accustomed to a more polished level of play. And the playoff system itself- the randomness of letting a small conference nobody knock a top contender out in the first round- seems sacrilegious to a viewer raised on grind-out […]
Over All-Star Weekend and weeks prior, we celebrated a legend’s 50th birthday, the maturation of the greatest basketball player to ever grace the court. Viewers were force-fed career highlights and barraged by personal profiles; Michael Jordan was everywhere and everyone had nothing but the best things to say. Though deserved, the celebration came at the […]
The NBA season is winding to a close but the playoff picture is incomplete. With many significant teams still jockeying for position, the squads best poised to play through June are already clear. You may say it’s early, that I’m too quick to be dismissive, or that my analysis is erroneous. All these are fair. […]