Trish Thornton's Sports Column Archives

And as for Mr. Bird... he's going to hang up the hightops again this year and leave the Pacers' coaching job to someone else. That might just be the incentive to get these chronic underachievers off their skinny behinds and go out and win the Big One(TM) for the Bird. CTVSportsnet.com's Howard Bloom hears the Bird may be feathering his nest in Beantown again:

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Hogtown Happenings
Vince Carter, your 15 minutes are up. Sometimes being called the "next big thing" isn't the best thing for a young athlete. Witness Eric Lindros's inability to become "the Next One" in the NHL. The Raptors have been shaky after the All-Star break... Coach Carter thinks Mr. Carter must get his head back in the real game if the Raptors want to make a charge through the playoffs.

Sometimes a kid as talented as Vince needs a little humbling, but make no mistake, the guy is the real thing, slump or no slump. Air Carter. Here's what CTVSportnet.com's Paul Jay says about the NBA's next one:

"Jordan was rookie of the year. So was Carter. Jordan's first year club finished with a .463 winning percentage and missed the playoffs. Carter's finished with a .460 winning percentage and missed the playoffs. In Jordan's second full year he won the Slam Dunk contest and guided his team to the playoffs, albeit with a record of 40-42. Carter also won the Slam Dunk contest and is on his way to his first playoff appearance."

Read more at:
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Argh!
The Grizzlies continue to break the hearts of their fans. Monday night, they were oh-so-close pulling off their first win ever against the Cavaliers. They were moments away from having a modest 6-4 record in their last 10 games. But no. Overtime killed the bears. But the team showed some grit and dedication... star forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim played 43 minutes despite suffering from the flu and picked up 17 points and 9 rebounds. If that doesn't give the team leadership and incentive for the game against the Bulls Tuesday, nothing will.

(And what is the record against Cleveland, you ask? 0-8. Argh!)

Who's hot
** The Indiana Pacers have won 20 in a row at home... how's that for making a statement about being best in the East? This year has seen their star Reggie Miller become one of the best all-round players in the league. Known mostly for his offensive numbers, Reggie has been solid on defence as well, especially in the past 10 games or so. His leadership up and down the court might be the key to the Pacers' playoff run.

** The Pacific Division. Portland has won 9 in a row keeping 1 game ahead of the Lakers who have won 7 in a row keeping 9 games ahead of Phoenix, who have won 6 in a row... you get the drift. If anyone thinks the Championship isn't heading to this division they must be sniffing something! Then again, when Golden State and the Clippers are in your division, it's hard NOT to put up such numbers. But we still think you're sniffing something!

Who's not
** The Washington Wizards. Are we allowed to say that? We know Michael is there and everything, but really, shouldn't that have been inspiration? Nope. These kids have lost 7 in a row. They can't blame Gar Heard anymore for the chemistry problems, they won't blame themselves, so who will they blame? Maybe the Presidential race is weighing heavily on their minds this year. Yeah, that's it! Blame Bush!

Trade Deadline Thursday February 24th
Tony Kukoc is the biggest trade we've seen this year. He just made the Sixers a potential playoff powerhouse. He and Iverson are a tandem to be reckoned with. Iverson will only be better with Tony in the lineup, and Kukoc would love to have one more go at playoff success. Look out!

Other names in the trade deadline rumour mill:

Dikembe Mutombo
John Starks
Patrick Ewing (no, really?!)
Glen Rice
Danny Fortson (what, again?)
Shawn Kemp
Tracy McGrady (they wouldn't... they couldn't!)

Keep up with all the trade news at:
http://www.ctvsportsnet.com/nba/

What the fans are saying
The trade deadline is this Thursday and it's got some tongues wagging in the forum about what the Raptors should do.

"Better" says:
"It is quite obvious where the Raptors need help. Point guard. They have a solid starting lineup. Doug Christie, Vince, Oak and AD can all play defence as well as offence. TMac, if he can get 14-15 off the bench, don't let him start. He'll drive teams crazy coming off to give the Raps a sudden boost of the bench. Curry is an amazing shooter but he shouldn't start and have Christie play the 1. What's with all those useless so-called #1 point guards??? Muggsy, Williams, Workman, Dee Brown?? None of them will fill the hole sucessfully. There are a few possibilities that I see where Glen Grunwald can do something about the point guard situation:

1.) Troy Hudson (Clippers) - when you're trading with the Clippers and not touching Odom or Mo Taylor, you don't need to give them much. Here's a guy that just came out of the CBA who deserves to be in the big leagues. He can break defences down with his quickness and unlike Mugssy, is taller than 5'3. He'll average 7-8 pt but will get 6-7 assist with the cast around here. Something similar to the 'Boston trade' will get him here. I think the Clippers can use Alvin Williams, he's not that bad.

2.) Darrell Armstrong (Magic) - to get him, yes, we need to give up TMac. I am totally against not trading TMac. Firstly, we are not sure if he really wants to stay and secondly, Vince Carter will not leave if TMac leaves. The Magic will probably add a sweetener in the trade. They'll do it now because they will be competing with the Bulls to get him in July. They will give up a bit more to get his rights now. If Tracy does leave, we can use the extra cap room to get another big name free agent. Perhaps Jalen Rose???

3.) We can leave the situation as it is and wait for the draft. We have two late picks (ours and Minnesota's.) There are point guard talents in the draft this year. a) Scoonie Penn b) Ed Cota c) Mateen Cleaves d) Eric Barkley e) El-Amin...the problem is, are we too late to get the one that we want??"