Pukkelpop Forum Forum

zhanjiao1212 · Shelteropener Geregistreerd op: 06 Dec 2018 Berichten: 765

What made the 85 Jays extra special was the relative dearth of mercenaries. Cheap Nike Air Force 1 From China . The eventual 1992/1993 championship squads will always have a place in our memories and civic pride, but the teams were filled with free agent assassins. Those 1980s powder blue warriors claim a place a little deeper, a little less diminished by time, because we were emotionally invested in each players trajectory. A Toronto team hasnt been built that way in a long time.(*Authors Note: Before I cue the obvious comparison, let me state plainly for the record: I am a fan of the Toronto Basketball Club but I HATE THE NAME "RAPTORS". I will suppress my urge to call them by their eventual, rightful name — the Toronto Towers — just to avoid confusion. But understand, every time I type "Raptors", I die a little.)Even in the face of this linguistic predicament, these Raptors have won me over. They are thriving in a delightfully familiar manner, with a buoyant, tough-minded, youthful sense of potential. Like a devoted dog, thought lost for days, scratching at our doorstep impossibly, exhausted, muddied...could it be? Could these upstart Raptors be the generational descendants of the 1985 Jays?Lets ask the pertinent questions, get out the red pen, and assign the grades.Where in the teams history does the season fall?85 BLUE JAYS: A ripe scenario coupled a weary, winner-less town with a franchise still relatively fresh in its ninth season. Mired in expansion doldrums for its first half decade, in 1982, the Blue Jays began an ascent from seventh to sixth place (of a seven-team division). In 1983, it moved into 4th place, winning 89 games, a feat replicated in 1984. 1985 was something new. The club won 99 games (a .615 winning percentage) — more victories than the future World Series teams — and it would stand until today as the greatest record in team history. No Blue Jays, Raptors or Maple Leafs team has had a better winning percentage since the 1934/35 Leafs (30 wins in a 48-game season).14 RAPTORS: This particular comparison would have lined up better for the Wince (not a typo) Carter-era team, had it made good on its promise in 2001, during the teams sixth season. Now 19 years old, the Raptors arent so green. Still, Torontos weariness from being mired in a decades-long losing streak across all major team sports, engulfs the city as it did back then. Further compelling the argument for similarity, is the Raptors current 45-32 record (a .584 winning percentage), which is the best in franchise history.COMPARISON GRADE: C+How skilled and well-loved are the players, and how do they compare with the talent in the league?85 BLUE JAYS: No surprise the best regular season team in Blue Jays history was arguably the most talented. Stacked with classic Jays in their primes, which included starters Dave Stieb and Jimmy Key, emerging closer Tom Henke, the best young outfield in baseball in Lloyd Moseby, George Bell and Jesse Barfield, and eventually-iconic infielders Tony Fernandez and Ernie Whitt, each one was either raised through the system or had their first taste of big league success in Toronto. The city got to watch the talent grow. To that end, not a single player made a million dollars in 1985. All Star Jimmy Key made $131,000. Tom Henke would get votes for MVP...on a $60,000 stipend. The league competition was also first-rate — peep the opposing lineups — as the American League was on the upswing, with Kansas City poised to claim the ALs third consecutive title (the AL would win 8 of 11 going forward).14 RAPTORS: The competition is, uh, less fierce. Beyond the general talent deficit in todays NBA (a column Ill be publishing soon), the Raptors Eastern Conference is particularly woeful. Despite Miamis recent prosperity, the East has won only 5 of the past 15 titles, and will be sending at least one sub-.500 team to the big dance this year (and possibly two). In the West, Memphis could finish 50-32 and still miss the postseason.Putting aside the lesser competition, a different story emerges. Like those early Jays, the Raptors have players worth rallying around. Homegrown DeMar DeRozan, Terrence Ross and Jonas "Wasaga" Valanciunas are legit NBA starters capturing the imaginations of wide-eyed fans. Kyle Lowry and Amir Johnson play the game hard and are easy to root for, as is the surprisingly deep bench. The teams burgeoning continuity is the key ingredient as it was with the Jays: fans getting to root as their local talent grows and matures and succeeds (Gallay derisively glares towards south Florida). Even with the team headed towards their greatest season yet, not a single Raptor is even making a modest ten million dollars a year. (A tumbleweed blows across the screen.)COMPARISON GRADE: C+How were the Leafs, arbiters of the citys sports fortunes, doing at the same time?85 BLUE JAYS: As the 1985 baseball season was kicking off, the NHL season was winding down. Mercifully. The Leafs would finish 20-52-8, the worst season in franchise history (before or since). No surprise. They hadnt posted a winning record in six years. Russ Courtnall, Al Iafrate, Gary Leeman and Steve Thomas were rookies which gave the team hope, and they would make the playoffs the following year. (In 1986, the Maple Leafs qualified by winning a shameful 25 of 80 games because 16 of 21 teams made the playoffs. Not making the playoffs was the NHL equivalent of being picked last in gym.)14 RAPTORS: Similarly, the past several years have not been kind. After a team record seven consecutive seasons outside the playoff ranks, the blue and white made the postseason last year — defying the advanced metrics — but look to be on the outside once again in 2014. There is hope for the future despite a tumultuous plunge in the final months. But hey, lets not nitpick too much, in both eras the Leafs werent in the playoffs, hadnt had much success in the preceding years, and no sober fan in the Big Smoke had any illusions that the Cup was changing downtown addresses soon.COMPARISON GRADE: BHow confident are fans in the coaching staff and front office?85 BLUE JAYS: Bobby Cox — a Hall of Famer as of July 27, 2014 — was the manager. He took a mediocre team in 1982 and turned it into the best team in the league. He had done it before in Atlanta. He would do it again in Atlanta. He would win Manager of the Year in 1985, and though his departure upset fans, he was offered a ton of money and the GM job he coveted. The 44-year old Cox and GM Pat Gillick — who would ultimately put together the talent for back to back World Series wins — were as savvy a tandem as the city had seen. Most importantly, they had our confidence.14 RAPTORS: 56-year old coach Dwane Casey grew up in Kentucky, just an eight hour drive from where Bobby Cox—okay, Im gonna stop. Direct comparisons wont work here. Casey did not arrive in Toronto with Coxs pedigree, though he also had one prior championship ring, as an assistant on the 2011 Dallas Mavericks. Hes made strides each season and the team is proudly a shadow of his no-nonsense, tough-minded attitude. The city likes him, the players trust him. He has a legitimate shot to duplicate Coxs feat and take home Coach of the Year (though my vote would narrowly go to Jeff Hornacek in Phoenix, because I do not understand how the Suns are doing what they are doing). Two more words to add to this section: Rudy Gay. General Manager Masai "Gillick" Ujiri, 2013s NBA Executive of the Year in Denver, has been masterful in his first season at the helm, as demonstrated by the Sacramento overhaul. History will unfurl each mans ultimate place, but the city is rallying around both, and both are succeeding. Most importantly, they have our confidence.COMPARISON GRADE: A-What was going on in Toronto during the season in question?85 BLUE JAYS: In the spring and summer of 1985, Torontonians were preparing for a mayoral election, still several months away. A longtime incumbent, who refused to celebrate the Gay Pride Parade, would be put to the test by a variety of challengers. Ultimately, reigning Mayor Art Eggleton would win out.14 RAPTORS: In the spring and summer of 2014, Torontonians are preparing for a mayoral election, still several months away. A longtime incumbent, who refuses to celebrate the Gay Pride Parade, is to be put to the test by a variety of challengers, assuming a second term wont conflict with his Jimmy Kimmel-related moonlighting. Same old, same old.COMPARISON GRADE: B+All right, pens down.Depending on how you weigh each category, the comparison works out to a solid "B". Not too bad, really. Going in, I didnt think the teams would match up this well.Of course, these grades are neither objective, nor properly weighted, nor were they subject to any advanced algorithmic, Nate Silver-style analyses, but moreover is the baseline, root-level difficulty. This sort of phenomenon doesnt come down to math. It is a familial connection between team and fans. It is emotional.With so many entertainment sources vying for our attentions, a city-wide swoon grows ever less likely. And unlike baseball, where only four teams in 1985 made the playoffs, basketball allows for 16 entrants, with more making the playoffs than getting left behind. Just making the playoffs or winning the division is not in the same stratum as the accomplishments of those 85 Jays, who were playing for a spot in the World Series. These Raptors — seriously we gotta change the name — are greyer in years, and owe us more success if they hope to be revered like Bell and Whitt and Gillick.To capture the ardent fans, the otherwise supportive moniker-loathers, and the bandwagoners alike, a deep playoff run will be necessary. Then maybe, Terrence Ross will grab the torch from George Bell. Maybe this team, despite already having a winning record, is more a version of the rarely-considered 1982 Jays, the ones who first showed promise.Maybe they are just something new.GALLAYS POLL #6How do you think the 2013/2014 Raptors stack up to the 1985 Blue Jays?(A) Theyve won me over, same as the Jays did.(B) I like where they are headed, but that 1985 team was special, yo.(C) Way too soon for a comparison, if ever.(D) Im not from Toronto. Could not care less. I have the Fireplace Channel on right now. Wholesale Nike Air Force 1 For Sale . As a follow-up, TSN.ca offers you the opportunity to chime in on all the big issues with our insiders. Read up on all the questions and answers, and put in your own two cents on our popular Your Call feature. Nike Air Force 1 Clearance . The Spanish champions decision not to sign a defender during the January transfer window may have backfired after Valencia took advantage of a lethargic, uninspired effort by its hosts at the Camp Nou, where former Spain coach Luis Aragones -- who previously coached the Catalan side -- was honoured after his death on Saturday. http://www.airforce1wholesale.com/ .S. - Nova Scotias Mary Fay guaranteed at least one more match and a shot at the Canadian junior curling championships final on home ice.MONTREAL -- New Buffalo Sabres signing Sam Reinhart wants to focus on nothing else but making Canadas national junior hockey team. The 18-year-old Reinhart is taking part in Canadas one-week development camp being held just outside Montreal. The squad is preparing for the 2015 world junior championship, which gets underway Dec. 26 in Toronto and Montreal. Reinhart joins 38 other young Canadians vying for a spot on head coach Benoit Groulxs final 22-man roster. "Im here this week trying to give myself the best opportunity to make the team," said Reinhart, who scored in Canadas 6-2 victory over the Czech Republic on Tuesday. The game was the first of four exhibition matches involving the Russian and Czech national junior teams. "Its gone well so far," added Reinhart. "Its always tough for a lot of the guys coming in during the summer. After the first two practices, things have really started picking up. There are always going to be a few more mistakes now than when December comes, but were aware of that, and were battling through that." Reinhart has hockey coursing through his veins. His father Paul played 11 National Hockey League seasons with the Atlanta/Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks in the 1970s and 80s. Sams brother Max was drafted by Calgary in 2010, and his brother Griffin was chosen fourth overall by the New York Islanders in 2012. Sam Reinhart did one better, as he was drafted second overall by the Sabres in this years draft. Three weeks ago, Reinhart signed a three-year entry-level contract with Buffalo. The North Vancouver, B.C., native is captain of the Kootenay Ice in the Western Hockey League, where he has scored 101 goals in 203 games. Last season, he was named the WHLs Player of the Year. The six-foot-one centre also captained Canada to a gold medal at the U18 junior world cup in 2012, and again at the U18 IIHF world championship in 2013. At the 2014 world junior championship in Malmo, Sweden, Reinhart scored two goals and had three assists in seven games. Canada ultimately lost 2-1 to Russia in the bronze medal game and finished fourth at the tournament for the second year in a row. If Reinhart plays in the upcoming tournament, which culminates with the gold medal game in Toronto on Jan. 5, Buffalos top prospect says this year is all about redemption. "A lot of the guys who were there feel it," said Reinhart of Canadas tough loss to the Russians. "Its not an easy tournament to win by any means. We felt we were getting better each day throughout that tournament, and it was one slip-up that cost us. Nike Air Force 1 Outlet. We know how fast it can all be taken away, and you cant take that for granted." If Buffalo decides the junior championship is not beneficial to Reinharts development -- or if the forward is already playing for the Sabres at that point -- there wont be any individual redemption for Reinhart after last years fourth-place finish. "Its not really on my mind right now," he said. "Im just trying not to think about it too much. When I have the opportunity to make my name in Buffalo, Ill be focused there as well." Its at each teams discretion whether they want their signings to play the tournament. Hockey Canada will have no choice but to accept the Sabres decision. "Sometimes, when you look at your line-up and you have guys like Reinhart, you realize how good they are when youre on the ice with them," said Groulx. "We want them to be in the show, but in a selfish way, youd like to have them with you at Christmas time." Canada is suffering through a five-year gold medal drought at the tournament after winning five consecutive years between 2005 and 2009. The teams last medal, a bronze, came in 2012. After three exhibition games in mid-December, Canada opens the 11-day tournament with a group game against Slovakia in Montreal. Canada will play its four round-robin matches at Montreals Bell Centre. The Canadians are in Group A with the United States, Finland, Slovakia and Germany. Toronto will welcome teams from Group B, which includes Russia, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Sweden, and Switzerland. Groulx knows that Reinharts potential absence will leave a big gap on the team, and will dull Canadas offence. "Sam Reinhart is the kind of player that, when everything is disorganized on the ice, when he touches the puck, everything gets organized again," said Groulx. "Thats a sign that he knows what hes doing, its a sign of maturity, its a sign of a very good hockey player. "Sam is doing everything right. Hes a great young man who loves the game." Notes: Team Canadas second exhibition match is Wednesday versus the Russians in Sherbrooke, Que. à Defenceman Aaron Ekblad, who suffered a concussion in Tuesdays game, did not skate with his team on Wednesday. The Florida Panthers prospect will miss the remainder of the national junior development camp. à With 15 gold medals, Canada is the most successful country in the competitions 38-year history. à Finland won last years tournament, beating Sweden in the final game. ' ' '