Raptors HQ Soundbombing

I'm not surprised at all. From the very first time I heard Stronger, I knew the Raptors would be using it as their intro theme this year.

omg im going to be pissed if they go with stronger..we need somthing loud...pop songs do not belong in sports...get some classic rock songs. but it doesnt have to be an old song. make somthing up yourselves that u can call your own. i like the idea of an instrumental. but plzz not kanye

Ammm...this came up on the realgm boards last week. One of them even put together this to give an idea what it would be like:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9478TsOP8Ms

I like it...some wicked graphics and it would kick ass.

Not really lovin the "Stonger" selection. It's Ok, but not really the "anthem" type of song that I would have liked.
My selection, would have be Evanescence's "Bring me to Life".
Anyway's, my grade so far.....B-.

I would love to see a poll on the main page as to what the HQ would like to hear.

You'd have to go pretty far to beat "Thunderstruck" as an intro. Whenever I hear that song, I just want to run through a brick wall. Its got a little bit of everything that they're looking for. Instrumental at the start, rising energy, its something that everyone can appreciate, especially the older, richer crowd who can afford tickets, cause its what used to get them fired up when they were looking to kick ass in the 80's. Also, it's not the song-du-jour so it could be used for season after season and never stop being righteous and kick ass.

Anyway, that's the song I'd go with, but then again, anything would be better than Vertigo. What can be said about Vertigo that hasn't already been said about Afghanistan...

Also, my use of punctuation in that post was apalling, I'll do better next time.

Delfino with 18 and 9 boards in the Raps win tonight. Makes me smile.

Raptors on tv.........sure hope we have seen the last of the drummers once was way too much. Very strong play from Raptors nice Defense Kapono Delfino and Parker looked great tonight. Can't wait for season..

One more thing Raptors 43 rebounds Cavs 41

Ford 13 assists and only 2 turnovers...that's F'n fantastic!!! Does everyone know what this means, we have THE best guards of all the league, what better weapon to have then that 1 - 2 punch?
Just a though, - I'd trade Gordon, Tyrus Thomas someone else(safalosha) and a 1st round pick for Kobe, think that's fair??
Go raps!

I want to start giving TJ his due. I must admit I am one of the many fans that had jumped on the Jose bandwagon, it used to be that Jose Calderon was our little secret. The true raps fan would notice that the offence flowed more smoothly with Jose on the floor.

These days, it seems everyone thinks Jose is better than TJ. TJ came in to camp talking tough, saying he was ready to fight for his starting job - eventhough it was never really in doubt. Well if there was a competition, I have to say TJ has won. He has bulked up over the summer to try better man up on D. He has been getting everyone involved in the offence (13 assists last night in 20 mins?!). If anything, Jose seems to be looking for his own shot more than ever this year - and he seems to be making it too.
TJ has never really got his due. CV was a fan favorite and we traded him for someone a foot shorter. After Mike James, it was as if TO fans never wanted a PG to take another shot again. The difference is that we didn't win when James was jacking shots, TJ has been to the playoffs every year he has been in the L. He is a winner. So far this pre-season TJ has been winning more and more respect back from this fan. I hope it starts to catch on.

Can't wait for the season to start!

ps any updates on the mop girl?

Good win overall. Lebron or no Lebron I think Cleveland takes a step backwards this year.
When we move the ball like that we play some beautifull basketball.
We caught a glimpse of what Delfino and Kapono can bring.
Only negative from last night - playing against a middle of the pack centre, Bargs got in foul trouble quickly.

I started to do a recap of last night's game, but the Raps were so dominant that there wasn't a ton to talk about. So here's the abridged version:

Lacing them up:

If you saw Game In An Hour on RaptorsTV last night you noticed a few things about the Raptors 111 to 78 thrashing of the Cavs. First, this was almost a carbon copy of the Bulls game in terms of the Raptors bench badly outscoring their opponents. Second, if Lebron thinks he’s getting back to the NBA Finals with this supporting cast, he’s got another think coming. And finally, WHAT WAS WITH SHOWING THE DRUMMERS EVERY 2 SECONDS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PLAY?

A Numbers Game:

20.

That’s how many turnovers the Cavs had.

Sure they were lacking the steadying presence of Eric Snow at the 1, or the sharp-shooting Daniel Gibson, but ugh. I’m not sure I’ve EVER seen a team make more bad decisions with the ball, even if it is only pre-season.

However some of the credit has to go to the Raps who with the exception of a few plays, demonstrated solid defensive principles throughout the game. Double teams, traps, rotations, I can’t wait for the regular season to get under way. Enough pre-season, this team looks ready and held the Cavs to under 80 points on 41 per cent shooting (18.8 from behind the arc.)

The scary thing for the Cavs was that Lebron played 36 minutes, and the other Cavs starters each played at least 30. The Raptors’ starters in contrast? TJ Ford played 24, and everyone else played 22 or less.

Final telling number? The Raptors’ bench outscored their counterparts’ bench 64 to 20!

The Turning Point:

There wasn’t much of a turning point in this game either as the Raptors jumped on the Cavs from the outset. Sure the Cavs kept it close early in the game, but Toronto’s depth was just too much.

When guys like Kris Humphries are coming off the pine to drop 11 and five on you, you’re in big trouble. In fact, EVERY Raptor scored and in particular, Carlos Delfino had his best game as a Raptor scoring a team-high 18 points while grabbing nine rebounds and dishing out three assists.

Who’s Hot, Who’s Not:

Hot – It’s hard to pick one particular Raptor considering that every single player contributed to this win in some fashion. Obviously Delfino the Funky Homosapien has to be mentioned in this section. Rebounds in traffic, dunks, 3's, put-backs, Del was everywhere and if he can play like this consistently, look out East. In addition, Jason Kapono was no slouch in this game either. I've been hard on Kap-One this pre-season but last night when he had the looks, he made the shots just KILLING Cleveland's momentum on a few occasions.

Not hot - The Cavs. After their starting 5, things drop off fast. Hopefully their woeful pre-season is a wake-up call to Danny Ferry and co or else I don't see this team even making the playoffs.

Moving On:

FINALLY. Last game of the pre-season tonight against the Wiz. Once again I'm excited to see how Washington deals with Toronto's depth and this will be Jamario Moon and Luke Jackson's last "in-game" shots at impressing management. Even though both only played 5 minutes last night, I still noticed Moon at both ends of the court, not something I did with Jackson. I wish Jackson all the best but I really think keeping Moon is the best option for the club.

5 more sleeps till the opener...

FRANCHISE

"Anyway, that's the song I'd go with, but then again, anything would be better than Vertigo. What can be said about Vertigo that hasn't already been said about Afghanistan..."

Funniest thing I have ever read on this site!

It's funny, I don't see much talk about Fanatasy Basketball pools around here. Anyone involved in any? Will probably end up in 3 again like last year, and just finished one a couple of nights ago.. Probably my worst draft ever.

Two more to go this weekend.

Anyone do Head to head vs Roto vs straight Pool?

I was at the game last night, so here are my thoughts....

1. The drummers were only spotlighted in the intro and a performance between the 3rd and 4th quarters, I think. Not sure why RaptorsTV showed them endlessly. There are *20* Dance Pak girls which seems a bit excessive. I didn't get a look at Mop Girl but had fun watching CB4 hit the stationary cycle like a peddling pterodactyl between on-court appearances.

2. Although TJ was awesome with the 13 assists, he did make a number of ill-advised out-of-control shots; he ended up shooting 2-8. However, he certainly was solid in most other aspects and if he can stay healthy he may be #5 in assists this season after Nash, Kidd, Deron and Paul. Nice company there.

3. What more can be said about Delfino; 9 rebounds in the SF spot is solid against much bigger front-court players like LeBron, Z and Gooden. Him and Kapono will produce a VERY viable duo at the 3; Kapono was pretty useless against Lebron on D but not too many players can stop the King.

4. Speaking of which, I was very surprised that LeBron played so much, especially given the blow-out. And his free throw shooting is seriously lacking; I would be surprised if he cracks .700 this year. It's weird because he's so talented in other hand-eye respects such as his passing ability.

5. As for the benchwarmers, I was surprised that Dixon and Humphries got so much time, but perhaps Smitch thinks more highly of them than I do. Maybe I'm just curious to see more than 5 minutes of Jamario -- we'll see what happens tonight, I'll be there too....

Well, one more pre-season game to go and I’m reminded of all the wailing regarding the time wasted playing the European team when NBA teams would provide a better gauge of team progress. Although I’m pleased with the latest wins, I’m not convinced that the last couple of games were any more beneficial. At least the Europeans wanted to play ball. Are we that good or the opposition that bad? Still unknown.

The camera man’s brother had to be on the Drum Squad, the only thing I could think of. Why am I missing plays in an NBA game, already abridged, to watch chubby guys beat bongo drums? What circle of hell is that?

Anyways great recap but I think we underestimate how good these Raptors are. I know it’s only preseason but was that not a dominant performance.

Not only did the Raptors reserves led by Calderon badly outplay the Cavs starters, the "five guys we could trade tomorrow and no-one would notice," combo of Moon, Graham, Baston, Jackson and D-Mart outplayed the Cav’s second unit badly, and these are all guys that are being mentioned as possible cuts, or two minute a game guys!
How times have changed!

How about that last cut?
Moon had a great block, a steal and played solid D. He just looks like he knows what he’s doing out there. Luke Jackson moves around like someone’s tied his shoelace together. He is awkward. He has got to be the one to go.

People we just beat the Eastern Conference Champions by 30 freaking points! With Lebron playing 35 minutes! We could have literally beat this team with no one in our starting five playing a minute! A stretch but possible. Chris Bosh played only 15 minutes. Bargnani didn’t hit a three pointer. We can afford a season ending injury at any position and still make the playoffs handily.

Can we get excited?!?!

For theme music, if it's hip hop you're right Franchise it's gotta be "Here I Come". You boys get ready, no doubt.

But to grab one which might seem like it's totally out of left field: how about the first 2 minutes of Rush's La Villa Strangiato? Here's a live rendition that has nothing on the power of the studio version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOqVywCg934

Criteria 1: If the Bulls could make a hoops classic out of an Alan Parsons Project song, then this is definitely legacy material. It's distinct, just obscure but also just familiar enough because Rush is a Toronto band.

Criteria 2: great instrumental build, check. The crowd spontaneously chanting "Cha!" as it hits it's peak says it all.

Criteria 3: Anything with Geddy Lee playing bass is going to bump. But La Villa's got a definitive Euro flavour, and it even features some latin riffs in the second minute. Rush was always huge on the Continent.

GM Survey: Wow, not one of 27 GMs thinks we can win the Atlantic? NY??? I like sneaking up on teams, but show a little respect!

"People we just beat the Eastern Conference Champions by 30 freaking points"
Amen !
Here's a fair assessment
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dime-TorontoPreview0708
Sheriden has the Raps to win the Atlantic, most of the others have us 2nd. Great read on each team - strongly recommend. You'd be surprised where some teams are picked to finish. hope OK to post link.

Yeah no worries Tinman, was going to talk about it in tomorrow's post but hell, let's go now while I'm waiting for Game in an Hour and the Raptors Drummers. (That circle of hell comment was killer HOPE...)

Sheridan was the only pro-Raptors guy in the rankings and at first I felt a bit miffed by the selections. However after reading some of the other teams evaluations I started feeling like Toronto was one of the most positive of the bunch. For example if you hadn't seen the Bulls ranking in their preview (some of the experts had them finishing first in the conference) just by reading the comments you would have thought they were going to miss the playoffs. No power forward, no upgrade at the 4, etc, etc. However like you said Tinman, good read as teams that I expected to be favoured like the Knicks and Nets weren't at all.

More discouraging was what you alluded to Zona - lack of votes for the Raps from the GM community. However in retrospect, we are talking about the company of McHale, Thomas, King etc here...so maybe we shouldn't be surprised at all.

UStation - Fantasy sports...we're going to start doing a regular fantasy sports post this season with the first one on Monday so stay tuned...

Finally, Rappy, SOLID choice...I've always slept on Rush a bit and so had never heard this track. The start definitely has that Allan Parsons Project feel from the Jordan days and yeah, Rush as a Canadian group makes a ton of sense. At some point we're going to try and get all these choices on our front page so readers can sample and vote...paging tech guy Jerry, paging tech guy Jerry...

Wow another blow out win for the raps. heres my take on the game:

anybody else notice how streaky kapono is?..he is gonna kill defenses at times and at other times hes gonna kill the fans. He misses those wide open threes sometimes, but when hes feeling it, hes feeling it.

Did u guys catch the play where bosh dropped it off to bargnani on this little pick and roll play with about 9 minutes left in the 3rd, it got me excited for the future that these "twin towers" will bring to the table. I also like how bargs is trying to get to the hoop more, as well as he had some solid defensive plays.

Team ball movement was spectacular tonight, they are so unselfish, which is gonna make them so good. Everything was feeling it from downtown tonight too

Im loving what im seeing from delfino again, 2 nights in a row solid games, on the boards and in points. I think he's the steal of the summer no doubt if he continues to do what hes doing.

How about the fact that the 2nd unit was basically manhandling the wizards starters (minus gilbert, which is obviously a huge part of thayt, but still) late in the first and throughout the 2nd...im tellling u this 2nd squad can play with the best of them.

JAMARIO MOON: love what this guy brings to the table, not gonna play a whole lot, but when hes out there u notice him on both ends of the court...hes just gonna bring intensity and some flashy dunks every once, along with some steals and blocks...solid pick up for the raps.

IM getting really pumped for wednesday, cant wait to see if they keep rolling into the season.

I haven't seen the last two games but have checked out the stats and I have been impressed by some of the per minute productions. Looks like Andrea had a nice game, and I am liking the numbers that Delfino is putting up. Those of you who have seen the games, has Delfino worked himself into the starting 3 spot...the stats would sugest that he might have.

How can the 1st game not be on TV!!!

WTF!!!

Please tell me I'm wrong.....please.....

Just came back from the game, I got to say, even it's a preseason game and with a lot of empty seats, you can still feel the love from the fans, no wonder the Raps were playing so good at home last year. I can see the same will happen again this year.

Just like what bigd23 had mentioned, Kap-One was streaky, even though he is not exactly what we want for the 3, but with Carlos and him, I think B-Co did made the best moves that he could make in this offseason.

We should really put a fullstop to the "Rasho should start" talk. Not that I don't like Rasho, but Barg is improving every single game, you guys saw him doing all those pump fakes in the post? Solid D too, no doubt that we will see him at the 5 on Wednesday.

And lastly, Jamario Moon is now officially the new fans favorite. A guy who sat behind me urged to see Moon in the middle of the first quarter. Even my girl, who knows nothing about basketball, said that the No.33 guy was so cool. Now I feel bad for Luke Jackson, I can see him trying so hard tonight for a final push to please Sam.

P.S. D-Mart......Didn't you hear us chanting "Pizza, Pizza" instead of "Raptors, Raptors" at the end?

Ok, so I’m a game behind. Just some non-basketball observations about the Cleveland game in an hour.

I hope the "M for 3" is a brainchild of the game in an hour crew and doesn’t make it’s way into the broadcast. Man that was irritating.

Speaking of irritating, the comments on the site understated the annoyance factor of the drums.

Lastly, I’ve watched many games in my time, mostly US feeds before the Raptors were even a twinkle in Alan Slight’s eyes. I’ve never understood why they Raptors broadcasters have a time delay on updating the score. The team is deep into it’s offence before the last basket gets reflected. Does Don Cherry update the score with a 10 second time delay on him? Did they hire hockey guys to do the job (we all know they are just not used to scoring)? For some reason the other games seem to update the score the second the ball goes through the basket.

Who’s in charge of this stuff? Is this some college project for undergrad students? Who ever it is, clearly they are not the quickest bunny in the forest. Not the sharpest knife in the drawer. A couple of french fries short of a happy meal. You get the point.

P.S. Apparently with the Raps up by 24 with 3:41 left in the 4th, the Chuckster wasn’t ready to call it just yet. But with an "M for 3" at the 3:40 mark the call was made to the Salami and Cheese. Does he not realize how obnoxious he is???

P.S.S. Supernova, I believe it’s on the Score.

Sorry Supernove, the PSS was ment for sharpy

Raptor99,
Thanks a lot for posting that link of the possible new intro! Also, cudos to the dedicated fan that put it together. Freak'n Awsome! After last year's U2 crap, what a difference!! As for the person who suggested "Thunderstruck"... or classic rock, THIS IS NOT A HOCKEY TEAM!

Thanks Zona.
The schedule on my TV didn't have the 1st game being broadcasted when I looked for it. Apparently i'm not the quickest bunny in the forest either......that line killed me.

Two words: jump around.

Three more words: slam, by onyx.

Old school rulz.

Because the game wasn't broadcasted by any networks, Raptors TV just showed the camera feeds from the JumboTron. That's why the "M for 3" and the drummers were shown so much. It is usually only shown on the big screen and not on the TV coverage.

Signed,
SlimDrum (one of the not chubby TR Beat drummers)

Hey one thing that was cool last night at the game was the drummers. I know people have commented about them, I thought they were great! In fact the whole show that the ACC puts on was so much cooler than a hockey game at the ACC.