<font size=""4"">T.J. ignites Raps</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">With a chance to tie, Allen got off an 18-footer that hit the front rim and came back to the top of the key. Somehow, Allen was allowed an uncontested second chance and didn't miss, sending the game into overtime. Ford had been in that very spot where Allen tied the game from. But he headed towards the rim looking for the rebound and wound up getting an earful from coach Sam Mitchell as he headed back to the bench.</div> <font size=""4"">It's rebounding 101</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">"It's not effort," head coach Sam Mitchell said. "And it's not just our bigs. It's our guards too. The shot that sent the game into overtime was a loose ball that bounced at the free throw line and our guards, instead of staying in, I don't know where they were going. It's not just the bigs. That one play right there, even if we tip it, the game doesn't go to overtime." </div> <font size=""4"">Refurbished Ford drives Raptors to narrow win</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">"When you struggle ... you know how you want to play, we know how you're capable of playing, but sometimes it doesn't just click like you want it to," Ford said. "You just have to go back to believing in yourself and get back to the things that got you to this point and got you to the point where you were playing well. "For me, it was just getting back in the gym, focusing before practice, after practice and, during practice, just going as hard as I can, like I was in a game."</div> <font size=""4"">Raptors show soft side again in OT victory</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The Raptors hadn't played since Wednesday. They won't have another three-day rest between home games until season's end. So with starting forward Jorge Garbajosa contributing exactly one rebound in 21 minutes and various Raptors barely bending at the waist while they watched assorted Sonics dive to the floor for loose balls, it was tough to blame tiredness. "It's just all about wanting it," said Bosh. "That's all rebounding is wanting the ball and going to get it. Sometimes we get caught ball-watching, instead of just getting the ball. If we have all five guys wanting to get the ball, we'll be that much better."</div> <font size=""4"">Exciting win exposes flaw in rebounding</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Now wanting to rebound better and actually taking the fat lips required to do the job are different things. Because the Raptors are a perimeter-oriented team that often spaces three players outside the three-point line, offensive rebounds are always going to be hard to come by. And defensively, the Raptors aren't really built for the job of banging, crashing and chasing, at least from where Mitchell sits. They're narrow, though tall, up front and their backcourt is fairly undersized, particularly when they play Ford, Juan Dixon and Parker together, as they did down the stretch. So it doesn't take much imagination to predict what Raptors president Bryan Colangelo might want to tweak in the summer: More athleticism at the 3-spot is one gap that needs filling and a ball-chasing, banging, game-changer to slip into the big-man rotation is another.</div> <font size=""4"">Bosh, Ford too tough for Sonics</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Seattle repeatedly couldn't stop the high pick-and-roll play in the overtime session as Raptors point guard T.J. Ford, scored nine straight points for the Raptors in extra time. "He got into the paint, they were setting the pick-and-roll up high [and] we were getting hung up on it and he got to the basket," said Allen, whose 36-point effort was wasted in the loss. "It started out with [Raptors forward Chris] Bosh in the overtime making a couple of jump shots [off the play]. I don't want to say we did a bad job of it, we just didn't have an answer for it."</div> <font size=""4"">Sonics again fail to finish</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Lewis made a few miscues in the final minutes of overtime. With the Sonics behind just three and 44 seconds left, he fouled Ford intentionally when a defensive stop would have given the Sonics the ball with a chance to tie. On the ensuing possession, Juan Dixon stripped Lewis for a turnover. Lewis then fouled Ford near the mid-court line with 4 seconds remaining on the 24-second clock and 18 seconds left in the game. In all fairness to Lewis, Hill yelled for a foul with 10 seconds left on the shot clock and Lewis didn't catch Ford for another 6 seconds.</div> <font size=""4"">Sonics vs. Raptors: Game In Review</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Fans unfamiliar with European basketball that may have doubted Toronto's pick of Bargnani, but the Italian big man showed the Sonics why he could be a franchise cornerstone. He finished with 19 points -- including four 3-pointers -- in 27 minutes and played productively in foul trouble. Bargnani is a legitimate 7-footer and is a 38-percent shooter from 3-point range. He wowed the sellout crowd at Air Canada Centre with a swooping layup that resembled Julius Erving and drew a foul in the first half. "I think Bargnani has gotten a lot more comfortable with the NBA," Sonics coach Bob Hill said. "He's as hesitant as before, which is very normal for a rookie making that transition." Since the All-Star Break, Bargnani is averaging 15.3 points and shooting 45 percent from the 3-point line. Ray Allen guarded Bargnani during second-half stretches because he planted near the 3-point line.</div> <font size=""4"">Seattle Sonics Blog: Pre-game vs. Toronto</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">First, this is not a good place to be during Championship Weekend for college hoops. I was suffering to find games on Canadian TV, luckily one of the sports networks carried the Big East Championship and the ACC semifinals and the CBS affiliate in Buffalo showed the Pac-10 title, but everything else was hockey and curling. Yes, the Canadian Curling Championships -- that sport that looks like shuffleboard on ice -- is going on as was on and dominated the main sports channels. And tonight is the final Hamilton-Newfoundland and a veteran Toronto sports writer told me it's the second-biggest television draw in Canada next to the Grey Cup. Secondly, it's pretty cold here in Toronto but it's the first time I ever seen a city block off streets due to falling ice and there was no ice falling. On my walk to practice, I was approached by a Toronto officer because I crossed police lines to take a shortcut. I didn't see any falling ice.</div> <font size=""4"">Preview: Raptors at Bucks</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">About the Raptors: They have one of the less demanding remaining schedules among the teams that are going for a division championship. The Raptors will play 11 of their final 20 games at home, and they play 11 of their remaining games against teams with records of .500 or worse. </div> <div align="center"><font size=""5""><u>Sunshine Girl - 3/12/07</u></font> </div>
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">First, this is not a good place to be during Championship Weekend for college hoops. I was suffering to find games on Canadian TV, luckily one of the sports networks carried the Big East Championship and the ACC semifinals and the CBS affiliate in Buffalo showed the Pac-10 title, but everything else was hockey and curling. Yes, the Canadian Curling Championships -- that sport that looks like shuffleboard on ice -- is going on as was on and dominated the main sports channels. And tonight is the final Hamilton-Newfoundland and a veteran Toronto sports writer told me it's the second-biggest television draw in Canada next to the Grey Cup. </div> It's nice to be periodically reminded by outsiders, just how ridiculous this situation is. Can't believe I've grown accustomed to it.
<div class="quote_poster">Bobcats Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I can't believe people watch Curling.</div> That's exactly what I was going to say on the weekend. Unfortunately it does happen though, it actually gets ratings. I was suprized on the weekend by the lack of NCAA coverage as well. Besides TSN which was showing the curling the score and sportsnet both weren't showing any basketball. I think sportsnet had AHL hockey ... and i'm not sure what the score had.
^ The Score actually had great coverage of the NCAA action on the weekend. The Score is way better than those puckheads at TSN and Sportsnet.
