The Gunn Show: My thoughts on the Leafs season thus far

Hello, I’m Andrew Gunn. And this is once again, another edition of The Gunn Show blog. In this entry, I’m going to talk about the Toronto Maple Leafs season thus far, through the first 28 games.

I have been a Leafs fan for what feels like my entire life. I bleed blue, and I hardly ever miss a game. And while I am a huge fan of the team and a big supporter, I can also say with confidence that this team is not easy to watch. They’re not easy to cheer for either. They have such a great history and a terrific fanbase, but lately, they have not been able to please the fans for any extended period of time. They have not been able to win consistently and it is frustrating to say the least.

This season (so far) is another good form of proof that you don’t know what you’re gonna get with this team. They’ve let the fans down numerous times so far this season, and yet still manage to regain their hope and support by stringing some wins together. They currently, as of December 10th, sit 6th in the Eastern Conference, and if the season ended today, would make the playoffs. However, as Leaf fans know all too well, the season does not end 28 games into the season and where they sit in the standings near Christmas time don’t really mean a whole lot. There are some terrific positives with this team. They have a very adequate offense, lead by the likes of Phil Kessel, James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak, Joffrey Lupul and Nazem Kadri. They also have a stellar goaltender in Jonathan Bernier. There are lots of things to be excited about with this team. There are also some things that leave the fans with wonder. This team has flaws, there is no doubt about that. Their defense is shaky, average at best. Their ability to play with a lead, or play their way out of a deficit, lack a great deal. This team is far from perfect, and while everyone is excited about the team is playing right now, there are still questions for concern. Can this team beat the Montreal Canadiens or Boston Bruins in a 7 game playoff series? Can they play with a level of intensity that if not exceeds, at least matches the opponent? That remains to be seen. I believe if the Leafs want to not only make the playoffs, but win a round or two, they need to improve on a few things. One being defense. If I’m General Manager Dave Nonis, I’m looking to acquire a top 4 defenseman before the trade deadline rolls around. I know it’s still very early in the season but I look at teams out of a playoff picture that may have a d-man to spare. I look at Carolina d-man Andrej Sekera, Devils d-man Andy Greene, Blue Jackets’ Jack Johnson and the Stars Trevor Daley. All very good options to upgrade on defense. I also look at adding another top 6/top 9 forward, that not only brings offense but brings leadership as well. I think about Shane Doan of the Coyotes, Travis Zajac of the Devils, Eric Staal of the Hurricanes and Erik Cole of the Stars. I think if the Leafs could manage to acquire one or two of the guys I mentioned, they definitely improve their chances of being competitive. One can only hope Dave Nonis is thinking the same thing. GO LEAFS GO.

By: Andrew Gunn

The Gunn Show: Blue Jays Offseason

Hello everyone. This is another edition of The Gunn Show with a blog about the Toronto Blue Jays Offseason.

I love what the Jays have done so far during the offseason. They’ve brought in some very talented players and they have certainly improved their team so far. The first big player they brought in was catcher Russell Martin. This is a great pickup. They overspent to get him and he doesn’t quite deserve the amount of money he got, but he’s a great addition to this team. He brings some much needed leadership to the clubhouse to go with very solid offensive numbers. He’s also very good behind the plate. He’s great at calling games and taking control. He’s one of the best catchers in the league when it comes to pitch framing, which is a lot more important than some people think. Pitch framing is basically receiving the ball from a pitcher in a certain way that makes the pitch look like a strike, even when sometimes it may not be. Martin is also a very good hitter, hitting for both decent power and contact. Oh, and it doesn’t hurt he’s a Canadian boy.

The other big time player they’ve acquired is third baseman Josh Donaldson. They picked him up in a trade with the Oakland Athletics that sent Canadian, fan favourite Brett Lawrie from Toronto to Oakland. Josh Donaldson is an unbelievable player. His defense at third base is spectacular. He, like Martin, also brings some great leadership to the clubhouse, which the team desperately needed more of. Donaldson is also a very good hitter. He’s received MVP votes for the last two seasons and has been able to hit the ball out of the ballpark on a consistent basis. Bringing in Donaldson and Martin were huge for GM Alex Anthopoulos and the Jays and I love the moves, however, I do believe there is more work to be done this offseason, before we can start calling this team a true threat to win. Most importantly, they need an ace pitcher. They need a guy who can anchor the starting rotation and take the ball every 5 days and go out and give a consistent effort and log innings. The rotation is very young with Marcus Stroman, Drew Hutchison and Aaron Sanchez, and with the help of veteran Mark Buehrle, they have the chance to be a very competitive team if they get a true ace starting pitcher. A few starting pitchers I’d like to see the Jays pursue include James Shields, Max Scherzer, Cole Hamels, Jordan Zimmermann, Derek Holland and Brett Anderson.

They also need a strong bullpen. After losing Casey Janssen, Dustin McGowan and Brandon Morrow to free agency, their bullpen has become very thin and needs to be bolstered before the season starts. Pitching in general plays a huge part in a team’s success, and a very good bullpen can go a long way. Some relievers that I would like to see the Blue Jays try and acquire would be Greg Holland, Jason Motte, John Axford, Matt Lindstrom and Sergio Romo. The team also needs a starting 2nd baseman. 2nd base has been a position that’s needed to be filled basically since Aaron Hill was with Toronto in 2011. We’ve seen guys like Kelly Johnson, Emilio Bonifacio and Maicer Izturis man 2nd base and while they managed, they weren’t good enough to help the team win. A few guys I have in mind that I believe the Jays should go after are Asdrubal Cabrera, Jed Lowrie or Chase Utley.

Overall, the Blue Jays offseason has been pretty successful so far, but is far from complete and I hope to see Alex Anthopoulos pull off a few more moves before the season begins in April of 2015. Thanks for reading, this is The Gunn Show.

By: Andrew Gunn

Are the Leafs for Real, and is Keith Yandle a possibility?

Hey everyone, guess what? I made another VLOG…. about Hockey of course. you can watch it HERE.

dont forget to answer the question and hit me up on twitter here also.

Thanks for listening!

Go Leafs Go!

I made a video blog on the Toronto Maple Leafs and the season so far and shut down any talks regarding James Reimer, Dion Phanuef and Tyler Bozak. its safe to say its a must watch!

you can watch it here 

LeBron leads Cavaliers to 105-101 victory over the Raptros

A game where the Raptors were leading throughout most of the game didn’t stop LeBron James who scored 35 points as the Cavaliers defeated the Raptors yet again 105-101.

The Raptors were limited to just 13 points in the final quarter of action which wasn’t enough to hold off the Cavs as Amir Johnson said after the game last night “We definitely lost this ourselves”. The Raptors are now 3 and 3 without their all-star DeMar DeRozan who is still recovering from a groin injury.

Despite double-double performances yet again from Kyle Lowry and Jonas Valanciunas, with the loss the Raptors are now 16-6 which is still the best record in the Eastern conference however they are now just 1 game ahead of the Atlanta Hawks.

The Raptors next game will be on Friday night as they host the Indiana Pacers.

My Night in Buffalo

This Video tells it ALLLLLLLLLLLLL watch it here 

Here are the pictures i was talking about in my VLOG

Raptors defeat Nuggets in overtime 112-107.

After coming off a loss to king James and the Cleveland Cavaliers Friday night, the Raptors were back at it again Monday evening as they hosted the 9 and 11 Denver Nuggets.

It was a game that the Raptors needed to win simply because they are back at it tomorrow night to rematch LeBron in Cleveland. It was the 5th straight game the Raptors were without all-star DeMar DeRozan which didn’t seem to matter as the Raptors defeated the Nuggets 112-107.

It was another dominate game for Raptors centre Jonas Valanciunas who finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds in just 31 minutes of play. Continuing to get Jonas involved in games early shows that this Raptors team is slowly getting better in the post.

And how can we forget the play of Kyle Lowry? Another all-star performance for the bulldog of Bay Street who posted another double-double finishing with 13 points and 13 assists in 41 minutes.

With the win, the Raptors improve to 16 and 5 and remain in first place in the Eastern Conference. It will be another tough match up tomorrow as they fly to Cleveland later tonight to take on LeBron James’ Cavaliers tomorrow night.

#RTZ #WeTheNorth #Raptors #Nuggets #NBA

Raptors Fall Short to Dallas 106-102

The Raptors turned in another strong fourth quarter, made even more impressive given the loss of DeMar DeRozan in the third quarter due to a left groin strain, but they just couldn’t quite get over that hump against a Mavericks team that always seemed to find a way to get a timely bucket.

Down 97-83 with 2:21 to go, the Raptors rattled off a 13-2 run that cut the Dallas lead to just three with 33 seconds remaining. The Raptors then fouled Monta Ellis, who drilled two free throws to restore a five-point lead with 25 seconds to play. A Kyle Lowry layup would get the deficit down to two with 9.9 seconds to go, but Devin Harris sealed the deal for Dallas with two more free throws the other way.

Huge performance from Ellis, who scored 15 of his game-high 30 points in the fourth quarter to keep the hard-charging Raptors not coming out on top. That 30-point performance from the veteran guard has typically been a great sign for the Mavericks — they’ve won now won all three games when he’s scored at least that many this season.

Leafs drop Overtime decision to Penguins.

The Toronto Maple Leafs were looking to extend their winning streak to three games before they ran into Blake Comeau? Yup you read that right. Comeau netted his second career Hat-Trick Wednesday night en route to a 4-3 overtime victory. Sidney Crosby had two assists which makes him the third Penguins player to reach 800 points for his career. oronto Maple Leafs were looking to extend their winning streak to three games before they ran into Blake Comeau? Yup you read that right. Comeau netted his second career Hat-Trick Wednesday night en route to a 4-3 overtime victory. Sidney Crosby had two assists which makes him the third Penguins player to reach 800 points for his career.

Hightlights Here:

Are the Leafs pretenders or contenders this season is the serious question. Winger Joffery Lupul says “We can’t go another year without making the playoffs.” and he’s right, the players, the coaching staff, the management and the fans demand a playoff appearance that doesn’t end in the first round, but the question is, can they get there? Absolutely. will it be easy? Absolutely…NOT. The Leafs will need games of perfection and even then they might not come out in the playoffs. The reality is, they need Jonathan Bernier to play his best, they need him to take the ball and roll with it. Enough of this James Reimer, Jonathan Bernier back and forth. Stop it. Bernier needs to be in net. Dion Phanuef needs to make his presence known. Hate him or not, he and Cody Franson are the best defence man on the team and the club needs them to produce.

Phil Kessel needs to be Phil Kessel, they need him scoring along with Bozak and JVR. And finally, they need secondary scoring in the worst ways. Nazem Kadri so far this season just hasn’t cut it which may or may not have put him on the trading block. Luckily for the Leafs they have got their secondary scoring for the most part and with Lupul back it should help in the locker room.

We all love talking about Carlyle and should he or shouldn’t he be coaching the hockey club. Lets face it, Brendan Shanahan and the management of the Toronto Maple Leafs are set on making trades before they get rid of Randy Carlyle so the fans needs to accept it. The Leafs playoff hopes may be slim, but it is very possible. Will they make it? what do you think, Tweet me @DilanAvila92 with your thoughts on the situation.

My 3rd favourite night of the year.

Welcome to another edition of the Mancave… This time in blog form. I know what you’re thinking. Why a blog instead of one of those great podcasts you do?

Well I wanted a chance to give something back to the aspiring journalists who prefer to read… Who am I kidding? I had more projects than New York City.

Note to self: Better time management in the future.

Anyways I’m rambling, but I am really excited right now. Because I am one sleep away from my 3rd favourite night of the year… That’s right, AMERICAN THANKSGIVING!!! Or Translation: FOOTBALL FANATICS LAZY DAY!

How can you beat three games of football, once a year, on a Thursday?

For my entire school and work life, I have always booked off the Thursday. And by book off, I mean played hooky!

And yet, this year I will sadly be breaking the streak 😦

I guess being a professional looking to break into the radio industry has taken priority in my life.

Anyways, I will join my American brethren tomorrow night in my 3rd favourite day of the year.

What’s my 2 favourites you ask? Birthday and Christmas? Maybe New Years?

Nope.

Opening Sunday of the NFL Season, and the NFL Draft.

I would have said Superbowl, but my Dolphins don’t know what that is.

That’s it for me. Sports fans, I wanna know if you have any thanksgiving rituals? If so, tweet me right here.

5 Early-Season NBA Surprises

5. Kobe Bryant leading the league in scoring.

I thought Kobe would bounce back, but this? Through the first 11 games of the season Kobe’s Los Angeles Lakers are 2-9 but he is averaging 27.4 points, 1st amongst all players. This is a 37 year old man coming off of a torn achilles and broken leg! Basketball is a young man’s game. Kobe on the other hand is spitting in the face of father time. He is taking a lot of shots on an awful Lakers squad, but this is unbelievable. He looks like he has a few years left. Now he just needs some sort of help in LA.

4. Memphis Grizzlies are good team.

Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph lead a Grizzlies team that is just nasty. Those two players are a huge part why the are the toughest team in the ENTIRE league. At 10-1 and off to their best start in franchise history, the Grizz win games by playing great team defense and playing a tough offensive game that relies on points in the paint and toughness down low. In a loaded Western Conference Memphis was not looked at as a favourite going into the season by any means, but if they can stay healthy, it’s going to really hard to stop them.

3. Roy Hibbert doesn’t suck?

The Indiana Pacers were bound to take a step back this year after losing guard Lance Stephenson (free agency) and Paul George (broken leg). Hibbert was automatically going to have to take a bigger role on the offensive end and so far, he has been excellent. Averaging 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks, those stats don’t completely attest to how big of an impact Hibbert has on the game. He is a massive human being who clogs up the lane like nobody else in the league. The Pacers are at 4-7 and a long-shot to make the playoffs, but Hibbert has been a definite bright spot.

2. Demarcus Cousins has matured.

Coming in this season Sacramento Kings center Demarcus Cousins was widely known as the biggest hot head in the league. Racking up a league leading 16 technical fouls, Cousins was constantly losing his temper and arguing with officials over calls. Not this year! Cousins has yet to record a technical foul and even kept Head Coach Mike Malone from getting one himself when he bear hugged him on the sideline. Playing fro Team USA in the summer seems to have positively rubbed off on Cousins and his game has taken off. Not only that, but Sacramento is off to a 6-5 start. Surprise 8th seed in the West? Don’t count out Boogie and his Kings.

1. Milwaukee Bucks look pretty good.

Coming into this season there wasn’t high hopes for the Bucks coming out of Wisconsin. They just took Duke forward Jabari Parker with the second overall pick in the NBA draft and Jason Kidd came over from Brooklyn to coach a very young team. So far, so good. The Bucks sit at 7-5 and have exceeded any expectations so far. Point guard Brandon Knight looks like a totally different player and you have to think is has something to do with Kidd’s past ability as a former point guard in the league. What has been most impressive is their defense. They have a huge team with players that have incredibly long wingspans, making it hard to move the ball or get off shots in the post. This team looks good. They are very young and still have tons of room to grow. Still, I would’t count out the Bucks when playoffs roll around.

Is Randy Carlyle On the hot seat?

After a 6-2 trumping in the hands of the NHL’s worst team the Buffalo Sabres.. The big bad Maple Leafs… actually not big at all, just bad Maple Leafs decided to one up, or one down themselves by losing 9-2 to the Nashville Predators. That means the Leafs have allowed 15 goals against in the last six periods and something has to be done. At this pace, everyone in Toronto will have thrown their jersey on the ice before the season has ended. So, Is Randy Carlyle on the hot seat? is he in risk of being fired? I’m sorry for the Leaf fans that want Carlyle gone and as far away as possible from the organization, but he isn’t at risk at losing his job.. yet.

As of right now, the management of the Toronto Maple Leafs are going to make the players accountable for this roller coaster that is the 2015 season. They can play with the best of the teams as we have seen in prior games against Chicago and Boston but they can also play with the worst of them, and thats what is happening right now. In my opinion, Carlyle shouldn’t have even came back after last seasons end, the players ARE NOT buying in to the system he is and they are treating him like a substitute teacher. They need a coach that will come to the team and tell them EXACTLY whats going to happen and WHEN it is going to happen. They can’t take Randy seriously because he tries to punish the players by benching them… then puts them out the next shift. something needs to be done. At this point, I don’t event think a blockbuster trade will renew the life of the team. If the Leafs organization is planning on signing Detroit Coach Mike Babcock at the end of the season do they keep Randy here and watch this team sink? or do they Sign a new coach for the remainder of the year before taking a hack at Babcock? Playing in Toronto is one of the hardest things to do because of the media always following you around, and it doesn’t help when you are not putting a good team on the ice day in and day out. With everything going on in the organization the question is who is to blame for the Leafs struggles?  Is it the players, the Coaching, the management or do fans need to “Chill” and see what happens? Let me know your thoughts on Twitter Here, Also don’t forget to like the Facebook page 2OTSports

Raptors vs Grizzlies Prediction

In this weeks episode I jump into sports and of course, the Toronto Raptors. Tonight the 8-2 Raptors take on the 10-1 Memphis Grizzlies and I do a bold prediction on who I think will win tonights matchup. Does uncle Pete pick the home town Raps to win? Or do I go against them for once and take the 10-1 Grizzlies? Take a listen and find out!.

#Raptors #WeTheNorth

RAPTORS RAPTORS RAPTORS

Another episode of Peter’s rants and this week I try my best to convince you to attend a Toronto Raptors game this season. The Raptors officially kicked off their 20th season last week and its safe to say this is definitely a year to get excited! This is the year to attend a game!

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If you don’t agree with me, please tell me why… tweet me @PeterPetrini.

Until next week!

Should contact be taken out of hockey ?

A short five minute podcast about my thoughts whether or not contact should be taken out of hockey.

Tune in next week as I will discuss early predictions for the NHL awards. also, follow me on twitter @dilanavilaa92 😉

“The NBA season is too long :(“

Shorter season?! You’ve got to be kidding me Lebron. The NBA needs to nip this in the butt before anything is made of it.

Expectations

The Raptors are winning the NBA championship THIS YEAR!

Ok, maybe I’m jumping the gun. After all we are just 1-1 through two preseason games. But things look great!

Right now everything I previously said looks pretty damn relevant. Seriously, all hail Jared Launchbury the NBA Guru.

Ok, once again maybe a little ahead of myself.

Lou Williams! Skip to my freakin Lou! This guy is exactly what the Raptors needed coming off the bench. He is an absolute blur with the basketball. He is one of the fastest Raptors I’ve seen suit up since T.J Ford ran the point. He offers a change of pace that we simply didn’t have last year. The guy can score, simple as that. Team him up with Greivis Vasquez coming off the bench and you have a frustrating combo that teams need to game-plan for. You couldn’t say that about anybody coming off our bench last year. It’s pretty exciting stuff. It’s a good safety net to have. Say Derozan, Ross, and Lowry aren’t having a good game, Vasquez and Williams offer some serious scoring punch that could keep us in a game that we would’ve been out of last season. If Lou can stay healthy, I don’t see why he can’t average 10 points a game at least.

Lou Williams hopes to provide scoring off the bench

James Johnson is a ball of energy. A wrecking ball of Miley Cyrus proportions if you will. I knew this guy was going to be a good defender, but I didn’t expect this through 2 preseason games. He disrupts everything on the defensive end. Steals, blocks, tipped passes, it’s really a wonder to watch. Plus he is a big boy. We can put him on Lebron James and I’d feel ok about it. A hell of a lot better than if Amir Johnson is covering him. The only negative I can say if offensively. Sometimes Mr. Johnson has too much energy on that end of the floor. On the defensive end it’s great. Offensively, it can be downright chaotic. Johnson needs to settle down a bit. Hopefully coach Dwayne Casey will give him some serious guidelines on what not to do on offense. In general, he is a great pick up that offers a unique skill set but also adds to an already deep roster.

The Raptors season could not get underway any sooner. All signs point to an improved team over last years squad that won 48 games and an Atlantic division title. Demar Derozan looks bigger and I could see him building on his all-star campaign last season. Jonas Valanciunas and Terrence Ross enter a crucial third season that will need to see them both take the next step. Valanciunas especially will need to be more involved in the offence if the team wants to make a serious improvement. He can be a beast in the east at the center position. Finally, Kyle Lowry looks great coming off easily the best season of his career. An improved mid range jump shot will allow him to attack inside and out while also opening up passing lanes for him to dish the rock to open teammates. Plus he clearly hasn’t lost his competitive mentality, as he was arguing about calls roughly 30 seconds into the preseason. Gotta love the Bulldog of Bay Street.

Will the Raptors win the championship? Probably not.

Do the Raptors have a shot? Most definitely

Kyle Lowry circus shot vs. Sacramento

What do you think? Tweet me @RadioJaredL

NHL on the way; Early prediction.

With the NHL season right around the Corner, heres a look at the teams I think have the best chance at success and why. this could be the most competitive year the NHL has ever seen but there are four teams that stand out to me more than others. Based on stats, style of play and coaching staff, here are my top four teams, not for the season, but for the playoffs, because whats a good season if the playoffs are a bust?

 

Los Angeles Kings:  The Kings are fresh off a Stanley Cup and have showed they are a top team. After rallying from a 3-0 series deficit against the San Jose Sharks in the first round last year, the Kings went into beast mode and refused to be stopped. With only three players leaving the team, The hockey club could very well be the favourites headed into the 2015 campaign.

Chicago Blackhawks: You can’t go wrong with having Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane on your first line and the Chicago Blackhawks see themselves with yet another good team. With supporting cast like Patrick Sharp, Marian Hossa, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and goaltender Corey Crawford, the Blackhawks are in a very good spot moving forward and come in as second on my list of top teams.

Boston Bruins: The big bad Boston Bruins time will come to an end, but that time is not now. with one of the best goalies in the NHL  Tukka Rask, a Norris trophy candidate Zdeno Chara and two top centres Patrice Bergeron and David Krecji, the Bruins may not be the best team this year, but you can punch their ticket into the playoffs right now.

Montreal Canadiens: It pains me to say this, but if Montreal Canadiens backstop Carey Price remains healthy, the ceiling for the Habs remains unknown. The Habs may not have the BEST players, but they have the right ones as well as having a great coaching staff. With a top goaltender in Price, top defence man PK Subban, don’t be surprised if the Canadiens have another healthy run at the Stanley Cup this year.

a team has no repeated as champions since the 1998 Detroit Red Wings did it. However, if there is a team capable of it. the LA Kings are the team to do it.

 

    

 

#NHL #LAKings #StanleyCup #BecauseItsThePlayoffs

So basically…

So basically this past summer was kind of a wild ride for me.

It definitely had it’s ups and it’s downs. I might get the downs out the way, to be able to save the best for last.

The summer started off kind of rocky for me. As some/maybe all of you know, I’m really into skateboarding, so as soon as school let out at the end of april, I was really excited to get right back into skateboarding for the summer and learn some new stuff. I found out that a few old friends of mine had actually started a skateboarding-based company and that they were wanting to get a few photos and videos to make an intro video. Well this is where its gets rocky…One of the guys from the company and I wanted to try and get a cool action shot on this quarter-pipe that reaches 12 feet high, the plan was to just get the back truck of my skateboard to tap the copping of the quarter-pipe and then roll back down. It worked out a few times, but then I wanted to get one more photo…one more…damn. On my “one more attempt” for some reason I went too far over the copping and ended falling about 8 feet straight down to my knee…I guess it’s hard to tell the extant of the damage at first but the next day, I couldn’t do a single thing, couldn’t walk, sleep, sit, anything. Turns out, I pulled two muscles and bruised a couple or tendons and ligaments…I was out of skateboarding for a month…Great way to start the summer.

Throughout the rest of the Summer, it was a bumpy one. I bought myself a car, and drove my family to Niagara Falls for a weekend, only to return to learning that a close friend of mine had died, and I was really sad about it because I wasn’t able to attend the funeral. And now that I think about it, this wasn’t a very great summer for when it came to deaths. I was absolutely heartbroken after learning about Robin Williams passing, followed by the death of legendary skateboarder, Jay Adams. But thats life, and life goes on.

Now the summer is over and I am back in school, starting my second year as a Radio Broadcasting student. The on air shifts haven’t been bad so far, prep for a hosting shift is probably the most difficult thing out of the whole scenario. It’s fun and exciting knowing that you are really on air, on a radio station where people are hearing you. Hopefully we’ll soon be learning how to make proper demos for ourselves, that way I can start sending those out asap, in hopes of actually having a job as soon as we graduate.

Well I guess that’s it for now. I should probably be getting to bed, seeing as how I have an 8am class tomorrow.

This Is Scotty Shade, Signing Off.

My Frustrations with the Toronto Blue Jays

Hello. I am Andrew Gunn, Radio Broadcasting student at Humber College. Just a little bit about me, I’m 19 years old, born and raised in Toronto. I love making people laugh and I am a HUGE sports fan. I live and breathe sports and could talk about it for literally hours and hours on end. My first blog post of the year will be about my frustrations with the Toronto Blue Jays this season and how the season has gone.

Coming into this season, the Blue Jays expectations were lowered after a very disappointing season in 2013. Prior to that season, the team made several moves in order to improve the team. They spent a lot of money on free agents and through trades, but they didn’t live up to the hype as they finished in last place in their division, stunning virtually everyone. With expectations not as high, the Jays had an easier mindset going in to the 2014 season. There was a little less pressure to perform and there certainly wasn’t as much hype as the 2013 season brought. They got off to a slow start in April, not playing horribly but not playing outstanding either. Then May came along, where the Jays won 21 games in the month and were well ahead in first place. The fans were given new hope and expectations started getting higher. The attendance at the games began to increase and the Jays looked like they were well on their way to their first playoff berth since 1993. Then the trade deadline approached on July 31st. Jays fans, including myself, were expecting the team to make a trade or two to improve the team and solidify their spot in the playoffs. But the deadline passed…….and the Jays did nothing. I was a little upset that the team didn’t add a piece or two to help them out. I didn’t expect them to trade away their young prospects but I thought they would at least make some sort of significant move. After the deadline passed, the Jays began to fall off, day after day dropping down in the standings. It soon fell completely apart in mid-August and that’s where I really got frustrated. Why must the Jays always do this to the passionate fans like myself? They give us hope that they can be a winning team and then just when we think they’ll be going to the playoffs, they completely collapse and it hits us like a bullet to the chest. This team has been awful at scouting and developing good players and they are always reluctant to spend money, and when they do decide to spend money, they don’t spend it as wisely as they could be. It just frustrates me that this team hasn’t won in so long and the fact they aren’t willing to make that one little extra move to get them over the hump is ridiculous. That’s my little Blue Jays rant of the day. Peace out.

Year of the Raptor?

I am Jared Launchbury. A 21 year old radio broadcasting student at Humber. Ever since I can remember I’ve had a passion for sports. I played every sport at a very young age and it has developed into my passion. Minus hockey….I know, very Canadian of me. Of course because I am so passionate about sports, that will be the focus of my blog posts. Here is a little preview of the Toronto Raptors for this upcoming season, enjoy!

The Raptors are coming off arguably their most successful season in team history, winning a franchise record 48 games and capturing their 2nd Atlantic division title. Masai Ujiri is coming off his first season as General Manager and has not felt shy about leaving his mark on the team. After a 6-12 start to the 2013-14 season, Ujiri traded underwhelming superstar Rudy Gay to the Sacramento Kings in a deal that would see the arrival of four core rotation players; Patrick Patterson, Greivis Vasquez, John Salmons, and Chuck Hayes. With the departure of Gay the Raptors looked as if they had given up on the 13-14 season only 18 games in.

That was until they went 42-22 to close out the season. Demar Derozan and Kyle Lowry stepped up as stars on a young squad with players such as Terrence Ross (23) and Jonas Valanciunas (22) making big strides in their game (including a 51 point effort from Ross against the LA Clippers). Amir Johnson and Patrick Patterson proved to be a very solid front-court duo at the power forward position, while Greivis Vasquez was arguably their most effective player off the bench.

After the season Patterson, Vasquez and Lowry all had the opportunity to leave as free agents. They didnt, instead choosing to keep their talents in the 416 with the thought in their heads that they have a shot at being a legitimate contender for years to come. Now the only question is; Can they contend!? I for one believe 2014-15 could be…wait for it……THE YEAR OF THE RAPTOR!

I think the Raptors have a chance to make the ever so daunting leap that has evaded them for the past 20 years (I don’t consider 13-14 making the leap because until a team shows a couple years of consecutive playoff appearances they haven’t truly made the leap).

If you look up and down this roster you have core group of talented players that have nearly a full season playing together. As anyone that follows the Raps would know, the roster has pretty much been in constant influx since the Rob Babcock era (2004-06). Not only does this team feature 10 returning players, they also have new players coming in that are improvements over last years roster. Depth is CRUCIAL to survive an 82 game season. Cough* San Antonio Spurs *Cough.

In June, shooting guard Lou Williams was picked up from the Atlanta Hawks in a trade that saw John Salmons go the other way(aquired in the Gay trade). This trade didn’t really receive a hell of a lot recognition but it could pay off as one of the steals of the summer. Williams is a scorer with a history of injuries including an ACL tear in his right knee in February of 2013. He will be nearly two years removed from that injury once he suits up for the Raps and is an instant improvement over Salmons. The guy can flat out score. Plus him teamed with Vasquez provides a very solid 1-2 combo coming off the bench behing Lowry and Derozan. I expect Williams to average around 10 points a game. If the Raptors can get that from him this team will improve.

James Johnson is a veteran acquisition that brings something to the roster that was missing last season. A shutdown defender coming off the bench. Before last season Johnson shed some weight in an effort to make an NBA roster. He ended up with the Memphis Grizzlies and had arguably his best season to date. The Raps didn’t have a player last year with Johnson’s defensive versatility as he can guard the 2-3-4 positions. There were often times last season, specifically against Brooklyn in the first round, where stronger perimeter players would over power the Raptors defenders(Paul Pierce, Joe Johnson). Johnson is unheralded for the consistent defensive effort he brings to the table. He will have a significant role on this team as a shutdown guy, if he plays up to his standards it will have a very positive impact on the team for the upcoming season. 

These two players are significant improvements on a bench that was very average last season. Other additions include Bruno Caboclo, Lucas Nogueira, Greg Stiemsma, Jordan Hamilton, and Will Cherry. Those players provide depth that the Raptors simply didn’t have last season. All signs are pointing up for this squad and expectations are high(as they should be). I predict the Raptors finish top 3 in the Eastern Conference, with a serious shot at the Conference Finals.

Thoughts?