Arsenalist

The Toronto Raptors Blog with an Arsenal touch

Archive for December 21st, 2006

TJ Ford guns down Clippers in Wild West Showdown

Posted by Arsenalist on December 21, 2006

tj ford celebratesTJ Ford brought back memories of Vince Carter in LA with a buzzer beating jumper to down the Clippers 98-96. With 15 seconds left and the score tied, Sam Mitchell called the best play: nothing. Just let TJ go one-on-one. Quentin Ross stumbled and the rest is history.

Raps started this one off on positive notes with TJ Ford hitting the highest rainbow shot you’ll ever see to score the games first points and Joey Graham reminded Chuck Swirsky of Magic Johnson with a sweet hook shot. Anthony Parker and Joey Graham got the Raptors off to a good start before Elton Brand and crew neutralized the scoreboard by the end of the first quarter. Raptors showed good energy and had put the Phoenix debacle behind them.

After Bargnani nailed a three in Kaman’s face, Kaman got called for a violent offensive foul. Adding insult to injury, Bargnani nailed another three in his mug. But the play that epitomized the second quarter was a Darrick Martin air ball which only PJ Tucker caught up on to gather the rebound and put it in for a three point play. PJ Tucker, Darrick Martin and Fred Jones (yes, Fred Jones) lead the way as the Raptors found themselves up eight at the half, partly due to some poor Clipper turnovers. This would’ve been a much bigger lead hadn’t it been for official Raptor killer Sam Cassell who refused miss any jumpers keeping the Clippers within striking distance. Fred Jones hits a last second three to give the Raps a cushion.

At this point I noticed Penny Marshall in the crowd. Wasn’t she supposed to be a Laker fan?

Clippers make an expected run to come within a couple points but the Raptors respond by keeping the Clips busy in transition defence. Amazing things can happen when the defense isn’t set. Fred Jones’ (23, 2, 3) coming out party officially started with a distance three and Bargnani is getting credit from Chuck Swirsky for dishing out hockey assists. Great ball movement in conjunction with Clipper turnovers restore the lead and then some. Up by nine at the end of three. Things are about to get heated.

Jack Armstrong yells out “Ho Ho Ho” after checking out the Clipper cheerleaders.

Raptors and Clippers decided to trade baskets and no-scores for a few minutes when the surpirsing substitution of the half takes place. Anthony Parker for Mo Pete. Mo Pete does not like it and neither do I. Soon after, Clippers crank up the defense and suddenly Raptors aren’t running anymore and neither is the scoreboard. The offense is stagnant and a Mitchell timeout didn’t help. Clippers come back via Kaman, Brand and Livingston who all manage to contribute in a run that ties the game with the help of Raptor turnovers. Clippers briefly take the lead on two Livingston free throws before Ford misses the opportunity for a three point play but gets fouled and sinks both FT’s.

Cuttino Mobley has his jumper blocked by Fred Jones on the ensuing possession to setup Ford’s heroics. Jones’ block will be overlooked but it is huge. Mobley makes that shot 9 out of 10 times.

As I said before, mission accomplished on the road trip. If we one out of the next two, the party is on.

Misc Game Notes: Some milf type lady was checking out TJ Ford when he was giving the post game interview with the TV crew….Sam Mitchell went nuts after the game winning shot, started jumping and waving his arms wildly…This was literally a nail biter, my nails can prove it

Posted in Raptors, clippers, nba | 2 Comments »

The iPod is killing us

Posted by Arsenalist on December 21, 2006

They’re everywhere. Everyone has wires plugged into their ears where music blasts it’s way across the eardrums and into your brain, slowly stimulating and killing your being. Streetcars, buses, subways, streets are all packed with people walking around like drones paying close attention to what they’re hearing and ignoring everything else. In a world where only they exist, these drones walk along, nodding their heads, sometimes even whispering to themselves the words uttered in the ears by their masters. So many people and so many things are just ignored and simply blocked from their minds.

Music has always been a huge part of peoples lives and people listen to it for advice before they even hear their own parents out. Such is the influence of music on people; it changes their attitude, their beliefs and even their perspective on life. You begin to see life through the imaginative eyes of the musician, you start believing that their thoughts are your thoughts, that their ideas and philosophy are in line with yours, you identify with them and you feel at home. Rhyming sentences and a rhythmic beat touch a nerve in your heart and you feel at home with an idea or feeling that has become personal, giving meaning to an otherwise static feeling. People find salvation and inspiration in music but I say it destroys your ability to think correctly and develop an original character true to your core beliefs, whatever they may be. This is true especially if you rely on it as a crutch in your daily life, as do so many people.

The sounds that a person misses when he’s is travelling through the city with their ears plugged are many and each sound carries with itself something real and concrete. Whether it is the sound of a firetruck whizzing by or the sound of somebody’s steps as they step on the bus or a noisy store on the street, they are all real and need to be heard, accepted and thought about. It is sad that we are blocking out the sounds of the world from our lives in favor of something artificial and contrived.

For a week, and only a week, unplug your ears and open them up to the natural sound of the world. You will be glad you did. I’m speaking generally to those who make it a routine to plug their ears on a daily basis to go a week without it and listen to the sound of life. The human touch is missing from our lives as it is; we’re plugged in to an electronic device at all times. If it’s not the iPod, its television, if it’s not the television, it’s the computer, if it’s not the computer, it’s the cellphone. I too am guilty of spending excessive time with these devices but it needs to be said that something isn’t right.

Posted in ipod, life, misc, music, thoughts, tv | 3 Comments »