As I’ve said before, I’m not all that interested in this year’s NHL playoffs. The lack of Canadian teams whose fans don’t start riots has left me with no one to cheer for (let’s face it, the Sens probably won’t get past the first round), and after an anti-climatic ending to another disappointing Flames season, I’ve decided to stay away from hockey for a couple weeks, overtimes be damned. Fortunately, there are plenty of other alternatives in Toronto, the Centre of the Known Universe™, including a coupla major-league sports teams at opposite ends of their seasons.
The last time I went to see a Raptors game, it was last season with Steve Nash, Vince Carter and the Phoenix Suns in town. Suffice to say that Toronto lost–big time. This year, I decided to settle for Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and the Boston Celtics, along with the faint hope that the Raptors might catch their division rivals on an off night and sneak away with a win. Not that I was getting my hopes up, or anything.
Mind you, Toronto came through for just the 21st time in this lockout-shortened season, handing the stunned Celts an 84-79 road defeat. The first half of this game was worse than watching women’s basketball, with the home team trailing 36-30, shooting just 23 per cent from the field. I think the 12-year-old kids who played at halftime made more of their shots than the pros did. If you could even call them pros, that is–the Raps were without Bargnani, Calderon and Bayless and had a pair of D-League callups in their starting lineup. Boston, meanwhile, benched most of their star players, even giving a pair of third-stringers some significant minutes on the assumption that they had this one in the bag. But then a funny thing happened in the third quarter…
Toronto came out firing on all cylinders, particularly Linas Kleiza, who scored most, if not all, of his 17 points in the second half. As a team, the Raptors nearly matched their first-half output with 27 points in the third, raising their field-goal percentage by 10 points in the process. Section 109, which had been dead silent save one fauxhawked fellow, started to come alive, although some of the so-called fans were cheering for Boston. Meanwhile, the Celtics, suddenly down 13 after the first basket of the fourth quarter, realized they needed Pierce, Rondo and company if they wanted to win this one. They came awfully close, too, cutting the lead to one in the dying seconds, but DeRozan and Kleiza hit their free throws as the Raptors pulled off the upset.
From the perspective of wanting to see all of Boston’s star power on display, the game was a little disappointing (Ray Allen didn’t even dress), but if you’re a Raptors fan, you’ll take it. I guess I am, though this might have been the first time I’ve sat through four quarters of one of their games this season. The excitement of the second half was almost enough to make me forget the worst 24 minutes of NBA basketball I’ve even seen, so in the end, I suppose I’m a satisfied customer.
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At first, the plan was to go see the (C)Raptors on Friday, then catch the Jays game on Saturday afternoon to remember what a real sports team looks like. Toronto was playing Baltimore, the worst team in their division, so it looked like they could probably pull this one off. Alas, if you had told me on Thursday that I’d watch the Raptors win and the Jays lose over a two-day stretch, I’d have called you crazy. But you also would’ve been right.
Toronto got a solid seven innings from rookie right-hander Henderson Alvarez (fun fact: he was 3 when they last won the Series), but their bullpen gave up a pair of long balls to spoil a somewhat mild Saturday late afternoon/early evening. Not sure what was up with the 4 o’clock start–I guess Sportsnet musta been showing an important soccer game or something. But that didn’t stop a respectable walk-up crowd from heading out to the ballgame, with total attendance topping 28-thousand.
Now, I’ve been to about a dozen Jays games in the 6+ years I’ve lived here, but I’d never sat behind home plate before. If you can spare the dime, I highly recommend it. From my vantage point some 13 rows up, any balls fouled straight back went well over my head, and I could see every pitch just as well as home plate umpire Derryl Cousins–who didn’t do the Jays’ pitchers any favours, and called a whole helluva lotta strikes against Jose Bautista, to boot! For the record, Casey Janssen clearly struck out Wilson Betemit with a 2-2 pitch in the bottom of the eighth, but after Cousins called it a ball, Betemit belted the next pitch over the right-field fence to tie the game. Had Cousins made the right call, there’s no telling how that game would’ve ended.
Mind you, the Jays could’ve altered the outcome had J.P. Arencibia (he of the .071 batting average) not struck out swinging with runners on second and third in the sixth, or had Brett Lawrie not tried–and failed–to steal home with Bautista at bat in the second. Remind me to look for a new catcher for my fantasy baseball team, by the way, cuz the kid’s just not cutting the mustard at the moment. On the other hand, I really can’t complain about Lawrie…
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Almost as disappointing as the Jays’ late-game meltdown on Saturday was the post-game meal at a nearby Baton Rouge restaurant. From a place that’s supposed to be known for its ribs, I was not expecting barely warmed-up pork with sauce stolen from a Swanson’s TV dinner. Guess they didn’t microwave ‘em long enough. Also, the coleslaw tasted kinda funny. Sad to say I can get better food at Swiss Chalet for a significantly lower price–and I guess I’ll be going there next time instead.
(Wait, do they even have a Swiss Chalet on Front Street?)
