Kyle Lowry—He The North (Published in Sports Illustrated July 15, 2019)

Although I’ve had content featured on TV and online several times, there’s something special about seeing one’s name in print. I’m proud to say that I accomplished that for the first time this week, as my letter to the editor was included in this week’s Sports Illustrated! 🙌

After I read Chris Mannix’s phenomenal feature on Kyle Lowry, I was inspired to write a response to articulate my appreciation. For the piece, the player, the person.

Here's the version they published:

And for your reading enjoyment, here's the original, unedited version:

We The Champs! 🏆 I Am Happy. 😊

From my previous piece at the beginning of this remarkable Raptors season:

We should believe in ourselves, our team, our city,

Instead of dwelling on supposed inferiorities.

As Masai also wisely preached, “We should move past that.”

Kawhi had the first, let’s hope he also has the last laugh.

So, let's check how we did. Well, not only did our city believe in the Toronto Raptors, our country did too:

✅ Record price paid for an NBA Finals game 🎟️
StubHub's average price for Game 5 in Toronto was $2,223 per ticket.

✅ Record TV ratings 📺
For the clinching Game 6, 15.9 million unique viewers, or almost half of Canada tuned in.

✅ Over 50 Jurassic Parks across the country! 🙌
And one down south too in Rockford, Illinois, the home of Fred VanVleet.


As for Kawhi "Fun Guy" Leonard:
✅ Brought the Toronto Raptors its first championship, or as he calls it, "The Larry O-B!" 🏆
✅ Became one of only three players to win NBA Finals MVP for multiple franchises 🐐
✅ Lived up to his self-given "Fun Guy" moniker 😂
✅ Had the last laugh! From yesterday's parade:

The Finals Countdown ⏳

Somehow, waiting for the NBA Finals to start for the last four days have felt almost more excruciating than the last 24 years of being a Raptors fan!

Game 1's Giveaway Shirt (Photo via @Raptors on Twitter)

It's safe to say that one fan has been waiting with even greater anticipation. The Raptors reached the NBA Finals the first time. Based on an exorbitant exchange on the ticket resale market, this fan backed up the Brinks truck like this might be the Raptors' last time!

The average Canadian salary is $51,000. A fan paid a pulse-stopping $76,477.50 CAD ($56,876.77 USD) on StubHub for a pair of courtside seats for Game 1 tonight in Toronto.

People are (fairly) freaking out about this stratospheric sum of money, but I get it. There are scores of reasons why basketball is incredible. One of them is the opportunity for fans to be so close to the action. Most sports have some barrier between the fans and the game. For instance, there is glass (hockey), netting (baseball) and personnel (both types of football).

Basketball places fans so close to the court that they are practically rubbing shoulders with the teams. Or in Drake's case—literally!

On that note, here's hoping for a Finals free of incident and full of excitement! (And hopefully, a storybook ending to this magical season for the Team in the North! LET'S G🏀 RAP🍁ORS!!!)

Sportsnet Slays with Provocative Pregame Raptors Hype Video 😮

Link to the video

I commend everyone involved, their work was astounding!
The best hype video – got all of our hearts pounding!
This piece delivered pristine production all-around:
The visuals, writing, voice-over, music and sounds.  

The most notable feature was that it was so blunt,

There was a method to the madness, not just a stunt.
This was truly provocative, everyone was panned:
The media, players, coaches and even the fans.
It was all justified though, a brilliant plan.

They called out our All-Stars for leaving:
Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter, Chris Bosh,
The frankness was raw and disbelieving:
Seasoned journalists exclaimed, “Oh My Gosh!”

The video also took aim at our two most recent flames:
The Face of the Franchise, DeMar, and the Coach of the Year, Dwane.
This was copywriting at its best – amplifying the pain!


Most importantly, it also gave us hope for this season,
A great team added Kawhi Leonard; that’s the main reason.
Although he is a man shrouded in mystery,
He’s also the best player in our history!

We should believe in ourselves, our team, our city,
Instead of dwelling on supposed inferiorities.
As Masai also wisely preached, “We should move past that.”
Kawhi had the first, let’s hope he also has the last laugh.



Photos via Sportsnet

Under the Radar

As the full NBA schedule was recently released, much attention was devoted to the respective returns of the superstars that switched teams (LeBron, Kawhi, DeMar, etc) and deservedly so. However, there are also some under the radar match-ups that are worth consideration.

For me, the Trae Young/Luka Doncic duels should be super spicy. Both rookies have a considerable contingent of critics to disprove already, with many believing that the Hawks gave up too much in their trade for Trae, whereas the Mavericks’ Doncic has been saddled with similar skepticism that most top European prospects are faced with. And of course, the fact that they were traded for each other just increases the intrigue!

The NBA season cannot start soon enough!

OK, we'll C ⛹️‍♂️

They threw him a huge celebration;
Paul George will re-sign with the Thunder.
But there’s still an elephant in the room,
In the form of internal plunder.
There was a noticeable absence,
From a particular fellow,
Said he’s not willing to sacrifice,
Goes by the name of Carmelo.

                  (picture via Sportingnews)