25 games. TWENTY-FIVE.

UN-BE-LEIVE-ABLE.

I am so angry about this I don’t even have the words. A full 30 percent of TORONTO Raptors games cannot be seen in cable TV in Toronto.

http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/521892

I cannot fathom what sort of IDIOT at MLSE allowed this to happen. I cannot believe that TSN thinks it’s acceptable to relegate the only professional basketball team in Canada to a secondary network. I can’t believe Rogers isn’t making an effort to make as many channels as possible available to its subscribers.

I think what pisses me off even more is how the Raptors completely glossed over this fact in their announcement of the schedule.

Two quotes from the press release:

“82 regular-season contests being broadcast in High Definition (HD) and televised nationally for a third consecutive season.”

- A very misleading statement, bordering on fallacy, since A) TSN2 is not available “nationally;” according to my research, it is currently available on 19 of the 45 cable providers in Canada. That’s less than half, by my math.

- In addition, only six - SIX! - of those carry TSN2 in HD. Also some cable providers do not carry Raptors NBA TV in HD either. So, while you can tell us every game is broadcast in HD, who the hell cares if HD service is not available to the viewer?

“This also marks the seventh straight campaign that the entire regular season schedule will be aired locally.”

- An outright lie! “Locally?” I’m assuming by locally, they mean Toronto. Yet Toronto isn’t getting the entire regular season! We’re missing 30 per cent! How can they make such a statement? (And I can even play the semantics here and argue use of the word “aired,” since most of the games are only available via cable or digital cable - if you get the channels! - you can’t say it’s being “aired” locally. The only over the air broadcasts are on CBC.)

Tom Anselmi, MLSE’s executive VP and COO, is quoted in the release as saying, “”We’re excited to have the CBC, Raptors NBA TV, The Score and TSN as part of the broadcast line-up” - note how he doesn’t mention TSN2 - and “The promotional power of these four networks supports growing basketball across Canada.”

Again, he doesn’t seem clued in that the games are actually on FIVE networks, one of which is NOT available “across Canada” and more importantly, in the team’s own home market.

To top it all off, there’s no mention of TSN2 fall to the 11th paragraph of the press release! Even then, no breakdown is given - you have to read the attached schedule to see that there are 25 games blacked out in Toronto. Maybe they thought no one would notice? Apparently they think Raptors fans are too ignorant, stupid, or mindless to actually read that far.

You insulted us all by not acknowledging this situation, expecting us not to notice, and trying to tell us that all games are available to everyone.

Nice spin job, guys. Really. But all you did with that press release was confirm, once again, that you don’t care about your fanbase.

I try not to curse on this blog, and that’s a good thing because the profanities that are streaming through my head right now, directed at MLSE, Rogers and TSN, would probably get this site blocked by Google’s safe search.

I thought it was bad when they forced people to cough up the $$ for Raptors TV for, what was it, 24 games two years ago? Now it’s 25 and even if I wanted to pay for them, I don’t even have the choice. Screw you all, MLSE, Rogers and TSN.

SCREW. YOU.

Tags: MLSE, Rogers Cable TV, Toronto Raptors TV Schedule, TSN, TSN2

Well, the pre-season is all but over, just a couple practices to go before the real games start, one week from today.I can’t wait!

I’d feel better knowing whether or not I’m going to be able to see all the games this year, but, hey, making the game accessible to fans isn’t important, is it? I’m still pointing these two middle fingers at you, Rogers, MLSE and TSN. See them? Good.

Anyway, I have a few thoughts about the state of the team as the exhibition season closes down. First of all, I’m very concerned about the, ahem, shortness of the bench. There’s Bargnani. There’s the remains of the Kapono-Moon-Graham triangle. And there’s Humphries. Not game-breakers but serviceable backups.

Then… there’s Will Solomon and Roko Ukic, neither of whom has exactly stood out in the preseason. Both have shown some questionable decision making and a tendency to succumb to full-court pressure. And we’ve got Hassan Adams, who can play D but can barely throw the rock in the ocean. Then there’s… hmm. Well, I guess that’s it.

Wait… that’s it!? Yikes, that is a short, and not exactly stacked, bench. Nathan Jawai is still out indefinitely with his heart problem (and he’s still too raw to contribute anyway), and Jamal Sampson, signed as practice fodder, is also hurt.

Is Calderon prepared to play 40 a night? He might have to.

Doesn’t having only four bigs worry anyone? O’Neal and Bosh have both had their injury problems - heck, last night O’Neal missed the second half with a back problem. Can you imagine having to start Hump and Bargnani, with no one to back them up? What if there’s foul trouble? Just look at last night… there was no interior defense to speak of.

I don’t know that I agree with this whole streamlined roster thing. The thinking behind it is, taking away some options should help Sam settle on consistent minutes for his guys, especially at the wing. I get the concept, but then why bring in Hassan Adams at the wing?? And Solomon? You know Sam’ll just be tempted to put them in as soon as Moon or Graham make a mistake. If you were gonna do that, why not ditch Joey, forget Adams and Solomon, and keep Delfino? Or instead of Adams, why not sign a big to shore up the foul trouble/injury defense - and to hack Dwight Howard every time they play the Magic, as they SHOULD have done last year?

Hey, I hope O’Neal and Bosh play 36 a night for all 82, obviously - but O’Neal couldn’t even make it through the pre-season. This short roster really could bite them in the ass. We all know how the “it was a disappointing season, but we had so many injuries” excuse goes - not far. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for health!

Meanwhile, the starting SF spot… I thought I was done with this, but then Moon decided to play like crap the rest of the exhibition schedule, and then Joey Graham came from out of nowhere to being this close to nabbing the spot. I think it’s safe to say that, if Joey Graham is looking like your best option, the 3-spot is going to be a HUGE problem this year!!

Come ON. Look, I can buy the argument for starting Moon over Kapono. But Joey?? Oh, man…

I’ve talked about this before, but I like Joey. He’s the guy I wanted at that spot in that draft, I was glad they took him instead of Gerald Green and Danny Granger. But that was then! Three years have proven that Joey just doesn’t get it (and also, that Danny Granger would have been absolutely perfect for this team. Alas). Joey’s an amazing athlete and a skilled basketball player, but the guy just doesn’t make the right decisions on the court. I wish he would get it, I have always wanted him to succeed, but after all this time, my hopes have been dashed completely.

I still think Kapono is the best option there.

Anyway, while I don’t deny the talent on this Raptors team, the pre-season showing has left me concerned about the make-up of the roster. It’s short and doesn’t seem to have the right personnel to fill the right holes. I’m trying not to make too much of what I’ve seen so far - after all, pre-season is pre-season - but it has to be a concern.

Tags: Jason Kapono, Jermaine O'Neal, Toronto Raptors