Here we go again.

Lots of good stuff in here as usual so I hope you enjoy it on what looks like a rainy around these parts to mess up a long weekend and vacation if you’re lucky enough to be on it.

I’m TFC Boy later tonight, will be back here tomorrow and Tuesday as usual with a couple more Olympic memories but it’s Tuesday afternoon to Wednesday morning travel so I have no idea how things will be working – or if they will be – once we land in Rio.

You can wish me luck later.

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Q: With the dog days of the NBA summer here and me having little interest in the Olympics, there is only one important question. How is your Napoleon barbecue working for you? And for follow up questions, is it now about 4 years old? Would you recommend it?

Dave

A: It’s working great, good as the day we got it and have never had an issue. Haven’t done a lot of serious outdoor cooking this year due to some time constraints – mainly burgers and chicken and sausage – but I’d recommend it for sure.

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Q: Doug:

I was listening to a sport talk call in show and they were asking: "Who would you put on a Sports Mount Rushmore"? (i.e. something honouring 4 of the great athletes of all time). Maybe it shows my age, but I thought of the following: Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, Pele, and Wayne Gretzky. To be honest, I struggled with the 4th spot. If it were up to you, who would you have carved into the mountain?

David H

A: I presume we’re only talking about relatively modern era athletes or those we’ve seen perform in person and I agree that the fourth one probably needs to be changed since hockey is basically a niche sport globally compared to boxing, basketball and soccer.

So I’ll give you Usain Bolt as that fourth guy.

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Q: Good Summer Doug,

I see Arsenal will play an exhibition game here in Norway. Soccer is big over here and Norwegians are big fans of English football. My own son plays on a 4th division side and to be honest, I prefer watching his games then those really good blokes that kick it around in the Premiere League.

Us folks living in Europe are having a hard time understanding the popularity of Donald Trump and his latest comments about NATO hasn’t made him any more popular around nd here. Scary times indeed!

Anyhow Rio is just around the corner and Im curious to what it is you look most forward to in the realms of sport and culture? Have you been to South America before?

Wish you a save journey.

Greetings

Scot in Norway

A: Arsenal’s going to be in Norway? If you see an over-exuberant young fan waving her scarf around mildly, send her back to us, we need her to run the IHA Podcast.

I have never been to South America and I guess that’s part of the mystique but with all the horror stories, I honestly don’t know that I’m looking forward to anything other than getting through the Games safe and healthy and unscathed.

Sure, I’d like to see Copacabana and Christ the Redeemer but only in a large pack of colleagues and seeing what Bolt does and the Canadian women’s basketball team chase a medal will most likely be the sports highlights. But it’s been my history at these things that there’s a surprise moment that turns out to be most memorable, for good or bad.

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Q: Hello Doug-

You have been appointed tall forehead of the Summer Olympics and may add 3 sports, and remove 3. Explain the reason or provide a random witty anecdote if you please.

Cheers,

Jonathan M

Montevideo, Uruguay

A: What I’d put in?

Beer Mile!

Combining one thing I know quite well and on with which I am entirely unfamiliar. Of the running and drinking, I’ll leave it to you to figure out which is which.

Some sort of Great Race event using only transportation that’s available to the general public and media where you have to get to a certain number of venues in one day so they can see what people deal with.

And since they seem to be trending to youth and odd sports why not some kind of obstacle course race? Maybe with fire and animals?

What I’d take out?

I think sailing is a tad elitist and has a dozen too many categories so I knock some of it out.

Isn’t modern pentathlon to anachronistic to still be included?

And I wouldn’t have put golf back in the first place and won’t miss it if it’s gone.

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Q: Totally random stuff. Blame the heat. And the fact that the car's A/C as well as the automatic windows both broke on the same day. Wednesday. When it was a brisk 43 degrees Celsius at 6 AM.

But, what a week. For those of us who grew up in an era when girls weren't allowed to take woodworking classes (rather than sanding and sawing, we girls were taught how to make porridge, a pot of tea and a gingham apron), play rugby (while the boys learned how to play this most excellent game, we girls learned traditional folk dances from around the world. Krakowiak, anyone?) or base drums in the school band (even trombones were considered too "manly" so most of the girls were assigned flutes or clarinets), or even wear slacks to school, watching Hillary Clinton in Philadelphia on Thursday night was stirring. Now, I know many other countries have done it - and done it repeatedly - and no, she's not taken over the @POTUS official Twitter handle yet, but seeing a woman represent one of the two major political parties in an American presidential election was something I thought I'd never witness. But what about Bill? FLOTUS has a nice ring. FGOTUS doesn't roll off the tongue quite as easily...

Was that actually our Nathaniel Rateliff plucking the banjo in the Kia commercial? (What with the A/C and windows situation I'm actually paying attention to car commercials.) Wish they'd had him do the SOB song, though.

Anyway, a question: Is it true? The Rio Olympic Organizing Committee forgot to include a Media Bar in their plans? Isn't that like building an amusement park without the, you know, amusements? Say it ain't so, Doug!!!

Anyway, safe travels. Actually safe EVERYTHING when you are in Rio! Looking forward to your stories.

Lorie P

A: Yes, What About Bill?

And, yeah, I was informed Friday – gingerly by people who are quite familiar with my ticker issues and blood pressure stuff – about there is no bar in the media centre which immediately sent me scurrying to find out if there was one in our hotel (there is!) and getting through the seven stages. Acceptance may never come.

YES! I believe those are Night Sweats guys in that commercial. Not sure how I feel about that, though.

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Q: Hi Doug,

With Dave Perkins upcoming book about stories from his long illustrious career, have you given it any thought of writing your own version? I would definitely buy that book! Thanks for the great work and keep up the banter on the number sign IHA podcast.

Sincerely,

Sean Gottschall

A: Perk’s got a zillion good stories from a long and wonderful career and I can’t wait to read the tome later this summer. That said, it’s not something that’s ever really crossed my mind mostly because I don’t know if I have the discipline to pull it off.

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Q: Hey Doug:

Reading about your Olympic experiences, and specifically about the Atlanta Games (great, insightful stories by the way), have you ever found yourself reporting on non-sport stories? For example, were you filing bomb-related stories from Atlanta? Have you always worked as a sports grunt?

A few weeks ago, you wrote quite eloquently about Tim Duncan, he was one of the classiest athletes I have watched play. He reminds me of Jean Beliveau, a player who transcended the sport he played so well for so many years. You stated Duncan is irreplaceable, and that we won’t see someone like him again and that may be very true. That stated, if the NBA were to create the Tim Duncan Award, a new award for the player who best exemplifies all of Tim's qualities and talent, who would be your five nominees for that award?

Appreciated as always

Phil

A: Glad you’ve liked the Olympic stories, a bit out of the norm but it’s been fun telling them.

And, yeah, if untoward news stuff happens and I’m on the scene, I try to pitch in while not getting in the way of colleagues who have more experience and expertise.

In Atlanta, I was working for The People’s Wire Service and w all obviously raced to the scene and I sent back snippets of information that went into a much larger story that was being crafted our desk back in Toronto with bits and pieces from many sources.

One coolish story along those lines: It had to be 2001, maybe 2000 or 2002 and I along with crack photographer Hans Deryk were dispatched to Daytona Beach to write a feature on Vince Carter around a celebrity golf tournament he was hosting. Well, a hurricane was approaching so the tourney got cancelled, I wrote a couple of pieces about people boarding up homes and that kind of pre-storm prep and when the storm changed course, Hans and I chased it up the coast, ending up in Myrtle Beach to write about it. That was cool.

The Duncan question is hard because (a) there’s no one like him and (b) I’m not around too many candidates too frequently.

But from what I know from colleagues, I would put Dirk, Manu and The Professor Andre Miller on a list and be happy with it.

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Q: Until last year I have never known how to refer to the portion of the chicken wing which today you have called the “wing part”. Last spring I was in Miramichi doing some salmon fishing and stopped into a pub for a bite and a beer. Wings were the special of the day so I ordered a plate of salt and peppers with hot sauce on the side, and noted to the waitress that there were relatively few drumlets. She was somewhat taken aback and replied “so you don’t like two-bones?”. Well that led to a lengthy discussion with the locals, who all referred to that part of the wing as the two-bone, and who viewed it as being far superior to the drumlet. Now I always refer to them as the two-bone.

Good luck with the Olympic trip and thanks for all of your Raptor reporting. Along with my son and my daughter, we are quite the passionate Raptor family and your reporting and blog is a significant part of what makes the entire experience of being a fan enjoyable. Alas, my wife calls the game squeaky-squeaky, but one can’t have everything.

Jim Wilson

A: Dropping a little chicken wing knowledge; much thanks. I had never heard “two-bone” until I read this. I okay with them but much prefer the drumlets, easier to manage easier to add blue cheese dip to.

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Q: Hi Doug,

I am admittedly new to your blog but in a short time have become a huge fan.

I am Canadian but I have been living in São Paulo, Brazil for 6 years. I am probably the only person who lives in Brazil that saw 6 live Raptors games last season! Every time I travel back to Toronto I try to go to a game. The last game I went to was on Feb 26, Raps vs Cavs - W for Raps! Pretty cool that we have two Brazilians on the team right. Funny thing is that they are much more well known in Canada than in Brazil because soccer is everything here.

I have travelled to Rio a lot for work and fun. I hope you enjoy yourself while in Rio covering the Olympics. Unfortunately you hear a lot of bad news about the city. I know Rio is no Kansas, but it can really be an incredible place. I have family and Canadian friends that have visited Rio multiple times because they loved it so much. CT Boucherie is my favourite place to eat there in the Leblon neighbourhood in case you have some free time.

Here is my first question for you.

I know a lot of people were hoping that during the offseason the Raptors would pick up a PF all-star. Unfortunately the fiscal realities of the team would never let that happen. However, I am already imagining scenarios after next season where we make a big move and I want to know if I should stop dreaming or start to get excited.

Serge Ibaka will become an UFA after next season. Does Masai have the persuasive power to bring him North? Do you see any scenarios in which we could resign Lowry and also sign Ibaka and still keep a decent amount of our core and bench in tact?

Obrigado!

Todd Barrett

A: Rest assured, at this moment – and all know how things can change – I know a free agent Serge Ibaka is very much on their minds and without knowing the total math or 2017 numbers, I imagine they have a scenario in mind where it could work.

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And thanks very much for the Rio stuff. I’ll get more into this when I get closer to leaving but the whole thing checks too many “worry about” boxes for me to be entirely excited about the trip. But, we’ll see.

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Q: Hi Doug - With never-ending talk about PED's and cheaters, and now having new technology that uncovers cheaters from past Olympics... does it still make sense in this day and age to still have them?

My casual knowledge is that they are overly political, and cause a huge strain on the hosting city's resources. It seems like all we hear is doom and gloom about how said city isn't prepared to host it... health concerns (hello Zika!)... human rights concerns that seem to be ignored... and how much debt is accumulated once the games wrap up.

Add in the fact that I don't think any athletes get paid to be there, and I just don't see the allure of the Olympics. Especially considering all these events have their own professional leagues / governing bodies.

While I admit to watching them if I happen to flip through the channels, I don't spend my time anxiously counting down the days to the next Olympics.

Have fun in Rio!

Sal L.

A: I think the Olympics are a wonderful celebration of sports and I like that so many athletes in so many varied disciplines are able to come together and watch, support and get to know one another. And for those reasons I believe them to be important and relevant.

But for all the things you mentioned, there has to be some fundamental change in how they are awarded, the oversight that goes into them, the cost in so many ways, they are in danger of being so impossible to stage I don’t know what the next step would be.

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Q: Hello Doug:

Here are a few mailbag questions I've had on my mind for a while. I hope you can answer them.

1. Why aren't teams, such as OKC, given some form of compensation when they lose a star player such as Kevin Durant. Other leagues, such as MLB, offer at least a 1st round draft pick as compensation. It seems somewhat unfair, especially for small market teams, to not receive anything for them.

2. If the NBA wanted to curtail the creation of "super teams" which tool, in your opinion, would work best...a franchise tag on a player, establishing a hard cap, or eliminating a max salary and letting the free market determine a star player's worth?

3. With basketball becoming more shooting oriented, would the NBA ever consider establishing a 4 point line to generate even more excitement?

4. Is Andrea Bargnani's NBA career effectively over now that he's headed to Spain?

5. Any word on Chris Bosh's status for the upcoming year....are his health issues going to allow him to play?

Thank you and all the best.

Joe

Mississauga

A: You really can’t do the apples and orangutans comparison of your first question. It’s not the way the collectively bargained system is set up, it’s not likely to change in our lifetime and it’s one of those impossible scenarios that aren’t worth the time to think about.

I think it would be some kind of combination of your first two tools that would work best and is perhaps possible to negotiate.

There have been proponents of a four-point shot but it is not anywhere close to being taken seriously. Plus you couldn’t do it in the corners.

Bargnani’s NBA career was over two years ago, it’s just that no one told us, or him.

Chris still harbours hopes of playing, the Heat have medical issues they need better answers to an it’s an impasse still unresolved.

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Q: In baseball people talk about the most exciting play such as a inside the park home run, a steal of home or a outfielder gunning out a runner at 3rd etc.

So my question is what is yours? Mine is not one I have listed above, mine is a tough at bat 12,13,14 pitches long followed by a hit or walk.

Travis's at bat last night in extra innings (it is Wed when i write this) against the Padres was epic, it isn't a easy thing to do, to stand there and foul off pitch after pitch, protecting the plate, taking close pitches etc it is truly a classic battle pitcher against hitter.

That to me is the most exciting thing in baseball.

Cheers

Doug B

A: I had actually fallen asleep before that Travis at-bat but watched it the next morning. Epic.

And while I see your point, I’m still going with a triple into the right field corner with a play at third or a deep flyball to right with a runner tagging at second as my best.

Something about seeing a throw “chasing” a runner makes it hugely intriguing to me.

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Q: Doug, I know it's CBB, but if you're looking for some summer reading, John Feinstein's "The Legends Club" about Dean Smith, Jimmy V and Coach K is great reading. After reading it, "K" really went up in my book. And in light of that, do you have any comment on his "we need to tone it down" comment?

Paul M

A: Most of Feinstein’s stuff is top shelf and I may pick up that tome but I am kind of down on the College Coach Love so can’t promise anything.

I think you are an Irregular of enough stature to know that I am all in favour of under-stated and none of the “hey, look at me” antics we see too often.

So, maybe DeMar doesn’t try some 180-in-traffic dunk over a guy in some pretend game that had been decided but, holy crap!, what if he’d finished it? And because of the way he has always comported himself, I think he gets a pass.

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Q: Doug, with the cap rising less next year than everyone anticipated before blowing everything this year, are there teams that have 'wasted' money this year on players just for the sake of spending this year?

Mike K London

A: I don’t think anyone wasted money simply because it was the cost of doing business but I do think there will be some buy remorse a year from now when this summer’s deals cut into cap and tax figures in 2017 that are lower than anticipated and these deals may preclude others being made. And three and four years from now that feeling will be greater because I think the length of some of this July’s contracts are going to be troublesome.

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Q: Doug,

Thanks for doing the mailbag and daily blog posts.

I really have some serious doubts/concerns about the Raptors’ roster as it stands. Based on Masai’s rounds with the media after DeRozan and Sullinger signings, he gave the usually “we’re always looking to improve the roster and are open to anything”, blah blah, but basically said he was done for now. Essentially, he got rid of Johnson, Bismak and Scola for 2 rookies and Sullinger. Say what you will about Johnson but he was, sparingly at times (and I did say at times), useful, especially up against a LeBron, a Joe Johnson, Paul George, etc. Scola did a good job in the regular season and helped the Raptors get to their record but really fell off the map as the season wore on, especially in the playoffs. Bismak, well, we know what he could and could not do. The Raptors seem to have very little depth now at the SG/SF position with DeRozan, Carroll, Ross and Powell. We saw how Ross would struggle and completely disappear for long stretches at a time. Powell is interesting but again, he wasn’t always part of the regular rotation and he doesn’t have the size to guard some guys defensively. I’m not sure if you can count on him to be consistently be part of the rotation and play 15-20 mins a game (due to matchups). It seems like the Raptors loss a lot of reliable minutes and skills from guys like Scola (20-22 mins, high basketball IQ and occasional but solid 40% 3 pt shooting in regular season) and Bismak (20-25 mins, defense, shot blocking and rebounding) and replaced it with question marks. In my mind, they took a huge step back as opposed to upgrading the roster. They ended the playoffs with only 1 glaring need, a good PF or stretch 4. Now, I feel like they have 4 needs because they downgraded their defense, shot blocking, rebounding and 3 pt shooting. With Bruno, Bebe, Siakam, Poeltle and Wright, I’m really not sure what the Raptors have in them. It is one thing to say the Raptors roster is young but quite another to insinuate youth = talented or have high ceilings.

Joe C, Markham

A: You might be right, you might be wrong; it’s the wonder of sports but, as a wise man once said, that’s why they play the games.

But, really, you and so many others need to forget about James Johnson once and for all. Please. He had no real bearing on anything they did or didn’t do last year. None.

So, they upgraded the four with Sullinger over Scola (a decade younger and an exponentially better rebounder) and need to replace a backup centre who might have play 14 minutes a night; maybe less if they go with a Carroll-Sullinger smallball front court.

But who knows; let’s talk around Christmas and see how things are, shall we?

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