ABOUT ADAM: NOT A RAPTOR

Various matters that crossed your mind as you pondered how your life would have been different if "Backyard Drills with Bill Parcells" had come out in 1988.

One week ago, some dim bulb of a prognosticator -- OK, this dim bulb of a prognosticator wrote "if Adam Morrison goes No. 1 in the NBA draft, that means the Raptors traded down." Scott Carefoot was first to suggest that GM Bryan Colangelo would be wise to trade down from the No. 1 spot and also flip Charlie Villanueva for a lottery pick; that idea makes too much sense not to try it.

This is germane in light of Doug Smith's story about Morrison in yesterday's Toronto Star. What jumps out is the conclusion, which touches on the Gonzaga star being a diabetic, which has raised some doubts about "how he would handle the wear and tear of an 82-game NBA season":

Morrison will have the benefit of the best medical care he can get in whatever city he plays in, he'll have the financial ability to hire nutritionists, trainers and whatever else he needs and the comfortable travel lifestyle of an NBA team will be much less a grind that what he went through in college.

"I think it's a little overblown," he said.

Smith is just doing his job as a beat writer -- show all sides of the story. However, that last passage just seems a little cryptic. You have to wonder if the Raptors are trying to put up a smoke screen -- assuage any doubts about Morrison, put out the vibe that he's a bona fide No. 1 pick and boom, before you know it, Colangelo will have all sorts of people asking to trade up.

OTHER BUSINESS

• Did anyone other than SI.com's Allan Muir take notice of this? During a press conference last week, Gary Bettman said he'd like to see the new rule that prevents a team from changing players after it ices the puck applied also "considered when the goaltender freezes the puck." Don't think for a moment that won't be considered this summer.
• Question: So when will Rafael Nadal win a Grand Slam somewhere other than at Roland Garros? His win over Roger Federer in the French Open final made him 6-1 career against the world's consensus No. 1 player, made it 60 clay-court wins in a row and as Deadspin notes, "further cemented his place as the world’s greatest athlete in capri pants."
• Another NBA Draft note: Toronto's Denham Brown, who played at UConn, is apparently turning heads at the pre-draft camp in Orlando, writes SI.com's Chris Ekstrand.
• R.I.P., Moe Drabowsky. Anyone who once gave the commissioner of baseball a hotfoot and endured pitching for both Kansas City major-league teams gets induction to the Out of Left Field Hall of Fame.
• Speaking of K.C., the Royals are 16-45. How does that compare with the worst teams ever after 61 games? The Royals are even with both the '62 Mets and '03 Tigers had after 61 games, but one win behind the pace of the 1916 Philly A's and three behind the 1935 Boston Braves.

That's all for now. Send your thoughts to neatesager@yahoo.ca.