BOOING VIN WEASEL NO LONGER SO NOVEL (BUT WHAT THE HELL)

Neither snow nor the chance of a self-induced cockblocking could stop Raptors fans from giving Vin Weasel the Code Red on Valentine's Day.

Question, though: Is the whole ritual getting a little old?It's been almost 26 months since that goldbrickin' mama's boy was sent packing (December 17, 2004 and no one needs to Wiki that date.) When's enough enough?

With the Raptors winning, you would have thought it would have been tapered off, especially since it was Valentine's Day last night. A lot more guys than usual were probably at the game with a date. That suggests they would have cooled it with the booing, since going to a game to boo the bejesus out of someone makes you look like a bitter A-hole and bitter A-holes often sleep alone (unless you're a stand-up comedian or a rock musician and it's part of your act).

If it's between to the Raptors and going home to play NBA 2007 by yourself, or zipping it and getting served a homemade sandwich after 4 a.m. lovemaking practice, you know what most dudes would pick. Nevertheless, the Weaz got booed.

Friends who were there told me fans chanted "Carter Sucks" so loudly while happily filing out of the Air Canada Centre into the snowy Southern Ontario night after Toronto's 120-109 triumph over the New Jersey Nets that it reportedly disrupted Raptor TV's post-game show, which airs from the ACC concourse.

It also snowed like hell across Ontario yesterday -- up to 70 cm in some areas of Toronto, the roads a mess with collisions and spinouts. It might have been an act of God -- also known as Dean Smith, the Weaz's coach at North Carolina -- designed to keep people home and somewhat spare Number 15 of the Nets, yet the Raptors still had a sellout, with booing you-know-who as a prime attraction.

It was one thing to boo Number 15 of the Nets when the Raptors had little else going for them in the past two seasons and the Weaz had just had a soft landing -- not the first time the word "soft" has come up in connection with him -- with a division-winning team in Jersey. Now the Raptors are winning -- 4 1/2 games ahead of the freefallin' Nets after last night, when the Weaz shot 5-for-15 and clanked a pair of fourth-quarter free throws to help pee on the dying flame of the visitors' comeback hopes. Shouldn't we move on?

Well, consider this:

1. TV cameras caught Number 15 mouthing, "Come on, MVP?" when Toronto fans took up the now-familiar "MVP" chant for Chris Bosh (25 points, nine boards, six dimes, incidentally), which seems a bit dickish;*
2. He quit on us;
3. Just look at this picture posted by the brand-new starsportsblog, where the former false idol is worshipping a graven image;
4. Knowing that it was the start of the all-star break, and knowing what we do about how popular Toronto's nightlife is among NBA players, there's probably no way Vin Weasel slept alone on Valentine's Day, if he so chose;*
5. And, oh yeah, he quit on us.

So is it getting little old? Short answer: Nahhhhhhhh. As co-blogger Neil Acharya, who also gets a hat tip for the Vin Weasel sobriquet, put it , "Screw him and the crutches he pretended to walk in on."

It's losing its novelty as time goes on and the Raptors rise and the Nets fall, but it should last for a while yet. Just remember, there's going come a time well into the next decade when the Weaz is winding is career down as a sixth man on a going-nowhere 25-win team and TV announcers are sounding like VH-1 specials when they say, "Vince Carter... remember when he was a superstar?" That thought should keep us all warm.

(By the way, here's a great Flickr set from Vin Weasel's first game back two years ago.)

About the Bosh MVP chants: Having attended two Raptors games last week, it seems like that chant never takes over the whole arena. The smart fans know that Bosh is a great player, but he's not a legit MVP candidate -- it's Dirk Nowitzki's award to lose since Steve Nash is sidelined. (Check out the 82games.com stats for Dallas and Phoenix.)

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