RAPTORS: NO BULL, EVERYONE LOVES US

In the wake of the Raptors' 103-89 rout of the Chicago Bulls:

• The path to being respected in Canada is to win acclaim in the States first. That's how it is with most self-loathing, insecure hosers. If the Americans haven't given you the seal of approval, you're suspect -- unless you play hockey or work for the the CBC. In that case, it's our chance to hold our nose up on the air at the less sophisticated Americans.
  
  Well, good news, then: The Yanks seem to be somewhat getting the Great Raptor Redesign. This means the body sporting of Canadians might clue in some time around 2009. Here's a sampling from the past 24 hours:
  
  David Boyce, Kansas City Star: "(LeBron) James and the Cleveland Cavaliers better look out because there’s another young team ready to overtake East powers Detroit and Miami."
  
  Tim Povtak, Orlando Sentinel: "The Raptors are hot and poised to get considerably hotter in the coming seasons."
  
  It's a trip to see U.S. sportswriters enthusing over the Raptors (in the past, all the knob-polishing was over Vin Weasel, who's currently dragging his team deeper and deeper into a New Jersey swamp with every passing day). The Raptors are a New New Thing to a lot of people who get paid to cover the NBA in the States. Meantime, in Canada, yours truly gets mocked or paying as much attention to hoops as hockey.
• In the words of Chuck D, when it comes to Joey Graham (pictured) and his newfound success, can't truss it. Graham was very good last night (19 points and smell-the-chewing-gum defence on Luol Deng), but talk about a ballplayer who's up and down.
• A 30-point swing in 15 minutes. The Bulls went from 11 up early in the third to down by as much as 19 midway through the fourth quarter. That's more than a team should ever hope for on offence and defence against a solid opponent, but it happened.

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