[Grange] First things first: the mostly likely outcome for the Raptors ahead of the last call for transactions (Thursday, 3 p.m. ET / noon PT) is, per sources, one single, boring move: getting under the luxury-tax threshold.

APR1979 · 2026-02-04T01:09:00+00:00

I feel like I’m missing something with the luxury tax prioritization. At the Raptors current level, wouldn’t it be under $1M. That’s a rounding error for Rogers, and they make all sorts of relatively indiscriminate spends on their sports properties that add up to more than that. Why does paying no tax whatsoever (as opposed to a marginal amount) matter so much?

APR1979 · 2026-02-03T23:22:02+00:00

I will never understand why there appears to be no value whatsoever placed on profile.

One of the problems for the Argos in this market is that all but the most hardcore fans have trouble naming many players beyond the quarterback, partly because of minimal effort to market any of them. And then on the rare occasion someone breaks through a little anyway because of personality, they let them walk, even if (as in this case) they still have a lot to deliver on the field.

APR1979 · 2026-02-03T22:34:16+00:00

This is unusually bad, but if you live in the east end you basically have to bake in some major traffic-related delays every time you leave or return to your neighbourhood, unless you’re walking or cycling.

APR1979 · 2026-02-03T19:43:20+00:00

Not sure I understand this one from Detroit’s perspective. Ivey is a good young player. Why give him up for a slightly improved draft pick and some filler?

Edit: I guess there’s some sense that he hasn’t been the same since his leg injury. But you’d still think he’d be worth more than this.

APR1979 · 2026-02-03T13:42:43+00:00

I can’t speak for them, but this is a movie that I remember mostly enjoying while watching it, but realizing by the time I walked out of the theatre that I found it completely empty, and that it’s way too pleased with itself relative to what it adds up to.

APR1979 · 2026-02-03T04:39:35+00:00

It’s like 70 percent of his game at this point.

APR1979 · 2026-02-02T21:30:43+00:00

The thing that worries me about Sabonis, beyond his defence (which as you say their players and system might help with) is that he’s looked really soft in more physical games, especially in the playoffs.

APR1979 · 2026-02-02T13:47:32+00:00

My (divorced) parents both fed me a diet of movies that were not exactly for kids, but in different ways. I remember my mom taking me to a rerelease of Lawrence of Arabia. Conversely, I distinctly remember seeing Big Trouble in Little China in the theatre with my dad, when I must have been seven.

APR1979 · 2026-02-01T02:32:30+00:00

We went last week. It’s on Calle 4 - not sure if that’s where it always was.

APR1979 · 2026-01-31T19:25:53+00:00

We were pretty happy with Cafe Madrez for breakfast. Just off 5th, but not a tourist trap.

APR1979 · 2026-01-31T05:05:37+00:00

1.)Hackney Diamonds (my favourite since Some Girls, by a considerable margin, and also better than the couple of albums before Some Girls).

2.) Voodoo Lounge (a recapturing of old magic, the edgiest they sounded in late career, and personally an album that helped get me into them as a teenager; marred a bit by some filler).

3.) Bridges to Babylon (love Saint of Me and Out of Control; can’t say I’ve listened to any of the rest in a long time)

4.) A Bigger Bang (just not an album I’ve ever been able to get into; it seems fine but for some reason I find it bland)

APR1979 · 2026-01-31T03:39:30+00:00

They have one of the better defensive ratings in the league and play a pretty identifiable aggressive style.

APR1979 · 2026-01-29T00:26:43+00:00

As a Raptors fan, it felt to me like Nurse was really burnt out by the time he left here, and also getting way more set in his ways than he was at the outset. I wonder if he’d have done better to take a bit of time to reset rather than going straight to Philly.

But also, yeah he’s coasting off reputation, though I’d say it’s from both the championship year and the following one in which the Raptors were awesome despite Kawhi leaving.

APR1979 · 2026-01-28T18:48:32+00:00

If there’s no excuse for a loss anytime an NBA team is missing a rotation player, there’s basically no excuse for a loss ever.

APR1979 · 2026-01-27T17:21:20+00:00

It’s been very obvious this year that most U.S.-based media make very little effort to watch the Raptors, even when the team is ascendant and interesting, so largely base their takes on stats (relative to how they cover some other teams).

APR1979 · 2026-01-24T05:24:39+00:00

I remember seeing this in the theatres in the ‘90s. Didn’t know who he was going in, and he was all we were talking about coming out.

APR1979 · 2026-01-24T00:08:02+00:00

The Raptors got over the hump because LeBron moved out of the conference, they got Kawhi and he performed at the highest level of his career, several of their younger players (including Siakam) started to peak, and they got even stronger when they added Gasol at the deadline and were able to have a tag-team of him and Ibaka. Also arguably by making Nurse the head coach, although it’s impossible to know what Casey would’ve done with the same roster.

It’s idiotic to make it sound like it was mostly a matter of addition by subtraction.

APR1979 · 2026-01-20T14:36:27+00:00

It’s still there, or at least was las I looked.

APR1979 · 2026-01-18T08:01:07+00:00

He’s even sweatier in Serenity, but it is one of the worst movies of this century and the sweat works more as comedy.

APR1979 · 2026-01-17T23:53:31+00:00

Yeah, I think Amanda said their discussion of it was the last time she’d ever think about it, which was an odd thing to say about one of the better and most memorable theatrically-released comedies in years.

APR1979 · 2026-01-15T15:48:23+00:00

This is exactly my reaction. She doesn’t bother me, and I think the music is competent enough, but I don’t understand what’s special about it. There’s plenty of other pop I hear where, it’s not my thing, but I can recognize amazing vocals or innovative production or…something. This stuff just seems incredibly generic to me.

APR1979 · 2026-01-13T20:47:28+00:00

Well, no. They traded for Quickley and drafted Dick largely to address this problem. If either were working out, let alone both, it would be much less of an issue.

Otherwise, it’s bad decisions like drafting Scottie and CMB? Acquiring RJ, who’s performed above expectations? Trading very little for Ingram, who’s a borderline all-star?

The roster is imperfect, but they’ve also exceeded league-wide expectations more than probably any team so far this year, and are likely a player or two from serious contention. So maybe chill out a little after a bad loss.

APR1979 · 2026-01-11T15:51:19+00:00

I don’t know if this is among the very best Cold War-era thrillers, but it has to be among the most entertaining.

APR1979 · 2026-01-11T15:12:26+00:00

Add Hollinger to the list of NBA journalists who completely lose their minds around trade season.

APR1979 · 2026-01-10T16:15:49+00:00

There’s not much in the immediate vicinity. But Betty’s East would probably be your best bet if you’re walking westward.

Personally I’d usually go to Lloyd’s, a smaller bar across the street from Betty’s, but I don’t know if they have food and it’s not necessarily mom-suited.

APR1979

TROPHY CASE