What happened in the NBL Canada last night? Storm grab second straight road win, Oshawa names new coach 12/28/11

posted by Romy Aquino

Breaking down what happened in the National Basketball League of Canada on Wednesday night.


SUMMERSIDE STORM 100, QUEBEC KEBS 92

Quebec Top Performers
Ralphy Holmes - 25 pts, 12 reb
Royce Parran - 22 pts (8-15), 6 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk

Summerside Top Performers
Mike Williams - 19 pts, 11 reb, 11-14 FT, 4 ast
Xavier Hansbro - 9 pts, 12 reb, 2 blk

Magic Bargnani - Andrea with the no-look pass to James Johnson

It's the Showtime Lakers....um, I mean....Raptors.  Andrea Bargnani does his best Magic Johnson impression with the no-look pass to a cutting James Johnson down the lane.  Bargnani had a solid night against the Indiana Pacers with 21 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks and a steal in the tight battle with the Indiana Pacers.  Raps lost 90-85 in the home opener.
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Canada Stand Up! Tristan Thompson with an impressive NBA debut

The future of Canadian basketball looks promising.  Especially with two Canadian first round draft picks making their NBA debuts this week.

One of them was Burlington, Ontario's own, Tristan Thompson,  who made his NBA debut against his hometown Toronto Raptors on Monday night. And he didn't disappoint. He put up 13 points on 4-6 shooting and grabbed 5 boards in 17 minutes of play.  Thompson went head to head with the Raps' Ed Davis on the night, and held his own in the post.  It was an impressive performance from the Cavs rookie who didn't show any nerves in front of the Cleveland fans.

What happened in the NBL Canada last night? The Kebs knock off London 12/27/11

posted by Romy Aquino

Breaking down what happened in the National Basketball League of Canada on Tuesday night.

QUEBEC KEBS 94, LONDON LIGHTNING 79

Quebec Top Performers
Ralphy Holmes - 23 pts, 10 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl
Jermaine Blackburn - 17 pts (7-11), 6 ast, 9 reb, 1 blk

London Top Performers
DeAnthony Bowden - 17 pts, 2 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl
Gabe Freeman - 10 pts, 13 reb, 6 ast, 3 stl

Triple Double Trouble - Quebec's Ralphy Holmes NBL Canada's Player of the Week

posted by Romy Aquino


Ralphy Holmes made the NBL Canada history books last week by recording the league's first-ever triple double against the Saint John Mill Rats.  The third place Quebec Kebs pulled out two wins against the Mill Rats last week including a win where Holmes put together his triple double (17 pts, 16 reb, 10 ast) and scored the final three points in the Kebs 105-100 win.

What happened in the NBL Canada last night? Halifax takes over 2nd place 12/23/11

posted by Romy Aquino

Breaking down what happened in the National Basketball League of Canada on Friday night.

HALIFAX RAINMEN 93, QUEBEC KEBS 92

Quebec Top Performers
James "Boo" Jackson - 17 pts (8-11), 15 reb, 2 ast
Royce Parran - 8 pts, 6 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl


Halifax Top Performers
Eddie Robinson - 14 pts, 4 reb, 2 ast
Tyrone Levett - 19 pts, 9 reb, 1 stl

And THESE are your Toronto Raptors alternate jerseys...

So the Raps unveiled their new alternate jersey for this season.  In special tribute to the Canadian Forces, the Raps will sport "camo" jerseys on March 21st against the Chicago Bulls.  Now, are these the best looking jerseys?  In my opinion, no....but I guess, overall, it's what it represents that's important.

What happened in the NBL Canada last night? London and Quebec with win #12 12/20/11

posted by Romy Aquino

Breaking down what happened in the National Basketball League of Canada on Tuesday night.

LONDON LIGHTNING 107, SUMMERSIDE STORM 98

Summerside Top Performers
Mike Williams - 18 pts, 14 reb, 2 ast
Al Stewart - 18 pts (8-11), 6 ast, 4 reb

London Top Performers
Rodney Buford - 19 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast
Gabe Freeman - 13 pts (5-8), 12 reb, 5 ast

The Miracle Worker - Darrell Wonge Named NBL Player of the Week

posted by Romy Aquino

The Moncton Miracles have had a disappointing start to this season with an 0-11 start.  But with a new coach in Mike Evans and a few roster changes, the Moncton Miracles were able to get  the monkey off of their backs last week.  Darrell Wonge, a 6'6" forward for Moncton, helped the Miracles make that happen.  The Winston-Salem State alum averaged 20 ppg in his last three games for Moncton including a 30-point performance in Moncton's first win of the season against the Summerside Storm.

The NBA is back and so is KG's trash talk.

The Raps lost a close one in their preseason home opener on Sunday with a 76-75 loss to the Boston Celtics.  Boston's Greg Stiesmsa...who?.....Greg Stiesmsa had the game-winning basket for the C's in his four minutes of play.  Andrea Bargnani led the Raps with 16 pts and 9 boards.  Ed Davis had the double double off the bench with 10 pts and 10 boards.

This weekend also marked the return of another season of NBA basketball and the return of KG trash talk.



(Via Red's Army)

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What happened in the NBL Canada this weekend? Taliek Brown's Heroics and the Battle of NB 12/18/11

posted by Romy Aquino

Breaking down what happened in the National Basketball League of Canada this weekend.

HALIFAX RAINMEN 109, OSHAWA POWER 108

Oshawa Top Performers
Omari Johnson - 24 pts, 7 reb, 4 ast
Akeem Wright - 21 pts, 9 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl


Halifax Top Performers
Taliek Brown - 18 pts, 4 ast, 3 reb
Tyrone Levett - 21 pts, 8 reb, 2 blk

It's been a long time.... - Raptors-Celtics Preseason Starts Today

It's been a long break for NBA fans...especially Raps fans, with almost an eight month layoff. But the Raptors basketball season (well, at least the preseason) begins today against the Boston Celtics.  Again, it's another season with a whole crew of new faces on this roster with additions of Rasual Butler, Aaron Gray, Anthony Carter, Gary Forbes and Jamaal Magloire.  Expect a season that won't be full of a whole lot of wins but definitely full of growth and development for the future.

Things to watch for this season:

What happened in the NBL Canada last night? It's a Miracle! 12/16/11

posted by Romy Aquino


Breaking down what happened in the National Basketball League of Canada on Friday night.

MONCTON MIRACLES 111, SUMMERSIDE STORM 102

Summerside Top Performers
Mike Williams -  28 pts (9-13), 11 reb, 6 ast
Jessan Gray - 14 pts (5-5), 6 reb

Moncton Top Performers
Darrell Wonge - 30 pts (8-11), 4 reb
Trayvon Lathan - 23 pts, 11 reb, 3 ast

This is a Throwdown - Welcome to the NBA, Tristan Thompson

Welcome to the NBA, Tristan Thompson.

The NBA rookie from Brampton, Ontario made his Cleveland Cavaliers debut last night, as the Cavs won 91-87 over the Detroit Pistons in preseason action. This year's #4 draft pick went for 8 pts, 4 reb, 1 stl and 2 blocks including this two-handed throwdown.




"Throws the hammer down!"


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What happened in the NBL Canada last night? Summerside drops fifth straight 12/15/11

posted by Romy Aquino

Breaking down what happened in the National Basketball League of Canada last night.

HALIFAX RAINMEN 122, SUMMERSIDE STORM 107

Summerside Top Performers
Mike Williams - 27 pts (10-15), 15 reb, 4 ast
Eric Gilchrese - 18 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast


Halifax Top Performers
Taliek Brown - 12 pts (6-10), 11 ast, 5 reb
Eric Crookshank - 10 pts (5-6), 10 reb

The Guy Who Killed Canada's Olympic Chances - Raptors sign Gary Forbes

As rumoured, the Toronto Raptors officially signed 6'7" swingman, Gary Forbes today as the Denver Nuggets chose not to match the Raptors offer sheet.  The Panama native, played 63 games for the Nuggets last season and averaged 5.2 ppg.  He also played in this summer's FIBA Americas tournament for the Panama national team.

Movin' On Up - NBL Canada Guard, Tommy Mitchell, heads to the NBA

posted by Romy Aquino

This is a good sign for the National Basketball League of Canada.

What happened in the NBL Canada last night? Battle of the 506, Suspensions and Transactions 12/13/11

posted by Romy Aquino
Breaking down what happened in the National Basketball League of Canada last night; we have a Battle in New Brunswick, transactions and the league's first-ever suspension from its commissioner.

SAINT JOHN MILL RATS 102, MONCTON MIRACLES 99

Saint John Top Performers
Anthony Anderson -  24 pts (8-9), 3-4 3pt, 4 reb, 5 ast
Antoine Tisby - 22 pts, 8 reb

Moncton Top Performers
Boubacar Coly - 15 pts (7-11), 10 reb
Victor Morris - 18 pts (7-12), 4 3pt, 6 ast

Who's The New Guy? Rasual Butler, Aaron Gray and Anthony Carter At Raptors Media Day

It's like the first day of school with Monday being Media Day for the 2011-2012 Toronto Raptors.  This was the first day that the media could get time with the old and new faces of the Raps roster.  Who are the new guys this year? Newly-signed Rasual Butler, Aaron Gray and the newest signee to the Raptors (as of Monday), veteran point guard, Anthony Carter.

Jay Satur of Raptors.com got a chance to speak with the new faces of the Raps, check out his videos:

The JJ Show - Halifax's Justin Johnson NBL Player of the Week

Chalk up another NBL Canada Player of the Week for the Halifax Rainmen.  Rainmen guard, Justin Johnson has earned this week's Player of the Week after two solid performances last week.  The 6'6" guard out of Tyler, Texas helped the Halifax Rainmen put together a few wins including their first road win of the season against the Summerside Storm.  Johnson nailed the game-winning basket in the 97-96 win over the Storm.  The Rainmen are now 6-4 on the season.

What happened in the NBL Canada last night? 12/11/11

posted by Romy Aquino

Breaking down what happened in the National Basketball League of Canada on Sunday:

LONDON LIGHTNING 87, OSHAWA POWER 80

London Top Performers
Gabe Freeman -  20 pts (5-12), 12 reb
Eddie Smith - 19 pts (7-13), 8 reb, 4 ast




Oshawa Top Performers
Marcus Johnson - 24 pts (8-12), 6 reb
Omari Johnson - 19 pts, 9 reb

What happened in the NBL Canada last night? 12/10/11

posted by Romy Aquino


Breaking down what happened in the National Basketball League of Canada on Saturday night:

OSHAWA POWER 99, LONDON LIGHTNING 93

London Top Performers
Gabe Freeman -  22 pts (6-15), 18 reb
Tim Ellis - 13 pts (6-12), 8 reb, 3 ast




Oshawa Top Performers
Akeem Wright - 25 pts, 12 reb, 2ast
Brandon Robinson - 20 pts (6-15), 7 reb

Makin' Moves - Raptors Add Rasual Butler and Maybe More

It's officially official.  The Pietrus deal is dead but the Toronto Raptors announced today that they signed former Chicago Bulls swingman, Rasual Butler.  Butler played for both the Los Angeles Clippers and Chicago Bulls last season including three games with the Bulls in last year's playoffs.  He averaged 10.7 ppg in 47 games last season.  And for now, it looks like the Raps will be standing pat by not making a lot of major financial moves and just fill in the holes this season.

"I'm the hockey player of this team." Magloire to sign with the Toronto Raptors

In a kind of a minor move in the NBA but a bit more significant move for Canadian basketball/Raptors fans, it looks like the Toronto Raptors will have their first-ever Canadian to suit up with the Toronto Raptors this season.  Jamaal Magloire will look to sign a one-year deal with the Toronto Raptors on Friday.  The Canadian centre is moving into his 12th season in the NBA.

Hey, it's no Steve Nash to the Raptors, bit it's good to see a Canadian ball player suit up for the Raps.


Raptors fans....what do you think of this addition?

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What happened in the NBL Canada last night? The Battle of the 401 and a Battle in the Maritimes 12/8/11

posted by Romy Aquino


Breaking down what happened in the National Basketball League of Canada last night:

LONDON LIGHTNING 100, OSHAWA POWER 76

London Top Performers
Eddie Smith - 20 pts (7-14), 3 ast
Gabe Freeman -  18 pts (9-17), 12 reb



Oshawa Top Performers
Brandon Robinson - 11 pts, 11 reb
Omari Johnson - 14 pts, 7 reb

What happened in the NBL Canada last night? More Canadians on the move! 12/7/11

posted by Romy Aquino

More transactions!  We've got more transactions in the National Basketball League of Canada on Wednesday:

TRANSACTIONS
The league-leading London Lightning have made their second trade of the season, exchanging a couple of Canadian players with the Moncton Miracles.

To the London Lightning
G  Tristan Martin (Toronto, Ontario)
Also signed: 
C  Anthony Washington

To the Moncton Miracles

G  Nick Lother (Winnipeg, Manitoba)
2012-2013 First Round Pick

What happened in the NBL Canada last night? 12/6/11

posted by Romy Aquino

Breaking down what transactions happened in the National Basketball League of Canada on Tuesday:

TRANSACTIONS
Well, we had a lot of Canadian player movement in the NBL on Tuesday.  The second trade of the NBL season took place between the Saint John Mill Rats and the Oshawa Power:

To the Oshawa Power:

C    David Collins

SG  Jerome Brown

To the Saint John Mill Rats:
F  Kevin Francis
Also sign:
PG Calvin Cage

What's up Holmes? Ralphy Holmes Named NBL Player of the Week

The Quebec Kebs had a great week last week, pulling out a few wins and also getting their first NBL Canada Player of the Week.  The Kebs guard, Ralphy Holmes, took home this week's honours and is currently the third leading scorer in the NBL Canada averaging 17.3 ppg for the 8-4 Quebec Kebs.

What happened in the NBL Canada last night? 12/4/11

posted by Romy Aquino

Breaking down what happened in the National Basketball League of Canada in the lone game yesterday afternoon:

HALIFAX RAINMEN 104, MONCTON MIRACLES 95

Halifax Top Performers

Lawrence Wright - 26 pts, 3 reb

Joey Haywood - 15 pts, 8 ast, 2 reb

Moncton Top Performers

Boubacar Coly - 16 pts (7-9), 19 reb, 3 blk, 2 stl
Victor Morris - 12 pts (6-9), 7 ast

What happened in the NBL Canada last night? More Canadians on the move! 12/3/11

posted by Romy Aquino

Breaking down what happened in the National Basketball League of Canada last night:


LONDON  LIGHTNING 98, MONCTON MIRACLES 93

London Top Performers
Eddie Smith - 23 pts, 10 asst, 5 reb
Shamari Spears - 31 pts (12-19), 4 reb

Moncton Top Performers

Andrew Francis - 19 pts (8-10), 3 reb

Darrell Wonge - 22 pts (7-11), 8 asst, 4 reb

What happened in the NBL Canada last night? 12/2/11

posted by Romy Aquino

Breaking down what happened in the National Basketball League of Canada last night:

QUEBEC KEBS 95, MONCTON MIRACLES 77

Quebec Top Performers
Ralphy Holmes - 26 pts (11-15), 11 reb, 4 asst, 4 stl
Royce Parran - 15 pts, 4 rebounds, 4 assists

Moncton Top Performers

Mike Evans Jr - 18 pts (7-11)

Darrell Wonge - 11 pts, 2 rebounds

Charity Game Highlight Reel - The DeMar Show

Baron Davis and WNBA star, Tina Thompson held a charity game on Sunday in Los Angeles.  And Los Angeles' own, The Raptors' DeMar DeRozan was one of the participants.  With guys like James Harden, Matt Barnes and Trevor Ariza all on the floor, the game was full of good hoops and highlight oops.  Here are the top ten plays....and I believe DeMar highlights make up like8 80% of them.

(via SLAM online)

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THE SEASON' S BACK!

Via Yahoo! Sports:

The NBA and the Players Association have reached a tentative agreement to end the five-month old lockout and start the league’s 2011-12 season on Dec. 25.

It looks like it's almost time for the Toronto Raptors to get back in action....the blog's dusted off, the RAPS TALK podcast will be back for another season as hoops fans have waken up from NBA lockout hibernation.

It's been a while hoop heads, but it looks like the season's back!

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Hoops Talk with NBA Legend Muggsy Bogues at NBA Jam Session - Halifax

To conclude our interviews from NBA Jam Session in Halifax, it was a pleasure to have the chance to talk with NBA legend, Muggsy Bogues.  The former Toronto Raptor and Charlotte Hornet was in Halifax on the last stop of the NBA Jam Session tour and we were lucky enough to get in a few minutes with Muggsy.

Heading up to the Jam Session weekend, I was excited when I got word Muggsy was coming to town. He was an amazing player to watch growing up. His strength and power in the game despite his short stature lead my wife and I to name our 20lb dog (pug/beagle mix) after him. Like the ball player, he's small, tough and not afraid to play with the "big dogs".  Having the opportunity to chat with an NBA legend as basketball fans is an amazing experience, to say the least.

Shoutouts to Muggsy for allowing us to talk hoops with him.  Be sure to follow Muggsy on Twitter @MuggsyBogues and visit his official website at www.MuggsyBogues1.com.  Also, a huge thanks goes out again to the NBA Canada team for letting us interview Muggsy at this year's Jam Session.

(Camera: Jeorge Sadi)

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Hoops Talk with Anthony "Buckets" Blakes at NBA Jam Session Halifax 2011

One of our favourite NBA Jam Session interviews from last year was Anthony "Buckets" Blakes of the Harlem Globetrotters.  He was back for the cross-Canada Jam Session tour this year and we had the opportunity to talk to the Globetrotters guard for a second time.  We asked "Buckets" about the Globetrotters tour, his watch collection and his favourite spot in Halifax.  Be sure to check out Anthony "Buckets" Blakes and the Harlem Globetrotters at harlemglobetrotters.com

A special thanks to the NBA Canada crew for letting us shoot our interview!  Stay tuned for our interview with NBA Legend, Muggsy Bogues. (Camera: Jeorge Sadi).

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Jonesin' For Some Hoops - NBA Jam Session Halifax 2011

Well, the NBA lockout has kept us itching for some basketball action this summer and we finally got a taste of a little NBA/hoops action here in Halifax when the NBA Jam Session rolled into the city.  This was the last stop on the Jam Session tour as Halifax was the host of the 3 on 3 National championship game.

Sean Francois, U-E Sampang and myself got to witness this year's festivities which included the basketball talents Lucky (the Boston Celtics Mascot), The Toronto Raptors Dance Pak, Anthony "Buckets" Blakes of the Harlem Globetrotters and NBA Legend, Muggsy Bogues.

Check out our little highlight reel from this year's NBA Jam Session weekend:


Stay tuned for interviews with NBA legend, Muggsy Bogues and Anthony "Buckets" Blakes of the Harlem Globetrotters in the upcoming week.  Also, check out NBA Jam Session Canada on Facebook for pictures and videos from across the country.

Shoutouts to Jeorge Sadi for the excellent camera work!

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Hip Hoop Junkies & Hoop Heads North present RAPS TALK Ep. 18 (04.05.2011)

Episode 18 of RAPS TALK (04.05.11) - This week, the RAPS TALK crew talks hoops with Toronto media personality and Juno Hoops All-Star, Devo Brown.

The orginator of the "Raptors Rant" breaks down the Toronto Raptors, his Juno Hoops experience, his choices for NBA Awards, his friendship with Chris Bosh and also a little bit about his sleeping habits.

Check out Devo at DevoBrown.ca and follow him on Twitter, @DevoBrown

Make sure you subscribe to the Raps Talk podcast on iTunes.

Click here for the MP3 (right click "Save As...")

Hip Hoop Junkies & Hoop Heads North present RAPS TALK Ep. 17 (03.29.2011)

Episode 17 of RAPS TALK (03.29.11) - The RAPS TALK podcast welcomes Daniel Artest to this week's show. Daniel is a baller as well as a blogger for The No Look Pass and of course, he's the younger brother of the Los Angeles Lakers' Ron Artest.  You can also find Daniel Artest and his hoops commentary on Twitter, @TheRealDMArtest 

Check out this week's podcast as Artest talks about Artestology, the NBA, the late John Strickland, his love for the San Antonio Spurs and P90X.

Enjoy.

Make sure you subscribe to the Raps Talk podcast on iTunes.

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Hip Hoop Junkies & Hoop Heads North present RAPS TALK Ep. 16 (03.28.2011)

Episode 16 of RAPS TALK (03.28.11) - The Raps Talk crew proudly welcomes Sekou Smith of NBA.com, The Hangtime Blog / Podcast and NBA TV to this week's podcast.

Sekou is a former beat writer for the Indiana Pacers and Atlanta Hawks but currently is a member of the NBA.com family.  You can find Sekou on Twitter, @SekouSmithNBA.

In this episode, Romy, Sean and U-E talk to Sekou about his life as a beat writer for the Hawks/Pacers, his thoughts on the San Antonio Spurs/Chicago Bulls, his experience at the Malice at the Palace and his MVP thoughts.

According to Sekou, Doug Smith and Sekou are apparently cousins (I wonder if he's cousins with Eric Smith too?).

Enjoy this week's podcast, folks.  

Make sure you subscribe to the Raps Talk podcast on iTunes.

Click here for the MP3 (right click "Save As...")

Subscribe to RAPS TALK, our audio podcast on iTunes

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