Given Vermont inconsistency this year and despite our inconsistency (!), we could have beaten Vermont. From what I gather the officiating was so bad that the webcast announcers were commenting on it, the fact remains that Coach Rick Lewis cannot get the job done. Vermont's coach Will Voigt proved again that he is the superior coach, which isn't too hard. Rick Lewis has decided that the saviour of the team is a guy who flew in on Thursday. He is already Lewis' go-to guy in the crunch, despite having virtually no practice time with the Rainmen. With decent PGs like Hammack and Ramey already on the team, why do we have a new guy who is like Patrice O’Neal from our first season: hogging the ball and taking too many shots himself when all we need is a few more seconds to develop the play? Of course, that strategy only works when we have more than one play.
I gave Lewis the benefit of the doubt last year as a rookie coach with a first-year team, but with the talent on this year’s squad, his shortcomings as a coach are even more embarrassing, not to mention his miscues as a GM, tripling up on a certain position (PG) and leaving others (a true centre) woefully inadequate.
It’s almost like he is not yet finished reading the Basketball Coaching For Dummies book. I think he stopped at the page on PT where it says to make the players run up and down the court and to practice their verts. He needs to skip to the end of the book where it says how to win against teams that are as good as yours or better in order to actually make the playoffs. And eat humble pie and re-instate Eric Crookshank.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome John Strickland!
With the addition of the 36-year-old former Harlem Globetrotter, the Rainmen now have a new play: the Strick and Roll.
John Strickland is definitely an asset to the Rainmen.
1) His showmanship: his no-look passes (including making binoculars out of his hands on the way back down the court), his speech to the fans after the game, and how he reacted to our cheering for him by cheering himself on with a pat on his behind;
2 His outspokenness: during one shift, he didn’t stop talking on his way past the timekeeper table, to the referee, to the opposing coach, and finally to himself in mid-court — he talked to more people during the game than Lewis did;
3) His apparent spirituality (he crosses himself twice every time he is defending);
4) His obvious high basketball IQ and leadership on the floor, directing players to where they should be to score — and they did last night, thanks to his coaching during the game.
Welcome to Halifax, Strick!
In other news:
I saw a couple of possible reasons why SirVal has moved around so much during his career: (at least one) airball 3-point attempt that was an unnecessary shot and an instance where he lost his cool, complete with shouting expletives, at being called for a foul in the paint. Greed and Anger are two sins that no athlete can show on the playing field and survive. SirVal, please use your head and just show us your talent, not your temper.
EC Suspension Watch:
I stuck around for a bit after the game to see the start of the high school game. By the way, the Rainmen should really have promoted that there was a local high school game immediately after theirs last night. More people might have stuck around. Anyway, I observed Eric greet Lewis with a big brohug and there were smiles all around. They chatted for a couple of minutes, then Eric moved on to greet some Rainmen. It struck me as a bit odd to see them so chummy, considering Lewis ended Eric’s season and must have hurt Eric’s reputation around basketball circles. Anyway, just thought I would post it.
Free Big Mac? Yeah right!:
McDonald’s will never have to make good on their 15 three-pointer Big Mac offer. Never. We were 4 for 26 last night. At that rate, the Rainmen will have to attempt 98three-pointers to score 15 of them! McDonald’s is getting great free advertising from this one. As Chris902 said last night, maybe if the Rainmen score 15 three-pointers, each of the fans should get a car.
John Strickland is definitely an asset to the Rainmen.
1) His showmanship: his no-look passes (including making binoculars out of his hands on the way back down the court), his speech to the fans after the game, and how he reacted to our cheering for him by cheering himself on with a pat on his behind;
2 His outspokenness: during one shift, he didn’t stop talking on his way past the timekeeper table, to the referee, to the opposing coach, and finally to himself in mid-court — he talked to more people during the game than Lewis did;
3) His apparent spirituality (he crosses himself twice every time he is defending);
4) His obvious high basketball IQ and leadership on the floor, directing players to where they should be to score — and they did last night, thanks to his coaching during the game.
Welcome to Halifax, Strick!
In other news:
I saw a couple of possible reasons why SirVal has moved around so much during his career: (at least one) airball 3-point attempt that was an unnecessary shot and an instance where he lost his cool, complete with shouting expletives, at being called for a foul in the paint. Greed and Anger are two sins that no athlete can show on the playing field and survive. SirVal, please use your head and just show us your talent, not your temper.
EC Suspension Watch:
I stuck around for a bit after the game to see the start of the high school game. By the way, the Rainmen should really have promoted that there was a local high school game immediately after theirs last night. More people might have stuck around. Anyway, I observed Eric greet Lewis with a big brohug and there were smiles all around. They chatted for a couple of minutes, then Eric moved on to greet some Rainmen. It struck me as a bit odd to see them so chummy, considering Lewis ended Eric’s season and must have hurt Eric’s reputation around basketball circles. Anyway, just thought I would post it.
Free Big Mac? Yeah right!:
McDonald’s will never have to make good on their 15 three-pointer Big Mac offer. Never. We were 4 for 26 last night. At that rate, the Rainmen will have to attempt 98three-pointers to score 15 of them! McDonald’s is getting great free advertising from this one. As Chris902 said last night, maybe if the Rainmen score 15 three-pointers, each of the fans should get a car.
Friday, January 23, 2009
The truth finally comes out
From Chris Parsons' Section 23 blog:
"Apparently there was no physical confrontation between Eric and anyone else. It was 100% verbal. Eric was benched because he told Lewis during a timeout that he feels that they should be running the high pick and roll with Sanders, not him. Lewis blew up on him and told him to sit on the bench.
After the game in the locker room Crookshank said he thinks that they need to get their best guys on the floor and Lewis snapped on him. This goes along with what a lot of people have told me - no one feels like they can actually talk openly about the team in the locker room, on the bench, or in practice. Lewis has a feeling that he has to control everything and any discussion undermines his authority."
That certainly sounds more believable than the most recent story of Eric taking a swing at teammate Brian Silverhorn. Honestly, I had trouble thinking Eric would throw punches, especially at a second-year teammate.
If this is the case, I think the honourable thing for Lewis to do would be resign and let Shannon take over coaching the team. If Lewis doesn't resign, then Levingston must make the executive decision that is best for the organization and fire Lewis. If it eases front office feelings, make it a soft sell (leaving for personal commitments, whatever you want to say) to preserve Lewis' reputation (?!?) and try to salvage the remainder of the season.
IMO, Lewis doesn't deserve to stay with the Rainmen, after privately over-reacting and then publicly throwing Eric under the bus, but Andre has always come across as a gentleman and he would probably have a hard time openly humiliating the coach/GM.
If they act now, we can still do well this season, maybe even make the playoffs. And as anyone who has been watching this year's NFL playoffs will attest, any team can win in the playoffs. That is what is best for the players, best for the fans and best for the Rainmen organization.
"Apparently there was no physical confrontation between Eric and anyone else. It was 100% verbal. Eric was benched because he told Lewis during a timeout that he feels that they should be running the high pick and roll with Sanders, not him. Lewis blew up on him and told him to sit on the bench.
After the game in the locker room Crookshank said he thinks that they need to get their best guys on the floor and Lewis snapped on him. This goes along with what a lot of people have told me - no one feels like they can actually talk openly about the team in the locker room, on the bench, or in practice. Lewis has a feeling that he has to control everything and any discussion undermines his authority."
That certainly sounds more believable than the most recent story of Eric taking a swing at teammate Brian Silverhorn. Honestly, I had trouble thinking Eric would throw punches, especially at a second-year teammate.
If this is the case, I think the honourable thing for Lewis to do would be resign and let Shannon take over coaching the team. If Lewis doesn't resign, then Levingston must make the executive decision that is best for the organization and fire Lewis. If it eases front office feelings, make it a soft sell (leaving for personal commitments, whatever you want to say) to preserve Lewis' reputation (?!?) and try to salvage the remainder of the season.
IMO, Lewis doesn't deserve to stay with the Rainmen, after privately over-reacting and then publicly throwing Eric under the bus, but Andre has always come across as a gentleman and he would probably have a hard time openly humiliating the coach/GM.
If they act now, we can still do well this season, maybe even make the playoffs. And as anyone who has been watching this year's NFL playoffs will attest, any team can win in the playoffs. That is what is best for the players, best for the fans and best for the Rainmen organization.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Halifax Rainmen lose in Vermont 106-99
A few highlights: The Rainmen were within a few points for much of the game, especially at the end, but still lost; Eric Crookshank's #20 was worn by Rodney Mayes (uh oh); Dandridge continued his poor performance, with 40 minutes playing time, despite only shooting 33% and giving up 11 turnovers!
It looked to me like just about every game the Rainmen played last year - on the verge of winning, just keeping up, and then losing in the last minute despite being within a bucket or two. Sure sign of a coach who doesn’t know how to use the talent on the court.
Is Dandridge this season’s Booyer (except he is active) - a coach favourite but not living up to the hype?
I think re-assigning Eric’s number is a) in poor taste, since the suspension just happened, b) short-sighted, since the Rainmen want #20 to go to schools and talk to kids, c) a pretty good sign that Eric is toast with the Rainmen, d) stupid PR move since fans may still want to wear the jerseys they bought to show loyalty to Eric but still be Rainmen fans - those are not mutually exclusive, e) all of the above.
The correct answer is: e) all of the above.
Thanks for the great play-by-play Chris. Good for those of us who didn’t listen to the game.
It looked to me like just about every game the Rainmen played last year - on the verge of winning, just keeping up, and then losing in the last minute despite being within a bucket or two. Sure sign of a coach who doesn’t know how to use the talent on the court.
Is Dandridge this season’s Booyer (except he is active) - a coach favourite but not living up to the hype?
I think re-assigning Eric’s number is a) in poor taste, since the suspension just happened, b) short-sighted, since the Rainmen want #20 to go to schools and talk to kids, c) a pretty good sign that Eric is toast with the Rainmen, d) stupid PR move since fans may still want to wear the jerseys they bought to show loyalty to Eric but still be Rainmen fans - those are not mutually exclusive, e) all of the above.
The correct answer is: e) all of the above.
Thanks for the great play-by-play Chris. Good for those of us who didn’t listen to the game.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
"Like sands through the hourglass...
So go the players of our team." Apologies to Days of Our Lives. We are back on the roller coaster roster of last season.
So now that Eric Crookshank is suspended with no one from the Rainmen saying why, there has been furious speculation on Section 23 as to the real reasons behind the furor.
It seems like the real reason leaked out, through the many, many fan posts on Section 23. Eric had words (probably very strong words) with the coach and Boom Goes The Dynamite, he's suspended for the remaining 80% OF THE SEASON!
Wow, not bad! Less than a day and a half from Chris’ post to a fan solving the crime! By the way, I thought it was Rick Lewis in the Conservatory with the Lead Pipe.
Veteran fans will remember that The Lewis has favourites and there was a mole in the house last year. I don’t know what The Lewis has on Andre to stay on here at the expense of the team, but it had better be good.
On Section 23, Chris posted some true comedy:
"How on earth is he going to talk to kids about decision making and consequences if he can’t say what he did?
Eric: *after 20 minutes of talking* And that children is why no matter how well things are going for you, you always have to be accountable for your actions. Does anyone have any questions?
Child: ummm… but what did you do that you had to be accountable for?
Eric: That is an internal matter and will be dealt with inside the organization."
Satire -- I love it.
IMO, a baseball coach and PT expert does not a basketball coach make, no matter how close he is to the owner. So I guess that is my thought on what has to change to fix the Rainmen.
In terms of sacrifices of pay and time lost, Eric is still getting paid. The season is only 3 months long anyway, and Eric loves Hali. I believe he has called it his second home. Eric could very likely want to stay here for personal reasons, read girlfriend.
Either the real reason for the suspension is huge and the Rainmen are sheltering Eric as well as his reputation and career and Eric is standing up and being repentant for his mistake, in which case, hooray for everyone; OR Eric is taking one for the team, after standing up to an outclassed tyrant and he is toeing the party line for a longer-term deal with the team to stay in Hali, ’cause we’re so lovable. I don’t know who to cheer for in that scenario.
The hero in all of this is Rainmen PR head Nancy Sheppard, who has obviously coached the three men involved (Eric, The Lewis and Andre) in how to circle the wagons.
Unfortunately for the Rainmen, this blog (’cause it is truly so awesome) has perpetuated significant fan speculation. That cannot be good for the Rainmen. Somehow I think they are trying to save face (whose face, I am not sure as of yet) and in doing so, they remain inscrutable to the point of hurting the organization. At least, that is how I see it right now. I am sure that when the facts come to light — if they haven’t already on Section 23, thanks to Lila — everyone will wish it had been handled differently.
To replace Eric at centre, the Rainmen have signed 37 year old John Strickland, a journeyman if ever there was one. At 6'8" and 275 pounds, Strick will be a lot of man to move under the net. Let's just hope he has the fitness to keep up. That means that young Tyronne McNeal is gone. McNeal only played a handful of minutes and was never given much of a chance to get used to playing for the Rainmen.
So much for Lewis being able to develop young players. Remember that was the selling point for choosing him as coach before last season? Ask Derico Wigginton how well his player development went last year. Better yet, don't ask him, he probably wants to forget the whole thing ever happened.
Despite the touting of Lewis as a PT specialist who can develop young players, history has shown that if a player cannot fall into the Lewis program immediately, he rides the pines and/or is booted. To me, this is code for Lewis is bossy and doesn't take any argument from his players. It's his way or the highway. Older, more experienced players would do well to shut up, keep their heads down and hope for some scout to see them and whisk them away to a better-coached team. Eric finally had enough and look what it got him.
So now that Eric Crookshank is suspended with no one from the Rainmen saying why, there has been furious speculation on Section 23 as to the real reasons behind the furor.
It seems like the real reason leaked out, through the many, many fan posts on Section 23. Eric had words (probably very strong words) with the coach and Boom Goes The Dynamite, he's suspended for the remaining 80% OF THE SEASON!
Wow, not bad! Less than a day and a half from Chris’ post to a fan solving the crime! By the way, I thought it was Rick Lewis in the Conservatory with the Lead Pipe.
Veteran fans will remember that The Lewis has favourites and there was a mole in the house last year. I don’t know what The Lewis has on Andre to stay on here at the expense of the team, but it had better be good.
On Section 23, Chris posted some true comedy:
"How on earth is he going to talk to kids about decision making and consequences if he can’t say what he did?
Eric: *after 20 minutes of talking* And that children is why no matter how well things are going for you, you always have to be accountable for your actions. Does anyone have any questions?
Child: ummm… but what did you do that you had to be accountable for?
Eric: That is an internal matter and will be dealt with inside the organization."
Satire -- I love it.
IMO, a baseball coach and PT expert does not a basketball coach make, no matter how close he is to the owner. So I guess that is my thought on what has to change to fix the Rainmen.
In terms of sacrifices of pay and time lost, Eric is still getting paid. The season is only 3 months long anyway, and Eric loves Hali. I believe he has called it his second home. Eric could very likely want to stay here for personal reasons, read girlfriend.
Either the real reason for the suspension is huge and the Rainmen are sheltering Eric as well as his reputation and career and Eric is standing up and being repentant for his mistake, in which case, hooray for everyone; OR Eric is taking one for the team, after standing up to an outclassed tyrant and he is toeing the party line for a longer-term deal with the team to stay in Hali, ’cause we’re so lovable. I don’t know who to cheer for in that scenario.
The hero in all of this is Rainmen PR head Nancy Sheppard, who has obviously coached the three men involved (Eric, The Lewis and Andre) in how to circle the wagons.
Unfortunately for the Rainmen, this blog (’cause it is truly so awesome) has perpetuated significant fan speculation. That cannot be good for the Rainmen. Somehow I think they are trying to save face (whose face, I am not sure as of yet) and in doing so, they remain inscrutable to the point of hurting the organization. At least, that is how I see it right now. I am sure that when the facts come to light — if they haven’t already on Section 23, thanks to Lila — everyone will wish it had been handled differently.
To replace Eric at centre, the Rainmen have signed 37 year old John Strickland, a journeyman if ever there was one. At 6'8" and 275 pounds, Strick will be a lot of man to move under the net. Let's just hope he has the fitness to keep up. That means that young Tyronne McNeal is gone. McNeal only played a handful of minutes and was never given much of a chance to get used to playing for the Rainmen.
So much for Lewis being able to develop young players. Remember that was the selling point for choosing him as coach before last season? Ask Derico Wigginton how well his player development went last year. Better yet, don't ask him, he probably wants to forget the whole thing ever happened.
Despite the touting of Lewis as a PT specialist who can develop young players, history has shown that if a player cannot fall into the Lewis program immediately, he rides the pines and/or is booted. To me, this is code for Lewis is bossy and doesn't take any argument from his players. It's his way or the highway. Older, more experienced players would do well to shut up, keep their heads down and hope for some scout to see them and whisk them away to a better-coached team. Eric finally had enough and look what it got him.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Latest developments with the Rainmen
The Rainmen have started their season at 3-1, with the one loss happening last Sunday. All of the games have been close, with single digit differences in the final scores each time. The Rainmen's loss to Montreal was a direct result of Eric Crookshank, one of the Rainmen's leading players, being benched for about half the game.
On Monday, the Metro newspaper reported what seemed to be a disagreement between Coach Rick Lewis and Crookshank. It is hard to believe the team would want to air out its dirty laundry in public. Anyway, it seemed like a blip until today, when the same paper reported that Eric Crookshank is now suspended for the season, with pay! What?!?
Oh man. What a PR nightmare the Crookshank suspension will be. He is the face of the team, he is announced at the games as “Halifax’s own”, and he is a personable guy to boot.
If #20 isn’t on the court, expect new fans of this season to stay home in droves, especially kids.
Without Crookshank, I can see the Rainmen repeating last year’s record of 0.375, especially since Brian Silverhorn, the Rainmen's outside shooter, is out with a bad knee. Ugh.
Why do I feel like a Chicago Cubs fan all of a sudden?
On Monday, the Metro newspaper reported what seemed to be a disagreement between Coach Rick Lewis and Crookshank. It is hard to believe the team would want to air out its dirty laundry in public. Anyway, it seemed like a blip until today, when the same paper reported that Eric Crookshank is now suspended for the season, with pay! What?!?
Oh man. What a PR nightmare the Crookshank suspension will be. He is the face of the team, he is announced at the games as “Halifax’s own”, and he is a personable guy to boot.
If #20 isn’t on the court, expect new fans of this season to stay home in droves, especially kids.
Without Crookshank, I can see the Rainmen repeating last year’s record of 0.375, especially since Brian Silverhorn, the Rainmen's outside shooter, is out with a bad knee. Ugh.
Why do I feel like a Chicago Cubs fan all of a sudden?
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Patriots 2008 Season Post-Mortem
Going 11-5 and not making the playoffs because of Brett Favre makes me ill. Long story short, the Pats did very well this year and could have won the division, if Favre and the Jets had beaten the Dolphins in the final week of the season, but Favre's 38-year-old arm was not up to the task. Matt Cassell ensured his multi-millionaire status with a near Brady-esque performance all season. The Pats are likely to put the franchise tag on him to make sure either a) they can keep him if Brady's off-season rehab doesn't go as well as expected, or b) they can actually get something for him if another team wants Cassell bad enough.
Injuries made it an uphill battle this year for the Pats, even after the devastating first-quarter-of-first-game end of the season for QB Tom Brady. Other notable injuries during the season included Rodney Harrison and Adalius Thomas on defence and Laurence Maroney on offence, although the backfield was plenty full with Kevin Faulk, Sammy Morris, and LaMont Jordan sharing the ground attack duties. Even Junior Seau came out of retirement, along with late-season replacement (and former Patriot) Roosevelt Colvin, to fill out the defence. Speaking of defence, rookie Jerod Mayo won the Defensive Rookie of the Year honours. Mayo was a bright spot on an ageing defence, that needs new life next year if they are going to keep up with opponents' offensive lines.
My man Wes Welker -- one of two Patriots who were selected for the 2009 Pro Bowl, along with kicker Stephen Gostkowski -- almost broke his receptions record from last year, falling short (no pun intended) by only one catch. If not for the 2008 Snow Bowl against Arizona and the Wind Bowl against the Bills, he certainly would have broken the Patriots receptions record that he set last season.
Speaking of weather, Bill Belichick weathered the critics who believed his success was due to Brady's greatness. True, Belichick has enjoyed coaching in the Brady era, including being named the NFL Coach of the Year for last season's 16-0 record, but I think this year showed that Bill has improved since his time with the Cleveland Browns, when his team went 36-44 over 5 seasons, with only one winning season in that period. In his 9 years at New England, Belichick has a record of 102-42, or 0.708 winning record, with a post-season record of 14-3, or 0.824, including 3 Super Bowl championships. His 11-5 record this season is 0.688, or just below his average with the Pats. Although there is talk of some of his coaching staff leaving for other opportunities, Belichick will withstand these changes and will continue to prove that he is one of the best coaches in NFL history.
It will be difficult to watch the playoffs without the Patriots, but it is still football and every game is a must-win, so it should make for some exciting games.
Injuries made it an uphill battle this year for the Pats, even after the devastating first-quarter-of-first-game end of the season for QB Tom Brady. Other notable injuries during the season included Rodney Harrison and Adalius Thomas on defence and Laurence Maroney on offence, although the backfield was plenty full with Kevin Faulk, Sammy Morris, and LaMont Jordan sharing the ground attack duties. Even Junior Seau came out of retirement, along with late-season replacement (and former Patriot) Roosevelt Colvin, to fill out the defence. Speaking of defence, rookie Jerod Mayo won the Defensive Rookie of the Year honours. Mayo was a bright spot on an ageing defence, that needs new life next year if they are going to keep up with opponents' offensive lines.
My man Wes Welker -- one of two Patriots who were selected for the 2009 Pro Bowl, along with kicker Stephen Gostkowski -- almost broke his receptions record from last year, falling short (no pun intended) by only one catch. If not for the 2008 Snow Bowl against Arizona and the Wind Bowl against the Bills, he certainly would have broken the Patriots receptions record that he set last season.
Speaking of weather, Bill Belichick weathered the critics who believed his success was due to Brady's greatness. True, Belichick has enjoyed coaching in the Brady era, including being named the NFL Coach of the Year for last season's 16-0 record, but I think this year showed that Bill has improved since his time with the Cleveland Browns, when his team went 36-44 over 5 seasons, with only one winning season in that period. In his 9 years at New England, Belichick has a record of 102-42, or 0.708 winning record, with a post-season record of 14-3, or 0.824, including 3 Super Bowl championships. His 11-5 record this season is 0.688, or just below his average with the Pats. Although there is talk of some of his coaching staff leaving for other opportunities, Belichick will withstand these changes and will continue to prove that he is one of the best coaches in NFL history.
It will be difficult to watch the playoffs without the Patriots, but it is still football and every game is a must-win, so it should make for some exciting games.
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