Game 3: Raptors at Wizards!

Back To Back

• Raptors are on their first back to back of the season after a statement win against Boston last night. Toronto visits Washington to take on their 1st round playoff opponents from last year of John Wall and the Wizards
• Kawhi Leonard will sit tonight as a precautionary measure as will Delon Wright with a back strain
• The Wizards picked up seasoned big man Dwight Howard in the offseason, but he has yet to play a game for them as he is out with a "buttocks" injury

Tonight's Raptor Track!

Bat For Lashes - "The Wizard"

English singer/songwriter Bat For Lashes brings us our eerie and enchanting Raptor Track tonight! Real name Natasha Kahn, she's also a multi-instrumentalist with 4 studio albums under her belt with a 5th one to be released later this year

Tonight's Game Day Drink

425 Pale Ale

Brewed in Bellevue, WA...so yes I know it's not Washington, DC, but whatever, 425 Pale Ale is a clean and dry beer that pours light with a nice thin head

Raptors 1st in the East 2-0! Wizards 12th in the East 0-1

Game 61: Hornets at Raptors!

Another win over an Eastern Conference rival and another Sunday game against the Charlotte Hornets. Life in a Northern town as a b-ball fan. Charlotte makes their final regular season appearance in Toronto.

• OG Anunoby will remain out for the foreseeable future with a rolled ankle. No use rushing him back when there are plenty of goombas in Toronto's bench mob ready to step up and get meaningful minutes
• The only questionable member of Charlotte's team is Cody Zeller who might sit due to a sore left knee.
• CJ Miles had a fantastic game against Washington on Friday night. He helped Toronto pull away from a tight game with the Wizards hitting 6 3s including one as he was fading out of bounds! That actually killed me while I watched on my couch...thankfully my wife knows CPR and brought me back.

Tonight's Raptor Track!

Sting - "Fields Of Gold"

I'm slowly running out of songs about "Hornets" and "Charlotte", so Sting is going to have to sub in for few rounds until more songs are written with my blog in mind. I don't think I need to explain this one do I?

Tonight's Game Day Drink!

Hornet IPA

Australian beer company Black Hops Brewing brings us this dry, angry and bitter IPA.  Pours deep golden with a thin white head, fruity & hoppy aromas with a bit of earthiness.

Raptors 1st in East 44-17! Hornets 10th in East 28-35!

Game 55: Raptors at Hornets!

Don't look now, but thanks to Boston's loss the other night the Raptors find themselves in 1st in the East! They definitely helped themselves out going 4-0 on a recent home stand, now Toronto has to take care of business on the road! Raptors in Charlotte to take on the Hornets in afternoon NBA action!

• No injuries to speak of on either side of the court tonight. So that also means no excuses!
• Charlotte went the same route as Toronto during the trade deadline and didn't make any major moves. Keeping point guard Kemba Walker who's name was among trade rumours. They did acquire Willy Hernangomez from New York however.
• Only a few games before the much needed NBA All Star break. Gotta keep the momentum going and hold on to that 1st seed going into the break

Today's Raptor Track!

Iron Maiden - "Charlotte The Harlot"

We're going all the way back to 1980 for this one. Neither of these teams existed at that time. Neither did I!! From Iron Maiden's debut self titled album, it's got a bit of a different sound than maybe some of the Maiden you're used to. That's because this is not Bruce Dickinson on lead vocals. The first two albums in Maiden's catalog had Paul Di'Anno. Dickinson would first appear on 1982's Number Of The Beast

Today's Game Day Drink!

Honey Pie Double IPA

Brought to us by the Birdsong Brewing Co. out of, you guessed it, Charlotte, NC. Honey Pie Double IPA is often referred to as "Heaven In A Glass". It's a limited release so track it down while you can!

Raptors 1st in East 38-16! Hornets 10th in East 23-32!

Game 20: Hornets at Raptors!

Guess who's back? Back again!! That's right suckahs! After a week's vacation i'm back in the Raptor-cheering saddle! Though I proudly represented the 6ix down in Cancun! Since i've been away the Raptors have gone 2-2. Losing to New York and Indiana and beating Washington and Atlanta. Tonight we host the Hornets!

• Norman Powell and Serge Ibaka are back for Toronto, though Norman is now back to the bench after OG Anunoby has impressed with starters minutes. I think it makes sense. Norm is too similar to DeMar and he gets more touches off the bench. 
• Delon Wright remains out with a dislocated shoulder. Last year against Charlotte was kind of his arrival party as he lead the comeback from a defensive stand point when the Raptors were down big
• Kemba Walker appears to be out for the Hornets, Michael Carter-Williams will likely get the start. Charlotte also added All-Star big man Dwight Howard over the summer, just adding to the long list of Raptor killers on this Hornet team

Tonight's Raptor Track!!

Hawkwind - "Lord Of The Hornets"

Hawkwind was Lemmy from Motorhead's band before Motorhead. They were more acid influenced than whiskey influenced and definitely more experimental. It also featured Robert Calvert who wrote most of the lyrics and had a successful solo career. Which is why it's featured on both artists' albums.

Tonight's Game Day Drink!

Jack Daniels' Tennessee Honey

You might remember this commercial from a few years back that featured a swarm of bees surrounding a whiskey bottle. I dunno...didn't really make me want to drink booze, a bunch of gross insects flying about, but the commercial and song stuck with me. So it's enough to include it here tonight

Raptors 4th in East 12-7! Hornets 11th in East 8-11!

Game 65: Raptors at Hawks!

Back to the East coast to due battle with a possible playoff first round match up! Raptors are in Atlanta to take on the Hawks!

• Sadly for DeMarre Carroll he will be unlikely for tonight's game and won't get a chance to show up his old team in his old city. Still out with an ankle injury
• Jonas Valanciunas had a huge game on Wednesday night scoring 25 points and grabbing 13 boards against DeMarcus Cousins and the Pelicans. He'll have another big match-up test tonight in Dwight Howard
• Not many other injuries to report on this one, just Kyle Lowry for us and Mike Dunleavy for the Hawks
• FORMER RAPTOR ALERT! Perhaps one of the greatest all time fan-favourite Raptors Jose Calderon recently signed with the Atlanta Hawks. He started this season in LA with the Lakers but was waived so the Lakers could tank their season with a clean conscience .

Tonight's Raptor Track!

Colin James - "Atlanta Moan"

This isn't much of a hype track, but Atlanta never seems to get too hype during games. Sorry, but thats just the way it is. So tonight we have Canadian blues guitarist Colin James and "Atlanta Moan"

Raptors 4th in East 38-26! Hawks 5th in East 35-29!

Game 20: Hawks at Raptors!

5 wins in a row for the Toronto Raptors!! Longest streak of our season! We're only 20 games in but let's see if we can make it 6 as the Atlanta Hawks come to town!

• DeMarre Carroll sat last night against the Lakers. He's on a restriction where he doesn't play both games of back to backs. I'm sure he chose to sit against LA so he can have a shot against his former team
• Atlanta landed one of the biggest free agents of last summer in Dwight Howard. Howard is an Atlanta native and wanted a shot to not only be back in the Eastern Conference but play for his hometown Hawks
• No Paul Millsap for Atlanta tonight as he didn't make the roadtrip with the team. Thabo Sefalosha has been starting in his stead
• FORMER RAPTOR ALERT: Kris Humphries now plays for Atlanta. He's bounced around alot since leaving Toronto all those years ago, playing for the Nets, Celtics, Wizards, Mavericks and Suns

Tonight's Raptor Track!

Hawkwind - "Silver Machine"

Long before Lemmy was the whiskey-swillin', broad-bashing, chain-smokin' lead singer of Motorhead, one of planet Earth's loudest bands, he was in an acid band called Hawkwind. They liked drugs, trippy-dippy drugs. Lemmy was kicked out for doing the "wrong kinds of drugs" as he put it and in retaliation shagged all his old bandmate's old ladies. 

Raptors 2nd in East 13-6! Hawks 9th in East 10-10!