:24 HOOP: We won't reveal your hotel alias, but we got a good laugh out of it. How did you pick a name to stay under?
Calderon: We were watching a movie one day and I got a picture the next day from my teammates. They thought I was looking like the [lead character], so that's why I use that name. Mine is really funny.

:23 HOOP: Have you always used an alias?
Calderon: No, I just started, because last year I had some calls while we were in Orlando during the playoffs. This year I had another call late at night, so beginning of this season I started using a name.

:22 HOOP: Calls from fans of the opposing team?
Calderon: Sometimes. From media, too, trying to make jokes on the radio stations. It's not good when you have a game and they call you late the night before or early in the morning.

:21 HOOP: Wha's the best and worst thing about hotel life?
Calderon: The best is I get to sleep more. The worst is sometimes it's too many hotels, too many rooms. You're on the road and you've been in three hotels in four nights, you're tired and you don't know where you're at.

:20 HOOP: You mean you forget what room you're in?
Calderon: Yes, it happens a lot. You know, you arrive late and you think you're still in the other hotel. It's weird. I'll be in the elevator and just be thinking, 'Was it the sixth floor or the seventh floor?'

:19 HOOP: Your game is on the rise like an elevator. Where have you improved most in your four years in the League? Calderon: I think my shooting. My first season I had like 16 percent from the three-point line. Now I'm around 40 something.

:18 HOOP:We love your logo with the three fingers up, but shouldn't it be a silhouette of you making a pass?
Calderon:Maybe I could do one with the three and another one for assists. It was funny. We were doing that in practice a couple years ago, and then one day I did it in a game just joking and everybody liked it.

:17 HOOP:We hear you had Lasik surgery a couple years ago. Did that help your passing?
Calderon:I don't think so, but I feel pretty comfortable now with no eyeglasses, no contacts, nothing. It's great. I don't know if it helped me with shooting or passing, but right now its working.

:16 HOOP:So you played with contacts before that?
Calderon:Yes. My contact would fall out sometimes during games and everybody would be looking for it on the floor.

:15 HOOP:Who was your favorite point guard growing up?
Calderon: Well, I really liked Magic Johnson, but that was a long time ago. I like Steve Nash now. He can do everything. He gets everybody involved, he can score.

:14 HOOP:How difficult is the jump from Spain to the NBA?
Calderon:It's a really big challenge. You have to adapt your game to the NBA, because it's a different way to play. For a point guard, it's even worse because you've got to be the coach on the court, and my language was really bad four years ago.

:13HOOP:How is the game different?
Calderon: Here everything happens faster. You have more possessions, sometimes we're shooting after one pass. But in Europe, it's more like run for 20 seconds and there's more defense, more basket control.

:12 HOOP: How much English did you know when you came over?
Calderon:Just a little. I thought I knew more, but when I arrived here, I couldn't understand anybody. Nobody could understand me. It was really bad to try to call the plays.

:11 HOOP:How difficult was it to pick up and how did you learn it?
Calderon:Just watching TV and reading, going to moviesÉeven if I made mistakes, I tried to speak English all the time.

:10 HOOP: What was the most confusing part of the English language for you?
Calderon:I think the most difficult thing is the use of the verb the correct way. Sometimes I use the present for everything, or I don't use the past or the future the right way.

:09 HOOP:Doing interviews probably wasn't easy at first?
Calderon: Not really. Talking to the media was really tough. But they understood in Toronto that I had a problem with my English, so they were really patient with me.

:08 HOOP: The Raptors' Media Guide says you own a pig farm. Is that true?
Calderon:Well, kind of. It's not like I have it all by myself, but yeah, we sell the ham there in Spain and I've tried to get it here to Canada, too.

:07 HOOP: HOOP: Ah, okay. We thought you had a bunch of pigs for pets or something.
Calderon:No, no. It's just for my business, that's it. They're really nice animals sometimes, but it's not like I have pigs because I like them.

:06 HOOP: How did you get into that? That's an unusual business.
Calderon:Not really in Spain. Where I'm from is where the best ham is. I thought it would be a good thing to bring the ham here to Canada and to the U.S.

:05 HOOP: What's different about the ham in Spain?
Calderon:Well, the pigs there only eat walnuts, so everything is organic. It's much better.

:04 HOOP: Speaking of things being different in Spain, tell us about being the cover athlete of the Spanish edition of NBA 2K9.
Calderon: It's great. It's special to see yourself on there. It's something you dream when you are a kid and you play computers or PlayStation.

:03 HOOP: Do you play games much now?
Calderon: Not really now. I don't have too much time to play. But I used to play with my brother a lot and try to challenge each other at soccer or tennis, something like that.

:02 HOOP:We thought you would say baseball. Didn't you throw out the first pitch at a Blue Jays game this past season?
Calderon:Yeah, but it was terrible. It was really bad. It was my first time with a baseball. I have never done that before, but I tried. At least he caught the ball.

:01 HOOP: Maybe you should use a baseball player's name next time you check into your hotel. No one would guess that.
Calderon: Yeah, that's true. I'll check on that.

OVERTIME: Web Exclusive

HOOP: What are your expectations for this team down the stretch?
Calderon: Like a team, we've got to try to go to that second round of playoffs. The last few years, it's kind of weird, but we're still in that first round, so we've got to go one step forward and try to go to that place. Personally, I'm just trying to get better every day. Try to keep working on everything. Try to play better every year. That's my goal.

HOOP:What's the biggest difference in your play the last couple of seasons?
Calderon: I have the confidence of everybody. The organization has given me the confidence to be a starting point guard, coaches, teammates, so I feel pretty comfortable on the court. I just try to go out there and enjoy playing basketball. I try to get everybody involved. That's what point guards do and that's my job. I feel pretty comfortable with this team right now.

HOOP: You're ranked second in the league for assists per game. What does that mean and what do you enjoy about passing?
Calderon: I think that's really nice. I think if you pass the ball, it's going to be good for the whole team, not just for you for that assist. If you pass to a wide-open guy, he's going to do the same thing for another teammate. So I think this is important. I always try to find my teammates because if the point guard is passing the ball, everyone else is going to pass the ball. It's much better to win games like that.

HOOP:You left your home in Villanueva de la Serrena to play basketball in Vitoria, Spain, at the age of 13, right? How difficult was that?
Calderon: Yes, I left my family. I was living like 800 kilometers from my home. It was really tough the first couple years. I was with other guys in the same situation like me, 14, 15 years old.

HOOP: And that's when you first met Pau Gasol?
Calderon: Well, in the summer. He was in Barcelona and I was in another team, but we started playing together for the international team. We are pretty good friends. We talk every week.

HOOP:There are a number of players in the NBA from Spain. If you all played one-on-one, who would win?
Calderon:It would be me [laughs]. I don't know. We have pretty good players. It would be tough. That would be fun, because everyone is different and does good things. It would be great. I would have to go with my speed.

HOOP: Do you think the NBA will or could ever expand to Europe?
Calderon:Yes and no. I think the problem could be that it's really far, and how you can mix the schedule here with going to play in Europe. That's the only thing I see the difficult thing about it. It's a six or seven hour flight, even more from the west coast. I don't know how you can do that, but it could be great to have a world wide league.

HOOP: Back to some random questions, following up our interview for the magazine, do you get room service or go out and enjoy the local restaurants when you're on the road?
Calderon: I usually to go out, but sometimes if we arrive late or something, I prefer to stay in the room and have some room service. It depends how I feel, but I like to go out with some of my teammates and go out for a quick dinner.

HOOP: What's the best hotel for room service?
Calderon:The best hotel for room service? I don't know. We used to stay in the Trump sometimes, and the Trump in New Jersey was really good. Yeah, but none of them are really special.

HOOP: We asked you about your Lasik procedure. Were you scared going into it?
Calderon:For sure. You know, it's a surgery on your eyes, and they're pretty important. You always ask everything, because you don't want anything to happen. They said, "Don't worry. If it doesn't work, you'll just stay the same way." So I was like, "Okay, go ahead." It worked and everything is perfect now.

HOOP: Do you have any pets?
Calderon: Yes, I have two dogs, Curro and Homer.

HOOP: Homer? Are you a fan of The Simpsons?
Calderon: Right now, not really. But when I named him, yes, I was a fan. He is a big dog and a lazy dog, so he looked like a Homer.