Thursday's Musings...

May 1, 9:11 a.m. I woke up this morning thinking that I should be in the process of preparing game six notes for a contest at the ACC. Old habits are hard to die. I am in total withdrawal. I don't like it. I enjoy calling NBA games and I wish I was busy until June 20. The only upside is more time with my family. I love my family even with certain challenges and dealing with three teenagers. I couldn't bring myself to watch the Cavs-Wizards game. The Cavs are an interesting read for sure. After their deal with Chicago a number of fans assumed the Cavs won the deal and would mount a serious charge to secure the third seed in the East. That wasn't the case. The Cavs still lack a point guard which should be a priority in the off season. For Washington, they put the smack talk on the back burner and played ball and won without Gilbert Arenas who will miss the rest of the playoffs with that burdensome knee. The Boston you saw last night is the Boston the league saw during the regular season. Al Horford is going to have one big time career. Avery Johnson is one class act. Let's see, two weeks ago it was Mark Jackson. Then it was Herb Williams. Rick Pitino? Sam Mitchell? Let's throw in Johnson and Mike D'Antoni for good measure. Life in the NY papers... it's a wonderful thing. Instead of me pontificating about the merits of Raptors media guru Jim LaBumbard I will let the outstanding writer of the Globe and Mail Michael Grange express to you how we all feel about Jim: This may not have a direct impact on the average Raptors fan, at least on the surface, but follow and you see how that it really, really does. Jim Labumbard has run the Raptors media relations operation for about a decade I'm guessing, and I have never heard a reporter or any other media member say anything other than “Jim's the best.” Finally the rest of the league figured it out and Jim was voted media relations executive of the year by the Basketball Writers Association, an announcement that came down yesterday. Writing about pro sports is a dream job but not always dreamy, and – surprise, surprise – those who do it are on various occasions grumpy, sleepy, dopey (sometimes really, really dopey), wrong, and who knows what else. As the person who manages the relationship between the team and the people who bring news of the team out to the fans (see, this is relevant) Jim walks the perfect line between the team's interests and our interests, which don't always coincide. He's hired a great staff that follow his lead and generally makes what can be a stressful situation a lot of fun. His recognition was well-deserved and long over due. Congrats Jim and very well deserved. Another game-another loss for the slumping Jays. Cliff Lee is pitching some kind of ball. Wasn't he in the Expos system at one time? The Yankees pitching staff just can't get it done. So much for the Rockies building on last year's success. The close out game is always the toughest but if the Flyers beat Montreal I called it for obvious reasons... goaltending. Just asking but how many of you watched the CFL draft? Always a pleasure. Catch me on the Fan 590 today between 1-4.