Doug Smith Breaks Down the Raptors Sched...from his own viewpoint

[mikekosic]

First of all, I gotta give kudos to Raptors Repbulic for their own sched breakdown. That was concise, informative and easy to read. That's exactly what I was looking for.

Then I go to Shrug Smith's take on things...

An excerpt from Doug Smith’s Sports Blog:
-
No, I did not watch a second of the TV show announcing the release of the NBA schedule — Mighty Navy Tigers were rolling to convincing victory — but, yes, I did look at the Raptors sked.

READER COMMENT: Yes Shrug Smith, us regular readers of the Star’s basketball coverage are well aware that you are not a die-hard bball fan. So no need to constantly remind us what losers we are for tuning in to see the announcement of the NBA sched. And yes, Shrug, we also know that you refuse to cover Summer League games because you think there’s no value in it – yet tons of GMs go there to evaluate because there’s no value in it.

And liked what I saw quite a bit. Not ready to say it’s the best schedule ever because they all seem to meld together

READER COMMENT: Oh, okay, this is promising. Just like the teaser headline to this article said: “Doug Smith breaks down the sched” Nice…

Now, I didn’t break it down like some to figure out wins and losses and what have you. Grunts Of A Certain Vintage look for other things and here’s some good and some bad from this angle:

READER COMMENT: Cool, sock it to me. I’m ready for some expert bball analysis. I’m not being sarcastic, I really am…

The Good
A one-game road trip to New York on Dec. 27 means home for the holidays and no Christmas Day flight.

READER COMMENT: Umm…okay, yeah, I guess that’s good for the team.

An easy one-gamer at Washington after the all-star break, an easy trip home from New Orleans.
No long West Coast grind right out of the chute (six of the first nine on the road is a bit of pain) and only two trips to California.

Enough afternoon games to ease any deadline stress.

READER COMMENT: Wait a second…are you telling me this whole sham of a column on the NBA sched analysis is all about how the new schedule impacts YOU as a writer? Are you seriously whining and analyzing the schedule to see how it can or can’t make your job (which is the greatest job in the world by the way) easier and less of a hassle? Are you serious? Wow Star. Wow.


Two nights off in San Francisco (three if we stay the extra day before Phoenix game) and well spaced-out western journeys not packed with back-to-backs.

The Bad

The lone trip to New Orleans ends a back-to-back, no long visit to Frenchman Street.
Yes, New Year’s Eve in Chicago might hold some promise but a Jan. 1 home game against Indiana kind of tempers that enthusiasm.

The Denver-Portland back-to-back that starts the Denver-Portland-Utah-Sacramento-Clippers odyssey has got a Lewis and Clark feel to early February.

Lots of December road games creates the potential for travel nightmares.
Yet another Miami-Orlando back-to-back and that’s a long boring drive between the cities.
So there you have it and here’s one for the TV folks to contemplate:
Next summer, instead of the studio talking heads putting in time discussing whatever it was they discussed, I’d bring in half a dozen beat writers and let us play “my schedule’s worse than yours.”
That’d be fun, no?


READER COMMENTS: Shrug man, seriously, you need to spend some time with some real regular Joe fans so you can lose this attitude where you are complaining about “my schedule’s worse than yours”. I know fans that have never gotten to see an NBA game, never mind get to fly across the U.S. to watch basketball for a living. This article right here highlights everything that is wrong with Shrug’s attitude. I wish Griff were a basketball fan…

[enlightenment]

He just seems like he hates his job... Let him know that Im free to take over

[Bendit]

He does view his work as drudgery it seems with pleasures now derived from panoramic vistas and road locations for a fancy meal and frosty pints. Was that his entire writeup?....no comments on ease/difficulty of schedule based on the teams being played?

[enlightenment]

The guy, for a living, travels through almost all the hotspots in the United States, eats at the nicest restaurants, watches basketball games live and all he has to do is recap it and throw out an article here and there.

So let me get this straight, for less writing material than most people here on RR write in a day, Doug Smith gets to live like a king.

[mikekosic]

He just seems like he hates his job... Let him know that Im free to take over

Between 75k to 90k a year to watch bball if you are interested. Low job stability though...

[slaw]

Dude, you have four posts and they are all about how terrible Doug Smith is....... we get it. Did he steal your lunch money? Doug Smith is an awful basketball writer. This is not news. Raps fans have been crapping on Doug for years and years. You are not revealing some hidden truth, here.

If you don't like Doug Smith then don't read him. It's not like he is breaking stories at the Star and you need to go there to get the updated news. The good news is that there are piles of Raptor websites (RR, RHQ, RealGM, DinoBlog, RapsBlog are just a few) and some really good Toronto basketball writers like Koreen, Chisolm, Wolstat, Grange, etc., where you can get more timely news and far better analysis.

By the way, every time you psot about Smith, people who wouldn't ever read his blog go click on the link. You are sending traffic to a guy you clearly don't like. Why? Doug, is that you?

[mikekosic]

Dude, you have four posts and they are all about how terrible Doug Smith is....... we get it. Did he steal your lunch money? Doug Smith is an awful basketball writer. This is not news. Raps fans have been crapping on Doug for years and years. You are not revealing some hidden truth, here.

If you don't like Doug Smith then don't read him. It's not like he is breaking stories at the Star and you need to go there to get the updated news. The good news is that there are piles of Raptor websites (RR, RHQ, RealGM, DinoBlog, RapsBlog are just a few) and some really good Toronto basketball writers like Koreen, Chisolm, Wolstat, Grange, etc., where you can get more timely news and far better analysis.

By the way, every time you psot about Smith, people who wouldn't ever read his blog go click on the link. You are sending traffic to a guy you clearly don't like. Why? Doug, is that you?

Actually, it's me: Griff. haha

Nah, I just find it infuriating that the country's largest newspaper has a guy who doesn't give a sht about bball covering Canada's only NBA team. We deserve better. I'd stay silent for the lack of reporting. But it's the shrug/smug attitude about bball that makes me want to rant. And I can't do it over at the Star - so RR is my outlet. Seriously, I would love nothing better for a regular RR contributor to take over the beat.

[Letter N]

Who even reads the newspaper anymore? Just let the man die off with his medium in peace.

[rocwell]

Doug Smith should be marked as a bad work in this forum.

[Nilanka]

I used to read Doug's blog daily a few years ago (before I discovered RR), and at that time, his work was much more tolerable.

But over time, he started sounding like a cranky old man....which coincided with the time he allowed comments on his blog. I don't think he's recovered since.

[LBF]

Who even reads the newspaper anymore? Just let the man die off with his medium in peace.

Its a blog on the website.

[p00ka]

Some people need to take a pill about Doug Smith. First of all, outside of his blog, he's a reporter, not a journalist, so if you're looking for strong opinions, that's not what puts bread on his table. The guy is doing what he's paid to do, and unless your willing to pony up a better offer, you can't expect different.

The fact that he's been a reporter, and not a journalist, for so long, and he's a person of a "certain vintage" as he calls it, he has a different view of what he can, or is willing to, provide in his blog. When you get to his age, perhaps you'll understand how hard it is to change old habits. In any case, the blog world is a foreign animal to him, yet he has found a large enough following, mostly in the same age bracket. He can be abrasive and dismissive toward views or requests that run against his style, but if it's not your cup of tea, simply don't go there. There's plenty of sources and outlets to choose from, without getting all tied in a knot over someone who doesn't work for you. Hell, his blog is half filled with pop culture stuff of his vintage anyway. That's the niche he has found that works for him, and puts bread on his table. Don't take it personal, and hang out elsewhere.

[WJF]

All that these Doug Smith threads accomplish is driving more readers to his blog, thus showing his employer he is doing his job. Hate mail is as good as fan mail when your goals are clicks and views.

[LBF]

At this rate, Smith should fill the gaping hole of hate left by the absence of Bargnani..who wants to be the one to start the "Everything Douche Smith" thread?

[SoAwesome]

Actually, it's me: Griff. haha

Nah, I just find it infuriating that the country's largest newspaper has a guy who doesn't give a sht about bball covering Canada's only NBA team. We deserve better. I'd stay silent for the lack of reporting. But it's the shrug/smug attitude about bball that makes me want to rant. And I can't do it over at the Star - so RR is my outlet. Seriously, I would love nothing better for a regular RR contributor to take over the beat.

Come on man. If you don't like him, then DON'T READ HIS ARTICLES. Like damn man, no need to complain all the time about him. Just read articles from journalist that you do enjoy reading from.