The schedule wallpaper is available in 4 resolutions and includes the Canadian TV Schedule (subject to change during the season). TV Schedules have also been included in the iCal and Google Calendar version.

Make sure you click the links for the size wallpaper you need. You will notice slight variations in each of the sizes.

Raptors Schedule Wallpaper - Size: 1920x1200
Raptors Schedule Wallpaper - Size: 1680x1050
Raptors Schedule Wallpaper - Size: 1280x1024
Raptors Schedule Wallpaper - Size: 1280x800

Toronto Raptors 2011-2012 Schedule

Google Calendar: (Link)
iCal Version - Raptors 2011-2012 Season Schedule w/ TV listing (Make sure you right click the link and hit the save link or save as… )

Raptors iPhone & Blackberry Backgrounds

I will be making a couple of new backgrounds and posting them on the Heels Blog FB page. Give it a like so you can grab those on the weekend. If you prefer the ones from last season, they are linked below

Click link to download high resolution: iPhone – Claw (last season)
Click link to download high resolution: iPhone – Silhouette (last season)

Download Link: Blackberry – Dark
Download Link: Blackberry – Red

Over the last 2 years, I have had the opportunity to meet some hardcore female fans through the blog and wanted to make this night about them. It’s rare that someone makes a promotion catered for us and this seemed like the perfect chance. So here is how it goes, I have 4 spots still available and if you are over the age of 19 and a female, you could be at the Raptors game on January 2nd vs. the Boston Celtics.

If you are a female Raptor fan — I want to hear from you! If you know someone who this is perfect for — pass on the info. If you don’t fit the criteria, its not all bad news. MGD has great contests to attend many sporting events, including Toronto Raptors games, so you should definitely follow them on Facebook to get in on that.

How to be considered:

• Give the MGD and Heels on Hardwood Pages a LIKE on Facebook
• Leave a comment here about how you became a Raptors fan
• Make sure you leave your proper e-mail so Molson and myself can contact you

Rules

• You must be over the age of 19 and a female
• You may be asked to participate in some kind of recap post game for the blog
• All comments must be posted by Thursday Dec. 16th 2010

Take the letters R – A – P – T – O – R – S and come up with a creative line or word for each of the letters.

You can make it personal, funny or simple. The person who comes up with the best post wins the tickets. Simple right? (Make sure you read all the details below)

Update: Thanks to the overwhelming and awesome responses, Steve from Raptorman has offered up a pair for the runner up. These are in the 3rd row of the upper bowl. Also, please give my Facebook page a follow for more freebies in the future.

Some past winners for ticket giveaways on the blog recapped their experiences.
Gatorade Courtisde tickets winner — Alex Bogach (recap)
Raptors vs. Sixers winner — Ben C (recap)

DETAILS:

• The Contest ends at noon on game day. Winner will be notified by 2 PM
• The Seats are in Section 114 – Row D (Rare chance to sit so close)
• Tickets are for the game on Wednesday, Nov. 10th 2010 at 7:00PM.
• Winner will be contacted by e-mail. Tickets will be emailed and winner must have a printer to print them

RULES:

• You must leave your reply in the comments section
• You need to include your real e-mail on the comment so I can contact the winner.
• You may be asked to write a short recap to share your experience on the blog.
• Do not enter if you can’t attend the game tomorrow.

If you like what you see here, take a moment and give my Facebook Page a Like, this will keep you informed of new posts on the site as well as a few extra goodies.

Make sure you click the links for the size wallpaper you need.
Schedule Wallpaper 1920x1200 - High Resolution Download
Schedule Wallpaper 1680x1050 - High Resolution Download
Schedule Wallpaper 1280x800 - High Resolution Download

Other Schedule Tools
This year Raptors.com made things easier by providing .ical and Outlook versions of the schedule – LINK

Blackberry users can find wallpapers in my previous post: Geeking out for the Season – Blackberry

Click link to download high resolution: iPhone - Claw - Optimized for IOS4
Click link to download high resolution: iPhone - Polaroids - Optimized for IOS4
Click link to download high resolution: iPhone - Silhouette - Optimized for IOS4, Great as a lock screen
Click link to download high resolution: iPhone - Plain - Optimized for IOS4. Simple Wallpaper

Check back over the weekend for 2 versions of the 2010-2011 Toronto Raptors Schedule wallpapers

Download Link -> Blackberry - Red - Can be used on BB Bold, Curve and Tour
Download Link -> Blackberry - Dark - Can be used on BB Bold, Curve and Tour
Download Link -> Blackberry Polaroids - Can be used on BB Bold, Curve and Tour

Coaches who can outline plays on a black board are a dime a dozen. The coaches who win are the ones who can motivate their players — Vince Lombardi

We may be a month away from NBA action but basketball fans are getting a bonus this year. Across the pond, the FIBA World Championships are underway in Turkey bringing together basketball talent from around the globe. While teams like USA have left some of their star power at home, most participating countries have come fully loaded.

The Canadian team with a fresh new sponsorship deal thanks to Bell Canada made their first appearance in 8 years under coach Leo Rautins. They played well leading up to the tournament and went in with hopes to at the least get through the preliminary round. Those hopes were squashed in a hurry as the team blew leads in the first 3 games and then completely deflated to end 0-5. They could have easily won the first 3, they should have. Instead, they are packing their bags and heading home.

What went wrong though? Who is to blame for this embarrassment?

The first mistake was when Basketball Canada severed ties with former coach Jay Triano and brought on ex-player Leo Rautins to try his hand at coaching. While Leo may have been a good player in his time, he has never coached at any level. There is more to coaching than knowing the game. A coach needs to be able to motivate his players, connect with them and have a plan. Rautins didn’t display any of these attributes in the 5 games I watched, and even though he was working with marginal talents, it seems they were playing on their own. The substitutions were horrible, play calling that resembled that of a high school team and no sign of coach in the final minutes of the game when the team really needed him the most.

Michael Grange of the National Post doesn’t think all the blame should go on the inexperienced coach (link). I agree with some of his arguments but the guys in red and while played their hearts out without having a real coach to steer them in a winning direction. Its a shame that while Leo was strutting the sidelines for Canada the best Canadian coach, Jay Triano, is calling plays for basketball superpower Team USA — blame it on the politics.

Coach Rautins began this coaching stint a couple of years back and very quickly lost one of Canada’s better players, Samuel Dalambert. The two butted heads which led to Dalambert leaving the National team with no intent to return if Leo was on the sidelines. Coach also tried to woo Steve Nash to play for the National team but his allegiance lies with Jay Triano and Nash was not too happy when Basketball Canada made the coaching change. Before the tournament, Matt Bonner had applied for expedited Canadian status but was rejected. All that left Leo with Joel Anthony as his best NBA player along with his son Andy who got injured and was unable to contribute.

All is not lost though, there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel — call it, THE FUTURE. With names like Myck Kabongo, Cory Joseph, Tristan Thompson coming up, there is hope again that the next crop will take Canada Basketball to the next level… hopefully under a new coach!

This year I am heading to Los Angeles to take in a game at Staples and then off to San Francisco for a game at Oracle. What’s even better is I have my friend Holly MacKenzie coming along. Make sure you follow both of us on Twitter to get updates from the games — @Nat77 and @stackmack. I may post some game recaps with pictures and such and will be back here next Monday with a breakdown of the Raptors 4 game west coast swing.

Last year I went with a simple, why do you think you deserve the tickets question. While it got some original and funny responses, I want to change it up. The Raptors fanbase is one of the more passionate ones and seem to have an opinion on just about everything. Here is the deal…

Tell me why you think Chris Bosh should stay in Toronto and remain a Raptor
DETAILS:

• The Contest ends at 1PM on game day. Winner will be notified by 2 PM
• The Seats are in Section 114 – Row D (Rare chance to sit so close)
• Tickets are for the game on Wednesday, Feb 10th 2010 at 7:00PM.
• Winner will be contacted by e-mail. Tickets will be emailed and winner must have a printer to print them

RULES:

• You must leave your reply in the comments section
• You need to include your real e-mail on the comment so I can contact the winner.
• Do not enter if you can’t attend the game tomorrow.

I have been away due to a series of unexpected events that have gone down in the past 10 days. While I may have been away the games have gone on. Its kinda nuts when you break it down. 2 weeks into the season and we have been served a total of 108 NBA games. People are already filling out NBA All-Star game ballots (the one thing I loathe about this game), Steve Nash has already had 2 20-20 games and talks of Lebron James wearing purple and gold have surfaced.

My league pass handling skills were rusty and I finally seem to have worked myself into game shape. I have several posts lined up along with the remaining cartoons of Andrea Bargnani and Chris Bosh still to come. Things will get rolling tonight with a “Heels at the Game” post. No live blog from the game but I will have post game photos and analysis. Also Number Crunchin’ should (fingers crossed) go back to becoming a daily feature. It is after all the post that got this blog rolling.

- Nat

O’Bryant took to Twitter late this summer and started building his network by following each person back and conversing with them in 140 characters or less. He is not a marquee player but realized that using a platform like this would help fans get to know him. He became more than just the guy drafted 9th overall playing garbage time. And, it wasn’t long before fans were discussing Canadian health care or Milk in bags with Patrick.

Patrick began to get more comfortable and ran a few contests to get his growing fanbase involved. Recently, he pledged to give away tickets to every home and away game for a lucky fan if he reached 2000 followers on Twitter by opening night (Ed. Update: This is going to be a single pair for either a home or away game). Since he had already established a good rapport with some of the Raptor fans they decided to get on board to help get him to his goal. A day later things went a step further. Scott aka @AltRaps (www.altraps.com) proposed that if Patrick managed to get 2500 followers by the end of the month he would donate $500 to the Team Up Foundation (Toronto Raptors Charitable Org.) Upon hearing this O’Bryant offered to match the donation and from there on out the domino effect had begun. (read more here and here) Eric Smith from Raptors.com got a chance to speak to Patrick O’Bryant a few days back and even he sounds blown away with the way things have played out.

This charity has always been great at generating interest and getting donations through the teams relationships with the large corporations. This small gesture that was started by Scott, has now grown into a pledge for over $8000 to be donated to the charity if he reaches the goal. A fan generated donation to a charity that was previously looked at as one that doesn’t need small donations is a big step in the right direction. It just goes to show that even $25 can help towards the bigger picture. If you are reading this, I hope you have a better understanding of what we are trying to accomplish. You don’t need to have any $$ to give just get a friend or two and click here to #follow13POB13. With just over 500 more followers to go, we hope that with the power of social media platforms like Twitter the goal will be reached.

This has been a joint effort. Not only did the fans of the Toronto Raptors get involved, but people across Twitter and other platforms have stepped up to the plate. A quick shout out is in order …

@Romyaquino from Hip Hoop Junkies jumped on board with his contributions right away. He created the follow POB logo that a lot of the fans are using for avatars. (Get yours here)

@Liston @DeenLen and @SUNSFAN4LIFE – Die hard Raptor fans, got on board with the movement and have been working tirelessly to get fans to help Patrick reach his goal.

If you would like to Donate. Make sure you contact Scott – altraps@altraps.com or you can do so directly from the foundation website and you can put it in Patrick O’Bryant’s name.

Firstly, I would like to thank Zack Cooper (@ZCooperstown) for having me as a guest on his show. He was a great host and led me into the questions with ease. We got a chance to cover everything from Summer League to Jarrett Jack and his impact on Bosh staying past next season.

The segment aired while most of Toronto was asleep so for those who missed it you can listen to it right here. Please excuse my rookie mistakes – This is my first time doing anything of the sort. Gotta admit, I was nervous going into it but had a blast and hope to get an opportunity to do more of these in the future.

While away, I managed to catch all of 1 playoff game on TV and so lets just rewind to the first round with a quick recap done in haiku’s

That aforementioned jet lag interfered in my getting this post up before the 2nd round started. I made my predictions earlier and will go with them even though some of my picks look like long shots after watching game 1′s from all the series.
Cavs-Hawks: The Cav’s got 9 full days of rest between series and some may have thought they will come out sluggish. That was not the case as coming in on the heels of winning the MVP trophy Lebron James picked up where he left off as the Cav’s destroyed the Hawks in game 1. I don’t see this opponent as being much of a threat to the Cav’s and though the Hawks will probably pull one home game out I say this one will be done in 5 giving the Cav’s more time to rest up and heal up.
Celtic’s-Magic: The Magic had some tough breaks in the 1st round losing Courtney Lee and then Dwight to a 1 game suspension but otherwise came out well considering the way they had ended the season. The C’s had to dig deep just to escape the first round and looking at the match ups I don’t see them having an answer for both Hedo and Shard at the same time. They have had to adopt an offensive mentality since the loss of KG and I don’t see them beating the Magic in a 7 game series with that strategy. I call the Magic in 6
Lakers-Rockets: Kobe Bryant wants another crack at it and he has a full supporting cast to get him to the finals. Standing in the way are the Tmac-less Rockets who advanced to the 2nd round for the first time since the Yao Ming/TMac era began. The Rockets are playing well and have gotten excellent contributions from Sophmore Guard Brooks and veteran Ron Artest but this is not their year. The Lakers have had a phenomenal year and though the Rockets should prove a tough opponent, the Lakers should be able to take the series in 6.
Nuggets-Mav’s: Carmelo Anthony has done it! He was quickly falling into the T-Mac category of guys who never made it out of the 1st round but this year is different. Nene is playing out of his mind and for the first time in a long time the Nuggets are all healthy not to mention they have Mr. Bigshot on their side now. The Mav’s looked good in the first round playing the shorthanded Spurs but are probably too old and too slow for Denver. Dirk needs a better supporting cast so for now I say Nuggets in 6

That should get us back to speed… returning tomorrow will be my number crunching post and I begin recapping the 2008-09 season. LETS GO!!!

I hate that I am going to be away for the final part of the NBA season where its all about playoff positions or ping pong balls, but this time I am going prepared! Here is my Survival Kit for the next 2 1/2 weeks

• Set up iTunes subscriptions for “The Basketball Jones” – If there is only one thing you can make time for, this should be at the top of your list. An added bonus to the podcast is the awesome soundtrack laid down by JD
• Bookmark these blogs for game recaps : Ball Don’t Lie – Talkhoops – Slamonline – These guys got game recaps on lockdown so you will never have to read another AP story again.
• Set up a twitter account and follow the best NBA Tweeps who have taken over the “Twitterverse” (Some good lists of people to follow: List 1 List 2 List 3)
• Subscribe to NBA LP Broadband and if you are too cheap or simply too lazy (like moi) you can always catch games here or here
• Favorite the NBA TV Youtube channel to catch all the game highlights
• Check in on Elie Seckbach who brings the fiyah in candid videos with players in the League.
• Basketbawful’s Worst of the Night tells it like it is.. the bad the badder and the baddest!
• If you feel the need to vent with some rabid fans head over to the RealGM forums (Don’t blame me if you hate your team by the end of the experience!)
• Install some apps on your phone (Do not blame me for data charges!) to keep you updated with live scores – iPhone: Sportstap & Score Mobile – Blackberry: Viigo

On the Blog front: I doub’t I will get much time to write but I do plan to keep this place updated by running a photo series of my adventures in trying to find the perfect spot to catch NBA games – From Hotel Lobbies to TGIF’s

you can also find me rambling about random ish on “Twitter“