Notes From Raptors Media Day
* Even though I’ve walked on the adidas Court countless times over the past year, each time I get to walk on the Raptors practice court I get goose bumps. After buying season tickets the first few seasons when the team played in the SkyDome, I’m stoked to get the chance to cover the team as a journalist and help Raptors fans learn more about the team.
* Kathryn Humphreys from City TV stole the show today by giving a friendship bracelet to Sam Mitchell. The two have had a rocky relationship in the past so the media and Mitchell got a kick out of Humphreys presenting the coach with a friendship bracelet “that she made for him at camp.”
* Jermaine O’Neal told the media he choose #6 because it was his number at the McDonald’s High School All-American game. The past few years haven’t been fun for O’Neal on or off the court, so he wanted a number to remind himself of having a new start in Toronto and of a time when he loved playing basketball.
* I walked away from media day impressed with how much confidence Andrea Bargnani exuded this afternoon. Last season he seemed to be frustrated when dealing with the media, but today he was more confident speaking English and he seemed at ease chatting with the media about the upcoming season.
* Sam Mitchell was rocking some Ray Bans today during media day because he woke up with something irritating his eye.
* I was able to snag exclusive interviews with Jamario Moon, Hassan Adams and Will Solomon. Look for those to be posted starting tomorrow. I also snagged audio from media scrums with Jermaine O’Neal, Chris Bosh, Jose Calderon, Bryan Colangelo, Sam Mitchell, Nathan Jawai and they’ll be posted later tonight.
* I’m now off to grab lunch with Franchise from Raptors HQ. Make sure you head over to his Raptors site to get some more news about media day this afternoon.
This article was written by:
Ryan McNeill - who has written 207 posts on Hoops Addict.
Ryan McNeill is the editor for Hoops Addict and has appeared on NBA XL and WSRQ 1220. Ryan has covered the NBA with media credentials since the 2007 season.