The Raptors fired general manager Rob Babcock today. As a season ticket holder for the the past 6 seasons, I think this is last straw for me. The man had a plan that was hard to swallow in the short term — I had my issues with him in the first season with the Vince Carter trade. However, this season he made some good moves, and I could see where he was coming from when he made that trade. With his subsequent transactions and the team’s recent turnaround, fans started to see his vision and believe in it. Yes, he was a PR nightmare in the beginning, but his communication to the media and the fans was much improved in recent months. Management knew what they were getting into when they hired him, yet he won’t get the chance to finish off what he started.

This GM/coaching carousel has to stop. Management needs to stop being shortsighted, and they need to stop expecting to get polished and experienced personnel at bargain-basement prices. If you are not willing to pay the market price for coaches and GMs, you should not expect them to perform as well as ones who are.

The train wreck that the Raptors have become is due in no small part to the team’s President, Richard Peddie. The sad thing is, he still has his job. His constant meddling was the main reason Vince Carter requested a trade, and the way he handled the hiring process for the last GM made the Raptors the laughing stock of the league.

Chris Young’s blog entries (1) and (2) on the subject just about sum up my thoughts on this man. Why he still has a job while firing constantly firing people for his mistakes baffles me to no end.

A couple years ago, there was a movement to fire Peddie that culminated in a plane flying a banner across Toronto calling for his head. I pitched in some money to the cause then, and wouldn’t hesitate to do the same now if I had the chance.

Hope all 2 of my readers have a Happy New Year! I had the last two weeks of last year off, and didn’t do much except veg out on my couch, with the exception of a snowboarding trip to Mont Tremblant. It’s nice to get your batteries recharged once in a while.

New Years was spent at a party at York Event Theatre, which was packed to the brim with drunken revellers — everyone was extremely friendly and approachable — I guess it’s a New Year’s thing. Why do we need an excuse to be friendly and be like this all the time? I guess being New Year’s gives girls who otherwise can’t think of anything something to say to guys.

Afterwards, I met up with a few friends who crashed a stranger’s house party downtown in the clubbing district. This guy’s pad was a geek’s dream, with a nice sound system, big screen TV and high-tech toys galore. Apparently this guy works in computer animation. The fact that it was right next door to a club didn’t hurt things one bit.

We didn’t stay for long as it was already 4am, so we tried our damndest to get a cab. Unfortunately, so did the rest of Toronto. We decided to walk in the direction of home and even though we flagged a few down on the way, they all refused to take us since our trip would be too short. Those bastards!

All in all, I had a great time this vacation. Too bad I have to work tomorrow