Speaker catches fire at Raptors-Pacers, forces suspension

Speaker catches fire at Raptors-Pacers, forces suspension

The Toronto Raptors couldn’t have asked for a better start in their matchup against a lowly Indiana Pacers team. With 41 points in the first quarter and seemingly every shot from 3-point range falling, Toronto was poised to pick up a vital win in the competitive Eastern Conference. It appears as though the team took […]
Speaker catches fire at Raptors-Pacers, forces suspension – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

The Blue Jays are on the verge of a sweep in The Bronx

Remember when the Blue Jays couldn’t beat the Tigers? Neither do I.

Toronto improved its season-high winning streak to seven games with a 6-3 win over the Yankees in New York. They’ve now won the first three games in the series and are on the verge of a four-game sweep.
Seem sorta, kinda familiar?

Thinking about this series from 2015 and everything that happened after it pic.twitter.com/AgfteZqIJV
— Cam Lewis (@cooom) September 9, 2021

The Red Sox also won tonight so we’re now a game-and-a-half behind New York and we’re still two games behind Boston. Tomorrow will represent an opportunity for the Blue Jays to pull within a half-game of the Yankees for a playoff spot.
Yes! Fuck yes! Let’s talk about the good stuff from tonight’s game…
Alek Manoah!
It wasn’t the same as his big league debut, which featured six scoreless innings, but Alek Manoah came out and worked his way through a near quality start tonight, tossing five-and-two-thirds innings while allowing three earned runs, all of which came on a Brett Gardner dinger.
The thing about Manoah’s start that rocked was that the aforementioned Gardner homer came on a rally …

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Author: Cam Lewis / Blue Jays Nation

BJN Radio – Ep. 34: Recapping an incredible weekend at The Dome

The Blue Jays’ homecoming couldn’t have gone better.

After nearly two years away from Toronto, the Blue Jays returned home and treated the fans to an absolute ass-kicking of the Kansas City Royals. Not only had the team been away for a long time, but this weekend’s games featured the first playoff atmosphere at the Rogers Centre since the 2016 American League Championship Series against Cleveland. What a blast.
With Tyler still lost in the woods, I had Paul Berthelot join to talk about all of the good vibes from the weekend. We talked about George Springer really establishing the whole “George Springer is a Blue Jay” thing with a huge weekend, Alek Manoah rising to the occasion and having an amazing start, and Jose Berrios putting together an excellent debut. We also talked about our thoughts on the Berrios trade and why it was a worthwhile move for the front office to make, despite the huge cost.
Finally, I drew about as many comparisons as I could to the 2015 team because, seriously, the patterns are getting ridiculous.
You can listen to the episode here…

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Author: Cam Lewis / Blue Jays Nation

Toronto Raptors draft: 3 point guards with the same style as Kyle Lowry

Toronto Raptors draft: 3 point guards with the same style as Kyle Lowry

The Toronto Raptors couldn’t have picked a better time to end up with the No. 4 pick in the NBA Draft, as they could face their first season in almost a decade without Kyle Lowry in the fold. This could be the guiding philosophy behind the Raptors draft plan in 2021. The Raptors could look […]
Toronto Raptors draft: 3 point guards with the same style as Kyle Lowry – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

Around the NHL: Hub City Decision seems like it’s being left to the last minute

Maybe I’m in the minority on this one, but I truly couldn’t care less where teams end up playing. If the plan is to create a bubble around the players where they won’t be out interacting with the population and no one will be attending their games, whether they play in Vegas or Nashville or Regina doesn’t really matter. Okay, that’s not true. No one should ever have to visit Regina.

Vegas will be a hub city for NHL playoff games and we should expect the official announcement before June 22.
The other depends on how the Canadian government chooses to enforce the 14-day quarantine for those entering the country. (@reporterchris)https://t.co/JDL9NuFIqG
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 13, 2020
The point being that while we seem to now know that Vegas will be one of the two Hub cities, and there does seem to be a deadline in place of next Monday for an announcement, but doesn’t that seem ridiculously rushed.
From the Las Vegas Review-Journal:
MGM Resorts hotels in play to host visiting teams include Vdara, Delano, the Park MGM/NoMad Hotel and The Mirage, according to …

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Author: Jon Steitzer / The Leafs Nation

Series Preview: Coors

Like most people, the Blue Jays couldn’t wait to leave Florida after getting swept by the Rays. This team has now lost seven of their last eight games, and now owns the 4th-worst record in the AL. They have also been held to just two runs or fewer in 14 of their 27 games this month.
Thankfully, the Blue Jays begin a three-game series in Coors Field. As the Blue Jays have recorded the 2nd-fewest amount of runs throughout the AL this month. So with the ball likely to fly all around the high-altitude park of Coors Field, this should give Vladimir Guerrero Jr. a great chance to hit the first 500-ft home run this season.
Friday at 8:40 ET
Edwin Jackson is lucky that the Blue Jays have absolutely zero depth when it comes to quality starting pitchers at triple-A, or he would likely not be apart of this organization anymore. Jackson has gotten pounded over his last two starts, and this start against the Rockies likely won’t go any better.
The 35-year-old has surrendered 14 hits, 13 runs(12 earned), four home runs along with a pair of walks over his last two starts. If you thought those last two performances were …

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Author: Thomas Hall / Blue Jays Nation

Series Preview: Home sweet home

The Blue Jays couldn’t be happier to come home following their horrendous six-game road trip. This team was lucky to even get just one win during their trip. If it weren’t for a horrible throw to third-base by pitcher Ariel Jurado, then the Blue Jays probably would have lost every single game on their second-trip to the west coast.
However, the Blue Jays now get to come home for six games before having to go back out to the west coast. Thankfully the Blue Jays have also already had success against the Twins this season. Last month, the Blue Jays went to the “Twin Cities” and came away with three wins out of the four games. Coming into this series the Blue Jays will look to inch closer back to .500, against the still very shocking AL Central division-leading Twins.
Monday at 7:07 ET
StroShow will be looking for redemption in this start, following his worst-start of the season against the Angels. Stroman didn’t face the Twins during their series last month. But, he has faced the Twins four times in his career and holds a 1-2 record against the team from the “Twin Cities”.
The former first-round pick …

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Author: Thomas Hall / Blue Jays Nation