Griffy, I missed you...

Richard Griffin has returned with another excellent piece of writing. Let us begin.

[...] Coach Mike Evans would bounce a pass to Dixon above the circle, four hard dribbles right or left, followed by a jump shot. Left-right-left, swish-swish-clank. Yes, Allen Iverson ... it's called practice.

Hallmark of a terrible sportswriter - you are making a joke about something that happened at least 5 years ago and was funny for about 5 minutes.

With the Raptors' numbing loss of T.J. Ford, his backup Jose Calderon has now taken over the majority of the minutes at the point. And with Darrick Martin looking better in a suit than a uniform, Dixon's the one ... or, at least the 1-eh. [...]

I don't get this joke. I mean, I get the reference to Canadians saying "eh" but I would really like to understand the appropriateness of using it here. Also, what editor let that past them? Or were they chuckling right along with ol' Rich?

Left to wonder in which direction his NBA career was headed, he agrees that, in hindsight, the words of hip-hop artist Kanye West reflect his philosophy on the bench.
"Th-that that don't kill me, can only make me stronger," Kanye spits out in his hit song "Stronger." That could have been written for all the young guys in suits sitting at the end of NBA benches.

"That's what it's all about, man," Dixon agreed. "When you're sitting over there on the bench, it's tough. It wears on you mentally. You've got to stay strong. Like Kanye says, it's not going to kill you, it only makes you strong and work harder."

I don't even think anything needs to be said. However, I will say that I love that he got the "th-that" part down accurately.

I will conclude with a short commentary on Richard Griffin. I have been reading The Star for quite some time. I have yet to read anything by Griffin that has exceeded the writing level I was capable of in grade 10. Yet this guy does this for a living. Something is seriously wrong here.