BifEverchad 0 Report post Posted October 24, 2003 Canadian Press 10/23/2003 ST. JOHN'S, Nfld. (CP) Excited fans screamed when rookie phenom LeBron James emerged onto the court. It turned out that's about all they would get to see. The much-hyped pre-season match between James and his Cleveland Cavaliers and the Toronto Raptors was cancelled Thursday night after the floor was deemed unplayable due to condensation. Police were put on alert and the teams were rushed out to waiting buses before the 7,500 ticket holders were told the game wouldn't go ahead. "I think we all were concerned once we came out and the floor was still slippery,'' said Raptors guard/forward Michael Curry, who's also the president of the NBA players' association. "They did a good job of trying to make the floor better, but I think it was just too dangerous of a chance to take to go out.'' Toronto set an NBA record last season for player games missed due to injury, and Curry said the Raptors didn't want anyone to get hurt playing on an inadequate floor. "We had a great crowd in here tonight so we're sad for them but unfortunately the court was not playable,'' Curry told reporters as the crowd booed in the background. There were long faces all around for fans, who'd been lucky to stumble onto the one of the hottest match-ups of the pre-season when the Cavaliers drafted the 18-year-old nicknamed King James. Basketball fan Larry Fawcett was disappointed. "But you can understand where the NBA and the teams are coming from simply because of the money they've got invested in these players....We'll be there whenever they come back.'' The condensation was apparently caused by humidity in St. John's - it was raining, foggy and 18 C during the day. The floor, assembled over the arena ice, had been slippery during the Raptors' shootaround in the morning. With the sell-out crowd squeezed into the arena, home to the St. John's Maple Leafs of the AHL, it only aggravated the situation. Raptors coach Kevin O'Neill said under the circumstances a player could get hurt. "My first concern always has to be for the safety of our players, for their welfare,'' he said. Richard Peddie, president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, agreed. "We can go out there and squeak our heels against it but we're not playing above the rim, we're not trying to drive the lane,'' he said. "There's too many young men out there with wonderful futures ahead of them and we just didn't want to take that chance.'' Raptors GM Glen Grunwald addressed the angry crowd. "It is with great regret we can't play this game. I personally had been looking very much forward to playing this game because I had heard such great things about the people of this great city,'' Grunwald said, barely audible above the chorus of boos. "I hope you understand that it's a safety issue.'' He promised the Raptors will return within two years. They are already scheduled to come back next season. The game was to start at 6 p.m. EDT. The starting line-up was announced and the national anthems performed but O'Neill and Cavaliers coach Paul Silas complained to officials about the floor. The players left the court as an army of kids with towels on their feet shuffled across the floor to try and dry it up. But when the teams returned about 45 minutes the floor was still damp. About 75 minutes after it was to begin the game was cancelled. Peddie said officials at Mile One aren't as experienced in laying down the hardcourt over an ice surface as they do regularly at the Air Canada Centre. It's not the first time an NBA game in Canada has been plagued by floor troubles. The 1996 Naismith Cup game - the annual pre-season Canadian matchup between the Raptors and the Grizzlies before the latter left Vancouver for Memphis - in Calgary was postponed for 45 minutes because of glue seeping through the cracks in the floor. In St. John's, Sean Walsh and 10-year-old son Brett were disappointed. "I guess they can't play the game but the least they could do is have the players come out and sign autographs for the children that were here, that have been here for the last hour waiting,'' said Sean Walsh. -credit TSN.CA Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest MikeSC Report post Posted October 24, 2003 Canadian Press 10/23/2003 ST. JOHN'S, Nfld. (CP) Excited fans screamed when rookie phenom LeBron James emerged onto the court. It turned out that's about all they would get to see. The much-hyped pre-season match between James and his Cleveland Cavaliers and the Toronto Raptors was cancelled Thursday night after the floor was deemed unplayable due to condensation. Police were put on alert and the teams were rushed out to waiting buses before the 7,500 ticket holders were told the game wouldn't go ahead. "I think we all were concerned once we came out and the floor was still slippery,'' said Raptors guard/forward Michael Curry, who's also the president of the NBA players' association. "They did a good job of trying to make the floor better, but I think it was just too dangerous of a chance to take to go out.'' Toronto set an NBA record last season for player games missed due to injury, and Curry said the Raptors didn't want anyone to get hurt playing on an inadequate floor. "We had a great crowd in here tonight so we're sad for them but unfortunately the court was not playable,'' Curry told reporters as the crowd booed in the background. There were long faces all around for fans, who'd been lucky to stumble onto the one of the hottest match-ups of the pre-season when the Cavaliers drafted the 18-year-old nicknamed King James. Basketball fan Larry Fawcett was disappointed. "But you can understand where the NBA and the teams are coming from simply because of the money they've got invested in these players....We'll be there whenever they come back.'' The condensation was apparently caused by humidity in St. John's - it was raining, foggy and 18 C during the day. The floor, assembled over the arena ice, had been slippery during the Raptors' shootaround in the morning. With the sell-out crowd squeezed into the arena, home to the St. John's Maple Leafs of the AHL, it only aggravated the situation. Raptors coach Kevin O'Neill said under the circumstances a player could get hurt. "My first concern always has to be for the safety of our players, for their welfare,'' he said. Richard Peddie, president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, agreed. "We can go out there and squeak our heels against it but we're not playing above the rim, we're not trying to drive the lane,'' he said. "There's too many young men out there with wonderful futures ahead of them and we just didn't want to take that chance.'' Raptors GM Glen Grunwald addressed the angry crowd. "It is with great regret we can't play this game. I personally had been looking very much forward to playing this game because I had heard such great things about the people of this great city,'' Grunwald said, barely audible above the chorus of boos. "I hope you understand that it's a safety issue.'' He promised the Raptors will return within two years. They are already scheduled to come back next season. The game was to start at 6 p.m. EDT. The starting line-up was announced and the national anthems performed but O'Neill and Cavaliers coach Paul Silas complained to officials about the floor. The players left the court as an army of kids with towels on their feet shuffled across the floor to try and dry it up. But when the teams returned about 45 minutes the floor was still damp. About 75 minutes after it was to begin the game was cancelled. Peddie said officials at Mile One aren't as experienced in laying down the hardcourt over an ice surface as they do regularly at the Air Canada Centre. It's not the first time an NBA game in Canada has been plagued by floor troubles. The 1996 Naismith Cup game - the annual pre-season Canadian matchup between the Raptors and the Grizzlies before the latter left Vancouver for Memphis - in Calgary was postponed for 45 minutes because of glue seeping through the cracks in the floor. In St. John's, Sean Walsh and 10-year-old son Brett were disappointed. "I guess they can't play the game but the least they could do is have the players come out and sign autographs for the children that were here, that have been here for the last hour waiting,'' said Sean Walsh. -credit TSN.CA Man, I was hoping for a cancellation due to a lack of talented players, competent defenders, or guys who can hit a jumper. -=Mike ...NBA: You can't spell S-K-I-L-L without N-B-A --- oh wait a minute, you CAN! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkktookmybabyaway 0 Report post Posted October 24, 2003 Would have been funny if James suffered a serious injury on that floor so we could all *singing mode on* Blame Canada... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest FrigidSoul Report post Posted October 24, 2003 We are trying to hold a basketball game, not a bloody splish splash show Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
starvenger 0 Report post Posted October 24, 2003 Peddie said officials at Mile One aren't as experienced in laying down the hardcourt over an ice surface as they do regularly at the Air Canada Centre. Gee, Dick, YA THINK? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
