By Don Collins

The Toronto Raptors have relieved Dwane Casey of his duties as head coach. The team made the move after the sweep at the hands of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Another year of not advancing past James and company apparently was enough to hand the coach his pink slip. After winning 320 games in seven seasons, I wonder what Toronto is going to do to upgrade from Casey.

Look, I get it, you probably should not get swept by this current iteration of the Cavs, but this feels like a knee-jerk reaction. After posting 59 wins and being the number one seed in the Eastern conference, to fire your coach because his team succumbed to the greatest player of all time is not the course of action I would take. Is it not better to allow the team to learn from this most recent loss? Or is three years of falling to James enough? I don’t cut the checks, but some factors must be examined.

My concern for the Raptors is that they won’t find the greener pastures they are seeking. Recently, several franchises have experienced various degrees of success in replacing a successful coach with a new one to try to reach the pinnacle of the NBA. In this case, I see more of what the Chicago Bulls did with Tom Thibodeau than what the Golden State Warriors did with Steve Kerr.

This is a team that, for better or for worse, must try to figure it out when it comes to LeBron James. They are not swimming in cap space so unless a trade comes, they will have to rely on the duo of Kyle Lowry and Demar DeRozan to figure it out. I’m not too sure a leadership change from the most successful coach in team history was necessary. Allowing continuity to improve a team with a deep roster without clear on-the-court upgrades surely was an option and I wonder why it was not chosen. For the time being, LeBron is still the mental hurdle the group must overcome regardless of who is in charge.

In the past few days, the Raptors surely discussed how they could reclaim Toronto from the vice grip LeBron has on their prospects for a championship. Firing the coach is one way to try and fix the problem and it is common with a lot of teams. A new voice may be able to get better out of the same ingredients, but it’s a calculated risk that could be deemed unnecessary if the new coach experiences a decrease in success.

Casey did a wonderful job during his time in Toronto. His tenure is not defined by failed expectations but rather by exceeded ones. Championship or bust is a reality in the NBA, but that mentality can be the untimely demise of an entire era of a team.

By Bre Moorer

Bre Moorer is a senior at Bowling Green State University where she pursues a major in Sport Management with a specialization in General Business.  She is originally from Akron, Ohio, about forty miles south of Lake Erie.  Her primary sport interest is basketball – at the amateur and professional level.

Since my first day on campus at Bowling Green State University (BGSU), I have been inspired to “put myself out there.”  From interviewing for a manager position with the women’s basketball team, to earning a spot on the Sport Management Alliance’s professional development committee.  Whenever someone asks me why I call BGSU home, the answer is clear.  The students come first and have endless opportunities.

This spring I received an e-mail telling me I was selected, along with 7 of my peers, as a student ambassador for the 2018 NFL Broadcast Boot Camp.  It feels good to know that faculty members thought of me when presented with this once-in-a-lifetime experience.   This year was the NFL’s 12^th annual Boot Camp, which is just one of the Player Engagement’s many educational programs offered to active and retired players (also known as legends).  There were 36 players in all, but some high-profile faculty also came to educate them.  On the first day, I was paired with a fellow student ambassador, Mitchell Bailey, to supply players and faculty members with credentials and the week’s itinerary as they checked into the hotel.  Later on, the players were divided into 4 groups in order to make the sessions more personal and engaging.  My group of 8 consisted of Rahim Abdullah, Bobby Brown, Donald Willis, Tori Gurley, Joselio Hanson, Fred Jackson, Jerry Porter, and Carlos Rosado.  I guided the most fun group, in my biased opinion, to breakout sessions around campus in a timely and low-profile manner.  I found shortcuts to keep the players “safe” from the infamous Bowling Green wind.  Most of them live down south and reminisced on the days they had to battle a cold campus.  The first day of rounding the legends and active players up was not easy.  I had a hard time telling men who are over 6 feet and 230 pounds what to do, where to go, and when to stop eating for a walk across campus, until Rahim Abdullah said, “You have to speak up”, he continued, “and know that we trust you to look out for us”.

I have to admit, as a sport management student, I am not the most passionate about journalism.  Therefore, I sat out some sessions and updated the group on the time they had left with the faculty members from the hallway.  However, I found myself extremely interested in the “Ethics in Broadcast Journalism” and “Sports Media Coverage of Social Issues” sessions.  To show just how sweet the guys are, I will share a story.  During the “Ethics in Broadcast Journalism” session, the players had discussions about protesting the anthem and domestic violence in the NFL.  After they all shared their views and learned how to communicate them properly on camera, a couple players checked to make sure I was comfortable during the domestic violence conversation since I was the only woman in the room.  I knew then that they had my back.

The highlight of my time as a student ambassador was watching sportscaster James Brown (J.B.) in action.  His first interaction with us was when he interviewed past participants of the NFL Broadcast Boot Camp.  We all marveled at his smooth transition from topic to topic and knowledge of the panelists.  J.B. stopped to talk to everyone who wanted a word and was just as kind as he seems on television.  He was open to giving out advice and sat in on some sessions to give his expert input.

In conclusion, the 2018 NFL Broadcast Boot Camp was an exceptional experience that I will remember forever.  I grew professionally and personally.  It was a chance to network and I learned to take charge as the leader of my group.  Future student ambassadors for this program will definitely enjoy it and I hope they happen to be BGSU Falcons!