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goldmedal B18[PHOTO OF THE DAY]REPORTONBUSINESS |M
asai Ujiri’s name has become a
kind of magic spell in the NBA.
Is your team terrible and ter-
ribly run? Have you stitched yourself up
for years by trading away all your picks?
Are you lost and alone in the standings?
Then ...Masai Ujiri.
Certain owners think that if they say
it loudly enough to the right people, Uji-
ri will appear in their midst and solve all
their problems.
The latest has him (once again) tak-
ing a boatload of money from Knicks
owner James Dolan and moving to New
York.
Dolan has had a thing for the Toronto
Raptors president ever since he called
off the Kyle Lowry trade (helping Ujiri)
and called on the Andrea Bargnani
trade (really helping Ujiri).
Dolan thinks Ujiri tricked him. He
didn’t. Dolan tricked Dolan. Dolan
chooses not to see it that way. Which is
part of the reason his team is such a
mess.
During this first bout of media foot-
sie, Ujiri never got an actual offer. He
had no interest in the job and told peo-
ple that. Dolan didn’t want to be embar-
rassed with a “No,” so he called off his
bird dogs.
KELLY, B17UjiriisthemostindispensableRaptor,
andMLSEshouldponyuptokeephim
CATHAL
KELLY
OPINIONTORONTO
L
ike many pro hockey players, Ty-
son Barrie grew up watching Don
Cherry ruminate, sometimes on
matters he should have left alone, on
Hockey Night in Canada.As he sat at his
dressing stall on Tuesday, the Maple
Leafs defenceman mulled the long-time
broadcaster’s dismissal by Rogers
Sportsnet.
“It is unfortunate to see him go out
like this,” Barrie said. “Don is a legend,
and has been such a big part of hockey.
“In the age we are in, when you say
something [publicly], it is out there for
the world to see, and that generates a lot
of opinions.”
On Saturday night, the combative co-host of Coach’s Corner singled out To-
ronto-area immigrants for not wearing
poppies during a tribute to war veter-
ans.
“You people that come here, you love
our way of life, you love our milk and
honey, at least you can pay a couple of
bucks for poppies or something like
that,” the 85-year-old Cherry said while
jabbing one finger at the camera.
“These guys pay for the way of life you
enjoy. [They] paid the biggest price.”
The furor triggered by his comments
led Cherry to be fired on Remembrance
Day. There is a terrible irony in that, be-
cause he has always fiercely supported
the military. His eyes often teared up
when he talked about his love for sol-
diers on the air.
CHERRY, B16NHLplayerspaytributetoCherry,
butstopshortofdefendinghisdiatribe
MARTY KLINKENBERGTORONTO