Raptor Broadcast schedule

So we already knew that CBC was getting back on board the Raptor express, now we know that we won't have to wait long to see what CBC has in store for us when covering the games. First game for CBC this season is the highly anticipated Raptors vs Celtics game on Nov. 4th.

Here is the breakdown:
CBC gets 7 games
Score gets 30 including the season opener vs 76ers
TSN gets 21 plus playoff games
Sportsnet gets 12
Raptors TV gets 12 including the Lakers in Toronto game, a Boston game and a Miami.

Raptors TV also air the 3 pre-season games from overseas. Oct. 6/7 and 11th. Not sure about the other pre-season games.

If your a basketball fan in Canada, do yourself a favour, order Raptor TV. It's $2.50 or whatever.

Now here is the great news about the CBC games... Chuck Swirsky and Leo Rautins are working those 7 games! Just as it should be.

And let's add this list of games because of the importance of the national coverage, here is the CBC games for 2007-2008...

Nov 4 vs Celtics
Nov 25 vs Bulls
Dec 9 vs Rockets
Jan 6 vs Cavs
Jan 13 vs Blazers
March 9 vs Sonics
March 23 vs Nuggets

I say it's important, because its all about turning the Raptors into Canada's team. CBC will get the Raptors into more homes on a channel that is more frequently scanned threw by Canadians. Building that Canadian following will hopefully lead to growth in talent from our younger citizens. Instead of wasting time on hockey sticks, maybe they will do something more worth while like picking up a basketball. 7 games on CBC won't do that alone, but it's a start.

As for the 7 games, they cherry picked a decent selection, with big names (Cavs/Lebron, Rockets/Ming and McGrady) as well as some potentially great games (Bulls, Nuggets) plus joining (and getting screwed by) the rookie bandwagon (Sonics and Blazers). I wonder if CBC even pays enough attention to basketball to know that the Portland game is now a waste of time? Well they did get the Celtics first game in Toronto, and they did get Chuck and Leo, so hopefully this hockey loving channel will do the basketball thing properly.