Hey Fanatics...we're north of the border on the Great Lakes tour - Erie to Ontario to Superior, with Minnesota waiting on Friday.

This will be a tough one because I think the Raptors will be back in the playoffs. The addition of Hedo Turkoglu and Jarrett Jack will be impactful, in all, there are 9 new Raptors, so they may need a little time to find some chemistry.

Shaq and Bosh will be one of the matchups to watch of course. The last time they faced each other, Shaq lit up the Raps for 45 big ones, on 20 of 25 shooting. Bosh complained that night, that Shaq was able to camp in the lane for an eternity, and Shaq then shot back saying the man they call CB4 is the RuPaul of big men. I would imagine most is forgotten now, but this time, Bosh will see the Big Witness Protection, along side LeBron.

Remember, this is where Bosh's cousin was bending LBJ's ear courtside during a Cavs dramatic comeback two seasons ago in a January matinee. He scored 24 in the 4th, and told the female fan she shouldn't have motivated him with the verbal taunts.

See you tonight on the broadcast on Fox Sports Ohio, beginning at 6:30 p.m.!!

You asked, we answered!

Thanks for sending in your questions for "Throwin' the Hammer Down," we've seen a lot of great ones so far.  As the season gets underway tonight, A.C. and I sat down to answer a few of them...

What's up Fanatics!

I'm sure you all are as excited about the start of the new season as I am! And new seasons usually mean a lot of questions...so we're giving you the opportunity to ask what's on your mind...

After its successful debut during the 2009 Playoffs, we're bringing back "Throwin' the Hammer Down" with A.C. and I!  We want you fanatics to post your questions here, and we'll pick some of the best ones to answer on video for you.  Keep 'em coming, and we'll keep answering periodically throughout the year. 

So whether you want to know how the offense is going to operate this year, or what the players do for fun on off-days, ask away!

Submit you question here!

Finally, the regular season is next!!! LeBron is among the many who look at the pre season as a necessary evil...but now is the time the guys will start to lock in at both ends, especially defensively, because that is where the Cavs live...Boston showed with how physical they played, they know it too, that defense is what is going to carry the eventual kings of the East to the NBA finals...That's why Tuesday will be a beaut..
 
Columbus will always be special to LBJ for obvious reasons...and now, one more...He was made an honorary Buckeye by Thad Matta and the OSU program...LeBron was given a #23 framed jersey, which he says is quite an honor...
 
And to show how he's a Buckeye at heart, he and Terrelle Pryor revealed they have struck up a special relationship over the past few months...call it mentoring, which LeBron loves doing...right now, giving advise on how to handle the bright light spotlight, and making sure Pryor handles the adversity he is going through right now on the heels of the loss to Purdue...LBJ talked about advising the Buckeye QB on dealing with so many high expectations and moving forward....It's got to be comforting for a 20 year old to have that kind of role model to have on speed dial...and LBJ doesn't take that lightly...

On to Dallas now as Mike says he'll rest some of his key guys on this back to back. LeBron says he's feeling much better, but stamina wise is still not where he needs to be, admitting he's about 80% of the way back. The flu bug knocked him back a bit, as it has with Darnell, J.J. and some others. The medical staff is doing a great job trying to keep this bug at bay for all us in the traveling party. 

Mike let Michael Malone run the team in the 2nd half at San Antonio, something coach and Danny Ferry have talked about doing. Delonte kidded coach Malone about calling so many timeouts, but it gave Michael a chance to draw up some late game plays with the guys on the floor, to see how they would react in such situations.

Shaq felt he missed some shots around the rim he'll normally make. Rebounding was not a problem for the big man, who also played Tim Duncan pretty well during the times the two were matched up against each other.

It will always be a big deal when Shaq comes to San Antonio since he only lost one game in high school in the Alamo City in his HS career. Shaq was a well known commodity in the state of Texas at that time, but other premier players around the country had not heard much about him, like Toledo's Jimmy Jackson, because high schoolers in the Longhorn state were barred from playing in a lot of the national summer camps. Once the big fella made his splash in the McDonalds All-Star game, it was on, and the rest of the basketball world would find out how good he was once he went to LSU.