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Friday’s Hot Clicks: It Was Pandemonium in the Streets of Toronto After the Raptors’ Win

Toronto went WILD after the Raptors’ first-ever NBA championship. 

Dan Gartland

Cole Burston/Getty Images

Toronto went WILD

After one of the most dramatic games in recent memory, the Raptors are NBA champions. The city of Toronto (and really the whole nation of Canada) threw their support behind the Raps in a big way and everyone was ready to explode when the buzzer finally sounded.

Thousands upon thousands of people descended upon Yonge-Dundas Square in the heart of downtown Toronto to celebrate their country’s first NBA title and the city’s first (non-MLS) championship since the 1993 World Series. The scenes were seriously incredible.

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The celebrations were not without incident, though. The windshields of two police cars were destroyed, as was a city bus. (There was also a shooting near where the celebrations took place, but it’s unclear if it was related.)

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Fans also took the streets across the rest of Canada, where the crowds were smaller in numbers but no less enthusiastic.

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Klay deserves a ton of credit

Klay Thompson’s return to the court after injuring his knee was a moment that would have gone down in history if this game turned out differently. The way the crowd roared as he emerged from the tunnel was unreal. The fact that he tried to head back on defense after sinking the free throws made it seem like he was going to be okay. That’s what Klay thought, too, telling Steve Kerr he only needed a two-minute rest before he could be back on the court.

But now we know that Thompson won’t be back on the court until February or March, because an MRI conducted late last night confirmed a torn ACL. The Warriors’ luck really ran out quickly.

Nothing goes right at The Trop

A transformer fire in St. Petersburg caused a power outage that impacted much of the city, including Tropicana Field. Play between the Rays and Angels was halted for about a half hour while they waited for the lights to come back on. Since the stadium has a roof, the park was plunged into complete and total darkness. It was unlike anything you’ve ever seen before.

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Around the sports world

A small-town newspaper reporter from Iowa traveled all the way to Toronto to cover Raptors coach Nick Nurse in the NBA Finals. ... A former lacrosse star is transferring to Northwestern to play on a basketball scholarship. ... Shohei Ohtani hit for the cycle, becoming the first Japanese-born player to do so. ... Mets catcher Wilson Ramos found out his wife was pregnant when she held up a sign as he stood in the on-deck circle.

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Email dan.gartland@simail.com with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.

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Dan Gartland
DAN GARTLAND

Dan Gartland is the writer and editor of Sports Illustrated’s flagship daily newsletter, SI:AM, covering everything an educated sports fan needs to know. He joined the SI staff in 2014, having previously been published on Deadspin and Slate. Gartland, a graduate of Fordham University, is a former Sports Jeopardy! champion (Season 1, Episode 5).

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