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TORONTO, Canada -- I don't want to get too far into this Vince Carter thing. I mean, he's left Toronto and still gets more play in the media than he deserves. I know he was an important part in the basketball explosion in the city and even in the country, but that era is over and we need to learn to move on. Toronto is the "good guy" who got his heart crushed at the dance when the hot girl decided she was no longer interested in him and wants to go home with the grimy bad boy.

There is something disturbing about a player claiming that he will "make people eat their words." What words? That Carter is soft? That he can't effectively drive to the basket? That if he gets hit inside, he will settle for jump shots the rest of the night, if not for a whole road trip or home stand? That he wants superstar money without superstar expectations?

The truth is that all these questions were raised because of Carter's attitude and on court displays, not because we are bored and have nothing better to do. His implication that we were all wrong and will eat our words implies he knows that he can do all those things that people were faulting him for and the he will now show us. If that's what happens, that says a lot about his character and desire for what he does.

The one thing most players want to protect is their integrity for what they do, in the long run, it's the one thing they can be proud of and hold on to. Carter seems ready to shatter some of that integrity by openly displaying that he was just coasting it in Toronto for the last 2-3 seasons, and if he can't or doesn't, the media and the fans in New Jersey and New York won't offer him nearly as much leeway and patience as their Toronto counter parts did. Eat our words, will we?