The Toronto Raptors advanced to the second round of the postseason with a 4-1 series win over the Magic on Tuesday, capturing their fourth straight second-round berth. Their goal now is to beat the 76ers and avoid losing their third straight conference semifinal appearance. The real question surrounding all of this is: Should they want Drake in the building for those games? He was Present at Scotiabank Arena for the Raptors' 115-96, but it's not groundbreaking to say that Drake has a bad history with supporting teams. If he roots for teams, bad things tend to happen. The rapper even acknowledged his it sarcastically last night after the Raptors' win. "Want me to talk about the curse or you guys good?" he said. The Maple Leafs, Toronto's other playoff team, experienced it firsthand this week. He showed up for Game 6 and 48 hours later the Leafs' season is over. Maybe the Raptors can be the exception and make it out of the second round this year, but taking a look at the big picture... it's hard to argue: The "Drake Curse" is alive and well. Here's proof: 2012: The entire Premier League One of the first times Drake got attention for the sheer number of teams he supports was when people noticed he seemed to have a lot of Premier League jerseys. He LOVED striker Mario Balotelli when the star was on Manchester City. The rapper even referenced him in his lyrics. Drake wore so many different jerseys that it's legitimately hard to pin down his stupid Premier League timeline. In 2011, he showed up to Manchester United's headquarters in a full Man. U outfit, which should have been the end of it. Then, in March of 2012 he was at a Manchester City match wearing Man. City duds. Less than a month later, he trained with Chelsea's Didier Drogba. Hopefully Balotelli didn't get jealous. This kind of flies in the face of the curse, mind you. Manchester United won the Premier League in 2011 and City did in 2012. HOWEVER, Drake bounced from United to City to Chelsea so fast that it's entirely possible that the curse couldn't take root. By the time Chelsea won the league in 2015, he had already moved on to Barcelona and Toronto FC. 2013: Lionel Messi and Barcelona Drake took his fandom to La Liga at one point, repping Lionel Messi in a Barcelona jersey. Now, it's entirely possible that this was only in support of Messi for the new FIFA video game coming out. Also, wearing a jersey of the biggest soccer star in the world isn't that crazy. But, guess the last year that Barcelona hasn't won either La Liga or the Champions League. THE 2013-14 SEASON! Look, I'm not saying that Drake broke up the Heatles. But I'm also not not saying it. After the Heat won their second straight NBA Finals in 2013, Drake wanted to go into the team's locker room but he was turned away. Drake later said it was a "highlight" of his night and he's usually allowed in. He and LeBron James go way back -- but Drake was trying to joke around when he was turned away, the rapper claims. The moment was reminiscent of Kevin Hart trying to get on the podium after the Eagles' Super Bowl win. Joking around or not, the seed was planted. The Heat were drubbed by the Spurs the next season in the Finals and James then went back to Cleveland. 2013: Drake is named Raptors team ambassador If you've ever listened to any Drake song, you know he's from Toronto. He takes a lot of pride in his hometown. In 2013, the Raptors, floundering after five seasons of missing the playoffs, named Drake their team ambassador. Was this a good decision? Let's just say that the curse works in mysterious ways. Yes, the Raptors have made the playoffs every year since then. They've won the Atlantic division in five of those years. But they've made it out of the second round one time, in the 2015-16 postseason, where they lost to the Cavaliers in six games. 2014: Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball In October 2014, Drake, who was 26 at the time, was spotted warming up with the Kentucky men's basketball team. He had the full getup too. At the Big Blue Madness event, Drake was even given a chance to shoot around with Kentucky. The Wildcats went 38-1 that season. Their one loss? In the Final Four to Wisconsi. Drake's friendship with John Calipari is a strange sports phenomenon. 2015: Serena Williams in the US Open Williams was unstoppable this year. She won the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon, and made it to the US Open semifinal. If she'd only known what we know now. Drake showed up for Williams' semifinal match against Roberta Vinci. You can guess what happened next. Vinci stunned Williams 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 before losing to Flavia Pennetta in the final. Drake had supported Serena in the past but after this US Open he wasn't really seen in the stands supporting her. That is until Wimbledon last year... where she lost in the finals to Angelique Kerber. 2016: The Golden State Warriors Of course Drake played a part in the Warriors blowing a 3-1 lead. He reminisced on his song "Summer Sixteen" about getting In-N-Out with Steph and Ayesha Curry and rapped about the team practicing at his house. Golden State then went out and, as the internet reminds you every day, blew a 3-1 series lead in the NBA finals to the Cavs. Drake should have just stayed supporting LeBron. 2018: Conor McGregor It's very on-brand for McGregor to try to laugh in the face of a curse. Before his fight against Khabib Nurmagomedev, McGregor had Drake at his UFC 229 weigh-in as... Support? Not sure what you'd call it. McGregor lost the fight in the fourth round. 2019: Alabama football Last year's Alabama squad was special. Tua Tagovailoa had an outstanding year, and they went undefeated in the regular season without facing a ton of resistance along the way.<doc-sep>Lots to unpack after a Maple Leafs season that finishes with – unfortunately -- predictable Game 7 loss to the Boston Bruins. You folks have a lot on your mind. Glad you’ve come to me to get it off your chest. This is Day After Mailbag. Letting you guys rant. Answering your questions, too. KEEP IT COMING: Email me at askkevinmcgran@gmail.com and I’ll do my best to walk you back from the ledge. QUESTION: Kevin. There it was. Four goals Boston scores because the Leafs gift wrapped them. Expectations for this team were too high. Under pressure their defence folded time and time again. Nylander is the goat of this series though. He gave up two critical goals directly while contributing little. If anyone needed to step up it was him. Fail. He better come around next season or its bye bye Willy. Read more: It’s another chapter of Bean there, haven’t done that for Leafs in Boston Takeaways: Plenty of blame to go around as Leafs eliminated Maple Leafs are a huge success, even if the fans don’t agree Nazem needs to go somewhere else now. Stupid is as stupid does. Far too many times. Love the compete. Hate the choices. Let down his team. Moron. Gardiner has to go too if for no other reason than money and his lackadaisical play. Dubas. Time to reevaluate the Shanaplan. Babcock... Dinosaur going to the tar sands to expire. Peter C in LA. Was 14 in 1967. ANSWER: Happy to let you -- and everyone else -- rant. QUESTION: Hi Kevin, Great article on the Maple Leafs. I’ve been a Leaf fan my entire life and again it’s a very frustrated end to the season and a frustrating time to be a Leaf fan again. Again, I think Babcock was out-coached, management just wants to keep them because he’s on year 4 of an 8 year, $50 million contract. His lack of penalty kill being efficient has hurt them, his lack of not playing his top line star players as Auston Matthews, being an $11 million a year player and you only play him 18 minutes in game seven? That’s unacceptable! He’s a 21-year-old kid, if he’s not able to play 20-25 minutes per night then maybe we should reconsider trading him or is it just that Babcock’s stubbornness? I think the leaves should part out with Gardiner, Kadri, Andersen, any Nylander. Although Gardiner was playing hurt he is still a pretty decent defenceman but I think it’s time for a change for him not only as a pro hockey player but also for the Leafs fan base. And I don’t think he wants to be in Toronto anymore and he’ll be a pretty valuable asset for another team. Nazem Kadri, stupid penalty, yes he was defending Marleau, but again stupid penalty and he still one of the players that we had on the losing team in Game 7 since 2013. Andersen did really have a good season, but when you put three strings of game seven losses in the last 5-6 years, he needs a change of scenery because he doesn’t seem to go on shutdown mode when it counts or when the game is on the line! As far as Nylander goes, enough said he holds out until December, gets a killer contract and terms of money, has brilliant flashes maybe 20% of the time, and that’s it. I hate hearing these excuses like well he missed two months of play, so what! It’s not like he’s over 35 years old in the NHL, he’s a kid and he should’ve been chomping at the bit when he came back! I do you have a plan though, if we trade those four players, that frees up I believe $22 or $23 million in salary? After the playoffs, let’s get Bobrovski and Panarin from Columbus and give them two of the four that are on our list. I heard that the Leafs are chasing another Russian forward from the KHL, then that will be a good fit hopefully. Also Nikita Zaitsev needs to go, too many giveaways, shaky play always playing behind the eight ball. There’s so much more I can say but will keep it like this for now, thank you for your time and hopefully we do much better next season! Best Regards, David S ANSWER: I hear your frustration, but that’s a lot of turnover for a team that had 100 points. Gardiner is gone, as a UFA most likely. Kadri may be gone, for cap room to keep the youngsters. Andersen? Really? Nylander? I feel the hate for him, but let’s let time pass. You want to go back to chasing goaltending like the post-Ed Belfours. As for Bob and the Bread Man, next stop Florida. The Atlantic is getting better, not worse. QUESTION: Hi Kevin,This is all Carlton “the Bruin” Bears fault. Isn’t it? Thanks, Stanley B ANSWER: Get rid of him, too, huh? QUESTION: He should be fired! Jim M ANSWER: Okay then. QUESTION: The only difference between Babcock and Randy Carlyle is an Olympic gold on a team that you and I could have coached. Mike is not the saviour management made him out to be. He favours players (Gauthier, Marleau, Gardiner) who have no business playing at elite levels. We all see how the right side of our defence is a key weakness. So...what does Dubas do?... goes out and gets a LD...for 2 top prospects and a 1st? Mismanagement cost us this series ANSWER: Babcock is stubborn. Dubas is learning, though you’re gonna love Jake Muzzin over time. QUESTION: Just glad the Leafs went down to defeat again. The attitude of the fans make it so nice too see it happen AGAIN Allan W ANSWER: Making friends? Influencing people? QUESTION: Hi Kevin. As a lifelong Leafs fan now living in England but able to watch all the games live on TV, my question is: will fans and sports writers demand that Babcock be fired or allow him to continue wasting everyone's time.<doc-sep>Justin Bieber was at TD Garden Tuesday night cheering on the Maple Leafs - and looking more and more disappointed as the game progressed. The 25-year-old singer from Canada sat in a suite with his wife Hailey Bieber, and the pastor of Hillsong Church NYC Carl Lentz. Ahead of game 7, Bieber sent out a prayer for the Maple Leaf players on his Instagram page. “Dear lord please be with Austin Mathews, Mitch Marner and all of the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight as they play game 7 against the Boston bruins..” he wrote under a photo of the Maple Leafs logo. As the game turned in the Bruins favor, with the team eventually winning 5-1, Bieber looked progressively more concerned in photos taken at the game. At least one Bruins player knew the singer was in their midst. David Pastrnak tweeted: “Not today @justinbieber #BostonStrong”<doc-sep>Justin Bieber PRAYED TO GOD his Toronto Maple Leafs would emerge victorious in Game 7 of their NHL playoff series ... so, when they lost, he REALLY needed comfort from his wife Hailey Baldwin. Justin and Hailey were sitting in a private VIP box at TD Garden in Boston to watch his Canadian team take on the Boston Bruins. Before the game, Justin offered up a prayer for his players on IG -- saying, "Dear lord please be with Austin Mathews, Mitch Marner and all of the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight as they play game 7 against the Boston bruins." JB's prayers went unanswered -- his Maple Leafs got SHELLACKED in a 5-1 blowout. You can see video of Hailey rubbing Justin's shoulders as she quickly realizes things aren't going his way ... Play video content NHL After the game ... Boston Bruins star David Pastrnak rubbed the win in Bieber's face -- tweeting, "Not today [Justin Bieber] #BostonStrong." And, get this ... Justin's out of Canadian teams to root for in the NHL playoffs -- the Winnipeg Jets and Calgary Flames were both eliminated, too.<doc-sep>
Another Toronto Maple Leafs season died in Boston and another long summer of second-guessing began on Tuesday evening. The last rites officially were given to the Maple Leafs at 9:33 p.m. ET as history repeated itself. The Boston Bruins were the victors in a critical Game 7 for the third time at TD Garden since 2013. This outcome, a 5-1 decision thanks to a pair of late-game empty-net goals, was just as devastating as the third period collapses in 2013 and last spring. This Maple Leafs team had an improved roster. Rookie general manager Kyle Dubas added a talented free agent in 47-goal scorer John Tavares and a Stanley Cup-winner before the trade deadline in defenceman Jake Muzzin. WATCH | Bruins bounce Leafs in Game 7...again: But the result was the same, another year of agony for the Maple Leafs and their faithful. The Stanley Cup drought will hit 52 years on May 2, the anniversary of the franchise's last championship in 1967. Toronto hasn't won a single playoff series since 2004. Mike Babcock's side was the better team through the first two periods. But the Maple Leafs found themselves behind 2-1 after 40 minutes. Andersen not sharp Toronto goalie Frederik Andersen was not sharp. In hindsight, he should have held on to the puck for a whistle on the first goal. But he moved it, leading to a giveaway from Maple Leafs defenceman Travis Dermott and a bad-angle goal from Boston's Joakim Nordstrom late in the first period. Marcus Johansson took advantage of a turnover from Dermott's defence partner Jake Gardiner a few shifts later to give Boston a 2-0 lead. "I thought we played real good until it was 3-1," Babcock said. "We carried lots of the play, we executed and played the way we wanted to play. "It's disappointing because I thought our series, compared to last year, we were a way better hockey club and we weren't rewarded. I think we're taking steps in the right direction. "It's disappointing for our group. It's part of the scars and pain you feel in building a franchise." Story continues Maddie Meyer/Getty Images Babcock often talks about "the process" and "the opportunity" when discussing his team. But it was the Bruins who were opportunistic. Andersen certainly helped the opposition's cause with a poor outing after he played so well in the first six games of the series. The Nordstrom goal was weak. Bruins fourth-line forward Sean Kuraly caught Andersen napping on a 30-foot shot to make it 3-1 early in the third period. It didn't help matters that the Tavares line was at the end of a long shift and the Morgan Rielly-Ron Hainsey defence pairing had just hopped over the boards and were caught backing in. Window to win getting smaller Andersen now has a career 0-4 in Game 7s. But Babcock's recent record in crucial games is not good either. He has lost his last five potential series-clinching games, dating back to his days at the helm of the Detroit Red Wings. The Bruins, who will meet the Columbus Blue Jackets in the second round, had a relatively stress-free finish after the Kuraly goal. Gardiner, who was playing hurt, finished a minus-three on the evening to push his plus-minus rating to minus-10 in his three Game 7s in Boston. The Maple Leafs power play also let Toronto down. It went 0-for-5 in the final two games of the series. You could see the disappointment on the face of Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan when television cameras spied on him late in the game. He and Dubas have built a young and talented team. But windows to win in the NHL are small these days because of the monster second contracts to young, talented players. Dubas and his management team have to figure out how to improve the roster and keep the key players under the constraints of the salary cap. Gardiner, Hainsey, fourth-line forward Tyler Ennis and backup goalie Michael Hutchinson are slated to become unrestricted free agents this summer. But the difficult negotiations will be with the trio of restricted free agents in Mitch Marner, Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson. This will play out in the days, weeks and months to come in what will be another long summer for Maple Leafs and their deflated fan base.