Miles

Not sure if anyone knows the truth to this, or if it has happened to you, or someone you know, but I'm always told to "use the miles" accrued from flying because the airline can revoke them at anytime. I'm sure it's written somewhere in small print, and that this is a true thing, but I never believe it's going to happen.

Right now I've got over 200K from Continental to spend which is why they just sent me an email directing me to their "auction." Basically, Continental has set up their own ebay-like site so you'll use your miles elsewhere, rather than flying. Pretty nifty trick if they can get people to spend them. I wouldn't waste my miles on this garbage, but I'm sure someone will.

Auction.

My friend Brett has a unique way of spending his miles. He's a world traveler, and happens to know women all over the country from his days touring with Phish, etc. So basically he calls one of them up to see what she's doing for the weekend, as long as one of his airlines is running a "last minute" deal. Then he buys the young lady a ticket to fly to New York for the weekend. As he likes to say, "First class on the way in...Coach class on the way out..." Some would say "no class" altogether, but you have to respect the ingenuity on some level.

Why?

Someone asked me tonight why I have been posting so much about sports. Well, I guess it's because everything else is so repetitive and boring. You've heard it, and if not by me, then by someone else for certain.

There is one theme I'd like to touch on from recent weeks which I find so ridiculous, but yet it remains unquestioned/unchallenged: The belief that Democrats get nothing done in Congress. Could be true...

Getting nothing done is certainly better than getting really bad things done which is what was getting done when Republicans were in control of the White House and Congress. You can convince yourself of anything; maybe that Bush has done well, and Republicans are good. We know that's a joke, but as long as they keep paying you off through tax cuts you'll be a good goose-stepper and pull that red lever. That's your right. But still, I prefer a stall rather than a march towards disaster, and that's what we have now.

For a President and a party to have claimed to be the "party of inclusion" one would think they could find common ground, but they're more likely to do so with Nazis than Democrats. To have to even call yourself "big tent" or "inclusive" in American politics is proof that you live under the stars and alone.

This country is better served with a Democratic Congress checking this jackass, and these racist scumbags. I'm all for it. Getting nothing done is better then getting bad things done, which is mostly all that was done. So cheers to that.

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I have immigration thoughts, and I'm about a weekend away from laying them out.

It's High Time

That we start enforcing the laws of this country to make sure that Jews and Christians receive equal treatment when applying for jobs. Clearly they are not!

So There's Jokes

And there's reality.

I wanted to post this awhile back, and I'm sure someone else has, but Dick Cheney was commenting on Gore and Global Warming a few weeks ago. He said this:

He took a few lighthearted jabs at his predecessor, noting that former Vice President Al Gore's house uses an above-average amount of energy. "Many argue that global warming is manmade," Cheney said, "and it looks like they found the man."

So the reality part is this:

Wyoming's coal-fired power plants produce more carbon dioxide in just eight hours than the power generators of more populous Vermont do in a year.

Wyoming, of course, produces more CO2 per capita than any state in the country.

So, there's jokes...and there's the biggest joke ever: Cheney.

PFFFFFF

This is great.

I'm not "Hey, the media is too liberal..." guy, but I really believe the NYTIMES could have come up with a more fitting headline for this guy:

Kurt Waldheim, Former U.N. Chief, Is Dead at 88

For some reason I do not think Dag Hammarskjold should be in his boat.

I'm Trying

To dig down, and muster up the energy to blog. I have tons of thoughts on tons of things, but I also have...a broken computer as well.

Anyway, the NBA is the worst. Period. The End.

I know for sure the folks at ESPN and the NBA are trying to devise new ways to get the best teams into the finals, even if it means scrapping divisions and putting the 16 best teams in a tournament with reseeding. Yes, that could help, sure. But truth is that's not even going to do it.

The NBA's biggest problems are these:

The zone does not work. It has not created more offense. In fact, it gave the NBA what they wanted, and now they realize they don't want that at all!

The NBA put the zone into effect to stop one on one basketball/move to a team concept. They figured the one on one baller would be forced to pass, spread it out, and find the open man. Well guess what? Their most talented and marketable player does just that, and then he's killed in the media for doing it! Plus, his teammates cannot make shots, so allowing the Spurs to zone Lebron James has pretty much killed this series. Last night it brought us one of the worst games in NBA history. Nice work, David Stern. I assume someone should be fired.

On the other side, the zone gave us team ball...the Spurs and the Pistons, the champions of the last two seasons. Two teams who work it around, find the open man, play fundamentally sound, and bore the shit out of the viewer. Awesome.

The NBA figured that the team game was a game the white/upwardly mobile viewer wanted, having had team ball success with the Celtics, Lakers, Bulls, etc. from years passed. But that's not what made those teams good at all. The players of today do not naturally play the team game of old, except for a few guys like Steve Nash, Chris Paul, and Lebron, to some extent. The older team ball guys made others better, like Magic, Bird, Isiah, etc. by making incredible plays. Working the ball around for the sake of working the ball around is not interesting. Trying to force the team game on players who have been playing the "me" game their whole lives does not work, and is not interesting. The working it around of today is more like a computer program that seems completely unnatural. But that's what you get when you have guys like Chauncy Billups running the point. It's just boring. Billups may be a great player, but his point guard skills are not interesting because there's zero creativity. That's today's game.

You get the point.

Thankfully, the NBA makes all the players dress better because that has really done a lot to bring viewers to the table, and change the image. Ever since that rule was installed the league has only gotten worse. They wanted to make their players vanilla on and off the court, and this is the worst series ever.

Sure, there have been moments in the playoffs, like the Warriors beating Dallas, and that series was filled with the things the NBA has come to hate. Yet, everyone was talking about it. We had near brawls, high flying players, tons of points, and it took GOLDEN STATE to make it happen. So I do believe the NBA can be good, but right now it's unwatchable.

The folks at ESPN/NBA can talk about reseeding teams for the playoffs, or changing the structure, but it's not going to matter much. The NBA will come out of the funk. Having players like Oden go to college for one year is going to help. But please, lose the zone, and stop trying to take the personalities out of the game. I'd rather have 3 street ballers who bring excitement than 3 members of the UN, which is the Spurs.