If you read this article it pretty much details all the crap JR Smith brings to the table, but it also mentions his upside. It's "upside" that gets players who have run out of chances, another chance.
Welcome, JR Smith.
I'm trying to think of a scenario where loud, brash, obnoxious, irresponsible, selfish and moronic team player joined a franchise, changed stripes, and helped a team be successful. It's not easy coming up with one. Usually, the result is the same.
Terrell Owens does come to mind, his days with the Eagles, where he almost singlehandedly won them a Superbowl. The post-TO fallout, in my opinion, was ownership's fault, and not his. But it didn't workout in the end.
Usually when you sign the "Pacman" Joneses, the Milton Bradleys, the Carl Everetts, and the Derrick Colemans of the world, it fails.
BUT...here's hoping that a YOUNG player like JR Smith, back in the NY/NJ area, can get lost in the shuffle, remain quiet, come off the bench, and help them win some games.
I can't even venture a guess of how this will go down.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Gotta Love Republican Bullshit
Yesterday I was sitting at the table, reading an article about Iran, and wondering, "I wonder if Republicans are ramping up their anti-Iran rhetoric in the hope it results in higher gas prices, which in turn hurts Obama? Yeah, I bet they are."
Then today I see this article, front and center NYTIMES:
Yet, if you are a recent historian you may remember these facts:
Point being is: Gas Prices are STILL HIGH because of Republicans, and President Bush's need to go to war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Wars that have costed us lives, money, and credibility.
A war with Iran has only been made more difficult by the decisions Republicans made from 2002 onward.
So don't kid yourself about who is causing what, although, since Republicans do blame Obama for the economic crisis, why would I think they'd take responsibility for anything? Even the obvious...
Reality is the Republicans will beat the Iran drum in the hopes of turning the economy sour. They see it as a minor hiccup, which isn't worth them not winning the White House. There's too much money to be made for all their peoples out there not to do this.
Creating a war in Iran, or at least ratcheting up tensions hurts us in so many ways, but helps Republicans. So that's what you'll see.
Fact.
And of course this issue also helps their own bullshit cause of "drilling in the US", again, to help cronies. US Drilling does not help anyone but oil companies, and doesn't reduce the cost of gas one bit.
Fact.
Then today I see this article, front and center NYTIMES:
WASHINGTON — Rising gasoline prices, trumpeted in foot-tall numbers on street corners across the country, are causing concern among advisers to President Obama that a budding sense of economic optimism could be undermined just as he heads into the general election.
White House officials are preparing for Republicans to use consumer angst about the cost of oil and gas to condemn his energy programs and buttress their argument that his economic policies are not working.
In a closed-door meeting last week, Speaker John A. Boehner instructed fellow Republicans to embrace the gas-pump anger they find among their constituents when they return to their districts for the Presidents’ Day recess.
“This debate is a debate we want to have,” Mr. Boehner told his conference on Wednesday, according to a Republican aide who was present. “It was reported this week that we’ll soon see $4-a-gallon gas prices. Maybe higher. Certainly, this summer will see the highest gas prices in years. Your constituents saw those reports, and they’ll be talking about it.”
Iran’s recent warnings of a disruption in the global oil trade have pushed the price of a barrel of domestic oil to more than $103, a six-month high and up about 34 percent since September. That has helped drive the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in the United States to $3.52, a 30-cent increase in the past two months. It is already approaching $4 in some places.
Yet, if you are a recent historian you may remember these facts:
The chart of the crucial "light sweet crude oil" futures index reads like a barometer of political tension in energy-producing hotspots. Oil, hovering around $27 a barrel in 2001, spiked to $38 when the United States went to war against Afghanistan--a potential oil pipeline route and neighbor to several large producers. It jumped from $33 to $40 in February 2003, just before the U.S. attack against Iraq. Insurgents have blown up pipelines and refineries there ever since, causing a steady climb to $76.This from a 2006 article.
Adding to the high cost of crude oil, says former Louisiana senator and oil company lobbyist Bennett Johnston, is the Bush Administration's "saber rattling" against Iran. "We'd see gasoline prices of $5 or $6; crude oil above $100 if we bomb Iran," he predicts.
Point being is: Gas Prices are STILL HIGH because of Republicans, and President Bush's need to go to war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Wars that have costed us lives, money, and credibility.
A war with Iran has only been made more difficult by the decisions Republicans made from 2002 onward.
So don't kid yourself about who is causing what, although, since Republicans do blame Obama for the economic crisis, why would I think they'd take responsibility for anything? Even the obvious...
Reality is the Republicans will beat the Iran drum in the hopes of turning the economy sour. They see it as a minor hiccup, which isn't worth them not winning the White House. There's too much money to be made for all their peoples out there not to do this.
Creating a war in Iran, or at least ratcheting up tensions hurts us in so many ways, but helps Republicans. So that's what you'll see.
Fact.
And of course this issue also helps their own bullshit cause of "drilling in the US", again, to help cronies. US Drilling does not help anyone but oil companies, and doesn't reduce the cost of gas one bit.
Fact.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Oh, They're Adding J.R. Smith to the Team
Apparently the Knicks are aiming to lead the league in players with poor tattoos. If this is in fact the case, no player can get you to the top quite like Thugsta, JR Smith.
Listen, I like JR Smith, he seems like a good...wait, no I don't. I don't like JR Smith. He's what huge douchebags call a douchebag. He doesnt' pass the ball well, talks as much shit as Kevin Garnett, without currently backing up, or having backed it up in the past, and is a complete streak shooter, like the rest of the Knicks.
Now I am aware that JR Smith has the ABILITY to play defense, but having spent time in New Orleans, Denver, and...Saint Benedicts Prep, NJ, he hasn't exactly honed the skill.
If the Knicks need a player right now who matters it's a veteran who can stop SOMEONE. And by someone I mean: Dwayne Wade, or Derrick Rose, or, SOMEONE.
Maybe JR Smith is so elated to be back in the NYC area that he'll clamp the mouth, get low, slide his feet, and not take dumb shots. I pray that's the case because I'm really enjoying the development of the guards around Lin right now.
In the end JR probably takes all of Bill Walker's minutes, but worse than that is if he cuts into Steve Novak's minutes. I've ALWAYS liked Novak, especially when he was coming out of college. He's been a big factor in what the Knicks have done lately, and I want to see him coming off the bench. Like Lin, he's fundamentally sound, plays smart, and can stick a shot from anywhere on the floor. Basically, he's the complete opposite of JR Smith.
So, here's to hoping this works out.
Listen, I like JR Smith, he seems like a good...wait, no I don't. I don't like JR Smith. He's what huge douchebags call a douchebag. He doesnt' pass the ball well, talks as much shit as Kevin Garnett, without currently backing up, or having backed it up in the past, and is a complete streak shooter, like the rest of the Knicks.
Now I am aware that JR Smith has the ABILITY to play defense, but having spent time in New Orleans, Denver, and...Saint Benedicts Prep, NJ, he hasn't exactly honed the skill.
If the Knicks need a player right now who matters it's a veteran who can stop SOMEONE. And by someone I mean: Dwayne Wade, or Derrick Rose, or, SOMEONE.
Maybe JR Smith is so elated to be back in the NYC area that he'll clamp the mouth, get low, slide his feet, and not take dumb shots. I pray that's the case because I'm really enjoying the development of the guards around Lin right now.
In the end JR probably takes all of Bill Walker's minutes, but worse than that is if he cuts into Steve Novak's minutes. I've ALWAYS liked Novak, especially when he was coming out of college. He's been a big factor in what the Knicks have done lately, and I want to see him coming off the bench. Like Lin, he's fundamentally sound, plays smart, and can stick a shot from anywhere on the floor. Basically, he's the complete opposite of JR Smith.
So, here's to hoping this works out.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
The Real "Lin" Assessment (and Tebow Too, of course)
If you don't know who Tim Tebow is today then chances are you've never heard of Jeremy Lin either.
Let me bring you up to speed really quick:
Jeremy Lin is an American born basketball player of Taiwanese descent, who is so currently popular, or should I say, "trending" (the new term for popular, albeit, 'trendy', yet not), that just an internet search of "Taiwanese descent" will bring you to the man himself.
Lin attended high school in Palo Alto, CA, then onto Harvard College, after receiving no "big time" offers to play collegiate basketball, and is now a star on the rise with the New York Knicks, after two other teams let him go. But not only is he on the Knicks, but he's breaking records, and propelling the franchise back into relevancy.
Did I mention that he's Asian? No? Well, that matters here, a lot.
He's the kid who was probably passed over because of his heritage, good education, and looks, but is now the talk inside every sports bar.
That's Jeremy Lin.
On the other side of the ledger is what I'll call "the negative", like any good accountant. In that column is a man-boy named Tim Tebow.
Unlike Lin, Tebow has been given every chance, every boost, and every opportunity imaginable to become a "success story." He was raised by good parents, is white (I can't stress this enough), openly Christian, attended a college football powerhouse (Florida), and was picked in the first round of the NFL Draft despite his inability to do the one thing you really need to do well to succeed at his position: throw the football.
Despite all of these things in his favor, Tebow is considered the "underdog", similar to Jeremy Lin.
While both players were sitting on the bench for their respective teams, throngs of fans nationwide were demanding Tebow play, despite the fact there was a better player occupying his position. In Lin's case, if he had been cut (that means let go) the day before he started his first game with the Knicks, no one would have noticed, other than the people who know him.
In other words, the two players could not be more opposite, yet they're being compared as if they are in fact living the same reality.
You could be asking yourself, "Well then, why are they constantly compared?"
The simple answers: The media and "trending."
The coverage of these two men, and the fan bewilderment is overwhelming, but that's where it should end. It won't.
Rather than explain to you at length the absurdity of the media coverage, I suggest you just turn your television to any one of ESPN's channels, and see it for yourself. You can't miss it.
And yet one also might wonder if I'm also comparing the two by writing this, and on some level the answer is "yes." Yet the reason I am is because despite all of the coverage, no one seems to hitting on the most important point when comparing the two:
Jeremy Lin has already become completely successful. Tim Tebow is not even close.
Because Lin did come from out of nowhere, and is the first American-born Asian player to make it in the NBA, he has already reached a level of success no player like him ever has. Whether, or not, he maintains this level of play we're currently witnessing, Lin has solidified a place for himself within the NBA. That is a tremendous accomplishment. Doing it in the fashion he has only makes it that much more special. Yet regardless, Jeremy Lin has already made it. He's done. If he gets injured in his next game, and never plays another minute of basketball, his legacy is secure. On some level, he's doing for hoops what Tiger Woods did for golf: breaking barriers. That's special.
Contrast this with Tim Tebow. If he was injured tomorrow, and never played another game again, his legacy would be far from secure. In fact, the likelihood is most knowledgeable fans would forget about his short time in the NFL. Surely people would reflect on all of the drama surrounding his career, but he wouldn't be spoken of in reverential terms as a player. In other words, as a football player, he wouldn't matter. This is because as a first round draft pick, with nearly everything in life tilted in his favor, Tim Tebow hasn't proven very much at all.
The issue with this comparison is the media refuses to acknowledge the supposed reality they created for the fans. Tebow is a media-created phenomenon, so any opportunity to mention him, or compare him, results in ratings. Using Jeremy Lin's truly incredible, and somewhat inspiring story, is just another chance for the media to play up their own hype, which is what they're doing in spades.
By the way, if you're not sick of the Jeremy Lin story yet, you sure as hell will be when NBA players are dunking over the couch during All Star Week. This is happening.
And if you're already sick of Jeremy Lin, you can thank the media's coverage of Tim Tebow for making you feel this way in the first place. Two feel good stories in this short period of time is too much, even in this "now" society we live in. The contrived nature of the first has in essence soured the second.
Had the media only known a truly remarkable story was coming soon maybe they would have backed off their own fabricated version.
---
As for Lin's play, it's been phenomenal, but it's not going to last. Obviously I'm sayign what we all know. He will undoubtedly be a solid NBA player, and may in fact carry the Knicks to the playoffs. But my guess is teams are going to figure him out a bit more than they already have. I'm actually surprised it has taken this long.
What Lin does well is obvious, he runs the "pick and roll", and essentially is a poor man's version of Steve Nash. He's a pretty good passer of the ball, an above average jump shooter, but more than anything he has the ability to play the game at the pace he wants it played. That is the sign of a good point guard, and Lin is just that. There have been other NBA point guards who weren't very fast, like Mark Jackson and Derek Harper, but the game was played at their speed. It's a true talent, and if you've ever played the game you know the player your guarding only needs to have one step to be successful: the one where he's making you backup. Lin has that.
On the other hand it's painfully obvious Jeremy Lin has an average left hand. Every time he's forced to go left he is able to do so with the dribble, but when he gets into the paint he brings the ball back to the right side of his body, in the hopes of making a difficult shot, or being fouled. He's doing a great job of the latter. At some point players will figure this out, and won't foul him. Either way, Lin does draw contact, and this brings him to the foul line. Just a willingness to go inside is a good thing.
Unlike Derrick Rose, John Wall, or Chris Paul, he cannot finish the play with either hand. In fact, even Nash could finish with either hand (he could do a hook shot with either), and even more impressive, PASS with either hand. This is something Lin cannot do (most players can't), and as far as finishing, he may not have big enough hands, or be strong enough to use his left with command. The few occasions where he does, he flips the ball toward the basket in the hopes it goes in.
This flaw in his game won't result in him not being good because there's no doubt he will be, but he won't be an all-star caliber player year after year. Nor does he need to be.
One of the best parts of watching Lin play is how he uses fundamentals to overcome the lack of physical skills other great point guards possess, and that's what is really exciting to so many. Lets be honest here, but the "white" style of playing basketball went out the door around the same time "And 1" sneakers came into fashion. Lin plays that type of game. The backdoor, pick and roll, Princeton/Ivy League-type offense, where using your head creates opportunities. White people love this because it's the game most of them played.
Fortunately for Lin, he is on a relatively smart basketball team. Landry Fields graduated Stanford, and understands the game. Iman Shumpert doesn't need to shoot much, and relies on being setup to score. Amar'e Stoudamire benefits from having a pick and roll guard, similar to Nash, where he gets the ball in a position to score, and Carmelo Anthony has always been a good catch and shoot player, but has never had a point guard able to set him up. Lin isn't playing with run-and-gun high school kids, or players who recently came straight out of college after one season. He's mostly playing with a smart team, even if at times they seem like the dumbest team on the planet (sans-Lin).
In the end, Lin will be successful, but certainly a move back toward this stratosphere is happening very quickly. He'll turn the ball over less as he grows more comfortable, his stats will be more like 13/8 (awesome), and his defense will be predicated on his offense. As one goes, so will the other.
In the end, it's been fun to watch, and I look forward to seeing if Jeremy Lin can get his team to the playoffs...
LIKE TIM TEBOW DID!!!
Let me bring you up to speed really quick:
Jeremy Lin is an American born basketball player of Taiwanese descent, who is so currently popular, or should I say, "trending" (the new term for popular, albeit, 'trendy', yet not), that just an internet search of "Taiwanese descent" will bring you to the man himself.
Lin attended high school in Palo Alto, CA, then onto Harvard College, after receiving no "big time" offers to play collegiate basketball, and is now a star on the rise with the New York Knicks, after two other teams let him go. But not only is he on the Knicks, but he's breaking records, and propelling the franchise back into relevancy.
Did I mention that he's Asian? No? Well, that matters here, a lot.
He's the kid who was probably passed over because of his heritage, good education, and looks, but is now the talk inside every sports bar.
That's Jeremy Lin.
On the other side of the ledger is what I'll call "the negative", like any good accountant. In that column is a man-boy named Tim Tebow.
Unlike Lin, Tebow has been given every chance, every boost, and every opportunity imaginable to become a "success story." He was raised by good parents, is white (I can't stress this enough), openly Christian, attended a college football powerhouse (Florida), and was picked in the first round of the NFL Draft despite his inability to do the one thing you really need to do well to succeed at his position: throw the football.
Despite all of these things in his favor, Tebow is considered the "underdog", similar to Jeremy Lin.
While both players were sitting on the bench for their respective teams, throngs of fans nationwide were demanding Tebow play, despite the fact there was a better player occupying his position. In Lin's case, if he had been cut (that means let go) the day before he started his first game with the Knicks, no one would have noticed, other than the people who know him.
In other words, the two players could not be more opposite, yet they're being compared as if they are in fact living the same reality.
You could be asking yourself, "Well then, why are they constantly compared?"
The simple answers: The media and "trending."
The coverage of these two men, and the fan bewilderment is overwhelming, but that's where it should end. It won't.
Rather than explain to you at length the absurdity of the media coverage, I suggest you just turn your television to any one of ESPN's channels, and see it for yourself. You can't miss it.
And yet one also might wonder if I'm also comparing the two by writing this, and on some level the answer is "yes." Yet the reason I am is because despite all of the coverage, no one seems to hitting on the most important point when comparing the two:
Jeremy Lin has already become completely successful. Tim Tebow is not even close.
Because Lin did come from out of nowhere, and is the first American-born Asian player to make it in the NBA, he has already reached a level of success no player like him ever has. Whether, or not, he maintains this level of play we're currently witnessing, Lin has solidified a place for himself within the NBA. That is a tremendous accomplishment. Doing it in the fashion he has only makes it that much more special. Yet regardless, Jeremy Lin has already made it. He's done. If he gets injured in his next game, and never plays another minute of basketball, his legacy is secure. On some level, he's doing for hoops what Tiger Woods did for golf: breaking barriers. That's special.
Contrast this with Tim Tebow. If he was injured tomorrow, and never played another game again, his legacy would be far from secure. In fact, the likelihood is most knowledgeable fans would forget about his short time in the NFL. Surely people would reflect on all of the drama surrounding his career, but he wouldn't be spoken of in reverential terms as a player. In other words, as a football player, he wouldn't matter. This is because as a first round draft pick, with nearly everything in life tilted in his favor, Tim Tebow hasn't proven very much at all.
The issue with this comparison is the media refuses to acknowledge the supposed reality they created for the fans. Tebow is a media-created phenomenon, so any opportunity to mention him, or compare him, results in ratings. Using Jeremy Lin's truly incredible, and somewhat inspiring story, is just another chance for the media to play up their own hype, which is what they're doing in spades.
By the way, if you're not sick of the Jeremy Lin story yet, you sure as hell will be when NBA players are dunking over the couch during All Star Week. This is happening.
And if you're already sick of Jeremy Lin, you can thank the media's coverage of Tim Tebow for making you feel this way in the first place. Two feel good stories in this short period of time is too much, even in this "now" society we live in. The contrived nature of the first has in essence soured the second.
Had the media only known a truly remarkable story was coming soon maybe they would have backed off their own fabricated version.
---
As for Lin's play, it's been phenomenal, but it's not going to last. Obviously I'm sayign what we all know. He will undoubtedly be a solid NBA player, and may in fact carry the Knicks to the playoffs. But my guess is teams are going to figure him out a bit more than they already have. I'm actually surprised it has taken this long.
What Lin does well is obvious, he runs the "pick and roll", and essentially is a poor man's version of Steve Nash. He's a pretty good passer of the ball, an above average jump shooter, but more than anything he has the ability to play the game at the pace he wants it played. That is the sign of a good point guard, and Lin is just that. There have been other NBA point guards who weren't very fast, like Mark Jackson and Derek Harper, but the game was played at their speed. It's a true talent, and if you've ever played the game you know the player your guarding only needs to have one step to be successful: the one where he's making you backup. Lin has that.
On the other hand it's painfully obvious Jeremy Lin has an average left hand. Every time he's forced to go left he is able to do so with the dribble, but when he gets into the paint he brings the ball back to the right side of his body, in the hopes of making a difficult shot, or being fouled. He's doing a great job of the latter. At some point players will figure this out, and won't foul him. Either way, Lin does draw contact, and this brings him to the foul line. Just a willingness to go inside is a good thing.
Unlike Derrick Rose, John Wall, or Chris Paul, he cannot finish the play with either hand. In fact, even Nash could finish with either hand (he could do a hook shot with either), and even more impressive, PASS with either hand. This is something Lin cannot do (most players can't), and as far as finishing, he may not have big enough hands, or be strong enough to use his left with command. The few occasions where he does, he flips the ball toward the basket in the hopes it goes in.
This flaw in his game won't result in him not being good because there's no doubt he will be, but he won't be an all-star caliber player year after year. Nor does he need to be.
One of the best parts of watching Lin play is how he uses fundamentals to overcome the lack of physical skills other great point guards possess, and that's what is really exciting to so many. Lets be honest here, but the "white" style of playing basketball went out the door around the same time "And 1" sneakers came into fashion. Lin plays that type of game. The backdoor, pick and roll, Princeton/Ivy League-type offense, where using your head creates opportunities. White people love this because it's the game most of them played.
Fortunately for Lin, he is on a relatively smart basketball team. Landry Fields graduated Stanford, and understands the game. Iman Shumpert doesn't need to shoot much, and relies on being setup to score. Amar'e Stoudamire benefits from having a pick and roll guard, similar to Nash, where he gets the ball in a position to score, and Carmelo Anthony has always been a good catch and shoot player, but has never had a point guard able to set him up. Lin isn't playing with run-and-gun high school kids, or players who recently came straight out of college after one season. He's mostly playing with a smart team, even if at times they seem like the dumbest team on the planet (sans-Lin).
In the end, Lin will be successful, but certainly a move back toward this stratosphere is happening very quickly. He'll turn the ball over less as he grows more comfortable, his stats will be more like 13/8 (awesome), and his defense will be predicated on his offense. As one goes, so will the other.
In the end, it's been fun to watch, and I look forward to seeing if Jeremy Lin can get his team to the playoffs...
LIKE TIM TEBOW DID!!!
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Linja, Irsay, Volcker, Etc...
Like everyone else, I'm pumped about Jeremy Lin, and appreciate the fact it's real. It's not some pre-fab story like the Tebow thing seemed to be. Jeremy Lin is the one DOING IT. Not the defense, not the other team failing to take a knee. Not Darren McFadden missing 8 games. Jeremy Lin is doing it. So I get it.
Yet this won't stop some media outlets from making the news. I was told recently the major sports network tried to buy his brother's couch, put it on e-bay, and use the money for charity. Uhh, really? You're a billion dollar enterprise. How about just donating the money to charity, and calling it a day? How about not making yourself the story amidst the story? You're supposedly a news organization.
Going one step further, don't be surprised when you see that very couch being jumped over in the Slam Dunk competition, because TNT won the battle. That's happening.
The thing I love most about Lin, hit on by Bruce Bowen last night, is how fundamentally sound he is. There's no doubt he improved his game tremendously in COLLEGE. By STAYING in college. By LEARNING an offense. Want to know why you haven't seen a non-European big man box out in 10 years? Lack of COLLEGE. When you can jump over every guy in high school, and then skip college, you sorta never learn the fundamentals.
Regardless of the Lin's speed/quickness, etc, the pace of the game is controlled by him. No different from say Mark Jackson, when he was on the Knicks/Pacers. Not the fleetest of foot, but when you understand the game, you understand how to control it. Jeremy Lin gets that. Steve Nash isn't going to win a 40 yard dash against Derrick Rose, but he doesn't need to. He understands the game.
Lin understands the game. And that's the part I love.
---
Speaking of "understanding" the game, there are 2 players who don't. The guy trying to guard Lin before he stuck a game winner in his grill, and Tyler Zeller from North Carolina.
When there are 3 seconds left on the clock, and you're guarding a ball handler who is right handed, with 2 seconds left you should be stepping forward toward his right foot and FORCING THE BALL HANDLER to do what he DOESN'T WANT TO DO.
Both players allowed the ball handler to be completely comfortable, move forward with the ball, back them up, and raise up for a jumper. It's not like either guy is in the Reggie-Miller zone. You're going to give a guy a free look with 2 seconds left? You really think either player, Rivers or Lin, is going to drive to the hole with 2 seconds left when their feet are at the 3 point line?
Both shots were beauties because of the moment, but defensively, both plays were horrendous.
Please, SOMEONE mention this.
---
Jim Irsay is pretty uncool.
It's "Peyton's choice." Really? You're going with that?
The Colts offered the guy a contract, a big one which comes due in a couple weeks. If doctors say he's healthy, and you claim to want him, how are you not honoring that contract?
Without Peyton Manning there is no Lucas Oil Stadium. Without Peyton Manning, Jim Irsay has 25% less wealth. Without Peyton Manning there's a strong likelihood the Colts are considering moving to Los Angeles.
And Irsay is going to claim it's Peyton's call?
Be realistic.
If I'm Andrew Luck, I'm using this situation as a way to NOT go to Indianapolis. I'm letting it be known that I don't support a team that treats legendary players like Peyton Manning this way. That I find it classless. That after all he has given to the franchise, this is how he's treated by that franchise.
A war of words in the press, between the owner and player, where the player is much less caustic than the owner.
So lame.
The RIGHT move, in my opinion, is to resign Manning, force the Redskins to trade up to 2nd, draft Luck, then deal him to the Redskins for Robert Griffin. Earn a ton of picks in the process, and use Peyton to mold Griffin, while getting yourself a future great who may not need to start right away. I understand Griffin is less a sure thing, but honestly, at some point you hope "class" becomes a part of all this.
I don't think Irsay is going to show any class in the end.
---
I read a lot of articles about the Volcker rule yesterday, and coincidently I came across this article as well. The story of Ralph Cioffi and Matt Tannin having to pay $1.8 million in total fines for their role of cheating clients while at Bear Sterns.
Without getting too much into Volcker Rule, here's the problem with it all, and solution. The Volcker rule will slow the ability of US banks to take part in proprietary trading (using their own money to trade, make markets, etc), and they claim it will hurt them as banks can't compete with foreign banks who can do this. It's a stretch, in the long term, and they know it. Banks just want the ability to clean up like they have been the last decade. Nothing more. They don't want restrictions.
Yet here's Cioffi and Tannin admitting no guilt, and paying fines which represent probably .25% of what they earned while at Bear Sterns, and 3 years penalized from taking part in trading. These guys are multi-millionaires. They are walking.
Point being is, you DON'T NEED A RULE. You NEED PEOPLE TO GO TO JAIL.
Send bankers who rob people blind to jail, and you won't have to worry about any extra rules. There will always be cheaters, but as long as they can steal money without the fear of paying a price they will continue to do it.
If you knew that selling cocaine would result in a 1% fine against profits, and no jail time, would more people be doing it?!? If robbing a bank resulted in the same, do you think you'd worry a bit more about entering one?
Lets get realistic here.
---
Cheers.
---
No edits. On the road. Girlfriend is packing.
Yet this won't stop some media outlets from making the news. I was told recently the major sports network tried to buy his brother's couch, put it on e-bay, and use the money for charity. Uhh, really? You're a billion dollar enterprise. How about just donating the money to charity, and calling it a day? How about not making yourself the story amidst the story? You're supposedly a news organization.
Going one step further, don't be surprised when you see that very couch being jumped over in the Slam Dunk competition, because TNT won the battle. That's happening.
The thing I love most about Lin, hit on by Bruce Bowen last night, is how fundamentally sound he is. There's no doubt he improved his game tremendously in COLLEGE. By STAYING in college. By LEARNING an offense. Want to know why you haven't seen a non-European big man box out in 10 years? Lack of COLLEGE. When you can jump over every guy in high school, and then skip college, you sorta never learn the fundamentals.
Regardless of the Lin's speed/quickness, etc, the pace of the game is controlled by him. No different from say Mark Jackson, when he was on the Knicks/Pacers. Not the fleetest of foot, but when you understand the game, you understand how to control it. Jeremy Lin gets that. Steve Nash isn't going to win a 40 yard dash against Derrick Rose, but he doesn't need to. He understands the game.
Lin understands the game. And that's the part I love.
---
Speaking of "understanding" the game, there are 2 players who don't. The guy trying to guard Lin before he stuck a game winner in his grill, and Tyler Zeller from North Carolina.
When there are 3 seconds left on the clock, and you're guarding a ball handler who is right handed, with 2 seconds left you should be stepping forward toward his right foot and FORCING THE BALL HANDLER to do what he DOESN'T WANT TO DO.
Both players allowed the ball handler to be completely comfortable, move forward with the ball, back them up, and raise up for a jumper. It's not like either guy is in the Reggie-Miller zone. You're going to give a guy a free look with 2 seconds left? You really think either player, Rivers or Lin, is going to drive to the hole with 2 seconds left when their feet are at the 3 point line?
Both shots were beauties because of the moment, but defensively, both plays were horrendous.
Please, SOMEONE mention this.
---
Jim Irsay is pretty uncool.
It's "Peyton's choice." Really? You're going with that?
The Colts offered the guy a contract, a big one which comes due in a couple weeks. If doctors say he's healthy, and you claim to want him, how are you not honoring that contract?
Without Peyton Manning there is no Lucas Oil Stadium. Without Peyton Manning, Jim Irsay has 25% less wealth. Without Peyton Manning there's a strong likelihood the Colts are considering moving to Los Angeles.
And Irsay is going to claim it's Peyton's call?
Be realistic.
If I'm Andrew Luck, I'm using this situation as a way to NOT go to Indianapolis. I'm letting it be known that I don't support a team that treats legendary players like Peyton Manning this way. That I find it classless. That after all he has given to the franchise, this is how he's treated by that franchise.
A war of words in the press, between the owner and player, where the player is much less caustic than the owner.
So lame.
The RIGHT move, in my opinion, is to resign Manning, force the Redskins to trade up to 2nd, draft Luck, then deal him to the Redskins for Robert Griffin. Earn a ton of picks in the process, and use Peyton to mold Griffin, while getting yourself a future great who may not need to start right away. I understand Griffin is less a sure thing, but honestly, at some point you hope "class" becomes a part of all this.
I don't think Irsay is going to show any class in the end.
---
I read a lot of articles about the Volcker rule yesterday, and coincidently I came across this article as well. The story of Ralph Cioffi and Matt Tannin having to pay $1.8 million in total fines for their role of cheating clients while at Bear Sterns.
Without getting too much into Volcker Rule, here's the problem with it all, and solution. The Volcker rule will slow the ability of US banks to take part in proprietary trading (using their own money to trade, make markets, etc), and they claim it will hurt them as banks can't compete with foreign banks who can do this. It's a stretch, in the long term, and they know it. Banks just want the ability to clean up like they have been the last decade. Nothing more. They don't want restrictions.
Yet here's Cioffi and Tannin admitting no guilt, and paying fines which represent probably .25% of what they earned while at Bear Sterns, and 3 years penalized from taking part in trading. These guys are multi-millionaires. They are walking.
Point being is, you DON'T NEED A RULE. You NEED PEOPLE TO GO TO JAIL.
Send bankers who rob people blind to jail, and you won't have to worry about any extra rules. There will always be cheaters, but as long as they can steal money without the fear of paying a price they will continue to do it.
If you knew that selling cocaine would result in a 1% fine against profits, and no jail time, would more people be doing it?!? If robbing a bank resulted in the same, do you think you'd worry a bit more about entering one?
Lets get realistic here.
---
Cheers.
---
No edits. On the road. Girlfriend is packing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
