Sunday, April 27, 2008

So this is whats its come to...

Why are you yelling at eachother? Did you know three time a day a small child dies of listening to people pointlessly bitch ar eachother? True fact people. Hope your all doing well. Thanks for writing the other part of my story i left open for you scotty.
Tony, you better be lik 220 benching 315 when i get home.
George, Im curious how your life is going, fill me in.
Dave, I wish i could stay in chico longer like you.
Khalid,...you have 2 humps
Pad, Im getting a job at renaissance, and im gonna work at the dcare a bit i think. as long as jamie the cunt nazi doesnt use her powers of bitchness to thwart my attempts to make some money. That slute hates me so much.
Eric, hope your doing well, and if your doing any wedding planning i hope its going smoothly. My buddy is getting maried in august and he is stressin hardcore, some serious time goes into all that jazz.
I cant remember anyone else who does the blog. sorry.
I like the arguement, but facts are facts, tv sucks. Its a horrible representation of what life is in no way not. It will eventually be our complete undoing. One day children will no longer look to their parents but to the airwaves for everything. As I say this i am watching the sharks, teh dallas game, fantastic four, man vs wild, and playing call of duty four...all while checking online who got kicked off americna idol and what tyra banks said on her breathtaking show......
you want to feel better about yourselves watch? watch The Soup. Best show on television
Plus the fucker reminds me of squall.
Peace. See you all in a few weeks when i leave the kush life and ever so slowly eneter the chill waters of death and despair.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

How the Warriors Can Have a Golden Offseason

The Golden State Warriors season came to an abrupt early end on April 16th. They went out with a whimper in their season finale against the Seattle Supersonics. The score doesn’t matter but the outcome of this offseason does.
Finishing ninth in a loaded Western Conference with the highest record not to make the playoffs in recent memory leaves the Warriors with many questions this summer.
1) Resign Monta Ellis and Andris Biedrins
This is simple. This is the “duh” move of the summer. Both of these guys are the future of the team for years to come. Monta will be 23 in October while Andris just turned 22 in April, their games are still developing. Both players have expressed wanting to come back and management wants them on the roster for quite some time.
2) Sign Baron Davis to a new contract
Baron is slated to make $17.8 million this 2008-09 season, it’s the final year on his six year $80 million dollar contract he signed with the Hornets in 2002. Rumors are circling whether he and Coach Don Nelson have a rift which could lead to Baron’s opting out the final year and bolting out of Oakland.
These are just ridiculous rumors.
Baron loves Oakland. Baron has Nellie to thank for the resurrection of his career. He has extremely high respect for Nellie and his basketball IQ.
Golden State should get Davis to opt out of his contract and give him a three year deal for around $54 million with a team option for the fourth season. People are questioning Baron’s age who will turn 30 this April along with his health.
Baron played a full 82 game season for the first time since the 2001-02 season.
3) Establish a Bench
The following players will all more than likely not be returning to the team next year.
Mickael Pietrus SG/SF/PF
Patrick O’Bryant C
CJ Watson PG
Matt Barnes SG/SF/PF
Kelenna Azubuike SG/SF/PF
Austin Croshere PF

With Pietrus and Barnes undoubtedly heading out the door, Golden State needs to find a new Defensive-Back-Up- Stopper and an Energy-Little-Bit-of-Everything guy.
Kelenna Azubuike will without question option out of his player option and look for more dollar signs, deservingly so. If they sign anyone from their bench it should be Azubuike.
Buike was the most consistent bench player on the team as well as one of the few guys on the bench to gain Nelson’s trust. Buike played key minutes late in games for the Warriors hitting a game winner early in the season against the 76ers.
4) Find Roles for Marco Belinelli and Brandan Wright
If you glance back up and see the players leaving the Warriors roster, it leaves them with these players.
Baron Davis PG
Stephen Jackson SG/SF/PF
Monta Ellis PG/SG
Brandan Wright PF
Andris Biedrins C
Marco Belinelli SG
Kosta Perovic C
Al Harrington PF/C
There are five players on this list all under the age of 23. Two of them start (Monta and Andris) two of them have untapped potential which were on display sparingly and one of them looks like he wears bricks for shoes (Perovic).
Unfortunately “Rookie” is a word that makes Coach Don Nelson cringe, Nellie has a history of demoting rookies to the end of the pine. His system requires a high IQ level on offense with an understanding of spacing, lanes, the extra pass, and screening on the ball.
Marco is a guy who is much better moving without the ball, catching and shooting. He has a JJ Redick type of offensive ability he can hit any shot from anywhere anytime. Something even one of the highest scoring teams in the NBA struggled to do at times.
Countless times the Warriors would score 35+ points in the 1st or 3rd quarter then the following quarter put up low 20 point quarters. Their offense would become stagnant as there would be no real solid rotation between Baron, Monta, and Jackson as they all would play around 40 minutes a game.
Marco is a guy who can come in on the 2nd unit and produce scoring numbers. By giving either Monta/Baron/Jackson a rest and still scoring would help out the Warriors as a whole.
With such a great offensive weapon as Marco on the bench he is polar opposite on the defensive end. Too many times he would let faster guards scoot right by him without much effort. If he wants minutes he is going to have to earn them on the defensive end.
Brandan Wright can play. He showed flashes of greatness as well as signs of rookie mistakes, something a young player named Monta Ellis did his rookie season. Look for Brandan to have the leash loosened just a bit more this following year. With the Warriors for the umpteenth season in a row looking for interior presence, Brandan Wright may fill that void albeit he may still be a little light for the job.
Wright’s length and quickness have some comparing him to Andris Biedrins, which is not a fair comparison. Wright can have plays called for him with his back to the basket; he can also face up to the basket from 12 feet and in and score.
Unfortunately for Wright, Chris Webber was signed mid-season and he lost crucial playing time in February to the Webber experiment. Brandan can be an energy type big man for the Warriors, he plays good defense and has the ability to block a lot of shots. Look for Brandan to contend for more playing time whether he’s coming off the bench early, or in the starting five come January.
5) Trade Al Harrington
It just makes too much sense to not trade him. Harrington is the second highest paid player on the roster, yet fifth or sixth in talent. Al is playing out of position Nellie has tried to turn him into a spot up 3 point shooter to spread out the defense and pull the opposition’s big man out to him. But Al is an mid range/driving player he can shoot the three, but it’s not his main shot which Nellie has tried to make it.
Now who do the Warriors trade for? The first thing in everyone’s mind is a big man, a banger. A Chris Wilcox/Brandon Bass/Paul Millsap/Leon Powe. Not me.
The Warriors need a back-up point guard and that’s something they could probably get for Harrington’s talent and contract.
With Marco moving into the back-up SG, getting Azubuike back-up SF, Brandan Wright/Kosta Perovic backing up or starting PF/C. The Warriors will need someone to give Baron a breather, someone who is a true floor manager. Run the team for hopefully 12-18 minutes a game.
Who do they trade for? Some ideas.
Earl Watson,Luke Ridnour, TJ Ford, Jose Calderon, Andre Miller, Jason Williams just to name a few guys.
With a $10 million trade exception that expires on June 28th two days after the draft they could figure something out by then. Giving them the option to sit back and see what comes to them in this year’s draft which promises to be very deep.
If the Warriors get a great big man to fall to them in the draft and they’re capable of trading Harrington for a solid back-up PG, I feel that it could be the best scenario for them allowing them to make a few other moves to fill out their bench.
Watch out for the Warriors next season as this offseason could be as exciting as the season was.

Wow

the blog looks like the new vegas strip haha

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Dave Concludes

is that no matter how much positive energy you try and counter your negative energy with... the negative energy will always over-power it, which will in a larger sense make you a negative person.

Which I personally believe will cause stress and possibley a heart attack.

Dave Response

ya'll are reading too far into this.. I'm merely poking fun at the fact that liebe and tony are stock market junkies, it had very little to do with the argument.

The funny thing Tony is that you would fit in great in Hollywood, because it's full of a bunch of kids who think they know everything.

Liebe I haven't got a chance to read your novel of a comment but ill get to you later when I have some time to sit down and read that.

And Giorgio we ain't on the same team in this bro. The only team u got is your sorry excuse for a fantasy team.

My only argument is that ESPN used to be more about some good ole' boys loving sports. And I still believe it is. But there are parts of it now that reflect more corporate america.

now go ahead tony dissect my entire comment and tell me why I'm an idiot and have no idea what's going on and blah blah blah.

I may not know a lot about money matters and business in the world but I do know one very important thing.. Negative energy is more powerful than positive energy. Think about that Tony, the next time you wanna throw around nasty comments.

Re: Tejada Bullshit - Giorgio

Yeah dave I think that was pretty dumb on your part to ruin your entire argument and base your whole opinion on the other side solely on them being involved in the stock market... because I probably read into the stock market and research near, if not more in some situations, than both of them (and I am trying to win our side) so thanks!!!

Anyways... I still am going to stick by my point that more and more of Sports Center has been gearing towards skepticism, less fact, more opinion, and creating controversy - while at the same time telling us that, from what Khalid told me, Jay-z and beyonce are now married or that the Oscars - broadcasted on ABC - were on this week.

Although Eric is right that we have become better critical thinkers, I disagree that this "critical thinking" of mine has become this strong, i.e. through maturity and education, or wherever I would acquire it, in the past year when I started to notice the change that ABC has rendered upon ESPN. I watched Sports Center until the last year of college, and I am pretty sure my thinking skills did not increase that much in the last year as it did in the previous 3 to make a decision that Sports Center was this way all the time.

I think this change has happened recently, and that is why I have recently stopped watching; and I accredit this change to ABC having a stronger influence on ESPN's corporate affairs.


And I did not fully explain myself because I did not think it was going to be debated, but what I meant when I said brain power was more towards me than others (although I guess it is not that obvious from the way i wrote it and thats my bad). I tend to never be blank from thought, even if I am sitting on a drive way staring into the sky or onto the pavement, and I am much more into my thought then then would I be when watching TV. And in reference to watching documentaries, or informational programs which take strong listening skills, etc., I meant all TV watching to be related (although once again I did not mention it because I didnt know it was going to be debated)towards something that is similar but not TV related. e.g. watching documentary on the history channel vs. reading about it, going to class on it, having a discussion about it, or researching it online.

Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Tejada Bullshit - Eric

although i really do not want to interfere with this discussion because its so entertaining from the sideline, i thought i would throw a few cents into the pot.


1) we have all got to keep in mind that a goal of ESPN/Disney or any other capitalist-driven business is to become as much of a monopoly as possible without crossing legal boundaries. While that is naturally very difficult for most companies, ESPN has done a remarkable job at doing that within the sports entertainment world - and they know it. If a person wants an update on sports news, ESPN wants to be the first thing that comes to their mind. That is why they have ESPN News, ESPN2, ESPN.com, ESPN Radio, ESPN the Magazine, etc etc etc. These outlets would not exist if they were not in demand. Like Tony has said, the research (and innovation) departments of these billion-dollar are as important to their profitable success as much as their production teams are.

2) I would argue that us as a group of involved sports fans is not the key marketing target of ESPN. They are likely more concerned with fringe consumers. That is one reason they go to an idea like "ESPN on ABC"; because there are lots of non-sports fans watching ABC programming and if 5% of those people eventually flip over to ESPN, the idea pays for itself. We already know about Sunday Night Baseball and Monday Night Football, we already are looking forward to the NBA Playoffs and the NFL Draft. ESPN doesn't need to put any investment in our attention because they already have it. If I want to know the score of a Detroit-Cleveland game in the 7th inning, theres no denying that ESPN News is one of the quickest ways to get that information (and perhaps the only way to get that information from a television)

3) I do not quite understand how this "all eventually comes down to the fact that both of you are stock market junkies". If you think anything that I say is just grossly inaccurate or rash generalities, then please point it out and correct me. I indeed am wrong sometimes and am not too vain to accept and admit it. But if you think that about what I say Dave, then you should perhaps review your posts before you press submit as well.


What this all comes down to is that ESPN does not need to try very hard to keep attracting eyes and raking in money. What goes on behind the scenes at ESPN is what is important. Securing long-term content deals with sports leagues and in turn, long-term advertising deals with other companies is how they create value. They can almost put anything and anybody on the screen and still get incredible market share because of lack of competition and the proprietary content.


I also think that this discussion comes in part from the development of our critical thinking skills and simply becoming more aware of what goes on around us. Like Tony said, ESPN has had a corporate influence for longer than we all have been watching sports and while perhaps they have changed their methods some recently (probably largely because the entire industry has been changing), I believe we are all just maturing as television viewers and our awareness of certain things has changed since three, four, or five years ago. That is a good thing - we should be able to critically analyze all of the bullshit that is thrown in front of us daily.


lastly, I question what giorgio wrote about tv and brain power. Yes, there is a lot of television programming that is worthless and I agree that theres often better things to do than sit and watch TV but I agree with derek when he said that there is quality or worthwhile content on the small screen. I doubt I use more brain power laying on in the middle of my driveway "doing nothing" than I do watching an informational show on the history channel. Of course, I do agree that theres a multitude of better things to do than sit down and watch the marathon of Rock of Love 2.




Wow, just in time for PTI!!

Oh and Two More Things - Tony

No need to apologize Dave, as once again you are misinformed, since I was on the debate team. But that's besides the point. I don't claim to know how every company works, but I know enough about companies to understand that they don't make million dollar decisions without research and test data to back it up. That is, unless the company is run by Dub D?

So Eric and I don't know what's going on... please fill us in Dave. I've only been out of school a year but I'd love to learn the latest in marketing and production department operations since my departure.

And maybe my aspirations of the debate team never came true, but I think I'm a little more credible than you Dave, since I actually back up my statements with some form of logic or fact.

Lastly, my job has nothing to do with the stock market, nor could I even tell you within a thousand points what the DOW or S&P is currently at.

Keep them coming Dave, I'm kinda bored at work.

Oh and Two More Things - Dave

Yes Tony Parker is a fucking baller. And I know that Manu and Tim are, as well. But I'm jus sayin Frenchie can play.

and when i looked at my team on saturday I was down 15-3....I finished it 9-10.

Ya'll can call me the comeback kid

Re: Television Bullshit - Dave

So Tony I'm sorry that your aspirations to be on the debate team never came true, but I was drunk when I posted a comment about ESPN.

Neverthless, the key sentence in that educational piece that squall dip posted is as stated:

"This integration culminated in the 2006 decision to merge ABC Sports' operations with ESPN. As a result, all of ABC's sports programming now uses ESPN on ABC."

This is why the other day when I watched Lakers-Spurs in the regular season I see Stuart Scott and his ugly eye on the halftime show. Something I wasn't use to seeing... Stuart Scott on Basic Cable.

Now the thing that pisses me off is the pop culture references. Now you might remember a day when it was cute to make a comment like "way back, way back, oh no he got playa hated on" But now when you use the movie there will be blood to describe a sports play..thats too much.

So Tony and Eric...This all eventually comes down to the fact that both of you are stock market junkies and think that if their is a company involved you know every single possible logistical reason that something goes on. But the truth is you don't know what goes on. For all you know those pop culture references could be incognito advertisements that are costing production companies hundreds of thousands of dollars.

We don't know.

Re: Television Bullshit - Giorgio

all i got to say is I have noticed a difference in the way ESPN has acted in the past few years; and because of this I do not watch ESPN unless it is for a sporting event that interests me. I also do not watch any reality shows (besides a few episodes of Maui Fever because in the beginning it was about a few guys trying to get girls to fuck them, but then it turned into this love affair and i stopped watching). I also do not watch any of those american idol things or spin offs of it. I prefer to get my sports news from the newspaper and KNBR; And I also prefer to spend my time not in front of a TV, where you actually use less brain power than when you are sleeping, reading a book, or being outside doing nothing.

And although you may be right that America likes this kind of entertainment, does it work for ESPN? I would like to know if this is really what american sports watchers or avid SportsCenter/ESPN watchers want; because it seems like this entire board dislikes it. and i know this is not a sufficient sample population, but can it coorelate to anything that might prove that it is not a good thing that they do this.

Televsion Bullshit - Derek

I agree with most of these posts you guys have made recently. I do think Television is turning into a brainwashing device, but for those that are patient and intelligent, good t.v. still exists I believe. It's hard to escape but E! Vh1 Mtv don't influence everything we see, although they are constantly expanding. I still feel like the Sunday Night Baseball broadcast i watched earlier on ESPN is good honest tv, without the bells and whistles. Gotta take it in moderation I think

Re: Tejada Bullshit - Tony

ESPN researches what people want. Reality shows, Kim Kardashian, Paris Hilton, Brittney beaver shots and yes, Tila Tequila, is apparently what appeals to American audiences. Am I trying to draw a connection between ESPN's gimmicks and features to appeal to people with short attention spans to the previously mentioned subjects? Yes.

I haven't even started on American Idol, America's Next Top Model, or any of that other crap, but apparently my examples are lost on everyone anyways, so I'm just going to stop.

Re: Tejada Bullshit - Scott

so Tila Tequila is why ESPN is high on drama and low on quality?

ESPN is riding the same entertainment wave as the rest of Television and Film, High on quantity (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN classic, ESPNNEWS, ESPN U, ESPN Deportes, ESPN.com, ESPN The Magazine) low on quality. With so much time and stuff to fill how can you have any quality? How much drama can you pull out of Nuggets/Lakers game 1?

Anyway, since we really did not establish what happened between ESPN and ABC here is some info.


In 1994, ESPN set the standard for understanding the role of sports in America with the creation of The ESPN Sports Poll by Dr. Richard Luker. The Sports Poll was the first ongoing national daily study of sports fan activities and interests in the United States. Sporting News acknowledged the accomplishments of The ESPN Sports Poll and Dr. Luker in 1996.[5]

With the increasing costs of live sports entertainment, such as the U.S.$8.8 billion costs for NFL football broadcasts rights for eight years, "scripted entertainment has become a luxury item for ESPN," said David Carter, director of the Sports Business Institute at the University of Southern California.[6]

From 1996 onward, ESPN was closely integrated with ABC Sports. That year, Steve Bornstein, president of ESPN since 1990, was made president of ABC Sports as well. This integration culminated in the 2006 decision to merge ABC Sports' operations with ESPN. As a result, all of ABC's sports programming now uses ESPN on ABC. However, ABC Sports is still legally separate from ESPN (see below).

ESPN is currently building a full-fledged broadcast production facility in downtown Los Angeles, as a part of the L.A. Live complex across from the Staples Center. The five-story facility will house an ESPN Zone restaurant on the first two floors and two television production studios with digital control rooms on upper floors. It is scheduled to open in spring 2009. One of the studios will host late-night editions of SportsCenter.[7]

As of January 15th, 2008, ESPN has signed a multi-million dollar contract with professional gaming circuit Major League Gaming or MLG for short. Although some have argued that professional gaming is not a physical sport, ESPN has gone ahead with this collaboration.

In 1984, ABC made a deal with Getty Oil to acquire ESPN. ABC retained an 80% share, and sold 20% to Nabisco. The Nabisco shares were later sold to Hearst Corporation, which still holds a 20% stake today. In 1986, ABC was purchased for $3.5 billion by Capital Cities Communications. In 1995, The Walt Disney Company purchased Capital Cities/ABC for $19 billion and picked up an 80% stake in ESPN at that time. According to an analysis published by Barron's magazine in February 2008, ESPN "is probably worth more than 40% of Disney's entire value... based on prevailing cash-flow multiples in the industry."

Although ESPN has been operated as a Disney subsidiary since 1996, it is still technically a joint venture between Disney and Hearst.

Re: Tejada Bullshit - Tony

We already established that they were taken over in 1995... is that what "a few years ago" means? You guys act like ESPN was void of corporate influence until recently. I'm willing to bet that, like every other media company in this world, ESPN hires people to tell them what people want. You want to blame someone for the stupid shit like the "Who's Hot Now" competition or all that other bullshit, blame the people who watch crap reality shows and make people like Tila Tequila famous.

Re: Tejada Bullshit - Giorgio

no he does know what he is talking about. ESPN was taken over by ABC/Disney a few years back; and ever since then the reporting has changed.

Frank Thomas Gone!

Frank Thomas finished fourth in the MVP balloting with the Oakland Athletics two seasons ago, and sources say the Athletics will have a discussion about whether to sign Thomas in the next 48 hours now that he's been cut by the Toronto Blue Jays.

Thomas, who turns 40 next month, was hitting .167 with 13 strikeouts in 60 at-bats for the Blue Jays, following a spring training in which talent evaluators with other teams wondered if Thomas's bat speed had slowed to the point of no return. Thomas got off to a poor start for the Athletics two seasons ago, hitting .190 in April and .268 in May before effectively carrying the Athletics for the last four months of the season and finishing the year with 39 homers and 114 RBIs.

Designated Hitter

Profile
2008 Season Stats GM HR RBI R OBP AVG
16 3 11 7 .306 .167

The Athletics are tied for first place in the AL West in a year in which they are developing young players like Chris Denorfia, Daric Barton, Travis Buck and Ryan Sweeney, and it's unlikely that they would sign Thomas if they thought he would infringe on the playing time of the youngest generation of Oakland players. But the decision on Thomas might come down to a simple evaluation of whether the Athletics are better off keeping Thomas instead of veteran hitter Mike Sweeney -- power vs. average.

Sweeney, 34, is hitting .275, with six walks and just one strikeout in 51 at-bats; rival talent evaluators say they don't think Sweeney will ever hit for the same kind of power he had with the Royals, and so far this year, his extra-base output is three doubles. Thomas might hit for a lower batting average, while drawing more walks and will strike out more, and he probably represent a greater home-run threat at this stage than Sweeney.

Oakland's roster is stacked with a lot of left-handed hitters -- Jack Cust, Barton, Buck, Sweeney, etc. -- and the Athletics have seen a lot of left-handed pitching so far, mustering just three homers in 248 at-bats, with a .242 average. If the Athletics choose to sign Thomas, it might be to give Oakland a greater power threat against lefties: Thomas hit nine homers in 144 plate appearances against lefties last year, and had nine homers and 31 walks in 140 plate appearances against lefties in 2006.

The Athletics tried to re-sign Thomas after the 2006 season but lost him to the Blue Jays, who are on the hook for virutally all of Thomas's salary this year after dumping him. Any team that picked up Thomas would only have to pay him the prorated minimum salary.

Being Named In Mitchell Report a Curse?

I believe Dave is referring to the affect ESPN has felt since ABC has filtered its "high drama" type television into their shows.


Being named in the Mitchell Report has been a curse
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AvBWBK8uWk1FWYVsK6lDHs iFCLcF?slug=ap-timdahlberg-041908&prov=ap&type=lgns

Re: Tejada Bullshit - Tony

now that ABC/Disney took them over? Are you talking about ABC's takeover in 1984, or Disney's in 1995.

Regardless, you have no idea what you're talking about.

Tejada Bullshit - Dub D

yea ESPN is whack now that ABC took over, or Disney or whatever the fuck those corporate fucks are fuck em

cawazaghei is gonna fuck Hopkins up, and Tont Parker is a baller and a half

Friday, April 4, 2008

Tired of Fucking Your Hand?

Ohio police have arrested a man who was caught on tape allegedly having sex with a picnic table.

Art Price Jr., 40, of Bellevue, Ohio, was arrested after a neighbor videotaped him engaged sexually with the metal table, according to a report on FOX19.com.

Price was seen on four separate occasions, always between 10:30 a.m. and noon, having sex with the picnic table, Bellevue Police Capt. Matt Johnson told the TV station.

"The first video we had, he was completely nude," Johnson said, noting the table in question had a hole in the middle intended to hold an umbrella.

Price, a married father of three school-age kids, faces felony counts of public indecency because his house is near an elementary school, according to the report.