67 thoughts on “January 5, 2011: The Waiting”

    1. The soft deadline passed without an announcement, as I expected. I shoot in a month and can't even get travel and work plans squared away because this company - who has money, but not a ton of experience in the business - is waiting as long as possible for the transfer and really screwing things up for those of us who have to change our entire lives if this thing comes through.

      The show's creative team is definitely applying the pressure for this thing to get done, but it hasn't, and that worries me. I'm starting to think this one's just going to be another heartbreaker, even though practically everyone who's closer to the situation is still extremely optimistic. Optimism just wasn't ever meant to be my thing, really.

      1. Sounds like that's pretty much how the business works, eh? I hope they get their sh*t together. It's a huge opportunity and all, but when you're dangling like this with a month to go, I can understand your lack of optimism.

        1. Yeah, it was absolutely no surprise that the deadline passed. I would have been shocked if it had come to pass that day.

          The annoying thing is that the group probably does have its sh*t together, but they don't see any problem with waiting, because they're all rich and they don't consider those of us who don't have the luxury of finding things out at the last minute.

    1. Between that and the pyramid hanging off the left side of the CoC page yesterday, the WGOM might have entered another dimension.

    2. A Univewsity Seniow VP (who is a 60's woman) always uses the phwase "you guys" at the end of sentences. I pway to God that she's a @dadboner followah.

  4. It's 4 years today since the wife became the wife. It's fairly remarkable how quickly the time's gone, but less so when I consider that GRZ is getting pretty close to 2 years old.

    1. Well done, Rob. I have a lot of friends who got divorced before the four-year mark. I have too many who didn't last even two years, in fact (and one friend even had a Dennis Rodman-type marriage). Marriage can be hard. Anniversaries are a big deal. Well done.

          1. I was laughing at Spooky's comment for about five minutes while trying to figure out something worthy to follow it with.

    2. Ridnour reminds me of Punto. I like him when he plays within himself but occasionally he tries to do so much and it is frustrating to watch.

  8. Westphal out in Sacto.

    The DMC situation seemed to be handled very poorly. Yes, he's by all accounts a dolt, but if what he actually said was, "If you have a problem with me, why don't you just trade me?", that does not rise up to the level of a trade demand. I think Westphal went to management, said that DMC demanded to be traded and he fired off his missive. Then, ownership got the other side of the story and said Paul, you were being just as big of a baby as DMC.

    Then again, do the Maloofs know anything about such matters?

    1. from Scott Howard-Cooper:

      Westphal did not get fired because of a showdown with DeMarcus Cousins. He got fired because the Kings have been consistently blown out.

      http://blogs.sacbee.com/sports/kings/archives/2012/01/kings-paul-west.html#storylink=cpy>Read more here:

      I think I agree with that. Cousins is an infant, but the Kings have been absolutely awful so far this year. They haven't defended (2nd worse in opponent FG pct and opponent PPG, despite picking up Chuck Hayes, already a team favorite), they haven't taken care of the ball (23rd -- 8th most -- in turnovers), and they haven't shot well (28th in FG pct, which helps explain why they are first in offensive rebounds). Petrie pulled the plug before the season is completely down the drain.

      I've always liked Westphal, but his coaching stint with the Kings has been ... strange.

      1. From Ailene Voisin of the Sac Bee in her live chat today:

        I think DeMarcus Cousins will be back in the starting lineup in the very near future -- probably tonight. I still don't understand why Westphal took such harsh action. Cousins has issues, but he is not the Kings main problem. If anything, he made a lot of progress between seasons, both physically and mentally. He still needs to get pushed to work harder, though

        I don't agree with the way Westphal dumped so much of the Kings' woes on DeMarcus. If you want to talk selfish, let's look at how often Marcus Thornton, Tyreke Evans, John Salmons, among others, look to pass, nevermind actually make a pass. Cousins was a fall guy, and frankly, I don't think it was fair. It was a coach feeling the heat and swinging at the biggest and easiest target.

        For all the negative reaction to Cousins this past week, keep in mind that he came to camp in much better shape, was much more engaged during games and practices, and clearly is making an effort to run the floor. That, to me, is significant progress. He needs to work harder, as do a lot of young players. Some of the Kings types compare him to a young Gerald Wallace, who they say had lousy work habits when he was a rookie here. Well, maybe the Kings should be a little more demanding, say, like Gregg Popovich is in San Antonio?

        Again, while Cousins is the one catching the heat, several of the players - I would go so far as to say a majority of the Kings - have complained about the offense and/or talked longingly of being traded. The group includes Spencer Hawes, Carl Landry, Kevin Martin, Omri Casspi, and Samuel Dalembert.

        I don't who this person is, she is apparently a beat writer for the Kings. Is she a DMC apologist? She seems to think that (a) Westphal mucked that situation up (I would tend to agree -- that seemed extremely harsh) and (b) there were plenty reasons that could be used to send Westphal packing.

        1. I think it would be fairly difficult to count her as an apologist given the number of times she says he could stand to work harder. At any rate, these are the sorts of things that make me happy I'm not a coach in the NBA.

    2. also, the AP reporter should look up the difference between "refuted" and "denied". Cousins' agent didn't "refute" Westphal's claim. He just said it wasn't true.

    1. I left the gym today sans-jacket. Just shorts and a tshirt and it felt amazing. I don't what we as people have done to appease the Weather Gods, but I'm glad we are having this weather.

    2. wow (twitter)

      JimCantore Jim Cantore
      Today's 55 degree RECORD High at Fargo, ND is the highest temperature ever recorded at that site for the month of January. #NDwx

  12. Hollinger on our favorite five:

    In fact, don't let that 2-4 record fool you; between their strong schedule and solid scoring margin, the Wolves rank 10th in my yet-be-released Power Rankings. I don't think they'll hold such a lofty perch all season, but just the fact they aren't in the bottom five has to have Wolves fans singing hallelujah.

  13. Just got through the Michelle Forbes story-arc in Battlestar Gallactica. Is there where people were warning me that it goes off-track a little?

  14. Zambrano and $15M for Chris Volstad? Volstad projects as about a 1.2 fWAR pitcher next year, Zambrano as a 2.0 fWAR loose cannon. Volstad's probably arb eligible, so he's unlikely to have much surplus value. With the Marlins picking up only $3M on Zambrano's deal, this seems like a good deal for Miami as long as they can keep Zambrano in the right state of mind. Is Ozzie up to the challenge? I can't say I blame the Cubs much for dumping Zambrano, but the deal doesn't look great for them on paper.

    1. Ozzie, Carlos, Hanley and Jose- does this look like a powder keg of a team to anyone else? Isn't Logan Morrison a bit of a strange duck, too? Good thing they'll have Burrly in there for the settling veteran influence.

      2. I don't think this will be a middle-ground team. They'll win it all or go down in flames quickly.

        1. i gotta admit, i think i'm going to like the marlins this year. it's all kind of coming together for them, eh? i do need an NL team...

        2. Just wait until Zambrano gets in a fight with Buck- that'll be like a couple of heavyweight boxers going after each other.

      3. LoMoMarlins Logan Morrison I really hope Ozzies on-field instructions r easier 2 understand than his tweets. I literally have no idea what this dude is talking about..

            1. I can't wait until the first home run is hit. And thank goodness they're an NL team so I will only have to see it every three years.

  15. i'm sure playing for the mariners was a bit of a draw, but was a one-year $1.5m contract all it took? i know the twins are a little gunshy when it comes to importing lately, but i can't see a lot of harm throwing $2m for a season from him.

    1. It does include another $3.4 million in incentives though. The Twins might not be able to afford that, since the bullpen needs work. Still, I hope they at least tried. I think they finished second to the A's in last year's posting, so they must have shown some interest.

      1. i'm generally okay with the idea of incentives, as they can kind of pay for themselves if you will, but it doesn't seem anyone tried that hard. that, or dude really wanted to play for the mariners.

    1. I think PMac is flat out wrong with his assertion that the Twins were right to have scaled back $15 million.

      The Twins have a PR battle to fight. Even if they lose 90 games, they should spend the money. The attendance drop in the next few years could get to be a lot more expensive than $15 million.

  19. Truehoop: The essence of Kobe Bryant.

    Remember, the Lakers' entire team offense is the best in the NBA over Bryant's career, but in the closing minutes of close games, when Bryant dominates the ball, the Laker offense is not even in the top 10. All kinds of teams without Kobe Bryants are doing better in crunch time, and when you watch the Lakers you know why, and you can see why in the photo above and many others like it: The defense knows what's coming. Lakers get incredibly open, yet the team seldom finds the easiest available shot -- mostly because Bryant takes the shot instead. The one clutch statistic where Bryant is clearly the all-time leader is shots attempted. As he reminded everyone the other day, he's shooting it and that's as it ever has been. His various crunch-time records are counting records -- most game-winners, etc. Those gaudy numbers are usually presented as evidence of his efficacy, but they are just as easy to see as trophies to his hoarding of opportunities. Both he and his team are back in the pack when it comes to actually making the shot.

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