What a series. What an intense game last night. It wasn't quite game six, but that's not really doable again. The better team won the game and the series, but it was close -- closer than I thought it would be.
LBJ should have erased all doubts about his game last night. Should have, but didn't of course. There will always be the mouth breathers and folks like Ric Bucher whom he will never please. It's okay to root against him and root against him vociferously. But, to deny that he's the best basketball player in the world and that he's worked extremely hard to be the best is to flat out deny reality. I thought The Decision was a stupid idea, but there should be enough water under the bridge on that by now. I do support his right to play where he wants. That's the American Way. Just don't go on National TV to announce it in a one hour television special. I think he's got that figured out now. The amount of blowback he's gotten on that (for three years!!!!!) is ridiculous. It's not like he killed someone.
The Spurs were tremendous in defeat. Duncan was tremendous. Some of his supporting cast was a little less than tremendous, but I think the Spurs will be a contender again next year and maybe even the year after that with Duncan leading the charge. An all-timer, clearly better than my guy, and his play in this series was a joy to watch.
The two teams played with a tremendous amount of respect for each other. There were no flagrant fouls, no skirmishes, zero technical fouls. Just the two best teams in the world going at each other with an unbelievable level of intensity that never spilled over into chippiness. Also, both teams wanted to play at pace. That was really exciting. They wanted to run and didn't want to get into a half court game.
When the series was over, Pop was magnanimous in defeat, he hugged James and he kissed(!) Wade. He wasn't the jackass that say Bill Belichek is, instead he showed himself to be respectful of the other team. The Spurs are to be admired. I've always respected them and admired them, even when they were a team that blocked my team. This series elevated the franchise, even in defeat.
I have long beat the drum on NBA basketball. I think it is, at its best, terrific. I can understand that some people don't like basketball and I can respect that. I'm not a soccer guy, I'm not a hockey guy, but hey, if you enjoy that, more power to you. I'm not about to think poorly of you or your preferences. But....
I really don't understand the antipathy that I hear so much about the NBA from people who consider themselves basketball fans. You hear it a lot from sports fans: they don't like the NBA. I think I kind of know why that is, but regardless, I fail to see how college basketball compares. The NBA playoff format is like baseball. The 7 game series allows for drama to build. Sometimes a series isn't competitive and that's kind of disappointing. Sometimes, though, like this year, a series is hyper-competitive and the drama builds and builds toward a huge payoff. I always have loved the NBA, I guess. If you were watching these last few weeks and before -- the Miami/Indiana series was spectacular, too, and you are basketball fan, I don't get it. What's not to like? I'm not going to disparage college basketball. I think it's inferior to what we've just seen, but I'm in the minority on that, for some reason.
I watched last night. I haven't been an NBA guy since the 90s, but there was enough buzz (mostly here) to create some interest. It was entertaining. I might have some interest in next year's playoffs.
Re: Duncan vs. Your Guy
I think that for a long time we were right, or at least we could make a very solid argument that we were right. But at this point in their careers Duncan has aged a bit better and put on some better shows and I don't have any problem putting him ahead on the all time greats list.
I think the pro-college argument primarily comes from people who haven't watched the NBA in a long time and have forgotten that the level of play crushes the level of play in the NCAA. I also think they're unable to properly assess effort because great players don't appear to be expending effort. That's why they're great.
As for when you say "I think I know why that is," that's definitely a factor. Out here (in certain areas), more than anywhere I've been, you can hear every statement dripping with that sentiment, whether it's outright spoken or not. I live in a more expensive and more educated suburb, so thankfully it's not as bad where I am.
I don't think it's just a matter of difficulty assessing effort. I was shocked in the one NBA game I've been to how the intensity of effort varied during the game. I think it's just a matter of, if you're going to have an 82-game season, you have to pace yourself to some degree.
I was thinking about this last night, and I think the biggest thing is that a lot of people only watch playoff NCAA basketball, but they probably see more regular season NBA as a fraction of the NBA watching. Naturally the intensity of any game is going to be a little different if it is an elimination game. For whatever reason, I've never gotten that much into regular season NBA games--I think the irregular schedule might have something to do with it slipping under my radar to a degree--but I really, really enjoy the NBA playoffs.
I'm a little fair-weather when it comes to the regular season myself. I've only watched a lot in seasons where the Wolves were expected to be competitive (so, all of KG's seasons, and the last couple). However, invariably, every year when I watch the playoffs and particularly the finals, I think "Damn, I should have been watching these teams all year long."
The NBA League Pass (or whatever they call it) is much more expensive than MLB.tv, or at least was the last time I looked. If it was about the same price, I'd definitely pay for it and watch good basketball whenever it was on.
If you have cable with a sports package, you can watch a lot of NBA basketball during the regular season. TNT has two games on Thursdays, ESPN has Wednesday and a double header on Friday, NBA channel has games on Saturday night and I think Monday or Tuesday, too.
There's no question that the playoffs are much more intense. During the regular season, teams employ longer benches, which means more minutes for lesser players and thus less quality of play. Plus, it's such a grind. Eighty-two 48 minute games. That's more than triple the amount of minutes that a college team plays in a regular season. If you are a casual fan, you might not appreciate that or even care, but if you are really into it, that grind is part of what you have to consider when you think about the effort level.
We do miss cable - me for sports and the Milkmaid for HGTV. If a la carte ever becomes a thing, and the cable companies need to consider it because they're losing customers, then I'm sure we'll go back. We're also likely to go back once we're out of debt, which is looking and closer and closer, as we just finally paid off my Sallie Mae loan, so my schooling is entirely paid for as of a couple of weeks ago.
No doubt about it, 82 games is an absolute grind. I question the wisdom of ever scheduling back-to-back games, but I am impressed that the players handle it as well as they do.
I suppose from a personal standpoint, it's also a little easier to let your attention slip during the season when there's no local team to follow.
I hadn't watched any of the series, but I was enjoying yesterday's game when my satellite feed randomly went out with 5 minutes left. That hasn't happened before...
Ours did too at about 3 minutes. We couldn't get the game on the radio, so we were watching the ESPN iPad app until it reappeared with about 20 seconds left.
An all-timer, clearly better than my guy, and his play in this series was a joy to watch.
Did not see that coming! 😉
It is no disparagement of your guy to say that Duncan is better.
There have now been 19 Game 7s in the NBA Finals and 16 have been won by the home team, so if you don't have home court, better win it in 6, and probably 5.
I watched the second half of Game 7 and that's all I watched of this series and the playoffs. I watched the same amount of the NCAA championship game. I think I turned on some other tournament games but don't remember watching all or even most of a game other than the Gophers.
I think it comes down to the NBA has better play, but the NCAA has more drama and better storylines. I have two favorite NBA teams (Sixers were my favorites before the Wolves came along and still are) but I follow the Gophers much closer than I do the NBA teams. This might be because growing up I could follow the Gophers while living in the Twin Cities or it could be because I can watch more Gophers games now on BTN. Probably a combination of both.
For me, I don't like the seven-game series. The teams know each other too well at the end and it comes down to who's shooting better or happens to get more loose balls. There was plenty of drama in Game 7, but the last half of the fourth quarter the offense was totally stagnant. Both teams were making outside shots, but it wasn't because there was a lot of offensive movement. The Heat were standing around waiting for LeBron to make a shot or D Wade to try to throw himself toward the basket before launching an outside shot. The Spurs were posting up Duncan and the rest were sitting at the 3-point line. Better offensive plan but still predictably dull.
Fortunately, both teams were making outside shots to make it an exciting finish.
I love the seven-game series in baseball, what with all the different starting pitching matchups, the varying availability of relievers and what-not.
I think the NBA's shot clock is too short and the NCAA's is too long. I think 30 seconds or so would work best. It seemed like both teams in Game 7 had just set up in the half court when they had 6 seconds to shoot and then you have a guy have to go one-on-one to get off a shot. In the NCAA, they have too much time to pass it around the perimeter.
Basically, I think people who prefer the NBA like it because the players can actually shoot and still have the athletic ability to make amazing plays. People who prefer the NCAA like the drama of playing fewer games, which places more importance on them (but they forget the early season games against weak teams for major conference teams).
There's something to be said for a single-elimination tournament, for sure, and I get suckered in every year in spite of myself. I just wish it involved much better play.
It used to involve better play, but that was before players realized that they could make millions of dollars for themselves in the NBA instead of for some school that forces them to live in abject poverty (unless they already have money, which most of them don't) through their association with an organization that is just about as corrupt and petty as anything in this country. This is an organization that won't allow unpaid athletes transfer from one school to another without penalizing them, but has coaches that also make millions and millions get out of contracts about as often as the sun rises in the east. Let us never forget that aspect of it.
Yeah, and I watched it in those days, too. The NCAA system unfortunately has a negative effect on both the NCAA and potentially the NBA, which now receives athletes that are greener than they were in years past.
The pay given to NCAA coaches is mind-boggling. Was it you that posted the highest-paid school (or whatever) jobs in America for each state, and most of them were college sports coaches?
Yeah, that was me.
People who prefer the NCAA like the drama of playing fewer games, which places more importance on them (but they forget the early season games against weak teams for major conference teams).
Also school pride. In most cases you picked the school, maybe you went to games, you have friends that you went with or friends that went to a rival that you can give a hard time to, etc. But I pretty much ignore them both until playoff time.
Also school pride. In most cases you picked the school, maybe you went to games, you have friends that you went with or friends that went to a rival that you can give a hard time to, etc. But I pretty much ignore them both until playoff time.
This. It's awfully fun to make fun of Georgetown and College Park Community College.
I think it comes down to the NBA has better play, but the NCAA has more drama and better storylines.
Let's stipulate that this is true (that the NCAA has better storylines and drama), although I would not concede it in an argument. One of the most basic tenets of my sports fandom is that I watch sports for my own entertainment. I realize that players are human beings with their own stories and such, but a lot of that narrative is fed by PR machines that may treat the truth with a certain amount of, um, elasticity. Because of that, I put very little stock in "storylines" and "drama". My entertainment is derived from quality of play. The NBA wins that element in a blowout.
I've always felt that one of the great things about a best-of-7 series is that multiple games allows for an actual sporting story to emerge. How does Team A react to the result of Game 2? What adjustments do they make going into Game 3? Can Player B guard Player C equally effectively in Game 3, or will Player D be forced to take defensive responsibility for Player C. Etc.
The teams know each other too well at the end and it comes down to who’s shooting better or happens to get more loose balls.
So it comes down to which team is more talented and hustles more?
Is shots falling talent or luck? Some days a guy's shot is falling and some days it's not. How many long rebounds go straight to a player? Was he hustling or did he just happen to be in the right place at the right time? Do basketball statisticians look at the element of random chance as much as baseball statisticians do (FIP, BABIP, etc.)?
I don't understand where you're going with this at all. Are you suggesting that a 7-game series is more up to luck than a single game knockout?
I think the NBA’s shot clock is too short and the NCAA’s is too long. I think 30 seconds or so would work best.
Ack, no. The 24-second clock is plenty long for the pros. I see waaaay too many possessions in which they dink around for 12-18 seconds before finally trying to get a shot. Let's not encourage them to dink around for 20-24 seconds.
I enjoy watching the NCAA tournament for the storylines (random guy I've never heard of goes nuts! Disciplined squad of inferior athletes backdoor-cuts squad of superior athletes to death!), but NBA players are soooooo far superior to NCAA players, that it is hard to say it is even the same game.
I love that the NBA now allows zone defenses, but enforces defensive 3-second calls to try to open up the lane a bit. I love watching the chess matches in matchups. LeBron covering Tony Parker? Brilliant!
The penetrate-and-dish-to-corner-shooters game is very entertaining and so difficult to defend when a team has a great initiator (Parker, LeBron, Westbrook/Durant, CP3, Deron Williams, etc. etc. etc.) and great shooters, and somebody who can catch a dump-off pass at the rim and dunk. The game today, which no longer relies so heavily on boring, pound-pound-pound isolation plays in the post, is very entertaining to watch.
Let me add that I totally reject the arguments about the regular season being "too long" and the players not trying very hard (or not playing hard until the 4th quarter or whatever). That may have been true at one time in the league, but it's pretty isolated these days.
I challenge anyone to have watched a few of Denver's regular season games (particularly with Jon Barry doing color commentary) and not feel the joy. Or a Golden State game when Steph Curry was feeling it. zomg!
there are similarly entertaining story lines all over the league. Yes, there are some lousy teams. But the lousy teams don't get much national airtime. And I'd still rather watch the Kings play Milwaukee or Phoenix than watch some gawd-awful Gopher offense against some mediocre opponent on the road. And I LIKE watching the Gophers.
People who argue that there are a bunch of crappy teams in the NBA are a hoot. As if half (or more!) of college teams don't suck.
To be clear, I don't think that the NBA season is too long, just that it's very long and grueling. Long enough that you're going to have to pace yourself over the course of a season and pick your spots, more so than in a league with fewer games.
and, to be fair, I didn't mean to imply that you were among those making the "too long" argument. I agree with your assessment.
But to be really, really fair, I am often overly defensive. Now quit parking in front of my house!!!
The game today, which no longer relies so heavily on boring, pound-pound-pound isolation plays in the post, is very entertaining to watch.
The elimination of the illegal defense/illegal offense rules was a dramatic improvement in the game. If you watch now, you see guys hedging on defense toward the ball in a way that was not allowed under the old rules. You can double team off the ball now, too. Like you said, you just can't sit in the lane and guard no one. This has led to a vast improvement in offensive flow.
Also, 24 seconds is perfect.
Yes, much love for the 24-second clock. I don't need nonstop scoring, but I prefer not to see long passing sequences that add nothing for either the fans or the teams running them.
College basketball has the drama because it has an "anything can happen" feel. You never know when that small school is going to get lucky and knock off a powerhouse filled with McDonald's All Americans.
You can pretty successfully narrow the NBA champion down to 4 teams each year.
I'm pretty sure I know when that small school is going to get lucky... it's whenever they play Georgetown.
That doesn't bother me, and it makes upsets a much bigger deal. If "anything can happen," then what's the big deal when it does? That's a cynical view, but I'm a cynical man, so...there you go.
Is that really coming from the writer that complains when he can see a story unfolding in a predictable way?
Story structure and sports are completely different animals. Even so, the same theory applies. A movie should set forth specific expectations, and when those expectations are shattered, that's when real surprise happens. If a movie is nothing but surprises from the beginning, they cease to be surprises. I realize you're probably just trolling me, and I respect that, but I'm glad to explain my position further regardless.
But what about sports entertainment?
Oh boy. Let's not get me started there.
So you prefer when you don't see the steel chair attack coming?
Inspired by this, I've been trying to drill down a little into why I like following college basketball. I follow both college and the NBA, and I like both of them, although basketball is far from my favorite pure sport to watch - I like baseball, soccer, and hockey more, and am also tempted to put high-level tennis up there.
I think the reason I like following college so much, besides my (fortunate or not) attachment to the Gophers, is the "bracketology" aspect of it. Being able to follow the progress of so many different teams over the course of a schedule that is, while not the grind of the NBA, deep and varied enough to provide interesting aspects to their attempts to distinguish themselves in order to be worthy of selection is engaging for me. It feeds my interests in sports statistical analysis, prediction and projection in ways that aren't really available from other major sports (I suppose once the football playoff starts there will be some aspect of it there, but I've grown to dislike the sport of football so much that it probably won't engage me). I actually think I like the course of the season for these reasons more than the tournament itself.
So that's pretty abstract, niche, and barely related to the actual sport of basketball itself, but that's probably my favorite thing about following it. I imagine the blowhards on ESPN overdo their coverage of the "brackets" like they do everything else, but since I don't pay attention to anything said on ESPN,, that doesn't hamper my enjoyment.
I can confirm that the coverage of the brackets is pretty deflating, or at least was five years ago before I gave up on ESPN nearly entirely. It continues to amuse me that I almost always do better with my brackets than they do, despite their ludicrous number of experts projecting the tournament's results.
I love the tournament specifically because I don't really agree with the idea that "anything" can happen. I like it because it, too, can be whittled down to a few likely outcomes, and if those outcomes aren't met, it's a huge deal.
Plus, almost every game - with the exception of some first-round 1-16 games, and other mismatches - ends with a very real, very emotional celebration. It's impossible not to feel that along with the players, many of whom are experiencing meaningful basketball for the last time in their lives.
I really don't have a problem with anyone enjoying the collegiate game. It has its attractions. My position isn't so much contra college (although I've move more and more in that direction due to overbearing coaching, market saturation, and talent dilution) as it is pro-NBA for the often jaw-dropping athleticism, fierce competition, and entertainment.
I almost never watch non-Gopher, regular-season college games anymore. But I will watch just about any NBA game.
Very well stated. Last night's game might not have been as good as Game 6 (barely), but the result was in doubt until about the last 30 seconds or so. Also did either team even have a double digit lead at any point during the game?
Thanks for the Ric Bucher article too. Last night my twitter feed was full of "how can you question LBJ's ability now....." type posts and since I'm not a big watcher of sports center, PTI, NBA channel, etc I was thinking is this just a straw man argument? Do people still debate this? Apparently they do.
No double digit leads and no leads more than five points in the second half until right at the end.
I think that the "LeBron is a choker" argument is much less common amongst sports writers these days, but if you ever read into a basketball article comments section, God forbid, you'll find that the narrative is still alive and well.
Here's a good article on bike safety. Bottom line: It's the responsibility of both bikers and drivers to ensure safety for all, which is a good message.
I was dreading the comments section, but surprisingly they're not that bad.
Today is the first day I've ridden my bike out in public. I hate driving in my area because other cars are so inconsiderate, so I was especially on my toes for my bike. Turns out that was a good thing because a big black Ford pickup absolutely barreled through a red light not 2 blocks into my journey. I could have easily been in his path had I not noticed him coming.
For my part, I always treat traffic signals as though I was in a car, meaning I stop at stop signs and red lights when I'm on a shared road. Those cyclists who run red lights are just as annoying and dangerous as cars that do it. I've been in more arguments in crosswalks as a pedestrian with cyclists who are crossing against the light than cars.
Or the cyclists who ride right in the lane like they're cars, 20 MPH under the speed limit, when there's plenty of room on the shoulder. Twin Cities isn't too bad. Hate driving in Chicago.
In general, the world could use a lot more consideration for how one's actions affect those around you. In traffic, doubly so.
Well said.
This.
My one really dangerous experience on a bike involved me going over the handlebars on a sudden stop, thanks to a car zipping past me to make a right turn into a shopping center. Yea, I was in the intersection already. The jerk didn't even stop to see whether I was hurt.
My favorite billboard in the world is one that the state of Maryland once had (still has?) on the Beltway:
I was in a bike lane in Minneapolis (you know, the ones in the middle of the road), and a car zipped by me to turn left, cutting me off. I had no chance to stop, hit the back corner and flipped over the trunk. He drove off.
i used to deliver sammiches in downtown minneapolis on a bike. it was kill or be killed.
... he broke my bell.
I almost collided with a guy who turned right across two lanes at Lee Circle a month ago. He was accelerating through the turn to beat me across the entrance to a gas station. I locked up my breaks, and almost went over the handlebars. When I stopped moving I was an inch and a half from hitting his passenger door. His wife was screaming at me for some reason. I was jacked up on adrenaline and don't recall the rest of my commute. I haven't been back in the saddle since (it's also a hundred billion degrees plus a million billionty % humidity).
On the other hand, my bike commute takes me through the back streets of Columbia Heights. It's embarrassing how much they anticipate stupidity there. Quite literally, as I approached a 4 way, a car that was at the stopped when I was 10 feet out waved me through, assuming I wouldn't stop. I've had similar things happen at least once a month.
I'm pretty sure I told you that one of Sheenie's sister's friends was hit by a cabbie on Magazine and went into a coma for several months. Plus, y'all got some bike-eating potholes down there.
Plus, y’all got some bike-eating potholes down there.
Nissan Versa eating holes as well.
Yeah, I never ride anywhere without a helmet, and have stopped giving a piece of my mind to angry / unobservant drivers. A friend had a gun pulled on him at a stop light after ringing his bell to alert the driver to his presence. Last night a coworker was overtaken by 6-7 young kids on bikes who tried to pull her off of her bike. A cab stopped behind them and they scattered. She was still pretty rattled this morning.
That's why it's nice to be able to ride my bike in a place where there basically isn't any traffic.
The Twins scored at least seven runs in all three games against their hated rivals. It was the first time the Twins had scored at least seven runs in three consecutive games since July 2-4 of 2011.
I ran across a NASA and NOAA interactive "Green Map" of the earth's vegetation.
apparently today is take your (daughter's) dog to work day
It's nice to know that at least one table is more cluttered than mine.
how about your office floor?
Milklings excepted, my floors are usually pretty clean, actually.
(I do at least detect a method to your madness there, as well)
Is that a creepy looking old-fashined band-aid tin?
Who you calling "scruffy-looking"?! 😉
I want him to identify the thing with the keyhole on it.
yes, it's holding a slew of baseball card "sleeves"
the keyhole thing are "Sorcerer's Apprentice" cards that they gave away at Disneyworld; someone was looking to trade some doubles, so there you go.
the floor is bare, though.
Rhu, is that a candle in your mug, or some sort of biology experiment?
My son has the same Twins blanket on his bed.
Runner daughter made a throw for me that I keep on the back of my desk chair when not in use. (and that is a candle)
My son's grammy made his for him. Excellent taste.
It's not often you see "Grammy" and "excellent taste" in such close quarters.
I think we should analyze Rhu's office and the meaning of each item like some Dylan freaks still try to figure out all the items found on the cover of Bringing it All Back Home.
wait, I didn't get to stage the pretentious paraphernalia first!
I think this should be a new recurring feature.
boy I must be a boring person to have lunch with. Went to lunch with a couple of coworker and all they did was look at their phone and text.
at least my lunch tasted great.
I hate that.
I drove an actor to a show once (we'd carpooled a lot) and she ended up on the phone the entire time. When we got there she hung up, and I said "Danielle, I'm happy to drive you to the show, but if you spend the entire 30 minutes on the phone again we'll replace you." When I'm in the acting world, very little upsets me, so she thought I was kidding at first (in fairness, I was exaggerating, most likely).
My crew goes on break together to the same coffee shop and we all sit there looking at various devices while not talking to each other. To be fair, I don't want to talk to them any more than I have to, and one of my colleagues is very introverted.
I watched a little of the replay of yesterday's Twins game during the lunch hour. Dick mentioned that Robin Ventura had talked before the game about how much the White Sox miss Eduardo Escobar.
Now, I understand that these things have to be taken with at least a grain of salt. You want to say something nice about one of your former players. That's especially true if you're playing the team he now plays for, and if one of that team's media asks you about him.
But still. You miss Eduardo Escobar? I still make fun of the Twins missing Henry Blanco, but at least Blanco was a regular for most of one season and has a reputation for being an excellent defensive catcher and handler of pitchers. In what way do the White Sox miss Eduardo Escobar? Was he in charge of the clubhouse music or something?
I know I'm probably making too much of this. But if there is any way in which Robin Ventura actually believes that the White Sox miss Eduardo Escobar, we may have a partial explanation for why the White Sox are in last place.
I was just explaining to Philo on Saturday how much we still miss Henry BLanco.
Was he in charge of the clubhouse music or something?
That's the biggest laugh I've released here in a while, and I laugh here plenty.
The reasons I've heard had nothing to do with baseball. All about him being such a nice guy, happy to play, wants to win, keeps everybody loose, etc. They like him so they miss him as a person, not really as a baseball player. I don't think Ventura in any way was trying to blame the Sox's bad play on the loss of Escobar.
I thought this was an interesting tweet from C. J. Nitkowski:
4A pitchers: I have starting pitcher job opportunities in Asia. Velo, MLB time helps. Market is thin. Email me: CJN@CJBaseball.com
Instead of watching basketball, we watched the first two episodes of Season 1 of The Wire from my fancy new box set. And so it begins anew.
Whan you walk through the garden...
It's crazy to watch it a second time and see how far ahead the writers and producers were thinking. So much happens in that first episode that will bare fruit throughout the next 4 seasons.
Jon Heyman @JonHeymanCBS
Jose valverde was designated for assignment. #tigers
Do they have a good catching prospect they can trade for a closer?
In view of the nonsense written by Ric Bucher last night, consider what Kevin Pelton of Basketball-Prospectus and ESPN has to say:
Between 2012 and 2013, James owns two of the top individual playoff runs of the past three and a half decades, putting him in good company with Jordan and Shaquille O'Neal. Bird also had two top-10 postseasons -- until James knocked the second year out of the top 10, that is.
Of the 50 playoff runs I ranked, five now belong to James. Only Jordan, with eight top-50 performances in the postseason, has more. That's staggering considering that James is 28. At the same age, Jordan had just three top-50 playoff runs to his credit and had just won his first championship.
Of course, Jordan accomplished more in the postseason after the age of 28 than any other individual in modern history. That's why the comparison to Jordan remains unfair to James, who still has yet to write so much of his story. Yet everything James has accomplished to date makes it impossible to rule out the chance that he will eventually surpass Jordan.
James is on a frightening trajectory. With this postseason, he moved past Bird into fifth place in career playoff WARP. Dating to 1978, just Jordan, O'Neal, Magic Johnson and Tim Duncan remain ahead of James in postseason value.
At the same age, Jordan had just three top-50 playoff runs to his credit and had just won his first championship.
Oh, how quickly people forget. I remember when the Bulls won the first one that it was like the monkey was off Jordan's back for not being able to win the big one. I also wonder if anyone would equate D Wade to Pippen or Bosh to Grant or Rodman. Or how about Phil Jackson vs. Spoelstra.
of course, D-Wade had already won a championship (with Shaq, but also with Antoine Walker) in Miami, as THE star on the team. 8-time All-NBA (2 first-team, 3 seconds and 3 thirds) and 3 All-Defense (2nd team) recognitions. Arguably, he's equal to or better than Pippen in the pantheon.
Your point about short memories holds, however. Remember MJ being "frozen out" in the All Star game his rookie year?
A friend of mine on the Facebook compared post game celebrations, remembering that MJ clutched the trophy as if it was all his while Last night the players all seemed quite gracious in victory/defeat.
The same MJ who would refer to his teammates as his "supporting cast"?? Yea, that MJ.
so, yesterday I had an inspiring interaction with a resident of the street on which I typically park. I have parked in front of his house twice in the last, oh, three or four months (including yesterday). Both times, the guy has left profane notes on my windshield, bitching at me for parking in front of his house. On a city street. That allows all-day parking without any "neighborhood" permit. And he has a friggin' driveway (which I've never blocked).
I removed the sign from my windshield and foolishly tossed it at his front door rather than retaining it as evidence in case he decides at some point to vandalize my car. The guy started swearing at me from inside his house, complaining about how anyone would have the temerity to park legally on a public street. I "calmly and rationally" suggested to him that maybe he did not own the street and that, respectfully, he should reconsider his position.
And, in fact, yesterday, I parked a few feet in front of THIS, which the guy had placed in the street (still there today), taking up a full parking spot, I might add. So, I think I need to call code enforcement on him. And perhaps the police to register a complaint about harassment.
At times like this, I ask myself what it would take to so completely lose perspective on a situation. And then I feel thankful that whatever my problems are, at least I'm not wasting my time harassing someone for parking legally on a public street.
b-b-but it's his parking spot!!!!1111one1111!!!! There are commercial parking garages downtown for jerks like me! He's a poor, put-upon resident!
I park on his blockface because the city has gradually expanded its property rights giveaways to residents by extending and extending the zones of 2-hour-only-unless-you-have-a-resident-sticker parking. This rent-seeking (trying to force people like me to pay for parking) and property-rights-transferring (residents aren't paying for the street spots) behavior by the city bothers me ALMOST as much as this guy's attitude.
If the city really were efficient in its rent-seeking, they would allow ANYONE to purchase a parking sticker for a given neighborhood zone, rather than simply conferring the right onto residents. All that does is shift upwards equilibrium rents (now with free street parking!) and housing prices, while denying other classes of citizens access to convenient parking. And the vast majority of those parking spaces lie vacant all day, every business day, while a select few owners of parking lots also get to jack up their prices. Deadweight losses galore!
That sounds reminiscent of Seattle. Although I think in Seattle, anyone can buy the neighborhood parking stickers (rather than needing to be a resident.)
so, he gets to fix (and pay for) the pothole that will happen to form on his parking spot?
seems only fair. And only drive on the portions of the city streets that he pays directly for.
And plow off the snow that falls? (Bad example for Sac-Town).
yea. Not a lot of plowing around here.
Sometimes it's best to know when to pick a scab, doc. That's my old man trying to tell you that this might not be a fight worth fighting.
It's Colorado's loss, as it would be with any team whose best player can't stay healthy. But it's also baseball's loss. Troy Tulowitzki is the only great all-around shortstop left in baseball, which once had so many of them. He's the last of a dying breed, and he can't even die on the field.
I know my fantasy team needs him.
Men have it easier to get into colleges. This is probably not surprising to anyone, but what I want to know is why is it so important to have an even split? Men don't need an advantage in the workplace. The story quotes someone from a college saying they don't want it to become less popular for women? Huh? If it is less popular for women, then less women would apply, so more men would get in, so the percentages would balance out, making it more popular for women ... . This is called supply and demand, so wouldn't it balance itself out in the end?
Yahoo News apparently is just now getting around to reading NPR stories from 2009. 😉
There is no easily quantified, unidimensional measure of merit for admissions to a college. I think it would be a terrible idea to force colleges to strictly rank applicants on, say, SAT composite scores, to determine admissions order. Once you give up on that idea, then you have the art of balancing an admissions class on a variety of descriptive characteristics.
The bigger problem is the lower rate of high school achievement by boys. Nationally, the gender gap in high school non-completion rates (age 16-24 and not in school with no h.s. degree or equivalent) is on the order of 2-3 percentage points, but it is much larger for hispanics (4.5 points). Add that to higher mortality for boys and you get a substantial gap in the college-eligible populations.
Baby Pepper news over here for anyone who missed it.
The wee Pepper won the birthday lottery. Longest day of the year = most daylight to ride your new bike
Edit: Read better, don't go by the timestamp. Nearly the longest day of the year.
Why do Brits and Aussies get to watch impeccable recordings of “football” while red-blooded, American football gets cut off by our inferior American DVRs? It’s not because the technology somehow doesn’t work on our side of the pond. Based on interviews with multiple people at various industry stakeholders, I believe that accurate/intuitive/non-terrible recording would be feasible in the United States. The reason it doesn’t exist, I believe, is that American broadcasters and service providers don’t want it to exist. But we need to make our voices heard. The time is now to save our country from substandard DVR technology.
Broadcast standards aren’t uniform across the world. Europe, Australia, India, parts of Africa, and a bunch of other places comply with the DVB standard, while North America goes by something called ATSC. But Dave Arland, a spokesman for ATSC, says there’s nothing about the North American broadcast standard that would prevent any company here from implementing accurate recording.
Guess who has 2 thumbs and a four pack of Oyster Stout
So, basketball.
What a series. What an intense game last night. It wasn't quite game six, but that's not really doable again. The better team won the game and the series, but it was close -- closer than I thought it would be.
LBJ should have erased all doubts about his game last night. Should have, but didn't of course. There will always be the mouth breathers and folks like Ric Bucher whom he will never please. It's okay to root against him and root against him vociferously. But, to deny that he's the best basketball player in the world and that he's worked extremely hard to be the best is to flat out deny reality. I thought The Decision was a stupid idea, but there should be enough water under the bridge on that by now. I do support his right to play where he wants. That's the American Way. Just don't go on National TV to announce it in a one hour television special. I think he's got that figured out now. The amount of blowback he's gotten on that (for three years!!!!!) is ridiculous. It's not like he killed someone.
The Spurs were tremendous in defeat. Duncan was tremendous. Some of his supporting cast was a little less than tremendous, but I think the Spurs will be a contender again next year and maybe even the year after that with Duncan leading the charge. An all-timer, clearly better than my guy, and his play in this series was a joy to watch.
The two teams played with a tremendous amount of respect for each other. There were no flagrant fouls, no skirmishes, zero technical fouls. Just the two best teams in the world going at each other with an unbelievable level of intensity that never spilled over into chippiness. Also, both teams wanted to play at pace. That was really exciting. They wanted to run and didn't want to get into a half court game.
When the series was over, Pop was magnanimous in defeat, he hugged James and he kissed(!) Wade. He wasn't the jackass that say Bill Belichek is, instead he showed himself to be respectful of the other team. The Spurs are to be admired. I've always respected them and admired them, even when they were a team that blocked my team. This series elevated the franchise, even in defeat.
I have long beat the drum on NBA basketball. I think it is, at its best, terrific. I can understand that some people don't like basketball and I can respect that. I'm not a soccer guy, I'm not a hockey guy, but hey, if you enjoy that, more power to you. I'm not about to think poorly of you or your preferences. But....
I really don't understand the antipathy that I hear so much about the NBA from people who consider themselves basketball fans. You hear it a lot from sports fans: they don't like the NBA. I think I kind of know why that is, but regardless, I fail to see how college basketball compares. The NBA playoff format is like baseball. The 7 game series allows for drama to build. Sometimes a series isn't competitive and that's kind of disappointing. Sometimes, though, like this year, a series is hyper-competitive and the drama builds and builds toward a huge payoff. I always have loved the NBA, I guess. If you were watching these last few weeks and before -- the Miami/Indiana series was spectacular, too, and you are basketball fan, I don't get it. What's not to like? I'm not going to disparage college basketball. I think it's inferior to what we've just seen, but I'm in the minority on that, for some reason.
I watched last night. I haven't been an NBA guy since the 90s, but there was enough buzz (mostly here) to create some interest. It was entertaining. I might have some interest in next year's playoffs.
Re: Duncan vs. Your Guy
I think that for a long time we were right, or at least we could make a very solid argument that we were right. But at this point in their careers Duncan has aged a bit better and put on some better shows and I don't have any problem putting him ahead on the all time greats list.
I think the pro-college argument primarily comes from people who haven't watched the NBA in a long time and have forgotten that the level of play crushes the level of play in the NCAA. I also think they're unable to properly assess effort because great players don't appear to be expending effort. That's why they're great.
As for when you say "I think I know why that is," that's definitely a factor. Out here (in certain areas), more than anywhere I've been, you can hear every statement dripping with that sentiment, whether it's outright spoken or not. I live in a more expensive and more educated suburb, so thankfully it's not as bad where I am.
I don't think it's just a matter of difficulty assessing effort. I was shocked in the one NBA game I've been to how the intensity of effort varied during the game. I think it's just a matter of, if you're going to have an 82-game season, you have to pace yourself to some degree.
I was thinking about this last night, and I think the biggest thing is that a lot of people only watch playoff NCAA basketball, but they probably see more regular season NBA as a fraction of the NBA watching. Naturally the intensity of any game is going to be a little different if it is an elimination game. For whatever reason, I've never gotten that much into regular season NBA games--I think the irregular schedule might have something to do with it slipping under my radar to a degree--but I really, really enjoy the NBA playoffs.
I'm a little fair-weather when it comes to the regular season myself. I've only watched a lot in seasons where the Wolves were expected to be competitive (so, all of KG's seasons, and the last couple). However, invariably, every year when I watch the playoffs and particularly the finals, I think "Damn, I should have been watching these teams all year long."
The NBA League Pass (or whatever they call it) is much more expensive than MLB.tv, or at least was the last time I looked. If it was about the same price, I'd definitely pay for it and watch good basketball whenever it was on.
If you have cable with a sports package, you can watch a lot of NBA basketball during the regular season. TNT has two games on Thursdays, ESPN has Wednesday and a double header on Friday, NBA channel has games on Saturday night and I think Monday or Tuesday, too.
There's no question that the playoffs are much more intense. During the regular season, teams employ longer benches, which means more minutes for lesser players and thus less quality of play. Plus, it's such a grind. Eighty-two 48 minute games. That's more than triple the amount of minutes that a college team plays in a regular season. If you are a casual fan, you might not appreciate that or even care, but if you are really into it, that grind is part of what you have to consider when you think about the effort level.
We do miss cable - me for sports and the Milkmaid for HGTV. If a la carte ever becomes a thing, and the cable companies need to consider it because they're losing customers, then I'm sure we'll go back. We're also likely to go back once we're out of debt, which is looking and closer and closer, as we just finally paid off my Sallie Mae loan, so my schooling is entirely paid for as of a couple of weeks ago.
No doubt about it, 82 games is an absolute grind. I question the wisdom of ever scheduling back-to-back games, but I am impressed that the players handle it as well as they do.
I suppose from a personal standpoint, it's also a little easier to let your attention slip during the season when there's no local team to follow.
I hadn't watched any of the series, but I was enjoying yesterday's game when my satellite feed randomly went out with 5 minutes left. That hasn't happened before...
Ours did too at about 3 minutes. We couldn't get the game on the radio, so we were watching the ESPN iPad app until it reappeared with about 20 seconds left.
Did not see that coming! 😉
It is no disparagement of your guy to say that Duncan is better.
There have now been 19 Game 7s in the NBA Finals and 16 have been won by the home team, so if you don't have home court, better win it in 6, and probably 5.
I watched the second half of Game 7 and that's all I watched of this series and the playoffs. I watched the same amount of the NCAA championship game. I think I turned on some other tournament games but don't remember watching all or even most of a game other than the Gophers.
I think it comes down to the NBA has better play, but the NCAA has more drama and better storylines. I have two favorite NBA teams (Sixers were my favorites before the Wolves came along and still are) but I follow the Gophers much closer than I do the NBA teams. This might be because growing up I could follow the Gophers while living in the Twin Cities or it could be because I can watch more Gophers games now on BTN. Probably a combination of both.
For me, I don't like the seven-game series. The teams know each other too well at the end and it comes down to who's shooting better or happens to get more loose balls. There was plenty of drama in Game 7, but the last half of the fourth quarter the offense was totally stagnant. Both teams were making outside shots, but it wasn't because there was a lot of offensive movement. The Heat were standing around waiting for LeBron to make a shot or D Wade to try to throw himself toward the basket before launching an outside shot. The Spurs were posting up Duncan and the rest were sitting at the 3-point line. Better offensive plan but still predictably dull.
Fortunately, both teams were making outside shots to make it an exciting finish.
I love the seven-game series in baseball, what with all the different starting pitching matchups, the varying availability of relievers and what-not.
I think the NBA's shot clock is too short and the NCAA's is too long. I think 30 seconds or so would work best. It seemed like both teams in Game 7 had just set up in the half court when they had 6 seconds to shoot and then you have a guy have to go one-on-one to get off a shot. In the NCAA, they have too much time to pass it around the perimeter.
Basically, I think people who prefer the NBA like it because the players can actually shoot and still have the athletic ability to make amazing plays. People who prefer the NCAA like the drama of playing fewer games, which places more importance on them (but they forget the early season games against weak teams for major conference teams).
There's something to be said for a single-elimination tournament, for sure, and I get suckered in every year in spite of myself. I just wish it involved much better play.
It used to involve better play, but that was before players realized that they could make millions of dollars for themselves in the NBA instead of for some school that forces them to live in abject poverty (unless they already have money, which most of them don't) through their association with an organization that is just about as corrupt and petty as anything in this country. This is an organization that won't allow unpaid athletes transfer from one school to another without penalizing them, but has coaches that also make millions and millions get out of contracts about as often as the sun rises in the east. Let us never forget that aspect of it.
Yeah, and I watched it in those days, too. The NCAA system unfortunately has a negative effect on both the NCAA and potentially the NBA, which now receives athletes that are greener than they were in years past.
The pay given to NCAA coaches is mind-boggling. Was it you that posted the highest-paid school (or whatever) jobs in America for each state, and most of them were college sports coaches?
Yeah, that was me.
People who prefer the NCAA like the drama of playing fewer games, which places more importance on them (but they forget the early season games against weak teams for major conference teams).
Also school pride. In most cases you picked the school, maybe you went to games, you have friends that you went with or friends that went to a rival that you can give a hard time to, etc. But I pretty much ignore them both until playoff time.
This. It's awfully fun to make fun of Georgetown and College Park Community College.
Let's stipulate that this is true (that the NCAA has better storylines and drama), although I would not concede it in an argument. One of the most basic tenets of my sports fandom is that I watch sports for my own entertainment. I realize that players are human beings with their own stories and such, but a lot of that narrative is fed by PR machines that may treat the truth with a certain amount of, um, elasticity. Because of that, I put very little stock in "storylines" and "drama". My entertainment is derived from quality of play. The NBA wins that element in a blowout.
I've always felt that one of the great things about a best-of-7 series is that multiple games allows for an actual sporting story to emerge. How does Team A react to the result of Game 2? What adjustments do they make going into Game 3? Can Player B guard Player C equally effectively in Game 3, or will Player D be forced to take defensive responsibility for Player C. Etc.
The teams know each other too well at the end and it comes down to who’s shooting better or happens to get more loose balls.
So it comes down to which team is more talented and hustles more?
Is shots falling talent or luck? Some days a guy's shot is falling and some days it's not. How many long rebounds go straight to a player? Was he hustling or did he just happen to be in the right place at the right time? Do basketball statisticians look at the element of random chance as much as baseball statisticians do (FIP, BABIP, etc.)?
I don't understand where you're going with this at all. Are you suggesting that a 7-game series is more up to luck than a single game knockout?
Ack, no. The 24-second clock is plenty long for the pros. I see waaaay too many possessions in which they dink around for 12-18 seconds before finally trying to get a shot. Let's not encourage them to dink around for 20-24 seconds.
I enjoy watching the NCAA tournament for the storylines (random guy I've never heard of goes nuts! Disciplined squad of inferior athletes backdoor-cuts squad of superior athletes to death!), but NBA players are soooooo far superior to NCAA players, that it is hard to say it is even the same game.
I love that the NBA now allows zone defenses, but enforces defensive 3-second calls to try to open up the lane a bit. I love watching the chess matches in matchups. LeBron covering Tony Parker? Brilliant!
The penetrate-and-dish-to-corner-shooters game is very entertaining and so difficult to defend when a team has a great initiator (Parker, LeBron, Westbrook/Durant, CP3, Deron Williams, etc. etc. etc.) and great shooters, and somebody who can catch a dump-off pass at the rim and dunk. The game today, which no longer relies so heavily on boring, pound-pound-pound isolation plays in the post, is very entertaining to watch.
Let me add that I totally reject the arguments about the regular season being "too long" and the players not trying very hard (or not playing hard until the 4th quarter or whatever). That may have been true at one time in the league, but it's pretty isolated these days.
I challenge anyone to have watched a few of Denver's regular season games (particularly with Jon Barry doing color commentary) and not feel the joy. Or a Golden State game when Steph Curry was feeling it. zomg!
there are similarly entertaining story lines all over the league. Yes, there are some lousy teams. But the lousy teams don't get much national airtime. And I'd still rather watch the Kings play Milwaukee or Phoenix than watch some gawd-awful Gopher offense against some mediocre opponent on the road. And I LIKE watching the Gophers.
People who argue that there are a bunch of crappy teams in the NBA are a hoot. As if half (or more!) of college teams don't suck.
To be clear, I don't think that the NBA season is too long, just that it's very long and grueling. Long enough that you're going to have to pace yourself over the course of a season and pick your spots, more so than in a league with fewer games.
and, to be fair, I didn't mean to imply that you were among those making the "too long" argument. I agree with your assessment.
But to be really, really fair, I am often overly defensive. Now quit parking in front of my house!!!
The elimination of the illegal defense/illegal offense rules was a dramatic improvement in the game. If you watch now, you see guys hedging on defense toward the ball in a way that was not allowed under the old rules. You can double team off the ball now, too. Like you said, you just can't sit in the lane and guard no one. This has led to a vast improvement in offensive flow.
Also, 24 seconds is perfect.
Yes, much love for the 24-second clock. I don't need nonstop scoring, but I prefer not to see long passing sequences that add nothing for either the fans or the teams running them.
College basketball has the drama because it has an "anything can happen" feel. You never know when that small school is going to get lucky and knock off a powerhouse filled with McDonald's All Americans.
You can pretty successfully narrow the NBA champion down to 4 teams each year.
I'm pretty sure I know when that small school is going to get lucky... it's whenever they play Georgetown.
That doesn't bother me, and it makes upsets a much bigger deal. If "anything can happen," then what's the big deal when it does? That's a cynical view, but I'm a cynical man, so...there you go.
Is that really coming from the writer that complains when he can see a story unfolding in a predictable way?
Story structure and sports are completely different animals. Even so, the same theory applies. A movie should set forth specific expectations, and when those expectations are shattered, that's when real surprise happens. If a movie is nothing but surprises from the beginning, they cease to be surprises. I realize you're probably just trolling me, and I respect that, but I'm glad to explain my position further regardless.
But what about sports entertainment?
Oh boy. Let's not get me started there.
So you prefer when you don't see the steel chair attack coming?
Inspired by this, I've been trying to drill down a little into why I like following college basketball. I follow both college and the NBA, and I like both of them, although basketball is far from my favorite pure sport to watch - I like baseball, soccer, and hockey more, and am also tempted to put high-level tennis up there.
I think the reason I like following college so much, besides my (fortunate or not) attachment to the Gophers, is the "bracketology" aspect of it. Being able to follow the progress of so many different teams over the course of a schedule that is, while not the grind of the NBA, deep and varied enough to provide interesting aspects to their attempts to distinguish themselves in order to be worthy of selection is engaging for me. It feeds my interests in sports statistical analysis, prediction and projection in ways that aren't really available from other major sports (I suppose once the football playoff starts there will be some aspect of it there, but I've grown to dislike the sport of football so much that it probably won't engage me). I actually think I like the course of the season for these reasons more than the tournament itself.
So that's pretty abstract, niche, and barely related to the actual sport of basketball itself, but that's probably my favorite thing about following it. I imagine the blowhards on ESPN overdo their coverage of the "brackets" like they do everything else, but since I don't pay attention to anything said on ESPN,, that doesn't hamper my enjoyment.
I can confirm that the coverage of the brackets is pretty deflating, or at least was five years ago before I gave up on ESPN nearly entirely. It continues to amuse me that I almost always do better with my brackets than they do, despite their ludicrous number of experts projecting the tournament's results.
I love the tournament specifically because I don't really agree with the idea that "anything" can happen. I like it because it, too, can be whittled down to a few likely outcomes, and if those outcomes aren't met, it's a huge deal.
Plus, almost every game - with the exception of some first-round 1-16 games, and other mismatches - ends with a very real, very emotional celebration. It's impossible not to feel that along with the players, many of whom are experiencing meaningful basketball for the last time in their lives.
I really don't have a problem with anyone enjoying the collegiate game. It has its attractions. My position isn't so much contra college (although I've move more and more in that direction due to overbearing coaching, market saturation, and talent dilution) as it is pro-NBA for the often jaw-dropping athleticism, fierce competition, and entertainment.
I almost never watch non-Gopher, regular-season college games anymore. But I will watch just about any NBA game.
Very well stated. Last night's game might not have been as good as Game 6 (barely), but the result was in doubt until about the last 30 seconds or so. Also did either team even have a double digit lead at any point during the game?
Thanks for the Ric Bucher article too. Last night my twitter feed was full of "how can you question LBJ's ability now....." type posts and since I'm not a big watcher of sports center, PTI, NBA channel, etc I was thinking is this just a straw man argument? Do people still debate this? Apparently they do.
No double digit leads and no leads more than five points in the second half until right at the end.
I think that the "LeBron is a choker" argument is much less common amongst sports writers these days, but if you ever read into a basketball article comments section, God forbid, you'll find that the narrative is still alive and well.
Here's a good article on bike safety. Bottom line: It's the responsibility of both bikers and drivers to ensure safety for all, which is a good message.
I was dreading the comments section, but surprisingly they're not that bad.
Today is the first day I've ridden my bike out in public. I hate driving in my area because other cars are so inconsiderate, so I was especially on my toes for my bike. Turns out that was a good thing because a big black Ford pickup absolutely barreled through a red light not 2 blocks into my journey. I could have easily been in his path had I not noticed him coming.
For my part, I always treat traffic signals as though I was in a car, meaning I stop at stop signs and red lights when I'm on a shared road. Those cyclists who run red lights are just as annoying and dangerous as cars that do it. I've been in more arguments in crosswalks as a pedestrian with cyclists who are crossing against the light than cars.
Or the cyclists who ride right in the lane like they're cars, 20 MPH under the speed limit, when there's plenty of room on the shoulder. Twin Cities isn't too bad. Hate driving in Chicago.
In general, the world could use a lot more consideration for how one's actions affect those around you. In traffic, doubly so.
Well said.
This.
My one really dangerous experience on a bike involved me going over the handlebars on a sudden stop, thanks to a car zipping past me to make a right turn into a shopping center. Yea, I was in the intersection already. The jerk didn't even stop to see whether I was hurt.
My favorite billboard in the world is one that the state of Maryland once had (still has?) on the Beltway:
I was in a bike lane in Minneapolis (you know, the ones in the middle of the road), and a car zipped by me to turn left, cutting me off. I had no chance to stop, hit the back corner and flipped over the trunk. He drove off.
i used to deliver sammiches in downtown minneapolis on a bike. it was kill or be killed.
... he broke my bell.
I almost collided with a guy who turned right across two lanes at Lee Circle a month ago. He was accelerating through the turn to beat me across the entrance to a gas station. I locked up my breaks, and almost went over the handlebars. When I stopped moving I was an inch and a half from hitting his passenger door. His wife was screaming at me for some reason. I was jacked up on adrenaline and don't recall the rest of my commute. I haven't been back in the saddle since (it's also a hundred billion degrees plus a million billionty % humidity).
On the other hand, my bike commute takes me through the back streets of Columbia Heights. It's embarrassing how much they anticipate stupidity there. Quite literally, as I approached a 4 way, a car that was at the stopped when I was 10 feet out waved me through, assuming I wouldn't stop. I've had similar things happen at least once a month.
I'm pretty sure I told you that one of Sheenie's sister's friends was hit by a cabbie on Magazine and went into a coma for several months. Plus, y'all got some bike-eating potholes down there.
Plus, y’all got some bike-eating potholes down there.
Nissan Versa eating holes as well.
Yeah, I never ride anywhere without a helmet, and have stopped giving a piece of my mind to angry / unobservant drivers. A friend had a gun pulled on him at a stop light after ringing his bell to alert the driver to his presence. Last night a coworker was overtaken by 6-7 young kids on bikes who tried to pull her off of her bike. A cab stopped behind them and they scattered. She was still pretty rattled this morning.
That's why it's nice to be able to ride my bike in a place where there basically isn't any traffic.
Minnesota Twins' Justin Morneau Ends Homerless Streak, Inspires Teammates to Sweep.
I ran across a NASA and NOAA interactive "Green Map" of the earth's vegetation.
H.T. The Verge
apparently today is take your (daughter's) dog to work day
It's nice to know that at least one table is more cluttered than mine.
how about your office floor?
Milklings excepted, my floors are usually pretty clean, actually.
(I do at least detect a method to your madness there, as well)
Is that a creepy looking old-fashined band-aid tin?
Who you calling "scruffy-looking"?! 😉
I want him to identify the thing with the keyhole on it.
yes, it's holding a slew of baseball card "sleeves"
the keyhole thing are "Sorcerer's Apprentice" cards that they gave away at Disneyworld; someone was looking to trade some doubles, so there you go.
the floor is bare, though.
Rhu, is that a candle in your mug, or some sort of biology experiment?
My son has the same Twins blanket on his bed.
Runner daughter made a throw for me that I keep on the back of my desk chair when not in use. (and that is a candle)
My son's grammy made his for him. Excellent taste.
It's not often you see "Grammy" and "excellent taste" in such close quarters.
I think we should analyze Rhu's office and the meaning of each item like some Dylan freaks still try to figure out all the items found on the cover of Bringing it All Back Home.
wait, I didn't get to stage the pretentious paraphernalia first!
I think this should be a new recurring feature.
boy I must be a boring person to have lunch with. Went to lunch with a couple of coworker and all they did was look at their phone and text.
at least my lunch tasted great.
I hate that.
I drove an actor to a show once (we'd carpooled a lot) and she ended up on the phone the entire time. When we got there she hung up, and I said "Danielle, I'm happy to drive you to the show, but if you spend the entire 30 minutes on the phone again we'll replace you." When I'm in the acting world, very little upsets me, so she thought I was kidding at first (in fairness, I was exaggerating, most likely).
My crew goes on break together to the same coffee shop and we all sit there looking at various devices while not talking to each other. To be fair, I don't want to talk to them any more than I have to, and one of my colleagues is very introverted.
I watched a little of the replay of yesterday's Twins game during the lunch hour. Dick mentioned that Robin Ventura had talked before the game about how much the White Sox miss Eduardo Escobar.
Now, I understand that these things have to be taken with at least a grain of salt. You want to say something nice about one of your former players. That's especially true if you're playing the team he now plays for, and if one of that team's media asks you about him.
But still. You miss Eduardo Escobar? I still make fun of the Twins missing Henry Blanco, but at least Blanco was a regular for most of one season and has a reputation for being an excellent defensive catcher and handler of pitchers. In what way do the White Sox miss Eduardo Escobar? Was he in charge of the clubhouse music or something?
I know I'm probably making too much of this. But if there is any way in which Robin Ventura actually believes that the White Sox miss Eduardo Escobar, we may have a partial explanation for why the White Sox are in last place.
I was just explaining to Philo on Saturday how much we still miss Henry BLanco.
Was he in charge of the clubhouse music or something?
That's the biggest laugh I've released here in a while, and I laugh here plenty.
The reasons I've heard had nothing to do with baseball. All about him being such a nice guy, happy to play, wants to win, keeps everybody loose, etc. They like him so they miss him as a person, not really as a baseball player. I don't think Ventura in any way was trying to blame the Sox's bad play on the loss of Escobar.
I thought this was an interesting tweet from C. J. Nitkowski:
Instead of watching basketball, we watched the first two episodes of Season 1 of The Wire from my fancy new box set. And so it begins anew.
Whan you walk through the garden...
It's crazy to watch it a second time and see how far ahead the writers and producers were thinking. So much happens in that first episode that will bare fruit throughout the next 4 seasons.
Do they have a good catching prospect they can trade for a closer?
In view of the nonsense written by Ric Bucher last night, consider what Kevin Pelton of Basketball-Prospectus and ESPN has to say:
Oh, how quickly people forget. I remember when the Bulls won the first one that it was like the monkey was off Jordan's back for not being able to win the big one. I also wonder if anyone would equate D Wade to Pippen or Bosh to Grant or Rodman. Or how about Phil Jackson vs. Spoelstra.
of course, D-Wade had already won a championship (with Shaq, but also with Antoine Walker) in Miami, as THE star on the team. 8-time All-NBA (2 first-team, 3 seconds and 3 thirds) and 3 All-Defense (2nd team) recognitions. Arguably, he's equal to or better than Pippen in the pantheon.
Your point about short memories holds, however. Remember MJ being "frozen out" in the All Star game his rookie year?
A friend of mine on the Facebook compared post game celebrations, remembering that MJ clutched the trophy as if it was all his while Last night the players all seemed quite gracious in victory/defeat.
The same MJ who would refer to his teammates as his "supporting cast"?? Yea, that MJ.
so, yesterday I had an inspiring interaction with a resident of the street on which I typically park. I have parked in front of his house twice in the last, oh, three or four months (including yesterday). Both times, the guy has left profane notes on my windshield, bitching at me for parking in front of his house. On a city street. That allows all-day parking without any "neighborhood" permit. And he has a friggin' driveway (which I've never blocked).
I removed the sign from my windshield and foolishly tossed it at his front door rather than retaining it as evidence in case he decides at some point to vandalize my car. The guy started swearing at me from inside his house, complaining about how anyone would have the temerity to park legally on a public street. I "calmly and rationally" suggested to him that maybe he did not own the street and that, respectfully, he should reconsider his position.
And, in fact, yesterday, I parked a few feet in front of THIS, which the guy had placed in the street (still there today), taking up a full parking spot, I might add. So, I think I need to call code enforcement on him. And perhaps the police to register a complaint about harassment.
At times like this, I ask myself what it would take to so completely lose perspective on a situation. And then I feel thankful that whatever my problems are, at least I'm not wasting my time harassing someone for parking legally on a public street.
b-b-but it's his parking spot!!!!1111one1111!!!! There are commercial parking garages downtown for jerks like me! He's a poor, put-upon resident!
I park on his blockface because the city has gradually expanded its property rights giveaways to residents by extending and extending the zones of 2-hour-only-unless-you-have-a-resident-sticker parking. This rent-seeking (trying to force people like me to pay for parking) and property-rights-transferring (residents aren't paying for the street spots) behavior by the city bothers me ALMOST as much as this guy's attitude.
If the city really were efficient in its rent-seeking, they would allow ANYONE to purchase a parking sticker for a given neighborhood zone, rather than simply conferring the right onto residents. All that does is shift upwards equilibrium rents (now with free street parking!) and housing prices, while denying other classes of citizens access to convenient parking. And the vast majority of those parking spaces lie vacant all day, every business day, while a select few owners of parking lots also get to jack up their prices. Deadweight losses galore!
That sounds reminiscent of Seattle. Although I think in Seattle, anyone can buy the neighborhood parking stickers (rather than needing to be a resident.)
so, he gets to fix (and pay for) the pothole that will happen to form on his parking spot?
seems only fair. And only drive on the portions of the city streets that he pays directly for.
And plow off the snow that falls? (Bad example for Sac-Town).
yea. Not a lot of plowing around here.
Sometimes it's best to know when to pick a scab, doc. That's my old man trying to tell you that this might not be a fight worth fighting.
This thought may have crossed my mind, meat.
Why Baseball Needs Troy Tulowitzki
...
I know my fantasy team needs him.
Men have it easier to get into colleges. This is probably not surprising to anyone, but what I want to know is why is it so important to have an even split? Men don't need an advantage in the workplace. The story quotes someone from a college saying they don't want it to become less popular for women? Huh? If it is less popular for women, then less women would apply, so more men would get in, so the percentages would balance out, making it more popular for women ... . This is called supply and demand, so wouldn't it balance itself out in the end?
Yahoo News apparently is just now getting around to reading NPR stories from 2009. 😉
There is no easily quantified, unidimensional measure of merit for admissions to a college. I think it would be a terrible idea to force colleges to strictly rank applicants on, say, SAT composite scores, to determine admissions order. Once you give up on that idea, then you have the art of balancing an admissions class on a variety of descriptive characteristics.
The bigger problem is the lower rate of high school achievement by boys. Nationally, the gender gap in high school non-completion rates (age 16-24 and not in school with no h.s. degree or equivalent) is on the order of 2-3 percentage points, but it is much larger for hispanics (4.5 points). Add that to higher mortality for boys and you get a substantial gap in the college-eligible populations.
Baby Pepper news over here for anyone who missed it.
The wee Pepper won the birthday lottery. Longest day of the year = most daylight to ride your new bike
Edit: Read better, don't go by the timestamp. Nearly the longest day of the year.
Either way, mazel tov.
Nearly the longest daylight of the year.
ftfy
Yay! Congratulations!
Congrats!
Congrats!
America: leading from the rear again where it really counts.
Guess who has 2 thumbs and a four pack of Oyster Stout
*THIS GUY*
Thanks to mc
Booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo*
*I'm just jealous.
Who has two thumbs and was just re-invited back to Ireland?
This Guy.
(trip pending vacation approval*)
*having a real job sucks
Awesome. Hope it works out for you.