My friends, I have a dilemma, and I think the best way to solve it is to talk it out in a blog/informative fashion.
On a side note, I think I'm finally forgetting about John McCain, because reading that first line of what I wrote, it sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite put a finger on what it was . . . .
To sound lame and typical, there comes a time in every persons life when they realize that they have to make a career choice and pick a direction to take their life in. For some, it's easy; they grew up messing with cars, always loved drawing cartoons, averaged 35 points and 15 assists as a 3rd grader in a 12-years-old bball league.
For others, picking is harder. Some have no idea what they want to do with their life. In that quest, they all end up hearing some version of 'Do what makes you happy. You want a job where you don't wake up in the morning, dreading going to work'. Sound advice. Among the best you can get. If you like cars and you are majoring in business, get a job in the auto industry that deals with business in some fashion. If you are majoring in bio, and are fascinated by plants, do your research in that area.
What happens when you have found the perfect position for yourself, but the opportunities are slim, and the money is bordering on not worth the effort? Do you give up on the dream (a Clippers fan who used to dream of a championship)? Do you act like a Laker fan from the 07-08 season (push hard, get your hopes up, and get flat out crushed at the end)? Or do you succeed and take the smaller pay check in search of more championships/happiness?
I am going to use an, ahem, arbitrary example. Say you were a mechanical engineer who loved sports, and one day, following the mantra 'do what you love' decided to pursue sports engineering. Early research indicated that to get into the field, you'd need to be a mechanical engineer (check) who loves sports (check) and had some knowledge of biomechanics (check) and materials (check). 4-4 in 10 minutes of playing time? That's a PER of 74 according to John Hollinger, meaning you should be better than LeBron and Kobe combined.
When playing the remaining 38 minutes, you realize that getting into the field would require tons of work, mainly exploiting contacts, making calls, going to the companies across the nation to meet them face to face. Looking at it, it doesn't seem too bad, and if you really want the job, you will do what it takes to land it. You also find out, however, that sports engineers make significantly less money than their fellow M.E. majors pursuing other careers.
So the career choice has been narrowed down to the money issue. Do you take the admirable road and choose less money, getting respect from those who did not travel your path and work in a job that isn't all to their liking? Or do you make more money, and know, regardless of how happy you are at your current job, you could have been much happier. . . . .
To be continued, as I come to further conclusions about this, ahem, strictly hypothetical situation. Advice about this nonexistent problem is welcome.
By the way, question of the day: What is Gilbert Arenas up to?
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Going Underground
It's that time of year again, where you start putting in the 13-15 hour days with your nose stuck in a book, so I'm going out of commission until at least the 20th, whereupon I will once again, enrich your lives as I did in the days of yore.
BUT, as a last stand (until the 20th), I will leave you with some things to think about until that time
BUT, as a last stand (until the 20th), I will leave you with some things to think about until that time
- A recent post talked about the daily newspaper being one of the primary reasons he woke up every morning. There was just something about the palpable effects of a physical newspaper that he enjoyed; just like most sports fans, the thing he would do first is flip to the sports page to read up on who knows what is happening in the crazy world of athletics. Nowadays, however, he finds himself flipping to the sports section not just for that, but just to avoid the front page articles on the crumbling economy, different attacks, and general state of chaos. Sports is like a fantasy world where there are no worries. I sometimes find myself doing that, but I never noticed it until now . . .
- Regardless of any excuses you can come up with, Obama has been spotted using a zune at a gym.
- How many of you have heard of India going to war (legitimately)? They're close to something like that happening if Pakistan does not cooperate in turning over wanted terrorists tied in with the Mumbai bombings.
- Elton Brand has been officially replaced by Zach Randolph. I'm sold.
- If anyone has news of Detox coming out this winter, please inform me
- If you are in limbo about making a big purchase now is the time to do so, as cars/houses/etc. are reaching record lows in pricing.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
That's Shaaady
Big Game, November 22, 2008
3rd and 7 or so, Stanford has the ball. A Stanford receiver runs a post pattern, Tavita Pritchard throws a low ball for him, and he scoops it just before it hits the ground, and adds some yards after the catch to make it 4th and 1.
The play is then shown on the big screen and it is EASILY seen that the ball in fact hits the ground before it is caught. It is so obvious, that coach Tedford sprints onto the middle of the field to make sure the play is reviewed before another one is snapped. The ref's review it, and decide not to reverse the call.
That's shaaady.
(in case you were wondering, it did not matter, we stopped them when they went for it on 4th and 1, and we destroyed them in the game)
3rd and 7 or so, Stanford has the ball. A Stanford receiver runs a post pattern, Tavita Pritchard throws a low ball for him, and he scoops it just before it hits the ground, and adds some yards after the catch to make it 4th and 1.
The play is then shown on the big screen and it is EASILY seen that the ball in fact hits the ground before it is caught. It is so obvious, that coach Tedford sprints onto the middle of the field to make sure the play is reviewed before another one is snapped. The ref's review it, and decide not to reverse the call.
That's shaaady.
(in case you were wondering, it did not matter, we stopped them when they went for it on 4th and 1, and we destroyed them in the game)
The zune is making moves again . . .
News on the Zune front (besides the addition of sudoku, checkers, and a game just like phoenix on the TI-83, but tricked out a little more): a writer on gizmodo is switching to a zune for the music subscription.
This is the start of a slow, but steady shift in the market, and you will see, as time goes by, Microsoft will grab some of the market back. Keep an eye out, and keep your mind open when you're buying your next player . . . You might just be impressed with the Zune if you take a test drive.
This is the start of a slow, but steady shift in the market, and you will see, as time goes by, Microsoft will grab some of the market back. Keep an eye out, and keep your mind open when you're buying your next player . . . You might just be impressed with the Zune if you take a test drive.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
That's Shaaady
I've decided to start a little thing called 'that's shaaady' where any time I see/hear about a shady call/move/etc., I'll post about it here. If this blog existed earlier, things that would have made the 'that's shady' hall of fame would include the Pau Gasol for nothing trade, the verbal abuse Materazzi heaped upon Zidane, and a lot of the McCain campaign in general.
Let's start it off with yesterday's Warrior's/Blazers contest, which I attended.
The Blazers, down by 2 with 5 seconds left are playing defense, trying to steal a side-line inbounds from the Warriors. The Warriors throw it to the backcourt, but overthrow the intended man, Anthony Morrow. Rudy Fernandez sprints to get it, but in an effort to keep the game from being tied, Morrow holds onto Rudy.
Foul is called.
But wait . . .the foul is called on Rudy, somehow, some way. Coach McMillan of the Blazers complains, gets t'd up, and that's your ball game, Warriors escape with a win.
That's Shaaaady.
Let's start it off with yesterday's Warrior's/Blazers contest, which I attended.
The Blazers, down by 2 with 5 seconds left are playing defense, trying to steal a side-line inbounds from the Warriors. The Warriors throw it to the backcourt, but overthrow the intended man, Anthony Morrow. Rudy Fernandez sprints to get it, but in an effort to keep the game from being tied, Morrow holds onto Rudy.
Foul is called.
But wait . . .the foul is called on Rudy, somehow, some way. Coach McMillan of the Blazers complains, gets t'd up, and that's your ball game, Warriors escape with a win.
That's Shaaaady.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
I'm Old. You're Old. We're All Old.
One of my friends constantly reminded me that as soon as I turned 20, it would be down hill from there. Yeah it was a joke, and I treated it that way until I realized that the day after I played basketball, my back started hurting, my muscles were sore, and walking wasn't as easy as it used to be.
I'm starting to get older, and it's slowly starting to hit me. Yeah, yeah, it's only 20, I'm about to hit my prime, and I'm not really old, but you know what, the definition of old for me is what I thought it was when I was a kid. Old was your parents taking your advice genuinely, living by yourself (plus a roommate) and making a majority of your own decisions. Old was learning how to make the right choice. Old is finding out that some of your friends are engaged, and realizing that you're going to hit that 9-5 within a couple of years. Old is watching your cousins become the age you remembered like it was yesterday, except that you're 9 years older than him.
I can go on, but you get the picture. And according to that definition, I'm in that old picture.
I don't ask for birthday gifts from my parents anymore, and this year, I tried a different path; I asked my dad for some advice. What he told me made me realize that as you get older, you need to look at life differently.
The way you lived your life, how you made decisions, they were all based on a preset notion of what your overall goal was. Was the goal to have fun? Was it to gain some knowledge at school? These goals determine your lifestyle and choices, and these goals change as you get older. I can say that I knew of the concept and it made sense, but I never thought about it, and it never hit me until this year. It was some of the simplest and best advice I have ever received in my life, and it has the potential to shift my life in a huge way. Whether his advice holds true or not, only time will tell; I'm going to take it for a test drive in the following years, and I will pass it on if it holds up. Regardless of the outcome, however, that transcending idea of adapting to your age is going to carry on no matter what.
Maybe getting older isn't such a bad thing. If your goal was to have fun, you were happy succeeding in it. If your goal changes to do well in school, and you pull a 4.0, then you again will be happy. If your future goal is to live on the beach, and travel internationally on business, and you are working towards that goal, then you may be happy, even if you're old in that process.
I used to fear getting older, mostly because I didn't want to hit the stage where I couldn't compete with the young'uns on the basketball court. I didn't want to get to the world where every day was a work day without real summer/winter vacations and taking a road trip to watch a football game did not happen as often as it should. But, those were all bad because they went against my current mind set. Maybe when I get older, that won't be what I'm looking for in life, and missing out on that won't be as bad.
That being said, as the younger one of our year, I'm going to age a little slower than the others, so thank god for that.
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S.O.T.D.
Outkast - So Fresh, So Clean
Youtube Clip
MJ loses to a CEO at one-on-one. Yes, at basketball, not at managing a company, or say, a basketball team.
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I'm starting to get older, and it's slowly starting to hit me. Yeah, yeah, it's only 20, I'm about to hit my prime, and I'm not really old, but you know what, the definition of old for me is what I thought it was when I was a kid. Old was your parents taking your advice genuinely, living by yourself (plus a roommate) and making a majority of your own decisions. Old was learning how to make the right choice. Old is finding out that some of your friends are engaged, and realizing that you're going to hit that 9-5 within a couple of years. Old is watching your cousins become the age you remembered like it was yesterday, except that you're 9 years older than him.
I can go on, but you get the picture. And according to that definition, I'm in that old picture.
I don't ask for birthday gifts from my parents anymore, and this year, I tried a different path; I asked my dad for some advice. What he told me made me realize that as you get older, you need to look at life differently.
The way you lived your life, how you made decisions, they were all based on a preset notion of what your overall goal was. Was the goal to have fun? Was it to gain some knowledge at school? These goals determine your lifestyle and choices, and these goals change as you get older. I can say that I knew of the concept and it made sense, but I never thought about it, and it never hit me until this year. It was some of the simplest and best advice I have ever received in my life, and it has the potential to shift my life in a huge way. Whether his advice holds true or not, only time will tell; I'm going to take it for a test drive in the following years, and I will pass it on if it holds up. Regardless of the outcome, however, that transcending idea of adapting to your age is going to carry on no matter what.
Maybe getting older isn't such a bad thing. If your goal was to have fun, you were happy succeeding in it. If your goal changes to do well in school, and you pull a 4.0, then you again will be happy. If your future goal is to live on the beach, and travel internationally on business, and you are working towards that goal, then you may be happy, even if you're old in that process.
I used to fear getting older, mostly because I didn't want to hit the stage where I couldn't compete with the young'uns on the basketball court. I didn't want to get to the world where every day was a work day without real summer/winter vacations and taking a road trip to watch a football game did not happen as often as it should. But, those were all bad because they went against my current mind set. Maybe when I get older, that won't be what I'm looking for in life, and missing out on that won't be as bad.
That being said, as the younger one of our year, I'm going to age a little slower than the others, so thank god for that.
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S.O.T.D.
Outkast - So Fresh, So Clean
Youtube Clip
MJ loses to a CEO at one-on-one. Yes, at basketball, not at managing a company, or say, a basketball team.
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Monday, November 17, 2008
In case you didn't know . . .
- Obama will be the 44th president of the U.S. He is already holding steady on his resolve not to get involved with 'big corporate' in that he is refusing money from large corporate sponsors for the inauguration.
- That being said, president-elects have to fund a good portion of their own inauguration because the government only provides so much.
- Obama is like Michael Jordan. I'm down to be on any team with MJ, and if a = b and b = c, I'm definitely down to be led by Obama. (6th bullet down)
- If you are like me and don't have car, then I have some news for you. Gas is $2.30/gallon
- Former Phoenix Suns Guard Kevin Johnson is the mayor of Sacramento
- Granada Hills felt left out of all the news coverage from the fire in Porter Ranch, so it started it's own.
- USC is ranked 6th in the nation, which means there are 5 teams that are better, but if you go to Vegas and were to look at the point spread for each matchup, USC would be favored against all of those teams. Explain that for me please.
- I had no idea, until prop 8 was passed, how big the bubble I lived in was.
- Yao Ming must now be referred to as Dr. Yao Ming. Isn't his last name Ming? Why does it say Yao on his jersey, he's not Brazillian.
- The waiter at a dinner I went to was Ze Roberto. Thank you Brazillians for inventing that name, I like it. The name also belonged to a soccer player on Brazil.
- What rivalries exist that are legitimate anymore? Cal vs. Stanford? I don't feel it so much. Lakers vs. Celtics? You'll have to talk to 50+ year olds for that one. Yankees vs. Red Sox? I'll give you that one, though now that they are pretty much the same, buy the best team on paper clubs now, I don't see what the fans hate about the other team so much when they look in the mirror every day and are happy with what they see. Nope, I don't think rivalries last more than 2 or 3 years and then fizzle out into memories and constant rehashing from pre-game shows.
- Though it hasn't been advertised as much, do your research before you invest in a MacBook or iPhone . . . There have been a lot of bugs and a lot of firmware fixes that have had to be sent out. I think it is because they have such a large volume customers now, that they can no longer put as much time into quality as they could before.
- I implore all of you to learn how to solder correctly.
- You can now order pizza from your TiVo, but you'll have to like Dominos.
- Blu Ray player prices finally broke $200 without rebates, emphasis on broke
I'm done hibernating . . .
But apparently the Bears and Clippers are not.
Again, sorry for the prolonged absence, hell in the form of midterms coupled with laziness rivaling the defensive 'effort' provided by the 'savior' boom-dizzle (I should receive a pat on the back for refraining from using boom-fizzle to describe his ineptitude) kept me from writing.
As you can sense from the tone of that previous paragraph (I'm big on tone, aren't I?), this here is going to be a slightly more negative post, but hey, maybe there's a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, although on my drive back up from USC, I saw the end of the rainbow, and there definitely was not any gold.
Where to begin, Clips or Cal? Flipped a coin, no identity on one side (representing the Clips), lack of showing up when they need to on the others (representing the Bears) . . . and it fell on the Bears.
California Golden Bears:
Let's start with the defense, because I want to have at least one snippet of hope. I love this defense. In the past 2 years I have been here, I have always had to worry about defense, worry about where we are going to get beat. But you know what? One article I read put it best: this is a championship level defense. We kept USC to 17 points, and it really should have been 10. We have had our faults in allowing Jacquizz Rodgers to tear us apart, but other than that, I am proud of the way our unit played. Our linebackers were amazing, our corners were great, we have some good safeties developing and our line is pretty solid.
Next year, we are going to lose 3 of our starting linebackers, but you know what, we have two pretty good ones remaining in Mike Mohammad and Eddie Young. Our other talents will develop as well.
Now comes the questions about the defense. The 3-4 scheme was designed to take advantage of our amazing linebacking corps. We had the speed and ability to run this defense, but with 3 of our 4 gone, can we still run this defense? If not, we'll have to switch back to the 4-3, which over the past two years (and especially last year) didn't work too well. I'm not going to get into further detail about this, because I don't know all the problems internally the defense had, and I really feel that talent is not the reason our defense ever gets beaten, there is always something else going on, whether it just be sloppy play on our side of the ball, stellar play on the other side, or personal reasons.
Either way, I think we'll be ok there, if not great; there were problems other than the 4-3 on the defense, and I think we've adressed it for the most part.
As you can tell by the hurried way in which I skimmed over the defense, I just wanted to get to the offense and tear them apart like I would a 3rd grader on the basketball court if doing so got me a million bucks. Just kidding, I'm too much of an optimist to tear them up, plus it's just mean, seeing as I can't do any better. But still, I have some harsh words for them.
Kevin Riley/Nate Longshore/QB Position in general
This year was a slight disappointment in that I felt we could have played better than we showed. Teams who scouted us probably changed their QB scout boards from 'pick your poison' to 'pick inconsistency or over throws'. We could have beat Oregon State, we could have beat Arizona, and we definitely could have stayed in the game with USC. We'll just have to see what happens next year, and hopefully, it turns out for the better. All in all, if I had to give us a grade, I'd give us a B-. Passing, a little above average, but not a fundamental understanding of the subject. We need fundamental understanding if we want to be first in the class.
Now, for your, Los Angeles Clippers!
Frustration. Anguish. Cheated. Tormented. These are a few of my fav- sorry, these are a few of the emotions I feel. Bill Simmons calls this team the most jinxed in the NBA, and knowing my luck, I'd end up a Clippers fan. I'm not switching, and I'll never think of switching. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't, not after I received a clippers hat, basketball shorts, and hoodie for my birthday. But you know what? We still deserve better.
This team has no identity. We are 12th in the league in pace; we're outrunning the warriors and suns, yet this Mike Dunleavy team is supposed to run half court sets. We are taking way more outside, long distance shots than mid-range and inside shots, yet we have a 'slashing' PG, and a good center. Players are saying there are too many plays to remember, too many rotations. Coaches are saying that the defensive effort isn't good enough, so we're switching up the players. Blowing big leads. Getting blown out early. Not finishing out close games.
The sad part is, all of this is true, meaning that to get better, the clippers need to fix . . . . wait for it . . . drum roll please . . . everything. Everything needs to be changed. The clippers haven't been the best of teams for a long time. Even still, 1-6, which is where we are at now, is the worst start we've had in a LONG time, as in at least a decade.
I understand we are building for the future with all of these contracts that expire in 2010. But you know what, we need to build up from the bottom again, just like the Blazers. We need to find a core player to build around, whether it's Baron Davis or not, and provide good locker room guys who have the drive and talent to take this team far, year in, year out.
Solutions? Wait. Wait until free agency. This team is too . . . weird, dysfunctional, different, to be able to win now. Every player is going to be playing for their contract, becasue they know they're not going to be here this time next year. It's a horrible feeling for a fan, and it hurts to know that this year is basically wasted. But all you can do is go watch a game or two, look for the current mainstays, B-Diddy and Kamen, to get better, and start looking at the free agent list and dreaming of a lineup of Bosh, LeBron, Baron Davis, Kamen, and Thorton.
To rebuild, you have to break some things down. This is the break down stage, and you know what, it stinks. Light at the end of the tunnel? I've been saying that for far too long. We'll see if that light is coming up this offseason. Until then, I'll continue to check up box scores and read ClipperBlog, but if they're going into hibernation during the season, then why can't I as well.
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S.O.T.D.
N.E.R.D. - Spaz
Youtube Clip:
Clippers Ineptitude
Again, sorry for the prolonged absence, hell in the form of midterms coupled with laziness rivaling the defensive 'effort' provided by the 'savior' boom-dizzle (I should receive a pat on the back for refraining from using boom-fizzle to describe his ineptitude) kept me from writing.
As you can sense from the tone of that previous paragraph (I'm big on tone, aren't I?), this here is going to be a slightly more negative post, but hey, maybe there's a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, although on my drive back up from USC, I saw the end of the rainbow, and there definitely was not any gold.
Where to begin, Clips or Cal? Flipped a coin, no identity on one side (representing the Clips), lack of showing up when they need to on the others (representing the Bears) . . . and it fell on the Bears.
California Golden Bears:
Let's start with the defense, because I want to have at least one snippet of hope. I love this defense. In the past 2 years I have been here, I have always had to worry about defense, worry about where we are going to get beat. But you know what? One article I read put it best: this is a championship level defense. We kept USC to 17 points, and it really should have been 10. We have had our faults in allowing Jacquizz Rodgers to tear us apart, but other than that, I am proud of the way our unit played. Our linebackers were amazing, our corners were great, we have some good safeties developing and our line is pretty solid.
Next year, we are going to lose 3 of our starting linebackers, but you know what, we have two pretty good ones remaining in Mike Mohammad and Eddie Young. Our other talents will develop as well.
Now comes the questions about the defense. The 3-4 scheme was designed to take advantage of our amazing linebacking corps. We had the speed and ability to run this defense, but with 3 of our 4 gone, can we still run this defense? If not, we'll have to switch back to the 4-3, which over the past two years (and especially last year) didn't work too well. I'm not going to get into further detail about this, because I don't know all the problems internally the defense had, and I really feel that talent is not the reason our defense ever gets beaten, there is always something else going on, whether it just be sloppy play on our side of the ball, stellar play on the other side, or personal reasons.
Either way, I think we'll be ok there, if not great; there were problems other than the 4-3 on the defense, and I think we've adressed it for the most part.
As you can tell by the hurried way in which I skimmed over the defense, I just wanted to get to the offense and tear them apart like I would a 3rd grader on the basketball court if doing so got me a million bucks. Just kidding, I'm too much of an optimist to tear them up, plus it's just mean, seeing as I can't do any better. But still, I have some harsh words for them.
Kevin Riley/Nate Longshore/QB Position in general
- This year, it was obviously inconsistent. Longshore became hesitant in the second half, so much so, that a normal, par performance that made no mistakes, but did nothing special was received with happiness and thrill, even from me. Thats never a good sign. Riley was mobile, and made big plays, but man, he needs to hit open receivers IN STRIDE. Notice the in stride. Personally, I believe his focus on making the pass meet the receiver in his hands kept him from getting the ball in the best position for yards after the catch. Commentators on ABC talked about how our receivers weren't getting much YAC, but if you get a ball that stops you in your tracks, you're going to get hit before you can get back up to speed.
- Solution? Longshore graduates, that problem is gone. Easy, huh? For Riley, go to ESPN zone, and play that game where you throw footballs to moving cardboard pieces with holes in them. Improves accuracy and you learn to hit receivers in stride. All summer. So much so that it becomes second nature and he can focus on winning a game rather than just managing it.
- Outlook? Good. I can see him putting in the time and improving. The job is his alone next year, and he can focus on getting better as a junior
- Our focal points of offense this year should only get better. There isn't anything else positive to say about them that hasn't already been said: they are both quick game changers that can break free for 30 yards at any given moment.
- Changes still need to be made though if this tandem wants to be one of the best in the nation, which is where their ceiling is. Jahvid just needs to focus on game tape and learn how to either get through holes quicker, or recognize defensive tendencies. These are basically 'the little things'. He has all the physical gifts, and he already breaks off huge runs, but sometimes he gets caught right before he is about to break off a big run. Yeah, I'm nitpicking, but if what I have read about him is true, he'll nitpick at himself as well. And that is what I want.
- As for Shane Vereen, he has been known as the 'Lightning' to this 'Lightning and Lightning' combo, but I feel that he hasn't reached that category yet. He is a great back, and I see him as the Forsett to the Lynch, but he can get stronger, and again, game tape watching will help him out.
- Yes, this is nitpicking again, but there's not much that these guys didn't do for us. Hopefully they continue to get better and lead us to the top.
- Injuries, injuries, injuries. And still, our line did a better than serviceable job. I can't say anything bad about them, because they probably had the hardest year out of any of the other positions on the team.
- We lose Alex Mack to the NFL, but his backup Chris Guarnero is supposed to be a big talent. He filled in at OT this year, but got injured . . .again, like most of the offensive line. The only good thing about this is that the young guns got playing time, and were thrown around just enough that their confidence wasn't shot, but so that they could see they have a LOT of work to do in the offseason. This translates to a good training camp and hopefully a good year next year for our highly touted 2007 O-line draft class. We'll see what happens, it is still, like always, a toss up.
- I know their names, I just refuse to use them until one, or even two if I dare hope, of them can separate themselves from the pack. Personally, I believe a lot of the times it is either Riley or Longshore's fault for them not being able to catch passes. When you run as fast as they do, and then throw the ball behind them, short, or too high, you're asking them to act on reflexes when they've been trained week in and week out to keep to their routes and expect the ball in a catchable place. At the same time, there were still way too many dropped passes, and route running can always be better.
- The positive? They are all young, and we aren't losing any real talent this year, so there's a good chance we will be better in this area next year. Tons of upside, but that means nothing on the football field.
- Tedford, if you are reading this blog, as I know you look for only the best in football advice, I suggest the Hofstra receiver training program to help our receivers catch the ball (worked for Marques Colston of the Saints): color the tips of each football a different color, and in the middle of the football, write any number from 0-9. When your receiver runs a route in practice and the coach throws the ball, the receiver must 1) yell out the color of the ball and 2) after catching the ball, yell out the number on the ball. Yelling out the color forces the receiver to focus on the ball as it's coming so they don't worry about what is happening around them. Yelling out the number makes sure they secure it (so they can read the number) and guarantee the catch first.
This year was a slight disappointment in that I felt we could have played better than we showed. Teams who scouted us probably changed their QB scout boards from 'pick your poison' to 'pick inconsistency or over throws'. We could have beat Oregon State, we could have beat Arizona, and we definitely could have stayed in the game with USC. We'll just have to see what happens next year, and hopefully, it turns out for the better. All in all, if I had to give us a grade, I'd give us a B-. Passing, a little above average, but not a fundamental understanding of the subject. We need fundamental understanding if we want to be first in the class.
Now, for your, Los Angeles Clippers!
Frustration. Anguish. Cheated. Tormented. These are a few of my fav- sorry, these are a few of the emotions I feel. Bill Simmons calls this team the most jinxed in the NBA, and knowing my luck, I'd end up a Clippers fan. I'm not switching, and I'll never think of switching. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't, not after I received a clippers hat, basketball shorts, and hoodie for my birthday. But you know what? We still deserve better.
This team has no identity. We are 12th in the league in pace; we're outrunning the warriors and suns, yet this Mike Dunleavy team is supposed to run half court sets. We are taking way more outside, long distance shots than mid-range and inside shots, yet we have a 'slashing' PG, and a good center. Players are saying there are too many plays to remember, too many rotations. Coaches are saying that the defensive effort isn't good enough, so we're switching up the players. Blowing big leads. Getting blown out early. Not finishing out close games.
The sad part is, all of this is true, meaning that to get better, the clippers need to fix . . . . wait for it . . . drum roll please . . . everything. Everything needs to be changed. The clippers haven't been the best of teams for a long time. Even still, 1-6, which is where we are at now, is the worst start we've had in a LONG time, as in at least a decade.
I understand we are building for the future with all of these contracts that expire in 2010. But you know what, we need to build up from the bottom again, just like the Blazers. We need to find a core player to build around, whether it's Baron Davis or not, and provide good locker room guys who have the drive and talent to take this team far, year in, year out.
Solutions? Wait. Wait until free agency. This team is too . . . weird, dysfunctional, different, to be able to win now. Every player is going to be playing for their contract, becasue they know they're not going to be here this time next year. It's a horrible feeling for a fan, and it hurts to know that this year is basically wasted. But all you can do is go watch a game or two, look for the current mainstays, B-Diddy and Kamen, to get better, and start looking at the free agent list and dreaming of a lineup of Bosh, LeBron, Baron Davis, Kamen, and Thorton.
To rebuild, you have to break some things down. This is the break down stage, and you know what, it stinks. Light at the end of the tunnel? I've been saying that for far too long. We'll see if that light is coming up this offseason. Until then, I'll continue to check up box scores and read ClipperBlog, but if they're going into hibernation during the season, then why can't I as well.
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S.O.T.D.
N.E.R.D. - Spaz
Youtube Clip:
Clippers Ineptitude
Monday, October 20, 2008
So cruel it shouild be illegal
This past Saturday, the Cal Bears football team lost to Arizona in Tuscon and with it, their week long residency as the #25 team in the nation. Now under heavy analysis this past weekend, I have narrowed down the reasons for them losing to some or all of the things in this list:
Our defense missed tackles left and right, and we let their running back, an unheralded freshman, look like a top 3 Pac-10 runningback.
Our quarterbacks, (becasue we used both at one point), underthrew, overthrew, threw behind, threw ahead, but rarely hit our receivers perfectly in stride. And when they did, there were many times our receivers dropped the ball. For a recruiting class of receivers that ranked #7 in the nation, that can't happen.
Basically, top down, we were shaky. We were up 10 in the first half, but just gave it away.
What is so cruel that it should be illegal? The hope that a team gives to a fan. When they are on a winning streak, a fan is at an ultimate high. The school week becomes bear-able (sorry, couldn't resist), and I look forward to the next game. I love reading the cal football blogs, becasue they have positive analysis about our play, and even when there are negatives, it's more of a "this can be changed by next week". It's hope. It's going forward believing you can have success and garner national attention.
But when you lose, oh man. Because college football is a 'what have you done for me lately' sport, any loss the later you get into the season not only shoots you in the foot for the standings, but kills you for the next year when the initial rankings come out. You'll have to win out to just crack the rankings. And if you lose just once, you're thrown back into oblivion. Teetering at #25, we needed to win out to get some respect, and potentially challenge USC for the rose bowl (assuming no one else matters). Even though with this loss, we are still tied for first in the Pac-10, it feels like we have already lost.
I know we'll win 6 games by the end of the year, become bowl elligible, and have a decent season. But like an Asian mom who demands perfection of their kid, I'm not satisfied with a B average (grades slipped from B+ with this loss). I want straight A's, and there is no reason they can't get it!!
But what just hit me was that maybe I have to step back from asian-mom status and look at it objectively. They are a young team, they have made mistakes, and they can't win a big one when it really matters right now. Maybe they are a B average team, and I have to be happy when we play games at a B+/A- level.
Or maybe I should continue to demand perfection from this team, because if they don't push themselves for that top spot, then they don't deserve to play football. You play to win, and nothing else. Take the loss in stride, get better. Fix the mistakes, prepare the team as best as you can, practice hard. Each saturday is a new day, a new chance to win. And if they focus on that, the success will come by itself.
I like the latter choice better. It hurts to lose, but when they win, it's an awesome feeling. I'm pumped for the rest of the week.
The Play
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S.O.T.D.
The World Is (Below the Heavens) - Blu
- I wasn't wearing this year's Cal football shirt, I was wearing last years shirt
- We had touchdown starburst's, which seems ok until you notice that the previous times we did TD brownies and cream puffs, losses resulted
- We were watching the game at my place, which we never do
- We didn't watch the halftime analysis and instead played mario kart
- I didn't study enough before the game, and this was my punishment
- I wasn't worried about winning the game, because I thought we would show up and win
Our defense missed tackles left and right, and we let their running back, an unheralded freshman, look like a top 3 Pac-10 runningback.
Our quarterbacks, (becasue we used both at one point), underthrew, overthrew, threw behind, threw ahead, but rarely hit our receivers perfectly in stride. And when they did, there were many times our receivers dropped the ball. For a recruiting class of receivers that ranked #7 in the nation, that can't happen.
Basically, top down, we were shaky. We were up 10 in the first half, but just gave it away.
What is so cruel that it should be illegal? The hope that a team gives to a fan. When they are on a winning streak, a fan is at an ultimate high. The school week becomes bear-able (sorry, couldn't resist), and I look forward to the next game. I love reading the cal football blogs, becasue they have positive analysis about our play, and even when there are negatives, it's more of a "this can be changed by next week". It's hope. It's going forward believing you can have success and garner national attention.
But when you lose, oh man. Because college football is a 'what have you done for me lately' sport, any loss the later you get into the season not only shoots you in the foot for the standings, but kills you for the next year when the initial rankings come out. You'll have to win out to just crack the rankings. And if you lose just once, you're thrown back into oblivion. Teetering at #25, we needed to win out to get some respect, and potentially challenge USC for the rose bowl (assuming no one else matters). Even though with this loss, we are still tied for first in the Pac-10, it feels like we have already lost.
I know we'll win 6 games by the end of the year, become bowl elligible, and have a decent season. But like an Asian mom who demands perfection of their kid, I'm not satisfied with a B average (grades slipped from B+ with this loss). I want straight A's, and there is no reason they can't get it!!
But what just hit me was that maybe I have to step back from asian-mom status and look at it objectively. They are a young team, they have made mistakes, and they can't win a big one when it really matters right now. Maybe they are a B average team, and I have to be happy when we play games at a B+/A- level.
Or maybe I should continue to demand perfection from this team, because if they don't push themselves for that top spot, then they don't deserve to play football. You play to win, and nothing else. Take the loss in stride, get better. Fix the mistakes, prepare the team as best as you can, practice hard. Each saturday is a new day, a new chance to win. And if they focus on that, the success will come by itself.
I like the latter choice better. It hurts to lose, but when they win, it's an awesome feeling. I'm pumped for the rest of the week.
The Play
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S.O.T.D.
The World Is (Below the Heavens) - Blu
Friday, October 17, 2008
The Art of the Upset
Every week, in college football, there is at least one upset. Some unranked, or lower ranked team take out a quality team in some fashion, whether it a be blow out, ora close game. How does this happen?
We'll use USC/Oregon State as an example, because their polar differences make this easier to describe.
USC is a powerhouse. The name Pete Carroll is known to every high school football player, every D1 hopeful, whether they like USC or not. And if he or his contingents come knocking at your door, you know you're big time. USC recruits the best of the best of the best. Of the best. Talent wise, they have no match in all the nation.
Let's juxtapose this with Oregon State, a middle of the pac-10 (pun intended) team. They get quality, hard working players who had nothing handed to them. Their raw talent is not as high as those of USC, but they may know how to play the game, they may have talent, maybe not the right body. Jacquizz Rodgers, for example, is a 5'7 first string running back, who wouldn't even get blinked at by USC recruiters.
Big difference, right? Somehow, these Oregon State players got motivated to come together, make the big plays, and take out mighty USC. I've narrowed it down to 1 reason.
Motivation.
That sounds stupid at first, like 'what do you want to eat' 'uhh, food'. But even though it's a general term, it's the core of the upset.
It starts with the coaches, because no matter how talented or not your players are, the preparation you put them through plays a vital role in determining the outcome of the game. If the best team in the world has a coach who doesn't notice the other teamsNFL Blitz '99-like play that keeps getting touchdowns, then you're guaranteed that the other team will score that way in the game.
At the same time, if the coach looks at every facet of the game, has watched every play, every tendency of the opposing team, and has provided that information to his own team, then all that is left is execution. If executed well, victory will always be within grasp.
Coaches are important. At the end of the day, however, the players themselves are of utmost importance in making an upset a reality.
Every player, whether it be the scout team players who don't play to the to-be-outmatched safety, must believe not only that they can win, but that they will win. Every player, every coach, everyone on the team. The second that someone feels outmatched, or that they can't do their job, they instantly concede defeat. You lose the will to work harder, to push that extra bit, that will to dig in when you have nothing left, when you need a big play.
If you lose that fear, if you feel that regardless of who you are facing, you know that you have the capability of playing great, that you can trust in the countless hours of training, tons of video you watched, and your general talent, then you have the chance to do something great on the field. When every player on a team feels like this, the whole team comes together, and you can just feel the energy gushing out.
Upsets don't usually work. Usually the other team is prepared, too talented, whatever you want to call it. But every week, you'll find a team that had all those qualities listed above, and found success. That is the beauty of sports. That also leads me to my next question:
Why can't we do the same thing on our respective intramural teams? Let me make one thing clear first: I have never played on a team where people didn't try their hardest, regardless of whether we were up 20 or down 30, everyone hustled on defense and played to the last second. Trying hard, however, is not the same as believing you can win. I understand that no team trains for games, watches video footage, and puts everything into their games. Except maybe frat teams with nothing better to do. But getting on that page where you all feel that you can beat a team is more important than anything in an upset. Yeah, upsets don't always work. But every time you're an underdog, you fight for that one time where it does.
All this put into a clip on VM Sports
We'll use USC/Oregon State as an example, because their polar differences make this easier to describe.
USC is a powerhouse. The name Pete Carroll is known to every high school football player, every D1 hopeful, whether they like USC or not. And if he or his contingents come knocking at your door, you know you're big time. USC recruits the best of the best of the best. Of the best. Talent wise, they have no match in all the nation.
Let's juxtapose this with Oregon State, a middle of the pac-10 (pun intended) team. They get quality, hard working players who had nothing handed to them. Their raw talent is not as high as those of USC, but they may know how to play the game, they may have talent, maybe not the right body. Jacquizz Rodgers, for example, is a 5'7 first string running back, who wouldn't even get blinked at by USC recruiters.
Big difference, right? Somehow, these Oregon State players got motivated to come together, make the big plays, and take out mighty USC. I've narrowed it down to 1 reason.
Motivation.
That sounds stupid at first, like 'what do you want to eat' 'uhh, food'. But even though it's a general term, it's the core of the upset.
It starts with the coaches, because no matter how talented or not your players are, the preparation you put them through plays a vital role in determining the outcome of the game. If the best team in the world has a coach who doesn't notice the other teamsNFL Blitz '99-like play that keeps getting touchdowns, then you're guaranteed that the other team will score that way in the game.
At the same time, if the coach looks at every facet of the game, has watched every play, every tendency of the opposing team, and has provided that information to his own team, then all that is left is execution. If executed well, victory will always be within grasp.
Coaches are important. At the end of the day, however, the players themselves are of utmost importance in making an upset a reality.
Every player, whether it be the scout team players who don't play to the to-be-outmatched safety, must believe not only that they can win, but that they will win. Every player, every coach, everyone on the team. The second that someone feels outmatched, or that they can't do their job, they instantly concede defeat. You lose the will to work harder, to push that extra bit, that will to dig in when you have nothing left, when you need a big play.
If you lose that fear, if you feel that regardless of who you are facing, you know that you have the capability of playing great, that you can trust in the countless hours of training, tons of video you watched, and your general talent, then you have the chance to do something great on the field. When every player on a team feels like this, the whole team comes together, and you can just feel the energy gushing out.
Upsets don't usually work. Usually the other team is prepared, too talented, whatever you want to call it. But every week, you'll find a team that had all those qualities listed above, and found success. That is the beauty of sports. That also leads me to my next question:
Why can't we do the same thing on our respective intramural teams? Let me make one thing clear first: I have never played on a team where people didn't try their hardest, regardless of whether we were up 20 or down 30, everyone hustled on defense and played to the last second. Trying hard, however, is not the same as believing you can win. I understand that no team trains for games, watches video footage, and puts everything into their games. Except maybe frat teams with nothing better to do. But getting on that page where you all feel that you can beat a team is more important than anything in an upset. Yeah, upsets don't always work. But every time you're an underdog, you fight for that one time where it does.
All this put into a clip on VM Sports
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Links
I'm fresh out of things to write, but unlike many other writers who instead write an article on some overly abused topic without much of their own opinion thrown in, I will admit it, and simultaneously, propose a solution. I know, I know, sheer brilliance.
On days like this, I'll just spam you with links of random things, it could be articles, pictures, youtube clips . . . well I guess that's all I could possibly link you to. Except for a link to download a file, which I won't do. So let's get this show on the road.
On days like this, I'll just spam you with links of random things, it could be articles, pictures, youtube clips . . . well I guess that's all I could possibly link you to. Except for a link to download a file, which I won't do. So let's get this show on the road.
- Too close for comfort, but thank god for live news. (Link to pics from Vishal of VM Sports)
- This brought me a smile. And this. And this. Can't forget about hustler's.
- I'm a California Bear, you can catch me on my grizzly.
- New MacBook and MacBook Pro, revealed today. Regardless of my anti-apple bias, you can't argue with this comment about it.
- Up there on the unintentional comedy scale. Well unintentional for that guy. He was serious.
- My favorite soccer player of all time. He played with calm (for the most part), and had amazing ball control, great passes, and even better finishes.
- Zack Follett's (One of Cal's touted linebackers) first ever tackle in elementary school. A good article about him.
- You know what he did?
- I'm going to kick his ask.
- The glory days, with a random song in the background by this dude.
- New addition to the team, thanks to eBay. Going through its physical right now, but should go through and report to training camp within the next week or so.
- I'll be educational for a bit. An election article.
- Can't finish this off without a classic. Or two.
Friday, October 10, 2008
11/4 and 10/15
This is too important an election not to have a post within three weeks of the election. Sports will have to . . . . wait *gasp!*
The next presidential debate is October 15, 2008, at 6pm on CNN for those of you who didn't know. Whether you don't care or are ridiculously interested, I recommend watching this one; it's the last debate, and your last chance to hear the promises that these candidates make before one of them steps into the White House.
Not convinced? Watch because there are going to be 'fighting words', at least political fighting words, on display all throughout this debate. It's not only your last chance to watch a debate for this election, but the candidates last chance to make the other candidate look like a fool. They've held their tricks up their sleeve, saved the best for last, and are ready to deliver the knockout punch in the 10th round. They need your votes; don't tell me you wouldn't vote for McCain if you found out Obama was sleeping with Paris Hilton or vote for Obama if you found out McCain was an identity thief. Some things are going to be said, and I wouldn't be surprised if McCain physically attacks Obama in anger after this. Who would the winner be . . . Obama looks like he could take McCain, but McCain survived torture. I just can't tell.
The candidates want to tell you the plans they have for the administration they would be running. What to do about the economy. How they are going to change America for the better. And no message about their own campaign is more important than "the other guy just doesn't get it" or "he will increase taxes" as well as the almost 95% guaranteed to come out "that man is affiliated with a terrorist". If you were merely acceptable in your high school english classes, you should have gleaned the tone and read between the lines of this paragraph. If not, then tell all your friends the Clippers are the best team in the NBA right now.
Understand one thing. My friends, watching this debate for the sake of learning their true policies in full is as dumb as picking Stanford to win the BCS Championship this year. The candidates, my friends, will tell you everything you want to hear. Lower taxes. Better economy. Victory in wars overseas. Better health care. Candy for everyone. My friends, there will be a better world. Those aren't the reasons you should watch the debate, my friends.
These are the real reasons:
The next presidential debate is October 15, 2008, at 6pm on CNN for those of you who didn't know. Whether you don't care or are ridiculously interested, I recommend watching this one; it's the last debate, and your last chance to hear the promises that these candidates make before one of them steps into the White House.
Not convinced? Watch because there are going to be 'fighting words', at least political fighting words, on display all throughout this debate. It's not only your last chance to watch a debate for this election, but the candidates last chance to make the other candidate look like a fool. They've held their tricks up their sleeve, saved the best for last, and are ready to deliver the knockout punch in the 10th round. They need your votes; don't tell me you wouldn't vote for McCain if you found out Obama was sleeping with Paris Hilton or vote for Obama if you found out McCain was an identity thief. Some things are going to be said, and I wouldn't be surprised if McCain physically attacks Obama in anger after this. Who would the winner be . . . Obama looks like he could take McCain, but McCain survived torture. I just can't tell.
The candidates want to tell you the plans they have for the administration they would be running. What to do about the economy. How they are going to change America for the better. And no message about their own campaign is more important than "the other guy just doesn't get it" or "he will increase taxes" as well as the almost 95% guaranteed to come out "that man is affiliated with a terrorist". If you were merely acceptable in your high school english classes, you should have gleaned the tone and read between the lines of this paragraph. If not, then tell all your friends the Clippers are the best team in the NBA right now.
Understand one thing. My friends, watching this debate for the sake of learning their true policies in full is as dumb as picking Stanford to win the BCS Championship this year. The candidates, my friends, will tell you everything you want to hear. Lower taxes. Better economy. Victory in wars overseas. Better health care. Candy for everyone. My friends, there will be a better world. Those aren't the reasons you should watch the debate, my friends.
These are the real reasons:
- The fighting words
- To feel smart
- To reassure yourself that moving to Europe if the candidate you're not going to vote for wins, is not the best idea
- To reassure yourself that moving to Europe is definitely the best idea
- You've put off caring about the election long enough
- To watch the SNL election special on Thursday at 8:30 on NBC, where they make fun of the debate that just took place. They do a good job too.
- I'll admit, they do talk about some of their plans. You may find that you disagree with some of the policies the candidates talk about (i.e. McCain's 'spending freeze' or Obama's 'spending spree')
- Getting a feel for the tendencies of the candidates, though that depends on how they word things, their responses to attacks from the other candidates, etc.
- Noticing when one candidate brings up a point about the other, and the other does nothing to refute it, but instead, transitions the topic (they're very well trained at that) to avoid the subject. May hint at the truth of their policies
- To celebrate the fact that whichever of these candidates wins, George Bush is stepping down in January
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Questions . . .
I have some questions about random stuff, so if you know the answer to any of these, please make my day. Some are rhetorical though. Go ahead and answer those if you want, it'll still make my day.
- At fast food restaurants, if it's old school, the order gets put on paper, and then put on a 'bulletin board' like thing that holds it up for the chef's (cooks? workers? what would you use? ahh, yet another question to be answered) to see and work with. Well how does that thing hold the slips of paper? It can't be a clip, because whoever puts it there practically throws it on there and it just sticks. Anyone?
- What? Lil' Wayne has a blog? What? He blogs for ESPN? What? He is so serious about it, he got an ESPN tattoo? What? It's actually an alright sports blog and kinda interesting to read? (No, seriously. Check it out.)
- How screwed is the economy? The previous two Tuesday Morning Quarterbacks (on ESPN), Gregg Easterbrook wrote about how these bailout plans are pretty ridiculous and how the next generation (wait, you mean my generation??) is going to have to pay heavily for it. So again, I implore, how screwed are we, and who is down to move to Europe and keep me company? I hear their European (American) Football League is the fourth best league in the world.
- Why is this foam padding that I see on my right made of hexagonal structures . . . I want to take it, but it's part of the machine . . . Do you think anyone will notice? Trust me, it's worth it, I just need that second opinion.
- How did Shaun Livingston's knee injury not get career ending status (correct me if I'm wrong), yet Darius Mile's knees that just got normal 'athlete' surgury (I think it's arthroscopic, might have been something else in this case) get that tag? Will Livingston become competent again? He is playing in Miami (apparently), and the PG role is wide open
- Will the Boom Tho movement gain in France?
- Will shirt.woot.com ever come out with another good shirt? It's been 2 months since I saw a good one worth buying. And these are $10 good quality shirts. The designs just aren't that amazing right now
- Will the Zune overtake the iPod in the next 3 or 4 years? (One of those rhetorical questions again, with the obvious answer being a resounding yes we can. This message is approved by Obama)
- If Lil' Wayne or T.I. suddenly dropped dead, would there be a tribute at the VMA's, Grammy's, BET Awards, etc.? They are established in the mainstream music industry, but is it enough to warrant an actual tribute? Biggie and Tupac get tributes, but Dwyane Carter and Cliffort Joseph Harris Jr.?
- Gotta go with the classic: how many licks does it take to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop. BUT. Don't google that question. I don't care whose daughter did what test. I need raw, unused data. So quit reading this without a tootsie pop in your mouth, and get cracking. Or licking.
- Seriously. How was the first computer programmed. Don't say punch cards, because that means that you put punch cards into a machine and it knows what to do with that stuff by itself. How? That thing that knows what to do with the punch cards is a computer itself. So how was that made.
- What do you think of Phillip Rivers in comparison to the new, young core of quarterbacks, a.k.a. Romo, Palmer, Rodgers, Roethlisburger, Cutler? I feel he is overrated, and a punk. And you know what I think about punks.
- Last question of the day: will Gilbert Arenas return to full form, or will he become the new Allan Houston?
Monday, September 29, 2008
White Chocolate
No, not the food. Although I have some on my table at home right now, Cadbury, and man, that stuff is pretty good. So stop by if you want some.
I'm talking about Jason Williams, the once-flashy point guard whose passes and plays are ridiculous.
Jason Williams came into the league out of Florida University, was drafted by the Sacramento Kings, and instantly started crossing people over left and right, throwing three-quarter court alley-oops, three-quarter court bounce passes, the works.
He was fun to watch, and passing wise, fundamentally sound. He knew where everyone was on the court, and always found people perfectly in stride. He threw his passes exactly where the person would be with the correct speed, correct height, everything. Man, it was just pretty.
When he'd train in the offseason, before he's even take one shot, he would spend three hours just dribbling, throwing passes, and working on wrist strength. Three hours of handling practice to make sure that any pass, flashy or normal, got to the person at the perfect height, perfect time, right where they'd want it.
Two of his passes stand out to me in particular, one of which is in the clip, and one of which isn't. The one in the clip is the 3/4 court bounce pass, mainly because of its sheer difficulty, and his ability to do it in stride. The second one is just a simple bounce pass to a man coming around a screen. The pass is made before the guy even comes around, and it is made at a slow enough speed to allow him to come around, but quick enough for it not to be stolen. Right when the man comes off the screen, the ball is in his hands. This allows for the player to know that as soon as he passes the man, he can just set his feet because by the time he is set, the ball will be in his hands, just where he likes it.
The precision to make that happen is ridiculous, and his skill actually inspired me to become a better passer when I was younger. I still try to focus more on passing, getting the ball to the man at the right place, right time, above scoring.
He was never the best player on his team, never a great player, but his passing will be missed, maybe not by too many people, but definitely by me.
I'm talking about Jason Williams, the once-flashy point guard whose passes and plays are ridiculous.
Jason Williams came into the league out of Florida University, was drafted by the Sacramento Kings, and instantly started crossing people over left and right, throwing three-quarter court alley-oops, three-quarter court bounce passes, the works.
He was fun to watch, and passing wise, fundamentally sound. He knew where everyone was on the court, and always found people perfectly in stride. He threw his passes exactly where the person would be with the correct speed, correct height, everything. Man, it was just pretty.
When he'd train in the offseason, before he's even take one shot, he would spend three hours just dribbling, throwing passes, and working on wrist strength. Three hours of handling practice to make sure that any pass, flashy or normal, got to the person at the perfect height, perfect time, right where they'd want it.
Two of his passes stand out to me in particular, one of which is in the clip, and one of which isn't. The one in the clip is the 3/4 court bounce pass, mainly because of its sheer difficulty, and his ability to do it in stride. The second one is just a simple bounce pass to a man coming around a screen. The pass is made before the guy even comes around, and it is made at a slow enough speed to allow him to come around, but quick enough for it not to be stolen. Right when the man comes off the screen, the ball is in his hands. This allows for the player to know that as soon as he passes the man, he can just set his feet because by the time he is set, the ball will be in his hands, just where he likes it.
The precision to make that happen is ridiculous, and his skill actually inspired me to become a better passer when I was younger. I still try to focus more on passing, getting the ball to the man at the right place, right time, above scoring.
He was never the best player on his team, never a great player, but his passing will be missed, maybe not by too many people, but definitely by me.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
A Need for Originality
If I somehow ever decide to switch out of mechanical engineering and decide to become a 2nd or 3rd grade teacher, my school year will consist of lessons centered around kids learning to think for themselves and form their opinions.
Since there is a better chance I come to the conclusion that I can walk on the Cal basketball team, I will just have to post about it.
Sports, and public perception in general, has gone too much towards numbers and statistics, something that not only is annoying because there are many factors that are not taken into play, but is something that holds us back as a people (sounds weird, but I think that's the correct grammatical use . . .)
Many articles I have read by so-called experts on Yahoo and ESPN have told me nothing of real substance; they rehash information, pull up statistics as if they are everything (read: John Hollinger), and come to conclusions without looking at other factors such as personal situations, motivation, momentum, things that can truly sway teams.
Because of this, I feel that this generation, and in turn, the younger generation, no longer understands sports.
I am not going to go around and act like I understand sports, because I don't understand every facet; I don't understand all the plays, nickel and dime packages (which one is which . . .?), I don't keep up with fantasy production as much as I'd like to (1-2 in my league so far, I'll make a comeback). I do feel, however, that because my youth was filled with more playing sports than analyzing and looking up stats, that I look at teams and players differently, and analyze them based on what I used to feel going into different games with injuries to our best player, playing multiple times in a weekend, or coming off a big win as an underrated team.
I am not touting my method as the way to understand sports. I am saying that sports is to be enjoyed, and when analyzed, analyzed with an open mind and an individual opinion, something that definitely does not require numbers and statistics at all.
Everyone is listening and reading, which is fine, but most are quick to adopt the ideas of the authors of magazines and websites, and continue to tout them without much thought and questioning. A prime example of this, which continues to annoy me, is the knee injury that occurred to Paul Pierce during Game 1. For those of you who don't know, Pierce went down with what seemed like a severe knee injury in the middle of Game 1 of the NBA Finals, was even carted off in a wheel chair, but somehow came back to win the game for the Celtics.
Many fans were annoyed and thought Paul Pierce was faking, and continued to make a big fuss about it. I understood their initial anger, because, as I know myself, losing sucks, and people tend to become irrational after a loss. But after time passes, opinions can still be formed, and it was disappointing to find that this didn't happen readily for the Pierce situation. Let me ask those fans this: do they know Paul Pierce's history of injuries/returns? Have they ever had a knee injury? Do they understand Paul Pierce, where he came from, and the type of player he is? If they look that up, and dig deeper than what is at the surface, they will come to another conclusion.
I want to stress that there is no wrong way to look at sports; as long as you enjoy it, then sports has done its job from an entertainment standpoint. But if all you look at is the obvious, and what can be calculated, you're missing out on the greatest part of sports: the fact that its unpredictable.
Since there is a better chance I come to the conclusion that I can walk on the Cal basketball team, I will just have to post about it.
Sports, and public perception in general, has gone too much towards numbers and statistics, something that not only is annoying because there are many factors that are not taken into play, but is something that holds us back as a people (sounds weird, but I think that's the correct grammatical use . . .)
Many articles I have read by so-called experts on Yahoo and ESPN have told me nothing of real substance; they rehash information, pull up statistics as if they are everything (read: John Hollinger), and come to conclusions without looking at other factors such as personal situations, motivation, momentum, things that can truly sway teams.
Because of this, I feel that this generation, and in turn, the younger generation, no longer understands sports.
I am not going to go around and act like I understand sports, because I don't understand every facet; I don't understand all the plays, nickel and dime packages (which one is which . . .?), I don't keep up with fantasy production as much as I'd like to (1-2 in my league so far, I'll make a comeback). I do feel, however, that because my youth was filled with more playing sports than analyzing and looking up stats, that I look at teams and players differently, and analyze them based on what I used to feel going into different games with injuries to our best player, playing multiple times in a weekend, or coming off a big win as an underrated team.
I am not touting my method as the way to understand sports. I am saying that sports is to be enjoyed, and when analyzed, analyzed with an open mind and an individual opinion, something that definitely does not require numbers and statistics at all.
Everyone is listening and reading, which is fine, but most are quick to adopt the ideas of the authors of magazines and websites, and continue to tout them without much thought and questioning. A prime example of this, which continues to annoy me, is the knee injury that occurred to Paul Pierce during Game 1. For those of you who don't know, Pierce went down with what seemed like a severe knee injury in the middle of Game 1 of the NBA Finals, was even carted off in a wheel chair, but somehow came back to win the game for the Celtics.
Many fans were annoyed and thought Paul Pierce was faking, and continued to make a big fuss about it. I understood their initial anger, because, as I know myself, losing sucks, and people tend to become irrational after a loss. But after time passes, opinions can still be formed, and it was disappointing to find that this didn't happen readily for the Pierce situation. Let me ask those fans this: do they know Paul Pierce's history of injuries/returns? Have they ever had a knee injury? Do they understand Paul Pierce, where he came from, and the type of player he is? If they look that up, and dig deeper than what is at the surface, they will come to another conclusion.
I want to stress that there is no wrong way to look at sports; as long as you enjoy it, then sports has done its job from an entertainment standpoint. But if all you look at is the obvious, and what can be calculated, you're missing out on the greatest part of sports: the fact that its unpredictable.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Gotta Love that Zune
Third Microsoft commercial, aired yesterday on The Office. Makes more sense, and gets its point across well, I feel.
Yes, yes indeed, I am on a mission to convert the ignorant (read: iPod owners) to the light.
That's not the way to start if I'm trying to win people over, is it. Ok, let me start over. While I understand your choice of the iPod, and I do not deny it's success and great features, I strongly feel that Microsoft is making a case, slowly, that it is a player to take into serious consideration when purchasing your next music player, because you know you are going to get another one within the next 3 or 4 years.
Let us first discuss the reasons why you purchased the iPod:
The truth is, however, that the Zune has slowly crept up and answered most of these questions. I'll employ the same bullet fashion to make it clear and concise:
I will admit that the player is not as good as the iPod yet, at least for others. The iPod Touch is hands down, the best player on the market, and it's controls and funtion are great. I, however, am not trying to win you over now. Remember, I'm trying to win you within the next 3 years or so, and I have a $300 million advertising deal that I'll be employing, along with Seinfeld, to get to you. Within 3 years, I can see the Zune coming out with a touch based player, and unless iPod completely reinvents the game (which I'm not ruling out), the players will be identical, and you will be forced to choose between software, firmware, and purchasing to make your decision.
Let's look at firmware: its firmware is more intuitive than the iPod, but becasue the whole world was brought up on iPod's, this no longer matters. For me, however, the Zune made much more sense to me than going in a circle to go up, down, left and right. On top of that, it looks a lot better than iPod's, which is completely shocking, as apple is known for aesthetics as well as function. But no one in their right mind can deny that the Zune player has a much better format than that of the iPod's. Test one out when you're at Walmart/Best Buy, and you'll see what I mean.
Now, for the software. If you were to say that the zune firmware is prettier than the iPod by a factor, of say, 2, then the Zune software would be prettier than iTunes by a factor of 24.89, and no less. There is no way to put it in words, except that it just looks amazing, from how it organizes lists, all the options you have for picking how you want to view your titles, the fact that it finds all the album art quickly without you needing an account, the music player's album art mosaic with the new artist specific info. It's all around flat out amazing, so the next time you see me, remind me to show you. Or, if you are one of those free minded spirits, go ahead and download it yourself to check it out.
The final frontier is the purchasing. iTunes owns the market (literally and figuratively), and there's nothing that can be done about that for now. I have not even test driven it yet, to be honest. But Zune's purchasing is very intuitive, and plus, they have this functino called MixView, which according to gizmodo.com and engadget.com, is way better than genius bar, and available to everyone. It takes the artist/song that you have selected, and finds music and artists that have influenced and have been influenced by that artist, and provides their album art in a cool, mosaic style with different sizes that flat out looks nice.
Zune also has a social scene, much like facebook/myspace, in that you can get friends, have a profile, and share music with each other. In the Mixview, the top listeners to that artist are listed, and you can view their music from there.
Overall, the zune has much work to do to establish itself within the market. There is no doubt, however, that it has a secure hold on position number 2, and within 3 years or so, I can see it rivaling apple for its hold on mp3 players. Yeah, yeah, I know you guys are probably saying "that fool is crazy". But that's what I was saying back when Windows flat out owned the market and the new color iMac's had just come out. I don't need to elaborate for you to know where this one is going.
Yes, yes indeed, I am on a mission to convert the ignorant (read: iPod owners) to the light.
That's not the way to start if I'm trying to win people over, is it. Ok, let me start over. While I understand your choice of the iPod, and I do not deny it's success and great features, I strongly feel that Microsoft is making a case, slowly, that it is a player to take into serious consideration when purchasing your next music player, because you know you are going to get another one within the next 3 or 4 years.
Let us first discuss the reasons why you purchased the iPod:
- It used to be the best thing out there, the cool thing to purchase
- It had a circle wheel, and circles are cool
- It held all your music. ALL of it.
- iTunes was the best way to organize your music, and it was simple, user friendly
- The iPod led the revolution with new ideas, including the Nano, the Video, the Touch.
The truth is, however, that the Zune has slowly crept up and answered most of these questions. I'll employ the same bullet fashion to make it clear and concise:
- It is the best thing out there. Hands down
- It has a squircle. Take that circle.
- The Zune media player wipes the floor with iTunes
- You see the new Nano? Seem familiar? Yeah, it is exactly like the Zune 8/16 with the turn sideways to view movies design
I will admit that the player is not as good as the iPod yet, at least for others. The iPod Touch is hands down, the best player on the market, and it's controls and funtion are great. I, however, am not trying to win you over now. Remember, I'm trying to win you within the next 3 years or so, and I have a $300 million advertising deal that I'll be employing, along with Seinfeld, to get to you. Within 3 years, I can see the Zune coming out with a touch based player, and unless iPod completely reinvents the game (which I'm not ruling out), the players will be identical, and you will be forced to choose between software, firmware, and purchasing to make your decision.
Let's look at firmware: its firmware is more intuitive than the iPod, but becasue the whole world was brought up on iPod's, this no longer matters. For me, however, the Zune made much more sense to me than going in a circle to go up, down, left and right. On top of that, it looks a lot better than iPod's, which is completely shocking, as apple is known for aesthetics as well as function. But no one in their right mind can deny that the Zune player has a much better format than that of the iPod's. Test one out when you're at Walmart/Best Buy, and you'll see what I mean.
Now, for the software. If you were to say that the zune firmware is prettier than the iPod by a factor, of say, 2, then the Zune software would be prettier than iTunes by a factor of 24.89, and no less. There is no way to put it in words, except that it just looks amazing, from how it organizes lists, all the options you have for picking how you want to view your titles, the fact that it finds all the album art quickly without you needing an account, the music player's album art mosaic with the new artist specific info. It's all around flat out amazing, so the next time you see me, remind me to show you. Or, if you are one of those free minded spirits, go ahead and download it yourself to check it out.
The final frontier is the purchasing. iTunes owns the market (literally and figuratively), and there's nothing that can be done about that for now. I have not even test driven it yet, to be honest. But Zune's purchasing is very intuitive, and plus, they have this functino called MixView, which according to gizmodo.com and engadget.com, is way better than genius bar, and available to everyone. It takes the artist/song that you have selected, and finds music and artists that have influenced and have been influenced by that artist, and provides their album art in a cool, mosaic style with different sizes that flat out looks nice.
Zune also has a social scene, much like facebook/myspace, in that you can get friends, have a profile, and share music with each other. In the Mixview, the top listeners to that artist are listed, and you can view their music from there.
Overall, the zune has much work to do to establish itself within the market. There is no doubt, however, that it has a secure hold on position number 2, and within 3 years or so, I can see it rivaling apple for its hold on mp3 players. Yeah, yeah, I know you guys are probably saying "that fool is crazy". But that's what I was saying back when Windows flat out owned the market and the new color iMac's had just come out. I don't need to elaborate for you to know where this one is going.
Monday, September 15, 2008
2 Posts in one day?! What can I say, I love my readers
YouTube C.O.T.D.
2nd Microsoft commercial with Seinfeld, pretty funny
S.O.T.D.
I ain't mad at cha - 2Pac
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2nd Microsoft commercial with Seinfeld, pretty funny
S.O.T.D.
I ain't mad at cha - 2Pac
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- Hurricane Ike: a better name than Gustav. I wish the best of luck to whoever is down there and I hope they can make it through it safe and sound. On that note, why do rich people want to live in Miami, Florida, as well as other cities in Florida? Aren't there hurricanes all the time? I'm guessing the retired folks don't have fun rebuilding their houses, relocating, and stressing out about the weather. Also, that must be some expensive hurricane insurance.
- Sarah Pallin scares me. She is good looking enough to get votes from men who are voting for fun. I'm scared by how radical she is, and with John McCain turning 127 next month, she may end up being president relatively soon if McCain wins. On top of that, she has a better a better approval rating than both McCain and Obama. How scary is that.
- Shaq is finally going to retire in 735 days (or something like that)! It'll be interesting to see how he plays it out, if he has anything in the tank left. I feel he's just a washed up, out of shape, funny guy, and I can see him retiring earlier than that due to injury. Just don't tell him I said that.
- UFC/Mixed Martial Arts is kind of barbaric and scary.
- Another reminder: the third Eragon book is coming out this
- Prediction: Microsoft is slowly going to make some noise in the music business. The software (new update tomorrow) does everything that iTunes does, and does it better, except for one thing that I wish they would add: internet radio. Besides that, however, the software is much better than iTunes, much more interactive and better looking.
- As for the actual player, I feel it's more intuitive, the firmware looks better, and the player is actually pretty good.
- I have to admit, the microsoft commercials are kind of funny (link at the top)
- Weeds season 4 is the best season so far, and the finale is Monday night on Showtime. Don't miss it. Or watch it on the internet later like I'm going to.
Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated
Sorry people, I've just been caught up with the past couple weeks of school and what not.
Gotta talk about the Cal Bears football team first. We suffered our first defeat of the season, and fell to 2-1 (1-0 conference play). It was pretty depressing to watch, but I felt there were a lot more positives to take away than negatives, even though we lost:
If, however, you start 1-2 to start the season, and win the rest of your games, your ranking will probably be somewhere between #10-20. The polls are more of a 'what have you done for me now'.
This loss may turn out to be a blessing in disguise, and I'm confident we will learn from it.
You may think I'm too optimistic, but read over those bullets again; they all make logical sense. Then again, we could be 0-7, and I would refuse to admit that we suck. I'm going to keep drinking that koolaid, and you know what? It tastes really good. Want some?
Gotta talk about the Cal Bears football team first. We suffered our first defeat of the season, and fell to 2-1 (1-0 conference play). It was pretty depressing to watch, but I felt there were a lot more positives to take away than negatives, even though we lost:
- Bad: We lost
- Bad: I'm willing to bet Jahvid Best has cracked ribs. Getting the wind knocked out of you doesn't equate to you grabbing your chest every time you finish a run, barely being able to pick yourself off the ground, etc.
- Good: We have a bye week, allowing Jahvid to get some healing time
- Good: Our defense and offense sputtered. That's a good because it happened in non-conference play early on in the season. It also allows us to look at what we messed up on, how we got completely outplayed on the line, and fix it. The extra bye week will also help us to focus on these fixes during week one, without sacrificing time preparing for Colorado State
- Good: Our receivers finally got some catches and touchdowns, and got some confidence in themselves. That will be needed as we get closer to the Pac-10 schedule, which I remind you, restarts with a visiting (once) nationally ranked Arizona State.
- Good: We responded to playing from behind well for the first time. Obviously, not good enough, because we didn't come out with the win, but for as young a team as we were, I saw this as a lesson that we can take with us.
If, however, you start 1-2 to start the season, and win the rest of your games, your ranking will probably be somewhere between #10-20. The polls are more of a 'what have you done for me now'.
This loss may turn out to be a blessing in disguise, and I'm confident we will learn from it.
You may think I'm too optimistic, but read over those bullets again; they all make logical sense. Then again, we could be 0-7, and I would refuse to admit that we suck. I'm going to keep drinking that koolaid, and you know what? It tastes really good. Want some?
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Woah . . . Big Soccer News
A little late, but for those of you who don't know, Manchester City was bought by Al Fahim of Abu Dhabi Group.
That's not very important to most people, and it normally wouldn't be, except for the fact that they just got Robinho to transfer from Real Madrid to Manchester City for 32.5 million pounds. Robinho. That translates to $300,000 a week. That's ridiculous.
Oh it doesn't end there. These guys got money to throw around, and they're serious; they don't just want to compete in the Champions League, they want to win. And to win, they want to get Cristiano Ronaldo. Yeah, that Ronaldo. How much are they willing to pay for him? Real Madrid wanted to pay $160 million for him, but these heavy hitters want to throw $240 million at him. Would you say no to $80 million more?
This has to wait until January however, when the transfer window reopens, but when January comes, we'll see what happens to Ronaldo. This will be interesting . . .
That's not very important to most people, and it normally wouldn't be, except for the fact that they just got Robinho to transfer from Real Madrid to Manchester City for 32.5 million pounds. Robinho. That translates to $300,000 a week. That's ridiculous.
Oh it doesn't end there. These guys got money to throw around, and they're serious; they don't just want to compete in the Champions League, they want to win. And to win, they want to get Cristiano Ronaldo. Yeah, that Ronaldo. How much are they willing to pay for him? Real Madrid wanted to pay $160 million for him, but these heavy hitters want to throw $240 million at him. Would you say no to $80 million more?
This has to wait until January however, when the transfer window reopens, but when January comes, we'll see what happens to Ronaldo. This will be interesting . . .
Tuesday Afternoon Cornerback
MAN. It's been a busy week and I haven't had a chance to update the blog, so this post is going to be a random post about anything and everything, with a little bit of sports as well, just like tuesday morning quarterback does it for espn.
- Hurricane Gustav, let's start there. First of all, I wish nothing but the best for the people over there, I haven't read much about it, but you see pictures and hear news about it; it can't be anything to be happy about. I do wish, however, that the meteorologists would name it something else. For some reason, I can't take the name Gustav seriously. When the name comes to mind, I imagine The Count from sesame street saying it, which isn't what I should be imagining. I'm used to the usual hurricane names, which in their simplicity carry a sort of hustle-intimidation, and it actually makes me notice. Gustav isn't in that category.
- If you ever decide to design airplanes, don't come up with the idea of square windows. Your plane will fracture, break, and possibly explode. Seriously.
- If you do deltoids exercises, the one where you move your arm in the frontal plane (basically from your side out to the right), be careful, because you're putting about 269 pounds of force on your socket in the horizontal direction if you lift, get this, 13 pounds. Did I mention school started? Yeah my classes are finally getting semi interesting.
- For anyone who reads the Eragon series, the final book, Brisingr, comes out on 9/20, so go and cop that book. That's what authors should say. Rappers say it when their album comes out, so why not? Cop that book.
- Kevin Riley, the Cal quarterback threw the ball away! On a less important note, he played solid, won us the game, and officially won the starting job from Nate Longshore. Well not officially, but lets just say that the student section might be pissed if Longshore comes back in without good reason (Riley injury and nothing else). But anyways, Riley threw the ball away!
- How about them Bruins? UCLA beat 18th ranked Tennessee, from the oh-so-powerful SEC. That's two years in a row they have lost to Pac-10 teams. USC demolished Virginia. Cal beat Michigan State. Maybe the Pac-10 shouldn't be such an underrated conference. . . Oh well, I like hustling, so its all good with me.
- If you're tired of the same old music, Raphael Saadiq has an album coming out on 9/19. He's an R&B singer who came out with Get Involved a long time ago, but is a solid artist.
- For the Berkeley residents, there's a North Face outlet store on 6th and Gilman street. Great deals. I just assumed everyone knew but apparently not many people know about it. Get your stuff from there.
- Go on espn.go.com, search pontiac, and vote for Shane Vereen and Cal for the game changing performance!
- Football hasn't really started yet. This week was cupcake week for college football, and the nfl starts next weekend. More on that in a later post, there will be much to talk about, including my complete dependence on the Minnesota Vikings kicking butt in order for me to do well in my fantasy league.
- Rod Benson has moved to France! For those of you who don't know Boom Tho, look him up on toomuchrodbenson.com. But yeah, off to France to play pro-ball, best of luck to him, which I'm sure he will thank me for, seeing as he reads every word of my blog day in and day out.
- As an avid gatorade fan, I have determined that Lemon Lime is still the best flavor they have. Hands down.
- If you are looking for a comedy show to latch onto and don't know very many, watch 30 Rock and Big Bang Theory.
- Euro-soccer leagues have started up again, but seeing as I have basic cable, I can only comment on what you can read on websites. I find that yahoo sports does the best job of getting news to me that I actually care about soccer wise, espn is too messy.
Friday, August 22, 2008
CAL FOOTBALL PREVIEW
I spent a good time of my summer scouring the net for articles on the Bears, their roster, news, and etc. After 2 months, here's what I know:
The Overstated: Constantly over the year, you're going to hear about our complete implosion, going from 5-0 to losing 6 of the next 7 games. All year. You have no choice. One of the reasons for this implosion, apparently, was we weren't a team in the sense that we didn't have established leaders who stepped up to keep the morale up and help each other out. Players didn't acknowledge eachother's existence when passing eachother on campus. Coach Tedford completely focused on the offense and didn't even talk to Defense. This year, however, all of this has changed, there is great communication, and Tedford is overlooking both the offense and the defense. All the problems have been addressed, we've come out of it better than ever before, and now, all we can do is look at our prep and performance for Saturdays.
QB Situation: Riley got the nod over Longshore, though Tedford said both will play in the Michigan State game, he just doesn't know when Longshore will play exactly. My ridiculously insightful analysis tells me that Longshore will not play ONLY if Riley is doing well AND it's a close game. If it's a blowout either way, or Riley is struggling, Longshore will see time. (Just in case you didn't figure it out already)
RB and FB: Jahvid Best splitting carries with Shane Vereen for now, though there are others that may be in the mix. I'm going to let their game speak for themselves, you'll just have to find out. Let's just say that I am very excited about our running game. It could be comparable to Lynch/Forsett production wise. Fullback is Will Ta’ufo’ou.
WR Situation: Well this was a little surprise. To those who don't know (which should be no one because Cal Football is pretty damn amazing), we lost our whole receiving corps, so we are running with a very inexperienced set of new receivers: Michael Calvin, Sean Young, LaReylle Cunningham.
Michael Calvin: Redshirted as a freshman last year, but has come to play this year. He is a beast and is going to be special. Solid player, was expected to be in this lineup.
Sean Young: Stories about him scared me. He came into Cal touted as a good receiver who would be amazing. He lost himself over the next few years to last year's three receivers, and never recovered . . . until this year. I believe he has a confidence issue, and because it is essentially a fresh start this year with everyone competing, had a good camp. I am hoping for the best, but can't help but feel that if he gets outperformed during the year, he will regress, and become ineffective. We shall see.
LaReylle Cunningham: All I have heard about is that he is a solid receiver. Wasn't sure whether to expect him in the lineup or not, so all we can do is hope for the best and start judging him based on his performances on Saturday.
Shocker -- Nyan Boateng: Once a top receiving recruit at Florida, this transfer was supposed to be a great receiver. He ran into some school issues, but finally got it straight this year. He, however, did not train well during the spring, and some questioned his dedication. Apparently, however, he shaped up for the summer and was having a good camp. I expected him to be in the lineup, but was left off; once again, we will see how this all unfolds.
Bottom line: The receiving corps is basically a huge question mark. Everything looks good based on camp, but who knows what that means. It has to translate on the field in front of screaming fans. We'll just have to test it out.
O-Line: For the most part, solid and unchanged. Mike Tepper is currently injured, and we have Alex Mack's successor Chris Guarnero getting playing time right now at LT instead of C.
D-Line: Look out for Rulon Davis, an ex-marine (which means prepare for stories about this whenever we're on national television), who had a ridiculous camp and is apparently finally healthy for the first time. He looks to be a beast.
Linebackers: We have two on the preseason Butkus Award list in Worrell Williams and Zach Follett. Anthony Felder and Eddie Young finish this group of athletic and talented linebackers. There is no reason these guys should not be able to do well this year. The defense has shifted from a 4-3 to a 3-4, meaning that there is more reliance on the linebacking corps, and with this talented a unit, we should be able to meet the challenge.
Corners: Syd'quan Thompson is our senior, and is solid at corner. The other position will be fought for by Chris Conte and Darian Hagan. This too will have to be seen on the field during a game.
Kickers: David Seawright, a walkon, challenged Jordan Kay the incumbent for his job and ended up winning. We'll see how he does with pressure. If he folds, Jordan Kay isn't a bad backup.
I'd be lying to you if I told you I didn't believe that we could beat everyone in the Pac-10, except for USC. Yeah, I'm drinking gallons of kool-aid, but I see so much potential, so much positive change, and so much underrated talent that I feel like we can do well. Offensively, we are young at receiver, but we can establish our ground game behind two talented tailbacks and a veteran O-Line. The receivers will be surprise as well; they will have a lot to prove, so stars will learn to shine, and with a good running game, they will get more single coverage, which means better chances to break out and gain confidence. Contrary to what the media keeps implying, our QB situation is better than that at other schools: at least we have QB's with game experience who have proven themselves in years before instead of new QB's who may struggle. Defensively, we have many returning starters and talent, enough to make me believe this is the year we become a solid defensive team.
Prediction: 2nd in the Pac-10, 11-1. (A little bit hopeful, but hey, I wouldn't be a fan if I couldn't believe that this is our year)
The Overstated: Constantly over the year, you're going to hear about our complete implosion, going from 5-0 to losing 6 of the next 7 games. All year. You have no choice. One of the reasons for this implosion, apparently, was we weren't a team in the sense that we didn't have established leaders who stepped up to keep the morale up and help each other out. Players didn't acknowledge eachother's existence when passing eachother on campus. Coach Tedford completely focused on the offense and didn't even talk to Defense. This year, however, all of this has changed, there is great communication, and Tedford is overlooking both the offense and the defense. All the problems have been addressed, we've come out of it better than ever before, and now, all we can do is look at our prep and performance for Saturdays.
QB Situation: Riley got the nod over Longshore, though Tedford said both will play in the Michigan State game, he just doesn't know when Longshore will play exactly. My ridiculously insightful analysis tells me that Longshore will not play ONLY if Riley is doing well AND it's a close game. If it's a blowout either way, or Riley is struggling, Longshore will see time. (Just in case you didn't figure it out already)
RB and FB: Jahvid Best splitting carries with Shane Vereen for now, though there are others that may be in the mix. I'm going to let their game speak for themselves, you'll just have to find out. Let's just say that I am very excited about our running game. It could be comparable to Lynch/Forsett production wise. Fullback is Will Ta’ufo’ou.
WR Situation: Well this was a little surprise. To those who don't know (which should be no one because Cal Football is pretty damn amazing), we lost our whole receiving corps, so we are running with a very inexperienced set of new receivers: Michael Calvin, Sean Young, LaReylle Cunningham.
Michael Calvin: Redshirted as a freshman last year, but has come to play this year. He is a beast and is going to be special. Solid player, was expected to be in this lineup.
Sean Young: Stories about him scared me. He came into Cal touted as a good receiver who would be amazing. He lost himself over the next few years to last year's three receivers, and never recovered . . . until this year. I believe he has a confidence issue, and because it is essentially a fresh start this year with everyone competing, had a good camp. I am hoping for the best, but can't help but feel that if he gets outperformed during the year, he will regress, and become ineffective. We shall see.
LaReylle Cunningham: All I have heard about is that he is a solid receiver. Wasn't sure whether to expect him in the lineup or not, so all we can do is hope for the best and start judging him based on his performances on Saturday.
Shocker -- Nyan Boateng: Once a top receiving recruit at Florida, this transfer was supposed to be a great receiver. He ran into some school issues, but finally got it straight this year. He, however, did not train well during the spring, and some questioned his dedication. Apparently, however, he shaped up for the summer and was having a good camp. I expected him to be in the lineup, but was left off; once again, we will see how this all unfolds.
Bottom line: The receiving corps is basically a huge question mark. Everything looks good based on camp, but who knows what that means. It has to translate on the field in front of screaming fans. We'll just have to test it out.
O-Line: For the most part, solid and unchanged. Mike Tepper is currently injured, and we have Alex Mack's successor Chris Guarnero getting playing time right now at LT instead of C.
D-Line: Look out for Rulon Davis, an ex-marine (which means prepare for stories about this whenever we're on national television), who had a ridiculous camp and is apparently finally healthy for the first time. He looks to be a beast.
Linebackers: We have two on the preseason Butkus Award list in Worrell Williams and Zach Follett. Anthony Felder and Eddie Young finish this group of athletic and talented linebackers. There is no reason these guys should not be able to do well this year. The defense has shifted from a 4-3 to a 3-4, meaning that there is more reliance on the linebacking corps, and with this talented a unit, we should be able to meet the challenge.
Corners: Syd'quan Thompson is our senior, and is solid at corner. The other position will be fought for by Chris Conte and Darian Hagan. This too will have to be seen on the field during a game.
Kickers: David Seawright, a walkon, challenged Jordan Kay the incumbent for his job and ended up winning. We'll see how he does with pressure. If he folds, Jordan Kay isn't a bad backup.
I'd be lying to you if I told you I didn't believe that we could beat everyone in the Pac-10, except for USC. Yeah, I'm drinking gallons of kool-aid, but I see so much potential, so much positive change, and so much underrated talent that I feel like we can do well. Offensively, we are young at receiver, but we can establish our ground game behind two talented tailbacks and a veteran O-Line. The receivers will be surprise as well; they will have a lot to prove, so stars will learn to shine, and with a good running game, they will get more single coverage, which means better chances to break out and gain confidence. Contrary to what the media keeps implying, our QB situation is better than that at other schools: at least we have QB's with game experience who have proven themselves in years before instead of new QB's who may struggle. Defensively, we have many returning starters and talent, enough to make me believe this is the year we become a solid defensive team.
Prediction: 2nd in the Pac-10, 11-1. (A little bit hopeful, but hey, I wouldn't be a fan if I couldn't believe that this is our year)
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
now THATS shady
I'm watching men's gymnastics to follow the story of John Horton, who is basically the underdog in these olympics. He performs out of his mind on the high bar, something I, and many others, felt was better than the other Chinese gymnast's, but his score is just barely less.
Two other chinese gymnasts got inflated scores as well according to the commentators and some other analysts.
I am not taking anything away from the Chinese, they have worked hard; maybe it is because I don't understand how scoring works. If you actually understand how scoring works, please explain it to me. I want to convince myself that I am just another fan complaining about perfectly correct calls, and that home court advantage is NOT a little too advantageous right now, in an extra shady way . . .
Two other chinese gymnasts got inflated scores as well according to the commentators and some other analysts.
I am not taking anything away from the Chinese, they have worked hard; maybe it is because I don't understand how scoring works. If you actually understand how scoring works, please explain it to me. I want to convince myself that I am just another fan complaining about perfectly correct calls, and that home court advantage is NOT a little too advantageous right now, in an extra shady way . . .
Monday, August 18, 2008
U.S.A. vs. Germany -- The Little Things
Dwyane Wade may be a devout Christian, but he loves to gamble -- Wade hasn't been playing defense this whole tournament. Yeah he has been getting steals all over the place, but his steals are all off anticipation passes, a.k.a. gambling. If the player handling the ball fakes the pass and Wade bites, he runs way too fast (see: nickname, the flash) and has to recover. This translates to, even with his speed, a shot being fired. But hey, he's tripled up and is at a hot table, so why stop?
This will work for the rest of the tournament, and maybe for the Wade replacement, if he's good enough, in 2012. But as soon as we lose our athleticism (which, I'm convinced, is all we have as an advantage), this gambling will screw us over. But once again, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Chris Kaman/Clipper fans should be worried -- I am a diehard Clipper fan, and I have the utmost faith in Chris Kaman. I am not worried at all about his poor offensive showing today. He was double teamed, getting the ball at the wrong places, and missed stupid layups that he can work on over the rest of the offseason. Plus, he had some decent moves against Dwight Howard, who is apparently pretty good, so I've heard.
Did you see him interact with the other German players? He seemed pissed off a lot, was barking orders (not in the positive sense), and the general behavior made it seem as if he wasnt getting along with a lot of them. Yeah, compared to the level he is used to playing at, I can see him being frustrated. But, you can also put this at the level of him not understanding how to take a leadership role, him not being able to interact with a bunch of new teammates he doesn't know. Wait, this sounds familiar . . . doesn't he have tons of new teammates on the Clippers now? Isn't he supposed to step up leadership a little, seeing as hes supposed to be one of the top centers in the West (list em, you'll see what I mean)? I can see him having problems this year, him being unhappy, and tons of other things. It will be something to follow, if you're a Clipper fan . . .
Michael Redd isn't 'bang-banging'-- What happened to our sharp shooter? Even I would have hit one of those threes he took, some were wide open. His playing time is going to start dropping steadily, as Tayshaun takes his place (as noted by someone on ESPN, I forget who)
The U.S. can be beat (here's the secret formula) --Run a play (as also noted by ESPN, but something I believed as well). Thats it. Run a set play. How many plays have you seen perfectly executed by opposing teams? How many get the chance to even set up a play? If a team gets into a groove and sets up plays consistently, we may just have a match. Then again, that feat itself is looking nigh impossible at this point.
Is this the last best chance we have to win it? -- Players that I am guessing will not renew their Olympic 3-year contracts: Kobe, J-Kidd, LeBron, Wade, Melo, Dwight Howard. Now I am taking nothing away from the remaining talent, which includes two phenomenal point guards who will step up their game to ridiculous new levels by 2012, but let me re-list and rephrase the players you will potentially/probably lose: Defensive Stopper, Veteran Presence, Leader/Unguardable, Intangibles Energy, Commitment and Shooter, Beast and Beast.
Thats a lot to replace, and I don't see the incoming class having anywhere near that kind of talent and leadership enough to match it. Couple that with the ever improving FIBA players plus the potential expansion of the NBA bringing about better players overseas? We're done after this olympics, and it'll be evident when you see the players who sign the 3 year commitment contracts. They'll be good, but not great. It will take great to win after these olympics are over.
This will work for the rest of the tournament, and maybe for the Wade replacement, if he's good enough, in 2012. But as soon as we lose our athleticism (which, I'm convinced, is all we have as an advantage), this gambling will screw us over. But once again, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Chris Kaman/Clipper fans should be worried -- I am a diehard Clipper fan, and I have the utmost faith in Chris Kaman. I am not worried at all about his poor offensive showing today. He was double teamed, getting the ball at the wrong places, and missed stupid layups that he can work on over the rest of the offseason. Plus, he had some decent moves against Dwight Howard, who is apparently pretty good, so I've heard.
Did you see him interact with the other German players? He seemed pissed off a lot, was barking orders (not in the positive sense), and the general behavior made it seem as if he wasnt getting along with a lot of them. Yeah, compared to the level he is used to playing at, I can see him being frustrated. But, you can also put this at the level of him not understanding how to take a leadership role, him not being able to interact with a bunch of new teammates he doesn't know. Wait, this sounds familiar . . . doesn't he have tons of new teammates on the Clippers now? Isn't he supposed to step up leadership a little, seeing as hes supposed to be one of the top centers in the West (list em, you'll see what I mean)? I can see him having problems this year, him being unhappy, and tons of other things. It will be something to follow, if you're a Clipper fan . . .
Michael Redd isn't 'bang-banging'-- What happened to our sharp shooter? Even I would have hit one of those threes he took, some were wide open. His playing time is going to start dropping steadily, as Tayshaun takes his place (as noted by someone on ESPN, I forget who)
The U.S. can be beat (here's the secret formula) --Run a play (as also noted by ESPN, but something I believed as well). Thats it. Run a set play. How many plays have you seen perfectly executed by opposing teams? How many get the chance to even set up a play? If a team gets into a groove and sets up plays consistently, we may just have a match. Then again, that feat itself is looking nigh impossible at this point.
Is this the last best chance we have to win it? -- Players that I am guessing will not renew their Olympic 3-year contracts: Kobe, J-Kidd, LeBron, Wade, Melo, Dwight Howard. Now I am taking nothing away from the remaining talent, which includes two phenomenal point guards who will step up their game to ridiculous new levels by 2012, but let me re-list and rephrase the players you will potentially/probably lose: Defensive Stopper, Veteran Presence, Leader/Unguardable, Intangibles Energy, Commitment and Shooter, Beast and Beast.
Thats a lot to replace, and I don't see the incoming class having anywhere near that kind of talent and leadership enough to match it. Couple that with the ever improving FIBA players plus the potential expansion of the NBA bringing about better players overseas? We're done after this olympics, and it'll be evident when you see the players who sign the 3 year commitment contracts. They'll be good, but not great. It will take great to win after these olympics are over.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Worried About the Election? I Am
The American public is pretty stupid. If you're not on board with this truth, then you might as well stop reading, because you won't agree with what I'm writing.
You have all heard about the whole "more people vote for American Idol than for the elections" and "some people know the 'big mac' song but not the pledge of alleigance (supersize me)"; all this means that as a whole, we are victims of advertisement, and horrible ones at that. Just look at the mac commercials and how many of you fell for them (sorry, couldn't help myself).
We (once again, as a general whole) take in these commercials which come up at least once an hour, and slowly absorb what they say, almost to the point where we begin to associate the people in them permanently with what they are being connected to. If you saw the verizon guy in any other commercial, any other movie, or in real life, the words coming out of your mouth would proably be something along the lines of "its the verizon man!".
Now how many of you saw the recent pro-McCain commercials that compared Obama to pop-stars, Brittney Spears, Paris Hilton, etc? Now if you are educated enough, you will easily come to the conclusion that those are stupid comparisons and that you can't possibly compare them. The same, however, can't be said about the same public who voted So Real Crew ahead of Super Crew and Fanny Pack.
McCain is focusing on attacking Obama for his popularity, basically slandering, and even though they are coming out to the press saying it's only providing light hearted jokes to a serious election, that's not the intent. My fear is that Obama, with no other choice, will follow his footsteps and start attacking McCain. They've already called him the "wrinkly white-haired guy". This will start becoming the storylines, this topic will dominate commercials, and it will take away time from more pressing issues, such as reducing the national deficit, lowering gas prices, figuring out some sort of solution with the troops, things that matter, not how old McCain is, and how cool Obama is.
The public will eat up all these commercials and make their decision for president based on that. If this continues to happen, we will elect the wrong president into office. We need to focus on each of their strengths, and what they can bring in office. In office, McCain's looks aren't going to slow him down, and neither will the fact that Obama and Brad Pitt are related (true by the way). Hopefully this shapes up, because honestly, this election is going to affect me as I start becoming more independent, paying taxes, and providing for myself. I don't want a confused public determining important parts of my future.
That being said, it's time for a change.
Get your free Obama pin (no strings attached)
You have all heard about the whole "more people vote for American Idol than for the elections" and "some people know the 'big mac' song but not the pledge of alleigance (supersize me)"; all this means that as a whole, we are victims of advertisement, and horrible ones at that. Just look at the mac commercials and how many of you fell for them (sorry, couldn't help myself).
We (once again, as a general whole) take in these commercials which come up at least once an hour, and slowly absorb what they say, almost to the point where we begin to associate the people in them permanently with what they are being connected to. If you saw the verizon guy in any other commercial, any other movie, or in real life, the words coming out of your mouth would proably be something along the lines of "its the verizon man!".
Now how many of you saw the recent pro-McCain commercials that compared Obama to pop-stars, Brittney Spears, Paris Hilton, etc? Now if you are educated enough, you will easily come to the conclusion that those are stupid comparisons and that you can't possibly compare them. The same, however, can't be said about the same public who voted So Real Crew ahead of Super Crew and Fanny Pack.
McCain is focusing on attacking Obama for his popularity, basically slandering, and even though they are coming out to the press saying it's only providing light hearted jokes to a serious election, that's not the intent. My fear is that Obama, with no other choice, will follow his footsteps and start attacking McCain. They've already called him the "wrinkly white-haired guy". This will start becoming the storylines, this topic will dominate commercials, and it will take away time from more pressing issues, such as reducing the national deficit, lowering gas prices, figuring out some sort of solution with the troops, things that matter, not how old McCain is, and how cool Obama is.
The public will eat up all these commercials and make their decision for president based on that. If this continues to happen, we will elect the wrong president into office. We need to focus on each of their strengths, and what they can bring in office. In office, McCain's looks aren't going to slow him down, and neither will the fact that Obama and Brad Pitt are related (true by the way). Hopefully this shapes up, because honestly, this election is going to affect me as I start becoming more independent, paying taxes, and providing for myself. I don't want a confused public determining important parts of my future.
That being said, it's time for a change.
Get your free Obama pin (no strings attached)
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Comedians
S.O.T.D.
Regulators - Warren G feat. Nate Dogg
---------------------------------------
I'm a huge fan of comedies and comedians (they're my favorite genre) but I don't actively pursue them. Lately, however, I haven't found many movies that made me laugh throughout, and most comedians I know end up pulling dirty jokes most of the time, which is funny to a certain extent, but after a while, just gets dull.
If you're with me on this one, I recommend Eddie Izzard. He has an English accent and is a little hard to understand sometimes, but his jokes are up there, and he talks about everything, with a slight focus on history, so what do you know, he's a little bit educational. He's a transvestite as well, which was a little weird to get used to for a comedian, but you get over it quickly, and every time I see him now, it's practically normal. He does cuss a lot, but its doesn't overwhelm his jokes. Here's a couple clips:
Clip 1
Clip 2
Regulators - Warren G feat. Nate Dogg
---------------------------------------
I'm a huge fan of comedies and comedians (they're my favorite genre) but I don't actively pursue them. Lately, however, I haven't found many movies that made me laugh throughout, and most comedians I know end up pulling dirty jokes most of the time, which is funny to a certain extent, but after a while, just gets dull.
If you're with me on this one, I recommend Eddie Izzard. He has an English accent and is a little hard to understand sometimes, but his jokes are up there, and he talks about everything, with a slight focus on history, so what do you know, he's a little bit educational. He's a transvestite as well, which was a little weird to get used to for a comedian, but you get over it quickly, and every time I see him now, it's practically normal. He does cuss a lot, but its doesn't overwhelm his jokes. Here's a couple clips:
Clip 1
Clip 2
Monday, August 11, 2008
The Olympics So Far . . .
I couldn't help but mention the olympics, sorry. But are you kidding me? Phelps by himself is making the olympics ridiculously amazing; not only is he winning golds, which, I must admit, might have gotten boring (everyone needs a challenge), but he is literally, as my buddy pointed out, racing against the green line and nothing else.
And he's not just barely beating it. He's smashing it. What about the one where it was close? That was an amazing swim as well, with the Americans coming back to beat the trash talking French in the 4x100 relay. This is a really special year for Phelps and American swimming in general. I also like to win, so these together make me a happy camper.
ON TOP OF THAT, even gymnastics is getting me interested. The young, untested Americans are landing jumps, doing crazy stuff, but somehow still losing to the Chinese who mess up their jumps but go crazy on their difficulty levels. It's just the height of competition on gymnastics biggest stage.
I know some people may forget the olympics after tonight (Madden is coming out), or may not like them at all, but if you appreciate sports at the smallest possible level, you need to watch at least some part of the olympics.
And he's not just barely beating it. He's smashing it. What about the one where it was close? That was an amazing swim as well, with the Americans coming back to beat the trash talking French in the 4x100 relay. This is a really special year for Phelps and American swimming in general. I also like to win, so these together make me a happy camper.
ON TOP OF THAT, even gymnastics is getting me interested. The young, untested Americans are landing jumps, doing crazy stuff, but somehow still losing to the Chinese who mess up their jumps but go crazy on their difficulty levels. It's just the height of competition on gymnastics biggest stage.
I know some people may forget the olympics after tonight (Madden is coming out), or may not like them at all, but if you appreciate sports at the smallest possible level, you need to watch at least some part of the olympics.
We're Just a Little Behind
The Wild Fans of Lithuania . . . or an example of fans of any professional soccer team in Europe.
This is why I want to someday do a tour of soccer stadiums in Europe, including Man U., Chelsea, and then a smaller club with loyal fans. I'm dead serious by the way, and I want to do it relatively soon, so lemme know, I'll involve you in plans when (might be a long while) I plan them out.
This is why I want to someday do a tour of soccer stadiums in Europe, including Man U., Chelsea, and then a smaller club with loyal fans. I'm dead serious by the way, and I want to do it relatively soon, so lemme know, I'll involve you in plans when (might be a long while) I plan them out.
College Football Rule Changes
http://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/2008/8/4/586707/new-rules-for-college-foot
A more than adequate post of rule changes as they are in the books, in layman's terms, and with nice pictures to go along with it.
More college football posts to come, mainly because I am ridiculously excited about Cal this year. We're waayy under the radar.
A more than adequate post of rule changes as they are in the books, in layman's terms, and with nice pictures to go along with it.
More college football posts to come, mainly because I am ridiculously excited about Cal this year. We're waayy under the radar.
Friday, August 8, 2008
The Olympics
S.O.T.D.
Everything Man - Talib Kweli
Pretty funny:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOiWaTSypt4
8.8.08, gotta write something about the olympics.
Taking a stand for what you believe in. One thing I will never understand is why some athletes will never take a stand on issues such as Tibet.
I am not naiive; I understand that taking a stand might cause you to lose endorsements, which, for people like LeBron James would mean losing Nike, Bubblicious, Powerade, and who knows what else. But when you are going to command 20+ million a year for your next contract, have your own company, and even after losing your nike deal, will be able to come out with your own shoes and clothing line, you do not need to worry about money. This is a worst case scenario by the way: we all know that LeBron James, no matter what stand he takes, will always have some sort of endorsement deal. Tata motors in India will take him up and pay him well if no one will, he'll be fine.
I understand the pressure in taking a stand, I just don't understand why they wouldn't support peace and happiness. Maybe they're emo or something.
I am going to tune into the olympics for a few reasons this year: I want to see USA basketball and how they face an improving world, Michael Phelps becasue apparently he's a beast, and how many people decide to take a stand.
Oh, and go India, all 4 of us or so. In I don't know what. Fine, we'll stick to the medical and engineering fields.
Everything Man - Talib Kweli
Pretty funny:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOiWaTSypt4
8.8.08, gotta write something about the olympics.
Taking a stand for what you believe in. One thing I will never understand is why some athletes will never take a stand on issues such as Tibet.
I am not naiive; I understand that taking a stand might cause you to lose endorsements, which, for people like LeBron James would mean losing Nike, Bubblicious, Powerade, and who knows what else. But when you are going to command 20+ million a year for your next contract, have your own company, and even after losing your nike deal, will be able to come out with your own shoes and clothing line, you do not need to worry about money. This is a worst case scenario by the way: we all know that LeBron James, no matter what stand he takes, will always have some sort of endorsement deal. Tata motors in India will take him up and pay him well if no one will, he'll be fine.
I understand the pressure in taking a stand, I just don't understand why they wouldn't support peace and happiness. Maybe they're emo or something.
I am going to tune into the olympics for a few reasons this year: I want to see USA basketball and how they face an improving world, Michael Phelps becasue apparently he's a beast, and how many people decide to take a stand.
Oh, and go India, all 4 of us or so. In I don't know what. Fine, we'll stick to the medical and engineering fields.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
We Have it Easy
Imagine you had only $20 to spend on an entire weekend. Not just for fun, but for food, shelter, everything. This article helped me realize that I have it way too easy. Read it, it's worth it, and it'll help open your eyes a little bit more.
http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/06/michael-meet-curtis-philanthropy-gets-personal/
http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/06/michael-meet-curtis-philanthropy-gets-personal/
Olympics BBall Schedule
For those who are interested (it's on truehoop as well) . . .
http://www.nbcolympics.com/tv_and_online_listings/zone=CT/sport=BK/index.html
http://www.nbcolympics.com/tv_and_online_listings/zone=CT/sport=BK/index.html
Gotta keep to my promises
The best project (I feel) from my me135 class (no it's not mine):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkQtDLVQ7VI
S.O.T.D.
Nas is Like - Nas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkQtDLVQ7VI
S.O.T.D.
Nas is Like - Nas
Extra 2 Cents on Yesterdays Post
To put the "remove a salary cap" idea into perspective for those who don't follow soccer, if the NBA implements this, it will become something like college football, but with a playoff system.
College football today consists of a few consistently elite teams, such as USC, Ohio State, etc., a few teams who crack the top 10 once in a while by getting out of the middle of the pack, the actual middle of the pack, and then the dregs. These elite teams tend to stay at the top years at a time, primarily because their track record allows them to recruit the best players in the nation annually.
The same would happen in the NBA. With owners like Mark Cuban who love to win and are willing to spend, all the best players would be bought up with hefty, ludicrous contracts that they would not be able to refuse. The next thing you know, the Mavs are an all star team with team chemistry and set plays (what even team USA isn't at this point. They're lacking in the set plays, but I digress). Team such as the Clippers however, with a stingy owner in Donald Sterling, would remain at the middle or lower-middle end, because they would be fine with developing young talent at a cheaper price, torturing their fan base with promises of good fortune to come in the future, and then shipping the talent off to the mavs.
There would be far fewer surprises and upsets, because even though there can be surprise teams, there is just no way they will win a league when they have to face teams so loaded with talent that they cannot lose. Sorry David, but Goliath is gonna crush you.
Personally, even though I can see this happening, I hope it doesn't. I like it that there is hope for the Clippers (my favorite team) to one day take down a powerhouse like the Spurs and reach the finals. Even though they aren't the best team, the best part of being a fan is being able to convince yourself that 'this is our year' every offseason. Without that, sports wouldn't be the same.
College football today consists of a few consistently elite teams, such as USC, Ohio State, etc., a few teams who crack the top 10 once in a while by getting out of the middle of the pack, the actual middle of the pack, and then the dregs. These elite teams tend to stay at the top years at a time, primarily because their track record allows them to recruit the best players in the nation annually.
The same would happen in the NBA. With owners like Mark Cuban who love to win and are willing to spend, all the best players would be bought up with hefty, ludicrous contracts that they would not be able to refuse. The next thing you know, the Mavs are an all star team with team chemistry and set plays (what even team USA isn't at this point. They're lacking in the set plays, but I digress). Team such as the Clippers however, with a stingy owner in Donald Sterling, would remain at the middle or lower-middle end, because they would be fine with developing young talent at a cheaper price, torturing their fan base with promises of good fortune to come in the future, and then shipping the talent off to the mavs.
There would be far fewer surprises and upsets, because even though there can be surprise teams, there is just no way they will win a league when they have to face teams so loaded with talent that they cannot lose. Sorry David, but Goliath is gonna crush you.
Personally, even though I can see this happening, I hope it doesn't. I like it that there is hope for the Clippers (my favorite team) to one day take down a powerhouse like the Spurs and reach the finals. Even though they aren't the best team, the best part of being a fan is being able to convince yourself that 'this is our year' every offseason. Without that, sports wouldn't be the same.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Basketball in the Future
Within the next 30 years, the structure of basketball is going to become more or less like soccer, something that excites me beyond reason. For those of you who don't understand the format of soccer leagues in Europe, here is a brief explanation:
Many countries in Europe have their own leagues including Engalnd (English Premiere League), Spain (La Liga ), Italy (Serie A) , and Germany (Bundesliga). Because of the large number of teams in a league, each league has divisions in which the top teams inhabit the highest division, the next set a lower division, and so on . The bottom three teams in the top league (i.e. Serie A) get relegated to the next league (i.e. Serie B), and the top three teams in the second league get pushed up into the first.
Teams play to win their league, but top teams also play in inter-league tournaments, such as the Champions League and UEFA Cup, during their season. Even if you lose your own league's championship, there may still be a chance to win some silverware.
Top quality players get transferred between leagues. For example, Ronaldinho (whom most of you should have heard of) just transferred from La Liga to Serie A.
I see the NBA slowly moving towards this point as the European leagues become more and more experienced and talented and it won't be long until they can rival the best NBA teams on a nightly basis. The NBA will always be the dominant league, but more of their dominance will lie in their history and less on their talent.
As for the draft and the salary cap restrictions, soccer players get signed by young clubs known for developing players and then get signed by the big name clubs, who always sign the good players because there are no salary cap restrictions. I don't see the NBA implementing these rules and systems anytime soon, but eventually they may cave in.
Either way, the shift towards multiple leagues of one of my favorite sports is going to take the game to a level unimaginable. I can't wait to be there when it does.
Many countries in Europe have their own leagues including Engalnd (English Premiere League), Spain (La Liga ), Italy (Serie A) , and Germany (Bundesliga). Because of the large number of teams in a league, each league has divisions in which the top teams inhabit the highest division, the next set a lower division, and so on . The bottom three teams in the top league (i.e. Serie A) get relegated to the next league (i.e. Serie B), and the top three teams in the second league get pushed up into the first.
Teams play to win their league, but top teams also play in inter-league tournaments, such as the Champions League and UEFA Cup, during their season. Even if you lose your own league's championship, there may still be a chance to win some silverware.
Top quality players get transferred between leagues. For example, Ronaldinho (whom most of you should have heard of) just transferred from La Liga to Serie A.
I see the NBA slowly moving towards this point as the European leagues become more and more experienced and talented and it won't be long until they can rival the best NBA teams on a nightly basis. The NBA will always be the dominant league, but more of their dominance will lie in their history and less on their talent.
As for the draft and the salary cap restrictions, soccer players get signed by young clubs known for developing players and then get signed by the big name clubs, who always sign the good players because there are no salary cap restrictions. I don't see the NBA implementing these rules and systems anytime soon, but eventually they may cave in.
Either way, the shift towards multiple leagues of one of my favorite sports is going to take the game to a level unimaginable. I can't wait to be there when it does.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
The amazingness that is the airport
My buddy sent this to me, decent on the unintentional comedy. Might not be to your taste if you're a Sasha Vujacic fan (a.k.a. "The Machine")
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQU-xfpaYF4
Song of the day:
Worst Comes to Worst - Dilated Peoples
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Note: The following was how I felt before this past weekend, when all my flights were delayed, the food tasted crappy, and the quality of the plane wasn't anything to be proud about. Oh yeah, they 'lost my bag', found it, and now the website says they have no info on anything about it or when it's going to be returned. I flew United. You've been warned.
---
For some reason, I love airports. I love the process involved in travelling on a plane. For the individual, I get pulled in by the strategy involved with getting through security in the quickest possible manner and in figuring out the best time to leave so the wait at the gate is not too long but not too short. I'm competitive and battling against yourself is pretty fun; after all, if you lose, you only lose to yourself, but if you win, well then, you can go and buy yourself a cookie as a reward.
Looking at the bigger picture, I'm amazed by the organization and layout of each airport. The stores, the floor/carpet, the shape of the buildings, the transportation methods between terminals (bart like trains at SFO or underground tunnels at O'Hare). Personally, I found Heathrow airport in London to be a bit disappointing. After all, it's London; you'd think they would go all out and make it one of the better airports in the world. As a self proclaimed airport critic, I have to say, I wasn't impressed. On the other hand, Singapore is the best I have experienced, though I saw Dubai's long ago and do not remember much, so I can't bring that into the equation. To explain the beauty which is the Singapore airport would require an entire post to itself, so I will save it for another day.
Then comes the plane itself. I do not care for domestic flights, but flying internationally excites me for three reasons: the entertainment, the food, and the end of the flight if you are beginning your vacation. The entertainment system for these flights is bound to include a movie you have not seen before on your individual tv. If you are on singapore airlines, which I tend to travel on for trips to India, you have your selection of tons of SNES games to play for hours on end. It's just amazing what comfort you get on those planes, and it's only going to get better. As for the food, for some reason, I like it. There is no way to state it, but I like it. I am not a picky eater, usually they throw in a good desert, and it is always a balanced meal. Finally, the landing is great because you know you are getting into a new country. Different people, different clothes, different actions, and I'm guessing you're not just going to sit around and do nothing, so that in itself is exciting.
It's a weird thing about me, but what can I say, I love travelling (literally).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Song of the day:
Worst Comes to Worst - Dilated Peoples
---
Note: The following was how I felt before this past weekend, when all my flights were delayed, the food tasted crappy, and the quality of the plane wasn't anything to be proud about. Oh yeah, they 'lost my bag', found it, and now the website says they have no info on anything about it or when it's going to be returned. I flew United. You've been warned.
---
For some reason, I love airports. I love the process involved in travelling on a plane. For the individual, I get pulled in by the strategy involved with getting through security in the quickest possible manner and in figuring out the best time to leave so the wait at the gate is not too long but not too short. I'm competitive and battling against yourself is pretty fun; after all, if you lose, you only lose to yourself, but if you win, well then, you can go and buy yourself a cookie as a reward.
Looking at the bigger picture, I'm amazed by the organization and layout of each airport. The stores, the floor/carpet, the shape of the buildings, the transportation methods between terminals (bart like trains at SFO or underground tunnels at O'Hare). Personally, I found Heathrow airport in London to be a bit disappointing. After all, it's London; you'd think they would go all out and make it one of the better airports in the world. As a self proclaimed airport critic, I have to say, I wasn't impressed. On the other hand, Singapore is the best I have experienced, though I saw Dubai's long ago and do not remember much, so I can't bring that into the equation. To explain the beauty which is the Singapore airport would require an entire post to itself, so I will save it for another day.
Then comes the plane itself. I do not care for domestic flights, but flying internationally excites me for three reasons: the entertainment, the food, and the end of the flight if you are beginning your vacation. The entertainment system for these flights is bound to include a movie you have not seen before on your individual tv. If you are on singapore airlines, which I tend to travel on for trips to India, you have your selection of tons of SNES games to play for hours on end. It's just amazing what comfort you get on those planes, and it's only going to get better. As for the food, for some reason, I like it. There is no way to state it, but I like it. I am not a picky eater, usually they throw in a good desert, and it is always a balanced meal. Finally, the landing is great because you know you are getting into a new country. Different people, different clothes, different actions, and I'm guessing you're not just going to sit around and do nothing, so that in itself is exciting.
It's a weird thing about me, but what can I say, I love travelling (literally).
So this is how it's gonna work . . .
My mind wanders like no other, and I'm going to use this blog to talk about anything that makes me think, from sports to technology to grass (there'll be an ode to grass at some point and, no, not weed. I'm talking about fields of grass). If there's a song I like, I'll put it up, and if there's a worthy youtube clip I've been sent or I've found, that'll go up too.
This blog is meant to be nothing more than a distraction, something of interest to those who are bored. Some may find it insightful, others completely useless and dumb. Most of all, however, it is a place for me to record my thoughts during the day, whether it be about events that shaped me or things that I heard about during the day. Hope you enjoy, and at the least, I hope it helps you get through the work/school day, if that's when you're reading it.
This blog is meant to be nothing more than a distraction, something of interest to those who are bored. Some may find it insightful, others completely useless and dumb. Most of all, however, it is a place for me to record my thoughts during the day, whether it be about events that shaped me or things that I heard about during the day. Hope you enjoy, and at the least, I hope it helps you get through the work/school day, if that's when you're reading it.
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