Spicy McHaggis

1. How would you rate my team overall? 2. Which 3 of my 5 WR's should start? QB P. Manning WR C. Johnson WR S. Smith WR D. Branch RB S. Jackson RB J. Jones TE D. Graham K J. Hanson DEF Pittsburgh BN WR-B. Stokley BN QB-J. Harrington BN RB-F. Taylor BN RB-J. Bettis BN WR-C. Rogers BN QB-C. Pennington

My apologies. Friday Arizona Saturday Wisconsin Illinois East Carolina Air Force Georgia Notre Dame Texas A&M Auburn UTEP Sunday West Virginia Virginia Tech Monday Miami Tiebreak Question #1: How many total points will be scored in the Arizona/Utah game? 41

I completely agree... but do you think it's just game-playing fatigue or could Yao improve his training regimen? Then why have shooting percentages declined? You've had the luxury of watching the best offensive team in the league play ball. And everybody knows a healthy Joe Johnson would've completely changed the conf. finals. Most of the league sucks at shooting. As far as I'm concerned, we should expect 50% from the field, 45% from 3, and 80% from the line. Most teams aren't close to that. Again, NBA players are better. But I say it's because they're bigger, faster, and more athletic. Not because of basketball skill. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> But you are going off the assumption that the players are open. If you looked at a "wide open" stat, I guarentee the percentages are alot better than those you just mentioned. They DEFEND in the NBA. Wide open shots are few and far between. Like when People look at Horry's shot in the finals, they talk about how he was wide open, when in actuallity, there was someone in his face right at the release. THAT is NBA open. As defenders get better, putting the ball in the basket is going to be harder. and those numbers you just quoted...what team has ever shot 45% from the 3 point line? There are teams dancing with the 50% from the field, but once again, against a good defensive team, they SHOULDN'T be shooting that. In college, with the zone, if you swing the ball enough you get a shot that is TRUELY wide open. And they still don't put up the numbers you just mentioned. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Okay, I checked the all-time stats... my 3-point expectation is wrong, b/c the 96-97 Hornets shot the high of 42.8%. I'd say my FG & FT expectations are fair... the 84-85 Lakers shot 54.5% from the field and the 89-90 Celtics shot 83.2% from the line. These are stats for the season. And those heights would be perfect for Phil.

Any more news on Daniels and the Lakers?

Then why have shooting percentages declined? You've had the luxury of watching the best offensive team in the league play ball. And everybody knows a healthy Joe Johnson would've completely changed the conf. finals. Most of the league sucks at shooting. As far as I'm concerned, we should expect 50% from the field, 45% from 3, and 80% from the line. Most teams aren't close to that. Again, NBA players are better. But I say it's because they're bigger, faster, and more athletic. Not because of basketball skill.

Quoting myself just to see if I ever said college teams have more talent than pro ones... Nope, never did. You'd have to be blind to say today's NBA is prettier to watch than college ball. You're correct. More athletes? Yes. Bigger players? Absolutely. More skilled? Not a chance. Success in today's NBA is heavily dependent on Iso plays and the ability to penetrate, absorb contact, and get to the line. On the flip side, defensive success depends on beating on your opponent as much as possible. As great as you think that is, that ain't basketball. If the players in a free-throw dependent league were that skilled, 75% would be considered mediocre. Instead it's considered good. College basketball easily has better flow and is better to watch.

I'll be honest and tell you I was raised an ND fan, but SC gets $1,000 a unit from me and I went to every home game during Petey's first 6-6 year. So now I'm a full-fledged Trojan.

You're right about the hours, but the game of basketball is not being taught in the NBA. Look at Ben Wallace... he's considered a special player simply because he sticks with the fundamentals on defense. He deserves credit, but what he does should not be a novelty. Also, the college game is much closer to what basketball should be than the NBA.

Bold me baby. I lost SC AGAIN.....

Corrected for accuracy: It looks like the Lakers are tapping into some good potential... but potential is the key word.

I liked it a lot. [moron]Did they ever explain the ?[/moron] I never read the book.

I actually am searching for a painkiller solution so I'm trying marijuana. Any recipes?

Man, Horry saved Duncan's ass last night. I prefer to see the guy who works hard all the time get the recognition... but you can't question Horry's ability in pressure situations. HOF, no doubt. I think Pop outcoached Brown. Going to Horry IS obvious but it was the right move and it was drawn up well. Plus using his TO's to narrow Detroit's options... Duncan needs a big Game 6 to show his heart isn't questionable.

Found using google - your results may vary. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Thanks. All I could google was a recipe using pot butter.

Good move. The Lakers still need a power forward and a quick point guard as usual. But I think the Kobe/Phil relationship will work better without Jackson having to worry about massaging Fatboy's ego.

Check out Game 5 of that series going in the Kings favor. 2 things: --It's nice to see Fatboy lose and give me vindication as a Kobe fan. Miami went for broke this year and failed. They'll get a maximum of two more effective years from Fatboy. Heat fans should be glad Riley didn't throw Wade into the Laker trade, but mad that the trade happened at all. --Steve Kerr is the best analyst by far.

Amare Stoudemire had the greatest losing effort I've ever seen. He almost willed the Suns to victory. SA had no answer for him defensively. Stoudemire made Duncan look silly. If TD can't stop him I don't know who can. Spurs deserved the win but the Suns will be back with a vengeance next season.

So how much of the sci-fi of the global grid & the Philadelphia Experiment do you think will come into play? Abrams has a history of coming up with plausible explanations (though admittedly pseudo-science ones) that simply reference their roots. But this stuff is freaky. http://ascension2000.com/Shift-of-the-Ages/shift09.htm When you get to some of the math stuff and plug in The Numbers, it's unbelievable. 4-8-15-16-23-42 adding up to 108... 666 being the number for the sun (remember the light of the hatch)... weird. http://ascension2000.com/Shift-of-the-Ages/shift10.htm ^That link could lead to some good gov't conspiracy theories. I love this: Think of Walt and the whispers. I think someone already said it, but maybe Walt will be used in the mines initially but he probably has a more important purpose.

What do you think is down there, SJ?

Holy Shit!

A separate post for the allegiances of the Lostaways. When Locke revealed the Science vs. Faith battle, I knew the story would have to lead to a balance of the two. Good call on Sayid, SJ. He obviously has displayed his technical expertise. But we also see him praying when he meets the friend whom the intelligence agents send him after. He has also has been a mediator many times. I see it breaking down like this: -FAITH- Locke: Obvious. Sun: She commented about fate. Rose: Believes her husband is still alive. Walt: Knows he has special abilities. Trained with Locke. -SCIENCE- Jack: Obvious. Kate: Said she has Locke's back. Claire: Told Sun there's no such thing as fate. -BALANCE- Sayid: See above. Shannon: Blames Locke for Boone's death but also holds on to Boone's memory. -UNDECIDED- Charlie: Locke helped him with his addiction but he has ties to Claire. Michael: Doesn't trust Locke fully but did see Locke save Walt from a polar bear. Jin: Loves Sun, but hasn't really stated his feelings. Hurley: Has a certain faith in the numbers and their damage. But his faith-ness isn't optimistic like Locke's. Sawyer is a special case. He was tortured by both Jack & Sayid, but he never showed a loyalty to Locke either. His encounter with the Boar has exposed a faith portion of his character. But his propensity is to take his own side. I do feel that Sawyer's redemption is a major plot point of the entire series. Hence the song.

SJ, any ideas you have, I'd love to read. I like your analyses. 4-8-15-16-23-42 As far as the numbers...thinking in terms of Paradise Lost, if you add the first 5 numbers you get 66, then add the 4 & 2 for another 6. 666 works considering Pandora's Box has been opened. Will the hatch release anything besides the sin of knowledge? Who/what does everyone think the Others are? My initial reaction was that the people on the boat were part of the Others, because Danielle said they took Alex, and there Alex was. But now I'm remembering the distress call: "It killed them. It killed them all." I'm wondering if Danielle saw the sentry pull her team into the ground. Maybe the Others cured the team of the sickness from the Black Rock in exchange for the team doing the Others' dirty work. Remember, if the Island gives to you, you must give to the Island. Kidnapping Alex was one of their first jobs. Walt is the next recruit of age. Maybe when Aaron is older, they'll come for him. Now for the monster and the hatch. We know it's mechanical. We know it's a security system. But who/what is it protecting...the Others or the Island? And did it want Locke specifically? When Kate threw in the dynamite, I thought that was smoke from the explosion being sucked in by the sentry. Or did I miss something? My theory is that the sentry has some control center under the Island and that the hatch leads to it.

Sorry to bust your bubble, but living in the Bay Area I can tell you the Warriors are set to take Channing Frye if he is still there with the 9th pick unless some sleeper comes about, which I doubt. I have seen a different scenario for the Lakers taking Raymond Felton. He is the fastest guy from endline to endline WITH the ball in his hands plus he's a natural leader and a winner. Definitely an upgrade from Chucky Atkins. Aside from the top 3 guys (Bogut, Paul, Williams) Gerald Green is the top High School prospect and has as much upside as Williams. He still needs to develop his body though.(6'7, only 200 ibs) That would make sense considering Montgomery's Pac-10 roots...but maybe LA can trade up.

I am dying to see the Suns win this series and ultmately the title. Their style of play is good for pro basketball. I forgot about the return of Joe Johnson and I'm hoping he brings a Reed-esque inspiration to his team. But if what I saw continues, it's over. It looked like more than fatigue to me.

This series is over. In this series, the Spurs remind me of Year 2 of the Lakers championship run. They basically have been toying with the Suns and then turning it on when they need to win. Unbelievable.