iggymcfly

There's really no point in trying to use logic here though since all anyone does is distort my words out of context or use emotional appeals and ad hominem attacks. One last time, my main point isn't that it's so important that Vick plays all 16 regular season games. I really don't even care. I don't think I watched a single Falcons game last year anyway. My point is that the whole thing is a non-story. They're fucking animals. The fact that everyone's all up in arms and passionate to defend them just shows how easily manipulated the average American is.

I should have paragraphed better. The first three sentences though were the ones that were referring to your proposed trade. The rest were devoted to a potential deal for Jarrett Jack since I think he's the kind of player the Lakers could really use right now.

That would be a terrible deal for the Lakers. They'd be stuck with eight C/PF types and would have no one but Farmar even remotely decent in the backcourt. If anything, you could maybe trade Roy and Oden for Kobe and Bynum, but my whole point was that they don't need to redo their frontcourt. They need to keep Kobe and find a point guard who can get him the ball while hitting the occasional open jumper. Looking at Portland's roster, who the Lakers could really use would be Jarrett Jack, but I don't think trading him straight up for Bynum would give LA good value and I can't see Portland being interested in any of the other assorted frontcourt types that the Lakers would have to offer. Even if the Blazers got Bynum, he wouldn't be a good fit as they already are set in the frontcourt with Randolph and Oden in place. Maybe, they could work some kind of three way deal where Jack and a decent shooting wing go to LA, Bynum goes to some young team looking to build around a big man, and Portland gets some good defenders at the point and at the 3, but I'm really at a loss as to how you'd actually work such a deal.

While I already admitted that the "worse problems" thing was a bad and poorly phrased argument, that point wasn't in reference to whether the local police should deal with the issue. It was in reference to all the national attention this case is getting which is starting to border on the ridiculous. It's been a headline on ESPN ever since it broke and is also getting way more coverage than it deserves on what are supposed to be the legitimate news networks. If you looked at how many hours of coverage Darfur has gotten the last week and a half on all national news networks compared to how much time Vick's dogfighting escapades have gotten, I'd guess that Vick would win in a landslide. This is not news and the fact that people are outraged over it all around the country is something I find a little silly. Oh, and 'Do you use this argument to get out of speeding tickets with your mom's minivan, or when your dad tries punishing you for stealing one of his beers?" was a cute little ad hominem jab, but I'm driving a 2006 Sonata right now and I'm legal drinking age, so whatever you were implying about me being a stupid high school kid or something is completely off-base. Nice try though.

One thing I don't like about this argument is that it's just getting the anti-dog fighting crowd more riled up at Michael Vick. Honestly, from the evidence I've heard, it sounds like he wasn't even involved in this, so don't make him the target for all your venom. And I admit the "there are worse things" argument was bad the way I put it, but the point is just to get some sense of scale. Just because you don't like something doesn't mean that it deserves prison time or suspension from a football league. And with the standard of rights given to animals in our culture, this is much, much less serious than something like a DUI that actually endangers human beings. The only reason people are mad here is because it's about dogs and dogs are cuddly and cute. If it was a deer or a cow or any of 1,000 other animals with similar intelligence to dogs that people don't keep in their homes, no one would give two shits what happened to them. Oh, and as for the gambling thing, it would be much easier to make money on an underrated Atlanta team with Vick on the sideline than it would if he was playing. I just happen to enjoy watching his play on the field.

Bingo. The Lakers are pretty good inside as they're already one of the better rebounding teams in the league and Odom's shown the ability to score the ball too. As guys like Turiaf and Bynum develop, they're only going to get better inside. All they really need is that good shooting point guard. I think Derek Fisher's a little too far past his prime at this point, and while he would have been nice a couple years ago, the Lakers would be in about the same spot they are now if he was still playing in LA. I still can't figure out who really fits that bill that the Lakers could actually make a deal for though. The only real trading chip they have is Bynum, so it has to be a young team looking toward the future who's not already set inside. I just don't see any good shooting young PGs around the league that fit that bill.

Age is more significant than years in the league. Kobe's second year in the league, he was still coming off the bench, so even among great players, it's really hard to produce at 18/19. You wouldn't try to compare that to Jordan's big playoff series, would you? I think the year he turned 22 (00/01) is a much fairer comparison, especially since that's when he started scoring on a similar metric to what he'd do throughout his career, just like Jordan did in his second season. Besides, don't all the talking heads always talk about how it's good for young players to stay in college and work on their game and that that helps them eventually do better in the pros? Well, if that's the case, it's pretty silly to brush Jordan's years playing for Dean Smith under the rug and say that they don't count at all toward his development. No way should LeBron's first year out of high school be compared on a 1-to-1 basis with Jordan's rookie season after three years at UNC. I'd say Jordan's rookie season compares much better to what LeBron did last season when he'd had enough time to really develop his game.

In the first place, I wasn't just talking about steak, I was talking about veal. They do starve the calves, and while I don't know the exact process, I do know that the animal rights people are all up-in-arms about it and seem to think it's torture or something. Also, while ideally a deer gets killed with one shot, if the hunter's aim is off a little bit, the animal can potentially suffer for hours and if he doesn't bother to track the animal down after, it can be days. The point is that jail time's not appropriate for pain being caused to animals. Besides, the main point isn't seeing the animals suffer, right? The point is to breed a fighting machine and have it make quick work of the other dogs and survive. It's not that I'm a proponent of the sport, but I certainly don't want to see one of the most exciting players in the NFL suspended over something this insignificant. Millions of people's entertainment for 8 sundays (or whatever the suspension would be) greatly outweighs a dozen or so dogs reaching an early demise. If you want something to be outraged about, there are plenty of real things to worry about. 10,000 people are killed in Darfur every month. The war-hawk Republicans are trying to bait Iran into a war that could cost thousands of American lives and lead to dangerous instability in the Middle East, possibly even provoking a World War type scenario. The Constitution is being eroded in front of our eyes, and the idea of a capitalist free state is disappearing. These are all things that are worth worrying about. I could care less if some rich football player likes to watch a bunch of mean dogs fighting to the death and wager on the proceedings.

The point's not whether dog-fighting's necessarily a healthy activity. It's probably not, and yes, it's a little on the cruel side. I'm just saying that it shouldn't be a big deal. Unless you're actually torturing animals to see them suffer (which I don't see being the point of this at all), any animal cruelty charges should be of the fine/probation variety and nothing more. For example, while I'm not into dog-fighting or hunting, I do enjoy the taste of tortured baby calves, and make a point to order them often when I'm at a nice restaurant. That doesn't bother me because it's a simple animal just like a dog. It's not that I'm a dog-fighting proponent, I just think that people need a sense of scale saying someone who fights animals should get a harsher punishment than someone who punched a woman in the face and then tried to have the bouncer killed that pulled him off of her.

Yes, the NBA is more prestigious than the NCAA overall. That doesn't mean that the 2nd best job in all of college basketball is less prestigious than the 14th best job in the NBA though. The NFL's ahead of NCAA football too and the Patriots' coaching job is probably the most prestigious in all of football. That doesn't mean that coaching at USC or Notre Dame is less prestigious than coaching the Houston Texans though. Also, the Gators were offering a heavy contract extension to keep Donovan in Florida. (I think $3 million a year), so it's not like he would have been hurting for money anyway. Again, if it's all about the money or the challenge, I can see it, but as a long-term career move, I think this is going to hurt him.

Fuck everybody making a big deal out of this. Just because dogs make good pets doesn't mean it's the end of the world if someone wants to have them fight. While speeding may not quite be an appropriate analogy, I do think this should be less serious than something like a DUI. What's the difference between someone who wants to shoot a deer "for sport" when the animal might get away with a painful bullet in its shoulder for hours and someone who wants to bet on dogs fighting? I really think people who think Vick should be "stabbed in the neck for this so he can see what it feels like" are seriously lacking perspective here. (Note: And that's assuming he's even guilty. From the sounds of the case, the evidence for that is tenuous at best.)

Yes, I know those jobs aren't available this year. That's why my point was that he should stay at Florida until one of those jobs becomes available. I guess if you hate college sports and see it as nothing, then maybe you think this is a good move for Donovan, but it's really not remotely true. The Toledo Mud Hens don't get higher attendance figures than major league teams (like some college programs do) and they don't get half of their games on national television. Mike Krysewski and Roy Williams are more well-known than any NBA coaches except for Phil Jackson and maybe Pat Riley. The fact is that this is a move down in prestige for Donovan unless he somehow magically transforms the Magic into a contender and I don't see how he can do that. Besides, a basketball coach can have more impact on the college level than he can in the NBA. With recruiting, training young athletes, and more of a team game, a coach can singlehandedly keep a team in contention year-in and year-out. In the NBA, most coaches have little say over personnel decisions, the players are already trained, and the offenses are vastly simplified due to the 24-second shot clock. I guess I can understand the "looking for a challenge" thing and if Billy Donovan really believes he's one of the very best coaches alive today, this is his chance to prove it. If he wants to avoid a 80%-90% chance of turning into the next Mike Montgomery though or at the very least marring a seemingly legendary career like Rick Pitino, then this probably isn't such a good move.

And you thought I was in denial about the Mavericks? Believe me, if the Pistons could have stopped LeBron, they would have done it last night. After two close wins at home, and then two losses on the road, there's no way they were "underestimating the Cavs". They did everything they could to stop LeBron last night, but he was just a little bit too good for them. End of story. Edit: Also, this whole idea that the Pistons were such a juggernaut and were so much better than the Cavs this year is a little silly to me. They finished 3 games better than Cleveland in the standings. Three. Despite the criticism that Cleveland was "coasting through the regular season" and that LeBron was only giving half-hearted effort. Is it really that shocking that Cleveland's just the better team now? The 11 schlubs do play solid defense and rebound well. If LeBron has to take every shot down the stretch, so be it.

Basically, my point was that he should stay at Florida until he gets a ridiculously good offer because the situation there is so good. Yes, the Gators graduated their entire starting five, but coming off two national championships, Donovan could have his pick of any recruit in the country and he'd be practically guaranteed a Top-5 program for years to come. Once you get that kind of recognition with recruits, you've basically got it made, especially at a school like Florida with relatively loose academic standards and in a place where a lot of students would want to go anyway. And no, I don't think Orlando's all that good of a job. Yes, you have Howard and Nelson, but you have no one else and I don't think Howard's ever going to be a first-team All-NBA type anyway. Off the top of my head, listing coaching jobs in order right now, I'd put all of the following ahead of Orlando: Cleveland Phoenix Dallas San Antonio Denver Houston Utah Chicago Portland Detroit LA Lakers Toronto Seattle So, basically, he's giving up the 2nd best college coaching job for the 14th best NBA job despite the fact that the last 6 or 7 coaches to go from college to the NBA have failed miserably and been fired or given up before the end of their first contract. Doesn't sound like such a great idea to me.

Well, you got burned on the Mavericks-Warriors prediction, Mr. Nowitzness, so I hope you're wrong again and the Global Icon gets sent packing. You can't really expect me to be objective when the team I've followed since childhood is on the verge of pulling the biggest choke in playoff history. Especially after watching what Dirk did last season against San Antonio and Phoenix, it was hard to believe that he could disappear so completely throughout an entire series. Just from watching Cleveland and Detroit though, I really do think Cleveland's better. They were a bad no-call away from winning Game 2, and both games in Cleveland, they won by semi-comfortable margins. (As in, they didn't go down to the last shot like both of Detroit's wins did.)

By the way, more proof that Mike Brown doesn't actually pay attention during the games: Honestly, how could you be coaching the game and not notice that LeBron was the only one who was scoring. Maybe Flip Saunders didn't notice either and that's why he never bothered to double team him down the stretch.

Actually, I've been on the "LeBron will be better than MJ" bandwagon since his rookie season. He's just been accomplishing more at a younger age than anyone in NBA history since he came into the league. Again, it's not just this one game. If anything, this is big in that it's his breakthrough to get by the Pistons and reach the Finals more than it is that he scored 25 points in the 4th quarter + OT or whatever the final number was. If the Cavs lose in Games 6 and 7, you can go ahead and write this off and say he still hasn't accomplished anything yet. Honestly, though I don't see it happening. LeBron and the 11 stiffs have been outplaying the Pistons all series long.

To start with, they have the player who will in all likelihood be the 2nd best player in the league 3 years from now locked up through 2012 in D-Wade. The only thing weighing them down right is Shaq's giant contract that he's too old and out-of-shape to give anyone proper value on. Shaq's currently getting $20 million a year which was over 1/3 of Miami's payroll last season. Take Shaq off the team and the Heat have more cap room than anyone in the league except for Charlotte. In 2010, when that contract finally expires, it seems extremely likely that the Heat will be able to get a big free agent signing with an elite player being able to enjoy the warm weather and the chance to win a championship alongside D-Wade. So yes, I think that would be an excellent coaching opportunity.

They only made the playoffs because the Eastern conference was way down this year. They finished the regular season with a losing record and then they were completely noncompetive against Detroit. And that was with Grant Hill staying healthy enough to play 65 games which probably has about a 5% chance of repeating itself next year. The Magic right now are just good enough to sneak into the playoffs every other year, but I can't see them contending for a championship in the next five years barring a huge trade or free agent signing. Again, it's just not worth it, for something that has such a huge risk of failure considering the program he had built at UF. Maybe three years down the line, Riley will get sick of coaching again and the Miami job will come open. That's the kind of job that would be worth leaving a sure thing for with Dwayne Wade entering his prime and the end of Shaq's contract freeing up a ton of cap room. Orlando kind of seems stuck in no-man's land though where they'll always be decent, but never be great.

Oh noes! I forgot that he only averaged 27/7/6 during the regular season at the age of 22. You're right, he sucks. Seriously, I doubt anyone would even bring up how "badly" LeBron played during the regular season if Bill Simmons hadn't used it for filler in one of his columns based on the 2 or 3 Cavs games he watched this year. And if you're looking at postseason performance which is the true measure of an elite player anyway, you have a lot more than one game to go on. He played great against both Washington and Detroit last year taking a Cleveland team that wouldn't have made the playoffs without him to within one game of the conference finals. Then, this year, while the Cavs kind of had a bye in the 1st round with Washington's injuries, he played big against NJ when necessary and has totally been carrying Cleveland for the last three games. Yeah, he didn't go into ridiculous mode until game 6, but in Game 3, he had a 32/9/9 and in Game 4, he had 25 points and 11 asssists. The fact is that he's doing something (singlehandedly carrying a team to the Finals) that's almost impossible at any age, and he's doing it at an age when a lot of players are just entering their rookie seasons. (Jordan turned 22 in February of his rookie season. LeBron turned 22 last December.) I never said he was better than Jordan at this point of his career, but yes, I think the chances that he gets there are pretty damned good.

Billy Donovan is retarded. He had the best job in college basketball and he gives it up for a rebuilding project that shows no signs of contending in the near future? I could see if he got some great offer, say to coach Oden in Portland or to coach Cleveland if they ever realize that Mike Brown's retarded, but I don't see why he'd take a job with such a low probability of success when he could be a legend in Gainesville.

Easy, tiger. LeBron is great, but let's not get ahead of ourselves here. He's 22 though! At 22, he's carrying a worse team to the Finals then Jordan ever took there. Jordan didn't get to the Finals until he was 29 years old and he had Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant. Can you even imagine what LeBron would be like 7 years from now with some good teammates? It would be "hand out the trophy in October, no one else has a chance".

Jesus Christ is LeBron ridiculous. He basically just beat the best team in the Eastern Conference 1-on-5. I think the probability that he finishes with a better career than Jordan is now definitely over 50%.

Back and bitchier than ever, eh? You don't have to be jealous just because Ottawa made Buffalo look like a junior league team. Buffalo's still got..... uh....... well, I guess they haven't won anything ever. Never mind. Anyway, it is a well known fact that teams tend to be a little rusty after a 9 day layoff. Three to four days rest is probably optimal, so yes 7 days is a lot better than 9. Home advantage is also somewhat helpful, so given that both of those factors were working in Anaheim's favor, I expected Ottawa to have their worst game of the series in Game 1 and wasn't surprised when Anaheim pulled it out. That's pretty basic logic and I don't need to "make excuses" because I still think Ottawa has a great shot to win the series. If anything, it might make an eventual Senators win more exciting to go down a game to begin with rather than just rolling in 5 games like they did against everyone else.

Really good entertaining game there. It's too bad the Senators couldn't pull it out, but it's not too surprising playing on the road after such a big layoff. I'd expect them to come out a lot sharper in Game 2, and I think they still have a great chance to win the Cup.