Leaderboard

16+ million subscribers. Myself living in Philadelphia. Quite easy to find 50 of them with positive views towards the company. But then again, you are one of those people that love to [expletive] and complain about everything so I'm not surprised you view things the way you do.

I see confusion all over the place, just thought I'd post some clarifications in here for those of you unsure about things. I'd like to start off with the biggest scam in the industry- CABLES If you are buying an HDTV, you are going to need to pick up cables to hook up your peripherals to the TV. There are two types of cables - digital and analog. Digital comes in the form of HDMI and analog in the form of Component. There is absolutely no difference in picture quality between Component and HDMI - the big difference comes with audio. HDMI can carry video AND audio through one cable. Component needs RCA cables or an optical cable in addition to hook up audio. HDMI is also the only way to use Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio formats(uncompressed audio, only found on Blu Ray and HD DVD). There is no difference between cable brands. If you go to a big name store, you will be pressured into purchasing a HDMI cable produced by Monster Cable that is very expensive. This cable is exactly the same as any other. I'd recommend buying a cable online as they are very cheap on several sites including Amazon, Monoprice, and more. Digital is digital, there is no difference in quality as long as both are plugged in and there is no damage to the cable(unless it is defective). SOURCES If you hook up your TV to the wall, you are not receiving HD content necessarily. You could be receiving standard def content that is either in 4:3 mode(with black bars on the left and right) or stretched. All new HDTVs come with a QAM tuner that allows you to receive local stations in HD depending on who you subscribe to for cable. Another option for local channels is to install an antenna. If you want more channels in HD or have an older model you will need an HD receiver from your current cable or satellite provider. Adding HD will also more than likely increase your monthly bill depending on provider. The providers with the most channels in order: DirecTV Dish Verizon FiOS AT&T U-verse Cable companies vary in area, although none of them will match DirecTV or Dish. The highest quality provider is Verizon FiOS, being the only provider to pass along content without degrading the quality of the signal. Other providers worsen the signal in order to add more channels. Picture Quality Ratings: Verizon FiOS DirecTV Dish AT&T U-Verse Cable companies will vary in area, although consensus shows that most will be somewhere between Dish and U-Verse. TELEVISIONS The best quality HD set you can get would be a CRT TV. Unfortunately, these are no longer produced. If you are purchasing a new TV, the best is Plasma, followed by LED, and LCD in last. Older Plasmas suffered from burn-in symptoms, but these are no longer a big issue. Plasmas are also generally cheaper than LCDs, but can consume more power. No TV will look good out of the box. The settings need to be adjusted. You can either pay for professional calibration or get a test pattern(can be found on many DVDs that say THX Optimized) to adjust settings to your liking. A rule of thumb on flat panel displays is to set sharpness to zero. If you have any questions/comments/concerns, please post and I'll get back to you

http://alarecherchede.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/oh-u-mad-cause-im-stylin-on-u1.jpg

I got that too, it seems like only Platinum members have it, should put it in the subforum for platinum members tbh.

http://4gifs.com/gallery/d/162988-1/Fish_parachute.gif

It's basically come down to three choices IMO. Cleveland, where his heart is. Miami, where a dynasty is. New York, where the money is. The choice will be entirely based on his personality. I think he'd rather be recognized as the most payed athlete of all time, which is what he'll get by going to NY. The amount of money he'll gain from endorsements and whatnot is significantly higher than what he'd get anywhere else. He could potentially earn more then $2 Billion by the end of his career there. His ego is too big to play with a superstar like Wade, and Cleveland just isn't a big enough market. Plus the Cavs aren't in position to get any better as a team, and in 7 years they haven't proven they can put the right pieces around LeBron. They couldn't even find a legitimate second option, like he could gain in Rose or Amar'e. The Nets are eliminated since while he'll make money there when they move to Brooklyn in a couple years, he'll make more by just going to NY now. Plus the Nets were the worst team in the league last year, and it's going to take time for that team to build into legitimate contenders. Same thing with Chicago. They are a high market, but NY is higher. Plus, I think he'd rather not try to rival a more powerful legacy in Michael Jordan. Bottom line, he's going to New York.

Yeah I hope he has some type of gimmick planned for that hour, like he puts on a Olympiakos cap and says bye

I read that first line 15 times before my head blew up.

Why the hate? I'm loving the cover..

IDK what this is, but I lol'd.

http://hoopscribe.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/donaghy.jpg

95% Cavaliers 3% Heat 2% Nets 0% Bulls 0% Clippers 0% Knicks

http://www.backstagegfx.com/forum/uploads/U7-1278368088.jpg

That's what she said!

Great post.

lol now i get it, still not that great

This would NEVER happen in the AL East..

Or he can take it to another level with being dramatic... Slowly climb up the stairs with one chip and placing it down, looking and hoping to see where he would play. Plinko style. http://djdpresentations.com/images/portfolioofimages/plinko.jpg

I think Bosh not wanting to play in Cleveland sealed the deal for him not re-signing. I think its gonna come down to NY, NJ and Miami.

Oh yeah, definitely

Where ever he goes, I really hope he never wins a title in his career (unless he goes to the Nets).... how can someone have such a big ego and be an attention whore like that for real?

http://www-uxsup.csx.cam.ac.uk/~fanf2/hermes/doc/talks/2004-02-ukuug/crybaby.png oh yeah http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d36/Fish7718/lolowned.jpg just sayin

Fisher has value as a leader, as the good cop to Kobe's bad in chemistry, in rising up to help win key playoff games How much is that worth? Lakers have decided it's worth less than 4M. Things to factor in Pro: trust of coaches and teammates, leadership, clutch play, Kobe listens to him, can defend slower physical guards, good for being a key piece in a finals win each of last two years. Con: bad regular season play was markedly worse than 2008-09, can't play more than 20 minutes per in 2010-11 or risks Horry 2003 burnout, can't defend speed for even tenths of a second, bad in transition and finishing, shooting percentage is dropping. Old. The other thing I add is we just saw a contract drive. Luke contract drive, rewarded, sucked ever after. Sasha contract drive, rewarded, sucked ever after. I don't think Mitch wants to go for the contract drive threepeat with Fish, particularly given how much Fisher dropped in the regular season. They want him back, but for what they expect him to be able to do in 2010-11 post contract drive. They also want to limit their risk, hence the one year offer. Fish wants two, both for the money, and to be locked in as union president in the lockout season. There is room for compromise but I think there's a ceiling. Somewhere around 2 years totaling 7 million or under, 1 year at 4. If Fisher absolutely insists on 2 and 10 imo his days as a Laker are over. As for if they had Blake do they win. I think they are better. He's a real point, he can throw low post entry, he can manage games, run transition, see the floor, play intelligent angle D, he does everything better than Fisher on a skill basis and is six years younger. Fish is more clutch, a better leader, Blake is a much much more skilled point guard. He'll make the bigs more effective. He can get them the ball where Fisher can't, because Fisher is and always has been a 2 playing 1.. I think Fisher will be re-signed, but I don't think he'll be that happy about the money. He'll start but Blake will see more minutes and Blake could very well close.

sportsguy33 It's the dramatic season finale of The LeBrachelor! LeBron announcing his choice on ESPN: Thursday, 9pm ET, 1-hr special.

Weird.... I never heard of that hot rumor.

Lets go Cano!

How the hell is Jered Weaver not in this?

Dude, Fisher isn't even in the same boat as Bryant. We could go through every single NBA team and say that about every player, in that case...so therefore, we never blame anyone for our struggles? So Derek Fisher had 3-4 big shots in the fourth quarter this season? That makes up for the rest of his play? I don't buy that. Throwing Kobe (or Gasol, or anyone) under the bus to defend Fisher...doesn't make sense at all. It sucks when Kobe has to get his rest two minutes at a time, and play at an extremely high level the entire game. Go back to our schedule (the results) and check out how many real blowouts we had...double-digit wins, that will work. Then compare that to, say, Cleveland or the Magic. The more we work Kobe, Gasol and Artest, the less chance we have at winning rings later. Through the season? Well, Kobe admitted he was on empty when he reached the Finals. Fisher is wide open most of the time. He needs to knock down his shots and play defense, simple as that (and in a way, it is simple because he is always open and he's a physical player, but he'd rather miss layups and flop than anything else). Now he wants $5 million a year, three years? Please. He's going to play his cards until Mitch decides to let Shannon walk, just to make room for the extra $2-3 million. We wouldn't win it all with Blake at the point? You can't say that. I believe everyone was saying we couldn't do it with Gasol, either...because I distinctly remember all of us wanting Garnett or Jermaine, and we felt that LA settled for Gasol and that the "first round virgin" would never help take us to the top. I want Fisher back, but not for $5 million a year. That's actually $10 million because of the luxury tax. Not worth it, not for three more seasons.