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I know I definitely would care, if someone threw a baby anything into a river, whether it be a puppy, a chick, whatever. If it's being killed without the intent to eat that animal, I'd be pissed. Especially if it's a baby animal.

In this thread I will hold topics about money. I am here to share what I know and learn as well. It's said that you learn more by sharing what you know. Besides, I know there must be someone or two here I can learn from about this topic. If you have disagreements, voice them, we discuss here... possibly to reach an answer... but more so to understand different people have different points of view and to have the unique opportunity see it from "their world". --- 1.) Introduction Some people have their jobs because they genuinely LOVE their jobs/ profession. In other words, the main reason they work is because of their passion for their job, and that is admirable... in fact, if you have a passion in what you do, that's when you rapidly reach success (financially or others). Before they know it, they get promoted from employee to manager to president of company... because they are in their jobs with a burning passion and they bring the energy every day to work. They do NOT work for money. They may be aware they get paid as they go along, but the importance of the passion for their job far outweighs the money compensation they get from it. People who work for the sole purpose of money and the love of it will not have their flame of energy and passion last long and eventually the load of work will start becoming a burden. Most of you here are in their teens or early 20s just beginning to go to workforce and get their first jobs. I am in no way discouraging you to do this... in fact, I highly encourage you to get that first job... whether they be a McDonald's counter, pizza delivery, paperboy, janitor, or accountant, secretary, etc. Before you learn how to make money work for you, you will first have to learn how to work for it first. Before you can lead (and build a business of employees), you must learn how to follow (and learn how a business is built). But there's also some who work because they have no choice and they have bills to pay and other obligations such as taking care of their family members and they're just happy with the way things are, and that's perfectly fine as long as they're truly happy and aware with their choice of exchanging freedom for money. But there are so many people in this position wonder why they never become rich. If you're not willing to exchange your freedom for money though, then you have to start thinking like rich people: freedom is EVERYthing (NOT money!). I will also refer to people who have achieved "Financial Independence" (discussed #3 How to get out of the Rat Race) as "rich people"... shorter. 2.) Security vs. Freedom Ever since we were kids, we're told by our parents to "get good grades, graduate, and then get a high paying job with benefits and security. The problem is they're telling their children to basically advocate their TIME/ lives in exchange for money, no matter if they're used to pay bills, to take care of their important ones, to bring foods to the table, or for wrong reasons such as illegal drugs, alcohol, etc. Billions of people wake up every morning (or night) going to work when they don't want to or don't feel like it. When this happens, they're essentially trading their freedom for money. This is equivalent to a prisoner who gets locked up in high security but he's locked up and is not free to enjoy life to the fullest... they're safe from rain, storm, weathers and outsidendangers from other criminals but they wake up every day in a small cell having their freedom taken away from them. This is why people with a lot of money (aka "rich" people) advocate freedom. They will never work for other people or money. They will find a way to make money work for them, so they will never ever have to work and spend the most valuable asset of all: TIME. To them time is more valuable than money. They wake up when they want to, they do whatever they want to anytime, anywhere. While working people force themselves to wake up and get into a packed train/ bus to go to work, the rich are enjoying their breakfast. One thing that does not change when they sleep, work, play, vacation... is that: money keeps flowing with or without them working. That's the power of money working for you, even when you're not working, you're still making money. The problem with people who work for money is, when they stop working, the money also stops... and they have no choice but to keep working and keep trading their TIME for money... essentially enslaving themselves for life (or until they retire) for money. This is called the "rat race". No matter if you're blue, white collars in high-end suits or just in a t-shirt as a janitor, no matter if your income is $20,000 or $100,000 a year, if you work for money, you're in the Rat Race. Their incomes stop when they stop working... to ensure the income keeps flowing, they have to keep working. 3.) How to get out of the Rat Race The ONLY way to get out of the Rat Race is to achieve Financial Independence/ Freedom. Financial Independence happens when your monthly (or yearly) Portfolio and Passive incomes combined are greater than/ exceed (>) your monthly (or yearly) expense. Three types of income: - "Portfolio income" is what you get from assets such as businesses or also called profits. - "Passive income" is what you get from assets such as properties (rent) or copyrights such as books, songs, etc. - "Earned income" is what you get from working as an employee. It's clear that Portfolio and Passive incomes are distinctly different from Earned income. The difference is: you have to keep working to produce Earned income and if you stop it also stops. On the other hand, Portfolio and Passive incomes are derived from your assets and therefore they work and generate the income for you, even when you sleep. It's obvious if you want freedom/ financial freedom, you will have to start seeking Portfolio and Passive incomes... and not Earned income as an employee. In order to start realizing incomes from these, you must have ASSETS that produce them. Once your monthly Portfolio and Passive incomes combined (you may only have Portfolio or Passive income, not both, and that is OK) exceed your monthly expense, you're financially independent/ free, meaning you can stop working. 4.) Assets While people who work for money focus on the "Income" column, the rich people focus on the "Asset" column. They find ways to keep building their assets. An asset is something that continuously gives you income or cashflow. after the break-even point, the income generated from that asset is considered passive income and cashflow. E.g. Tony buys a boat for $10,000 and rents it for 1,200 monthly. The cost of maintenance is $200 monthly. So overall, Tony gets a net income of $1,000 monthly from the boat. If the boat continues to make the $1,000 net income for him consistently, that means it will take 10 months for Tony to reach break-even point ($10,000 for the cost he paid for the boat). The 11th month marks his first official profit ($1,000) from the boat/ asset... and from the 11th month on, Tony's boat has truly become an asset that throws off cashflow of $1,000 every month. So you can imagine, if he has 10 boats, he will rack in $10,000 every month... with him probably just working small work at the counter. If he chooses to do something else, he can hire someone to do the job for $1,000 a month... and that means even if he sleeps without doing a single work for one whole month, he still gets an income of $9,000 a month because he has an employee that runs the boat business for him, even when he sleeps or doing something else. This is the power of leverage. The smart way is, of course, to spend that time building other assets than just sleeping. 5.) Leverage This is everything for rich people. They use them in any endeavor they undertake, and without which they simply can't be successful. There are three types of leverage: - Other people's money - Other people's time - Other people's resources or talent In the above example, once Tony hires an employee to watch over his boat business, he is using his employee's time as his leverage (Other people's time). True, Tony has to pay $1,000 to the employee, and if he takes charge of the business himself, he saves $1,000 every month. But consider the return, that he is FREE to do something else. Remember that FREEDOM is what rich people seek. Consider that if he's free to do something else, he can possibly build a second business e.g. liquor store that in time produces another $10,000 to his pocket every month... combining with the boat business, he gets $19,000 every month. If he had to watch over the boat business himself, true, he saves the $1,000 every month in the employee wage, but that monthly saving of $1,000 is not comparable to the potential of building another business that produces a monthly income of $10,000... which means the likelihood of building the liquor store is slim to none (if he had to watch over his boat business by himself). In this case, Tony pays his employee $1,000 every month to watch over his boat business and in return he gets the FREEDOM and TIME to build his second business, a liquor store that produces another income of $10,000 every month... essentially he is trading the $1,000 he pays to the employee for $10,000 he gets from the second business he builds from the free time the employee gives him. If you're a working employee, you're right now in the shoes of Tony's employee (Tony is your boss). And if you're wondering that Tony must be generous and have lots of money to pay you $1,000 a month just to watch over the counter and do small work, remember for every penny your boss pays you, you generate about 10-100-1000 times as much FOR him. That's leverage of "Other people's time" working for Tony, and a powerful one at that. That's why the more employees you have the richer you are... as long as they're effective hiring. Working people/ employees unfortunately do NOT possess any type of leverage working for them. In fact, the only leverage associated with them is the ones their boss have working against them. If they come late to work, poorly perform, they get fired, income stops. Example of "Other people's money" is if you borrow money from a bank to invest in a business or real estate. Example of "Other people's resources" is if you hire a specialist to get a task done in your business. I will post more... thanks if you give your time to read, give opinions, etc.

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The New York Giants.....your 2010-2011 NFC East Champions.

http://mrslebronwade.com/ Haha...this is just hilarious. http://mrslebronwade.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/chrises_disney_postcard_FINAL.jpg http://mrslebronwade.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/wades_bed_card.jpg

So Derrick Rose isn't a viable crunch time option because he isn't a top 5 scorer in the NBA and is a point guard is basically what you are saying? Who the hell cares? The guy averaged nearly 21 points a game on 49% shooting this past season. Those are impressive numbers for anybody, "true scorer" or not. It really doesn't matter that Rose is a point guard or not because he is a scorer by nature. He was the highest scoring point guard in the league last season, had the 5th highest shooting percentage and took the most shots per game of any point guard (by 1.4 a game). It isn't in Derrick Rose's nature to not look to score the basketball, point guard or not. If his regular season numbers aren't enough, what about the fact that he was 15th in the leauge in clutch time scoring last season? Of the 14 players ahead of him, only 8 shot a better percentage from the floor than he did. Some of the players who he shot a better percentage than were Kevin Durant (by 9.8%), Kobe Bryant (by 0.9%), Dirk Nowitzki (by 0.4%) and Carmelo Anthony (by 2.6%). These players are 4 of the top scorers in the NBA and Rose wasn't too far off from their clutch time scoring last season and in some cases, was significantly more efficient. Rose also average 8.3 assists during this time, which is something to note. As far as I am concerned, you don't have to be the one that is doing the scoring to be clutch. If you are directly responsible for a teammate getting a wide open look, it means just as much as scoring the ball yourself. If you are a threat to pass the ball during crunch time, tt adds another element to what the defense have to be aware of. The only players in the top 15 of clutch scoring who averaged more assists than Rose did were Steve Nash and Chris Paul (LeBron averaged an identical 8.3). This had to be taken into consideration as well when determining if a player is a viable option down the stretch. There is also his play down the stretch when the Bulls were fighting for the last playoff spot. He guaranteed that they would make the playoffs and after that guarantee (I'm not 100% sure when he said it, so I'll use the final 10 games as a reference point) he averaged 24.7 ppg on 52.4 FG% including a 39 point on 68% shooting performance against the Celtics in what was basically the game that stamped the Bulls ticket into the playoffs. Last thing I'll touch upon in regards to him being a threat is his numbers in the playoffs against one of the best defensive teams in the league. He averaged 27 points a game on 45.6% against the Cavs. Granted it was a small sample size (only 5 games) but considering his performance the previous year against the Celtics, I don't think think you can write it off as a fluke. When the pressure increases and the games get bigger, Rose brings his game to the next level. It is as simple as that. He also did all of this during his second season where he was 21 years old. It is only logical to assume that he will be able to improve on these numbers considering he still has plenty of things that he can add to his game. But if you think he isn't a viable option because he doesn't average 25 points per game or he is a point guard, well, good for you.

Some interesting moves during today's cutdown. Both undrafted rookie WR's Duke Calhoun and Victor Cruz make the final 53, while veteran WR Derek Hagan is released. Hagan has always been a clutch special teams performer, but Coughlin said that he's lost a step in that department this year and that Calhoun is capable of similar production on younger legs. I dig it. Cruz was a no-brainer, though it started to feel less and less so as the weird cuts were coming throughout the day. In my opinion, he'll take over the #4 WR spot while Barden is still trying to completely heal and learn the offense and his assignments, which is a great thing. He is what we wanted Sinorice Moss to be when we drafted him, and he's a tireless worker. Have to absolutely love that in a kid. Cut DT Jay Alford, 2007 3rd round pick from Penn State. He had high upside, and delivered the memorable sack on Brady in the Super Bowl.. but had a knee injury that caused him to miss all of 2009 and he obviously didn't look the same to coaches this offseason. Unfortunate, I liked the kid. Look for him to get a look from St. Louis and Spags. Cut QB Rhett Bomar, 2009 5th round pick from Sam Houston State (Oklahoma transfer). He, again, had high upside. Looked like he really grew and matured over last preseason, but again it was not enough to make the 53 man roster. They'll look for him to clear waivers and stash him on the practice squad, but I doubt he makes it through. Cut HB Andre Brown, 2009 4th round pick from NC State. This was the one that shocked me the most. He tore his achilles at camp in his rookie year, and missed all of 2009. I thought he ran really well this preseason, though. They'll again look for him to clear waivers and try to stash him on the practice squad, but I doubt he makes it through either. He had a turf toe injury this week, but not long term by any means. Ran for 95 yards on 21 carries, for a 4.5 YPC... but he did lose a fumble. I don't know, definitely saw them cutting D.J. Ware over Brown. I guess Ware really impressed in the week 4 preseason game carrying the load against the Patriots. We kept 8 linebackers, mostly due to special teams work (Wilkinson is great there) and the fact that... well... I'm not sure they're entirely sold on a linebacking rotation for the upcoming season. It's going to be a work in progress and hopefully things fall into play sooner rather than later. In other recent moves, they gave up a 5th round pick in 2011 and a conditional pick in 2012 to Minnesota in order to acquire Sage Rosenfels and Darius Reynaud. I like this move a lot. Rosenfels gives them a competent backup QB in case Eli goes down for any length of time, and they needed a veteran presence now that Sorgi is headed to IR. Reynaud also gives them a viable KR option, which was a glaring need after Hixon went down for the season in early training camp and Tim Brown proved extremely ineffective. This whole Jacobs/Bradshaw fiasco... a non-issue, in my book. Jacobs was hurt last year and tried to play through it for 16 games, and it's left a bad taste in everyone's mouth. We all know what he's capable of when healthy, and he'll be out showing it off in week 1 against Carolina. A few lowered shoulders and big, pivotal conversions later, and it'll be business as usual, with Bradshaw as the change of pace instead of vice versa. Still very interested to see the roles of a certain few players on the team, or even who starts at linebacker for the G-Men (Goff in the middle with Bulluck outside? Bulluck in the middle with Sintim outside? Dillard? Bueller?)... but overall I cannot wait for this football season to start. I think the Giants defense will definitely open some eyes this year, ala 2007. The front 7 (specifically the front 4) will be causing mayhem for offenses this year, with a rotation of Tuck, Umenyiora, Kiwanuka, JPP, and Tollefson at end and a rotation of Cofield, Canty, Robbins, and Linval Joseph on the inside (with even one or two ends in there on passing downs). Going to be a fun year! Don't sleep on Big Blue.

Not funny at all, and whats the point of eating something that's alive.

Are you guys crazy? The Bengals have one of the best defenses in the NFL, if they win that division it'd be a huge disappointment especially with all of their weapons on offense. WK1: @ NE - W WK2: BAL - W WK3: @ CAR - W WK4: @ CLE - W WK5: TB - W WK6: BYE WK7: @ ATL - W WK8: MIA - W WK9: PIT - W WK10: @ IND - L WK11: BUF - W WK12: @ NYJ - L WK13: NO - L WK14: @ PIT - L WK15: CLE - W WK16: SD - L WK17: @ BAL - L lol @ ECN and the Bengals winning 5 games

Unlikely. If Durant averaged 30 PPG (2,460 points in 82 games) for the next 10 seasons, it would give him 24,600 points to add to his 6,000 already. Then he'd need 8,400 more, which is about 3 1/2 more seasons of 30 PPG. So...you're basically expecting Kevin Durant to average 30 PPG every season for the next 14 years, which means he'll be a 17-year player showing no decline. Can he average 35 a game? Sure, probably...but that would be 2,870 points in an 82-game season, not really much more. But let's pretend he did. It would take over 11 seasons of 35 PPG to come up with 32,400 points (what he needs to surpass Kareem). I'll change my "unlikely" to "not a chance."

I watched Guru of Go about 4 months ago and was amazed by Paul Westhead. Even in the WNBA he could run his signature seven seconds or less offense. Which in reference to the name meant "scoring in 7 seconds or less".Westhead was amazing due to his 1980 championship team with the Lakers, and his days in Loyola putting up 135 points a game. Now, I realize there are many of you out there that are going to think that I have nothing else to write about and maybe I was "encouraged" to write a Pro-Mercury/WNBA piece. Not so. I am doing this on my own volition. Some of you may think I'm just being a guy and this is a testosterone filled blog dedicated to Penny Taylor, because I think she looks fine. No, not at all. I mean I do think she is pretty and all, but I'm not writing just because I have a crush on her.I'll be honest and say that Diana Taurasi is my only basketball crush. She plays the game fearlessly, bombs the 3, and finds the open man(STEVE NASH). She was the only reason I watched NCAA Women's Basketball in the 2000's, and kept one eye on the WNBA.Let me state here and now that I am STRAIGHT for the haters. I am a BASKETBALL fan. Now to clear up common misconceptions with this article... "Watching women play is boring." WRONG! The Mercury played fast. They ran and gunned just like the Suns, and of course, played defense in a similar manner. Cappie Pondexter has a motor that never stopped. Her court vision was top notch. Penny Taylor had a game as smooth as Pau Gasol. "I can't relate to female players." Did you know the Mercury had the best record in the Western Conference? If you didn't jumped on the bandwagon, I recommend you try it and see if you like it. This team is athletic, they ran, they scored. The Merc had serious talent and dedicated players who wanted to win. Doesn't that sound like the Suns, Warriors, or the Raptors? "Women's Basketball Skill Cannot Match Men's." http://wnbaoutsiders.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/diana-taurasi.jpg Anyways, back to the 2007 team... PAUL WESTHEAD http://www.wnba.com/media/draft2007/westhead_300_070329.jpg Former NBA coach Paul Westhead became the Mercury's head coach prior to the 2006 season and brought his up-tempo style to Phoenix. Westhead was the first WNBA coach to have won a previous NBA championship (1980 LA Lakers). His offense at Loyola produced 135 points per game in 1989. He is by FAR my favorite coach ever. If I had an NBA team I would run his offense for sure! DIANA TAURASI http://www.wnba.com/media/dee-candace_300_080917.jpg In 2007, Taurasi finally reached the WNBA playoffs. In the first round, the Mercury eliminated the Seattle Storm two games to none. Next, they took down the San Antonio Silver Stars in a hard fought two game series. In a hard-fought series, Taurasi and Pondexter led the Mercury to their first WNBA title. With this victory Taurasi became just the seventh player ever to win an NCAA title, a WNBA title, and an Olympic gold medal. As you can see she is a highly decorated and outstanding player who I liken to Steve Nash. CAPPIE PONDEXTER http://i.a.cnn.net/si/2007/writers/music_sports/09/27/pondexter.playlist/76735161cap.jpg In 2007, Pondexter played a key role in the Mercury's championship run, and was named 2007 WNBA Finals Most Valuable Player after averaging 22 points per game during the hard-fought five-game series. I compare her to Allen Iverson. PENNY TAYLOR http://www.wnba.com/media/mercury/penny_taylor_portrait_300.jpg She was a vital contributor to the Mercury's championship success in 2007, posting a career-high 17.8 points, career-best 6.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 29.7 minutes per game. The 6-1 forward proved her big-game abilities during the 2007 WNBA Playoffs, where she averaged 19.3 points, a team-best 7.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists in a team-high 34.6 minutes per game. She to me is like Pau Gasol. 2007 Triumph http://www.nbaloud.com/images/phoenix-mercury-2007-wnba-champions1.jpg In 2007 the Mercury ran away with the Western Conference, posting a 23-11 record. The Mercury set a record by averaging 89.0 points in a season during 2007. In the first round the Mercury made quick work of the Seattle Storm, blowing them out in two games. In the Western Finals, the Mercury swept the San Antonio Silver Stars in a closer series. In the Finals, the Mercury faced the defending 2006 champions Detroit Shock. The two teams split the first two games in Detroit. Coming back home, the Mercury suffered a letdown in Game 3, losing 88-83. Down 2-1, the Mercury had to win Game 4 or lose. Game 4 came down to the final seconds, but the Mercury edged out the Shock 77-76 and forced a Game 5 in Detroit. In Game 5, Phoenix won by a score of 108-92.The Mercury won the championship with a 108-92 Game 5 victory, and gave Paul Westhead an NBA and WNBA title. As you can see please think twice before you criticize the WNBA, I wrote this article for the love of the game,and for Diana Taurasi! :glasses: I still admit I love the NBA more than WNBA, but the gap is closing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRtY6JjdO8k