Real Deal

Cleveland and Baltimore knocked the Mariners out of the playoffs in the 90s...I remember both of those series. Sadly, those two years were the only times the Mariners were in the playoffs in that decade (not sure how that was even possible with the team they had, but oh well). Griffey was playing for the Reds in...2000? That was the year the Mariners lost to New York, and then they had that crazy 115 wins or so the following season, and lost to the Yankees AGAIN. I stopped watching baseball after that, though...just couldn't stick with it, had no interest after Griffey and A-Rod were history (even though Seattle had never won that many games before, ever). But, anyway...enough of me derailing the topic. Sorry guys.

It really reminds me of the situation with Danny Fortson. Excellent rebounder (I'm talking one of the best while he was playing, actually), did a lot of dirty work, but he just wasn't much of a contributor elsewhere. Fortson's biggest issue was his foul trouble. It seemed like Fortson was at five fouls within 10 minutes, he would rack them up so quickly, and it really ruined his career. In fact, the two seasons he played 28-29 minutes per game (under 30), he averaged 12 boards and 11 points. In his third season in the league, he was racking up OVER 15 rebounds per 36 minutes of play (actual number was a hair under 7 boards in 16 minutes). Reggie Evans reached similar rebounding numbers a few years back (well, per 36)...not as good, but pretty close to it. However, he does NOT foul as often as Fortson did (I mean, hell, Fortson was averaging over four fouls in just 16 minutes back in 2005). Evans is not as efficient scoring the ball, but his effort on the glass is what seems to be keeping him in the NBA.

Haha, I'm part of it. I just don't have a favorite team, really never rooting for anyone. When I did enjoy baseball, I was pretty young, and I loved the Mariners and Griffey. Ken, A-Rod, Buhner, Sorrento, Martinez, Davis, Cora, Cruz, Wilson...it's funny how I can recall most of the team, lol. Can't forget Johnson's wicked fastballs, Moyer, Ayala, Fassero...haha. I'm going to cry. I can't even do that with any team in the league nowadays. Maybe the Yankees, lol.

You know, you're supposed to enjoy the upcoming season with us. Either way, no big deal. Work and school is more important, and there are other things as well. Hope you re-consider.

There's nothing wrong with recruiting. Let me and the staff take care of the reckless members that arrive. I've been doing it for six years, guys. We need to rake in all the activity we can get, then eliminate the trouble-makers. Consider it a training camp.

I thought about this last month, and I got a laugh out of it because, funny enough, another Crawford may take his place. If Jordan Crawford pans out to be a good player off the bench, he's much cheaper and younger than Jamal, and it makes sense to go with him. Of course, you can't expect the rookie to turn out to be a better player than Jamal, but he was an excellent scorer in college, and it's not too far-fetched to believe that those scoring skills will translate to the NBA. While Morrison's didn't, Durant's did...and for all of the examples you can give leaning one way, you can give just as many in the other direction. Will Crawford stay? I don't know...probably not, if the money isn't there. Typically, when a player states he wants an extension, he means what he says, and he could be more focused on his future than helping his current team (especially when the team isn't a contender). His contract is dead after this season, though, and he's making around $10-11 million a year, so he'll be looking to cash it. I wouldn't be surprised to see Atlanta shopping him before the deadline.

WTF, Cano homers...5-0 Yankees.

Swisher with the HR, 4-0 Yankees.

It gets more active during the season, trust me, haha. We have slow summers and preseasons, but those gameday topics will start to see attention opening night, and beyond that. I started to realize that activity wasn't the most important thing when it started to sacrifice our integrity as an intelligent basketball community.

Bryant will defend Wade. Blake or Fisher will need to start in the triangle offense (or Sasha, but that's laughable). Phil won't start Kobe, Ron or Barnes at the one, for any reason unless all of our point guards, Brown and Vujacic are injured.

WHOA NELLY. 3-0 NY on two terrible throws.

Sorry guys, I forgot to add that you should PM your applications to me. LOL. For all I know, you were Kobe 2.0 and using a proxy. :o

ONE multi-run inning in the entire series against the Rangers? Wow, that's hard to believe for the Yanks.

Yes sir.

Haha, I remember that.

Six divisions in the league, one or two "division leaders" for each. You'll be responsible for... 1) moving Gameday topics (no matter the teams or division, all leaders will be expected to help each day) 2) recruiting for your division (bringing in fans for all five teams) 3) editing topic titles for those five team forums, opening and closing topics, merging when necessary To be a Division Leader, you must be a responsible and respected member here on OTR. You must be dedicated, have a fairly clean record (no recent suspensions or bans), and should be active as a poster. Members considered before anyone else will be those who have been posting longer, posting more content and are active in basketball discussion, no previous bans or suspensions whatsoever, and show they are able to moderate a message board without running into any personal problems with members. ATLANTIC DIVISION (Celtics, Nets, Knicks, Sixers, Raptors) CENTRAL (Bulls, Cavs, Pistons, Pacers, Bucks) SOUTHEAST (Hawks, Bobcats, Heat, Magic, Wizards) NORTHWEST (Nuggets, Wolves, Thunder, Blazers, Jazz) PACIFIC (Warriors, Clippers, Lakers, Suns, Kings) SOUTHWEST (Mavs, Rockets, Grizzlies, Hornets, Spurs) You don't necessarily have to have a favorite team in the division you're applying for. You should understand that, if you apply, you may not get your first selection. To apply, select TWO divisions, and put them in the order you want them in. 1) Pacific 2) Northwest Also, add why you want the position, and why you think you'd be good for the job. PM me your application. Eventually, Division Leaders will be spread out to represent a single team, if we have enough members and activity to cover all 30. Those Division Leaders will select their team first.

Evans scored the game-winning layup with 1.9 seconds left. http://www.nba.com/games/20101019/SACLAC/gameinfo.html

http://www.nba.com/games/20101019/GSWPHX/gameinfo.html

I wouldn't be too down about it. The Knicks still have the best shot at it, if Denver decides they want to part with Melo by making him happy. Sort of depends on how the Nuggets and Melo go about all of this. He COULD be a force to reckon with until February, help the organization win as many games as possible, then request a trade again. Denver would probably deal him to whatever team he wished. Or, he could be a problem up until February, and Denver deals him to a desperate team that will take the chance (Golden State), yet offer less JUST BECAUSE they are taking the chance, and Denver settles for less. The Knicks should still be leading the pack, though. Always a good thing, because the possibility that Melo stays in Denver after this season is slim to none, at this point.

The simple fact that someone took all of your guys' hard work, that's it. Nothing else. OTR only gives back to me by providing me with discussion and knowledge. I actually lose time and money doing it, just like someone trying to get rich would. Nearly six years has gone by, and I've seen nothing from it, and never will. It doesn't compare. Nope, didn't care. Made that decision off the wall one day, and already had it up and preparing it for everyone a couple of days later. I told Harry one day that I didn't even want to be on staff at JBB anymore, and that he should be glad he's not. I didn't want anything to do with sites at one point, until Dee, Erin and Jesse were getting hated on (sexually and racially) in AIM chats by a couple of JBB staff members. There was no dream, no goal, no nothing. No relation whatsoever to getting rich. You can't say that because it's an inaccurate statement. Those paralyzed may believe they will walk again, but nothing they do guarantees it. Chances are pretty slim to none for a lot of people in that position. I actually hope everyone reads the following, even though it's a book. Setting your mind to something doesn't mean it'll happen. You expect someone to, say, continue their dream of inventing something valuable to all of us, but at some point, they are going to need to focus on their well-being, their family, and that takes a paycheck. Nobody in their right mind is going to live a lonely life, mooching off of others and not doing anything to get by, just to try and invent something and avoid holding down a full-time job. Someone I know (a landlord) has numerous houses. I'll relate it to one of your own comments from earlier. Let's just say he makes $10k a month on rent, $120k a year. In eight years, he'll have a million? No, because he's probably spending at least $60k a year just living and providing for his family, maybe more than that. Double that 8.3 years and you get nearly 17. Also, he has taxes to pay on his houses, along with repairs/maintenance every year if he's a good landlord (he owns the houses, you don't). He also has to pay off his loans. He didn't steal 15-20 houses for free...some cost anywhere between $50k to $150k in my area. That 17 years turns into many, many more. Dan (the landlord I know) is in his mid-40s, has been doing this since he was in his 20s, and he's definitely not rich. He's still paying on a couple of his houses. People that live in this fantasy land don't realize what it's like to be down and out. People can definitely recover, but it takes a long time, and things rarely change. When I say down and out, I'm not talking about not having money to buy an ESPN magazine until Friday, I'm talking about things like having to work on the weekends despite having major spinal cord surgery (my dad), designing sites and staring at a computer despite having one eye patched and the other blurry, needing to blow up text 4x larger just to read it (me). Unfortunate events get in the way, and that's life. However, even without those unfortunate events, it's extremely difficult to get rich. There are families that go years without having a major situation to tend to, but while this guy wishes he was the CEO of the production factory he works for, he needs the manual labor because, without it, he has no money for a house, a car, food, gas, or anything. Most everyone doesn't get rich because life happens. Nobody ever turns down the opportunity, and not even crackheads give up trying to make as much money as they can. People end up realizing that they have to stop living through their dreams and start living for themselves, their family and even others around them. There's a guy I went to high school with, almost 10 years ago, that is still trying to rap and make money. Most everyone I know thinks he's just a bum sitting in a studio his dad bought him when he was 17, not working and still living with his parents, no girlfriend. Why do we think that? Because it's true. He's actually a decent rapper, but as stated over and over again, life is eventually going to consume him, or else he's going to be 17 for the rest of that life. Right now, it would be nice to be rich. I'd pay everything off...my house, my car, my medical bills, maybe go overseas and try to get an artificial lens implanted (in clinical trials right now). But, at some point, it hit me that it's not going to happen, and that I need to start providing for myself and for my girlfriend immediately, and helping out my parents (mainly my dad) in the process. How about you tell us, in just one sentence, what will make you rich. It shouldn't take more than one sentence. I just want to know what you're going to sell, invent, or manage, and how many years you think it'll take. Nothing more. You'll keep preaching how anything can be accomplished as long as we set our minds to it, but that's a parent talking to their young and naive kids. A parent dreams their kids become bigger than they are, so they will feed them BS to make both parties feel comfortable and confident. I spent years of my life (and still do to this day) working on my game (basketball). I took 300 shots a night, every night, for months at a time, and would dribble in the basement for hours when it was cold outside, go to the gym and just work out and shoot the ball, shoot free throws, do defensive slides, all outside of school. It never turned me into a potential Division I college basketball player, skill-wise. I believe I'm pretty good, but not to that level, and I know I've reached my peak, 110% sure of it, even though I still work on my game to this day. Still go out to the park, nearly every day, and shoot the ball and play pick-up games. Not everyone can be rich. Not everyone has that opportunity. You need to try and find a way to meet people that are far, far less fortunate than you or the average person...young adults that grew up struggling, little education, then no money for college and maybe one parent to feed them and push them to get a job at McDonald's. Maybe he's no super freak of an athlete, has no rap skills...just a typical human, like most of us, but in an extremely binding situation that, really, he has to live for and live with. There may be a couple of people on here that relate to exactly what I said, too. If ANYONE on this site knows about dreams crashing down and people struggling in general, it's me. My diabetes didn't seem to exist at one point, I was so wrapped up in making money, becoming an excellent basketball player, staying up late for college, and riding my financial wave through fantasy land. I needed to save up what I could to get my education, and part of the resolution was to not buy as much insulin and test strips (talking hundreds of dollars a month) or eat the right foods (more hundreds), so I was skipping shots and not testing my blood sugars often. I won't need to tell you the result of that once again. Set the bar too high, and you'll be walking under it the rest of your life. I'm honestly done talking about it. I'm sure everyone else will be as well.

That's pretty much it.

Discussion over.

I actually take offense to that. You wouldn't know a [expletive]ing thing about struggling, dude. Say what you want. I don't even read 80% of what you're typing because it's complete and utter crap. A thousand people are billionaires, and almost 7 billion aren't. If it's about words and mindsets, there would be more, simple as that. Here's what you need to drill into your skull: billionaires aren't the only people that try. I honestly don't care what you say pertaining to this subject anymore, because right now, you sound like a stuck-up, know-it-all, pyramid and get-rich-quick scheme promoter that, truly, has absolutely no idea what they are talking about. Real talk. And the majority of this site, and the majority of people in the states and around the world (you know, the billions of people that work their asses off for their families, many trying harder than you can imagine) would agree and say the same exact thing to you. I hope to God you remember these few posts when you're thinking about how incredibly difficult it is to become a millionaire (let alone a billionaire) in 10-20 years.

http://www.nba.com/games/20101018/OKCSAS/gameinfo.html

http://www.nba.com/games/20101018/NOHMEM/gameinfo.html