Real Deal

I actually agree, the media is blowing it out of proportion. I do sense that there's something there, though, and that's a problem too early in the season. If there wasn't, I don't see the reason why Donovan called out Vick's offensive game after the resolution was said to be resolved. It's just so easy to debate a topic back and forth on here, huh?

Skin updated for the new version, most blues are gone. If you see any odd colors (ex. the light blue used by Invision), please let me know in here, and tell me where (a screenshot would be awesome). Team forums are coming up. I have about 14 teams done (banners), three players each.

14-day suspension.

You do it multiple times. I've been running the site the entire time you've been registered, including the old board. I've gotten complaints from mods and members. It's time things change with you, ECN, and a few other Eagles fans that like to sling mud when something goes wrong with a Philly team. Now, I've gotten absolutely no sleep because I'm creating 100 banners. I hope you're done and you understand, or else you're delaying our team forum skins and banner design, and I know everyone around here would like to see that finished up sometime soon. Mods, hand out five days for any more problems. Back to topic.

It was meant for those replying negatively in this topic, and it would've been applied to those others who would've done the same thing, namely ECN and a few other non-Eagles fans, because that's how it always ends up. So it stops now.

You can (scratch that, you will) stop attacking members that disagree with your assessment in a topic. I'm getting pretty damn sick of your attitude lately. Just because people don't like your team doesn't give you the green light to go off on them after getting your panties all in a bunch. If you want simple-minded, here it is: the next time I warn you, you're gone for good, along with a permanent IP address ban. Simple? Your account is open in the ACP at this very second, ban already selected, one button away. I suggest you read over the guidelines again and start discussing sports like a young adult, rather than someone who I have to clean up after all the time.

Ah, so that's why he called Vick's offense a gimmick after the game was over...

Ha, McNabb just called Vick's offensive production a "gimmick" for the Eagles. Donovan just wants the team to himself, so he can lose some more.

Post what you have. 1) If you're defending a player that likes to cross the ball over quite a bit, play tight defense on the arm he's not dribbling with. If you can get away with it, make contact with the off-arm just slightly, so when he crosses the ball over, it'll be uncomfortable, and his crossover will be slower and more prone to steals. 2) If you're dribbling on the perimeter and looking for your teammates, stick your leg in front of the ball, and dribble off to the side of it. There's little chance anyone can rip you because, if they do, they make contact with your leg...and that's a foul if you sell the bump. Plus, you're already in position for a spin off that foot if he gambles, so swing the ball around and take off if you can't get a foul called. 3) Do this if you have strong hands...hold the ball low, arms open a bit, and wait for him to stick that arm in there. Quickly raise the ball over your head, in a circular motion, and sell the foul by fumbling the ball, or shot-faking if you have yet to take a step (followed by a fumble and recover). 4) If your man likes to cut to the basket, stay low and right as he heads to the rim, turn and chase him with your arms up in the air, hands over his head slightly. It makes a cutter feel weird, and he'll either try and catch a ball that feels like will hit him in the head, or he'll slide back out to the perimeter. 5) Elbow-tap shooters after noting where the referee is standing. Small tap on the inside of the elbow, using your pinkie...works pretty good. 6) When a player is abusing you on the glass, boxing you out all the time, focus on hooking under his arm (in an uppercut motion), then jumping early and selling a hook on him. This will force him to box you out differently, which gives you a chance to catch up to him on the glass. 7) If a player is posting you up, place your thumb in his kidney area and force him to spin to his right (if he's right-handed) or to his left (if he's left). So, for example, if he's right-handed, place your thumb in the left kidney area as he placed his back to the basket, against you. If he forces left, don't move that thumb. It'll stop him, or else he had no kidneys. That will make him go right, putting the ball in his left or keeping it in his right in the midst of help defense. Just make sure the dude isn't getting pissed off enough to punch you in the face afterward. 8) If you've just received a pass and have yet to dribble, jab step a couple of times outward (ex. left foot jab to left), then jab step twice inward (ex. left foot jab to right), and on that second inward jab, explode to the rim if he's close enough to breathe on you, because he'll get burned. Otherwise, if he's a foot or so away and giving you room, attack after that second step, then quickly stop and pull up for the jumper. You'll be open 80% of the time. 9) Hand in the face of every jump shot. Only attempt to block layups, and most of the time, you want to do that from behind if you're a guard. 10) If you are worried about hitting a guy's face on #9, move your hand further in and past one of his ears. It'll mess their shot up after a while, and could do it for the remainder of the game, despite you doing it again and again.

Hahaha. Hope he meant lead point guard, at least.

Well, everything I was saying was based on Rubio's declaration that he would play for free (hinting that he doesn't care about the money as much as he does just playing and winning). Money factored in, sure, I see why he stays. However, that still puts a question mark as to why he entered the draft in the first place, knowing he would receive less money as the fifth pick. We all knew the Clippers were taking Blake, that Memphis had Conley and the Thunder had Westbrook, and Sacramento would be that fourth pick who, in the end, were already weary about taking a foreign player with contract issues. Rubio entering the draft gave him a guaranteed spot in the NBA (just in case any injuries were to occur), a guaranteed spot in the lottery (top five at that), 2-3 years to develop outside of it, then come in knowing the face of the franchise and the direction they are going after the 2010 free agent class splits up.

The Chiefs really have nothing to return to either team. I'm not sure how they are going to deal for Boldin. And it would suck seeing Larry and Brandon sprinting down the field together. People said Moss couldn't return after his attitude problems in Minnesota and Oakland, yet he ended up setting records in New England. Marshall is a good receiver.

Right. So was I. Rubio stated in that report that he wants to develop more. He said that Minnesota is still his first option. Two things: 1) if he wanted to develop more, he would've stayed out of the draft, and that's a given (unless he's an idiot) 2) Minnesota HAS to be his first option, because he doesn't have a choice otherwise, if he intends on coming to the league in two years If Rubio were to just come out right now and say that he wants to play for the Kings or Clippers, and say this AFTER Kahn when through all that trouble to bring him to the league early, there's a big chance that the Wolves could just deal him wherever they see fit. You have every reason to think otherwise because you don't want to bash your team, and as you said earlier, you were hopeful in thinking that Rubio would come this season, which led to you saying he would. Me...I don't care about the Minnesota Timberwolves, just as you shouldn't about any of the other 29 teams. But the truth is, I'm intrigued. I want to see Rubio in the NBA. My gut is telling me that he doesn't want to play for Minnesota, though, and my reasoning sits behind the fact that he shouldn't have entered the draft, the fact that he stated he doesn't care about money, and the fact that he knew he would be able to rake in a bigger and better endorsement if he had gone to a city sitting on the coast. Yeah, the Wolves are better off without McHale. The only reason he traded Garnett to Boston was to comfort his buddy Danny Ainge. At the same time, Kahn has to make sure he doesn't drop the ball on Rubio, because if he doesn't go out and find someone a little better to compliment Al Jefferson and Ricky Rubio (when he arrives), I don't see this turning out to be a fairy tale ending for the franchise.

You gotta believe in somebody, unless you and I are talking to Ricky Rubio over the phone. It would be different if he was in the United States and was speaking English. I believed everything I heard about Odom re-signing, about Ron Artest coming to Los Angeles...but there are too many conflicting reports out there, so my instinct tells me to believe the local, respected source first, and that would be ESPN professionals.

Haha, no. I just pulled the fan out. I don't work on them as a hobby...but I'll do whatever as long as it saves me $250-300 labor.

You've been wrong sometime. At one point, I thought Rubio was going to demand that the Wolves didn't pick him in the draft, but I was wrong. I remember you believed he was going to come to the NBA, also, at one point. The only two people that know what's really going down would be Rubio and Kahn. Therefore, I have no reason to believe that Rubio wants to play for this year's Minnesota squad, probably as much reason as you have to believe he really does. If he did his best to get an endorsement to pay off that contract, you're right. If he didn't, I'm right. I just don't see why he wouldn't be able to get one, being arguably the best player coming out of this season's draft (I say arguably because I think it's Griffin, but that can be debated). LeBron James signed a $90 million deal with Nike when he was drafted (in fact, I believe it was before he was drafted). Rubio can't wrestle for anything in the $7-8 million range? It's extremely hard to believe.

You say that you're sure about this and that, but your information is still coming from the media, from ESPN, from Rubio's mouth (which, according to you, has been misinterpreted, misunderstood, or misquoted), and from what Kahn has said. So to be fair, you would know just as much as all of us...which is nothing. And that's why it's safer to assume that Rubio didn't have that enthusiasm to play in Minnesota. The money is there, the chance to play in the league is there, and the chance to become a starting point guard is guaranteed. Rubio entered the 2009 Draft to be drafted high. Here's the thing: logic tells me that Rubio would've declined if his intentions of staying in Spain for two more years were to improve his game, especially when those two extra years gets him past Blake Griffin and John Wall. Rubio would've been a guaranteed first or second pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. However, doing this gave Kahn a sense of insecurity, and he chose Flynn in the lottery as well. Didn't make sense at all, not when there are gaping holes everywhere else, UNTIL we found that Rubio will indeed stay overseas for two years. At that point, Rubio comes expendable. The demand for a young star point guard is high in Los Angeles and New York, among other teams. The 2010 FA class is approaching, and Minnesota could try and make big moves, even if they plan on keeping Rubio, just to sway him to want to stay in Minnesota and play alongside Jefferson and an all-star free agent. Yeah...neither side is stupid. Neither side really cares what the other wants, either. Kahn knows what he's worth. Rubio knows what he's worth. Kahn can do whatever he wants with Rubio's rights, while Rubio can stay in Spain for the rest of his career. I'm not convinced that this was all what Kahn makes it out to be, and it's a good thing he didn't tell the story because that would only knock a big chunk of leverage from Minnesota's ability to rake in a free agent this offseason. If I were a betting man, Rubio will come to Minnesota and stay in two years granted they bring in another star player. Otherwise, Rubio demands a trade under the table, or he just walks when his contract is up without taking his player option. Sounds promising, but a Jefferson/Rubio combo will not be enough to win 50 games, and Rubio knows it. All he wants to do is win, doesn't care about the money. If he did, he'd be playing his rookie season in 2009, wouldn't matter the team, because a single endorsement of any kind would easily land Rubio enough money to buy out that contract.

Here, Chad Ford's Twitter... The Wolves were hoping he'd want it, that he'd find a way...but Plan B is now in effect, and it involves dealing Ricky when the time is right.

I was never wrong in the first place. Rubio was not coming to the NBA, and Kahn knew it. He may have went to try and bring him here, but he knew. And the Wolves have security with Flynn. This isn't something new, either. We saw Orlando draw a player from overseas and never see him in a Magic jersey. We've seen teams draft players knowing they don't want to play for them, and we've seen teams draft players knowing how valuable they will be in a future trade, with absolutely no intentions of keeping them. Minnesota isn't a dumb franchise, regardless of what people will say. Chad Ford will agree that the Wolves picked Rubio to trade him, because quite frankly, he's going to be one of the most valuable "rookies" in two years, and he'll bring a great deal to any team's table at 20-21 years old. It's Minnesota's biggest chance to bring in another proven all-star. Rubio has that potential, but the Wolves probably want to avoid banking on young talent to get them back into the playoffs, although I believe that will be a mistake in the long run (as Rubio can be a franchise point guard).

The members have worked just as hard contributing daily. No members, no OTR.

Main skin is almost finished. Kyle is editing some images for the buttons, and I've done about 85% of the coding. I hope to be done by tomorrow night, with small edits here and there. There's a new user bar, similar look for most of the forums, but you'll like the improvements.

Kahn picked Rubio so he could wait for his development, then dish him in 2011 or 2012. It's that simple. Otherwise, there was no reason to select Flynn or Calathes (or Lawson, who they eventually traded). When Rubio (or his father, or agent) stated that he wanted to go to Sacramento or Los Angeles, he wasn't lying. I just found it hard to believe that Rubio couldn't stick a deal with a shoe brand, or anything, to get that $5-6 million for a buyout, especially when he has the potential to make $6-8 million a year after his rookie contract is up. Too bad for Minnesota. Then again, if the Wolves end up dealing him somewhere for a big-name superstar, well, good for them.

See, this is why I don't read what many bloggers have to say. They don't do their homework. The Lakers have 20 back-to-back games. Two of them contain the Nuggets, one on a second night. I suggest he applies his knowledge to other teams' schedules before speaking on them.

For the most part, it's true. I just found this funny: Uh, yeah...that's probably because he was a starter on a championship team. But his contributions on the defensive end are going to benefit Houston. The problem I see is that the Rockets are going to have to rely on him for their scoring, along with Scola and Brooks, and I honestly don't see Ariza averaging 15 or so points per game without shooting at a low percentage from the floor. Maybe with Yao healthy, and McGrady playing at full health, Ariza would become a spot-up shooter that kills teams late in the game. The thing is, that's not going to happen this upcoming season...and who knows what will happen to Tracy after June (or maybe even the trade deadline). The only problem Houston will have on the defensive end, in regards to Trevor, will be his inability to defend the bigger, stronger forwards. Carmelo Anthony ate his lunch. Shard and Turkoglu manhandled him. But sticking him on a guard? That might be the key.

That's exactly what I said the day after the draft.