Real Deal

Some people need to understand that four years of business in college doesn't measure up to 30-40 years of manual labor. One will make his six-figure paycheck every year, while the other gets $20/hr. on 40 hours a week, which adds up to less than $40,000 a year. Hard-working job, sitting in an air-conditioned office, bossing people around for the rest of your life, and more than likely earning four times more money than you deserve? Please. Try crawling under houses and working in 110-degree buildings for eight hours a day, dragging around 80-pound spools of electrical wire, or dumping five-gallon buckets of sand for hours on end, and earning just $10/hr. My father makes $24/hr. grossing $960 a week, working as a lead electrician at Spears Manufacturing, the largest plastic fitting producer in the US. He brings home $585 of it after health insurance and taxes smack him in the face. Doing the math in my head, that drops him from $24/hr. to nearly $15/hr. Thing is, he didn't get a degree. He had to drop out in the 11th grade to support his family of seven brothers and sisters. Guess that makes him a slacker who doesn't work hard, and it makes all the cooled-off, laid-back white collars hard-working and fit to be tied.

Iverson is a huge upgrade over Brooks and Lowry. I don't see the problem. AI is one year removed from a 50-win season with the Nuggets as arguably their best offensive threat (leading scorer, shooting 46% from the floor and also averaging seven assists and less turnovers than Carmelo). Just because he didn't fit in Detroit doesn't mean his career is over.

We might as well argue whose party is right and wrong, at this point, since that's all anyone cares about. More money was spent on the war than it was on the New Deal (programs and such), and when the war ended, well yeah...makes sense, huh?

How is Bynum injury prone when both of his injuries were his teammates' faults? So you're telling me that if Bynum and Hawes both play a full NBA season next year, Hawes will prove to be the better player? Offensively? Defensively? Bynum is much more difficult to contain. Even Duncan noted it. He's got nice footwork and a nice hook, and has a nice set of post moves (ask Shaq). Hawes is scared of contact, despite his size, and he's also very weak and far from athletic. No defense at all. He shoots under 50% from the field because of all that, while Bynum can give you a 55-60% field goal stat all season long. There's absolutely no way I take Hawes over Bynum...and if the Maloof brothers had that trade on the table, there's no chance they decline it.

Denver won 50 games two years ago, and they actually made the playoffs BECAUSE of Iverson's late-season surge...so I'm not too sure if Denver's success this past season was because of his departure, or because of guys like the Birdman stepping up, Camby leaving, and Nene and K-Mart playing healthy. If Iverson does go to Charlotte, he's going to play 30 minutes a game anyways, so you might as well start him at the point. Bell in the five gives you a shooter and a defender that can stay with the thicker, stronger or faster point guards that would either abuse Iverson in the post (Billups) or blow past him on a drive (CP3, Harris). But the Bobcats are going to struggle to score without a post presence. Tyson Chandler isn't going to post up, demand the ball, and create his own shot, and Charlotte doesn't have Andre Miller or Chris Paul throwing Chandler lobs.

It would be my face if I were President. Obama is in possibly the worst situation of any President in US history, possibly worse than when Roosevelt stepped into the Great Depression and created the New Deal. And if anyone knows their history, they would know that the New Deal saved the United States, ending the Great Depression and...what did it do? It expanded government involvement and intervention in economic and social difficulties. Surprise, surprise...

Just go down the list. Right-click each link, read the summaries given, and pick the one you like best. There's information on EVERY book on the net. Google gives it to you.

Don't worry, I'm a Lakers fan and a Kobe fan. I'm already aware of the people that hate us for ignorant reasons...don't need confirmation of it.

I forgot Rafer went to New Jersey in that trade for Carter.

Glad that you were voted in to speak for the masses. I guess you weren't a voter when the media gave the MVP to Bryant last season, despite all the incredible hate. But let me guess: it was a sympathy award? It's all one big conspiracy. The truth is, Kobe did rape the girl, he did push Shaq out, and he's quite possibly the biggest basketball villain to ever play the game. Duh. How dare Nike support him, or anyone, for that matter.

Kobe is up there with Barry Bonds? He has an asterisk by his record-setting performances because of...? People don't like Kobe for the same reason they don't like the Lakers, Los Angeles, or their fans. Again, people hated Jordan as well, and he was booed excessively in New York, Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, Portland and Utah. A ton of Kobe and Lakers fans hate Jordan, also, and will tell you that Magic was the greatest player, and Jordan was overrated. But we all know why that stuff happens.

It's still 2003, kingfish.

Good. I disabled signature caching.

The rest of the list is pretty good. It's one of those where, if I had to write it three times, it would look different all three. As for Bynum and Hawes...come on. Bynum is twice the defensive player and three times the offensive player, and I've been more critical of Bynum than any other Lakers fan you can find.

Just run with a starting five of... C - Chandler PF - Diaw SF - Wallace SG - Bell PG - Iverson Work out a sign-and-trade with Felton, bring in another big that actually scores the ball with his back to the basket.

I just can't find myself putting Boston's three over the Lakers' three after watching the Celtics fall to Los Angeles in both meetings last year. Healthy Garnett or not, they wouldn't have defeated the Lakers in the Finals. The Spurs get the nod over the Lakers if Manu is healthy...but in that case, I'd put Bynum in the Lakers' three over Ron Artest, seeing that Bynum has proven he can score 40, could be an all-star next season, and held his own against Tim Duncan once or twice already. Ginobili hasn't been healthy in two years. I'll comment on the rest of the list soon. Dinner time.

I think he SHOULD go back to Larry Brown, but I don't see why Charlotte does this with DJ Augustin in the mix, and Felton possibly staying.

It's Miami.

I did. Okay, I didn't.

Where are you from? Welcome to the site, by the way.

[book name] summary Google it. The best thing I've ever had in college is a search engine.

Uh, why? Williams absolutely sucked in a workout with the Grizzlies, and the Knicks didn't even want him.

Kobe gets booed in Philly because he broke Wilt's high school scoring record, beat Iverson and the Sixers in the 2001 Finals, and left that city with nothing but memories of Moses Malone and Julius Erving. If you think Kobe gets booed a lot in Philly, just wait until LeBron goes to Orlando next season. But I'm sure you won't be changing your tune, regardless. The only people that speak about Kobe's 2003 incident are those who hate the Lakers and Kobe, just like the Jordan haters that still claim he's the biggest reason for his father's death.

Yeah, that's a good idea. Gordon can run the point, though...and there's an "Other" option. I'll include someone from all five positions next pick. But if anyone picks Chalmers at #5, it doesn't make sense for Memphis, at all...because they have Conley, and there are better players on the board.

Mario Chalmers is my favorite player from the draft class, and him and Rush are my favorites since Hinrich and Collison were drafted, but he doesn't belong in the poll alongside guys like Gordon and Beasley.