BobSaccamanno

Those are good points I hadn’t focused on. I was more talking about the fact that the games I’ve seen were entertaining. The teams played really hard, and the overall quality was good. I think the setup of the schedule and the playoffs has been great. The virus is contained for the most part based on their strategy which has worked. The visual of the game is pretty good. You’re not looking at empty seats like in baseball. As for the jersey thing, the NBA will always back the players sensibilities and their freedom to do that. That’s been their M.O. They will let fans who don’t like it walk because they think they will get more fans that way. That’s their calculation on who their customer base is. Speaking only for myself I spent like 5 seconds on the jersey thing. It’s just not something I’m hyper sensitive of. I’m focused on the game. But I do accept and have no problem with the fact that we have lots of opinions in the country and as long as they aren’t hateful, I accept it. I don’t agree with some concepts at all but I know it’s out there and I just let it go. It’s just the way it will always be in a free society and with the constitution we have. As for the China thing, I haven’t noticed anything about that so I can’t really comment. They obviously have a market there and they are running a business just as lots of US businesses are in China from Apple to Nike to Starbucks. And other companies actually outsource suppliers over there. It’s commerce. Personally, I’d like to see our companies divest from suppliers in China. I think their government are thugs. That doesn’t make their people bad. It’s the government and their human rights violations, cheating, stealing IP, mendacity with the virus etc. Hong Kong has fallen and it’s not really the NBA’s role or fault in that other than they want the market.

Agree, we have talked about it so many times but that recruiting class of Bryant, OG and Juwan was truly epic. And many of us (like you and me and many others) were very excited about the class coming in so it’s not just hindsight. Man I really like the games, enthusiasm , toughness, etc of all three guys.

The NBA is running circles around the other sports in terms of competent leadership. Rob Manfred has a peculiar Ivy League arrogance. He may have tested well to go there, but there’s “book smart” and there is “creative, able to solve problems” smart. The players association in baseball is part of the problem for sure but I blame Manfred. Adam Silver and his team thought of a solution that’s fantastic. You’re not even looking at empty seats. They thought of everything. The 8 regular season games ginned up drama and allow the teams to acclimate prior to the playoffs. The NBA is running on another level than the other sports. I’d probably fire Manfred as soon as possible and I have never liked Goodell. A monkey could make money for the NFL. Their decision making is just off. But Silver for the most part has a very well thought out design across the board.

The Leland Walker height thing is pure balderdash. Archie and staff are in daily communication with Walker. The must important defensive attribute for defending other point guards is not being 6’3. It’s having excellent foot quickness to stop the ball and make it difficult for the other lead guard to initiate. You’ve got to keep the ball in front of you and stop it. A defense that doesn’t have a single guy that can do that will have to then compensate for that deficiency. So you try to avoid having that deficiency in the first instance. We also know that Archie has told another smaller player in Smith that he doesn’t care how tall he is. Maybe you want to mix and match personnel to have a roster with a taller guard coupled with a smaller one but the notion that a player can’t be recruited because he’s only 6’0 is false. Besides, Walker is a top flight athlete from what I’ve seen and that kind of athleticism is an equalizer.

I actually read about your friend and his trademarks. The media was calling him a squatter. Then I saw you point out he is your buddy and that he’s not looking for money. Very cool!

Call them the Red Tails and let’s move on with our lives. It’s perfect.

I have a feeling from what I’ve read that Leland Walker is underrated and ends up rated much higher.

Thanks, as always. It will be interesting to see which guys we get traction with.

The losing in Cleveland emanates from the owner on down. They have a losing culture. That’s the type of thing you can’t overcome. People underestimate the role of an owner. Bad owners have a knack for not ever winning,. A few years ago, the Browns has a ridiculous number of high picks and look where they are.

I’m not saying they are the same player but the same criticisms people use on Braden could just as easily be levied on Tom Covercharge. (Sorry, Billingsley that I stole your material.) All he did was win and bring toughness and competitiveness to the team. You could look at other guys like Aaron Craft, Kyle Kraemer, et al. the same way. Guys like that are key pieces on winning teams. Tough kids bring an edge and an extra competitiveness to the roster, especially in the day and age where you have other kids in the locker room with unrealistic views on how good they are. Kids can be the best player in a ten county region so they get an inflated view of themselves. Tough kids have a way of leading and getting the focus on tough, winning ball, not showcasing yourself, which is not needed and is counterproductive. If you have the physical ability and you know how to make winning plays on both ends, scouts see that and get it. I firmly believe that if a kid is willing to compete, play hard on both ends, be all about winning, etc, the NBA will take care of itself. It’s a life lesson. The same could be applied to any profession. The people who are selfish, complainers, etc, they lose in all walks of life. Heck, what did #23 average at UNC? And he gets it. The Bradens of the world get it and can help laser focus the other players. With 13 schollies, I think we have the spot for that tough Indiana kid type. Now, if Archie thinks he can’t do it physically, which I doubt, I trust the staff.

I saw that the Navajo Indians suggested a name. Something like code talkers. Speaking only for myself, I don’t think they need to use a Native American name. I say that with no slight intended toward any group. A clean break might just be nice. I love the Red Tails. I mean, I just love it.

Good points. I expect Archie to have two very capable point guards at his disposal at any time. And I think it will be successful. So much of sports is avoiding mistakes. Two point guards who keep things steady will lead to 40 minutes of competent ball and make it hard for an opponent since we will minimize unforced errors. Out of 80 guard minutes you could get a minimum of 40 top point guard minutes but maybe more depending on situations. This year with Lander and Phinisee will be instructive as I expect one to be on the floor 90% of the time and both on the floor a decent amount too.

I’m always a step behind. Every time I hear somebody mention the Lake Monroe incident, I keep thinking it’s the previous one. I am sure there will be a Lake Monroe incident post soon where I will immediately think it’s the boys from Deliverance again but it will be some other conflict.

Either way! I guess I prefer warm if I had to answer but cold works.

I’ve been living in Chicago a long time and can’t warm up to deep dish. I’m still a thin crust Indiana guy. Your lasagna comment is hilarious and true for me.

Deaths can be measured per total number of cases or per time period (per day, per week, etc.). The stats that are most meaningful to me would be deaths per time period and number of hospitalizations. Deaths as a percentage of cases might be interesting but not as meaningful as deaths per time period and hospitalizations. Deaths and hospitalizations per time period are most important to my way of thinking because they reflect the true effect to the country. For example, if this thing spreads so wildly that a large number are dying every week then it doesn’t really matter what the percentage per case is because the spread is so wild that lots of people die. For example, you could have ten deaths out of 1000 total cases for 1%. You could also have 500 deaths out of 100,000 cases for the same time period for 0.5%. We could be happy that the rate is only 0.5% but it would not take into account that the thing spread so wildly that you had 500 deaths. Hospitalizations could be measured similarly. The more that are hospitalized, even if they live, strains our medical system, including suffering, costs, possibility of further infection, compromising brave workers, etc,

By the way, and I mean this as an honest question, but why do the Indians, Braves, or Chiefs need to change their names? Those aren’t insults, right? If they somehow are, I have never been aware if it. It reminds me of the bit in the Office: Michael: Is there anything less offensive besides “Mexican” that I can call you? Oscar: “Mexican” isn’t offensive Michael: Stares blankly. Isn’t that the same issue with Indians, etc? Isn’t “brave” a positive idea? If anything, wouldn’t taking those names off be a negative for Native Americans because they wouldn’t be acknowledged?

Yes, I think Redtails has a good shot. Ron Rivera grew up in a military household and I think they want to honor the military with the new name. Also, I have family in DC and been there a lot. I’ve seen first hand that they have a huge African American fan base who would be proud of the name. I think the Tuskegee Airmen had a big DC connection in their ranks too. It just makes perfect sense. I was making the point that they are probably double checking it from every angle to be sure that nobody whines about it from some angle they are unaware of since complaining about everything is like the plague now.

Based on what Ron Rivera has been saying, I truly think this has a good shot to be the answer. They are probably vetting it from every angle to make sure there’s no way they get backlash since practically everything gets backlash these days, even if the intent is noble.

I like it when July 4 falls on a Saturday so that “Saturday in the Park” fits even better. The images captured in that song are spectacular to me. When I was a teen, I liked more classic rock but the fallacy I had was making fun or not respecting “softer” music. We all grow up and I realize there are different genres and it’s not good or bad, just different and depends on taste. The scene in Tommy Boy where they sang The Carpenters captures that concept exactamundo. I have no idea how to narrow down my favorites. I will forget a ton. Here are some The Beatles Tom Petty Mellencamp The Eagles Elton John The Police Chicago REO Journey Matchbox 20 Green Day

Johnny ”Lam” Jones, right? As I recall a first round pick who could run. Not remembering the other two.

I’ve got a great new name. The Washington Bullets. Now that’s a cool name.

I haven’t followed the debate and I’m not sure what everybody’s position is, but I will state my thoughts and see if I’m as neutral as Switzerland. 1. You would expect the death rate (as a percentage of cases) to drop considerably. That should be fairly obvious when you see we are testing more people and with how many young people are getting infected. In addition, we have experience with treatments, including certain techniques used in hospitals, e.g., how they lay the patients etc. We now have Remdesivir being used, as well as the steroid treatment. We also have the plasma treatments which I’m told are especially very important. 2. Will the weekly raw death number similarly nosedive? I sure hope so. Even if the percentage is lower and lower, if the infection spreads so severely, we could have the raw number of deaths per week be higher than it was. 3. While I agree that the raw number of deaths per time period is a very important statistic, so is the number of hospitalizations. It’s not just about deaths. To me, people gloss over that. Having a lot of hospitalizations puts tremendous strain on the medical system and personnel and is not a trivial issue. There are real people who are committed to helping and they are put under tremendous strain.

Bowie had some issues but if you talk just about voice, he would be very near the all-time top for me.

Cowboys owner Jerrah Jones 80s singer Howard Jones