Chisoxfn

QUOTE (Jake @ Jul 3, 2014 -> 09:52 AM) Just remember - it isn't just Carmelo is either all about the money or not at all about the money. Each aspect of changing teams has a price. Winning is worth a certain amount of lost earnings, moving his family nullifies a certain amount of the benefits of winning, etc. He could reject the Bulls for their inability to make a max offer without him being greedy. If max is 4/96 and we offer 4/64, his turning us down does not mean that it was 4/96 or nothing. In other news, I've been impressed with Melo in this process. When he left Denver, I saw him as a big baby who strong-armed his way out of town. Throughout the entire mess in NY, Melo has been quiet about his intentions and likely dissatisfaction with the Knicks. He hasn't been making public evaluations of each suitor. By all accounts, he has been incredibly good at keeping his private thoughts out of the rumor mill. Every rumor is "NBA executives think" or "people who are friends of Melo but haven't spoken to him in months believe." I really want Melo.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jul 3, 2014 -> 09:46 AM) Only texts/tweets and a few kisses, or she actually cheated on you with him in bed? Not that the first couple things are acceptable, but I would be much more of a wreck if it was all of the above. Also, i would say F*** this vacation im out Personally, I don't differentiate. That is full blown cheating as far as I'm concerned (violation of trust). Regarding vacation, probably would be best for one of the parties not to be there, otherwise, hard for the kids to even enjoy themselves.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jul 3, 2014 -> 09:46 AM) If there's one thing everyone needs to do - it's take a deep breath and stop believing everything you read. The absolute facts we have are that the Chicago Bulls had, by far, the best-planned, best looking recruitment greeting to Melo of any of these teams. The banners on the side of the UC were gorgeous. You know LA isn't going to adorn their building with Melo when the Black Mamba's coming today. So that'll be interesting. Of all the players in the NBA, Joakim Noah is trying the hardest in recruiting. Hell, he posted a Carmelo Anthony baby picture to his Instagram today. He's hilarious. In the end, if I were betting my house on it, I'd say Melo stays in New York. I'm proud of the effort the Bulls are putting forth, which started with Scottie and Larsa Pippen wooing Melo in France last week, and has continued throughoutt his entire week. You can bet your ass the Bulls find a way to meet up with Melo today while in LA. I'm certain the Bulls are trying to improve, for once, by making bold moves. I am very pleased by this. If they don't get Melo, I'm quite certain they'll call Minnesota with an offer of Boozer's contract and a whole lot of goodies to get Kevin Love in here. I don't want that to happen, because Carmelo is a much better fit with this roster, but we'll see. I look forward to it being two weeks from now. LA is a place I would not sleep on (if Jerry Buss were there, I'd have given the Bulls zero shot but thankfully Jim Buss is a buffoon). I don't think they will be a contender but Melo and Kobe are good friends and the organization has a crapton of banners to hoast and a hollywood marketplace for LaLa. But as a whole I agree with you. Glad you are back just in time to celebrate Melo coming to the Bulls!!! I was proud about what Pax / Gar and more importantly Thibbs and Noah put together. I still wouldn't be surprised if the Bulls quietly put out feelers to Lebron's agent. I don't know how you couldn't at least ask.

QUOTE (Iwritecode @ Jul 3, 2014 -> 09:31 AM) I know a few people. They won’t come right out and say it in so many words, but they sure don’t have any motivation to stop receiving that check from the government and actually go out and look for a job to support themselves. They are perfectly content letting other people support them. I knew people making 50-60K who lost there jobs at had zero motivation. In fact, the vast majority that lost their job in the recession, could have easily found other jobs, but opted out of it to sit around. Those were people with degrees who were qualified. They were "looking" if you mean, waiting around for a check hoping for a dream job to show up. Turned down other jobs which were comparable to what they had because it wasn't what they really really wanted and the cost/benefit of taking a job in their current spot vs. the government incentive wasn't that bad. I'd roughly say there were 20+ people I knew that did this at one point in time or another (some being good friends vs. just acquaintances / people within my work network).

By the way, as much as it sucks, remember, this is something between you and your wife, so you have to not lose touch of that when spending the vacation with your children.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Jul 3, 2014 -> 09:23 AM) Found out today that my wife has been cheating on me with one of my friends (the best man at our wedding 9 years ago). Sexual texts and tweets. They've kissed a few times. This revelation before we were set to leave on a weeklong family vacation. this should be fun. Wow. So sorry to hear that.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 3, 2014 -> 07:58 AM) What is left to spend on? That is the question. If nothing left, then that is Sox fault for not getting more aggressive on other players. I'm not going to give them an excuse for missing the boat. They had a lot of resources for once and should have used them. Talent accumulation is the name of the game and this was a rare instance where the Sox had a large pool and I expect the organization to use that pool. The fact that we signed so few top 30 guys despite having such a large pool is a total disappointment.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Jul 2, 2014 -> 06:24 PM) So that saves 700K. How much we got left? Are we expected to spend it all? If we don't spend every penny, I will be extremely disappointed.

QUOTE (Brian @ Jul 3, 2014 -> 03:39 AM) I think the biggest misconception is people think everyone is looking for hand outs. People maybe looking for help, and rightfully so, and have even gotten said help with stuff he is done. I don't know anyone personally that says they are looking for "hand outs" and I think it's a generalization put out by certain people. Statistically, more people receive government support then any point in time in the countries history. Now I'm not sure if that is adjusted as a % of population so it trends better historically or not but that was a stat I saw about 6-12 months ago in a journal article.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Jul 2, 2014 -> 05:29 PM) Ya, if they can't get Melo/Lebron/Parsons I'd just wait till next year and make a play for Love(assuming he doesn't get traded and signed elsewhere). I'm not giving Parsons 10+M per season. If I don't sign these guys, I bring over Nik and opt for vets like a Pau / Pierce at reasonable 1 year deals (hoping they are chasing rings). Stephenson is the only guy I'd give 10M to that is out there not named Bosh / Lebron / Melo. And that is because I happen to think there is a lot of upside with Lance. Unfortunately, there is some serious downside risk too.

More I think about it, I have a hard time for JR to justify amnestying Boozer to sign an older player like Gasol to big-money. While Gasol is better, there are risks with Gasol (injuries, etc). I would think the only way Pau comes here (without Melo) is through a S&T w/Lakers with Boozer going to LA. I just can't see JR justifying the amnesty to sign Gasol at big money. If we did miss out on Melo, I would look at guys that could be 1 year pick-ups to go back through this whole process again in a year as we'd still have flexibility at that point.

We'll see if that holds up or not. I guess it all comes down to what indications they have received. I don't think Pau is the #1 piece you bring in, I like the idea of him, but with another good player. Windhorst keeps reporting that Pau views Bulls as the place to be if they land Melo. No idea if they share representation, if they do, that would be great. I don't buy into what Stein says. I think people are just looking at it and coming up with that as one potential scenario.

Marc Stein ‏@ESPNSteinLine 2 Min. Pau Gasol Addendum No. 1: Sources say Bulls' rising interest in Pau IS indeed reflection of concern they can't convince Melo to leave NYK

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Jul 2, 2014 -> 12:59 PM) If they cant afford it, they are 100% being stopped. Its entirely the same idea. If this is allowable, a business run by Jehova's Witness should also be allowed not to pay for blood transfusions through insurance. But like I said, as long as its your religion/position that is winning, you really seem to not care about the consequence. Am I missing something. the employers are not required to provide the employees with insurance. So how about instead of all this stuff, they just tell everyone, fine, we will stop providing and just pay our required "employer shared responsibility payment" as part of Obamacare. Seems like hobbylobby is trying to actual ensure the employees get something, while also respective their right, to focus on certain things that they will not pay for because it goes against their fundemental beliefs which are protected under the constitution (as upheld by the supreme court).

QUOTE (MEANS @ Jul 2, 2014 -> 10:00 AM) You're crazy if you don't think women use it for those reasons just as well. I think those are added side benefits but that is not the primary use of the drug.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jul 2, 2014 -> 04:30 PM) Do you think he's been horrible because of the reason I listed or do you have others? I think our whole political system is a complete train wreck right now (just better then plenty of other places still) but I think he's a failure for the reasons our country is becoming a failure. More and more people in our country are expecting things from the government and expecting to receive hand outs and more and more of those people construe the voting public, therefor, we are getting to a place with less and less self empowerment and more and more government dependency (since you have to pan handle to that majority to win). I blasted Bush on this site for his role increasing the government and it has gotten even worse. It is an utter joke in my opinion. The republicans don't help things by focusing on what I consider to be social issues that are far less important then the broad base government bloat that is going on. I do not want to rely on the government to get me places. I rely on myself and my family. It is the same problem with society as a whole. Lets figure out what excuses to make and who to blame vs. taking ownership and responsibility.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 2, 2014 -> 11:06 AM) My wife actually used them to treat one of those conditions. She got sick enough that she couldn't continue working due to the number of days she was missing, wound up both unemployed and losing her insurance, at which point she lost that treatment. The condition was described as "having her insides strangled". 4 years later I finally had good enough insurance to cover a family and we got her covered again and she wound up having surgery last year. So yeah, there is a post here that is complete bulls*** but it isn't mine. That doesn't mean that the %'s applied in that survey are right. That is a scenario but presumably not a common scenario.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jul 2, 2014 -> 03:20 PM) So polls say Obama is worst president since WWII. This is so bizarre because you know and I know if Obama could run again he would win in a landslide again. Does it make Americans feel better to say this s*** to pollsters when they know damn well King Obama would win in the next election and again four years after that and four years after that? Obama should laugh at the polls cause he gets the last laugh ... every time he runs for office! Do you think he's worst president since WWII? Do u agree with my premise here?? http://news.yahoo.com/u-poll-more-voters-s...-122609810.html I've already made that statement, although Jimmy Carter was truly awful. Everyone has short memories though so hard to say, especially in this day and era with the media.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jul 2, 2014 -> 04:15 PM) So a guy heard from another guy watching TV sometime recently that Windhorst said on ESPN that Pau wants to be part of a Package deal with Melo He said that this morning.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jul 2, 2014 -> 04:02 PM) If Bulls wanted Pau for Sign and Trade to send to KNicks...why would they be meeting with him? Pau wouldn't be going to the Knicks. Lakers would be there to get some assets and help both teams potentially unload some expiring contracts. The question is would the Lakers really be that interested in helping to facilitate that. Say the Lakers ended up with JR Smith & Carlos Boozer (+ Nik / draft picks) and the Knicks ended up with Tony Snell + non-guaranteed. Lakers win in the sense that they keep their flexibility moving forward while adding an asset like Nik (however, at an expense; technically Boozer gives them a solid low post presence for the year though as well and they have to spend some money on someone). Knicks are happy cause they get Snell and unload JR Smith. Bulls are happy cause they get Melo and Gasol.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jul 2, 2014 -> 03:31 PM) There are two trends this offseason post Spurs: - More rest for veterans - shooting shooting shooting Last year taj would double up as C often. I think they'd like lineup versatility of Pau-Noah and Pau Gibson, also Pau/Mirotic I still wonder if Pau is actually part of the plan with Melo. Lakers are very open to S&T possibilities. Interesting thing is Melo will be in LA tomorrow as well. Only way I'd want Pau is short-term and not at the 10-12 M number that has been thrown around. I'd rather add a wing player + Mirotic with our cap space.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 2, 2014 -> 01:25 PM) There are numbers out there on Mercedes. $950k. Yep...just caught that and edited my post. I'm a little late to the party.

QUOTE (Butter Parque @ Jul 2, 2014 -> 01:16 PM) Wait, so Mercedes was our biggest signing? Yep; Mercedes w/$950K.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 2, 2014 -> 12:53 PM) He was supposed to arrive this year. I'm guessing that doesn't mean A ball. The Sox are already ahead of the game with signing Q as a 6 year free agent. Are there really any real successful pitchers in the major leagues that were waived multiple times in the minors? I am certain their are. I just don't have a list handy for you. Especially when you factor successful relievers. Probably less when it comes to starters.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 2, 2014 -> 12:53 PM) He was supposed to arrive this year. I'm guessing that doesn't mean A ball. The Sox are already ahead of the game with signing Q as a 6 year free agent. Are there really any real successful pitchers in the major leagues that were waived multiple times in the minors? I like the chances better when it is a guy with some command issues, etc. Our organization does a good job with this and there really is no risk. If he doesn't pan out, he doesn't pan out, but this guy has tools that can't be coached now lets see what our above average pitching development can do.