Jenksismyhero

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 4, 2010 -> 08:41 AM) I still say...if you can get Bosh or Wade to sign on the dotted line on day 1, you do exactly that and walk away content. Putting up with this "all glory to the hypnotoad King tour" is going to be Hell. Yeah, I had a feeling the longer that draws out the more I'd lose respect for him. He's becoming a bit of a drama queen.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Jun 3, 2010 -> 01:35 PM) He really doesn't, if you think he's going to need to develop one for the later part of his career, fine, I can buy that but I'll worry about that when he loses some athleticism which will be a while. Iverson's number were never any where near what Lebron was doing. Yes, Iverson could obviously score with anyone in the game but the rest of his game(including defensive impact) were not even in Lebrons league. As for the bolded part, I'm not going to argue that, but who the hell cares? I think it matters on how you can defend him. Kobe can not be beat as far as I'm concerned because he has both. When he has an off night, it's mainly due to him not shooting the ball well or choosing to be a facilitator. Lebron I think can sometimes be lost by taking jump shots or not getting as many calls with the dribble drive. At that point he just tries to out athleticize teams, which he can do, but not for a full game. I think that's one reason why he's at home right now instead of playing in the finals (clearly the supporting cast is another major reason).

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Jun 3, 2010 -> 12:46 PM) He lacks a post game because he just doesn't need one. Would you like him to average 40 and 15 or something? Dude's numbers are absolutely insane and statistically he is far and away the best player in this league. I agree that he'll never be Jordan(no one ever will) but to say he's no where near as good as people make him out to be is absolutely crazy. And remember, I hate that asshole at the moment but I'll learn to love him if he becomes a Bull because we'd win multiple championships, easily. I disagree that he doesn't need one. Jordan and Kobe perfected it because eventually the legs give out and you can't just beat guys off the dribble. He should be working on that skill now so in 5-6 years he'll be ready for it. Right now his game is simply to shoot long jump shots, threes, and drive the basketball. That's fine, and clearly it works well for him, but he could be THAT much better if he developed an all around game. But that's exactly the problem. Whereas guys like Jordan and Kobe wanted to be the best at everything, always, Lebron seems to be satisfied with settling a bit. And I know he puts up impressive stats, but so did guys like Iverson, and I never considered him the best or second best player in the game. Just to be clear, I'm not saying Lebron is awful. He's cleary one of the handful of great, great players in the league. But his athleticism is what makes him that way, not his pure basketball talent.

QUOTE (Rex Kicka** @ Jun 3, 2010 -> 10:41 AM) New Facebook feed. http://www.slate.com/id/2255749/

QUOTE (Rex Kicka** @ Jun 3, 2010 -> 10:40 AM) Not when you die a decade after World War II. Unless he died on the inside. That's a little different, though. He died as a result of working in a factory during WWII. But whatever. Agree to disagree.

NASA faking the moon landing is another consipiracy that should be added to the list.

QUOTE (CrimsonWeltall @ Jun 3, 2010 -> 08:45 AM) "my father died fighting" Eh, no So, it's not reasonable to say that Rosie the Riveter types were "fighting" the Nazi's too? I admitted it was a poor choice of words, but it's not like she was embellishing to the point of flat out lying like the recent guys about Vietnam. I think she meant to say that he died participating in the fight against Nazism, so to be called that is an insult. Smart choice of words? No. A big deal? No.

My excitement for this upcoming Illinois football season: -3 out of 10. It's going to be an awful 5 months - 4-8 at best, Zook gets canned, and unless one of the assistants does something special they'll be gone and replaced and the whole rebuilding project (which started 5 years ago) will start again. Could be worse though. We could be Michigan. At least we don't really have the recent tradition of being any good.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 3, 2010 -> 08:09 AM) You know the amazing thing Kap? I half agree with you. Lebron's game is no where near at the level it should be, and if it wasn't for his ego, I think he'd have a title by now. He's gotten everything he wanted from Cleveland. He got a coach who let him work on whatever he wanted to work on, rather than what the team needed him to work on. He got a coach who put in the system he wanted rather than focusing on running what might work best for them. He was able to get virtual veto power over trades, and they wound up with things like Shaq on the floor for 40 minutes against a couple of 25 year olds in the Celtics series. He ought to be the most dominant post player in the game, but he's shown no interest in going down low and doing that kind of work. His game is way too perimeter oriented. All that said...the other side of it is...his physical skill set is so far beyond what anyone else in the league can compare to, even with the weaknesses in his game, he's still far and away the best player. No way. Kobe is clearly the best player in the league, and I dunno that it's really that close of a discussion. Look, fact is I'd love to have LeBron if for no other reason than the other team is forced to pay tons of attention to him so guys like Rose and Noah can do their thing. He's also getting the superstar treatment, which allows him to drive the lane and get to the line 9 times out of 10. But I don't think he's anywhere near as good as people make him out to be. As you say the lack of ANY post game is ridiculous for a guy with his size and speed. And he's been in the league for what, 6 years now? He's not going to be the next Jordan, nor will he ever be the next Jordan. I think that ship has already sailed. Kobe is the only other person close enough to do that. I'd still love him on the Bulls though.

It really shouldn't matter that much. 2gb a month is a lot. They claim that covers 98% of their customers. I'm sure the majority of that remaining 2% already has the unlimited plan.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 2, 2010 -> 03:52 PM) Ok...I'm going to try to avoid saying anything inappropriate on this one. Her father died in 1955. And didn't serve in Europe. Poor choice of words, and a REAL stretch, but reading what she says it's still accurate.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 2, 2010 -> 03:00 PM) And if I wanted to return the caricature, I could say that the win-at-all-costs, no concern for anyone else, no concern for the rules or who gets hurt in the process, if you lose you deserve it and we winners just get to laugh at you is an equally unfair portrait of your side. yeah but your side is winning

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 2, 2010 -> 02:27 PM) This rule clearly is a poor way of enforcing it, but the talk here has been all about the benefits of teaching kids about winning and losing and how they should be ready to be competitive in everything and always try to be winners, but at least to me, the idea of having a good time doing something, or making sure everyone at least enjoys themselves, seems like its being lost here. That's the point I'm trying to make. I get the point, but at the level where kids are going to know the difference between just having fun playing a game and actually competing, giving everyone a fair shot or making sure everyone enjoys themselves is not part of the equation. In other words, that's a fine goal for pre-teen sports where the goal is to learn the game. After that it's about competing and becoming the best you can be. And I'd still argue that such an outlook (whether you advocate this position or not) defines the different philosophies between a lot of our politics today. Some people (liberals) feel bad for those kids (people) that still can't shoot the basketball (get a job) because they didn't practice (work hard at school) but now want to still get equal playing time/wins ($$), all at the expense of those that DID put in the time and effort.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 2, 2010 -> 02:27 PM) First of all... Second of all...you're ignoring my main point here, and perhaps you're doing so correctly because I think I've gotten sidetracked...is there no good to come from learning the values of sportsmanship as well? Oh sure, I don't think anyone is arguing that. There's as much to be learned from being a good winner as there is from being a good loser. People are arguing that a rule that actually makes you a loser for being too good, or which grants achievements that aren't deserving, is wrong.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 2, 2010 -> 02:10 PM) So, you say there's value in sometimes letting your daughter win even though you could beat her every time? Hmmm...very interesting.... why are you making such silly arguments? No one is saying that every kid should lose 100% of the time and be happy with it. We're saying that kids should learn the value of being a good loser and that losing often times creates changes in preparation/action that are beneficial in all aspects of life. There's never going to be a situation where one kid goes his entire childhood without winning because the system prevents him from doing so. And I find it pretty hilarious that the resident extreme liberal/progressive on the board sees ZERO positives in a society (or sport) in which no one is just GIVEN something, but they're forced to EARN it. "It's not FAIR that they win all the time! Let's change the rules so that those people that lack the work ethic to succeed are made equal! Everyone DESERVES a win"

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 2, 2010 -> 08:51 AM) I don't believe what I'm going to write but it's time for someone to play Devil's advocate here. Go watch a 59-0 NCAA football game. And I mean really sit there and watch it. There's plenty of them every year. How does the side going down feel on that one? How much of a difference do those last 20 points make to the bottom line? How can anyone possibly argue that games like that are a positive for anyone. Horrible sportsmanship, basically you're taunting the other team. Or, go to baseball. Ever play in a game with a 10 run mercy rule? I know I have. By the time it's 17-0 in the first inning, do you really want to keep playing so that one side can run up the score or do you want to quit and go drink a beer and swear at those guys for being such crappy sports? You get punched in the mouth, you come back stronger and more prepared the next go around. Every team that loses those games gains something in the process. To be great, you have to fall down first, you have to be embarassed, you have to suffer a huge hit on your pride. Anyone who has played a sport as a kid has experienced that. You feel like crap afterwards and you tell yourself that it's not going to happen again. The mercy rule in baseball has more to do with efficiency than anything else (at least in my little league it did). When a team can't get off the field the whole schedule for the day gets out of whack. And if Glenn Beck (or whoever) says this type of thinking will lead to our country's demise, I would agree with him. We're becoming a bunch of softies who are afraid to offend/disrespect/put any sort of negativity on anything. People like this have no backbone or thick skin to deal with anything anymore, and that's a horrible lesson to teach a teen.

QUOTE (CrimsonWeltall @ Jun 2, 2010 -> 09:25 AM) http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2010/06...ws_the_bird.php close. not enough hatred.

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/66208 ZOMG! Pelosi is guided by the Word (of God)! ZOMG! *awaits liberal blog/media attack equating this to Bush, claiming religion is the worst thing on earth, and expressing outrage that a public official is guided by it*

When I was a kid my family loaded up the RV and went from Central Illinois down to Natchez. I'm pretty sure we hit up that parkway. Also stopped in Vicksburg. As a 14-15 year old, Vicksburg was awesome, especially in the summer. Buy the drive along CD and you can get the history of the battle with the convenience of the AC. And you can get out to look at anything you find interesting (there's quite a bit to see). Natchez was ok if you're into looking at really old (but cool) plantation mansions. A lot of them have "actors" playing the roles of the original owners/slaves/workmen, to give you a little more history.

what's that you say? This has all happened before?! Including all the attempts to fix it? Ricockulous. Guess we'll see what works in 9 months.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 27, 2010 -> 02:10 PM) So, then let me ask you...why do you think this action is happening? Why do you think that there's also a large chunk of the Senate that thinks that this is 1/12th as much as the President ought to be sending? Stupidity?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 27, 2010 -> 01:58 PM) So, would you be the one who cares to argue that it's a waste of resources? I see 2k5 has no interest in doing so. Oh it absolutely is. It's the same as spending billons on the war on drugs. People will find a way to cross the border whether you send the NG there or not. Heck, build a wall the entire length of the border (another huge waste of money) and they'll still come across. Gotta change the culture. Shore up the jobs (MASSIVE penalties for employers) and they have no reason to be here. No reason to be here, no border crossing. End of story.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 27, 2010 -> 08:21 AM) Shouldn't you be complaining about all of the obvious racism going on here, using of course the key inflammatory race code words to make the situation worse? By rule it's only racist if a white Republican does it

MIB also corrupted Ben into killing Jacob.

QUOTE (CrimsonWeltall @ May 27, 2010 -> 09:19 AM) Jacob planned to kill MIB? If the only way that is possible is with a EM-immune person like Desmond, how did he expect Dharma to do anything? Any why would the Others KILL the Dharma people? MIB corrupted Ben? How? Ben only ever took orders from Jacob via Richard. Yeah the first part only partly makes sense, since the others and dharma seemed to have been at war numerous times throughout the island history we're given. EDIT: but for all we know that's what Jacob wanted, so that still fits. And yeah, I can buy that MIB corrupted Ben. He saw ghosts (like of his mother) which fed his hatred of his dad/dharma, which got the ball rolling on the purge.