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With all the insane minutes Butler is playing, especially after the Deng trade, it would be a travesty if he doesn't make an All Defensive team

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Mar 4, 2014 -> 06:56 AM) Until this year, I was A-List preferred. None of our trips are ever solidly scheduled more than a week or so in advance, so we are always getting Anytime tickets. Between the Anytime points, the A-List preferred bonus and some promotion they were running on top of it, I got something like 40,000 points for a round-trip flight to LA. You can usually book a one-way ticket to almost anywhere for 10k points or less. Also had the Companion pass last year, where a chosen person can fly with you for free on an unlimited number of flights. This includes flights booked with points, so flying to Pittsburgh, Ft. Lauderdale, Spokane and Reno-Tahoe cost me about 80k points total for both of us. I haven't paid for a personal flight in four years. Yes, I banked about 250,000 points last year on Southwest, and the Double Point promotion definitely helped a lot. Not sure how they are profiting from that promotion when they are essentially giving away a free round trip to some premier members every time they fly. It's also probably why they are not doing the same promotion again this year. I received a companion pass from them late year and already used a few times. But they only allow changing the pass holder 3 times a year, and the request to change process is such a pain in the ass.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Feb 24, 2014 -> 09:26 AM) I have been flying for work for a good portion of 10 years with peaks and valleys. Some years over 200k miles and some less than 100k. The funny part is I actually have a decent fear of flying, well at least taking off. Most of the last few years I've flown almost exclusively Southwest. The reason being because Midway was easier to get to, cheaper to park at and was always easier for me to get through security and the airport in general. SWA has a great program called A-list or A-list preferred that allows you to skip the line and always be in A regardless if you check in or not. I also tend to upgrade to business select which guarantees me one of the fist 16 seats on the plane. Most "business" flights to where I go have the same people every day so you actually make some pretty funny friends that are going to the same companies you are. My minneapolis flights were my favorite since their airport is AWESOME and it was always out of the same gate at the same time. If I have to fly another airline I usually choose United since I still have their credit card and some status from years ago. If I am going to denver I like Frontier because of where their gates are located. I almost never fly first class for work since I like to save upgrades for personal travel. Nothing is better than taking your wife on vacation and plopping down in first class where you both can relax. The funny thing about business travel in general is that its not as great as people think. When I was in my early 20's and single it was great to get away and buy an expensive dinner, but living in hotels starts to get old, spending your days in airports tends to wear you down and you just get sick of the thing overall. These days I try my best to take day trips if I am flying less than 3 hours each way. I'd rather leave my house at 5am and get back at 8 or 9 pm then staying in a hotel overnight. As for the height things, I'm 6'1" about 195 lbs. SWA is perfectly fine for me but If I am on United I am doing economy plus every single time. I am 24 and for the past 2 years, I've been flying every week Mon - Thurs out to the client. Like you mentioned, business travel seemed very lucrative to a college kid when deciding the field they want to go into. Hotel stays, first class travels, expensive dinners, weekend getaways instead of returning home all seemed fun for a while, but it got tiring after a year or so, especially with this brutal winter. Most of the folks I work with don't see this as a long term gig, and the married folks I work with all seem to deal with some domestic struggles. As far as airline goes, Southwest is definitely my favorite, by far. The open seating policy really speeds up the boarding process, and on average, Southwest can get you to your destination 15 minutes faster than say Delta or United, from my experience. They now also have a partnership with Dish Network as well, so you actually get to watch a select number of channels for free. I enjoyed my Thursday night flights during football season because they actually have NFL Network in their lineup. Southwest is also pretty good with on time performance in general. This winter alone, United has gotten me into flight delays and cancellations in at least 10 occasions, and I was actually able to use Southwest as an alternative to fly out. Lastly, their loyalty program rewards you a lot better than other airlines. By my calculations, on average you can get a free one way ticket for every three round trips you make, and that's with their lowest grade of ticket. If you get a higher grade ticket or have membership status with them, you actually can get a free ticket a lot faster. Regardless, it beats the mile system any day.

I can see a a Bryan Batista and Orton triple threat at Mania, with Kane as special guest referee. Either Triple H turns face or Vince comes out to back Bryan up.

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Feb 9, 2014 -> 09:47 PM) Your going in complete circles with yourself here, and in a way arguing with yourself. I already said he used alot of Riley's philosophy in his coaching tactics as well as his motivating of players, but if I "discredit" him of being a poor in-game adjuster with lacking certain X's and O's, then yes. I already said enough about T-Mac's defensive game, so I won't reiterate it again. And I wonder why he wasn't put on certain player's in stretches late. Could it be the player himself, could it be Van Gundy not trusting him, or could it be not burning him out on the defensive side of the ball late in the game.. hmm.. Even Durant wasn't great defensively his first year or two comming out of Texas and was seriously influenced by Ron Adams, helping his development in that area. Your one of the few posters I agree with quite a bit in years past when I posted more in this thread (along with Nite, Zoom, Felix and 2012-mid '13 version of J4L ) but at times like this no.. not even close. Let me look at who the Rockets' assistant coach was from 2004 to 2007? Wait.. Tom Thibodeau? If he really wanted to become a shut down defender, he certainly had the resources to do it. When Lebron and Durant came into the league, they weren't known for their defense. But they quickly learned that to become the best in the league, you have to be a two way player. But a 20 year old McGrady was a more energetic and physical defender in Toronto than he was at 26 with the Rockets. Sorry Ace, it's more of a case that I can't agree with you here And you can't say Van Gundy didn't trust McGrady's defensive ability when he put him on Dirk for most of the playoff series in 2005, with the season on the line no less. And I have to stick to what I saw from McGrady here. He was generally a good help defender in the paint, but he never had the competitive fire to say that I want to shut down Kobe this game, much like Kobe took on the assignment when they played. He was often slow to rotate when guarding the pick and roll, and like you mentioned, he never moved much when he didn't have the ball in his hand, it was also the same case on defensive end, he just didn't feel like chasing guys around, and often giving up on the play when beat by defender. Part of it is to conserve energy, I understand. But part of it is also on the player himself, he just didn't care enough to put more effort on that end.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Feb 9, 2014 -> 07:39 PM) I've seen those dumb sites. They're making fun of his lazy eye as much as anything. 40.1 38.3 39.4 40.0 40.8 Those were his minutes played from '01 to '05, his best ball. Those minutes at that level, yeah, lazy is not the word that comes to mind. T-mac is an easy target because he never got out the first round. But dude was great. By that logic, the guy who you called lazy, Vince Carter, averaged 38 to 39 minutes a game in years he was healthy. What does that really tell us? Some even say that McGrady's chronic back injuries were a result of him not hitting the weight room and taking care of his body. But I don't wanna open that can of worm. By the way, if you Google top 20 laziest players in the league, both Carter and McGrady made the list. So we have a guy who admits that he never took interest in practice, calls himself lazy publicly, admits his favorite hobby is actually sleep, had his former coach questioned his work ethic and wonders what would have happened if he had tried harder, and is also someone who rarely tries on the defensive end even though he had all the defensive gifts, and yet you keep making irrelevant points like MPG or point to injuries as the reason why he didn't have a weak work ethic. You just took trolling to another level dude.

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Feb 9, 2014 -> 08:56 PM) I think anyone with a brain knows that was Pat Riley's work in those early Knicks years when he took over and implemented the 1-3-1 trap. (which was brilliant and he was also the first coach to watch video during halftime to break down adjustments) Guys like Oakley, Ewing (although he was already a stud), Starks, etc. were already all defensive players before Van Gundy took over. Now, he used alot of Pat's philosophy in his coaching and it helped hide...er..."made non defensive players better" such as LJ as you alluded to (same with Thibodeau on certain guys currently), but his in-game adjustments/creativity (which is part of what he was criticized for) was indeed poor. This is a rather flawed argument. Your premise was McGrady should get some slack for not playing for the "best" defensive coach, but then you went on to discredit Van Gundy in his early days as a head coach. From 2004 to 2007, the Rockets were perennial ranked in the top 10 or top 5 in defensive efficiency. He wasn't the best defensive coach, but it doesn't take the best defensive coach to coach the best defensive player. And you can even say McGrady was a below average defender in certain years prior to 2008. I've watched most of the Magic/Rockets games from 2002 to 2008, and in certain games, T-Mac looked brilliant defensively when he tried. The defensive work in 2005 playoffs against Dirk was brilliant. But he was never counted on to defend the other team's best players otherwise, even at the end of games. The superstars we have today, Lebron, Durant, George, and Kobe in years past, all guarded the other team's alpha dog in late stretches or even throughout the game.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Feb 9, 2014 -> 03:01 PM) If only Rose's work ethic was better, maybe he would've - oh that's right, he still would've gotten hurt over and over and over. Just like Grant Hill and Penny and others. If your body betrays you, nothing else matters. Please, stop trolling. You are confusing injury to work ethic.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Feb 9, 2014 -> 02:48 PM) No, the ignorance is coming from you for not acknowledging the chronic back issues and all the other physical ailments that cut down his career. I'm sure Van Gundy could go back and say a lot of things about guys he's coached, you know, since he won exactly nothing and the only thing he's really remembered for is calling MJ a con-man and hanging off of Alonzo Mourning's leg like a f***in' idiot. No doubt injury has derailed his career, but what I am trying to get at is even when healthy, McGrady wasn't trying as hard as he could have, and yet, he was close to being the best player in the league for a few years. If you have time, please read this piece, it pretty much sums up McGrady's career in 10 minutes. http://tuesdayswithhorry.com/2013/08/28/th...hat-comes-next/

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Feb 9, 2014 -> 02:20 PM) GMAB. Let me guess - you have to scream, yell and punch guys in the face to be a competitor. Guess what, LeBron doesn't do that either and he might be the GOAT in 5 years. T-mac routinely had those Magic teams in the playoffs with guys like Pat Garrity, Darrell Armstrong and Andrew Declerq. T-mac put up most of his great scoring seasons in the early 2000's which was the peak of defense aka, grab, maul, punch, wrestle, etc. In Houston, neither he or Yao could stay healthy at the same time. I don't know what Van Gundy said and don't really care. He got two scoring titles through undeniable talent but yet questionable work ethic. If he had put in more work in his jump shot, use better shot selections, and compete harder on defense, he could be have been hands down best player in the league for at least 5 years, that's how talented he is. If you choose to ignore a comment coming from a guy who coached him for 4 years, and who is around him for everyday of the basketball season, that just shows how ignorant you choose to be sometimes.

You're kidding right? Even when he was the best offensive player in the league, T-Mac wasn't the biggest competitor on the court, often settling for outside jumpers when he could take anyone off the dribble. He was an All Defense talent when he tried, but he never made much effort on that end. And even Van Gundy has called him out in recent years about the amount of work he has put in when he was with the Rockets. Vince also had the same issue, but I'd take maxed out T-Mac over him for range, playmaking, and length advantages.

Looking at Kevin Durant today, I can't help but picture how good McGrady would have been if he had better work ethic and put everything together.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jan 26, 2014 -> 10:45 PM) Really? You liked Orton/Cena? Man, the party I was with hated that match(as did I) It was a decent match, and as the others had point out, Orton played the crowd pretty well as a heel. But the crowd just seen that movie way too many times, and they made the match feel worse than it was. Frankly, until the E puts a guy like Bryan, or to some extent, Bray in the WM main event, I don't think they will be pleasing any fans out there.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Jan 26, 2014 -> 10:08 PM) The Roman Reigns chant both confirms and denies this post lol. Umm no. Batista is the last guy the fans wanted to see win the Rumble. They would much rather have a guy who worked his ass off the past 2 years win it than a guy who failed at MMA and come back and get back on top, when he wasn't anything special before he left. Even if Reigns had won, most fans would still be pissed Bryan wasn't in the Rumble, because he deserves it more than anyone else. The issue is there is just too much played out crap with the E these days. Personally I thought Orton and Cena was a lot better than the reaction suggested from the crowd, but they were chanting for Bryan majority of the way.

In 2014, apparently the fans decide who the face and the heel is. And it seems like Daniel Bryan or bust for them

The crowd is not having any of Cena vs Orton tonight

Looks like all the p**** money weed is throwing Jimmy off his game

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 23, 2014 -> 06:14 PM) If you look at their raw numbers in Japan during their final seasons in that country, he outpitched both Daisuke and Darvish significantly, and did so at a younger age. Yet no one said Abreu will be elite from day one because he out performed his countrymen in Cuba. We can agree that it's difficult to project someone's career in MLB based on minor league stats or international stats. Arsenal wise, Tanaka is widely considered a grade below Darvish, and I don't think you can say Darvish's first year was "elite". With the type of contract he just signed, and the pressure from the fans and media to perform right away, I have a hard time imagining him being anywhere close to elite.

This just in, Keith Law thinks Tanaka will be an elite pitcher from day one.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 22, 2014 -> 09:30 AM) If he sucks it's a 7 year deal. If he is awesome, it's a 4 year deal. If his performance is mixed, it depends on how good he was in 2016-2017. What is funny is all the speculation, all the fake information by supposed insiders who make their living being insiders, and in the end it winds up being almost exactly what was predicted when it first came out he may be posted. What's even funnier is people taking serious time in denying any rumors of Tanaka linking to other teams and trying just as hard to find any new rumors of Tanaka to Sox out there. This shouldn't have been a 160 page thread, it speaks volume to the number of irrelevant and overreacting posts in here.

QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ Jan 22, 2014 -> 09:08 AM) What fans were holding out hope for was that the luxury tax would impact how the Dodgers and Yankees do business. It obviously does not. What this shows is that the posting cost Tanaka's Japanese team $30M that ended up in Tanaka's pocket anyway and wasted a lot of other peoples time. No. The rumored contract was upward of $140 million all along, luxury tax or not. Which definitely puts him out of Sox range. The only unknown factor was how much Tanaka values other factors in the offer.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 22, 2014 -> 09:02 AM) [/b] Said no one, ever. I was more so referring to this post. QUOTE (Frank_Thomas35 @ Jan 22, 2014 -> 08:01 AM) Argubaly the only real "contenders" out of the supposed "finalists" are the Dodgers. Every other team has major question marks even with the addition of Tanaka. That's why it's important to look at the future. Other than the Dodgers, I would put both the Chicago teams above the Yankees. They have a lot of age on that roster, and a lot of players coming back from injury. I think there is much more to his decision then the three factors you mentioned.

QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ Jan 22, 2014 -> 08:56 AM) Who was fooled? The White Sox flat out said if it comes down to money they will not get him. The cubs were the one's that said they would not be outbid. I think the Sox ended up around 5 years $100M not enough to outbid teams but if was not about money they had a shot did some work and it did not work out. He was an ideal for what they need at this time as he was for every other team. The general sentiment is the Dodgers and Yankees can over a lot more than we can. My guess was he signs for 7/$147, and Sox offered 7/$119. But bigger unknown was how much Tanaka would value the money over other factors. For those who felt Tanaka would leave $30 mil on the table, they fooled themselves. Hahn was wright, if it hasn't come down to $$, we had as much a chance as anyone, but the sad reality was it most likely came down to money, but a lot of people here refused to see that.

Props to all those who fooled themselves into believing Sox were higher than the Yankees on Tanaka's destination list.

QUOTE (Downtown518 @ Jan 22, 2014 -> 08:41 AM) Ken Rosenthal ‏@Ken_Rosenthal BREAKING: Tanaka to #Yankees, seven years, $155M, opt-out after fourth year. YESS!