It’s a Monday morning following a 3 day weekend, so it goes without saying that I am not motivated to do any real work. Sadly, I actually have stuff that needs to get done at work for once too, but I just can’t seem to get myself moving. And what could be a more appropriate blog post topic for my current laziness than video games? I have never been what you would call a “gamer,” but for some reason I have recently been on somewhat of a Madden binge. Like I said though, I have never really been a big gamer, so to me a “binge” might consist of playing 4 or 5 hours a week. Anyway, prior to the last couple of weeks I never played against the computer in anything but All-Pro (I had used All-Madden, but only while playing people head-to-head), but I set my most recent Madden franchise to the All-Madden skill level using my crappy hometown Redskins. I’m not the most hardcore Madden player, but All-Pro is just too easy when playing against the computer. Even I can take a weak franchise and cruise to a 15-1 type season and a Super Bowl win while winning most games by at least 3 or 4 touchdowns. When playing on All-Madden, I at first thought I was just a little bit rusty from not having consistently played in awhile, as I got dusted by scores like 63-21 and 56-10 by the Jets and Ravens during the preseason. I hadn’t really gotten frustrated yet to that point. I knew I was getting beat, but I blamed real-life Skins owner Dan Snyder for just how large my margins of defeat were, as his personnel decisions had sapped the team’s depth over the years to the point where the other team’s benches were so much better than mine that it was laughable. I was always losing at halftime, but the 2nd half of these preseason games (when my benchwarmers were going against the other team’s) was when I was really getting smashed.
I didn’t start to pull the hair out of my head until the regular season started though, when it became apparent that when playing against the computer the All-Madden setting is simply too hard. While it’s difficult to tell at times, I can safely say that my play has steadily improved from when I 1st began this new franchise. Still, I’m currently 0-5 in the regular season, with most of the outcomes not that far off from those preseason scores I mentioned before. I am not sure off the top of my head what my worst performance was, but the game that I felt most emasculated after was the something like 52-0 home drubbing suffered at the hands of the unstoppable All-Madden superhuman Packers. It’s gotten to the point that if I’m only losing 17-3 or something like that midway through the 2nd quarter, and Krissy happens to glance at the screen she will say in a perfectly serious voice, “Wow babe, you’re playing well.” The 1st couple of times she made that kind of comment I wanted to throw my shoe through the television screen, but really she’s 100% right.
The All-Madden setting is so hard that it is really borderline cheating. I’m not sure whether playing offense or defense is more frustrating. Probably the most maddening (no pun intended) thing overall is how the computer completely and utterly dominates the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. My offensive line (which I would call respectable, but not great) looks like a sieve playing against the CPU’s superhuman d-linemen. Unless you randomly catch the computer D in some type of obvious pass defense formation with only 5 or 6 guys in the box, you pretty much have to forget trying to run the ball…even then, the holes close up so quickly that a 4 or 5 yard gain is cause for minor celebration. And yet, your best chance at keeping the score close is by being patient and continuing to try to mix in the run as much as possible. If you can stomach the no gains and 3 yard losses, it at least keeps the clock running and shortens the game a little bit. If you think trying to run the ball while 3 defenders penetrate into the backfield is no fun, try passing the ball in the same situation. Donavan McNabb has been lying on his back more in this virtual season than a $2 hooker. I think all of this hurts my offense more than it would others because when I play against the computer on All-Pro or against other actual people I like to rely on the run and the play action pass…and it’s tough to do either when your QB/RB is constantly running for his life behind the line of scrimmage. Screen passes were also always a favorite of mine, but those also become exponentially more difficult when the superhuman linebackers and defensive backs always expertly knife through my would-be blockers on the way to the ballcarrier. As a result, I basically have ended up calling a lot of short crossing patterns using 3 and 4 wide receiver sets to try to get the ball out of McNabb’s hands quickly. With that being said, the majority of my pass attempts are still checkdowns to Portis out of the backfield and Cooley. In the rare event that I do call the perfect pass play for a given defense and have time to throw, there’s probably a 50-50 chance that the receiver either drops the ball or McNabb throws the ball straight into the ground. Either way, you’re pretty much screwed.
Playing defense against the computer on All-Madden is equally if not more soul-crushing than playing offense. Probably the worst part is trying to stop the run. Whereas you might consider 2 or 3 yards per carry a monumental success for your offense when playing on All-Madden, the CPU All-Madden running backs continually rip off 6 and 8 yard runs even against run blitzes. The superhuman CPU backs almost never can be brought down by 1 defender, and routinely break multiple tackles on a single play. At least once a game, expect the back to be seemingly bottled-up only to break loose and run for a 30+ yard score. Just like when playing on offense against the superhuman CPU d-linemen, the All-Madden computer offensive linemen make it look as if the mid-90’s Dallas Cowboys are playing against your high school’s junior varsity. Sometimes I will watch the instant replay after the computer makes a nice running play, and my entire defensive line will have gotten pancake-blocked…at the same time. On passing plays, if you don’t blitz, you are not getting to the quarterback, and even then the line usually stonewalls every defender creating a perfect pocket. If you somehow magically force the computer into a 3rd and 17 or something, a receiver will inevitably run down the seam and catch a pass for 22 yards. If you do somehow stumble into perfect coverage, don’t expect your defenders to corral any interceptions even if it is thrown directly to them…meanwhile, the computer’s superhuman defense has no trouble making one-handed diving picks look routine. Also, happen to force a fumble? Don’t count on recovering it…I have yet to win a fight for a fumble playing on All-Madden.
While I’m probably on the way to an 0-16 season, I’ve taken solace in a couple of things. 1st, I think I’m a lock for getting the #1 overall draft pick should I continue my franchise for a 2nd season. 2nd, despite the I have pretty much gotten sha-lacked in every game so far, I do feel like playing on All-Madden is making me a better player overall. Your playcalls have to be perfect. On offense, you HAVE TO pick the right gap on running plays and pick the right receiver to throw to (and throw to them on time). You HAVE TO read the defenses better both pre-snap and post-snap. And you HAVE TO make quicker decisions because the pocket is collapsing and oh-my-damn you are about to get broken in half by Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis…sorry, flashback. The same concepts can be applied to defense as well. Even if you do all these things, you are probably still going to get crushed, but if you don’t at least do these you have no chance at all. 3rd, apparently I’m not the only one who’s had these problems. Over the last couple of weeks I had started to think that I must be the worst player in the history of Madden. I asked my brother-in-law, Frankie (an avid Madden player), how he normally does against the computer when playing on All-Madden, and he responded emphatically, “It’s impossible. I can’t do anything.” This was actually pretty comforting because I have played Frankie dozens of times in Madden, and I would say that we matchup pretty evenly. I also did a quick Google-search of “All-Madden franchise,” and there are dozens of Madden message boards that pretty much echoed my thinking: that even for hardcore Madden gamers, the makers of the game simply made the All-Madden setting too damn hard. Supposedly, if you make a franchise on All-Madden and continue to progress your franchise through several seasons, the ratings of your players will continue to progress and improve as well, thus improving your team…the problem is that the progression of the players is based on their individual stats, and it’s pretty hard to put up good stats if your team is losing by 4 touchdowns every game. So, to say it’s an uphill battle is an understatement.
My last game was against the Colts. I lost again, but the final score was only 24-7, which is my closest outcome to date. The key to keeping it that close was defense. I had 2 or 3 sacks. I forced 3 fumbles (of course, I only recovered 1). I held Addai to under 100 yards for the whole game (he still averaged almost 5 yards a carry, but I consider that a monumental achievement). I only scored 7 points, but I probably played better and smarter on offense than any game to this point. I missed a 30-something yard field goal, and fumbled away another scoring chance inside the red zone as well (which was actually more my fault than the computer “cheating”). Hypothetically, I left either 6 or 10 points out on the field, which could have brought me as close as 24-17, and that score wouldn’t have been indicative of a “sha-lacking” at all. I think the worst record in the league by season’s end is still a lock at this point, but hopefully if I get just a little bit better (and luckier) I can sneak out 1 win before the season is over. If not, I guess there’s always that #1 pick.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Fever Blister
There is a somewhat cliché line about getting older that goes something like this: the older we get, it’s not the “day of” that gets harder; it’s the “day after.” I’ve echoed this before, and I believe it to be true. When I play pickup basketball or in our touch football league, I don’t think I’ve lost much physically (maybe half a step) from when I was eighteen, but the following day is a different story. As an eighteen year old, I could go hard for a couple hours one day, and then come back the next day and do the exact same thing. As an almost twenty-six year old, if I go hard for a couple hours one day, it’s just about out of the question to do anything at all the next day, and I might be moving pretty slow the day after that as well. It just takes longer to recover, plain and simple. And that goes for not only muscle recovery, but recovery of my little nagging injuries as well. I’ve been used to lacing up ankle braces, strapping on knee braces, and nursing nagging hamstring and groin injuries for awhile now. One of the things that I still haven’t gotten completely accustomed to is this achilles tendonitis, which I guess is just never going to go away for as long as I do anything that involves moving my body, but even that I have learned to deal with. One thing that is hard to stomach is what I will call “equipment induced injuries.” This past Christmas, I bought Krissy a new pair of basketball hightops. They were the white, black, and red CP3 III’s made by Jordan brand. I got them at the Nike Outlet near our apartment, so to say I got a good deal was an understatement. Anyway, they gave Krissy some blisters as she was breaking them in the first few weeks, but by all accounts she loved them, and so I eventually bought the same shoe in black, white, and blue. They were actually marked down even more when I bought them – $37 to be exact – so I thought I got even more of a steal.
The first couple of times I wore the shoes, I loved them. They are sharp-looking, they are light, and they were comfortable. I say “were” because the third or fourth time I wore them while playing ball my right heel was in so much pain that I almost felt like sitting out. I guess they still need to be broken in, but what’s weird is that I had no such pain the first few times I wore them. It’s a strange kind of pain also…it feels like a bad blister or burn, but neither Krissy nor I can see anything on my heel with the naked eye. And I feel like it has to be from the shoes because when I wear other sneakers the pain isn’t there. (It does hurt a little bit when I’m wearing dress shoes for work now, but that’s it.) Krissy suggested that the blister might be a result of the way the padding is designed in the heel, but I only have the “blister” on the one foot. Also, I went to the closet to pull out an old pair of Melo’s (also Jordan brand), which happen to have the same heel padding as these CP3’s, and I never had any kind of blister or anything from wearing them…so, what the hell?!? In effect, I have some kind of “blister mystery” here. I think Krissy may have thought I was losing it this past Sunday because after we got home from basketball I messed with the shoes for a good hour or so trying to feel for anything in the heel of the shoe that might have caused it. Anyway, I don’t have a great solution other than just trying to let the “blister thingy” heal and further break in the new sneakers, otherwise it’s going to be out with the new and in with the old…because I’m not getting another pair of sneakers right now, $37 or not.
The first couple of times I wore the shoes, I loved them. They are sharp-looking, they are light, and they were comfortable. I say “were” because the third or fourth time I wore them while playing ball my right heel was in so much pain that I almost felt like sitting out. I guess they still need to be broken in, but what’s weird is that I had no such pain the first few times I wore them. It’s a strange kind of pain also…it feels like a bad blister or burn, but neither Krissy nor I can see anything on my heel with the naked eye. And I feel like it has to be from the shoes because when I wear other sneakers the pain isn’t there. (It does hurt a little bit when I’m wearing dress shoes for work now, but that’s it.) Krissy suggested that the blister might be a result of the way the padding is designed in the heel, but I only have the “blister” on the one foot. Also, I went to the closet to pull out an old pair of Melo’s (also Jordan brand), which happen to have the same heel padding as these CP3’s, and I never had any kind of blister or anything from wearing them…so, what the hell?!? In effect, I have some kind of “blister mystery” here. I think Krissy may have thought I was losing it this past Sunday because after we got home from basketball I messed with the shoes for a good hour or so trying to feel for anything in the heel of the shoe that might have caused it. Anyway, I don’t have a great solution other than just trying to let the “blister thingy” heal and further break in the new sneakers, otherwise it’s going to be out with the new and in with the old…because I’m not getting another pair of sneakers right now, $37 or not.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
I thought about doing a Super Bowl recap blog, but the result of the game kind of was what it was…while the finish was entertaining, it wasn’t a particularly well played game by either team. The matchup and the resulting outcome pretty much confirmed what we already knew. The Steelers (much like the Spurs in the NBA, in my opinion) will always be that solidly built team, and as long as they have Big Ben and a stingy D they will contend for championships. The Packers finally proved they were the team everyone thought they could be for the last two years. It wouldn’t be at all surprising if these two teams met up in a Super Bowl rematch in the not too distant future. To me, the coolest thing that came out of Super Bowl Sunday was one particular commercial. My Super Bowl viewing experience was kind of odd this year. Normally on Super Bowl Sunday, I can be found plopped down on the couch for seemingly the entire day, but this year Krissy and I were helping my parents do some stuff around their house during the afternoon. This resulted in us using a technological marvel known as a DVR to watch the game. Anyway, when you DVR anything, the natural tendency is to just fast forward through all the commercials, but during the Super Bowl the ads are sometimes as entertaining as the game itself. With that being said, Super Bowl commercials have been severely lacking the past few years, so I sped through 95% of them. I would occasionally hit play when I saw an E-Trade Baby ad or an ad with a chimp in a suit driving a car to work, but for the most part I fast forwarded through everything.
During one particular timeout, a car ad seemed to be running. I didn’t pay a great deal of attention to it, but as I was fast forwarding I noticed what I thought was Eminem towards the end of the ad. Being the huge Em fan that I am, I immediately rewinded to the beginning of the commercial to watch it in full. I have to say that as far as TV commercials go, it was brilliant. There was no slapstick comedy in it (like some guy getting hit in the balls or Betty White getting tackled into a pool of mud), no grandiose or expensive looking CGI, and no self-important tagline where the ad-makers think they are a lot more clever than they really are. The camera brings you through what looks like authentic Detroit. The narrator tells you of the struggles and perseverance of the city, and Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” starts to quietly build in the background. The narrator says something to the effect of, “This isn’t New York City, the Windy City, and it’s definitely not the Emerald City.” The camera cuts to Eminem getting out of a Chrysler, and stepping into Detroit’s world famous Fox Theatre where a Gospel choir continues to lead into the instrumental bridge of the song, and Eminem turns to the camera and says, “This is the Motor City, and this is what we do.” The commercial then ends with the words “Imported from Detroit” across the screen…now, I am already biased to liking anything involving Eminem, but it was just very cool. I am not from Detroit, nor do I have any affiliation with the city, but it was hard not to feel kind of proud after watching that. Detroit is as all-American and as blue-collar as any city in the country, and for me at least I couldn’t help feeling a little patriotism start to swell up. For a moment, it caused me to forget any notion I had of buying a Toyota, BMW, or Suburu…which is what makes the ad so smart and effective in the first place. I’m not saying I still don’t want to buy a Tacoma, but the ad definitely appeals to my wanting to buy a domestic vehicle when the time comes. Anyway, check out the Chrysler spot below and decide what you think for yourself.
During one particular timeout, a car ad seemed to be running. I didn’t pay a great deal of attention to it, but as I was fast forwarding I noticed what I thought was Eminem towards the end of the ad. Being the huge Em fan that I am, I immediately rewinded to the beginning of the commercial to watch it in full. I have to say that as far as TV commercials go, it was brilliant. There was no slapstick comedy in it (like some guy getting hit in the balls or Betty White getting tackled into a pool of mud), no grandiose or expensive looking CGI, and no self-important tagline where the ad-makers think they are a lot more clever than they really are. The camera brings you through what looks like authentic Detroit. The narrator tells you of the struggles and perseverance of the city, and Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” starts to quietly build in the background. The narrator says something to the effect of, “This isn’t New York City, the Windy City, and it’s definitely not the Emerald City.” The camera cuts to Eminem getting out of a Chrysler, and stepping into Detroit’s world famous Fox Theatre where a Gospel choir continues to lead into the instrumental bridge of the song, and Eminem turns to the camera and says, “This is the Motor City, and this is what we do.” The commercial then ends with the words “Imported from Detroit” across the screen…now, I am already biased to liking anything involving Eminem, but it was just very cool. I am not from Detroit, nor do I have any affiliation with the city, but it was hard not to feel kind of proud after watching that. Detroit is as all-American and as blue-collar as any city in the country, and for me at least I couldn’t help feeling a little patriotism start to swell up. For a moment, it caused me to forget any notion I had of buying a Toyota, BMW, or Suburu…which is what makes the ad so smart and effective in the first place. I’m not saying I still don’t want to buy a Tacoma, but the ad definitely appeals to my wanting to buy a domestic vehicle when the time comes. Anyway, check out the Chrysler spot below and decide what you think for yourself.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Milestones
Couple of quick personal lifting-related notes for this post…
1st, I finally broke the 80 lb. barrier for dumbbell shoulder presses. For months, I hadn’t been able to move up past the 75’s. I always felt that if I could actually successfully get them above my head, I could get a good number of reps in with the 80’s, and it turns out my “feeling” was right. (I was able to rep them 9 times for 1 set.) Anyway, I don’t think anyone gets that hyped over shoulder milestones…it’s not like reaching a new one rep max when you’re benching or squatting or dead-lifting, but it was long-awaited, and I feel like my shoulder strength at least somewhat makes up for my (at times) disappointing chest strength.
2nd, I randomly weighed myself the other night. It was the 1st time I had weighed myself since the beginning of summer I believe, and I’m not sure exactly what brought this idea on. I believe it was just the curiosity of not having weighed myself in several months and seeing if my body was actually still changing as a result of lifting and whatnot. I have definitely gotten stronger in the gym, but I don’t take pictures of myself or measure myself in any other way really, so I didn’t really have a good idea of what I would weigh. Also, when I look in the mirror I don’t look drastically different (fatter or more muscular), and it’s not like I have had to buy all new clothes that fit either. Anyway, I figured I would weigh pretty much the same (between 190-195), but to my surprise I weighed-in at 201.5! Now, this was after dinner on a day that Krissy and I took off from the gym, but I have never weighed that much in my life. I weighed myself again the next morning before breakfast to get a more accurate measurement, and I weighed 198 lb., which is still my heaviest weight to date. With everything I said before regarding some small gains in strength and no noticeable difference in appearance, I guess this means that I have just gradually put on a few pounds of muscle. Still, anytime my weight goes up like that I do get a little nervous, so maybe I will just monitor it a little more closely in the coming weeks just to make sure I’m not stuffing my face or slacking on my cardio too much.
1st, I finally broke the 80 lb. barrier for dumbbell shoulder presses. For months, I hadn’t been able to move up past the 75’s. I always felt that if I could actually successfully get them above my head, I could get a good number of reps in with the 80’s, and it turns out my “feeling” was right. (I was able to rep them 9 times for 1 set.) Anyway, I don’t think anyone gets that hyped over shoulder milestones…it’s not like reaching a new one rep max when you’re benching or squatting or dead-lifting, but it was long-awaited, and I feel like my shoulder strength at least somewhat makes up for my (at times) disappointing chest strength.
2nd, I randomly weighed myself the other night. It was the 1st time I had weighed myself since the beginning of summer I believe, and I’m not sure exactly what brought this idea on. I believe it was just the curiosity of not having weighed myself in several months and seeing if my body was actually still changing as a result of lifting and whatnot. I have definitely gotten stronger in the gym, but I don’t take pictures of myself or measure myself in any other way really, so I didn’t really have a good idea of what I would weigh. Also, when I look in the mirror I don’t look drastically different (fatter or more muscular), and it’s not like I have had to buy all new clothes that fit either. Anyway, I figured I would weigh pretty much the same (between 190-195), but to my surprise I weighed-in at 201.5! Now, this was after dinner on a day that Krissy and I took off from the gym, but I have never weighed that much in my life. I weighed myself again the next morning before breakfast to get a more accurate measurement, and I weighed 198 lb., which is still my heaviest weight to date. With everything I said before regarding some small gains in strength and no noticeable difference in appearance, I guess this means that I have just gradually put on a few pounds of muscle. Still, anytime my weight goes up like that I do get a little nervous, so maybe I will just monitor it a little more closely in the coming weeks just to make sure I’m not stuffing my face or slacking on my cardio too much.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Just Curious
This January marked the three year anniversary of when I first began working at my current job. Three years seems like a long time when you say it out loud or type the actual words out. That’s only one year less than I spent in high school and a year and half less than it took me to graduate from college (both of which seemed endless at the time). But truthfully, these past three years have flown by. In comparison to those other two time periods I just mentioned, the three years since I graduated from college have seemed like a nanosecond. Maybe that has to do with the passing of certain life events such as getting engaged and getting married…I don’t think it has had as much to do with my work itself (which is what this post is really about).
I have been telling myself for the past six months that I was going to start looking for another job. This wasn’t because I hated my job or anything, but more because I just wanted to see what else was out there. Finally, this past month I posted my resume on a couple of job websites. I told myself I still wasn’t “actively” looking for another job, just doing my due diligence in the employee world. Well, here I am only a few weeks later, and I’ve finally come to terms with the fact that I didn’t “just want to see what else was out there.” The nature of the work that I do is very cyclical in terms of how heavy the workload is at any given time. At times, you have a lot of down time, but at other times you may have multiple projects occurring simultaneously, and you may find yourself struggling just to keep your head above water…however, it seems as if I have been in a “down” cycle for almost a year now, and I can see myself going from a “just looking” attitude to a “get me out of here” attitude very quickly, as I have gone from passively looking to actively searching within only a matter of weeks.
I read a thing the other day that said something to the effect of “everyone’s goal should be to make as much money as possible while doing as little actual work as possible.” Obviously, that statement is only meant half-jokingly, but there is some truth to it. To that effect, maybe I should just keep quiet and stay the course for the time being. With everything I’ve said up to this point, it’s tough for me to say anything negative about my job. I’ve learned a tremendous amount, I’ve worked on some really interesting projects, and I’ve been treated really well by my employer. I mean, is it really killing me to sit at a desk and get paid to be bored for eight or nine hours a day? Probably not, and even if I’m never quite as consistently busy as I would like to be, it’s not like I’m never going to get another interesting project to work on here, but there have been too many days lately where if Krissy were to ask me what I did at work my answer would basically be, “I don’t really know.” I think everyone is bound to have days like that once in awhile, but it seems like the days where I actually feel like I accomplished something at work are sandwiched between way too many days where I feel like I accomplished nothing at all.
Like I said, maybe there is something to that above quote. Maybe we as humans are naturally inclined to do as little work as possible. I think that’s mostly true…I mean, most modern advances in technology are designed with the intent of allowing us to sit on our cans as much as possible. But without waxing too philosophically here, I also think humans are naturally inclined to strive to achieve some type of purpose. For example, Krissy works for the state as a social worker. I don’t want to get into too many specifics, but it’s a hard job. She constantly has to deal with people (half of which seem to be clinically insane and the other half completely unhelpful), she usually logs several hours a day in the car driving from place to place, she is often placed in semi-dangerous situations with people who aren’t always the most stable, and she always has a ton of nonsensical paperwork to fill out. On top of all of that, she isn’t paid half as much as she deserves (in my very biased opinion of course)…and yet there are days where I can see the pride she has in herself for the good she was able to do for someone through her work. On those days, I would be lying if I said I didn’t envy her.
I have been telling myself for the past six months that I was going to start looking for another job. This wasn’t because I hated my job or anything, but more because I just wanted to see what else was out there. Finally, this past month I posted my resume on a couple of job websites. I told myself I still wasn’t “actively” looking for another job, just doing my due diligence in the employee world. Well, here I am only a few weeks later, and I’ve finally come to terms with the fact that I didn’t “just want to see what else was out there.” The nature of the work that I do is very cyclical in terms of how heavy the workload is at any given time. At times, you have a lot of down time, but at other times you may have multiple projects occurring simultaneously, and you may find yourself struggling just to keep your head above water…however, it seems as if I have been in a “down” cycle for almost a year now, and I can see myself going from a “just looking” attitude to a “get me out of here” attitude very quickly, as I have gone from passively looking to actively searching within only a matter of weeks.
I read a thing the other day that said something to the effect of “everyone’s goal should be to make as much money as possible while doing as little actual work as possible.” Obviously, that statement is only meant half-jokingly, but there is some truth to it. To that effect, maybe I should just keep quiet and stay the course for the time being. With everything I’ve said up to this point, it’s tough for me to say anything negative about my job. I’ve learned a tremendous amount, I’ve worked on some really interesting projects, and I’ve been treated really well by my employer. I mean, is it really killing me to sit at a desk and get paid to be bored for eight or nine hours a day? Probably not, and even if I’m never quite as consistently busy as I would like to be, it’s not like I’m never going to get another interesting project to work on here, but there have been too many days lately where if Krissy were to ask me what I did at work my answer would basically be, “I don’t really know.” I think everyone is bound to have days like that once in awhile, but it seems like the days where I actually feel like I accomplished something at work are sandwiched between way too many days where I feel like I accomplished nothing at all.
Like I said, maybe there is something to that above quote. Maybe we as humans are naturally inclined to do as little work as possible. I think that’s mostly true…I mean, most modern advances in technology are designed with the intent of allowing us to sit on our cans as much as possible. But without waxing too philosophically here, I also think humans are naturally inclined to strive to achieve some type of purpose. For example, Krissy works for the state as a social worker. I don’t want to get into too many specifics, but it’s a hard job. She constantly has to deal with people (half of which seem to be clinically insane and the other half completely unhelpful), she usually logs several hours a day in the car driving from place to place, she is often placed in semi-dangerous situations with people who aren’t always the most stable, and she always has a ton of nonsensical paperwork to fill out. On top of all of that, she isn’t paid half as much as she deserves (in my very biased opinion of course)…and yet there are days where I can see the pride she has in herself for the good she was able to do for someone through her work. On those days, I would be lying if I said I didn’t envy her.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Melo To LA? Has A Nice Ring To It
It’s been over a week since I’ve done a post where I mentioned Blake Griffin…so of course, this post has to do (partially at least) with none other than Blake Griffin. As free agency was approaching last summer, Bill Simmons wrote a column where he rated all the possible destinations for LeBron to land. While he picked New York, Miami, Chicago, and Cleveland as the most likely choices, Simmons theorized that the best place for him to go (all things considered) would be the Clippers…really, the Clippers? He would have to somehow shake off the stink of an owner and a franchise that had been the laughingstock of the league for the previous three decades, but Simmons pointed out that there was a lot of potential upside to going there. He would be in a big market, he would be playing with a young talented nucleus that included Griffin and Eric Gordon, and he would undoubtedly be the lead dog on the team. Now, this theory had almost no chance of becoming a reality. First, there was that thing about being a perpetual loser of a franchise for thirty years. Second, the owner of the Clips is by all accounts a pretty big scumbag…this might not deter everyone from signing with the Clippers, but it definitely will keep some away. Third, everyone thought that Griffin and Gordon had the potential to be great, but no one knew for sure if Blake was going to get healthy and if Gordon would finally put it all together. Fast forward a few months (incidentally, the rising Clippers just ended the Heat’s 13 game road winning streak last night): Griffin is a beast, and Gordon has shown that last summer’s Team USA experience really pushed him to be a better player.
What does this have to do with this year? Well, anyone that has been following the NBA this year knows about the perpetual melodrama – get it, Melo-drama….damn, that’s funny – that has been Carmelo Anthony’s eventual exodus out of Denver and to New York or New Jersey. Basically, Melo wants to be a Knick, and Denver wants to trade him before the season’s over so they can get something back for him rather than be left empty-handed when Melo leaves via free agency this summer. Anthony would also prefer to do a sign-and-trade because he wouldn’t get nearly as much money if he simply signed in New York this summer (let’s not even mention the collective bargaining issue…oops, I just did). However, New York doesn’t really have all the pieces that Denver is interested in to make a trade. The Nets, on the other hand, do. Ending up with the Knicks through a trade isn’t impossible, but it’s likely going to have to involve other franchises as well, which makes things more complicated. As it stands right now, it appears that potential trade scenarios that would ship Melo to the Nets are in the works, but Anthony seems to be blocking them. So, the question is does Anthony hold out for the Knicks, or does he decide that New Jersey is close enough and accept a trade there. Coincidentally in his latest column, Simmons (who was the first person I saw say, “What about the Clippers?” concerning LeBron last summer) basically wrote, “What about the Clippers?” regarding Melo’s eventually landing spot as well. His arguments for Melo going to LA are similar to his arguments for LeBron to have gone there last summer. Just like last year, this idea just had never occurred to me. For one, it just seemed like a foregone conclusion that Melo was heading east. Also, even though they boast my favorite current player in the league, I guess the Clippers are still an afterthought even to me. For full disclosure’s sake, I should note that even though Simmons is a diehard Celtics fan he is a Clippers season ticket holder, so it’s easy to see why he would like to see Anthony suit-up in home white with red and blue trim next season…still I have to admit that just as the what if LeBron went to the Clippers scenario was the most fun to think about last year, the what if Melo went to the Clippers scenario is the most intriguing possibility here as well. (On a sidenote, in this last column Simmons called Griffin “the most meaningful in-the-air player since Shawn Kemp.” No wonder he’s my favorite individual to watch play since the Reignman himself.)
Anyway, this Melo to the Clips stuff is nothing more than pie in the sky right now. Other than Simmons, I haven’t heard a peep about this even being a possibility to this point. There could always be something in the works that we don’t know about, but there has been no mention of LA even being on Carmelo’s radar. Still, it would be fun to have a team that was potentially good enough to unseat the Lakers as the best team in their own town. If the Clippers can keep their core of young guys together though, they might actually be poised to take over the role of best young up-and-coming team in the league from the Thunder within the next year or two without having to deal for a megastar like Anthony. They have Griffin, Gordon, DeAndre Jordan, Baron Davis, Eric Bledsoe, Al-Farouq Aminu, Chris Kaman (whose expiring contract could be used in another trade), and I believe they have not one but two first round draft picks again next year. They have a lot of pieces (and trade chips) in place, and while it’s always fun to make a splashy trade and/or signing, it might be in their best interest just to stand pat and continue to stockpile young talent the old-fashioned way. It’s almost impossible to believe, but with a few more of the right kind of moves we might be talking about the Clippers as the model franchise in a year or two in terms of how to build a roster from scratch.
What does this have to do with this year? Well, anyone that has been following the NBA this year knows about the perpetual melodrama – get it, Melo-drama….damn, that’s funny – that has been Carmelo Anthony’s eventual exodus out of Denver and to New York or New Jersey. Basically, Melo wants to be a Knick, and Denver wants to trade him before the season’s over so they can get something back for him rather than be left empty-handed when Melo leaves via free agency this summer. Anthony would also prefer to do a sign-and-trade because he wouldn’t get nearly as much money if he simply signed in New York this summer (let’s not even mention the collective bargaining issue…oops, I just did). However, New York doesn’t really have all the pieces that Denver is interested in to make a trade. The Nets, on the other hand, do. Ending up with the Knicks through a trade isn’t impossible, but it’s likely going to have to involve other franchises as well, which makes things more complicated. As it stands right now, it appears that potential trade scenarios that would ship Melo to the Nets are in the works, but Anthony seems to be blocking them. So, the question is does Anthony hold out for the Knicks, or does he decide that New Jersey is close enough and accept a trade there. Coincidentally in his latest column, Simmons (who was the first person I saw say, “What about the Clippers?” concerning LeBron last summer) basically wrote, “What about the Clippers?” regarding Melo’s eventually landing spot as well. His arguments for Melo going to LA are similar to his arguments for LeBron to have gone there last summer. Just like last year, this idea just had never occurred to me. For one, it just seemed like a foregone conclusion that Melo was heading east. Also, even though they boast my favorite current player in the league, I guess the Clippers are still an afterthought even to me. For full disclosure’s sake, I should note that even though Simmons is a diehard Celtics fan he is a Clippers season ticket holder, so it’s easy to see why he would like to see Anthony suit-up in home white with red and blue trim next season…still I have to admit that just as the what if LeBron went to the Clippers scenario was the most fun to think about last year, the what if Melo went to the Clippers scenario is the most intriguing possibility here as well. (On a sidenote, in this last column Simmons called Griffin “the most meaningful in-the-air player since Shawn Kemp.” No wonder he’s my favorite individual to watch play since the Reignman himself.)
Anyway, this Melo to the Clips stuff is nothing more than pie in the sky right now. Other than Simmons, I haven’t heard a peep about this even being a possibility to this point. There could always be something in the works that we don’t know about, but there has been no mention of LA even being on Carmelo’s radar. Still, it would be fun to have a team that was potentially good enough to unseat the Lakers as the best team in their own town. If the Clippers can keep their core of young guys together though, they might actually be poised to take over the role of best young up-and-coming team in the league from the Thunder within the next year or two without having to deal for a megastar like Anthony. They have Griffin, Gordon, DeAndre Jordan, Baron Davis, Eric Bledsoe, Al-Farouq Aminu, Chris Kaman (whose expiring contract could be used in another trade), and I believe they have not one but two first round draft picks again next year. They have a lot of pieces (and trade chips) in place, and while it’s always fun to make a splashy trade and/or signing, it might be in their best interest just to stand pat and continue to stockpile young talent the old-fashioned way. It’s almost impossible to believe, but with a few more of the right kind of moves we might be talking about the Clippers as the model franchise in a year or two in terms of how to build a roster from scratch.
Monday, January 10, 2011
We Are All Witnesses
This thought might seem like it was stolen or pieced together from the thoughts of people much smarter than me who have much greater outlets to voice their opinions, but I think anyone with a sense of the sports world as we know it that saw the end of last night’s Portland-Miami game had a similar reaction to mine. LeBron’s previous ad campaign while he was in Cleveland included the one-liner, “We are all witnesses.” Well, last night we witnessed the completion of LeBron’s character transformation from beloved superstar to hated villain. After waking up from a little pre-bedtime nap, Krissy went to bed. I told her I wouldn’t be far behind, but I wanted to load the dishwasher first. I turned the channel to NBA TV, which was in the middle of a live look-in to the Heat-Trailblazers game. As a result, a chore that should have taken all of 2 minutes took 15 or 20.
Facing a hostile Portland crowd and down by 7 with only a few minutes to go in the 4th quarter, James almost singlehandedly brought the Heat back to force overtime. James continued to take over the game in extra time, hitting a deep, dagger 3-pointer from the right wing that all but ended the game. I forget how much time was exactly left following the play, but Portland called a timeout to try to come up with some type of last-ditch desperation strategy. As James, Wade, Bosh, and the other 2 Miami players de jour strode to the bench the Portland crowd serenaded the Heat with some light booing. It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, and in that situation any good crowd would have done the same thing. I’m not even sure that half of the boos weren’t directed at the overall situation (the home crowd seeing their team’s chances of winning that particular game being extinguished) rather than James and the rest of the Heat themselves…but James took the opportunity – seemed to relish in it even – to rub it in the Portland fans’ faces a little more. As he walked towards the bench, James raised his hands and motioned to the crowd as if to say, “Keep the boos coming,” and the booing continued to get a little louder. He took a few extra steps to the baseline adjacent to the Heat bench, and continued to motion in the same way to the crowd. By the time he actually got the bench, the derisive cheers had continued to swell. It was a different kind of booing than what occurred when the Heat played in Cleveland for the first time this year. Those boos were the boos of hatred, of a fan base whose heart had been ripped out several months earlier by James. It was personal. These boos in Portland were reminiscent of what a “bad guy” would receive at a WWE event. To steal a few wrestling terms, James’ turn from a face to a heel was finished. The transformation was complete.
One of the things that was so off-putting about the Heat earlier in the year – in addition to the fact that we had to subject ourselves to watching them play so lousy – was that they seemed to have no self-awareness at all. Sure, they probably figured the crowds in Cleveland, Toronto, New York, and Boston would be rough on them, but I don’t think they anticipated how much everyone in the league outside of Miami would hate them. Now, not only do they seem to actually get it, but they seem to be thriving off of it…as evidenced by the fact that last night marked their 13th straight road win. Out of the Big 3, the change is most evident in LeBron. After all, he was the most hated to begin with, and he seemed to be the most shaken by all of the negativity directed towards him during games. See, this was already Wade’s team by the time James and Bosh arrived, and while some hate has been directed his way he has mostly only been guilty by association in the public eye. Bosh, who looked lost earlier in the year (but seems to have found his niche on the court), will always be the 3rd banana out of the Big 3, and as a result any hate directed towards him will continue to be tertiary. LeBron is the one that lost the most in the court of public appeal as a result of the Big 3 fallout. He is, after all, the self-appointed Chosen One, the star of the misguided “The Decision” special on ESPN, and the one that took his talents to South Beach.
Through the first 20 games of the season, LeBron seemed to shrink at times on the court. Now, it seems like he is everywhere at once, just as he was in years past. He seems to play better on the road, where the booing appears to fuel him. Not only that, but James seems to finally be embracing this new role. You don’t have to be an actor to know that the villainous roles have to be most fun ones to play, and LeBron has discovered that. What makes this fun for us [fans] is that LeBron, if he plays this right, is on the verge of becoming possibly the biggest sports villain ever! Imagine Bill Laimbeer, only if Bill Laimbeer was the most physically gifted player in the whole sport. I will actually be disappointed if LeBron tries to fight wearing the black cowboy hat of the sports world, and instead eventually tries to market his image the way that he did in Cleveland. In this age of Twitter and AAU teams, everyone knows each other and likes each other just a little bit too much…we need a quality sports heel for old time’s sake. Hopefully, we can look back at this and say that this was the night we were all witnesses…to LeBron doing the equivalent of joining the sports world’s nWo.
Facing a hostile Portland crowd and down by 7 with only a few minutes to go in the 4th quarter, James almost singlehandedly brought the Heat back to force overtime. James continued to take over the game in extra time, hitting a deep, dagger 3-pointer from the right wing that all but ended the game. I forget how much time was exactly left following the play, but Portland called a timeout to try to come up with some type of last-ditch desperation strategy. As James, Wade, Bosh, and the other 2 Miami players de jour strode to the bench the Portland crowd serenaded the Heat with some light booing. It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, and in that situation any good crowd would have done the same thing. I’m not even sure that half of the boos weren’t directed at the overall situation (the home crowd seeing their team’s chances of winning that particular game being extinguished) rather than James and the rest of the Heat themselves…but James took the opportunity – seemed to relish in it even – to rub it in the Portland fans’ faces a little more. As he walked towards the bench, James raised his hands and motioned to the crowd as if to say, “Keep the boos coming,” and the booing continued to get a little louder. He took a few extra steps to the baseline adjacent to the Heat bench, and continued to motion in the same way to the crowd. By the time he actually got the bench, the derisive cheers had continued to swell. It was a different kind of booing than what occurred when the Heat played in Cleveland for the first time this year. Those boos were the boos of hatred, of a fan base whose heart had been ripped out several months earlier by James. It was personal. These boos in Portland were reminiscent of what a “bad guy” would receive at a WWE event. To steal a few wrestling terms, James’ turn from a face to a heel was finished. The transformation was complete.
One of the things that was so off-putting about the Heat earlier in the year – in addition to the fact that we had to subject ourselves to watching them play so lousy – was that they seemed to have no self-awareness at all. Sure, they probably figured the crowds in Cleveland, Toronto, New York, and Boston would be rough on them, but I don’t think they anticipated how much everyone in the league outside of Miami would hate them. Now, not only do they seem to actually get it, but they seem to be thriving off of it…as evidenced by the fact that last night marked their 13th straight road win. Out of the Big 3, the change is most evident in LeBron. After all, he was the most hated to begin with, and he seemed to be the most shaken by all of the negativity directed towards him during games. See, this was already Wade’s team by the time James and Bosh arrived, and while some hate has been directed his way he has mostly only been guilty by association in the public eye. Bosh, who looked lost earlier in the year (but seems to have found his niche on the court), will always be the 3rd banana out of the Big 3, and as a result any hate directed towards him will continue to be tertiary. LeBron is the one that lost the most in the court of public appeal as a result of the Big 3 fallout. He is, after all, the self-appointed Chosen One, the star of the misguided “The Decision” special on ESPN, and the one that took his talents to South Beach.
Through the first 20 games of the season, LeBron seemed to shrink at times on the court. Now, it seems like he is everywhere at once, just as he was in years past. He seems to play better on the road, where the booing appears to fuel him. Not only that, but James seems to finally be embracing this new role. You don’t have to be an actor to know that the villainous roles have to be most fun ones to play, and LeBron has discovered that. What makes this fun for us [fans] is that LeBron, if he plays this right, is on the verge of becoming possibly the biggest sports villain ever! Imagine Bill Laimbeer, only if Bill Laimbeer was the most physically gifted player in the whole sport. I will actually be disappointed if LeBron tries to fight wearing the black cowboy hat of the sports world, and instead eventually tries to market his image the way that he did in Cleveland. In this age of Twitter and AAU teams, everyone knows each other and likes each other just a little bit too much…we need a quality sports heel for old time’s sake. Hopefully, we can look back at this and say that this was the night we were all witnesses…to LeBron doing the equivalent of joining the sports world’s nWo.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)