Hts121

Check out Clueless's latest photo thread for some explanation.

^No mud-slinging

Who said I was defending the GOP? Do you do so subconsciously? I find that hard to believe.

Is he another muslim socialist? What kind of name is Kasisch anyways?.... sounds Turkish. I am going to have to spread the word...

^ http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/0e65e16c1c/super-troopersshenanigans-from-dirttron

I pick up the sarcasm, but that is exactly why your view from DC is tainted somewhat. The Wizards have not had any playoff success in more than a decade. Their best player is a knucklehead who got suspended for the year and has injury issues anyways. They traded away their next best 3 players for little more than cap relief so they could avoid the luxury tax and to try to create cap space to make a run at some the free agents this summer. They folded the tent... mailed it in... whatever you want to call it. The Knicks did the same (about 3 years ago) and Philly and Phoenix were seriously considering dumping salary at the trade deadline. Hell, even the Lakers have been trying to control costs and are riding a thin bench because of that. That is why something needs to be done to control this free agency craze. It usually just ends up being overpaid 2nd tier players that these teams that dump salary get anyway. While the gun incident turned off the fans, I'm not so sure the NBA being more lenient on its no fighting rules would do the same. Some fans would certainly be more entertained. But the NBA doesn't have to do that to maintain fan interest and that is my point. Hockey needs that angle to even be in the same conversation.

This is one of those times where the media can be a real nuisance during the course of negotiations. But I am not going to spare Gilbert for at least part of the blame. The options purchased on the land should have been more specific so as not to allow so much rangling over the purchase price. With the ordeal FCE went through in Brooklyn over the last several years, this should have been foreseen. I just hope the media is blowing it out of proportion. Mark my words, when it's all said and done, the Casino will be built right where it should be (the 'signage' should dramatically improve - http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=cleveland+ohio&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=22.848409,35.947266&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Cleveland,+Cuyahoga,+Ohio&ll=41.496621,-81.690173&spn=0,359.980752&z=16&layer=c&cbll=41.496547,-81.690296&panoid=5H8f4b7b5__pu9lsiR5SPA&cbp=12,202.42,,0,5

There may be a "trend".... but the NBA is in no danger of being eclipsed by a sport that has to allow its players to engage in street fights on the ice to maintain fan support. The gap is significant here in the States and overseas. Canada might be the exception. It's called a recession. And, yes, the price of a ticket has gone up. Also, a lot of teams have simply given up until after the summer of 2010 in an attempt to clear cap space. The teams who are trying to be competitive (with the exception of dismal pro sports towns like Charlotte) are doing quite well. The Cavs are getting hammered by the luxury tax but are still profitable. It's a spend money to make money climate and a lot of owners are not getting that.

I agree about the strategy. It is sort of like having a woman lawyer defend you against a charge of rape ;)

My bad... I thought you didn't like Michael Steele.

Prepare for Scrabble's wrath...

I think there are a few people in the black community that would like to put Dr. McWhorter on his own list.

In DC? I wonder why the NBA has a bad rap in DC right now? But there definitely are some issues being discussed in the national press right now. That's partly just posturing for what is looking like some ugly labor negotiations after next season. As I stated above, the players' contract levels have to be controlled somehow. For instance, Detroit just this past summer committed close to $100 million on two players that are coming off their bench right now and both making around 10 mill per year. Marcin Gortat gets close to 7 mill per year to back up D Howard. Andy Varejao gets 8 mill per and is worth every penny of it when you consider the market rate. The NFL is much, much better at controlling the free agent market from running amuck. The NBA should look into something like the NFL has where signing "tendered" players means surrending draft picks.

^ There definitely are some large markets where college b-ball rules. NC's big two, Cincy, Ky's big cities, maybe Pitt and maybe Conn. But that seems to be more the exception. Look at Columbus. It has a top 10 college team that doesn't sell out the arena. But a lot of people from Columbus come up for the Cavs games. I highly doubt that sellouts in Orlando have anything to do with the Gators. And same with DC. But regardless, the NBA has a global market. It is popular on nearly every continent. Certainly North America, Europe and Asia. So any 'sapping' effect college basketball might have is really not much of an effect at all.

For comparison, l believe the work that was recently done with Route 8 around Macedonia cost around $250 million

The Candyman

nm

There are 4 zip codes in THE Heights - 44121, 44118, 44112, and 44106 (I think that is right). I just want everybody to know that I am from, what Clevelander17 describes as, the area "trashed beyond repair". The "44" is useless for to make that distinction.

I wouldn't say that to any wrestler.... they might try take you down from the mounted position

The NHL is immensily popular to Canadians. It's the sport their best athletes play. Here, hockey players tend to be the athletes who were cut from the basketball team in high school :)

I don't think anyone should campaign on a platform of cutting taxes, unless they clearly explain where they will be cutting services to account for the (at least temporarily) decreased revenue. Even if you are a die-hard believer in trickle-down economics, you would still acknowledge that it requires patience and time, lot's of both. Of course, if you are like me, I prefer tax credits to tax cuts. It allows the government to place reinvestment conditions on the money it is giving back.

"Hope and change" is divisive as well.... for those who don't want it and are content with the status quo. But it is vague... good thing it was just a catch-phrase and not actually the platform.

I think just about every market that has an NBA team (just about every major media market) would be "the exception, rather than the rule".... if there even is a rule. College B-ball used to be great. It is still good, but terribly watered down by one yr rentals and other early departures to the NBA. You can't convince me that college really "competes" (takes fans away from) the NBA in any of the top 20 media markets such as NYC, LA, Chicago, Boston, Detroit, Houston, Dallas, Phoenix, Orlando, Atlanta, Cleveland. Once you move into the 20-40 range in media markets, you might run into some real competition like Cincy, Charlotte, Pittsburgh, Raleigh, etc., but with the exception of Charlotte, none of those cities have NBA teams.

The brilliance of Alien (I assume you meant the first one) was that you never really saw the alien, but the (not sure if this is the right term) suggestive cinematography was and still is unparalled. I don't know if I can get on board with your Star Wars analysis though. Sure, it was brilliant for its time and is not painful to watch (like some other earlier special effects), but the special effects can't even be compared to what they did with the last (I mean "first") three.