Hts121

Due to the financial stress on most teams (but not the Cavs), Ferry will have some options. New Orleans tried to dump Tyson Chandler for practically nothing at the trade deadline this year. They need financial relief and Ben Wallace's expiring deal might get it done. Same situation goes for Okafor in Charlotte. Give us TC or EO for this past series and we win. Hell, hold on to that 15 pt halftime lead in Game 1 and we are heading back to the Q for game 7 right now. Putting aside all the what if talk, the difference in this series was Michael Petrius. Outscored our entire bench single handed. We need a guy like him coming in and making shots. Don't be fooled with Orlando. They are good, just not as good as they were in this series. If they keep up this hot shooting in the finals, I will eat my words but I doubt it. Same thing happened with us 2 years ago when we beat (shocked) a better Detroit team and then got ran over in the finals against San Antonio. Here's my gameplan if I was Ferry: 1) Trade Ben's expiring contract THIS SUMMER. Do not wait to see what is out there at the deadline. Teams are stressed right now and things might look different with the economy come next February. EDIT: reports are Ben might retire. This might make him that much more valuable to teams that are looking to dump salary. They trade for Ben and then buy out his contract for a fraction of the total sum they just traded to us. 2) Buy another 1st round pick and hope to catch lighting in a bottle with the two picks we have. The market rate is $3 million We certainly have the $ to do so, especially with the new investors. 3) Use the mid-level on an athletic swing just like Orlando did last summer with Petrius. We need the player that Sasha was supposed to be.

I think he was referring to the fact that our Med Mart is going to be publicly funded. NYC's is seeking private investment and I believe the same for Nashville's. I think this is going to end up just like the Rock Hall. Lot's of competition from other Cities, but in the end Cleveland will win out and get it done.... just maybe not on the scale (both size and quality) it should be.

You are thinking of the High rise convention center??? What are you talking about? Where did you see NY building a high rise convention center? No convention could be in a high rise - cost effectively. I am sure he was thinking of the proposed medical mart in NYC, which is, as designed, would be around 60 stories. SuperKid, that is NOT a convention center. There would be permanent showrooms just like our medical mart, but there would also be offices for medical products suppliers on the upper floors.

After watching last night's game, I am confident we can win this series. I will go ahead and guarantee a win in Game 5. The real test will come in Game 6... but if we can pull that one off there is no way LBJ will lose Game 7 at home. Those of you who think I am just being a homer should know that I picked the Magic to win this series before it even started. If you would have told me Orlando was going to shoot like this, I would have predicted a sweep. The Cavs have actually hung in there with a smoking hot team. Last night was Orlando's best punch and we still could have won if a few bounces went our way. The biggest BS to me last night is not even being talked about. When Rashard Lewis popped out for that 3 at the end of regulation, Dwight Howard SET A MOVING SCREEN on Big Ben. No doubt about it. It was so obvious and blatant. Complete BS.

It's not coaching dude. It's fatigue. To defend Orlando, you have to maintain your defensive intensity and keep that bounce in your step. The first half of both games we have swarmed the ball and rotated with intensity. During the second half, it seem like the Cavs have not played as aggressive and the Magic have successfully swung the ball to the open man. I think the layoff has a lot to do with the Cavs not maintaining their intensity on that end of the court. It also does not help that no one from the supporting cast... Mo, Delonte, Z, Andy, etc.... has really stepped up with a big game. Brian Windhorst was on Sportscenter this morning and I thought he put it well - he said that the Magic might not be built to win a championship but they are built to beat the Cavs. They are just a terrible matchup for us. The good news is that Orlando has not yet had one of their games that they don't shoot so well. Our goal should be to split the two games down in Orlando to steal home court back.

I think I saw amazing happen tonight.

I used to hit the gym pretty hard. Now I mainly rely upon push-ups and the wheel. When I did workout on a regular basis, I did not have a set routine but I always did muscle group focused workouts. And, I always warmed up and cooled down with some light cardio. I relied upon b-ball pick-up games and frisbee tossing for my heavier cardio. For lifting, I was usually training for sports, so I focused on strength and explosiveness, not so much body-beautin'. More weight and less reps. A typical week would look something like this: Day 1 (chest, arms and shoulders) -Pull-ups -Flat, incline and decline bench with barbell -Butterflies on the nautilaus -Military press with barbell -Lateral raises to front, side and back -Dips -Straight bar curls and nose crunches -21's with my workout partner -tricep extensions -some kind of arm or chest burnout Day 2 (back, neck and legs) -Squats -Power cleans -Dead lifts -Lateral pull-downs -Rows -Inverted dumbell raises (reverse butterflies) -Calf raises -Leg raises and curls Day 3 (chest, shoulders and arms) -Pretty much the same but with dumbells instead of the straight bar or nautilas Day 4 (Back, neck and legs) -Fairly similar but more stress on reps than weight Day 5 -Start the routine again or take a day's rest if I have not already Nowadays when I do lift, I focus much more on the cardio aspect of it. I try to shoot for sets of 15-20 in everything I do and go with lighter weights. For my age, I find that push-pull routines are necessary to keep the joint pains away. Also, I don't do anything for legs anymore beyond cardio.

The USA never engaged in genocide. Genocide is a specific intent to destroy a "people" whether defined by national origin, ethnicity, religion or race. What Hitler did to the Jews was genocide. What happened in Rwanda was genocide. What is going on in Darfur is genocide. What Iran/Hamas/Al-Queda wants to do to Isreal would be genocide. What some 'real' Americans want to do to Arabs would be genocide. Killing for the purpose of controlling the land and/or the government and/or people is not genocide. Some scholars would argue that we wiped out entire and distinct native tribes. I see their argument but the intent does not line up with genocide. The colonists wanted the lands, not the extinction of a people.

I will say for driving in LA that although it really backs up, I didn't witness any of the craziness you run into on I-95 near NYC. No idiots weaving in and out of traffic at 90 mph. Nobody cut me off. If anything, the lack of aggressiveness might have slowed things down a bit. Just seemed like nobody was in a rush. However, some of the backups really left me scratching my head. I couldn't imagine how it would be with my 5-speed out there considering the stop and go and steep hills. I have to give it up to CLE. Out of all the places I have been to or lived, we might have the best roadway system in terms of lanes, flow, access.

Returned last night. Putting aside the traffic, it was a great time. Flew into LAX last Thursday, rented a minivan (there were 8 of us) and went straight to the hotel. Lots of traffic but good sight seeing along the way. Got to see the Grand Canyon from the air on the way out as well. We stayed at the Best Western right on the Sunset strip. Great location and great hotel. Beautiful courtyard/pool area overlooking the City. Right across Sunset from the Saddle Ranch and next to The Standard. We ate at the Saddle Ranch (NOT recommended) when we got in because we were starving, had a big group and it was right there. Terrible food IMO. Worse atmoshpere (more on that later). Friday was the graduation at USC. My sister lives on W 27th (but is looking for a new location now that she is done with school). Took us about an hour to get there with traffic and a couple wrong turns. She graduated (summa cum laude :)) at the Shrine, but we did not tour much of campus beyond that. Of course, there is not much to see directly off campus either. After graduation it was off to a little restaraunt on Virgil/Melrose called Cha Cha Cha's. Better food but not great. Saturday, me, the wife and the kid did the Hollywood Blvd thing. Chinese Theatre, Wax Museaum, Guiness Book, Ripley's Believe it or not, etc. Luckily, the little one had passed out before the last two (especially Ripley's). I have to imagine that you have hit Hollywood rock bottom when you are relegated to an imposter posing for pictures on the Blvd. My brother and I hit the strip both Friday and Saturday night. Needless to say, LOTS of eye candy, but more plastic than expected. We just soaked it in on Friday, walking around with quick stops in House of Blues and a couple other places I can't remember the names of. Saturday had lots of Prom parties going on so several spots were reserved. Couple drinks at the Saddle Ranch just to see a few drunks fall off the bull but not really our atmosphere. Found a nice little spot down the strip (don't know the name but it was just before the Body Shop) and enjoyed the shoulder room. Most of the Saturday during the day, we were out at my sister's boyfriend's parent's house in Downey for a cookout. Traffic was a b!tch for that trip. Sunday was more relaxing. Found some Argentine Grille (South Point?) down Sunset and ate there. GREAT food.... best I had while in LA. Went to the Grove and tooled around there. The women went to Beverly Hills (the Gardens and Rodeo) and I stayed back by the pool. Sunday night we were sitting by the pool and felt the tremor from that quake. Monday we went to Santa Monica Pier. Water was too cold to go in but at least I can say I put my feet in the Pacific. Frenchy from 'I Love Money' was there on the pier taking pictures while quickly closing out her 15 minutes of fame. Got stuck in traffic coming back because of that rapper shooting at the shopping complex near Wilshire. That night, I took the wife out to eat. We went to Tonys on Sunset. Pretty decent food and GREAT atmosphere for a date night. Service left something to be desired considering the $. Overall, we had a good vacation although I could not cram in all I wanted to do and relax at the same time. I erred on the latter. Basically just hung around Sunset most of the time. LA is great to visit, but would never live there. Too sprawled, poorly planned and just so much more plastic (in many ways) than places like NYC and Chicago. I was also suprised at the poor condition of the infrastructure. I guess when I think warm weather, I just associate it with the Southeast where the cities are newer and cleaner.

Should be announced shortly. I would say July at the latest.

Thanks for all the ideas. Should keep us pretty busy. I had my concerns about Venice Beach. Maybe me and the wife will wonder over there by ourselves if we have the time and just take the family to Santa Monica.

Best Western Hotel - 8400 Sunset

Thanks for the tips. Good ideas. The little one will be 3 next month. He LOVES... errr... is obsessed with trains at the moment, so if that helps... It's not that he really gets a kick out of riding them, but loves to see them.

I am going to LA for 5 days (May 14 - May 19). Never been before. We are going to stay on Sunset Blvd. I am interested in getting some ideas. Going with the family (sister graduating from USC), so I would welcome a range of ideas. Of course, we are going to take the little tike to Disneyland (does it really cost $75 admission?!). But I will also have time to hit the town once he goes to bed. 1. I'll definitely need a good sports bar to watch the NBA playoffs. 2. I'd welcome more ideas on what to do with the little one during the day. 3. Which beach is best for family outings and not too far from Sunset Blvd in LA? 4. Best studio tour (not really my thing but my other sisters and wife are excited to do that). 5. Is Downtown LA even worth a few hours of my time? 6. Anything else you all would recommend. Thanks. Should be a fun trip. My sister is graduating from USC's film school and Clint Eastwood was the commencement speaker last year. Not sure who it will be this year.

Quicken Loans Arena.... of course! Panini's (Coventry)... great patio bar for sporting events Zocalo (E 4th).... my type of Mexican food. Really, the entire street should be on my list. E 4th is my #1 spot in all of GC at the moment. Children's Museaum (UC).... that's life when you have a 2 yr. old Timeout (Collinwood)... decent little watering hole Mario's/Golden Coin (Cle Hts).... decent mid-sized watering hole Euclid Creek Reservation (Metroparks).... within walking distance of my house... not the best metropark, but great for a long walk with the pooch or a bike ride Legacy Village.... there, I said it. What can I say, the Blackened Fish Po'Boy at Bar Louie is addictive Middlefield.... I dig the Amish. Especially the furniture they make. Baked goods too!

Take it from a guy who grew up on the north side of Cleveland Hts... whatever this G-Squares clique is, it is hardly the first or one and only "gang" in Cleveland Hts. We have had them for years. At the HS, some were "called" fraternities, such as Nu-Fi (sp?), just to keep the admin off their back, but they met all the criteria of a gang. Also, Folk, Black Stone, and other national gangs have been in the Hts for decades now.

The Bengals swung for the fences on their first three picks. All three could be All-Pro's. On the other hand, all three could be total busts/disasters. I thought it would have been best for each of those players to go somewhere with a strong veteran presence locker room such as NE, Pitt, Philly, NYG, Balt, etc.. Smith was the most imposing and talented OL on the board IMO, but I wonder if he has the work ethic to last in the league or if he is another Mike Williams type bust. I also wonder, if the Bengals did not take him, how far he would have dropped. Possible that the Bengals could have picked him up in the mid-teens. There has to be a reason Maualuga dropped so far. Considering that he is a Steelers/Ravens type player and both those teams passed on him when he would have been considered a good value really speaks volumes IMO. There was something in his character report that scared teams away... not just his lack of lateral quickness. Same could be said for the DE from Georgia Tech who was considered a sure-fire first rounder until this past year.

Here's the deal with this draft as I look at it. Unlike in most years, the disparity in talent between the top 30 or so players was not that great. There were no elite level players that were head and shoulders above the rest. Therefore, trading out of the top 5 was a smart move because it saved us millions (with an "s") in guaranteed salary to our top pick without a significant, if any, drop off in talent. We needed to upgrade the center position and did that. Mack is a big, athletic center who is smart enough (academic heisman award winner) to make all the calls at the line of scrimage. He actually has the ability to snap the ball and pull around the guard on running plays.... a la Demontri Dawson for the Steelers' teams of years past. The guy is 6'3 310 and runs the 40 yd dash in under 5 seconds. That's sick. I have not seen the film, but a friend of mine who did told me he handled Meluaga (sp?) when they played (both Pac-10 players). Playing in the AFC North against nose tackles like Casey Hampton and Haloti Ngata makes upgrading the Center position a priority. Fraley was never supposed to be more than a stop-gap after Bentley's injury. The next two picks were big, physical recievers who can hold a block downfield. Neither are burners but neither are slow either. Robiskie ran the 40 just under 4.5 and Massaqoui ran the same as Jerry Rice did (4.6). Robiskie's hands are outstanding... Massaquoi has a history of drops but supposedly corrected that issue this past year. With Mangini's conservative physical power running game approach to offense, these two were solid picks and should compete for playing time right away. I don't know much about the third 2nd round selection, but early indications are that he was somewhat of a reach at that point. They probably took him because he will provide the physical presence at the OLB spot that Wimbley and Alex Hall do not. He bench pressed 225 pounds 35 times during pre-draft workouts but only ran a 4.8 in the 40. However, he ran much faster in the 20 yard shuttle, a more telling test for a LB IMO. The second day was solid as well. The LB from USC should be a special teams ace right from the get-go. The two cornerbacks are bigger and more physical than what we have now in Wright and McDonald but not as skilled. The second corner taken might be switched to safety because his speed is questionable. Finally, James Davis was as good of a 6th round pick that you could have hoped for. He is a big, physical back. Does not have the speed that Jamal Lewis once played with, but similar in style and should be able to learn from the veteran. Nice pick-up but seems to make the Noah Herron addition somewhat redundant. Overall, I give the Browns a solid B on this draft. If Coleman and Abram (two of the players acquired from the Jets) turn out to be starters, I would bump them up to an A.

Whoops

The trip down I-90 is not too bad if you don't schedule your classes too early. If you have to come in during the morning commute, you might want to consider exiting on 55th and taking Payne Ave towards campus. After rush-hour, just loop around dead-man's curve and get off at Chester. Whatever you do, don't be one of those a-holes who cuts the DMC line just before the curve.... I've cursed many a drivers for that move... it slows down the entire line when the person you just cut off has to apply the brakes to let you in. :whip: BTW, I am totally lost.... can you tell me what lies in your shadow? :wink:

I realize they probably just used the census figures for the city proper and not metro areas..... but to ID C-Bus as a "big city" and Cleveland and Cincy as "mid-sized cities" just makes me giggle.

If I had to guess, it would be in the part of the building that used to be the library. That would be the wing that jettisons out to the east. Depends on how big they want to make it. Some of the lecture halls could provide a smaller option. But that section was built into new classrooms, boardrooms, and clinics just last year. No way they tear it up again...? I wasn't aware the old library had been adapted for other uses. I guess that would leave one of the larger lecture halls as the only option. Specifically, maybe the one on the second floor that sits on top of the connection between the main atrium and the library?

Isn't it great to see a consolidation being with the suburban campus employees merging in to the city campus and not vice-versa. The Brecksville facility is architectural blasphemy under the views of this forum. It is significantly set back and REALLY spread out. Each building is connected by councourses that would put the walk from concourse D at Hopkins to shame. Of course, one has to understand that it was built post WWII going into the Cold War and designed to minimize the impact of a targeted bombing. The big impact of the merger IMO is that the administrative personnel will now be in UC, bringing more diversity to a professional area dominated by doctors and nurses. Accountants, billing, HR, lawyers, paralegals, etc.

If I had to guess, it would be in the part of the building that used to be the library. That would be the wing that jettisons out to the east. Depends on how big they want to make it. Some of the lecture halls could provide a smaller option.