Hts121

Masterson traded to the Cards for a quality minor league prospect. Given the season he was having and his impending free agency, I'm not sure this earns us the label of "sellers" at the trade deadline EDIT - clvlndr beat me to it...

F'in Baltimore..... http://www.cleveland.com/gladiators/index.ssf/2014/07/baltimore_ravens_sign_clevelan.html#incart_river Congrats to Norman.

I'm very interested to see if Kyrie is selected for the final World Cup roster. The squad currently in LV trying out for the team is LOADED at PG - Derrick Rose (healthy again), Kyrie Irving, Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard, and John Wall. I think he makes it (doesn't hurt that Coach K is the coach of Team USA), but that is some stiff competition. They should take at least 3 of them, possibly four given that all 5 can probably also play SG in international play.

^That makes sense..... although I would first argue for a complete removal of THC testing. I also think the PA might push back against ELISA, because it is harder to beat (correct?).

Sometimes it takes an injustice to correct an injustice. If all of these rumors are true, Gordon might get suspended, but I would bet that such a suspension would provide the impetus to change the policy. It's so a&&-backwards on so many fronts. 70 tests with no positive results conclusively proves that Gordon does not have an ongoing substance "abuse" problem. Even if he did, banning him from the team facilities and team activities is counter-productive to his recovery. And even if you are a firm believer in the "once an addict always an addict" line of thought, and you believe that Gordon is truly an "addict" based on what has been reported of his past behavior, you have to admit that 70 tests with no positive results is an incredible accomplishment..... for an addict. They didn't test for pot at all until the feds started giving them a hard time. Where did you get that? What leverage would 'the Feds' have to demand a policy be included in a private CBA? I have a different understanding. What the NBA really wants is HGH testing. The Players' Association is deadset against it. The NBA then installed a THC policy (which the PA was more split on) in its current, generally worded drug policy to leverage in future negotiations. If and when the PA allows HGH testing, the NBA will drop its THC testing.

Brinda is an old curmudgeon. What a non-sensical analogy.

IMO, getting lost in all of the LeBron and KLove talk is how good the star we already had really is. Kyrie has always looked great playing next to other great players, and I see him benefiting greatly from LBJ's presence on the team. He was MVP of the Rising Stars game his rookie year, the MVP of the All-Star game this past year, and his performances against Team USA (in scrimmages) from 2012 still draw praise to this day. It is going to be real interesting to see how NBA defenses deal with him when he is not the center of their attention. You have to look closely, but the one thing that always amazes me about Kyrie is his ability to perform two totally separate tasks at the same time with his two hands. It sounds easy, but the head pat, belly rub game always did sound easier than it was. Kyrie takes it to a different level. He can be doing some sick one-handed cross over with one hand while using the other to fend off a defender trying to sneak in from behind. The way he uses his off-hand is unmatched IMO. He does little things, like pulling on an opponents jersey or knocking away a swipe, all while focusing on something completely different. Good read - http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/07/29/kyrie-irvings-world-looks-pretty-good-right-now/

Gordon has passed at least 70 drug tests Sounds like a guy who has a serious substance abuse problem....

Defense is almost always ahead of the offense at this point of the pre-season...... especially when new systems are being installed. That's all levels of football, not just the pros. Yet, it seems that the media act so surprised each year for whatever reason.

Don't confuse ticket sales with actual attendance. I highly doubt the actual attendance was north of 70k

My point is that WE don't know yet what assurances there are or aren't. That's all. For all we know Love could want to go long term with Boston or Chicago or Golden State. p.s. can't find your SAS report It was on Mike&Mike, not First Take. Here ya' go - http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=11262634 (approx. 6:00)

My point is that WE don't know yet what assurances there are or aren't. That's all. For all we know Love could want to go long term with Boston or Chicago or Golden State. p.s. can't find your SAS report Define "we" I believe the SAS report was provided on First Take this morning.

I am not saying the report is true, but see what I mentioned above about was SAS said this morning. If true, that is HUGE. Trust me on this. The Cavs will NOT trade for KLove without an assurance that he is not opting out of his deal next summer, as he has told Minny he will do. In fact, I would be surprised if the Cavs traded for him if he did not agree to sign a new extension.

Sure. But, going back to my point, do you think Chicago is going to give up anything of value without any assurances from Love that he will be than just a one-year rental for them?..... particularly after what happened to LAL with Dwight Howard? This is the state of the modern-day NBA. Superstars, regardless if they are free agents or not, basically can dictate which team(s) they can be traded to.

I don't doubt that there are women who have had bad experiences. I personally don't know any who complain about it..... and I know A LOT of women (very attractive women too) who frequent downtown on a daily basis. I've heard them complain about an occasional fight and aggressive pan-handling, but not one has ever mentioned to me these rampant cat-calls. Doesn't mean it doesn't happen (please re-read that sentence before responding). I am on PS all the time and have never witnessed it myself. I, for one, wouldn't hesitate to sit down and have some lunch on the SW quadrant. I suppose my concern is that a lot of people come to this site to learn about our city, not simply rail against its faults. If I knew nothing else, I would think PS is a cesspool of nothing but hooligans with hoodies running around sexually assaulting random women and pistol whipping unsuspecting strangers. PS might not be a good look for our City in your opinion, but you are doing nothing to make it better. Ranting about it in a thread dedicated to its development and improvement accomplishes nothing. We (UO) used to be better than that. To the extent such sensitive and DEBATABLE subjects were discussed, they either had their own thread or took place in something like "Crime & Safety"

I don't know if I agree. The longer the Wolves wait, the more they will burn whatever leverage they do have. Going into the season with KL on the roster will be a PR nightmare for them. It will be a major distraction for their team and fanbase. We are the ones who can afford to wait.

I don't doubt it happens. Wait for the construction crews to show up ;). But, I do think it gets blown out of proportion a bit on here, especially given the way this site has been trending lately. If it was that rampant and serious of a problem, I would expect it to be at least mentioned on other sites where the participants are not 99% male. I was genuinely curious. It was just an observation. If you guys say you're getting cat-called on Public Square, I don't disbelieve you.

It doesn't make sense to give into Minny's every demand, especially if it involves giving up Wiggins AND taking back bad contracts, if Kevin Love is telling other interested teams (as Steven A. Smith reported this morning) that he won't sign long-term with them. If KLove is privately saying he will only sign long term with us, then Minny doesn't have the leverage it is posturing as having.

I just googled "Cleveland Public Square cat-calling" and the top hit is UrbanOhio

^^Perhaps. But I also think NYC'ers, for better or worse, are generally a lot more desensitized and tone-deaf to the kind of stuff/people which intimidates a lot of the folks who try to avoid PS at all costs.

The trade cannot be 'official' (i.e. paperwork submitted to the league) for 30 days. There is nothing preventing a deal being made 'in principle.' It's like on draft night when a team drafts a player and trades him later in the draft. Technically, that trade can not be official for 10 days because you can't trade a guy you just drafted for 10 days, but it happens every year.

I know the line. Fail to see how "getting out more" equates to TV...... that's not the way it works in my utopia. Carry on... Stripes came out in 1981, it might be before his time. :evil: Shirley, you can't be serious

I'd rather be called chief than Francis. At least I wouldn't hesitate to call you chief to your face...... a good test when thinking of saying something behind a keyboard.

Try reading again, chief. I said nothing about Painesville. Absolutely nothing. Even though I do have some personal opinions based on experiences there. But as far as a utopia, far from it. I said 'many people' make conscious efforts to live color blind. I stand by that statement. "Many" does not equate to all..... it doesn't even necessarily imply half. There are over 75,000 people that live in these two communities. Please be considerate enough to take the time to understand a post before responding to it. BTW, it is "a utopia" not "an utopia." Don't focus on the vowel. Focus on the sound. Utopia is pronounced with a "y" sound at the start

Gilded ghettos? Wow. Just wow. FWIW, residents of SH and CH don't talk nearly as much about their diversity as do the people who hate SH and CH for their diversity. We actually don't think about it that much, which seems to perturb a certain segment of the population for whatever reason. Yes, those cities are extremely diverse, not just racially, but ethnically, economically, religiously, etc. Even politically to a lesser degree. The haters constantly commenting on the racial diversity accuse us of turning a blind eye to 'what is happening' and they are right to the point that many people in the Heights do make a conscious effort to turn a blind eye to color and refuse to indict an entire 'racial community' for the actions of a few. Why that bothers people who don't live in the communities so much is troubling to say the least.