New Blog... Perhaps?

        So August huh? Yeah it is. It's been awhile since I last posted. Which would be interesting if anyone read this blog... 

        Maybe I should switch it to a more specific group, like say focusing on the Packers, my favorite team. I could do that. Actually it'd probably be best to just scrap this blog and make that one a different website altogether. 

        Actually I won't scrap this one. This one will be for my personal thoughts on things I hear or parts or my life that don't relate to the Packers. Like other sports and teams I follow. And my terribly boring life... Maybe I'll just watch tv instead though. This could be my last post, really. Peace.

Thoughts on Chris Andersen's New Contract

        Why did the Nuggets sign Birdman for five years? He is already 31 years old and years spent taking drugs have taken a toll on his body. He’ll be a legit back-up for two more years. then he’ll be done. Five years 26 million? Why?

        I do agree with re-signing him. He had to be re-signed. He is a fan favorite and a dynamic player. He draws in fans. All he does is dunk and get monster blocks. Who wouldn’t want to watch a player like that?

But five years? Stupid. In a few years the Nuggz will regret this. 

        I do however, have big expectations for the upcoming season. The addition of Lawson is a bigger deal than people think.

        I think he can be a good player and him giving a break to Chauncey will be huge. Plus you have to watch out for the players with tons of skills who get drafted low because they are “too small.” Lawson will be out to prove everyone wrong and I believe he will. He plays hard and is already a good, smart player. 

        Having Billups as a mentor will make him much better. He’s mature, seasoned, and a winner. I think he is a great addition. And with all the scorers on the Nuggets, all he needs to do is distribute and knock down open shots. And if he can get into the lane it will be easy to dump it off to Nene of K-Mart for the score. 

        It will be good for him to grow on a team like that. They are good enough for him to make mistakes and still be okay, while keeping his confidence up because they will be winning. 

        I look for the Nuggets to at least make the Conference Finals again. I think they can beat everyone, save possibly the Lakers. 

The Lake Show

        I think Artest does make the Lakers better. He plays hard and I believe he can fit in. He was fine in Houston being the third guy and he should be fine again.

The Spurs

        The Spurs will be an interesting team, though. (For the first time in a while. Holy crap these guys are boring!) The addition of Jefferson and the pick of DeJuan Blair will make them an interesting team to watch. They should be good. Blair will be a premier player in the NBA. I think so at least. He is already good. 

        Oh and his knees are fine. He tore his ACL in high school. Big deal. The guy didn’t miss a single practice in two years at Pitt. I think he can stay healthy. 

        With Duncan mentoring him (I love mentors) he should be able to develop. It really is the same situation I just described with Lawson. Different position, but behind a veteran all-star on a good team. I like their chances.

Everything's all a Twitter

        Why would anyone Twitter? It’s an invention that’s already been invented. It’s like one little aspect of Facebook, the comment space, without the other aspects.  

        But it makes people feel connected. It feels good to be part of the online community. And it’s another group of friends. A group you’ve never met and probably won’t meet, but you still know them.  

 

        And depending on how much they lied, you may know them very well. 

        I don’t understand our need to be connected. But it is there. I have no idea why. But people like to be a part of something. Usually something bigger than ourselves. 

        That’s why most people play sports. To be part of a team. part of something bigger than themselves.  

        That’s why we join clubs and churches. That’s why we joined Twitter. It’s another group. Another team.  

        People feel good when they feel like, as part of the team, they helped someone in Iran to get their message out, or followed Nick  Barnett to help him raise money for charity. 

        So join the Twitter team. It’s fun and often interesting. It’s a look into people’s lives you can’t get unless you actually hang out with them (the internet is taking the place of actual human interaction.) But that’s ok. Because even though we aren’t connected, we really are.

Follow me on twitter. www.twitter.com/jacob_dunn

America's Team

        Why does ESPN do this? 

        Now they are on a new campaign to find America’s Team. Umm... It’s the Cowboys. As much as it pains me to say it. And Titletown is Green Bay. Stop messing with these historic nicknames. We understand what you are trying to do. Get ratings and update these older nicknames. Don’t. 

        Sports fans (real sports fans) LOVE sports history. That’s why we got mad when we found out the guy (Barry Bonds) who broke our historic home run records was a cheater. We love history and most of us hate when people mess with it. 

        Unless the history is real. We embraced Michael Phelps because we didn’t think he was a cheater. And ignore the marijuana. That doesn’t factor into this convo. Fine. We embraced him. Maybe not anymore. But we did. So we can embrace the changing or making of history. But not when it destroys older history. We hate that. 

        So stop with your attempts to get the casual sports fan interested in your network. Or don’t stop. But go at it differently. Don’t hurt the diehard fans to get to the casual ones. Please. Just stop.

Tourism Is Up In Cody, Wyoming And I Somehow Make Sense Of It (In My Own Mind)

        From what I have gathered, despite the economy and terrible weather in Cody, the amount of visitors is up. Yellowstone Park is up 11 percent! Which got me to wondering...

        How is tourism up in Cody? Nobody has jobs and it rains everyday. Why are so many people on vacation? 

        It doesn’t make sense to me. If you’re broke and the weather is lousy, why come to Cody?

        It is funny though. Even my family is going on vacation this summer. We almost never go on vacation. I mean, yeah, we go on smaller ones close to home, but this one is to Missouri, which is pretty far away. We’re flying. And this is like the third legit vacation we’ve been on. Why? Because life has been rough and we need to get away. We don’t really have much money, or even a real source of income (I call it cash flow.)

        Maybe that’s it. Everyone is stressed out about life and money and the economy and their jobs and they need a break (of that Kit-Kat bar. Wait. Is it off that Kit-Kat bar? What happened to those commercials?)

        No but that has to be it. People need a vacation now more than ever. That’s unfortunate because they have no money to pay for this relaxing vacation, which means the vacation will probably turn into more stress. It’s simply a temporary cure. Once the family gets back it will just put more stress on them to pay off the vacation.

        I’m a genius. 

        I should write more. I seem to figure things out better when I write about them. Which is weird. I guess the writing categorizes my thoughts. Once they’re written down I can be done with them and move on to newer, occasionally better thoughts. I think that’s why I get so much thinking done. Without writing, my mind gets clouded trying to remember points I already made and it gives me less room to create new thoughts.

        By the way, I think everyone would be surprised by the lack of thoughts flowing through my brain. I spend so little time thinking. Almost everything I do is by instinct.

        My brain gets clouded so easily by like on song lyric. I repeat like three words from a song over and over again in my head, sometimes for almost 20 minutes. Actually maybe longer. I just repeat it in my brain for so long. And that’s all that will be in their. Often I just empty my brain of thoughts altogether. I’m good at it. I can empty my head is a few seconds. And keep it blank. It’s weird. I’m smart, but I don’t let my brain take over. I do get super self-conscience but I can let go and be a normal person. Many intelligent people can’t. My brain works surprisingly well considering I almost never exercise it.

Old Things That Are New To My Brain

        

        You know what I just realized? 

        Roger Maris is still the single season home run king. I mean, the clean one. Bonds, McGuire, and Sosa are all tainted. I had to look it up. They are the only ones who have hit more than Maris. So Maris is still king. (So is Hank Aaron, by the way.)

        This makes me excited. We still have somebody, a legendary player of a past generation, to chase after. But not completely. Every time someone from now on comes close the conversation will still include Bonds and McGuire. It's sad.

        By the way, 61* is an awesome movie. Go watch it if you haven't before. It chronicles Maris's classic 1961 season. Him and his times with Mickey Mantle. It's a great movie.

More eBay Troubles (but more hope)

So I sent a request to eBay, trying to get the contact information for the lady (it is a lady, even though I for some reason assumed it was a man). eBay sent the information to me. Well a little bit of it. Her name, city, and phone number. A disconnected number. Awesome. But eBay somehow found the tracking number of the package. I tried to track it but all it said was that the post office in Ohio got the information on June 8, and I assume shipped it. No other information has been found by the USPS. So maybe it shipped. Maybe not. Who knows? The United States Postal Service doesn’t. I don’t know how they don’t.

        Oh and I also sent another e-mail to eBay giving them complete details on what happened. The person I got barely read it. They told me to talk to Paypal. Even though my opening sentence said that I paid through Moneybookers. So... I’ll send another e-mail. I want to get her e-mail address. I want to talk to her. Just to see if she shipped it. eBay is not being helpful. I know they have more information for her. They have more info on me. They at least have my e-mail address. They should have hers. They have to. Don’t you need an e-mail address to sign up for an account? Or like do anything on eBay? And I think they have her address also. Which isn’t that helpful. But I could send a letter I guess.

        So I just took like an hour or so (I’m at work, settle down) trying to find Karen Vasquez. The number I was given, which is disconnected, belonged to Rex TV & Appliance, which Karen may have worked for. That would make sense. Maybe she sold stuff online for them. A lot of businesses do this. But there is also a chance she moved. DEX can’t find her. She seems to not live there anymore. It would make sense. From looking at Piqua, Ohio’s newspaper (where she lives/lived) she has lost a son and mother I believe in the last few years. But I don’t know. Maybe her number is registered with her husband, whom I cannot find, if he even exists.

        Hopefully she shipped it and the USPS didn’t lose it. It seems like they may have. Ahh.

My Future

        I don’t think I like a 8-5 job like I have for this summer. I would much rather set my own hours. I’m pretty good at journalism but I’ll probably not go anywhere with it. And journalism takes a lot of work. Especially on a larger scale. Late nights and deadlines are tough. It’s a lot of stress.  

        Being an editor or a manager for a business would be nice though.  

        When my dad was division manager he spent most of his time at home, working. It was a lot of motivating and paperwork. But not a lot of work for him. And he got to travel often, usually to cool places. Even as a salesman he set his own hours and was crazy flexible. That would be nice.  

        I would love to work from home though. Because there would be no boss looking over my shoulder. I could watch the game and work at the same time. And if there was an event I needed to go to I could just go and finish my work later. 

        Hopefully I could keep myself motivated though. That’s the trick. My biggest problem would be laziness. If nobody is there to keep me on-task then I would have to keep myself on-task. That’s tough. 

        I wonder if I could get a job with NFIB (my dad’s old business) right out of high school. He was pretty important there. He’s in the Hall of Fame. There’s a big ring in a case in my house to prove it. 

        My dad did say that a college degree was not necessary for the job, but obviously was preferable. They train their own employees so it shouldn’t be a problem. And I still know a couple of guys that used to work with and for my dad who may be able to help me. 

        It’s worth a shot. It’s a good job. A great job, really, for a young kid. It’s all about how hard you work, which I like. You make your own hours and your own sales. I could do it. And if I have a strong first year they’ll renew me and I’ll be the golden boy. 

        I need to take up golf though. That’s what my basketball coach told me. Said it’ll help me meet with clients and even my bosses. I should get good at that. But not good enough to beat anyone. I want to give them confidence and maybe they’ll buy. 

        But I seriously think I could get a job there. From what my dad would say and from hearing him on the phone, I think they are looking for almost anyone. Some of the guys seemed way lazy and not capable of selling. 

        But that was before the recession. Ahh stupid recession. What an awesome time to be graduating high school. Hopefully by next year at this time (when I graduate) the economy will be a little better. I can only hope.  

        Maybe I should just go to college and into economics. Whoever solves our problem would make bank right? 

        I wonder about college. I know my mom wants me to go and my dad always wanted that too. Money is a bit of an issue, however. Maybe a year of NFIB to raise money then college. I should be able to get in pretty cheap. I have really good grades and a high ACT score (32, on my first try. I’m pretty proud of it.) So scholarships should be possible for me. 

        I’m not really worried about my future at all. I can always fall back on my writing. I spent four and will probably spend an additional two semesters working for a high school newspaper rated in the top ten in the nation. And now I’m interning at an award-winning professional newspaper. A small one, mind you, but it’s still a big deal. (Except that the newspaper industry is dying. I just thought about that.) 

        But I really do have a lot to fall back on. I’m smart. I can figure something out. And I speak alright Spanish and will continue to improve. If my luck runs out I could just leave the country and start over in another. 

        Wow writing this has really helped me think about my future and work things out. Writing is therapeutic. It’s true. But it’s also boring and that is why I avoid it unless I have no better choices. That’s why I have been on a writing run. I’m bored at work.

Apple Rant

Note: This is a crazy long rant. I didn't even edit it. It got kinda heated. So don't be mad when you find mistakes.

        It is so awesome that things people used to need books to find, like my co-worker’s zip-code finder book, can now be easily accessed by the web. Not even the web for that. A simple text to a service like 4INFO will take care of that. And with new internet cards or whatever people can access the net from any place they wish. Soon internet will literally be everywhere. Eventually it will probably be free. (Am I dumb and naive for thinking that?) But seriously. We are only a couple years from everyone having internet set up in their car. I will be driving, streaming internet radio, or listening to podcasts right through my radio. Haha Adobe Indesign spell-checker still thinks podcasts is a misspelled word. I remember like two years ago when I didn’t even know what a podcast was. Even when it was explained to me I was like, so what? Sounds boring. (Some still are.) It is crazy how far we have come. 

        Speaking of technological advances, Apple. I have no problem with the company. Their business plan and marketing is ingenious. I don’t agree with the Apple fans, who no nothing about computers, except Apple, and  think everyone who doesn’t use one is an idiot. These are the same people who said “Intel inside, idiot outside” and then Apple began using Intel and they thought it was great. It is like a cult. Everything Apple says or does is genius. Everything else ( and the people who use it) is inferior. Stupid. Now I don’t know tons about computers, but I do know, from using both types extensively, that I like PCs better. I must be an idiot. It just seems to me that PCs are more customize-able and have more options. Macs seem too simple to me. They don’t do the crazy tasks I want. Just the basics. They are more user-friendly but that just means they are simple and basic. But somehow they have created a mystique. I have to give credit to Apple for that. 

        Now don’t get me wrong. There are some Mac fans I can understand. Ones that look at everything objectively and still like Macs best are people I can continue to have respect for. As long as they continue objectivity.  

        But their condescending brethren are unbearable. They have barely tested anything else but still count Apple as king. Or if they have had tested they do so without objectivity, with their mind already made up, deciding the Mac the winner before the contest begins. 

        I would like to perform a test. One product, obviously not as good, with the Apple logo, and introduced to them personally by Steve Jobs. He would talk the product up as much as he can. 

        The other product would be the same, with a slightly different operating system and a different design. And without the Apple logo. Actually maybe this one should even perform a little bit better. 

        We hand them out to these Mac enthusiasts. Let them try them out and decide which one they like better. Then let Jobs come back and tell them the first was a cheap knock-off and the second the actual Apple product. See how they react. I garuntee all would rate the fake apple better solely because of the logo and then would say they knew it wasn’t Apple as soon as Jobs revealed it to them.  

        Wow was that a rant. I bet nobody reads this far. Haha. I‘m good now. I hope nobody misunderstands me. I think Apple is a very, very smart organization. I just don’t like the products as much and I don’t like the condescending, biased following. Thanks.

Game 5, Exclamation Points, eBay and Obama's Right Hand

Game 5        

        To tell you the truth I didn’t even watch it. Maybe I will tonight. I was really, really tired last night and I went to bed before the middle of the second. The Magic were still winning when I stopped watching. 

        I’m still pretty happy for Kobe. He works so hard and it’s good to see hard work pay off. I heard he was even smiling towards the end of the game last night. It’s only his third one in the last two weeks.

Exclamation Points

        In other news, I really dislike exclamation points. I try not to use them. Ever. Unless it’s in a text message or something. I think it makes a person and his/her writing childish. It makes me feel annoying. 

How can you take someone seriously with an exclamation point? I can’t.  

        Actually I’ve settled down a bit. I really only hate the exclamation point when it isn’t necessary. Which is a lot of the time. But even ‘The Lakers won the Finals!’ looks suspicious to me.

eBay Troubles

        Ok I just remembered something else I’m mad about. I don’t know what is wrong with eBay but I may have gotten screwed hard because of them.

        (I just spelled bought like bot accidently). Anyway I bought $379 or something worth of Nokia n810s (2 of them) from a seller who turned out to be really bad. Terrible at communicating and really slow. And he didn’t use Paypal. Instead it was Moneybookers, a terrible site. 

        Anyway Ebay for some reason suspected him of trying to sell me something outside of eBay, which will get you banned. Well that never even happened but he did get banned. In the middle of our transaction. 

        I’ve already paid for the stuff but I do not know if he has sent it yet. He said he would but who knows? He said it would be sent a week ago, Monday, June 8. But he never communicated if he did actually come through with it. And now I can’t talk to him because he was banned. 

        If the stuff doesn’t come then I am going to freak on eBay. I’ll give him until this Friday. Then I am filing some serious complaint. 

        I thought eBay was better than this. They didn’t even investigate. They just shut him down. (And I’m assuming it’s a he because men are terrible at communicating, right ladies?)

President Obama’s Right Hand

        Why do some people count it a big deal to shake the President’s hand? From what I see on the news it looks like Obama shakes approximately 400 hands per day. You’re a loser if you don’t shake his hand. 

        I mean, yeah he’s the President of our United States in America, but what’s the big deal. His right hand is nothing awesome. It would be a big deal, however, if you did a fist bump with the Pres. Or maybe a secret handshake. Or a left hand shake. Or a double hand shake. Or a high five. Or a low five. Or a low ten. Or a high ten. Or a middle ten (something me and my friends invented. It involves spreading your arms out at 90 degree angles from the body like you were trying to fly or offering someone a hug. Then you and your middle ten partner touch hands. Like in the middle. Nevermind.) 

        Once I explain it to the President it’ll catch on.

Game 4 Thoughts + Shaq and Iran (not together, although they should be)

        This series has actually been more interesting than I expected.  

        Game 1 was stupid, a major blowout in favor of the Lake Show, but Game 2 was better, with the game even going into overtime, and Courtney Lee missing the would-be game-winning shot/layup/alley-oop. 

        Game Three was exciting until Kobe turned the ball over and the Magic cruised to the win. It was even compelling, leaving viewers wondering if Kobe had ‘hit the wall’ and was done being the force he once was. 

        I think he dispelled that terrible rumor last night. He wanted to so bad. The man took every shot almost in overtime. He wasn’t gonna pass. He hasn’t hit a wall. 

        And you think people would learn. Don’t say things like that about Kobe. It will just motivate him and he will be so determined to prove you wrong that he will go nuts.  

        He would have scored even if the Magic put six guys out on the court, with two doubling him. 

        Derek Fisher came through pretty well in the clutch moments, I would have to say. He probably should have taken some more time off the clock though. I think the Magic could have scored had they ran something in the final seconds of regulation. Like maybe a real play. Or an inbound pass and one more to Dwight Howard, who would have scored easily, one-on-one with Kobe in the paint.

Lady Ja-Ja 

        I kind of feel bad for Jameer Nelson. Fish hit that big three right in his eye and then later Kobe threw an elbow right in his face and then a pass to, again, Fish, for the trey. I mean, he should have been playing better defense on that first shot, but the guy hasn't played in forever and now he's out in the fourth quarter of one of the most important games he has ever played in. Van Gundy is so dumb. Why leave him out there? What a hack.

Shaqtastic Thoughts 

        I have been thinking, for whatever reason, about which team would it be more fun to see Shaq on.

        Both teams would be cool. Shaq and Dwight on the same team would be crazy dominant inside. But so would Shaq and Gasol. 

        I think I’m leaning towards that one. Shaq supplies the power and Gasol brings the finesse. It would create mismatches for both and Gasol would light the place up. He is such a tremendous offensive player.

        Oh yeah what was up with Pau and Pietrus at the end of overtime? Pietrus should chill out. (I'm sure he has already.)

        Speaking of that sort of stuff, the NBA seriously needs to take another look at their rules for flagrant fouls and technicals. Anything close for them is a tech or a flagrant, but then they rescind the calls later. How stupid is that? 

        And if someone like Ariza is laying on the floor and he bounces the ball off the ground, trying to make a basket, he shouldn’t be called for a tech. If that is a tech then every player who shoots the ball well after the whistle blows should get one too. And Dwight should get a goal-tending call.

Let’s Get Iranian 

        Iranian election: Just saw it on the news. 

        I’m pretty sure it simply consists of a ripped piece of notebook paper, where you write a name down, fold it in half and put it in a little box with a slot on top. The government then takes the box and empties it into a furnace, where the ballots are burned. Then they just elect whoever they want. 

        (By the way, the slot in the box is a very important part of there heritage and culture, representing the dress of Iranian women, with only a little slit for eyes. Anything more is deemed provocative.) 

        Another theory is that they take all the ballots, put them in a giant hat and then just pick one at random. And by random I mean they pick the one taped to the bottom.

NBA Finals logo from Wikimedia? or something. Don't sue me. Whatever you are. Just don't mess. Yeah that's the new one. Don't mess. Don't mess with the best cuz the best don't mess! Yea Boi! (exclamation point, it doesn't say boil)

Game 3 Thoughts

       I think I disagree about this being a series. Lakers are up 2-1, and even last night, with the Magic shooting the lights out at home (highest shooting percentage in a Finals game ever) the Lakers still had the ball and a chance to win the game.  

       They almost won and the Magic played the best game they will play the rest of the series. 

        The way Kobe played is disappointing and somewhat scary for Lakers fans, but he does have teammates who can cover a little for him. 

       Am I the only one who sees this? The Magic will not shoot that well the remainder of this series and Kobe will not play so bad in the second half. 

       Shoot. I’m wrong. LA Times columnist TJ Simers has found the Magic’s secret weapon and good-luck charm. Seven year old Gina Marie Incandela, a little girl who was told when she was very young (her parents were told) that she would never be able to speak. Well she began speaking at three and since has developed a love for music at a school for autistic children. She has sung the anthem at six Magic playoff games. Guess how many the Magic have won out of those six? 

       Yep. They’ve won six. Including last night.  

       Uh oh Lakers. Somebody better take this girl out. Just kidding. Don’t. But maybe a well-timed coughing fit will throw her timing off, and with it, the Magic’s Finals chances. I vote we get Sasha Vujacic on this. That way he at least contributes in some way. 

       Another possible idea, if the other one doesn’t work, is for the Lakers to just book the kid at their games. They still have home court advantage. It might work. Her booking number is (407) 288-3670 (seriously). I think she’s available. Just give her people (her parents) a call. 

       I feel like I had other thoughts but I can’t remember them. Oh well.  

       I’ll leave you with this: Pau Gasol! Stop being a baby. 

Photo from mrunlucky.com. I think. He might have stolen it also. Anyway don't sue me. Can I even be sued? I'm not making money from this venture into the land of the blog. And I'm also pretty sure me asking people not to sue me won't help me not get sued. Nevermind. As long as I ask nicely it'll be okay. I think that's how the world works. Pretty sure at least.

What You're Allowed To Do When You're a Superstar

Photo from latimes.com. Please don't sue me.

Game 2 Thoughts

        Orlando Magic fans who argue a goaltending call on Pau Gasol should have been called at the end of regulation in Game 2 are sore losers.

       Obviously the “non-call” as announcers love to say, was correct. Gasol did not alter the path of the ball in the slightest.

Lee simply missed the shot.

       I don’t blame him. It was a tough shot. I’m pretty sure I would have missed it. I know, and this is the same thing as Lee, that I could make that shot. It is possible. But not in that situation. Finals game on the line, seven-footer in my face, yeah. I would have missed it. Don’t blame the game on Lee. He’s a rookie. If that was Kobe, we could blame him. But not Lee. Poor kid. His confidence is probably destroyed. And that will be awesome for the Magic. Lee and Rafer Alston, important parts of this team, are done-zo.

       But, wow that would have been amazing (NBA, where amazing happens) had Lee made that shot. It was an awesome pass by Hedo Turkoglu and the play worked perfectly (making me think Stan Van Gundy is less of a hack than previously believed. In my opinion he and his brother Jeff, especially his brother, are both idiots).

       By the way, Turkoglu is pretty clutch. It may be because he has one move in the final minute of the game (the step-back jumper that seemingly only the great Bill Simmons has noticed. How does that not get in the scouting report? It’s his only move. Anyone could guard him. He’s slow and predictable. And he lights teams up at the end of games. How does that work?

      Turk is pretty cool. I have to root for a fellow slow, white guy. He is in the NBA Finals, one of Orlando’s best players, and out-of-shape. I love it. He’s 6’10” and wants to play guard (and can, by the way). He has slow feet, no defense, and a crazy knack for scoring. So cool.

Photo from nba.com. Please don't sue me.

Game 1 Thoughts

Jameer Nelson will be the undoing of the Magic. Any chemistry switch will mess this team up bad.

 

I hesitate to draw this comparison because it is probably too early and he is injured buthere it is: Nelson is like Tracy McGrady, the superstar whose amazing playing abilities somehow negatively affect his team in playoff situations.

 

Nelson, from what I saw in Game 1, is messing with Rafer Alston. Alston, the point guard to got the Magic this far, is and will continue to have trouble adjusting to playing off the bench as part of a point-guard-by-committee, if you will, with both him and Nelson sharing time. And because Nelson is an All-Star the playing time will be very close to equal and it shouldn’t be. Alston is obviously very capable of leading the Magic, as he has shown so far and he is the one who has shown ability to lead this team through the playoffs. Why mess with success?

 

Alston thought point guard for the Orlando Magic was his gig and now there is a new guy stepping in and taking his playing time. His confidence will be destroyed. Having two players capable of competing and pushing each other is usually beneficial for both players, but not when the competition begins in the NBA Finals. This situation makes everything unclear for both players.

 

From what I have seen and experienced, being in positions similar to this is this: Both want to lead the team. Both are competitors and don’t want to be over-shadowed by another player at their own position. Alston is scared of losing his job and Nelson isn’t sure how much he should be doing and he probably feels like it is still his team. Neither player’s focus should be on either of these things. Their focus should be on the Finals, the biggest games of their lives. If Stan Van Gundy was a better coach he would understand this.

Jameer Nelson should not be playing. He is too hurt to contribute that much (watch as I eat those words), and all he is doing now is screwing with starting the point guard, the quarterback of the team. That cannot happen if the Magic want to win.

Photo from si.com. Please don't sue me.

Places Not to Live.

 

Throughout the year I hear teenagers complain about living in Cody and how there’s nothing to do here. Instead of listing things that we can do for fun in this town let’s think of places worse to live than Cody.

• New Orleans, La. - Although Cody might not be all too compelling, at least it isn’t in the crosshairs of a monster hurricane year in and year out. During this time New Orleans doubles as a lake, which is not prime living condition, unless a person happens to be amphibious. Besides, the Big Easy also has a super high crime rate, making it one of the bloodiest city in America according to cbsnews.com. It’s hard to have fun when you’re deceased.

• Detroit, Mich. - The decline of the auto industry and Motown have killed Detroit. That and the gangsters.

• Bakersfield, Calif. - In the American Lung Association’s state of the air report, released in May, Bakersfield ranked No. 3 in year-round particle pollution and No. 2 in ozone pollution, according to ajc.com. The lack of quality oxygen could ruin an otherwise fun time.

• Powell, Wyo. - For obvious reasons.

• Hilmar, Calif. - Hilmar Cheese Co., the largest cheese manufacturer in the world, can be found in Hilmar. It produces more than 1.9 million pounds of cheese each day. Although an awesome claim to fame, that much cheese cannot possibly smell good.

• Port Arthur, Texas- After a joint venture between Shell and Aramco, a Saudi Arabian oil company, the oil refinery in this city will be the largest in the world. An oil refinery is not something to be desired in a city. Once again, it will smell terrible and be a tremendous eyesore (just drive through Byron for a whiff). Refineries are very ugly and not something that will add to a city.

• Intercourse, Pa., or Hooker, Ark. – Living in a city with either of these names would not be a good thing. It would be impossible to be taken seriously.

See, maybe we don’t have it so bad in Cody. It smells nice, isn’t a lake, isn’t overly violent – and isn’t Powell.