I haven’t been more excited by the NBA since the AI days so it’s sad to see flopping like this. Ginobli is a league leading flopper and he got a real taste of medicine on this play. The slow mo Gif shows it all. The reaction time of Wade is what bothers me but the ref basing it purely off the player should make this his last finals.
Two floppers going at it as bonus material.
I’ve had a slight interest in chess over the years and came across a documentary on Bobby Fischer through HBO. I was aware that Bobby Fischer was a big name in chess and never knew the story behind him. What I learned was that a brilliant mind sees ups and downs unlike you and me.
At 6 years of age, Bobby started learning chess. At age 14 he had already won 8 US championships. In 1972, age 29, he captured the World Chess Championship by defeating Boris Spassky in a 24 game match. In 1975 he refused to defend his title and then fell into obscurity the rest of his life. He became a recluse, an anti-American, and an anti-Semite. His chess playing days had ended and his mind started focusing on other topics.
[dropcap background=”yes” color=”#333333″]All I want to do, ever, is play chess.[/dropcap]
Bobby Fischer thought outside of the box. He wasn’t defined by anyone or thing other than himself. He became a master at chess because he spent day after day thinking about it an understanding it. It was his obsession. Regular people don’t have this ability to think about an idea year after year without getting tired of it. The reason Fischer was so successful was also the reason he went crazy. What you see in his later years is that instead of focusing his mental aptitude on chess, it started delving into paranoia and world corruption. This video below is Fischer in his later years. You see a man who you certainly wouldn’t be thought of as the greatest chess player of all time.
People who are the best at something are crazy. They have a unique attribute that makes them the best. Most likely, you and I don’t have this attribute. We live inside the box and are happier to do so. The best are driven by being the best and it makes them think differently. These types of people are too smart for their own good a lot of the times. They are the <.1% of the population who don’t tick like normal people but it’s these people who change the world we live in. They aren’t told how to think. It’s finding that mix of thinking outside the box but still having a balance of normalcy. Bobby Fischer couldn’t manage.
Holy Ravioli Batman, the cost to pay people to let you race is getting out of control! There are two upcoming local Philly races I signed up for today and are on opposite ends of the spectrum. The races are the Phil’s 10k and the Tex Mex 5k. Each race has its own unique situation that once analyzed should make things clear.
Phil’s 10k is a re-created race that was once a 5k, and I assume, due to falling participants, tried something different. This is the 13th annual Phil’s race and I have been doing it since 2002. The old 5k was held on a Wednesday in July and the temperature was always sweltering. Without looking at the actual numbers and strictly by memory, at the peak, the race was drawing around ~500 people and last year dipped to around 350. The race was feeling stale and the AARC did something about it.
What changed?
My Thoughts
Award in the Old Man’s age group.
I like not having to get a shirt. I don’t wear race shirts. I run all the time and buy the equipment I need from top manufacturers. Normally race shirts aren’t the cream of the crop and I won’t wear them especially due to the advertising on them.
I’ve never done the Tex Mex so understand this comes from what I’ve heard and seen.
Running is getting expensive the more popular it gets. The Art Museum is closed every single weekend for some race to benefit some cause. I don’t mind opening up my wallet to do a race but I think the Philly half marathon used to cost me around 50 bucks and now that’s what a 5k is getting? There are some special races that can ask for a premium but there are hundreds of races to choose from nowadays and they all can’t be special.
This post was created in honor of National Running Day and Sam’s smart thoughts on it.
Getting famous for being hot.
Some athletes fall into the category that you are glad they are on your team because they help you win, but you’d hate them under any other circumstance. A couple qualifications to my list is that you have to be good and actually have won a championship or held a record. Ndamukong Suh falls in this category but he’s on the lions and they stink. The only athletes people remember 20 years down the road are the winners and the hall of famers, everyone else falls in between. This list compiles players from various sports who are considered “dirty” or “cheaters” but they win and that’s all that matters in the end.
Maradona
Playing on Argentina
The player that spurred this post. I watched the ESPN 30 for 30 on him and his epic 1986 World Cup run. Hell, it wasn’t a run, it was an Argentinian championship. He single footedly carried his team on his back against England in a huge semi final game that must have been unbelievable to witness. The clip below is from the England semi-final game and his two goals are shown.
The first one is the “hand of god” goal in which he uses his hand to knock the ball in the net and the refs missed it. I’m not sure how HE cheated on this goal but that followed him for the rest of his life. The second goal is even crazier with him dribbling past 6 defenders and he said the only way he was able to do it was because “England played the proper way.” A key point to take out of his playing style is this, “During the course of the tournament, Maradona attempted or created more than half of Argentina’s shots, embarked on 90 dribbles some three times more than any other player and was fouled 53 times winning his team twice as many free kicks as any player”. Acting and flopping was his forte. Maradona is considered one of the greatest soccer players of all time and I heard about him last night.
Bill Laimbeer
Even former teammate Rodman would pursue Laimbeer.
After watching the Bad Boys 30 on 30, I started to understand Bill Laimbeer. He grew up from a wealthy family in a Chicago suburb which has to attribute to his cocky, take no shit attitude. He had the backs of every one of his teammates and hated every other player out there. He played to win and ended up taking a Pistons team, led by Isiah, to 2 championships in 89′ and 90′. It was his physical nature that broke the other team down emotionally where they stopped caring about winning, and only cared about fighting Laimbeer. He was a real bad ass who played as hard as he could and every fan and opposing player hated him. Read Legend Larry’s thoughts on Laimbeer in an interview with Bill Simmons:
Bill Simmons: You left the bad blood on the court for the most part but not with Laimbeer? You never really ever liked Laimbeer in any social situation.
Larry Bird: No, It’s because he’s a dirty player. He had to do what he had to do and I understand that but take Ricky Mahorn, he’d hit you and all that but he’d hit you and you’d know you were going to get hit, but he wasn’t trying to maim you. Bill tried to hurt you. He was one of the guys you’d shoot jumpers and he’d try to slide his foot underneath your ankles so you’d twist your ankle. Watch any of our old games and Parrish was always twisting his ankle against the Pistons. So one time I shot a jumper and Laimbeer did it to me and I stepped on his foot, I stepped on it high and didn’t twist my ankle. A quarter or two later he shot the jumper and I slid my foot under and that was the last time he ever did it. He had to play the way he had to play and we all understood that but if you carry too far and carry it over the line, you got to protect yourself.
Barry Bonds
Just a tad stronger
A notorious and controversial figure in baseball. When Mark McGwire shattered Roger Maris’ home run record of 61 in 1998 by hitting 70, the world was turned on its head. Maris’ record had stood for 40 years and Mark McGwire explodes it by 9 homers. 3 years later, a new champion emerged. Barry Bonds hits 73 dingers at the age of 36 in 2001. Where did this come from?
Take a second to think about how many home runs 73 is. The all-time home run record, also held by Bonds, is 762. Barry hit almost 10% of his homers in one season of his illustrious 22 year career. This next table shows why Barry Bonds is the most hated record holder in all of sports…he roided up. 2001 is the opposite size of his shriveled up dick. Numbers don’t lie Barry. People never forget.
Notice something out of the ordinary?
Bruce Bowen
Bruce Bowen is a prime example of an athlete who can do nothing more than be dirty and play defense. If you took a magical season where Bruce put up his best totals over a 13 year career he’d average 8.2 pts, 3.9 rebs, 1.6 assts, 1.4 steals, and can’t shoot better than 65% from the line. Lebron almost averages those numbers in a quarter.
So how does someone who is remarkably average stay in the league for as long as he did while managing to win 3 titles with the Spurs? For one he gets selected to 8 All-NBA 1st and 2nd defensive teams. He was a decent 3 point shooter hitting around 40% for his career. And finally, he’s fucking dirty. Ever watch the jump kick before?
Looks like it’s a Liu Kang jump kick from across the room. Or how about these cheap moves on Vince Carter. It’s like watching a mediocre talent take his game to the next level by mastering the rules and how to bend them.
I know very little about soccer but this Landon Donovan story is strange to me. Donovan was left off of the USA World Cup team due to his age (32) or his “lack of heart.” He went on a sabbatical a year ago and came back a changed person which was noticed by Jurgen Kinsmann the coach of the USA team. Landon may not be in his prime, but doesn’t the leading World Cup and MLS goal scorer deserve a spot on the team?
The World Cup roster consists of 23 players. 11 players play at a time and the team gets 3 subs. By my count this leaves a lot of players who won’t be getting into the game. Without watching Landon play in the past 10 years, it’s hard for me to comment on his declining ability but based on the coach not picking him, I’m sure he’s not as good as he was. Is this good enough reason though to leave him off?
I vote no. Here is another graph of scoring chances Donovan created since 2013 on the men’s national team. That’s 13 more than the next closer player going to Brazil. I’m obviously missing something here about his loss of talent in the past year. He is the leading USA World Cup scorer with 5 goals in the past 3 World Cup’s and he has experience like no other. Is Kinsmann saying that the 23rd roster spot is going to have more of an impact than Landon Donovan? Doubt it.
Donovan scores 2 goals on Sunday night to become the leading MLS scorer of all time.
Landon Donovan. History. #Landon135 #LAvPHI pic.twitter.com/zjNWEaKThI
— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) May 26, 2014
Yesterday I decided that I could use a new pair of running shoes and headed to Born To Run in SpringHouse, PA. I’ve known Hillary for many years and like keeping the business local instead of penny pinching online. Plus I like to try before I buy.
Brooks Ghost 5
I’m not your typical runner and have had various issues with shoes in the past. Every step I take running is on my toes. What this does is creates immense friction under the balls of my toes and blisters begin. The last 2 purchases I made were Brooks Ghost 5’s which are a heavier shoe that does a decent job keeping my feet safe.
I walked into the store with an open mind and no real budget because it’s an item I’ll be using often. I do some quick browsing and check out the new Ghost’s and the Mizuno Wave Enigma 3. I’ve pretty much eliminated Saucony and Nike from my shoe buying due to bad experiences. I had an employee bring me out 11’s of the new Brooks Ghost 6 and wasn’t thrilled with the color choice but they fit like I was used to. As I was walking around, a representative from the company Altra asks if he can help me out. I give him some quick details about my style and what I was looking for and he shows me Altra’s equivalent.
I’ve never heard of Altra before and when I first saw the shoe I thought it was out of the space program. It has a wide front and the sole is very flat with no arch on the bottom nose. It looked peculiar but if a shoe could prevent me from getting blisters, I was interested. The rep said that the company was from California and does well on the West Coast but has little base in the East. I tried on one shoe of the Altra Instinct 2.0 and compared one of a Mizuno Wave Enigma 3. Both shoes felt nice but it’s impossible to know what to expect out of a running shoe without running in it. After some more discussion I decided to take a flyer on the Altra and purchase it. I figured worst case scenario was that I could try it out and then complain that it wasn’t what I expected and go from there.
I was quite anxious to go for a run in these new shoes because they were unlike anything I’ve tried before. My first impression of the shoe out of the box is that it’s unique looking but the color scheme is nice. It’s not too bright or off putting, it blends well. I put on the shoe and it fit like a slipper. The shoe laces were a tad short and thin for my liking. I immediately noticed the difference in weight with these being 9.5 oz compared to my 11.3 oz Ghosts. With everything being set, I decided to head to the Ben Franklin bridge and give the shoes a workout.
A few steps in I was feeling the additional room in the front and thought it was comfortable. My feet didn’t feel squished and had some room to breathe. The sole is very flat so I noticed that my toe running was landing me further back on the mid sole compared to what I’m used to. Everything felt fine and I knew the run I was doing was going to test the shoe further. The Ben Franklin Bridge is about a mile long bridge with a slight incline for the first half and then slight decline for the second half. The downhill incline would be a perfect test because my feet will usually heat up from a half mile of a pushing pace downhill.
While picking it up on the downhill, I found out that although my feet would heat up (less so than in the Ghost), if I wanted to back off a bit on my toes, I’d land in the middle and it would give my feet some cooling off. Normally, when my shoes would get too hot, I’d have to start running heel to toe and this was a refreshing surprise because I lost little speed when I would back off.
I made sure I ran hard on both parts of the downhill and could find no faults with the shoe. They felt light and I felt like I could pick it up when I wanted to. The stability wasn’t as high as what I was used to but I don’t see this as an issue. When I took them off after the run everything felt normal which is exactly what I want and I saw no exterior issues with the shoe. Obviously this was only a 4 mile run but I’m looking forward to putting on some more distance and then working them on the track. At an $105.00 dollar price tag, I have found no faults so far.
If you like running and are new to my site, you might like to read about my Broad St Run Experience.
How does this happen? The odds of this have to be through the roof. A 74 year old man, *arguably the best player to ever play the game*, walks up to an 102 ft putt and sinks it like it’s just another day. To give you an idea of how hard this is:
PGA’s Shot Tracker reveals that tour players on average make:
I also found it interesting that Tiger Woods and the Golden bear are at the exact same point in their careers with regard to Major tournaments won. They are both 38 and have 14 major wins. Chance that Tiger gets to 18 to match Jack? I’d give it 15%.
Making putts like this and being a boss are how you get a drink named after you.
Not catching this ball
Anyone that is older than me will likely say, “you’re not that old.” 30 years old isn’t that old when compared to an entire life but the body doesn’t reach its peak at the midway point. What I’ve noticed is that I’m getting worse in just about anything I do that involves hand eye coordination or moving.
There are professional athletes who play well into their 30’s and can still be productive but usually not at as high a level as their 20’s. Isiah Thomas retired at the ripe age of 32. Barry Sanders at 30. Even MJ retired at 30 (the first time). The reason athletes retire is because they can’t play at the level they once played at. When you don’t feel like you are effective anymore, you give a reason like I’m too old and retire. This helps your mind and is an excuse for being worse than you once were.
[dropcap background=”yes” color=”#333333″]Just remember when you’re over the hill, you begin to pick up speed.[/dropcap]
I look back at my youth and was once a pretty sound basketball player. This clip has me scoring 6 points in a quarter back when I was 13. I don’t even score 6 points in a game nowadays. When I was young, and admittedly would play way more basketball than I do now, I would go as far and say I was actually good at basketball. I play today and my arms feel like they are the wrong size for my body and the ball feels like a balloon.
This is for a number of reasons one of which I already mentioned, I don’t play as often. Which leads to the obvious question, are your skills declining or are you not practicing enough? Like many answers to questions, both. Here’s the kicker, I don’t practice anything! Aside from playing a lot of beer pong throughout my 20’s, I don’t take any activity seriously. This in turn has left me with a feeling of uselessness in most everything I do.
Games are all the same. You start off learning the game. Then you start practicing the game. Then you start playing the game at as high a level as you can. I’ve played hundreds of games and what happens time after time is you plateau in the game and then comes a crucial point where you either 1) devote more time to start mastering the nuances of the game or 2) quit. I quit. I like to think of myself as a jack of all trades but master of none. Meaning that I’m respectable at most things, but am never the best.
In a society where people only care about winning, it makes getting worse at things suck. Am I exaggerating a bit in this post? Yes. I guarantee if I wanted to concentrate on shooting a basketball for 40 hours a week, I would improve and this post would have no meaning whatsoever. The point is though that when you get older, life gets in the way. You slave away at a job for 40 hours and leisure activities fade. Next thing you know you’re 50 years old wondering where time went. Is there a point to this post? I don’t know. I think it’s even though you suck, you should still have fun doing it. Unfortunately sucking is frustrating as hell and makes people make blog posts.
5. Blake Bortles, Jacksonville Jaguars
Third pick of the draft and heading to the lowly Jaguars. There is really only one reason people care about him though and that’s his super hot girlfriend. She is so flippin’ hot that I’d buy Bortles Jersey and have Duke on the back of it. I also give her an incredible amount of credit for finding the guy who went #3 in the draft way before he went 3. She could have selected from thousands of douchebags and she just happened to land the highest QB in the draft. Bravo. NSFW selfie found here.
4. Teddy Bridgewater, Minnesota Vikings
Teddy is a big, strong guy, 6-3, 196 lbs, and will have one of the easiest jobs in football…hand the ball to AP. I personally like the pick because Christian Ponder has proven he can’t throw the ball downfield. Teddy will hopefully jive with the young Cordarrelle Patterson and the Vikings can maybe get back to the Playoffs that they made in 2012.
3. Jadeveon Clowney, Houston Texans
Sucks being the #1 pick and being over shadowed by personalities and hot topics. Either way, it takes a special DE to win over the public and that doesn’t happen with a recently drafted player. Plus there are tons of reports of him not playing hard all the time. If Clowney isn’t a bust, the Texans D will be scary with Watt alongside. Without ever seeing Clowney play, I’d guess he’s not going to live up to expectations.
2. Michael Sam, St. Louis Rams
I watched the 7th round, 249th pick, Michael Sam press conference today and was disturbed. The press is so fucking stupid and the questions they asked should be not be allowed. They’ll ask questions like, “tell us a story of a time you overcame adversity” and “how did you get to be so strong and brave?’ On 85% of the questions, Michael Sam was like “what do you want me to say to your question, this is stupid”. He was agitated through the entire press conference and I can see why. I feel bad for the guy because he constantly has to be reminded that what he is doing is unprecedented. If we were a more intelligent society, we wouldn’t need a Michael Sam press conference. Let the dude play football, he might not even make the squad.
1. Johnny Manziel, Cleveland Browns
Johnny Football. What more is there to write?
Looks great in Gif format.
Best Comments
that guy in the pinks t-rex reflex
And the jedi behind him in the green t-shirt with the force pull that ultimately saved the victim.
