Nets

[lesterdog]

wow. getting crowded in here…don't go fellas…I got a bottle and some paper cups somewhere.

[bodiddley]

wow. getting crowded in here…don't go fellas…I got a bottle and some paper cups somewhere.

Dixie cups with jokes on them?
Wow, that brings me right back to NJ in the 70's.

And speaking of jokes.
Here's one for the littledog:

A guy is driving around and he sees a sign in front of a house:
"Talking Dog For Sale."
He rings the bell, and the owner tells him the dog is in the backyard.
The guy goes into the backyard and sees a Labrador Retriever
sitting there.

"So ... you talk?" he asks.
"Yep," the Lab replies.
"That's incredible.  How come no one has ever heard about this?"

The dog looks up and says, "Well, I discovered that I could talk when
I was pretty young, and I wanted to help out; so I told the
CIA about my gift, and in no time at all they had me jetting from
country to country, sitting in rooms with spies and world leaders,
because no one figured a dog would be eavesdropping. I was one of
their most valuable spies for eight years."

"But the jetting around really tired me out, and I knew I wasn't
getting any younger so I wanted to settle down. I signed up for a
job at the airport to do some undercover security work, mostly
wandering near suspicious characters and listening in. I uncovered some
drug deals and other crimes and was awarded a batch of medals.
But after I got older, I came back here to settle down, and raise a family.
Now I'm just retired."

The guy is amazed.
He goes back in and asks the owner how much he wants for the dog.

"Ten dollars."

The guy is shocked, "This dog is amazing.
Why on earth are you selling him so cheap?"

"Oh, he's just a big fat liar. He didn't do any of that stuff."

[lesterdog]

I'm gonna be telling him that one tomorrow on the way to school….

[bodiddley]

I wonder what all of those Net fans (okay, there were only about five) from the NYTimes board have to say about Byron Scott coaching the all-star game.  He was ragged on heavily, but did a fine job with the Nets and now with the Hornets.
Just maybe the guy knows something about hoops and how to get a team to play together. 

I also used to hate the way those guys dumped on RJ for years, when it seemed he was getting better every year and maturing into an all-around stud.

[Kam]

The successes of guys like McMillan and Scott are similar. 
Both were pretty good players but neither was a real all-Star for their team. 
They each played with better players and had to defer. 

A lot of times, they let ex-PGs coach.  Doc, Skiles, Avery, Isiah, people pushing for Mark Jackson...  I don't know if thats wise.  They control the ball so much when they play, and perhaps they should leave the coaching to the off-guards.

[Kam]

Kidd gone.

[Kam]

Maybe now i can root for this team.

[Kam]

Devin Harris is having quite the debut with NK.  His eyes looked wide as saucers as he sat on the bench awaiting his chance.  4 for his first 4 with two threes, 11pts, 2ast, in 5 minutes of action.

[lesterdog]

Maybe now i can root for this team.

Hey didn't you call me a *&*(^% for threatening to do that?

[Kam]

Maybe now i can root for this team.

Hey didn't you call me a *&*(^% for threatening to do that?

You wanted to root for JKidd and Kenyon Martin.  Those guys always took digs at NY.

[bodiddley]

Devin Harris playing a little streetball.
Or getting played.

This is entertaining.

[bodiddley]

Caught only the last 4 minutes fo the Nets v. Kings game.
Tuned in just as the Nets went on a run.

Kings went to a Goon-a-Boon strategy, intentionally fouling 37% FT shooter Josh Boone on three consecutive possessions.  Josh Boondoggle proceeds to lower his FT average by going 2-6.  The funny thing is that he makes 1 of 2 twice in a row.  Then, right after just having shot 4 straight FT's, his 5th FT is an airball, short of the rim.  He goes on to front-rim the next one, but Yi grabs the rebound away from Brad Miller and gets fouled, and casually drops both FT's in.  So the strategy would have worked, if they could have rebounded.
But the Kings looked in a complete funk to end the game.

[bodiddley]

Dog, my point wasn't that the crisis came out of nowhere, only that the solutions are complicated and noone really knows what might work.  Its economic terra incognita.  Do we need to nationalize, sell off toxic assets in some kind of heavily subsidized market, or allow bankruptcies of mega-financial firms?

My feeling is that the Geithner approach (b above) is favored because it could be the quickest turnaround, and if it doesn't work, there is always the takeover option.  Whereas, if you go straightaway for the Swedish takeover model and that causes panic or confusion (ie fails), you've shot your wad.
Hard to know if my read has much to do with political or economic reality.

Which is the the best analogy: the Depression, Japan in the 90's, Sweden, Resolution Trust Company, etc  -- and do they tell us much of anything.   It's hard to get a handle on what would actually happen to the economy (or assorted parts) if AIG was allowed to go bankrupt.

While Krugman blasts away at the new plan as Paulson-plus, while Roubini is tentatively on board.  The proposed new financial regulations sound solid at first glance, even if it is necessarily barn door closing.

[bodiddley]

Thought I might as well stash this somewhere accessible:

Teams with promising yute:
Portland ... Roy, Oden, Aldridge, Rudy, Bayless, Sergio, Batum
Thunder ... Durant, Green, Westbrook , Sefolosha
Warriors ... Monta, Biedrins, Randolph, Azubuike, Wright, Belinelli
Philly  ... Iggy, Young, Green, Speights
Atlanta ... Josh Smith, Horford, Williams, Acie Law
Utah Jazz ... Deron, Milsap, Brewer, Miles, Koufas
Grizzlies ... Mayo, Gay, Gasol, Conley

Nuggets ... Melo, JRSmith, Kleiza
Celtics ...  Rondo, Perkins, Tony Allen, Big Baby, Powe
NJ Nets ... Brook Lopez, Yi, Sean Williams
Chicago ... Rose, Ty Thomas, Noah
Clippers ... Gordon, Thornton, DeAndre
SacKings ... KMartin, Garcia, Hawes, Jason Thompson
Indiana ... Granger, Jack, Hibbert

Bobcats ... Felton, Okafor, DJAugustin
Heat   ...  Beasley, Chalmers
Rockets ... Brooks, Lowry, Landry
Hornets ... Paul, Julian Wright
Minisoda ... AlJeff, Love, Foye
Milwaukee ... Bogut, Sessions, Joe Alexander, Luc M a Mbute.
Toronto ... Bosh, Bargnani, Roko-Ukic, Pops MB
Cavaliers ... LBJ, Delonte, Gibson, JJ Hickson
Detroit ... Stuckey, Maxiell, Afflalo, Amir, Bynum

WashWiz ... Nick Young, JaVale, Blatche. 
Phoenix ...Dragic, Lopez, Amundsen, Tucker, Jared Dudley
Orlando ...Courtney Lee
Spurs ... George Hill
Lakers ... Farmar, Ariza
Dallas ... Barea, Bass, Gerald Green, Antoine Wright

[bodiddley]

Brother can you spare some nickel?

Mikhail Prokhorov, a 6'9" Russian, aims to finance part of the Brooklyn project and become majority owner of the Nets.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/10113652/Russia%27s-richest-man-agrees-to-deal-to-buy-Nets