Shaq's comments on Harangody signing:

Very true Sam.

Hey, TJ, off-topic (but so is almost everything on this thread), were you and Dbrown ever able to get together on the potential mutual venture? The details are obviously way over my head, but I hope that two good posters can make a buck or two as a result of meeting here.

If it's confidential, no need to reply.

Sam

Sam, Two close friends of mine have a daughter who played lacrosse with Hondo's daughter in college, and as a result they became close friends with him. What he most valued was his family. I wish more NBA players today did. I wish more Americans in general did.

W,

Second that.

Sam

worcester wrote:Sam, Two close friends of mine have a daughter who played lacrosse with Hondo's daughter in college, and as a result they became close friends with him. What he most valued was his family. I wish more NBA players today did. I wish more Americans in general did.

worcester,

That's one of the reasons why Doc and Danny are so popular with veterans. They are very family-oriented and make allowances for players with personal and/or family emergencies without so much as a hiccup.

bob

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This topic is sort of a chicken-and-egg thing.

Many people bemoan the increasing shallowness, crassness and materiality of our society and yet exalt self-serving proclamations of pampered individuals and then they bemoan the increasing...

Sadly, DWade was probably right about Heat games selling out on the road. People will show up to watch them lose (a hometown fan's constant wish for the visiting team, but "steroided" due to the offseason mega-drama) and that's still good for the owners, concessionaires, etc. So, the fans unwittingly feed the beast they hate.

We do this all the time. We are an intellectually disfunctional society. We demand Cadillac Escalades and are angry with the govt when they try to drive us towards gas sippers, and then rage against the Saudis, Iranians and Hugo Chavez because they don't like us. We shield our children from romance but sit on the couch and eat popcorn with them watching MMA, and then blame Hollywood for our kids getting into trouble. Having an affair is bad, but getting married a couple of times is ok. We gripe about the cost of healthcare, but are one of the fattest, least healthy societies on the planet and are outraged when anybody tries to wean us off of cigarettes and Twinkies.

They say "don't hate the players, hate the game". I say "hate both". Hate the game that breeds the players that exploit people and hate the players who do it.

Alright. I'm done with my rant. At this point, I realize how far off-topic I've gotten, but it's already written, so what the hell...

I must have missed my nap. I'm cranky this morning.

bob

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The Celts are one classy organization, a very healthy, functional family. Red's legacy.

worcester wrote:The Celts are one classy organization, a very healthy, functional family. Red's legacy.

Thanks Worcester. I needed a "Ray" of light right now.

bob

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The key words in Sam's address are "because they can". Through trades, the Celtics were able to put the Big 3 together, because they could.

Now a new twist has evolved from that effort. Everyone liked what the Celtics acccomplished inside of one year. Miami thought about it and has taken it a step further, because they can. As Celtic fans, like it or not, you can do what Miami did in this league. The stars have to line up and contracts have to expire at the right time, but you can do this in the NBA.

My hope or projecting out is this move will result in league contraction. Maybe not just by itself but will eventually lead to it. The revenue sharing, or taking from the rich to give to the poor via luxury tax (I'm assuming that's what Buss, Wyc, others and the league are doing with the taxes) unfortunately helps prop up these bottom feeding teams and gives them a free handout, rewarding them for being absolutely worthless. The owners of these franchises hang around in hopes they can be a Boston or LA someday if those guys just keep spending way over the cap. Despite huge losses, owners will still get their cut/salary/draw in some cases thanks to the re-distibution of income. The potential money and dream are just too good to lay down. So the owners agree to "hang on" for one more year in hopes of things turning around. But, alas, they don't.

Sounds like a welfare/Obama state to me, but I digress.