Chumpservations, Vol. 20: Carmelo to the Knicks, NBA trades galore, cell phone downgrades, girl scout cookies… and puppies?

Let’s Make A Deal

What in the world is going on in the NBA these days?  Last week the league transformed itself into a fire sale.  Teams once recognizable have undergone some serious makeovers.

I enjoy blockbuster trades as much as the next guy but can we please allow Chris Broussard to get a decent night’s sleep?  This poor guy’s cell phone has been vibrating so much lately, ESPN is going to have to start charging us just to pay his bill.

Immediately after the Carmelo Anthony deal, Broussard predicted there would be no more major trades before Thursday’s deadline.  Then the Jazz unloaded Deron Williams, Boston traded Kendrick Perkins, the Hawks added Kirk Hinrich, Charlotte traded Gerald Wallace, the Clippers moved Baron Davis to Cleveland for Mo Williams and Houston traded both Aaron Brooks and Shane Battier.  So much for scooping trade week.  It’s getting to the point where the Miami Heat will soon be the longest tenured roster in the league.  Come playoff time, fans will need a cheat sheet just to keep up.

Some of these trades made sense, others left me completely dumbfounded.  As are most fans, I’m still trying to make sense of why the Celtics, the team with the best record in the Eastern Conference, traded their starting center and fan favorite for a player they drafted three years ago or why the Magic, who desperately need help in the rebounding department, didn’t make any moves at all.

Someone please get me my vertigo medication.

Garden Party

Carmelo Anthony has returned to New York and I think I echo most everyone’s sentiments when I say “finally!”

Personally, I think the Carmelo acquisition was a coup, and should go a long way in reviving the franchise, if not bringing it a championship.  I agree with the majority of NBA fans: The league is better when the Knicks are relevant.  Well, relevant they are.  This is suddenly a team nobody wants to face in the post-season.

Landing ‘Melo will also revive the Knicks-Heat rivalry which has been dormant for way too long.  Aren’t we long overdue for two superstars coming to blows in this Stern-imposed era of no fisticuffs?  I can see it now:  Bosh blindsiding Stoudemire in the 2013 Eastern Conference Finals, while coach Spoelstra flails around Bosh’s legs, trying to break up the fight.

First and foremost, I’m an Orlando Magic fan but when it comes to picking sides in a rivalry that could characterize the league for years to come, consider me squarely on the Madison Square bandwagon.  I smell some great seven-game series in our future and for that, we should be very excited.

Some more?

I’m all for political correctness.  I understand the reasons behind it.  I get how certain groups can find the mascots of the Cleveland Indians, Washington Redskins, Florida State Seminoles and Notre Dame Fighting Irish offensive.

I recently discovered, however, political correctness affects not only sports but our favorite snack foods as well.  Last week, I invited a fellow blogger to participate in my live NBA Chat.  She graciously declined, explaining she had some girl scout cookies to move.  When I asked her to send me some Samoas for the inconvenience, she informed me they had changed their name to Caramel Delites.

After researching it on the internet, the magical source for all things unverified, it appears the Girl Scouts did not change the name of their cookies to be politically correct but rather because of a change in bakeries.

Yeah, right.  And Roger Clemens never took steroids.

Buy Or Cell

I recently downgraded my phone, which I guess makes me the Pittsburgh Pirates of modern cell phone technology.

Like Mike Singletary, I am from the old school.  I don’t need all the bells, whistles and fancy gadgetry modern phones have to offer.  I’m perfectly okay living an app-free existence.  I want my phone to call and text.  That’s it.  My laptop can handle the rest.

I guess that logic was completely foreign to the woman behind the desk at my service provider, who shall remain nameless (AT&T).  When I told her I was looking to trade in my newer phone for a less complicated model, she looked at me like I was committing a sin.  Let’s just say she wasn’t the friendliest person in the world.

What ever happened to customer service?  If I want a carrier pigeon or two tin cans and a string, I want the person behind the counter to smile and say “No problem, sir.  Would you like an apple pie with that?”

Can you hear me now?

The Newest Football League

I think I may have found my new favorite TV show to fall asleep to and it only slightly has to do with sports.  Shocker.

Have you heard of this show called “Puppy Bowl” on the Animal Planet?  It might very possibly be the cutest thing ever invented.  Either that or I’m getting soft in my old age.

Basically, it’s about fifteen puppies scampering around on a fake, enclosed football field, nipping and biting and sniffing the occasional butt.

There’s no commentary.  No John Madden.  No Cris Collinsworth.  Just puppies.  It’s like walking into your local pet store and watching puppies frolicking around without a care in the world, except better because you don’t feel obligated to take one home when leaving the store.

Every once in a while during the show, some guy dressed in a referee outfit will walk onto the field and throw a “Puppy penalty” flag, probably to the chagrin of James Harrison.  They also have a “Bowl Cam” which is a camera at the bottom of a water bowl filming up as the dogs refresh themselves from a long days work.

In this day and age of political unrest in Egypt, skyrocketing unemployment, reality TV polluting the airwaves, an NFL lockout looming and many of us spending way too much time paying attention to the exploits of Charlie Sheen, it was refreshing to see something so pure and innocent on television

Tune in to check out the show.  You’ll be glad you did.  Heck, it might be the only football we get to watch this season.

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65 Replies to “Chumpservations, Vol. 20: Carmelo to the Knicks, NBA trades galore, cell phone downgrades, girl scout cookies… and puppies?”

  1. Pingback: Chumpservations, Vol. 20: Carmelo to the Knicks, NBA trades galore, cell phone downgrades, girl scout cookies… and puppies?, NBA | BallHyped Sports Blogs

  2. And I know Snake is only a few minutes away on his Perkins rebuttal, so Snake…

    I get the reasons behind the trade.

    But let’s just say, hypothetically, Ainge could look into his crystal ball and see that keeping Perkins through this season would bring them a championship (which I thought was a good possibility), but would hurt them over the next few.

    Do you think he would still make that move? Would it make financial sense for the franchise to make that move?

  3. Chris

    I simply love the fact that it took Mike Bibby all of 30 seconds to say….. hell no I’m gonna go when told the he was being bought out of his contract with the Wizards ! $6. 2 million will get get most guys to do almost anything .

    Deals are deals and when it comes to the NBA perhaps only MLB has got one up on them ! Because there they don’t have to match salaries within 10% of the figures they simply offer the player plus anything the a team might want off the others’ farm system .

    And by the way how come no one has bough Kwame Brown out of his contract ?

    I see Shanahan has begun to wield his knife like a surgeon within the Redskins’ roster. First McNabb and now Clinton Portis . Hell why not simply not just blow up the whole …… damn roster and start afresh ? But better yet he ought to start with the coaching staff b> …… namely his son Kyle as that moron couldn’t coach his way out of a wet paper bag .

    At what point will it be prudent for the mediator George Cohen to simply give up mediating ‘tween the NFL and the union ? His statement saying that the two sides had come closer together is laughable ! I think what he actually meant to say is that they’d moved closer together around the negotiating table not where they stood ideologically wise with regard to the cba .

    So Bud Selig may after all have been listening to some prudent advice when broached on the subject of loaning the Mets and Dodgers $225 million ? The Dodgers want $200 million (they’ll provide as collateral their tv contract with the local Fox affiliate ) in part to pay their creditors on part of the $800 million debt that they’ve amassed under own Frank McCourt. Whereas the Mets want $25 million merely to show good faith the plaintiffs in the case lodged against them by the Madoff scandal . Why is it that it seems only the game of baseball can appear so f_cked up but at the same time still have fans to an extent clamoring to see their favorite teams play ? The owners there make the members of Congress seem like freakin’ geniuses !

    tophatal ……………

  4. OK Chris. Fasten your jockstrap, its going to be a bumpy ride. First of all, the Celtics never get any respect from the media (or the refs). When Ainge got KG, Ray and Pierce together,not many thought it would work, yet the Cs started winning form the get go. When Miami did the same thing and didn’t win, it was said over and over that the Heat had to get familiar with one another. Give the Heat a pass and slug the Celtics. With Perkins, they were $12 million apart on a contract extension that the Celtics were going to use to keep Glen Davis and rightly so. They would have lost Perkins just like the Nuggets would have lost Carmelo Anthony unless they traded for something good. As was stated in the Boston Herald today, the Cs got the best player in the deal in Jeff Green. He will be the successor to Paul Pierce.
    And finally, to answer your question whether Ainge would still do it if he knew the Celtics would win the championship if it meant suffering later? Of course not. But Ainge, who is a lot smarter than you, me, plus ALL of our friends combined regarding basketball, knows that this is the right move. Of course time will tell, but if we didn’t talk about it and stick our 2 cents in, then you wouldn’t have an online blog worth spit. The bottom line is that obviously the Celtics are less concerned about Dwight Howard and the Magic that they are of the Knicks, Heat and Bulls.

  5. Wild trade deadline. I guess you already read what I thought about them…

    I’m kinda old school with my phone too. I mean I use the internet, but my phone is four years old at the moment. One of the first 3G phones that came out. I just don’t feel the need to get an Iphone or Droid…

    You’ve never seen the puppy bowl!?! What do you do while you are waiting for the super bowl to come on!?!

  6. Oh, by the way, I totally agree with you regarding cell phones. First and foremost, it is a phone. I like the texting feature and the camera does come in handy, but I laugh when I think of the pinheads who use the phone for everything from games and music to videos and updating their Facebook status. Just when they need to use the cell phone for what it was designed for, namely making a phone call, guess what? They have a dead battery. I love it.

  7. Chris

    What impressions should I take away from seeing only momentary snippets from the NFL Combine ? Nothing says dog-n-pony show than these kids being fawned over like a pimp looking for fresh meat to ply their wares on his behalf ! I wonder who Kiper will have atop of his draft board ?

    Cam didn’t exactly set the world alight but I guess that’s because his dad wasn’t there to pimp him out anymore than he’d already done ?

    Can’t wait next month for the NFL Draft as it ought to be really interesting !

    tophatal ………

  8. This just in: Troy Murphy will be going to the Celtics. Danny Ainge is always a man with a plan.

  9. I’m on board with an app-free existence. Less is definitely more.

    I certainly understand Ainge’s thinking, but Perk’s presence will be greatly missed.

    BTW, in a few months Green is very likely to get the same deal/money that Perk just got.

    Things got a whole lot more interesting in the East last Thursday afternoon.

  10. Doc Rivers wants to get your boy Corey Brewer. IMHO, that would make the Cs very deadly come playoff time.

  11. So, to go with the Monty Hall reference, who in your opinion made the trade for the goat behind Door #2?

    And be sure to let me know how that rotary-dial cell phone works for you…

  12. I almost feel sorry for Wizards fans, Al, but again, they’re one of those franchises these days that you just have to ask yourself, why would anyone want to play there?

    Of course Bibby jumped ship. Let’s see. Play on a team that at one point a few years ago was slightly relevant or have the opportunity to dish the ball to two of the best scorers in the game?

    And I know you didn’t just ask me why a team hasn’t picked up Kwame Brown?

    Re: Shanahan, how long do you figure Snyder gives him to tinker with things before he gets the boot?

  13. Snake…

    Please tell me whether I should even continue to read your comment after your opening line is “The Celtics never get any respect from the media or the refs.”

    But because you’re a close personal friend, I’ll continue on.

    Okay, second sentence. “Not many thought that would work.” Dare I say, you’re the reason Celtics fans aren’t among the most liked fans in the NBA?

    Let’s just, for a second, compare the Amare-Melo-Billups pickup to landing KG and Allen. Personally, I think it’s only a matter of time that the Knicks bring one home. I remember writing a point/counterpoint a few years back, pre-SportsChump days, with a fellow blogger. We chose different sides of the ‘Will This Experiment Work’ debate. Since she was a Celtics fan, I let her take the pro side while I took the con.

    I argued things like, they’d need a point guard (Rondo wasn’t proven yet), and Doc wasn’t an experienced enough coach, and they were too old and bla bla bla… but deep down inside, I knew that team would win a championship.

    I believe I even told you they would.

    Should I continue? Don’t make me come over there with a bottle of Crown. Sobriety must be clouding your senses.

    Again, I get the financial, long-term logic of the Perkins move but of all the comments I’ve read from the Globe, and even your boy Bill Simmons, they all seem like justifications. Like, we would have kept Perk if we could have.

    I guess all I’m saying is, did the move hurt your chances at a title this year, and if it did, then how can it be considered the right play?

  14. Chap…

    That’s one of the reasons I love the NBA more than the other professional leagues. We tend to see a lot more trades. I still can’t decide whether it’s good for the league that all-star players jump from bed to bed and that the rich get richer while the poor get poorer, but it is fun to see the best have the opportunity to play for a championship.

    Bill Simmons just wrote” why is it such a bad thing to have six or seven loaded teams and six or seven terrible ones? Oh crap, I hate seeing the Finals with all these elite players!”

    I think he just convinced me this wasn’t such a bad thing.

    I don’t know how many G’s my phone has, if any, but in the words of Montell Jordan, now that I’m a big G, the girls see I got the money, dolla dolla bills, y’all.

    And I’m usually getting soused before Super Bowl. You’ve been watching puppies?

  15. Al…

    You’re right, that’s exactly what the combine is, except this time around, the kids have to worried that this might all be for naught.

  16. Very well said on cellphones, Snake.

    I don’t necessarily feel the need to update my 500 friends, only 200 of whom I’ve actually met, that I just went from point A to point B.

    Whatever happened to not wanting others to know where you’re at AT ALL?

  17. Drew…

    I can definitely not wait for the Eastern Conference playoffs. I can make a case for five teams now making it to the Finals, and that includes the Knicks.

    I also can’t wait to see how Vegas handicaps these series.

    I’m getting my popcorn, and my wallet, ready.

  18. I’ll hand it to Ainge, Al. He did build this current Celtics team and they did win a title.

    He did play hardball, recognizing this Perkins deal might have needed to be done.

    We’ll see if it blows up in his face. Keep in mind, Perk is now on injured reserve. How much did he know about his bum knee?

    I’ll also be interested in seeing how he handles KG, Pierce and Allen in the next few years.

    Compared to Joe Dumars, the kid’s a genius.

  19. Snake…

    Back in the day, when I kept boring you with endless conversations about those Gator national championship teams, I remember you liking Brewer quite a bit. I was always afraid he was a little too frail, too skinny to play in the league. Noah and Horford already had NBA bodies but Brewer tipped the scales at about 165 while holding a phone book.

    That being said, I’m surprised the Knicks couldn’t find a place for him. I’d love to see him find some steady minutes on a playoff contender.

  20. Dub…

    I was actually surprised to see the Hornets let Wallace go. Not that I pay much attention to Charlotte basketball (who does?), but I thought they loved him up there.

    Do you think Jordan’s ego will ever allow him to build a championship team? Don’t you get the impression he’s perfectly okay still being the star attraction in the building?

    It’s like, as soon as one of his players scores thirty and fans start talking about him, Jordan has to ship him out of town for fear of someone talking about something other than him.

    Oh, and by the way, here’s a picture of my new cellphone…

    http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/cell-phone-old.jpg&imgrefurl=http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/cell-phone4.htm&usg=__kS6NtraMyU6eCXO4I77Ch6uvH74=&h=400&w=190&sz=9&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=TwVtoAIAqLyJGM:&tbnh=158&tbnw=97&ei=L-ZtTfaoIYWltwfHrOTnBQ&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dold%2Bschool%2Bcell%2Bphone%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26biw%3D1280%26bih%3D610%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=419&oei=L-ZtTfaoIYWltwfHrOTnBQ&page=1&ndsp=13&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0&tx=56&ty=102

  21. Not much of a basketball fan these days, but I used to like the Knicks in my youth. Frazier, Bradley, Reed, Monroe, and DeBusscher were my favorite players. So I’m glad that they’re relevant again.
    I bought some Girl Scout cookies recently. They were much better this year than the last time I bought some.
    Besides the ocassional picture of the grandkids, the only thing that I do with my phone is make and receive calls.

  22. Chris

    Well at least Bibby now gets to sun himself on South Beach with Bron-Bron and the boys .

    As to the rookies coming into the league will they as such be able to sign contracts even though they’ve been drafted ? That’s the question one ought to be asking !

    Furthermore players injured during the season that are now recuperating can’t even come in and use the team facilities or consult with the team’s medical staff if there’s a lockout . Nice !

    tophatal …………

  23. Chris

    I hear that both Goodell and Stern want to consult with Wisconsin’s governor Scott Walker to see how he’s handling the problems there within his state ?


    Light a candle for the NFL at midnight March 3rd as that’s when the lights may well definitely go out for a while !

    tophatal …………..

  24. Chris

    Can I trade my Galaxy Tab in for an up to date PDA that’ll even help predict stock tips and how best to do my taxes , save me from damnation and anything else at this juncture ?

    Goodell has been having sleepless nights it’s been rumored as he wakes from his alleged nightmare having broken out in a cold sweat because he’d feared he committed three heinous crimes and lying next to him in his bed he finds the head of Brett Favre , DeMaurice Smith and his mother in law along with a bloodied axe . His response was “………… ah well two out of three ain’t so bad afterall ……….. the mother-in-law was a freebie ” ! Guess which one of the three was said to be the mistake ?

    Actually the answer is ….. none of them as he used the mother in law as practice in his trial run .

    tophatal ………………….

  25. I don’t think all the trades are necessarily bad, but at the same time I kinda miss the days when you could call a player your own. Not that you truly owned that player, but more that they stayed with the city for longer. I guess we will see what the new CBA is, and if there’s a “franchise tag” involved. I know the players are going to have to concede some stuff, because the way it is now ain’t working for some of the owners with empty buildings.

    Dude, you can watch the puppy bowl over the super bowl red carpet and still get tanked cmon man!!

  26. All I know is that my Fantasy Bball team went from 1st to 3rd after all the trades. My pink/teal jersey is smoking the competition! Kinda glad the Magic didn’t make any more moves. I am still getting used to the revised roster!

    Wouldn’t it be nice to go back to cell phones that were just phones? Just think of the dinner conversations that would take place…the traffic accidents that would be avoided…and entire words being typed!

  27. Chris

    I’ll give credit where’s it’s due with Ainge but him sending Perkins to the Thunder and now getting Troy Murphy is befuddling to say the very least ! What because ‘toine (Antoine Walker) is playing in the D-League he’s simply not good enough to strap it up for the Celtics ? LOL,LOL,LOL !!!

    tophatal ………..

  28. Aer….

    The Knicks are definitely relevant again. They might not have the makeup of the early 1970s championship teams but they’re on the way to building a championship, which is more than can be said than the Knickerbockers of the past decade.

    So, you’re a local… Do they still call them Samoas here? I just want to know what to ask for outside my local Publix to get my fix.

  29. Al…

    I hear Bibby gave up a guaranteed six mil to sign with Miami. I’d consider that a solid business decision. Would you trade six mil for a chance at a ring? Why not, right?

    Rookies coming into the league, huh? What league?

  30. Al…

    How can I concern myself with Wisconsin’s governor when we have a governor right here in the Sunshine State doing his best to ensure we remain mired in depression?

  31. Al…

    Didn’t you read the post? I’m old school cellphone user. I have no earthly idea what a galaxy tab is.

    You bring up an interesting point here. Regardless of the circumstances weighing down both sports, which commissioner, Stern or Goodell, do you think is less likely to allow his league to strike?

  32. Chap…

    You and I both know that in this day of free agency and arbitration, the era of starting and finishing your career with the same team, with the exception of Derek Jeter (and that almost didn’t happen) are about over.

    And I ask you. What’s more wrong? Doing Jaeger bombs during the Puppy Bowl or BYU suspending a player for the rest of the season for having sex with his girlfriend?

  33. Elizabeth…

    R U suggesting we no longer use complete sentences when texting?

    I thought we were just going back to the days of Prince and Sly and the Family Stone.

  34. M…

    I think Mousaka is a little too old for the puppy bowl.

    But then again, aren’t we all.

    Talk at ya’ tomorrow. I’ll have my people call your people.

  35. Chris

    I hear that Sheen will consult noted fiction and thriller writer John Grisham to represent him in case as Grisham was at one time a practicing lawyer ? That was before he went on to make gazllions of dollars through the sale of his books and their adaptation into blockbuster movies .

    I thought our own John Morgan (of Morgan & Morgan fame local tv ads) would be able to do a fine job representing Sheen ? LOL,LOL,LOL !!!

    I ain’t got nothin’ against Bibbs’ chasing “a ring and a title” . Given his career and where he’s played to me he’s deserving of one .

    As for ‘toine into each life a drop of rain must fall ……………… but during toine’s life it’s simply been a deluge of abuse (spousal) , bankruptcy , domestic & drug abuse and pis_ing away an NBA career an alleged $120 million in career earnings . When and where did it all go so wrong ?

    Midnight tonight raise your glass to both the NFL and NFLPA as they’ll have surely pis_ed away any semblance of goodwill and sympathy from the fans .

    Well the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement runs out I believe at the end of next season but Stern wants to renegotiate it now . Whereas the NBPA ( union) has already decertified themselves and are looking to take their fight all the way to the Appeals Court and higher if needs be . So that should tell you all you need to know at this juncture.

    chappy seems to think that Sheen’s career can still rebound . I mentioned to him that no studio in their right mind would touch him as of now as he’s become a leper within the industry. No major insurance company would go near a project that involves him much less underwrite it ………………… not with all the risks involved .

    Mind you if he (Sheen) delves into the world of po_n then it might be completely different matter altogether !

    Nicklaus believes that Tiger can still rebound from his slump and quite possibly surpass his majors’ tally. Well considering Tigers’ game is so far off the radar that it’d take an act of God to resurrect it do you think he’ll convert from Buddhism to Christianity ?

    tophatal ……………

  36. Chris

    Two athletes who have my utmost respect because of their loyalty and careers with the same team ………………. Tim Duncan and Jeter ! How else can you but describe their careers other than historic and meaningful ?

    tophatal …………

  37. Chris

    So you don’t believe that our esteemed governor Rick Scott is doin’ a fine job at present ? I mean his approval ratings at present can’t have been any lower than they were for Jeb ‘ or Crist while those two buffoons were in office , in all reality can they ?

    In reality however it all came down to which of two evils would be the worse ? Sink or Scott ? If he’s an entrepreneur then my a_s ought to be locked up in jail !

    His economic budgetary plans simply make no sense whatsoever ! This being the same guy whose company (HCA) has defrauded the taxpayer out of hundreds of millions of dollars but yet somehow the lame a_s electorate within the state voted him into office . I don’t care if in the end they were fined $1.75 billion you can’t tell me that while CEO he wasn’t aware what was going on !

    He’s now been entrusted to f_ck up this state even further . Somehow someone who pleads “the fifth” having been supboenad to appear before the Justice System simply smacks of incompetence and person who can’t be trusted .

    Ah well , you simply get what you pay for ……..or in this case what you voted for !

    I see that Bonds’ former personal trainer Greg Anderson is still refusing to testify ? What with the case set to resume how many more millions ( est. $25 mil and counting over the duration which is approaching almost 7years —-costs include attorneys within Justice Dept and investigators )will be spent on the case given the fact that the Feds still haven’t been able to find him guilty

    And we still have the pleasure of Clemens’ trial to come as well . Why do I get the feeling that the Attorney General and his paeans have screwed things up ? This should be down to baseball to deal with both ….. Bonds and Clemens but I guess with Selig having no balls someone had to step into the fray.

    * Case resumes within the next five to ten days .

    tophatal ……………

  38. Will have a piece up on the Spurs as well as about the NFL and NFLPA while they’re playing footsie under the table and simply achieving nothing in their ongoing negotiations. The mediator George Cohen must be falling asleep through sheer boredom as Goodell and Smith go at it !

    tophatal ………….

  39. Courtesy of USA Today.

    Justices side with funeral picketers

    WASHINGTON — A Supreme Court decision protecting anti-gay picketing by the Westboro Baptist Church as free speech has veterans groups and other opponents vowing to step up efforts to block church followers from demonstrating at high-profile funerals and interfering with grieving military families.

    The small, fundamentalist congregation said it will only increase its protests.

    In one of the most watched cases of the term, the Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that the First Amendment shielded Westboro from a lawsuit for picketing the funeral of a Marine killed in Iraq. Justice Samuel Alito dissented.

    *
    DECISION: Westboro free speech ruling has its limits
    *
    BACKGROUND: Protests ignite test of free speech

    The decision was a significant victory for the Topeka-based, Phelps-family-dominated church. It has demonstrated nationwide to gain attention for its belief that the United States, particularly the military, is too tolerant of homosexuality.

    ==================================
    Click on link to read in its entirety.
    ==================================

    As you know I’m a military vet having served with the forces in the UK . But what the US Supreme Court Justices did yesterday in their motion to strike down a lower court ruling was asinine and a complete slap in the face of the US vets who’ve served this country . Especially the ones who are now vets of the current missions in both Afghanistan and Iraq …………. particularly those who’ve given their lives as ” fallen heroes “ !

    What the protesters are doing here has nothing at all to do with ‘free speech’ but yet the absurdity of it all is that this ruling will only make matters worse and escalate this issue into an allout battle that shows the ignorance of one side and how the nation as a whole still has contempt and disdain for its military servicemen and women in uniform .

    tophatal …………

  40. Oh, I’m sure there’s plenty of lawyers round that’d handle Sheen’s case. I’m also sure they wouldn’t want him to take the stand.

    That Heat team definitely needs someone to create their own shot and find Wade and LBJ in place other than just have BronBron bring the ball up and fire away at the buzzer. Pretty unimaginative basketball.

    And I’m with you on Sheen, Al. No major network will touch him at this point… but I see Chap’s point. He is a draw… just like train wrecks are draws.

  41. Great mention of Jeter and Duncan, Al, and I guess Pujols future hangs in the mix.

    I guess we’ll probably be able to put Manning and Brady in that category eventually.

  42. Let’s just say, Al, that Florida’s voting public is starting to scare me.

    And I told you long ago, neither Bonds nor Clemens will do any time.

    They’ll just ‘roid off into the sunset.

    Thank you, I’ll be here all week.

  43. For the money that’s about to be spent on both of the cases (Bonds and Clemens ) the Feds could better prepare themselves for the upcoming slate of terrorists trials that’s on their agenda !

    NASA can send a man to the moon but a couple of government lawyers can’t present a case to get a guilty verdict against Bonds .

    The Heat , Knicks, Magic , Bulls and Celitcs have now made the Eastern Conference all the more intriguing ! It’ll be interesting to see which of those teams will prevail in the end within the conference .

  44. The government lawyers aren’t as good as Bonds’ lawyers, Al. C’mon, you know that’s what dictates our entire legal system.

    Don’t sleep on the Hawks, Al. They won’t be an easy out for any one of those teams.

  45. Chris

    If Jenna Jameson resumes her career and perhaps gets Sheen to play a minor role in her comeback portrayal would that be considered a success as far his resume’ is now concerned ?

    So there are now some wild rumors that BYU Cougar has been dismissed from one of the athletic teams for having premarital sex ? What the hell is the world coming to when a college athlete can’t drop trou and get his swerve on ? The sex was consensual if the stories are to be believed but it’s the fact that of the institution’s morals and teachings probably why he’s been dismissed .

    Well as my college career started late in life somewhat after I’d left the military I don’t seem to remember having that sort of a problem . LOL,LOL,LOL !!! But then again the UCL and <a LSE weren’t parochial establishments of education . Sex on or off campus wasn’t a no no if memory serves me correctly but you know how it is …. you get it where you can find it !

    Don’t Forget The Alamo …………… Let’s Hope For The San Antonio Spurs The End Isn’t The Same

    —-

    Two Wrongs Don’t Make A Right So How Come Both The NFL And NFLPA Come Off Looking Like The Biggest Idiots On The Face of The Planet ?

    tophatal ………………

  46. Poor kid at BYU. I can’t imagine not having sex with my girlfriend. I don’t know how Jimmer plays with blue balls all the time.

    As for the puppy bowl, we made it a drinking game everytime they showed the bowl cam or someone scored whatever that meant since there weren’t really teams…

  47. Chris

    Florida’s electoral voters are some of the brightest and have the keen insight of any voters outside of those in such places as Kabul , Port Au Prince and Tehran !

    Rick Scott will either sink or swim with the idiocy he may or may not show dependent upon your perspective on his views and ideas ?

    In a remake of “The Lost Weekend ” ….. Sheen will reprise the role made famous by Ray Milland in which he played a profound alcoholic who has memory lapses because of his drinking . In Sheen’s case it won’t be that much of a stretch although he’ll have to learn the script but he’s asked that it be done as a silent movie because it’d be more realistic and the fact that for all sense and purpose he’d flub his lines to begin with because he’s on the set blind drunk to begin with.

    So it’s getting closer to the NCAA Tourney …….. any thoughts on who’ll be amongst your ‘Final Four’ ? It’s getting so crazy in men’s college basketball that I’m not so sure that I can even pick a winner much less which four teams will actually make it that far !

    Pujols’ career with the St Louis Cards mightn’t be that long if the Cards’ front office can’t get with the program . Name a figure any figure northwards of $160 million over the next 8 years and that ought to be enough don’t you think ?

    I mean the Nats are paying Jayson Werth …. $119 million for a mere 7 years and Beltran of the Mets is in the last two years of his bloated 7 year $119 million contract.

    On the other hand Teixeira has cut ties with his uber-agent Scott Boras . What the hell went wrong there </b< ? Teixeira says it was ….”time to move on” . But to hear it from the agent’s associates Boras is mightily pi_sed at his former client .

    Could it be that rapper Master P made him an offer he couldn’t refuse ? If you remember when Ricky Williams was obtained by the Saints while Ditka was coaching the team it was the rapper who negotiated Ricky’s contract that was essentially filled with little upfront money but laden with some really “stupid incentives” . Guess how what worked out for Ricky ? Two years in the Crescent City and not a god-damn thing to show for it other than that picture of him in a bridal gown next to Ditka . Ahhhhh ……. the memories of times gone by when the NFL was laughable to say the least !

    tophatal ………….

  48. Chris

    You know me so well I have in indeed fallen asleep watching the Hawks ! They’re simply not as good as advertised ! They’re hideous when under pressure and Joe Johnson is stealing money from the organization. Less we forget last season in the playoffs ? How’d that work for ’em ?

    So the BYU Cougars Brandon Davies gets kicked off the basketball team for having premarital sex with his girlfriend ? I know it’s a parochial school but I’m such that there are far more seedier things happening on that campus (Mormons or not ) !

    The NFL and NFLPA finally have come to agreement on something and that’s to extend the CBA by a further 24 hours before they recontinue their bickering over money ! So what’s news ?

    tophatal …………

  49. Chris

    So the NFL and NFLPA can agree to disagree on an option and that is to extend the cba while at the same time not coming anywhere close to a satisfactory resolution ! What a bunch of a_sholes these two groups are !

    tophatal …………

  50. Al…

    At this point, I doubt anybody wants to see Charlie Sheen’s pale, frail body on film, even if Jenna Jameson is on the same set.

    Those weren’t rumors about Brandon Davies, Al. He did have sex with his girlfriend. And as much as it may seem ridiculous to us to suspend him for that, it’s against the Mormon faith. I don’t expect them to overturn their decision.

  51. Chap…

    Jimmer doesn’t play with blue balls. He plays with one big orange one. Oh wait, I get it.

    On a side note, is masturbation also against that honor code?

    If so, I would imagine there’s a lot of pent up young men on that campus.

  52. Scott is off to an auspicious start, Al. Let’s hope Tampa’s new mayor will have enough balls to stand up to this guy before our community further goes downhill.

    Re: the tourney, I actually liked BYU’s chances to make the Final Four BEFORE the Davies suspension, but with their big man out, it’ll be tough.

    I picked Ohio State to win it all last year. They didn’t. I’m gonna go with them to do it again this year. Imagine if Evan Turner were still on this squad.

    That Beltran deal is just another bad deal Mets ownership has made over the years. I actually thought he’d be decent but injuries seem to have ended what could have been a promising career. Guess they don’t make them like they used to.

    I hadn’t heard about the Boras-Teixeira break-up, Al. And at least Ricky Williams is now having the last laugh, although his breath probably still smells like weed.

  53. I don’t expect much out of the Hawks, Al. All I’m saying is I wouldn’t write them off.

    If they get a favorable match-up in the first round, they’re capable of doing some damage.

  54. From 24 hours to seven days now, Al.

    I’m going to reserve judgment on this whole NFL thing until we get closer to reaching some sort of agreement.

  55. Chris

    Chris if the faculty are unduly worried by two consenting adults having sex on campus don’t you think that some of these kids go off campus to do the deed ?

    Look at the crap that Dave Bliss got away with prior to and after the Carlton Dotson incident at Baylor ?

    People are aggrieved by that but they literally don’t have the balls to stand up to people ( Westboro Baptist Church protesters) who call into question the lives of fallen soldiers . Pardon me for saying this ….. but this country is completely fu_ked up when it comes common decency !

    tophatal ……………….

  56. Chris

    Knowing Sheen and the money he’s made off the program it wouldn’t be above him to start his own company and purvey some po_n for the consumer market . He’d probably make far more there than he did with CBS !

    Bonds’ lawyers are like OJ’s from his murder trial as they’ve literally ran rings around the attorneys from the Justice Dept .

    And I’m inclined to think that the same thing may well happen in the Clemens’ case !

    tophatal

  57. It’s not a matter of WHERE they do the deed, Al, but that they do it at all. Running off campus ain’t gonna make premarital sex any more legal in their eyes.

    And I think you and are on the same page when it comes to the treatment of fallen soldiers.

    We’re Americans. We discriminate against things we fear or don’t understand, things that are different from us.

    That’s what we do.

    That’s what we’ve always done.

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