GatorBait19

that could be true, I never met him before this year so who knows.

I got to sit in on the interview he had with my boss when he came back to Tampa at the start of this year. He was polite and just came off well, he even invited us to join him for lunch.

http://tampabay.rays.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100719&content_id=12400928&vkey=news_tb&fext=.jsp&c_id=tb good for Rocco. I remember watching him develop people were comparing him to Joe Dimaggio. He was a solid fielder and hitter with above avg speed. Injuries really derailed his career. At 28 he could still become a good role player.

I agree 100%. It's not all about the defense, it has a lot to do with the expanison of the game. The defense of today is much different then the defense of yesteryear. Also though it must be mentioned that besides what Peter said the gameplay is much different as well. It's like football when old time QB and Defensive players laugh at today's QB when they cry about something. In the NBA fouls are called much easier, I remember reading an article about Wilt when he said that he would go the the charity strip 14 times a game, but every foul was a hard one. Now a days people get bumped the wrong way going to shoot and it's a free trip. The 3 point was awarded in I believe 79, that changed the game as well. All together, I believe there are many reasons why people don't win 11 championships anymore. Defense is a reason, but also the fact that any team can go from a contender to a loser and vice versa is the biggest reason.

I agree. 1) It's cheaper then NBA Live...... sorry Elite 2) The gameplay is better, I have never seen Shaq do a cross-over, but in Live he did 3) The graphics are better 4) MGreene78 is doing a my player dynasty in special dynasty forum and it made me try it out. It's quite fun.

I remember when Swagger did it the day after he won in on Raw and then he lost. They then went on to make it a swerve angle. To bad, I thought Jack would have bounced back nicely and at least started some sort of feud. Rey will probably go down as the most Main event titles won, but never hold it for a combined year lol

Speaking of that does anyone watch Blue Mountain State of Spike TV and if so did you watch the season 1 finale?

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5387157 man do I wanna try that beer, also I think this has gone on far enough with ESPN.

I agree, umm I am officially coming out of retirement as well, I don't even have to touch the court. I will just make the vet min. which is like 500k and sit as the 15th man on the roster

http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/news/story?id=5386264 wow just a crazy story. First the team publicist threw his team under the bus, then when asked if we was the one who sets up the travel plans for the players he said yes...... So now I am confused, when did the title of team publicist also come to include making travel plans for the team? Last thing a publicist is supposed to protect his team and players. This didn't do that at all.

lol imagne what teams like the Lakers, Spurs, Knicks, Celtics, Magic, Heat, and other teams with good records, attendance, and new stadiums would cost. Also it sucks for Warrior fans, but deep pockets isn't everything 1) They can only spend 90 million a year no matter what. That's the hard cap and they can't go over it. 2) Deep pockets doesn't mean the ability to put talent on the field. Look and Dan Synder of the Redskins, he has some real deep pockets. That team was dreadful the last couple years. Heck the Bucs almost beat them last year and I think the Lions did. Warriors' fans shouldn't be to upset since this guy has watch how the Celtics run things and how to build a championship 1) Trade for three aging stars 2) Find a coach 3) Draft a PG that fell in the draft and comes out to be one of the top PG in the game 4) Build around them. lol

That's what I wondered myself.

My boss and I were talking to talking today and joking around about old George stories. He said that George always did things on his term (baseball wise) and didn't care who didn't agree. He then said jokingly that "Only George would die on a day when 5 players started for the AL team from two cities that he contributed so much to. Only George could take away from the all-star game and of course only George could make people see with all the stuff he pulled in the lime-light, only he could be discreet enough to be known as one of the most caring men to ever grace New York and Tampa. George The Boss may have died today, but he did it on his terms." Now my boss wasn't saying George planned to have a heartattack. He was just saying George went out on a day where baseball wasn't focused on team rivalries, but more of putting on a showcase for the fans. George one of the biggest showmen ever went out when the whole nation was focused just on baseball.

I think the need was just to have another person who can score in case Lebron and Wade can't . It makes sense to me because of the injury history Wade has. Bosh could easily go from 3 to 2 option with a matter of a injury to one of the other two.

people are talking about the lineup looking like this PG: James SG: Wade SF: Miller PF: Haslem C: Bosh I would feel bad for any PG who had to cover Lebron lol or get covered by Lebron.

yeah I saw that, it will be interesting to see how they do with a big man like Chandler. He isn't world class talent, but in a NBA where Big men aren't what they use to be. Chandler would be considered a top 10 center now a days which is something Dirk has never had.

Yeah, he has been a 22/10 guy for the last 4 years I believe. He is what kept the Raptors relevant in the Eastern Conf. races.

seriously, after hearing about this deal 1) Steve Nash has to be kicking himself. 2) Stern can't sit here and say anymore that we are losing 370mil a year because of salaries. No you are losing that money because you guys don't brand well, charge way to much for tickets, and you spend like retards. I know I was critical of the players before and I still stand firm that a hard cap would help, but as long as the owners don't stand their ground and say this is the contract and I don't care then it will continue to happen. It's dumb that a back up player like Josh Childress makes more money then both starters combined for the All-Star game (david price and Jimenez)

Peter we argued a couple of weeks ago about if the Salary Cap and it not being a hard cap is hurting the NBA owners. After hearing that Josh Childress got a 5 year 34.1 million dollar contract, I agree GM/Owners are dumb. I was reading a ESPN Blog talk about how so many teams are under the cap with not so much talent outside of the top 7 so people are going to get overpaid to fill positions. I can get that, but 7 mill a year to a career backup is crazy.

Ah you are right about this, but Lebron James is the same man who has failed to take a team that's been picked to win the finals the last three years, to the finals. Wade has done all of his work with out, what Lebron had with the Cavs, Talent. Wade biggest name he played next to was Shaq who was there as a filler and helped him. James has had year after year of talented players with him who have made all-star game apperances. Wade made the Heat the last couple of years overachieve. Look at the Heat with out Wade and when he is hurt. They sucked and got the 2nd overall pick. With him they are talented enough to make the playoffs. Cavs with out Lebron are still good enough to float around .500 and make the playoffs. Lebron will play second fiddle to Wade. Wade is the captian and Wade is the man in Miami. Not because he has lived there longer, because he actually lives in Chicago in the offseason. It's because like people mentioned, he brought a title to Miami, played there is whole career, and will stay there his whole career. Peter I agree with Lebron taking the sidekick role. I still believe that leaving a city and not winning a championship really hurts your legacy though. Think about guys like Wilt, Oscar, and Shaq, all great players but are never mentioned in the talks of Jordan, Bird, and Magic because they ditched their teams for the chance at a title. I don't think that's bad like I stated before, but it also makes people stray from you when talking about greatest all-time

As much as I hate the Yankees, I still live in Tampa where George has done a lot of stuff for the community. I had the privilege to meet him and he was just a stand up guy. Sad day in baseball.

David Stern chimes in about Lebron leaving the Cavs http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5374799 if you watch the video near the end Wade talks about how people are saying Jordan and Magic did it by themselves. I just don't remember anyone saying that about Magic or Jordan. I also don't think anyone is ganging up on Wade or Bosh either so in the sense he is sticking up for Lebron there. Most people are ganging up on Lebron saying Magic and Jordan stayed and won it not bolted because they couldn't beat better teams.

hm one man left his home states' team for a chance to win a bunch of titles. The other man decide that just like golf he need more championships in his personal life......... I would assume option 2

That could be a reason, but also that park is horrible for pitchers. Rich Harden has ace type stuff, injuries have really derailed his career, but he went there. Kevin Millwood is another one of those guys who had ace type stuff who had some of his worst ERA's when he was in texas. The Heat may play a factor, but pitcher don't do to much movement to kill their fatigue with the heat. I believe the biggest reason big time pitchers don't go there is because that ballpark is a hitters play house. I'm not saying Lee's number will go up big time, because he has put his ace type stuff together to become that big ace. We will have to wait and see how he ends though Here are his stats at the time of the trade. 13 games started, 8-3, 2.34 ERA, 89 SO, 6 BB, 5 HR's, .231 BAA, .95 WHIP, 5 CG, 1 Shutout, 91 hits, 31R, 27 ER, 103.2 innings. with 109.2 pitches avg per game. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?playerId=5353 now we can come back to this link at the end of the year and compare. If they are higher then I will short out his Home vs Away stuff to see how much of a difference it was.

This is true, but those five guys also have one thing that will set them apart from Lebron. They did it with one team. Lebron could now win 4 to 5 titles, but to me it would be hard to put him ahead of any of thoses guys because they stuck through the good and bad times of their teams. I don't fault Lebron for wanting rings, it is what seprates players from talented to one of a kind.