Category: Sports

NBA Removes Center Position From All-Star Ballot

The NBA has announced that the center position will not be on the 2012-2013 all-star ballot. In years past, fans chose two guards, two forwards, and a center. This season, they will be able to choose three “frontcourt” players and two guards. In today’s press press release NBA executive vice president of basketball operations Stu Jackson said:

The NBA’s competition committee and the league office agreed that having the center position as the only specific position singled out on the ballot was outdated and not representative of today’s game or players. Our players have become more versatile each season, and this ballot will more accurately reflect that versatility.

Translation: The league’s centers pale in comparison to Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing and Shaquille O’Neal, and it would embarrass the NBA to have someone like Thiago Splitter in the All-Star Game.

I’m kind of split on this one. It’s true that there’s arguably one great center in the game right now and that selecting general frontcourt players would make for a better All-Star Game. But what happens when the league is full of great centers again? Will the NBA put the position back on the ballot? That would make this reactionary move look foolish.

How do you feel about the NBA eliminating the center position on the all-star ballot in favor of general frontcourt players? Smart move? Or a reactionary move that will be changed in the future?

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Coffee Talk #527: Your Various Internet Communities

As I mentioned to RPadholic smartguy the other day, I’ve been thinking a lot about the various Internet communities I belong to and how they compare to Internet videogame communities. Obviously I can’t be objective about videogame communities, but for the most part I find them pretty excellent. There are a lot of nice people that love talking about games and I’ve read loads of informative posts by them (you guys and gals are the best of the bunch!). Of course there are trolls and nuisances and racial slurs thrown about, but in my experience that’s mostly the work of young and stupid gamers. I’m not excusing it, but I understand and will naively assume that they’ll grow out of it.

Using videogame communities as a measuring stick, here’s how the other communities I play in compare…

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, getting hyped for the start of the NBA season, Lance Armstrong getting stripped of his Tour de France titles, or Apple continuing to cut off Samsung as a parts supplier, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

As I mentioned to RPadholic smartguy the other day, I’ve been thinking a lot about the various Internet communities I belong to and how they compare to Internet videogame communities. Obviously I can’t be objective about videogame communities, but for the most part I find them pretty excellent. There are a lot of nice people that love talking about games and I’ve read loads of informative posts by them (you guys and gals are the best of the bunch!). Of course there are trolls and nuisances and racial slurs thrown about, but in my experience that’s mostly the work of young and stupid gamers. I’m not excusing it, but I understand and will naively assume that they’ll grow out of it.

Using videogame communities as a measuring stick, here’s how the other communities I play in compare. Naturally, I’d love to hear about the different communities you participate in and how they’re different from gaming nerds.

Tech: In general, the tech communities I play in are civil and informative. Commenters are mostly mature and I’ve learned a lot from them. AVS Forums is a particularly wonderful place that’s mostly free of stupidity. Tech conversations get exasperating when it comes to mobile phones. The Android vs. iOS discussions often devolve into Fandroids vs. iSheep arguments. It’s almost as bad as PS3 vs. Xbox 360 flame wars. Aside from that, the blogs and forums I read are mostly fun, interesting, and civil places.

Boxing: As much as I love boxing, I’ve come to the conclusion that many boxing fans are morons. Promoters, sanctioning bodies, and cable networks make it difficult to be a boxing fan. People that post in boxing forums, like Doghouse Boxing, almost make me want to stop watching the sport. The thing is, boxing isn’t that popular and there aren’t many places to discuss the sport in detail. Doghouse Boxing has some great posters, but it also has an alarming number of idiots that spout all kinds of slurs, can’t string together intelligent sentences, and don’t know how to carry a civil conversation. Too many of the threads there devolve into flame wars between Floyd Mayweather, Jr. fans (FloMos) and Manny Pacquiao supporters (Pactards). These discussions are worse than any PS3 vs. Xbox 360 flame war I’ve seen.

Vaping: I’m really enamored with the vaping community at the moment. The crowd at E-Cigaratte Forum is really knowledgeable and supportive. With vaping tech moving at a rapid pace, it’s great to have lots of people that are familiar the various parts and mods. Since everyone that posts is a former cigarette addict, the environment is really encouraging, especially to newcomers. It’s all about helping people find the right gear and juices that will help them quit tobacco smoking forever. I’m going to write more about this in a future Vaping Diary.

Now it’s your turn! When you have a chance, please tell me about the different Internet communities you participate in and how they compare to videogame communities.

McKayla Maroney is Not Impressed With “Rowdy” Roddy Piper

Sadly, the McKayla is Not Impressed Tumblr page hasn’t been updated in a long time. Thankfully, one of the latest images is an awesome one. It’s McKayla being unimpressed with WWE legend “Rowdy” Roddy Piper! I’m not sure how you can be unimpressed with such an awesome man, but leave it to McKayla to find a way. Although he kicked all kinds of ass in They Live, he was out of bubblegum (video below). Perhaps that’s why McKayla wasn’t impressed. Continue reading “McKayla Maroney is Not Impressed With “Rowdy” Roddy Piper”

Donald Trump Rips A-Rod a New One

While I respect what Donald Trump has accomplished in business, I don’t think much of him as an entertainer or a politician. That’s why I was surprised to find myself so thoroughly entertained and delighted by his latest tirade — going off on New York Yankees third-baseman Alex Rodriguez. It was…glorious. The Donald told ESPN NY Radio:

I would terminate his contract, personally. I think George would’ve done that. I would terminate his contract on the basis that when he signed, he didn’t say that he took drugs.

Since he signed his contract, they found out that he took drugs. He actually admitted that he took drugs. Now he’s not taking drugs anymore, and without the drugs, he’s a less than average player.

I don’t think he’s an asset, I think he’s a liability to the Yankees They’re paying him $30 million a year, and he strikes out every time he comes up in a playoff game.

I don’t care about the Players’ Association. If somebody misrepresents and they’re paying him $30 million a year…I don’t think he has a clue when he’s standing up at the plate. I’ve never seen anything like it.

That was such an outstanding rant. I’m going read it over and over again throughout the day. It will help dull the pain of the Yankees’ post-season lameness, Derek Jeter’s injury, and the fact that A-Rod’s contract doesn’t expire until 2017.

20-frickin’-17.

Oy.

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Today’s Poll: Rachel Maddow, Matthew Perry, and Mark Teixeira

Apparently MSNBC host Rachel Maddow looks like a bunch of famous people. On a recent episode of Matthew Perry’s Go On, there was a bit where Perry’s character attended a lesbian wedding and was constantly mistaken for Maddow. My friend Justin has been telling me for years that New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira looks like Maddow. Personally, I don’t see it at all. In my head, Maddow is cool and cute in a way that has nothing to do with Matthew Perry or Mark Teixeira.

What do you think? Please vote in today’s Rachel Maddow poll and explain your choice in the comments section!

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RIP Alex Karras

Some of you knew Alex Karras as a football player for the Detroit Lions. Others knew him from his pro-wrestling days. Lots of people knew him as the dad in Webster. As for me, he’ll always be Mongo, the excellent character from the excellent Blazing Saddles. Karras had a remarkable career, entertaining millions of people as an athlete, an actor, and a comedian. He was awesome.

Continue reading “RIP Alex Karras”

MLB Fans Dig iOS 6 Passbook

When the Passbook feature of iOS 6 was revealed, I thought it had great potential. I was surprised that most of you — the RPadholics that have used iOS 6, anyway — didn’t see the point or didn’t like Passbook. Do you know who likes it? Major League Baseball fans. In a pilot program used with four baseball teams, 12 percent of e-ticket buyers used Passbook to manage their tickets. For a new service that’s available on a limited amount of phones, that’s terribly impressive. Here’s more from Market Watch:

Passbook — which allows tickets and loyalty cards from a variety of outlets to be delivered to one iPhone app — proved to be an instant hit with fans, Bob Bowman, CEO of MLB Advance Media, tells MarketWatch. In its test run with four teams for the final two weeks of the season, 1,500 e-ticket buyers (12%) chose Passbook delivery. “That adoption rate really floored us — there is no question our fans want digital tickets,” Bowman says. “Fans can use the tickets, forward them to a friend, resell them, or even donate them to charity — and they never get lost or left at home.”

The MLB example shows the flexibility of Passbook and is a fantastic example of why I thought it had potential. That convenience is fantastic and the different things you can do with tickets  is awesome. More and more companies are flocking to Passbook, which is no surprise considering the tens of millions of people that have or will buy iOS 6 devices. Hopefully these companies use Passbook in interesting ways, just like MLB.

What do you think of how MLB is using Passbook? Are you surprise by the relatively high adoption rate? Does this application change your mind about the service?

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