Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

Have a new Quotes for Today up on my Substack. As I've mentioned doing this as a way to thank those who have Subscribed. If you are a Subscriber - you should have received an email. Thanks.

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

Have a new Quotes for Today up on my Substack. As I've mentioned doing this as a way to thank those who have Subscribed. If you are a Subscriber - you should have received an email. Thanks!

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- I Secede, You Secede. We all Secede. 

- Five points of military reform? As Marc Andreessen would say "time to build!" 

- Was Shakespeare a pacifist?

- When emotions take the wheel. A lesson from Kobe Bryant. I need to learn to control my breathe and emotions better.

Quotes for Today

Quotes I hope may resonate with you.

Have a new Quotes for Today up on my Substack. As I've mentioned doing this as a way to thank those who have Subscribed. If you are a Subscriber - you should have received an email. Thanks!

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

Have a new Quotes for Today up on my Substack. As I've mentioned doing this as a way to thank those who have Subscribed. If you are a Subscriber - you should have received an email. Thanks!

Quotes for Today

 Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

Have a new Quotes for Today up on my Substack. As I've mentioned doing this as a way to thank those who have Subscribed. If you are a Subscriber - you should have received an email. Thanks!

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

Have a new Quotes for Today up on my Substack. As I've mentioned doing this as a way to thank those who have Subscribed. If you are a Subscriber - you should have received an email. Thanks!

John Havlicek

John Havlicek is perhaps the NBA's most underrated superstar. While I would not go so far as to compare him to Michael Jordan - I did compare him to Kobe Bryant. 

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- DARPA's hypersonic "Glide Breaker" could blast missile threats out of the sky

- Think I may actually buy this T-shirt

- SpaceX will launch the US Space Force's third new-generation GPS-3 series navigation satellite. Cool but one question from the article - why do bank ATM's need GPS?

- And just like that another 5 minutes of stand-up material for Jim Gaffigan is born.

- The best explanation of Dora the Explorer you'll ever read

- Tom Brady on what the loss of Kobe meant to him and what's really important. Well worth the read.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Jackie MacMullan on the passing of Kobe Bryant. So many tributes to Kobe today there's not time enough to read them all.

- Interesting - what you should know before signing up for a Tesla Solarglass roof

- Laughed hard at this. Taxes!

- The conspiracy theory issues surrounding the coronavirus flu continue to mount. I'm half expecting to learn that "coronavirus" translates into Chinese as "Captain Trips"

- Tom Peters' habits a person should practice daily

John Havlicek

Celtics legend John Havlicek has passed away at age 79 after a battle with Parkinson's.

I say Celtics legend but I easily could have said NBA legend as he was one of the top 20 players in league history (I would put him about equal to Kobe Bryant). I also could have said Ohio State legend as Hondo was perhaps the greatest athlete that school ever produced (he was drafted both by the Celtics and by the Cleveland Browns as a DB).

Havlicek won 8 NBA Championships (he was 8-0 in the Finals) and an NBA Finals MVP. He made 13 straight All-Star games, was All-NBA First Team four times and second team seven times. Havlicek could easily have played in today's NBA - how many players from the 60's and 70's could you say that about?

He was one of those rare athletes who played his entire career for one team and of whom you never heard a single negative thing said about. Think about it - have you ever heard a single bad thing about John Havlicek? He hustled and worked harder than any player (maybe ever) and was always a gentleman.

The Boston Celtics and the Havlicek family issued a statement on his passing.

Personally this is how I prefer to remember John Havlicek - chilling shirtless in Mexico with Dr. J (the two most popular and respected players from the 1970's).

John Havlicek "He was a man, take him for all in all, I shall not look upon his like again."

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Disaster Pants would be a good name for a band (or an MCT product)... Cool Kobe story... Who knew? The Spanish National Anthem has no words... Should you be taking folic acid to help prevent strokes?... The physical limitation of a straw is actually 33 feet because our atmosphere can't pull water any higher than that. I don't care if you have the world's best VO2 Max or if you use an elephant. According to physics 33 feet is the limit... I've actually read very few of the books on this list from Tim Ferris. I've got some reading to do!...  Travel coffee mugs are basically sippy cups for adults...

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- About time Kelo was addressed by Congress. I don't think they went far enough to protect property rights.

- Where do we find such men?

- Heh heh - always makes me chuckle

- Why Gandalf didn't just use the eagles from the start.

- Heh Heh

- Long read but fascinating - how an ex-cop rigged McDonald's Monopoly game and stole millions

- Interesting story from the Israeli PM.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- The NHL and the Dallas Stars get it. The NFL prevented the Cowboys from wearing similar stickers honoring the fallen police officers.

EDIT: The NFL might not get it but Bill Belichick certainly does.

- 69-years ago today. Here's the recreation of Yeager breaking the sound barrier from The Right Stuff

- Holy crap. I'm a bad person for laughing at this but I keep picturing Tony Romo's reaction innocently opening an attachment from a couple of "fans".

- Kobe Bryant was one competitive MFer

- A day late but Happy 241st birthday to the US Navy

Kobe Bryant and John Havlicek

[With Kobe Bryant playing his final game last night - I wanted to update and repost something about Kobe and John Havlicek I wrote last December.]

So a 37-year old NBA legend announces his intention to retire at the end of the season and it sets off a big farewell tour. All the NBA cities who will be seeing him play for the last time make a big production of it. You might think I am speaking of Kobe Bryant but actually I was referring to Celtics legend John Havlicek's 1977-78 season.

The similarities between the two players is pretty pronounced. Start with the size - Bryant 6'6" and 212 pounds vs Havlicek's 6'5" and 203 pounds. Kobe went into the NBA right from high school so has the benefit of 4 more NBA seasons. Havlicek meanwhile went to college and is also a legend at Ohio State. In Havlicek's final season he averaged 16.1 points plus 4 assists and 4 rebounds per game. Kobe averaged 17.6 points along with 2.8 assists and 5.2 rebounds [Stats updated].

If you take away the points from Kobe's first 4 seasons and factor in that the 3-pointer wasn't around in Havlicek's day - the Black Mamba would still be the better scorer but only by the slightest of margins (27,479 points to 26,395). The rebounds favor Havlicek  (8,007 to 5,993) while Hondo finished with a slight advantage in assists averaging 4.8 career per game to Kobe's 4.7 (Kobe was leading in comparison going into the season but his 2.8 APG this season dipped him lower).  These two guys are statistically almost mirror images. {Stats updated]

Havlicek was a 13-time NBA All-Star while Kobe went to 18-All-Star games. It is a big deal that Kobe also won 5 NBA Championships with the Lakers but let's not forget that Havlicek owns 8 Championship rings from his career with the Celtics.

The whole point of this isn't to take anything away from Kobe but just that it saddens me that Havlicek seems completely forgotten and the two were almost identical. Even as a Celtics fan I'll admit that Kobe was the better player but the difference wasn't as great as some would have you believe.

A Legend Retires

So a 37-year old NBA legend announces his intention to retire at the end of the season and it sets off a big farewell tour. All the NBA cities who will be seeing him play for the last time make a big production of it. You might think I am speaking of Kobe Bryant but actually I was referring to Celtics legend John Havlicek's 1977-78 season.

The similarities between the two players is pretty pronounced. Start with the size - Bryant 6'6" and 212 pounds vs Havlicek's 6'5" and 203 pounds. Kobe went into the NBA right from high school so has the benefit of 4 more NBA seasons. Havlicek meanwhile went to college and is also a legend at Ohio State. In Havlicek's final season he averaged 16.1 points plus 4 assists and 4 rebounds per game. Kobe is averaging 15.5 points along with 3.4 assists and 4.1 rebounds.

If you take away the points from Kobe's first 4 seasons and factor in that the 3-pointer wasn't around in Havlicek's day - the Black Mamba would still be the better scorer but only by the slightest of margins (26,930 points and counting to 26,395). The rebounds favor Havlicek  (8,007 to 6,853 and counting) while Kobe has the slight advantage in assists averaging 5.3 career per game to Hondo's 4.8 (and Kobe was the guy who supposedly didn't pass the ball). These two guys are statistically almost mirror images.

Havlicek was a 13-time NBA All-Star while Kobe went to 17-All-Star games (and counting). It is a big deal that Kobe also won 5 NBA Championships with the Lakers but let's not forget that Havlicek owns 8 Championship rings from his career with the Celtics.

The whole point of this isn't to take anything away from Kobe but just that it saddens me that Havlicek seems completely forgotten and the two were almost identical. Even as a Celtics fan I'll admit that Kobe was the better player but the difference wasn't as great as some would have you believe.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share..

- You knew this was coming - Hitler learns about Pete Carroll's goal line call

- Bill Belichick's pre-game "Don't Tread On Me" T-shirt was a tribute to the US Marines

- Heh heh - Kobe tried to warn us!

- Almost starting to feel bad for Pete Carroll...

- He did what?

Whither Doc Rivers?

I've been meaning to comment on the trade talks between the Boston Celtics and the LA Clippers but honestly I've been busy and was also under the assumption that the deal would be done by now. There are some aspects of this potential transaction that I don't think are getting proper attention and on which I'd like to offer my two cents.

Doc Rivers never won anything as a player. That's not a knock against him - just the facts. He never came close to winning a ring as a player and until Danny Ainge remade the Celtics roster by trading for Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett - he was never was close as a coach either. But once you've won a ring (and come so close to another) - who's to say that you don't naturally get greedy for a second champagne shower? Same goes for Kevin Garnett - he was in the wastelands in Minnesota until a trade opened championship opportunities for him. Both Doc and KG just finished watching Ray Allen win his second ring - who could blame them if they were jealous?

As an aside - the only man with multiple rings in this scenario (Danny Ainge with 3) - is also the coolest actor in this poker game. That is worthy of note.

Speaking of the Heat winning the championship - perhaps one of the reasons this deal (Doc Rivers and KG for DeAndre Jordan plus one or two first round draft picks) isn't done is because David Stern didn't want any NBA news detracting away from the finals. Now that the finals are done - can a deal possibly be announced soon?

Last season KG averaged 14.8 PPG and 7.8 RPG in just under 30 minutes per game. He is one of the greatest players in NBA history and does not shrink from the big moments. Current Laker Dwight Howard averaged 17.1 and 12.4 last season in 35 minutes per game but I'd argue that Howard does shrink in the limelight. Would Kobe Bryant be happier with his championship chances with an equally motivated KG in the front court? Just how happy is Kobe with Mike D'Antoni? The Lakers could easily trade Howard to the Houston Rockets and use part of that haul (plus a first round pick) to send to Boston for Doc and KG.  Maybe a birdie should be whispering in Kobe's ear right about now. Maybe they already are.

Nobody in Boston is enthusiastic about DeAndre Jordan. He's basically a more polished Fab Melo - who coincidentally was drafted by the Celtics with a Clippers first round pick acquired in the Kendrick Perkins trade. Maybe Danny Ainge should table discussions with the Clippers to file tampering charges. What right did the Clippers have in talking to or about Doc and KG who are both under contract? I'd be asking for a first rounder in compensation. Let that sink in to the Clippers that they might lose a first rounder and get nothing in return. Compound that with Chris Paul getting frustrated with having to wait like the petulant spoiled brat that he seems to be and we'll see how willing Clippers management is to continue to play chicken with that second first round pick.

At this point I think the trade with the Clippers might be the least appealing of three scenarios. The first being the trade with the Clips; the second being a trade with the Lakers and the third and maybe most appealing of all is getting a first round pick from the Clippers for tampering and then holding onto Doc Rivers' rights while he goes and does TV for a season. The rights for Doc will be worth a first rounder now or at some point in the future. Why not wait? In this last scenario the Celtics get two first round picks and won't have to pretend to be happy to have high-priced DeAndre Jordan clogging up the middle. Kevin Garnett can return or retire or be traded - whatever he wants.

Anyways - my two cents on whither Doc Rivers.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Will the Westboro Baptist Church be protesting at the funeral of Christopher Hitchens? In a perverse way I think he'd like that... 18 Fun Facts About Your Favorite Christmas TV Specials... Is it too late for Jon Huntsman to run for President as a Democrat? I think he could win the nomination from Obama. Almost everyone I hear who supports Huntsman is a Democrat who have no intentions for voting for a Republican. Maybe if Huntsman officially switched parties he could gather their votes... I still say Meat Raffle would be a good name for a band... I wonder who actually did more real good in the 1990's - the Community Organizers like Barack Obama or the Guardian Angels? Seriously... There was a TV series in 1983 called Casablanca that starred David Soul and was supposed to be a prequel to the Bogart movie. I would like to watch that.... Now that Kobe is getting divorced - the Lakers should go right ahead and officially make him player/coach just like what the Celtics did with Bill Russell. If Kobe wasn't listening to his wife - who really thinks he'll be listening to Mike Brown?... I am still absolutely flummoxed that such a thing as the Beef O Brady Bowl actually exists. That is not what our Founding Fathers had in mind... If I ran a minor league baseball team I would have put in a bid on Yu Darvish just for the press release value.

Kobe Bryant - Player Coach?

When Red Auerbach retired from coaching the Boston Celtics he named Bill Russell as his replacement. Red's thinking was that the only person capable of coaching Russell and getting the best out of Russell was Russell himself. Bill Russell took over the Celtics and led them to a 162-83 record and two NBA Championships in his 3 seasons as player coach.

Could the Lakers be in a similar situation as the 1966 Boston Celtics?

What coach can come in and command the necessary respect from Kobe Bryant? Brian Shaw? Come on - how is Brian Shaw going to be able to yell at Kobe at practice or tell him that things will be done the way Shaw wants them done and not the way Kobe wants them done. Rick Adelman? Same problems.

Only Kobe can motivate Kobe at this point. Plus naming him player-coach would light a fire (as if extra motivation is needed in a guy like Kobe) to prove he was the reason for the Lakers success and not Phil Jackson.

Kobe could surround himself with solid bench coaches who could handle much of the practice and in game substitutions. Kobe would be responsible for getting the most out of Kobe and kicking his teammates in the butt if needed.

I really think this would be the best solution for the Lakers coaching search. Making Kobe the coach makes him completely responsible for the success of the team. His will to win won't let him fail.