USMB Sports Bar

[TheGreatGatsby]

Lazio And Germany Striker Miroslav Klose Confirms He Will Retire In 2015 | www.soccerladuma.co.za

* Only player to appear in four WC semis (in a row)

* Klose won two German Bundesliga titles, two German DFB Cups, one German Super Cup and the Coppa Italia. The German World Cup victory was the icing on Klose’s illustrious trophy collection.

* 137 caps for Germany while scoring 71 goals; making him Germany’s all-time top scorer.

* Germany never lost a game that Klose scored.

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...0-WD_Pq8ZSZkW5krLw&bvm=bv.71667212,bs.1,d.cGE

Al-Farouq Aminu NBA & ABA Stats | Basketball-Reference.com

Dude averages a double-double per 30, and he signed for 'peanuts.' Don't know why the Spurs didn't sign him; except maybe he wanted minutes, and maybe they were worried about chemistry. Him going to the Mavs hurts though.

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

Lebron's run to another final just got that much easier...

 

[LoneLaugher]

Is this a bar.....or a love seat?

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

Dick Bavetta retiring. He had a role in making sure that the Bulls finished off the Jazz in Game 6 of the NBA Finals (A series that the Bulls have very little business winning).

Here is an excerpt from the 'shamed' official about Bavetta:

Crawford wanted the game over quickly so he could kick back, relax, and have a beer; [Dick Bavetta] wanted it to keep going so he could hear his name on TV. He actually paid an American Airlines employee to watch all the games he worked and write down everything the TV commentators said about him. No matter how late the game was over, he'd wake her up for a full report. He loved the attention.

That very first time Jack and I bet on an NBA game, Dick was on the court. The team we picked lost the game, but it covered the large point spread and that's how we won the money. Because of the matchup that night, I had some notion of who might win the game, but that's not why I was confident enough to pull the trigger and pick the other team. The real reason I picked the losing team was that I was just about certain they would cover the spread, no matter how badly they played. That is where Dick Bavetta comes into the picture.

From my earliest involvement with Bavetta, I learned that he likes to keep games close, and that when a team gets down by double-digit points, he helps the players save face. He accomplishes this act of mercy by quietly, and frequently, blowing the whistle on the team that's having the better night. Team fouls suddenly become one-sided between the contestants, and the score begins to tighten up. That's the way Dick Bavetta referees a game — and everyone in the league knew it.

Fellow referee Danny Crawford attended Michael Jordan's Flight School Camp years ago and later told me that he had long conversations with other referees and NBA players about how Bavetta propped up weak teams. Danny told me that Jordan himself said that everyone in the league knew that Bavetta cheated in games and that the players and coaches just hoped he would be cheating for them on game night. Cheating? That's a very strong word to use in any sentence that includes the name Dick Bavetta. Is the conscious act of helping a team crawl back into a contest "cheating"? The credo of referees from high school to the NBA is "call them like you see them." Of course, that's a lot different than purposely calling more fouls against one team as opposed to another. Did Bavetta have a hidden agenda? Or was he the ultimate company man, making sure the NBA and its fans got a competitive game most times he was on
the court?

Studying under Dick Bavetta for 13 years was like pursuing a graduate degree in advanced game manipulation. He knew how to marshal the tempo and tone of a game better than any referee in the league, by far. He also knew how to take subtle — and not so subtle — cues from the NBA front office and extend a playoff series or, worse yet, change the complexion of that series.

The 2002 Western Conference Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Sacramento Kings presents a stunning example of game and series manipulation at its ugliest. As the teams prepared for Game 6 at the Staples Center, Sacramento had a 3–2 lead in the series. The referees assigned to work Game 6 were Dick Bavetta, Bob Delaney, and Ted Bernhardt. As soon as the referees for the game were chosen, the rest of us knew immediately that there would be a Game 7. A prolonged series was good for the league, good for the networks, and good for the game. Oh, and one more thing: it was great for the big-market, star-studded Los Angeles Lakers.

In the pregame meeting prior to Game 6, the league office sent down word that certain calls — calls that would have benefitted the Lakers — were being missed by the referees. This was the type of not-so-subtle information that I and other referees were left to interpret. After receiving the dispatch, Bavetta openly talked about the fact that the league wanted a Game 7.

"If we give the benefit of the calls to the team that's down in the series, nobody's going to complain. The series will be even at three apiece, and then the better team can win Game 7," Bavetta stated.

As history shows, Sacramento lost Game 6 in a wild come-from-behind thriller that saw the Lakers repeatedly sent to the foul line by the referees. For other NBA referees watching the game on television, it was a shameful performance by Bavetta's crew, one of the most poorly officiated games of all time.

The 2002 series certainly wasn't the first or last time Bavetta weighed in on an important game. He also worked Game 7 of the 2000 Western Conference Finals between the Lakers and the Trail Blazers. The Lakers were down by 13 at the start of the fourth quarter when Bavetta went to work. The Lakers outscored Portland 31–13 in the fourth quarter and went on to win the game and the series. It certainly didn't hurt the Lakers that they got to shoot 37 free throws compared to a paltry 16 for the Trail Blazers.

Two weeks before the 2003–04 season ended, Bavetta and I were assigned to officiate a game in Oakland. That afternoon before the tip-off, we were discussing an upcoming game on our schedule. It was the last regular-season game we were scheduled to work, pitting Denver against San Antonio. Denver had lost a game a few weeks prior because of a mistake made by the referees, a loss that could be the difference between them making or missing the playoffs. Bavetta told me Denver needed the win and that it would look bad for the staff and the league if the Nuggets missed the playoffs by one game. There were still a few games left on the schedule before the end of the season, and the standings could potentially change. But on that day in Oakland, Bavetta looked at me and casually stated, "Denver will win if they need the game. That's why I'm on it."

I was thinking, How is Denver going to win on the road in San Antonio? At the time, the Spurs were arguably the best team in the league. Bavetta answered my question before it was asked.

"Duncan will be on the bench with three fouls within the first five minutes of the game," he calmly stated.

Bavetta went on to inform me that it wasn't the first time the NBA assigned him to a game for a specific purpose. He cited examples, including the 1993 playoff series when he put New Jersey guard Drazen Petrovic on the bench with quick fouls to help Cleveland beat the Nets. He also spoke openly about the 2002 Los Angeles–Sacramento series and called himself the NBA's "go-to guy."

As it turned out, Denver didn't need the win after all; they locked up a spot in the playoffs before they got to San Antonio. In a twist of fate, it was the Spurs that ended up needing the win to have a shot at the division title, and Bavetta generously accommodated. In our pregame meeting, he talked about how important the game was to San Antonio and how meaningless it was to Denver, and that San Antonio was going to get the benefit of the calls that night. Armed with this inside information, I called Jack Concannon before the game and told him to bet the Spurs.

To no surprise, we won big. San Antonio blew Denver out of the building that evening, winning by 26 points. When Jack called me the following morning, he expressed amazement at the way an NBA game could be manipulated. Sobering, yes; amazing, no. That's how the game is played in the National Basketball Association.

In a follow-up email to the referee staff and the league office, Crawford railed about the lack of respect players had for referees and the NBA's failure to back him up. Then, in a direct shot at the league's embracing of referees like Dick Bavetta, he fired a sharp rebuke:

"I also told [Stu Jackson] that the staff is an officiating staff of Dick Bavetta's — schmoozing and sucking people's asses to get ahead. Awful, but it is reality."

Crawford also touched on the fact that he was being excluded from working the playoffs that year:

"Look on the bright side everybody, MORE playoff games for you guys and Dick, maybe you will get to be crew chief in the 7th game of the Finals, which is a travesty in itself you even being in the Finals."

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

 

[LA RAM FAN]

i guess nobody has an interest in talking about the facts i been posting on my thread why the royals are the most dangerous team in baseball now that nobody wants to face in the playoffs.people are reading the posts i can see by the number of views but they dont want to talk about it it looks like.

shocker,Kc Royals could be in the world series this year,here is why. | US Message Board - Political Discussion Forum

 

[Moonglow]

You know your prayer ain't got a prayer,
if the ball is in the air,
at a Notre Dame game...

 

[percysunshine]

One of the best tackles ever by a team mate on a punt return...today anyway...

I don t think this was in the playbook. Redskins

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

Vernal 'Nippy' Jones

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

 

[High_Gravity]

Lebron's run to another final just got that much easier...

That looked god awful.

 

[High_Gravity]

Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck calls Rondo stubborn questions how coachable he is CelticsLife.com - Boston Celtics Fan Site Blog T-shirts

Whats the point of this? if your going to trade a player why would you call him stubborn and uncoachable?

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck calls Rondo stubborn questions how coachable he is CelticsLife.com - Boston Celtics Fan Site Blog T-shirts

Whats the point of this? if your going to trade a player why would you call him stubborn and uncoachable?

I think the Celts did Rondo wrong.

1. Rondo was/is arguably the best PG in the league. He is definitely the best pure PG.
2. He wins a championship and then signs a long term contract at the hometown discount; and then the Celts constantly snipe behind his back and try to trade him.

They're such a-holes that he already said that he will not resign with them under any circumstances.

 

[Papageorgio]

I haven't understood the Celtics and Rondo love/hate relationship. Good point guards are very tough to find and the Celts seem content with letting him go.

 

[High_Gravity]

Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck calls Rondo stubborn questions how coachable he is CelticsLife.com - Boston Celtics Fan Site Blog T-shirts

Whats the point of this? if your going to trade a player why would you call him stubborn and uncoachable?

I think the Celts did Rondo wrong.

1. Rondo was/is arguably the best PG in the league. He is definitely the best pure PG.
2. He wins a championship and then signs a long term contract at the hometown discount; and then the Celts constantly snipe behind his back and try to trade him.

They're such a-holes that he already said that he will not resign with them under any circumstances.

Absolutely, I just don't understand it. Rondo has won a championship in Boston and has shown he has the tenacity and fight to be there in the big games that matter, and they constantly have him on the block trying to trade him. There has to be more to this than we know because this does seem dirty and under handed.

 

[High_Gravity]

I haven't understood the Celtics and Rondo love/hate relationship. Good point guards are very tough to find and the Celts seem content with letting him go.

Its been like this with Rondo for years, I been hearing Rondo trade rumours since 2009. When its all said and done they will miss him when hes gone.

 

[TheGreatGatsby]