All-Decade Bulls

For the Bulls, my All-Decade team was a bit easier to come up with. The pieces started coming together 2003 when they got Kirk Hinrich. They had potential pairing him with Eddy Curry, Jalen Rose and Scottie Pippen. But it was 2004 when they really got good. They got Ben Gordon, Chris Duhon, Andres Nocioni and Luol Deng in the same year.

F: Luol Deng
F: Andres Nocioni
C: Ben Wallace
G: Kirk Hinrich
G: Ben Gordon

I felt like Deng was the most consistent at forward. Noc, although came off the bench a lot, I thought was the next best. He brought energy, commitment and tough defense to the table. In my eyes, he's easily NBA first team in defense. At center, I gave Wallace the position because he accomplished more during his short tenure than Eddy Curry (who was a great player on the Bulls). Hinrich was a tough one to choose over Rose, but I went for the years of experience over potential. Rose will likely be better in the future, but looking at 2000-2009, Hinrich is the man. For shooting guard, no one can match up with Ben Gordon. I'd take him over Jalen Rose or Jamal Crawford. Remember, those guys got traded away which resulted in the Bulls getting better. When the Bulls got Gordon, they became a playoff team.

All-Decade Yankees

To celebrate the decade of success, I put together the dream Yankees roster that would make the strongest team of the decade. This includes the starting lineup, a 5-man pitching rotation, setup man and closer.

C: Jorge Posada
1B: Tino Martinez
2B: Alfonso Soriano
SS: Derek Jeter
3B: Alex Rodriguez
LF: Johnny Damon
CF: Bernie Williams
RF: Paul O'Neill
DH: Hideki Matsui
P1: Andy Pettitte
P2: David Cone
P3: CC Sabathia
P4: Orlando Hernandez
P5: Doc Gooden
RP: Joba Chamberlain
RP: Mariano Rivera

I mostly took guys from the 2000 team because I felt that team was stronger. It was the tail end of their 90's dynasty, so many of those guys already had multiple rings. Tex probably had a better year than any of Tino's, but I went with Tino because he had more great Yankee years. Soriano is clearly better than Cano. It was tough not to include Brosius for all of the things he has done at 3B, but A-Rod is one of the best in baseball history... can't deny him a spot! With Bernie & O'Neill in the outfield, it was tight, but I was still able to get Damon in and Matsui at DH.

Sword of Azrael: Security

The terrorist isn't the only one to blame in the Detroit Christmas incident. Umar was on at least on FBI watch list, but was somehow not on the no-fly list. The terrorist's own father warned officials of his son. So many red flags and he was still able to get as far as lighting the bomb. It's only after incidents like this that we step up security. Now there's a rule about not using the rest rooms 30 minutes before landing... not really a hard one for terrorists to adjust to. I'm sure the liquids rule will go back into effect as well, which is a good start.

In the past, I also wrote about the predictable nature of the "random" security checks at subway stations. I thought the cops would've shaped up after the above incident, but it's still the same routine. Naturally, I can't publish the details in case a terrorist comes across this blog.

So airport and subway security in general have both earned my excommunication punishment. Unlike other recipients of Azrael's sword, these people need to bounce back or innocents will get hurt in future attacks.

Cached?

We've been testing one of our Intranet based applications for the past few days. One of the project managers entered the following into the bug tracking system:

I'm not seeing (one of the changes). Or maybe I'm cached?

He just answered his own question. He would do this many times on different projects. One would think he got used to it by now. When testing any kind of browser-based application, the cache always has to be cleared, especially before reporting bugs. If he had the time to think and type in, "Or maybe I'm cached," he could've just cleared his cache and reloaded. It would've prevented to unnecessary entry into the bug tracking system, causing several developers to be lead on a wild goose chase, adding up to a lot of wasted time.

Sword of Azrael: Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab

Everyone knows about the bomb attempt on the Detroit bound flight by now. So this guy (Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab) gets my death by fiery sword honor. An attempt to take lives is the same as taking lives. The only reason why all of those passengers are alive now is because Umar didn't construct his bomb correctly. He ended up burning his own legs instead of blowing up the plane. According to laws in the US, he'll have to stand trial and go through a long process in the court system. In the end, he'll likely get out of it with a small jail sentence when the only true answer should be death. Our system is just too lenient and that's why we paid for it on 9/11.

Thomas Returns

The Bulls have turned into one of the worst teams after an uncharacteristically good start. Losing Ben Gordon over the Summer proved to be a big mistake. They've been losing games by blowout most of the time and have had trouble in the 4th quarter (their best quarter in the past several years). They did win last night's game against the Hornets in the return of Tyrus Thomas. Do the Bulls have a playoff chance? I actually think they have a slim chance, but there are a few things they need to do for the rest of the season...

1) Deng needs to keep up what he's doing and be consistent of every game. He's been playing his salary's worth so far.

2) Noah needs to keep up his largely improved performance and continue to put up double-doubles.

3) Hinrich needs to stay healthy and be the Kirk Hinrich of 2 years ago. I'd like to see him more aggressive offensively.

4) Thomas needs to put the same effort in as the other guys and put his ego aside. If he can stay out of trouble and play ball, he'll be a large piece in the team's success.

5) Salmons needs to be Ben Gordon in the 4th.

I didn't mention Rose because he's been carrying the team so far. He needs the other components to come into play for him to be a success point guard and rack up assists. He needs 1 or 2 other guys to step up so that he doesn't have to be the main man EVERY time. Of the items I listed, the least likely to happen are #4 & 5. It's in Thomas' personality to be flashy and get into trouble. Hopefully he can follow in Noah's footsteps in improving himself. And #5... well... Salmons just isn't as skilled as Gordon, so it just means more time in the gym. He doesn't have to put up the exact numbers, but if he can up hi usual, it would be a big help. That combined with the improved Deng and a healthy Hinrich can make up for no BG.

Sword of Azrael: EMT

2 EMTs let a pregnant woman die because they were on coffee break. This is typical of the American worker. A break is a break and anything out of the job description is someone else's responsibility... even if someone's dying apparently. The EMTs merely instructed the staff (of the coffee) shop to call 911 and they bounced.

"Burn out? They were sitting there having coffee, how can they be burnt out?" said the mayor. "They're human beings. Somebody's dying down the street and they say help them, and they just sat there. There's no excuse whatsoever, as far as I can see. I don't know what kind of burn out you can have."
- Mayor Michael Bloomberg

He's absolutely right. The EMT's defense was that the 2 workers on break were not trained for that kind of situation. My thinking is that they still had a lot more exposure than the anyone else in the cafe. If you're the janitor for the FDNY, you have more experience than the average guy. EMTs Jason Green and Melissa Jackson should be suspended permanently!

3 in a Row... Not

The Bulls were on their way to win 3 in a row last night. It was a given. They had a 19-point lead after the 1st quarter already. It just looked like the Kings didn't show up and it was going to be a blowout. The 2nd quarter was more of the same and the Bulls at one point had a whopping 35-point lead. Guaranteed win, right? It should be... always, but not last night. The Kings creeped up in the 3rd and the Bulls completely fell asleep in the 4th, scoring only 10. Deng had a big game with 26 and Rose followed up his career high with 24. But the totals don't matter when no one shows up for the 4th quarter.

This loss was due to a lack of discipline. This is the NBA. No lead should ever be treated as safe or guaranteed. This team lacks the work ethic of last year's team. There's no excuse for losing a 35-point lead. Tonight they have the Knicks. If they lose this one, I'm pretty sure Vinny Del Negro will get the traditional Christmas present by management.

Win Streak

The Bulls finally have a 2-game win streak. They avoided being embarrassed against the lowly Knicks on Thursday, defeating them 98-89. It looked bad in the beginning when the Knicks took a big 17-point lead. They then went on a drought and the Bulls caught all the way up. The Knicks were on fire from 3 early on in the game and then just went dead. I believe they broke some record for most 3's attempted. They're also the league leader in that category. What bothers me is when they mention that as a stat, announcers always make it sound good. However, the Knicks are amongst the worst in 3 pt percentage. That's a terrible combination... most attempts and lowest percentage. Well... that's what this game ended up being. Gallinari was just jacking them up. The Bulls did a great job all around. Scoring was lead by Deng (24), Salmons (20) and Rose (18). Deng had a double-double and Noah was just 1 rebound shy.

From one of the worst teams on Thursday, the Bulls faced and beat on of the best teams last night in the Hawks. Like a typical Bulls game, they dug a nice hole in the 1st quarter and then caught up in the 2nd. They also forced OT in the 4th quarter on a Salmons 3. Joe Johnson had a 40-point performance, but it was overshadowed by the Bulls spread out scoring. Rose had a career high 32 and they also had 4 other guys in double digits. Rose and Hinrich were clutch in the 4th. They really played to the level of their competition last night.

Power Shift

I'm not sure what the Yankees were thinking with their moves so far, but I don't think they're getting better compared to their rivals. The Red Sox, again concentrated on pitching, picking up John Lacky to complete a scary looking rotation. The Phillies really woke up after losing the World Series. They picked up Halladay AND Cliff Lee. With moves like that, they'll easily dominate the National League. If there's a bright side for the Yankees, it's the Angels loss of pitching. They lost K-Rod last year and now Lee. Maybe their dominance over NY will finally be over. If they can still beat the Yankees, then there's really something to be said about having another team's number!

Yankees Update

In about a week's time, the Yankees managed to purge all of their Asian players. First, they thought that giving Chien Ming Wang (Taiwanese) a contract was too much of a risk given his season-ending injury. He became a free agent and is said to be shopping all MLB teams. So there's a slight chance the Yankees could get him, but I'm sure one of the other teams will pick him up before it comes to that. If he's not a Yankee, I hope Joe Torre picks him up for the Dodgers.
Hideki Matsui (Japanese), the World Series MVP signed with the LA Angels earlier in the week. With the signing of Curtis Granderson, the Yankees didn't have much room left for Matsui. I believe that this is the wrong move. After the Yankees beat the Mets in 2000, they also began bringing in the heavy hitters instead of concentrating on pitching. They could be walking down the same path.

Johnny Damon (Thai-American) was next. The Yankees couldn't give him the amount he was looking for, so he'll be shopping around as well. Damon, although older is still a valuable player. He has championship experience and is clutch. I'm really hoping he doesn't end up on the Red Sox. I would've preferred the Yankees keep Damon & Matsui and not make a move for another offensive star. They should've been more serious about Lacky or Halladay.

Damon is American, but losing Wang and Matsui will take the Yankees out of the international spotlight. They won't have the entourage of Chinese & Japanese reporters around and will lose a lot of revenue from that.

Pour it On!

I keep hearing people around the office talk about how tired they are of the Tiger Woods news. Everyone wants the media to leave him alone now... give him some privacy. You know what? I want the opposite! The guy is filthy rich. He's a celebrity and sports star. He just won an Athlete of the Decade award. He's larger than life and has more money than most people. If he screws up he deserves to have the whole world collapse on him. Of course part of me thinks there's just too much information coming out out. But when I think of his salary vs mine... I tend not to give a crap. Also as an extremely disappointed fan, I just want him to keep suffering. Pour on the news!

MTA Budget Cuts

The MTA's budget cuts were announced yesterday. Keeping in mind that there will be no fare increase, here are my thoughts on each of them:

W & Z Taken Offline
The W line is terrible anyway. The N & R trains should be able to take on the extra load. The yellow line doesn't seem as packed as some of the other lines during rush hour. I don't think this one will make a big impact. Naturally, it will affect some people, but budget cuts mean losing the weakest link. And the Z train... there's a Z train? All my years in the city and I don't think I ever rode this line.

G & M Reductions
These are two other lines no one every rides. I may have been on the G like once or twice and never on the M.

Bus Line Reductions (~20)
This one is no big deal as well. We all know how unreliable MTA buses are... pretty much the complete opposite of the subway. They're slow, overcrowded and slave to the terrible rush hour traffic. As reported every year, many of these buses are slower than walking... slower than a chicken for that matter!

Students pay 50% instead of 0%
Students take up space... some more than they should. Many students add to the noise level with their video games and cellphones... especially when they come in large groups. I think paying half price is very lenient. They should pay full price just like everyone else. The only people that deserve a reduced rate are seniors.

Take-On NY Continued

As promised, here are my thoughts on some of the fights at the end of the Take-On Muay Thai event that I didn't get a chance to take pictures of:

Varga vs. Ahmed
This was Omar Ahmed's 2nd professional match in as many TKO events. I believe it was Gabriel Varga's pro debut and he came all the way from Canada for it. I knew Omar was going to have his hands full here since every Canadian fighter has proven to be formidable against our locals. Both guys were sharp in the beginning of the match. Varga suffered a cut over his eye in the first round, but didn't appear hurt. He must've been annoyed if anything. I thought it was going to end soon on a cheap stoppage by the doctor. His corner did a great job of stopping the bleeding though and the fight continued. The other thing I was afraid of was the judging. Because of the blood, Varga appeared to be losing visually, but he was staying toe-to-toe with the local hero. varga won the decision with his amazing performance in the 4th & 5th rounds, trapping Omar several times in the corner with punch combos. He even went down a couple of times. This was definitely the fight of the night. Varga didn't disappoint in his debut and Omar survived the onslaught without getting KOed. I also want to point out that Omar went over to Gabriel before the official decision and congratulated him on the win. Another example of the great sportsmanship in this brutal sport.

Emily Bearden vs. Petra Van Doorn
The main event was a WKA title defense for Emily Bearden. It was a close, but uneventful match, especially after the great show by Ahmed & Varga. This matchup consisted of a couple of punches, leading into a clinch, but not much happened in the clinch. The 2 women just battled for balance and got a couple of glancing knees in there. It was five rounds of that. The decision probably could've gone either way.

Take-On New York Showdown

Unfortunately, my camera ran out of batteries, so I missed the last 3 pro fights. I was conserving power as soon as I saw 1 bar left, so as you can see, this album has a lot less shots than usual. I thought it was going to last through the end. Anyway, here's what I have + some commentary on each one.

View all

Get your own

I'll talk more about the last 3 I didn't photograph in a separate post. To be continued...

Take-On New York Showdown Results

It looks like this will be a normal ongoing series after the successful launch in October. A lot of fighters from the last event participated in this one as well. I think we'll see a lot of Sitan NY, Five Points Academy and Pittsburgh in this series. Hopefully some other local schools get into the mix as well.

- Laurel Holloway def Amy Hao (unanimous dec. - 3rd rd.)
- Khaled Zeidan def Giovanny Mercado (TKO - 1st rd.)
- Sashia Azeredo def Passa Chattra (unanimous dec - 3rd rd.)
- Carlos Restrepo def Jessie Jimenez (dec. - 3rd rd.)
- Turan Hasanov def Osvaldo Dominguez (KO - 2nd rd.)
- Will Espinal def Xavi Ramos (KO - 1st rd.)
- Marcus Fisher def Preston Baptiste (dec. - 5th rd.)
- Eddie Martinez def Arthur Sorsor (KO - 4th rd.)
- Ramil Ibrahim def Hamza Ahnine (TKO - 5th rd.)
- Mark Deluca def Sheldon Gaines (dec. - 5th rd.)
- Gabriel Varga def Omar Ahmed (unanimous dec. - 5th rd.)
- Emily Bearden def Petra Van Doorn (dec. - 5th rd.)

Tech Deals of the Week (12/13-12/19)

Flash Sales
- 4 GB PNY (swivel design) @ ST for $14.99
- 8 GB PNY @ ST for $22.99
- 16 GB PNY @ ST for $39.99
- 4 GB SanDisk @ BB for $12.99
- 8 GB SanDisk @ BB for $22.99


LCD Sales
- 20" Dell @ ST for $129.98
- 21" AOC @ ST for $149.98
- 20" Hannspree @ BB for $119.99
- 23" Hannspree @ BB for $139.99
- 24" Samsung @ BB for $199.99

50 pack DVD-R & 50 pack CD-R @ ST for $14.99
That's right... you get both packs for $14.99.

Swiss Gear 15.4" Laptop Sleeve @ BB for $17.99
This is listed as a sleeve, but is really a thin and well-padded bag. It's much more protective than a standard slip-on sleeve.

$30 Gift Card w/ Purchase of iPod touch @ BB
This is probably the best iPod offer out there right now. There's no discount on the device itself, but the $30 will come in handy for all of the accessories you'll need for it... which are a lot cheaper at Best Buy than the Apple store.

Logitech V220 Mouse @ TG for $9.99
This is probably the best basic wireless notebook mouse and $9.99 is pretty much a Black Friday price. The regular price is as high as $30 with a normal sale price of $20.

Store Key: BB = Best Buy, CC = Circuit City, CU = CompUSA.com, DI = Directron, NE = NewEgg.com, OD = Office Depot, RS = Radio Shack, ST = Staples, TG = Target

Yankees Update

There was an article on the Daily Herald titled "Where did it all go wrong for Del Negro and Bulls?" If you've been following this blog, you know how I feel about that and that I saw what was coming this season long ago! When I saw that headline, it lead me back to baseball. So let's talk about the Yankees.

Less than 2 months from baseball season and the Yankees have been very busy already. First and foremost, they got Andy Pettitte back for another year. He's 37, but has no business retiring after the performance he just gave us. He's a prime example of why experience prevails as he clinched each round of the Yankees' championship run. He was easily the team's second best pitcher all season long, stopping the losing streaks and giving solid innings.

Next, the Yankees picked up Curtis Granderson (CF) from the Tigers in a multi-team trade that dealt away Ian Kennedy & Phil Coke. Granderson is an OK player. He's got decent power and a below average BA. His personality matches the low key Yankees... not a guy that will get into trouble. He could help the team, but the OF logjam worries me. I'm a strong believer that the team is greater than the parts that make it up. Championship teams should never be broken up. In this case, I'm talking about Damon and Matsui. They were big all of last season and in the playoffs. The Yankees should try to get them back. I'd like to see Granderson in CF, Gardner in RF, Damon and LF and Matsui in DH. I think the Yankees think too highly of Cabrera and Swisher when they put them above Damon and Matsui. Coke & Kennedy are hardly a loss though. The Yankees always try to play it up, but neither of those 2 guys has shown signs of stardom, so it was a gamble anyway. Brunei was also dealt away... the weakest link in the pen anyway. So far the Yankees haven't lost much yet.

Halladay is next on the radar!

Bulls Suck

After a good start, they fell back into the Circus Trip curse and have yet to come out of it. When they lose to the worst in the league, the Nets, it can't be described any other way. The Bulls officially suck now. Without looking at their records, I think the Bulls are actually worse than the Nets now. They never had a comfortable lead despite the numbers Derek Rose put up. Salmons and Gibson did a good job too, but there was no defense. They pretty much let Devin Harris do whatever he wants. We desperately need Hinrich back.

To make things worse, they dropped tonight's game against the Hawks in blowout fashion. There are some games I don't expect the Bulls to win, but their record wouldn't be so bad if they won the easy ones.

Tiger Woods is beating the Bulls too as he upped his number to 10 and counting

eReaders

Amazon has been very successful with their Kindle product line, defining the specs of what an eBook reader should be. It has an appealing, simple design much like Apple's products. It's light and easy to carry. Most importantly, the screen does a great job of mimicking paper. Many people complain that it doesn't have color and is overpriced for a black and white product. But the point is... it's supposed to get as close as possible to a paper texture. All of the development went into this. While color is a next step, it's still far away.

I just read today that some of the major magazine publishers are working on an eMag reader. The one thing they have to get right is the screen. If they rush this, all they're going to release is a dumbed down netbook. Hopefully they really spend their time making the screen easy on the eyes. It has to work in low light and sunlight environments.

Tiger & Knicks Tied

The Knicks beat the Nets in a battle of the cellar teams, foiling the chance for NJ to start up a winning streak. The Knicks now have 6 winds for the season, tying Tiger Woods' affairs. The Nets had a good lead in the beginning of the game, but they let the Knicks make several runs to comeback and take a double digit lead themselves. Larry Hughes was hot from 3-point land. NJ did make a few runs, but not enough to take back the lead. They'll have to wait until Tuesday for a chance to get another win. That's when they'll face the Bulls. It might seem like an easy win for the Bulls, but remember, they have a tendency to drop to the level of their competition. Also, the Nets are a team with their back against the wall. So the Bulls can't take them lightly.

Things got worse for Tiger Woods over the weekend as 3 more women claim affairs, making a total of 6 "wins." Worse, all of them claimed he was into S&M. This is all very surprising as Tiger was always a symbol of class. This is about as weird as Marv Albert dressing in women's clothing... though Marv did nothing morally bad. I'm sure there's going to be more to come.

Bulls' Weekend

After a possible bounce-back from the Circus Road Trip, the Bulls failed to turn their win against Detroit into a much needed winning streak. They fell to the Cavs last night and then to the Raptors just a few minutes ago. The Cleveland loss can't be all attributed to lack of a 4th quarter guy. The defense was also pretty bad as they let James get 23 points and 11 assists. Hinrich, the usual guy defending James was still injured. The Bulls struggled to score as no player even got 15 points. When the rookie Gibson has a team high of 14, it all adds up to a Bulls loss. This was probably the worst I've seen them play against a Shaq "powered" team. No Hinrich and Gordon means no speed and confusion. The Toronto game was a blowout. Again... no offense as Salmons had a team high 13 (tied w/ Pargo). Chris Bosh had a big game, scoring 25 for the Raptors.

We have the Nets on Tuesday. It's very important that the Bulls don't take them lightly. It would be embarrassing even for them to let a team with 1 win come in and get another. Yup... the Nets have 1 win now as they defeated the Bobcats last night.

Bad Kitty

Things aren't looking good for Tiger Woods right now. I had a feeling something was fishy, but like many other fans was in denial and hoping it would get cleared up. Now all the dirt is coming out with women claiming to have slept with him. A voicemail message from Woods was played publicly on many stations. It had him telling a woman to take his number off her phone because his wife was going to start calling up numbers from his phone. The voice was clearly Woods. It's amazing how fast someone can go down. One of history's greatest athletes one day and it's all crumbling fast.

I just don't understand why athletes can't learn from past mistakes of previous stars. One simple mistake and it can all get thrown away in a matter of days. I was telling a friend the other day that sports starts should just not get married until they're long retired. The money and fame must do something to them mentally and make them think they can get away with everything.

BG Returns

The much anticipated return of Ben Gordon ended in a Bulls win, snapping a 5-game losing streak. There was a lot of hype leading up to the game as it would be BG's first return to the United Center in a uniform other than the Bulls that we're used to. He was nursing a sprained ankle, but made an effort to recover and play against his former team. He had a typical game, scoring 18... 6 in the 4th quarter as Detroit nearly mounted a comeback. I was actually hoping he'd have a 50 point game to stick it to the Bulls. But in the end, the Bulls just had a better team. Salmons and Rose had big games, scoring 22 & 19 respectively. The Bulls had a light bench, which usually makes them step up their game. Brad Miller scored 16, which really helped out. Noah was quiet on the offensive end, but did his job with 14 rebounds.

"Honestly, I didn't like that at all. When BG was here, he played hard and really committed to the game. I know he's not here. But he didn't do anything bad to the organization. I thought they were going to cheer for him. He played hard. I was disappointed in that. He should've got a better reception."
-Luol Deng

Ben Gordon, as expected was greeted with a mixture of applause and boos. I really don't think any of the fans should boo him. It was the Bulls organization that messed up. They've always been cheap and it will continue to cost the team playoff appearances. As Ben Gordon said in a recent interview, he doesn't think he's been replaced. So true! It's why the Bulls are struggling. Last year, they had 2 go-to guys in the 4th... BG & Rose. So they took pressure off each other. There's just so much weight on Rose this year. Also, they're losing a lot of fast break opportunities. Rose would make it down the floor and have no one to pass to. It's the reason why Rose is struggling this year.

"I think he deserves all the respect in the world. He's one of the best scorers that ever wore the jersey. We wouldn't have been in the position we were in last year if it wasn't for that guy hitting big shot after big shot."
-Joakim Noah

Tiger Woods Uncut

The Tiger Woods car crash was all over the news the past few days, but this report from a Chinese station was the most complete. They took the liberty of filling in the missing visuals with a 3-D animated reenactment of the accident. Check it out:

End of the Circus

The Bulls had their chance to close it out with a win, but fell to the Bucks 99-97, making their Circus Road Trip a pitiful 1-5. If you look at the stat sheet, this one should've added up to a win. Rose had 19. Noah (16-17) and Deng (22-14) had double-doubles. Salmons had 23. How did they lose? The game was close most of the time and the Bulls had their chances to tie or take the lead. The defense just wasn't there. It's always a step back without Hinrich on the floor of course. At least the Circus Trip is over. Hopefully the circus gameplay is over as well.

The next game will be very interesting... the first meeting of the season with Ben Gordon's Pistons! Both teams are at the bottom of the Central right now.