I know I don't have to explain myself when I say it's been a rough month for the Blazer faithful.  There will be plenty of posts dissecting all that's gone wrong recently, but this is not one of those threads.   The point of this thread is very simple: talk about positive stuff, look on the bright side, and most importantly rec every comment green!  This thread, I hope, will be a happy break from what is sure to be a trying time for Blazersedge.

(By the way, we've done this before around here: Go Green)

For those of you who don't know, any comment that gets 5 recommendations gets shaded in a lovely green color.  It's similar to the recommended fanpost/fanshot sections.  It's a small reward for writing a great comment.  It's always nice going green, but not everyone has enjoyed the distinction.

So that's it folks, write positive stuff and make sure every comment gets 5 recs (click actions below the post, then rec should appear) and let's all feel better.

I work a late shift these days so I'm MIA from the junk.  Now the only way to leave my mark is to make the junk at odd hours of the night.

I'm glad that some big names have gone to other teams.  This free agency would have been a huge disappointment if most of the players just stayed with their teams.  Speaking of disappointment, Lebron better not stay with the Cavs.  After all this drama he'd better go make a super team with Wade and Bosh.

I'd tried uploading images with the provided tool and I tried using HTML, but neither worked, so this junk drawer will just have to suck.

Throw out your prognostications for the playoffs either March Madness style and/or Stat Geek Smackdown style (to be explained).

The playoff match ups are as follows:

West:

1.  Fakers 

vs.

8.  Thunder

2.  Mavs

vs.

7.  Spurs

3.  Suns

vs.

6.  Blazers

4.  Nuggets

vs.

5.  Jazz

East:

1.  Cavs

vs.

8.  Bulls

2.  Magic

vs.

7.  Bobcats

3.  Hawks

vs.

6.  Bucks

4.  Celtics

vs.

5.  Heat

The Stat Geek Smackdown  is a little competition run by Henry Abbott of Truehoop for the past 3 seasons.  He invites prominent "stat geeks" to make their predictions for the playoffs.  The rules:

"The rules are simple: Based on stats, hunches and anything else, each person predicts the outcome of every playoff series, as the rounds unfold. Each correctly picked series is worth five points. Correctly predicting the number of games is worth two additional points."

I figure we can have our own little Junk Drawer prediction contest under Stat Geek Smackdown rules.  Post your first round predictions in this thread, including the number of games you think the series will go.  Guessing the right number of games but the wrong team to win isn't worth anything.  I'll try to get the 2nd round prediction thread up as soon as all the 2nd round match ups are set.

Do you have any strange habits? Do you do things that no one else does (to your knowledge)?  Share your odd behavior with your fellow junk drawer denizens and take solace that everyone is just as strange as you.  Or, if you can't think of an odd habit of yours or don't want to share, just tell us your bad habits.

I wet my toothbrush both before and after I put paste on it.

I can't go to bed without going number 1 beforehand.  I just can't get comfortable with urine in my bladder.

I think checkout clerks judge me based on the food I buy.

I talk aloud to myself at odd times.  For example, I will "convince" myself of what to get when ordering food or eating buffet style.

I'll just throw this bit of information in as well.  Did you know nearly 50% of people wipe after number 2 standing up?  Isn't that odd?

To get things started here is Time Magazine's Top 50 inventions of 2009:

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,1934027,00.html

Some Highlights:

An AIDS vaccine

Vertical Farming

The Bladeless Fan

Spiderweb Silk

Some other "best of" topics to discuss:

Best Album of the Decade/Year

Best Movie of the Decade/Year

Best Video Game of the Decade/Year (I got my hands on my brother's PS3 and I really like Bioshock)

Best Sports Highlight of the Year

Best Game (Blazer or other) of the Year

Best Blazers Edge post (main page, sidebar)

or Make up your own!

Tragedy of the Blazers' Edge commons:

Consider a pasture used for grazing cows which is used collectively by many herders.  Each herder is trying to make as much money from his cows as possible which means maximizing their yield (fatter cows or more cows).  There are a positive and negative aspect to consider:

Positive: The herder gains profit for each pound

Negative:  Each cow degrades the pasture slightly

The distribution of the positive and negative results is unequal.  The individual herder gains all the profit from selling more or fatter cows, but the cost of (over) using the pasture is shared by the group.  A rational herder will see the benefit from grazing more cows outweighs the (shared) cost of the degradation of the pasture.  All of the herders will reach the same conclusion and put more cows on the field leading to overgrazing and a potential collapse of the pasture.  The individual gain outweighs the individual share of the total cost eventually leading to a disaster.

Now consider the Blazers' Edge sidebar used by Blazer fans for expressing their opinions about their favorite team.  Each poster is trying to have his/her opinion heard, appreciated, "rec'd" and commented on by as many fellow fans as possible.  There are a positive and negative aspect to consider.

Positive: The poster gains recognition/appreciation for his/her opinions for every post made.

Negative: The sidebar gets more crowded with every post made.

The distribution of positive and negative results is unequal.  The individual poster gains all the recognition/appreciation from his/her post, but the cost of (over) using the sidebar is shared by all of Blazers' Edge.  A rational poster (perish the thought) will see the benefit from posting more outweighs the (shared) cost of a clogged sidebar.  All of the posters will reach the same conclusion and post more leading to a highly congested sidebar where fanposts are not visible long enough to get many comments/recs thus negating the whole reason for posting.  The individual gain outweighs the individual share of the total cost eventually leading to a disaster.

The next edition of Magnum P.I. is in.  The first week of the season has been played and there are plenty of things to talk about already.  Some of my pre-season rankings were a bit off so a few teams have jumped around in the rankings quite a bit.

Some highlights:

The Lakers fell out of the top spot down to 4th

The Rockets, 76ers and Thunder all made moves into the teens after being ranked in the 20s previously.

The Bucks probably didn't deserve to be ranked 28th out of 30 teams.

Note:

This isn't my prediction for how the standings will look at the end of the year.  This is a ranking of how teams are playing up to that point in the season weighted toward recent performance.  In this case, it is how teams look heading into the season.

For example, the difference between power rankings and a prediction for the end of the season is that teams are far healthier now then they will be in April.  The Spurs are number 3, but could easily be hit with injuries again this year and fall out of the top 10, something I would take into account in a season end prediction.  

Continue reading this post »

No, it's not a list of the best commenters on Blazers' Edge, although that would be an entertaining list.  This is just another NBA power ranking.  There are two main reasons I have decided to put together power rankings here on BE.  First, the site has gotten popular enough that we could use our own rankings, especially one with a little more Blazer bias and a little less East coast +Laker bias.  Second, the level of discourse in the comment section will be many times higher than what will be found on ESPN or Yahoo.  I love hearing other people's opinions, but not when they consist of LEBRON IS TEH BEST!!1! CAVS PWN YOU!!!1111!

I will try to get these rankings out every Sunday during the regular season.  Hopefully that will give people who hate football a little more basketball related reading.  On to the rankings!

Additional Note:

This isn't my prediction for how the standings will look at the end of the year.  This will be a ranking of how teams are playing up to that point in the season weighted some toward recent performance.  In this case, it is how teams look heading into training camp.

For example, the difference between power rankings and a prediction for the end of the season is that teams are far healthier now then they will be in April.  The Spurs are number 3, but could easily be hit with injuries again this year and fall out of the top 10, something I would take into account in a season end prediction.  

Continue reading this post »

The idea behind this Junk Drawer is simple: name something you do (keep it clean, please) that you don't think anyone else does.  Or, if you're not sure you're unique just list a quirk, peccadillo, or strange habit you have.  Revel in your weirdness!

I'll start.  I hardly ever focus my attention on what I'm "watching" on TV.  I'll turn on a show I like, but then go to my computer and surf the interwebz.  I do the same thing with media on my computer.  

I think I'm the only person in my generation (which I'll call the i-pod generation for these purposes) who doesn't constantly listen to music in my room.  I like the sound of silence.

I talk to myself all the time.  It's not crazy mumblings though....more like narrating my own life.

I almost never finish a meal in one sitting.  I'll eat half my food and then save it for later (usually not more than an hour).  I hear multiple small meals keep your metabolism high.

When I type I cannot leave basic words misspelled.  I go back and fix words as soon as I notice that I've misspelled them.  This is part of a larger writing quirk.  I try to make each sentence "perfect" as I go.  Essentially, I don't need to do drafts or do much proofreading because I spend so much time on the first go through.  

That's all I have for now.

If I use farkle in a sentence I get a cookie.

This is one of those facebook "chain letter" type things, but I actually thought it was fun.  This is my life according to Radiohead.

Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions. Try not to repeat a song title. It's a lot harder than you think! Repost as "my life according to (band name)"


Pick your Artist:
Radiohead

Are you a male or female?
In Limbo

Describe yourself:
Paranoid Android

How do you feel:
Optimistic

Describe where you currently live:
House of Cards

If you could go anywhere, where would you go:
Planet Telex

Your favorite form of transportation:
Climbing up the Walls

Your best friend is:
The Trickster

You and your best friends are:
All I Need

What's the weather like:
Permanent Daylight

Favorite time of day:
Morning Bell

If your life was a TV show, what would it be called:
Idioteque

What is life to you:
Fitter, Happier

Your last relationship:
I Want None of This

Your fear:
2+2=5

What is the best advice you have to give:
I Might Be Wrong

Thought for the Day:
Karma Police

How I would like to die:
Hunting Bears

My soul's present condition:
Everything in its Right Place

Most Faithful Companion:
My Iron Lung

Here's the blank version for easy copy pasting.

Pick your Artist:


Are you a male or female?


Describe yourself:


How do you feel:


Describe where you currently live:


If you could go anywhere, where would you go:


Your favorite form of transportation:


Your best friend is:


You and your best friends are:


What's the weather like:


Favorite time of day:


If your life was a TV show, what would it be called:


What is life to you:


Your last relationship:


Your fear:


What is the best advice you have to give:


Thought for the Day:


How I would like to die:


My soul's present condition:


Most Faithful Companion:

A new day requires a new junk, but really I'm making this fanpost for selfish reasons.  I'd like to have a Blazers' Edge Fantasy Football league and I want 2 posts in the recommended section.

I like 10 team standard scoring ESPN leagues, but you certainly don't have to join mine if you like other formats.  So far, Dirty Socks, phillyduck23, The Penguin, EvilKaramazov, cloudydays, rip city coming alive, vullkem116 and L-trainFTW are in which leaves 1 open spot.  The 8 of you should email me at xcrunningfool@hotmail.com so I can send you the invites.

Any level of experience in fantasy sports is welcomed, but I will ask that you be as active as possible in the league.  There's nothing worse than a league where half the owners aren't even playing.  So, first come first serve, just express your interest in the comment section.

For those of you not interested in fantasy football, you can talk about Michael Vick. 

Update:  I know there is a fanshot that is talking about advertisements on NBA jerseys, but I thought I'd bring this discussion to the JD and change the poll accordingly.  How do you feel about logos and advertisements on NBA (non summer league) jerseys?  Specifically, how would you feel about the Blazers doing this?

Got this link via Truehoop:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/2009-07-28-jersey-ads_N.htm

The last few seasons we have seen our young Blazers improve their win total from 21 to 32 to 41 to 54 wins.  We all want to see another substantial increase in the win total, but it is just as hard, if not harder, to improve from an average team to a good team as it is to improve from a good team to a great team.  60 wins is a benchmark for a great team; it's not a perfect benchmark, though.  For example, the Orlando Magic finished with 59 wins last season and made the finals while knocking out the best regular season team.  Only 14 teams (unless I forgot how to add) in the last 9 seasons have cracked the 60 win mark.  Roughly 62 wins puts you in this kind of company.  Of course, winning a lot of games can be aided by an large underclass of terrible teams; a few haves can pillage a large number of have-nots to boost their win totals.  The '09-'10 season could have that phenomenon with the bad economy and many teams clearing cap space for the summer of 2010 FA bonanza. 

So, what can the Blazers do both as a team and as individuals to increase their win total next year?  I've put together a list of areas that can be improved, but it certainly isn't exhaustive and not everything on the list must happen to get to 60.  There are plenty of ways for the Blazers to improve that won't be covered below; for example, I did not list any coaching improvements.  Also, with the exception of Andre Miller and Greg Oden, who I believe could single handily bring us to 60 wins with enough improvement, I didn't try to estimate how many wins any one thing might contribute.  I will, however, put an asterisk by the entries I think are the most crucial.

Continue reading this post »

No, I don't mean that they were all accidents and that you dropped them on their heads as babies.  What are some things that you grew up with that have gone the way of the dinosaurs (or will go extinct soon)?

For example these are some of mine:

VHS tapes

Floppy Disks

Film cameras

Answering machines

Payphones and phonebooks

Phones that are only used for talking to people

Blowing the dust out of nintendo cartridges

Manually unlocking car doors

Public libraries

Using a road atlas and not google maps (or another service)

Add your own and if you're really old (over 30) be sure to include things like:

Using a horse as your main form of transportation

Using Morse code

Living in a time when only white men could vote

Films without sound

Polio

Sitting for portraits

American flags with fewer than 45 stars

Reading by candlight

With the beginning of the free agent portion of the off season looming I am interested to know everyone's reactions to summer acquisitions (or lack thereof) will be.  I know there are camps who support Hinrich, who hate Hedo, who pine for Harris and would give up a kidney for CP3, but I'm not interested in who you are supporting, but what your reaction will be if we don't get your favorite target.  

Will you quietly lament a missed opportunity?  Will you openly declare that the Blazer braintrust be fired?  Is your motto, "In KP we trust"?

Hash it out in the junk drawer.

And for you folks who want a little off topic....how about a few word puzzles? Edit: Use number 9 to clue yourself in on the rest. I messed that one up before, soI just put the answer in.

1. Man

    Board

2. Dice Dice

3. Infin itive

4. Ho

    use

5. Death Life

6. Everything

   Pizza

7. Xqqqme

8. ______ Program

9.     Stand                                   Answer: I understand

             I

10. Funny Funny Words Words Words Words

11.  O_er_t_o_

12. World World World

13. Shut

       Sit

14.  Little Little Late Late

15. Thodeepught

16. C  Yourself Yourself Yourself Yourself

17.  M1y l1i1f1e

18.  Nefriended

19. 329S8429A023F498234987E980348T90834Y2098

20. Arrest

       Your

Ok, I added some more because the night crew got most of them too quickly. I think these are a bit harder.  Let's hope for fewer errors.

21. Shop Shop Shop Shop

                                                     U

22. CI  II

23.  SGEG

24.  Mary+Mary=

25. XLNC

26.  H      P

       O      O

       P       H

27.  M ce, M ce, M ce

28.  Phromate

29.  Gifiren

30.    Ir

      Curtain

How about another update?  I think all of them have been solved except 24.  And now for some new ones.

            R

31.    Roads

            a

            d

            s

32.  Perso nality

33.  Symphon

34.  As

            l

              e

                  e

                      p

35. Horobod

36.  L    o    a    d

37. Over Over

38.  Ground

feetfeetfeetfeetfeetfeet

39.  Ban ana

40.  T               M

       A               U

      H               S

     W               T

41.   iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

     circle circle circle

42.         Travel

ccccccccccccccccccccccccc

42.  Smoke

             G

43.  S       S    S       S

       B       B       B       B

       A       A        A       A

      R      R       R       R

      G      G       G       G

44.   Cred         ibility

45.  Chtongueeek

46.  HIJKLMNO

47.  D         D

       O         O

       O          O

       G          G

       O          O

       N          N

48.  Nothing Nothing        <------------

49.  Tusn

50.  Uction

The idea of this junk drawer is simple.  Share links to sites/webpages that drop knowlegdge like it's hot.  

The first thing I have for you is a video called imagining the 10th dimension.  The explanation is very good (IMO) but the concepts are hard to wrap the mind around.  If it takes you 5 play throughs to understand it you're probably ahead of the curve. 

The next thing I have for you is pretty much the best site I've seen since Blazers Edge.  From their about section, "We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world. So we're building here a clearinghouse that offers free knowledge and inspiration from the world's most inspired thinkers, and also a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other."  Basically, the site consists of videos of talks given on a variety of subjects, from science and technology to business, politics, music, culture and everything in between.    Everyone should be able to find a video that piques their curiosity.

Please share any links you have to great websites, videos, blogs that you think dish out the info like Steve Blake against the Clippers.

Update: I'm adding a few more links that I like and didn't put in the midnight edition.  Also, I recommend Norsk's BIG post for lots of great links.

Why do humans cook?

A map of generic names for soft drinks: Do you say Pop or Soda?

If you tunneled through the Earth where would you end up?

The onion news network says 70% of praise is sarcastic

The crisis of credit visualized

There are plenty of things to be excited about after the game today.

We locked up a 50 win season.  How many people thought we would be a 50 win team?  I know I didn't predict 50 wins.

A 3-1 road trip that includes a 35 point blow out, two come from behind (double digit deficit) wins and a solid win against a Western conference playoff team.

The Blazers finally beat the Spurs at home after 11(?) straight losses in San Antonio.

The Blazers earned the tiebreaker against the Spurs.

I know there are a lot more things we can be excited about, but that's a good start.

What are you most excited about after this great win? 

Normally, I would have made this a fanshot, but because this question is extremely relevant to our interets and merits much discussion I made it a fanpost.

The question is: Does previous playoff experience matter when it comes to winning games?

Bear with me here, it's an ESPN insider story: Coming of Age

Update:  Now available without insider access, link provided by Diesel10 

For those of you without insider access or anyone too lazy to click the link, I will quote the important passages here.

"We calculated a "playoff score" which adds one point for each playoff win, subtracts one point for each playoff loss and awards four points for making the playoffs as well as for each subsequent series win. We also created a projected playoff score based on a team's regular-season record, point differential and seeding."

"Doing this shows a very, very slight value to postseason experience. For every 250 additional games of postseason experience, teams on average gain one playoff score point relative to their projection -- that is, about one extra win. The difference between the '96-97 Clippers and the most experienced team in the past 13 seasons (last year's Spurs) is about four playoff score points."

"If we look strictly at the least experienced playoff teams, it's hard to find much evidence that their youth worked against them. The 12 teams that entered the postseason with fewer than 100 games of playoff experience on their roster combined to post a playoff score of 4.1 despite an expected score of 2.9. In other words, they actually overachieved as a group."

Tonight the Denver Nuggets host the Utah Jazz in a Northwest division showdown.  For those of you with cable, it is on TNT starting at 7:30.

Most of us know these teams well, so I'll just link (new window) to ESPN's preview.

There are competing theories as to what outcome benefits the Blazers the most.

Utah defeats Denver:

The Blazers aren't going to slip in their final 8 games and fall behind the Jazz in the playoff race even if they beat the Nuggets tonight.  A Denver loss gives the Blazers a very realistic chance at winning the division and getting homecourt in the first round of the playoffs with homecourt being vital for a trip to the 2nd round.

Denver defeats Utah:

The Blazers are a young team and could falter just enough to get passed by a veteran team like Utah, so the more losses for the Jazz the better.  On the other side, Denver has such an easy schedule the Blazers aren't likely to catch them in the division race anyway.  It's better to root for Denver because a win for them helps the Blazers lock into a 5th seed.

Which team should win?  What outcome helps the Blazers more?  Who gets ejected first, Jerry Sloan or Nene?  Talk it out in the comments

There are many topics which spur heated debate. Even the most civilized people will turn into hateful, venom spewing, soapbox standing on, self righteous jerks when presented with the appropriate topic. And as many of you know, the internet is the perfect place to air out grievances about all sorts of subjects. However, those topics will not be featured here.

Instead, I present to you the little arguments and the petty subjects.

Peanut Butter: Is smooth or chunky better?

Manual or automatic transmission?

Sliced bread: Why do people compare the next great thing to sliced bread? This is not a critical invention.

There, they're and their: Either we need to eliminate 2 of these words and give the remaining one all the meanings of the group or people just need to learn how to spell.

Metric vs. U.S. units: Even though metric is far superior, I still don't have an accurate mental picture of how fast 15 m/s is or how warm 30 degrees Celsius is. And why isn't there a metric (base-10) system for time?

Coke or Pepsi?

Tea or Coffee?

What is the greatest television comedy? Seinfeld, The Simpsons, Friends, Arrested Development, something else?

What is your favorite type of quark: up, down, bottom, top, strange or charmed?

The best color ever is clearly cobalt blue. Prove me wrong.

What is the best season? Basketball season is not an answer. Because I said so, that's why.

Is it better to have loved and lost or is it better to have never loved at all?

Is Wikipedia the best thing since sliced bread?

Boxers, briefs or boxer briefs? Why do people even include briefs anymore? I might as well include banana hammocks.

Discuss this web comic (NSFW language): http://xkcd.com/388/

Discuss this video: http://www.theonion.com/content/video/are_violent_video_games

Should Pluto be a planet?

Who is faster: Superman, the Flash or Usain Bolt?

Who has the more annoying voice: Fran Drescher or Gilbert Gottfried?

I have a friend whose birthday is February 29th. On a non-leap year, should his birthday be celebrated on the 28th or the 1st? This is a critical question for him this year as he turns 21. Would he be legally allowed to drink on the 28th?

I never understood the point of giving February just 28 days. Why not take a day from January and a day from March give them to February and that way every month has at least 30 days.

Edit: Now with poll inspired by G_Dubs

The Blazers showed some real grit and determination out on the court tonight.  They didn't back down from the physical defending champs and won a close game without Brandon Roy.  We started 3 rookies, played completely new lineups including what will (IMO) soon become a fan favorite:  Oden and Przybilla at the same time.

The Houson win was spectacular.  Beating teams like the Spurs, Hornets and Magic tell you that this team can hang with the elites, but a win like this is a playoff caliber win.  

Dave has spoken about great teams shutting down our Plan A, well our plan A wasn't even in uniform tonight and we got the win.  This will be a huge confidence booster.  We already know Brandon Roy can take over in the 4th quarter and win games, but now everyone else on that team knows that they can win in different ways.  Big props to everyone on that court tonight.

Sergio with some clutch freethrows, he went up to the line and sunk those like he's been hitting them for years.

Oden giving us back to back solid performances.  And did anyone see him getting fired up out there?  And laughing about the 6 men on the court call?  I love seeing that emotion from him.  This could be a turning point for him.  Also, consider that just yesterday he rolled an ankle in practice and got x-rays.  To go from maybe missing the game with yet another injury to putting up a solid stat line with GREAT effort is just amazing.

Outlaw had some really nice offensive boards.  He wasn't just settling for his one dribble jumper.  He attacted the rim.  I can live with the occasional bad play if Travis plays with that kind of energy and if he attacks the rim like that.

Blake was dynamite on offense.  He just wouldn't let us fall behind early in the game.  Blake for 3!!!!!!

I know there's a lot more, but I think we all just need a place to talk about this great win.