SB Nation User Blog: einman77

What do you think of Matt Leinart?

einman77 — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 05:15:24 -0000

I've never posted here before, nor am I even a Lions fan. But I was over at the Cardinals website (not a cards fan either), and got caught up in the discussion of Warner resigning. I argued that they essentially chose Warner over Leinart, in that Leinart will be 28 years old and his contract will expire by the time Warner's does, and that if he doesn't play a down of meaningful football between now and then he could stand to lose tens of millions of dollars and a boatload of career stats. Now, it was pointed out that you guys have 2 first round picks, but the thought there is that you would be unwilling to trade your 20th overall pick for him without taking a nice pick back. I think that seems absurd. I think he's a serious upgrade to any of the QBs in the draft. You would get to choose a franchise tackle and be able to pick up a quarterback who can start from day 1 and probably continue to do so for a long time. Of course no one has seen the kid play except for 1/2 a season his second year in the league as a part time starter, and he didn't look that impressive. The coach chose the best quarterback in the league last year over him, and that looked bad on him, despite the play of Warner. So the percetion is that you wouldn't do it straight up for your #20 pick. Am I way off in responding with 'They would in a heartbeat'?

Poll

Would you trade your #20 pick in the draft for Matt Leinart?

in a heartbeat.

8 votes

Not quite, sweeten it please

42 votes

That guys sucks. Let him rot on AZ's bench.

27 votes

77 votes | Poll has closed

Junk Drawer 2/25 - Cities and Kinghts and other ways to waste time

einman77 — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 14:08:11 -0000

So every day I find myself wasting time NOT relevant to the Blazers. Lately I have been playing some settlers (cities and knights) online. My name is Rip City 4 real, and not so coincidentally I meet a lot of Blazers fans when they see my name. I should be studying Japanese, but that's not as fun. I just got kicked off BE at work, so I guess that's where I'll be doing my studying now. I really miss kayaking in Oregon. There are so many great places around, and so much beauty out there. I've been playing basketball a little, but I am a much better spectator. At least I'm a lot bigger than the Japanese, so I can act like Joel out there. You know, a mini Joel playing against the mini Warriors every night. So what do you do to waste time? How much time do you spend on BE? I'm not sure who spends the most time on this site, but I think a few people just sit around and wait for new posts/comments nearly all day long.

Anyway, back to my Settlers addiction, if anyone reading this knows the site I am talking about (or want to know) and wants to jump in a Blazers fans clan (they have a Raptors fans clan, we gotta be represented) let me know and I'll email you. So, who spends the most time on this site?

Poll

0 votes

Damir

0 votes

ignatio

0 votes

37 votes | Poll has closed

Help for your trade deadline hangover

einman77 — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 06:32:21 -0000

I admit, I was kind of disappointed that there was no big trade before the deadline. I had visions of Jefferson and Bosh dancing in my head. I also have the luxury of living in Japan, so I went to sleep when nothing could happen (6 am Portland time) and woke up well after the deadline. Things were quite a bit different for the people hitting the refresh button at whatever site or post you were looking at every 30 seconds. After thinking about the situation I came across some things that made me feel a bit better. Here are a few things that can help you get through the lingering effects of your trade machine overdose.

1. I think the thing that people absolutely must remember is that we weren't going to get anyone that would win us a title this season. Brandon Roy and Greg Oden (and with dissenting opinion LMA) are the foundation to our championship team. They have their faults and critics, but they are our best shot at a title, better than anything out there that we could have reasonably gotten. We have constructed a young team built around those guys. Someone who is peaking now and sinking out of the picture isn't an ideal fit, nor is someone who will only be around for a year or two before they would have wanted more money than we could have paid them. That's what most of the deals seemed to be about. We need someone good and still on their way up. Our window is not yet closed on making a serious move, but had we gotten the wrong guy, it would have been.

2. The media is good at stirring us up. A few months ago a lot more people were on board with the idea that we are coming along fine, and that we didn't really need to make a big change. I know things are a little different, but how different are they really? I know that there have been some sparks from people that we would like to see more of, and some things that we aren't fond of in other players. The players on different teams have their faults as well, and we don't look at them as thoroughly as we do our own guys every game. There were drawbacks to every trade, and if you look at them long enough, I bet you can figure them out.

3. Experience playing and training together means something. Every year there are teams that try and put something together at the deadline to bring a championship to the city. How often does that work out? Having someone who looks good on paper is a lot different than having someone who knows their role on the team and what to expect from the other players, and that same understanding from the others about them as well. I hear it all too often when teams do something that seems good, then they comment that they need more time together to really get to know one another after they fall short of expectations. Any move made, barring a slam dunk deal, would have probably cost us a few months of inconsistent play to smooth out the bumps.

4. We don't know what was actually on the table. As a Blazer fan, you often over value your own players. Everyone does, especially with the ones they like. Why is another team any different? You think you like Wallace? Imagine how much they do too over in Charlotte. On top of that, there is the buy low sell high strategy that always works better for the sellers. People knew the exact cost of RLEC. What we don't know is the future of what they were offering AND the future of the pieces that they wanted. Right now some things may have seemed like a steal, but in the future it could likely turn out to be a big mistake. I know there are struggling owners who would have loved to reduce payroll, but giving up on good investments simply to cut costs is not a sound business plan. RLEC was a big chip, but not something that someone was going to go all-in for like some people thought.

5. We still have options. Granted, we had more options prior to the deadline, but that doesn't necessarily mean we had better options than what we could get by waiting. The Ruffin move allowed us more flexibility come this summer. I am willing to bet that the organization had a few plans, as well as the cost that they were willing to pay for those plans, going into the deadline, and that those criteria weren't met. I give them credit for holding their ground rather than jumping the gun and putting themselves in a hole, especially in this pressure cooker type situation. We've had plenty of that around here, and I don't need to see it any more. Moreover, I would bet that they have at least two fairly solid plans for this summer that are better than anything they dug up these last couple of weeks. That could sure help someone under pressure stick to their guns.

All in all, I still trust that KP and TP did everything they could while keeping the best interests of the team at heart.

So what has changed?

einman77 — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 23:46:12 -0000

With recent talks of trading Outlaw, Sergio and Reaf for Miller and filler, I can't help but think back to last year when there was (supposedly) an almost done deal with Sergio, Outlaw and Frye (!) leaving us and we would in return get Devin Harris and change. I look back now and say wow, what I bet KP would do for that chance again. It's so easy to at this point. Then I realize all the differences that have taken place on this team since a year ago. So what has changed?

I'll start with Travis, since at that time he was the deal breaker. Travis Outlaw was on a tear that you would not want to trade for anyone. He was as clutch as Roy was, singlehandedly winning games for us (or at least it felt that way) left and right . If he were able to keep up that pace we would have another all-star on our roster. We were short on players at small forward, and Martell didn't match what Travis did and vice-versa. We had a good thing going that brought us a 13 game winning streak. We also had too many point guards who showed promise. Blake, Serge, Jack, Green, Koppenen and even Roy had the possibility of becoming the point guard that we needed, and each of them had a band wagon. Granted, Harris would have been a huge upgrade to any of them (except Roy, but playing him out of position isn't something I would want to hang my hat on). We were young enough to take a good risk-reward strategy with our guards. It was a toss up, but I was fine with what occoured at that time.

We also find ourselves with possibly the perfect fit at small forward. Batum, I personally think, solves so many problems for us. Him and Martell have the possibilty of being everything we could ask for (looking at things right now) from the 3 spot. Travis is still streaky Travis. We thought we found consistancy from him at that point, but it was just a dream. The one who turned out to be the consistent performer was the one that got away.

Another thing that happened is our guard situation has changed. A lot. Sergio's not happy sitting around and taking his time to develop. He wants to play a lot more than he is (or at least was, I haven't heard many complaints from him lately). I love Sergio, but I am now ready to see him go. I'm still not sold on the idea that he will never be a great point guard, though it seems more and more likely that maybe he can't become that here. I am coming to the realization that Blake and Bayless will become our ideal point guard tandem. And maybe Petteri can get a plane ticket over here to try his hand in the NBA as well. And I will wish Sergio the best and still root for him throughout his career no matter what happens to him. Unless he goes, you know, there. Also, we found out Channing sucks. I still love you Channing, but only after the whistle blows.

Now, as this trade dealine approaches, I can't help but look at our situation now in relation to the past. We are still a young team, and we have a great shot at filling in our roster with the pieces we already have. I really think that Batum, Oden, Aldridge, Bayless and Rudy will become somewhere close to where us homers see them. I can't tell who is going to be our biggest star of those, and I couldn't really imagine trading any of those 4 right now without getting something out of reach in return. I also think that our defense would be monsterous on all levels with Oden, LMA, Batum and Bayless once everyone gets into their prime. Roy and Rudy could score more points between the two of them than other teams combined. I also can see the value of having Joel and Blake on the team. They are also not likely to be matched in return value, since thier roles seem to fit us like a glove. That leaves a lot to play with. I think our team has more of an identity now and in the future than we could find last year at this point, and therefore we can find the pieces we need to better fill the gaps in as we go since we, in all likelyhood, have our core. Last year we had only a dream of Oden (which so far is looking better than the real thing, but he is still very far from where he is going), no Bayless or Batum, Rudy wasn't here and Blake wasn't a solid 3 point threat. All of those things amount to an enormous difference.

In looking at this, I also can't help but think of how the fan base and the site have changed. A year and a half ago, there was a lot less pressure on this team. People were thrilled to get to .500 in this conference since we were were such a young team. We still are a young team, but our timeline isn't the same as it used to be. On one hand, I feel like if we made a strong move we could be considered in weak contention for the west this season (with Bynum going down anyone who makes the playoffs has a shot at it). However, I can still see the bigger picture in that we don't want to chisle away at the core of our team that will be in strong title contention for many, many years if all goes well. This puts a lot of people at odds with each other. When it comes down to it we're all Blazers fans, and we all want the best for this team (so seriously, stop with the JBOF stuff). We're all also emotional, and want to win now. There is most likely going to be a trade in the next couple of weeks. Could be good in some eyes, could be a bad idea to others. It will be a change. I do think we could do some things that could put us in contention this season. I think we are going to have to do something pretty soon or we will run out of roster spots. Too much talent, what a problem to have.

I wrote this simply because I was reflecting on the trade deadline last year and wanted to share it. I was so strong on Harris, but I honestly thought they were crazy for wanting Outlaw myself. It all just trips me out looking back. It will be interesting next year at this point to see where we are then.

76ers ambassador report

einman77 — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 01:12:03 -0000

We are on the eve of the first meeting between the Sixers and the Blazers and it's time to o my ambassador duties. I have to work myself out of the Eagles NFC Championship frenzy that I am in and talk about this match-up for a minute. Honestly I have been paying a lot more attention to football lately, so you may know a lot of what I am going to say, but I'll put down what I got.

First off, the Sixers have been winning a good bit lately. The teams they have been playing haven't been of the highest caliber, and they have been going through a lot of changes. The big story for them coming into the game is the possible return of Elton Brand. He has been out of the line-up this last month, and the Sixers have been winning since that happened. That's a shaky correlation though, due to a number of other factors.

One is the firing of a head coach we're all familiar with, Mo Cheeks. Poor Mo. He's such a nice guy. Since Mo has been out, the feeling is the new coach Tony Delio is doing some things well. He lost Brand at the very start of his head coaching duties, so it will be interesting to see how he gets him back and clicking with the team. One thing that Delio decided to do was make Theo Ratliff the starter and Mo Speights (8s with an "Sp" at the beginning) the back-up, leaving Sammy Dalembert the #3 guy at center with an enormous contract. You would have to give massive props to the GM Ed Stefanski if he figured out a way to move that guy for something worthwhile or even an expiring contract.

The fans and the guy over at Liberty Ballers love the kid Speights, and they love Stefanski too. Speights is a rookie who they think will be the next Amare. They are also really big on Lou Williams and Thadeous Young. They are both young players who seem to have some good potential. If all of these guys work out this will be a team that could be quality for while.

Some things to keep your eye out for are how well Brand transitions back to the team. I honestly think if he is used as the primary offensive threat, that would play well for the Blazers. That seemed to be the problem before, and Iggy was confined to a lot of outside jumpers, which is not his strength (in the least). Since Brand has been out, Iggy, as well as a lot of the team, has been playing a lot better. Of course without a solid 4 in, everyone's roles were a lot more flexible. Regardless, a gradual transition and a role playing type of performance would probably be the best way for the Sixers to utilize Brand despite all the hype surrounding his return.

Something that may be telling of the future is how Oden stacks up against Speights and how (if we see it) Bayless matches up against Louis Williams. The last two are guys who seem to relate, that the play more of a shooting guard brand of ball, but are suited size wise for the 5 spot. Of course different players mature in different ways at different times of their careers, but a match-up is a match-up and can help to portend a little piece of the future for what it's worth. Of course a lot of attention will be paid to Iggy and BRoy. The cameras will be on them, the announcers will talk about them, I'm sure you'll get your share there. Also, who can cover Thadeous Young at the 3 is a big question in my mind. He is a solid defender and he has the potential to explode on the offensive side of the ball. His 3 has been an effective weapon this season (I think he is shooting it the best on the team, so if he's on it helps to open the middle up), and he is dangerous from nearly anywhere on the floor. One thing the Sixers are (or were, I'm not sure about very recently) terrible at is defending the 3. That could easily work out well for us. I would love to give a more detailed examination of the game, but my mind is stuck on football, and I haven't seen a Sixers game since they got the new coach. Also, I don't pretend to be a great basketball mind, I'm just trying to be a better Blazers fan. Besides, I'm sure Dave will lay it down like no one's business as usual. Update: Since I originally posted this, he has, and he showed me up on the quality of opponents the Sixers have faced. That's what I get for listening to a sixer fan rather than doing my homework.

One thing, If you do go over to liberty ballers, be nice. The site is pretty new, and the guy who runs it is a proclaimed Cowgirls fan. As far as the average Philadelphia fan stands concerning extremities on the continuum of emotions relevant to the 4 major sports teams, it goes 1. The Eagles (on either the good or bad end, depending on the month) 2. The Cowgirls (on the bad end of that continuum) 3. Whoever can help the Eagles or beat the Cowgirls and 4. the other teams that share the city with the Eagles. So an admitted Cowgirls fan is a notch or two below an Al-queda member and a baby seal killer kicking the crap out of Rocky as far as the fans are concerned. Putting TO's picture on the site and saying he hates Eagles fans may not have been the best way to endear himself to the fanbase either, regardless of the trip that the Eagles took them on a few weeks ago. Point being that the readership is not that strong and adding to any negative feelings over there wouldn't be doing anyone any favors at all. I'm sure the guys would love to answer any questions you have about the Sixers and would engage in a little trash talk, but kid gloves if not handshake gloves. He is also a youtube junkie, so his links and his fanshots are usually worth checking out.

Falcons jack up ticket prices

einman77 — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 15:35:15 -0000

I just got my invoice for season tickets for next year. They bumped up prices big time. I have upper level seats on the 50 yard line, and this season they were $60 per seat. Next season they will be $85. I love what has happened with this team, but I stuck it out through this last off season when everyone else bailed and I feel like the management is really taking advantage of me and the loyal fans. I'm not happy and I'm not sure if I can even afford this. This is really upsetting. Anyone else as fired up about this as me?

Back to a reference to a Point Guard statistic post

einman77 — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 23:50:49 -0000

I found an article over at the Sixers blog, and there is about a fan post a week over there. The guy made an (apparently fualty) way to break down point guards offensive contributions. He put a ton of work into it and the only comments he got was about how Miller sucks. Check it out, and rec it if you could. It would be the first rec'ed fan post of that blog. It's only been around for about a month or so, but this guy deserves it. There was more, but I cut the fat, made it a junk drawer are the same time as deadprez, so now you just get the fat cut version.

That's just crazy talk!

einman77 — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 01:32:04 -0000

Over the last few weeks, after this rocky start, there have been a lot of fan posts where fans are "being fans". Now, while I can't see many of the games, I can see how people can be upset. Now this has been a roller coaster of a time, from the draft to the Olympics to the preseason promise, to the injuries and disapointment, and even a surprise win thrown in there. Overall though, people are reacting, well, fanatically. Huge swings at every turn. Also other people are jumping on people for reacting like this. I wouldn't say that anyone is a bandwagon fan or insult thier intelligence or foresight because of this. In fact, last season, my first season blogging on this site, gave me some valuable experience. I can regard what it is to be a fan and how this team plays in a different light. I think I can draw on some previous experiences to highlight how people should maintain an even keel, regadless of the weather.

My examples are short and sweet and hopefully will serve to get the point across. The first comes from the rough start we had last season. I'm not just talking about the first 3 games, I'm talking about the first month and a half. We had a nice spurt there for some time, but all in all, we had a disapointing showing early in the season. Despite the fact that we were the youngest tem in the NBA and our #1 draft pick was out, everyone was looking to point a finger. Nate was target #1. People publicly claimed he coudn't handle this team, that he was a poor fit, ect. During and after the win streak, people were appolgizing that they said such comments, stating that they learned what they did. Those are the now the 'experienced' bloggers that people have been referencing lately. Point #1: Don't throw people under the bus because of a bad stretch.

My second point is in regards to how we view players. Last season, at the begining of the season, there was a log jam of question marks at the point spot. 2 of those 4 aren't here now, including one who made a splashin the preseason, but that's not the one I am going to talk about (though anyone who was on the Green bandwagon and is now on the Bayless one, just think about that for a minute). Early in the season last year, Jack was the best player off the bench IN THE NBA! It only lasted a few weeks, but he was doing well. Then he slid. Far. He was given enough rope to go as far up as he wanted... or to hang himself. He was a streaky player who never produced the consitent results that would indicate the type of pay that the team needs. However, he was given enough time on the floor to make a sound judgement about his future with the team (or lack thereof). Meanwhile, a young man with a fishy name really broke his game wide open in the middle of the year. For 2 months. During this time there was a deal on the table for him... where we could have landed Devin Harris. Like the fans, even the management said that price tag was too high. I can't really argue that because had Travis reached that level and stayed there through his career, New Jersey would have gotten a steal of a trade. However, again, it was just two months. Right now, the fan base and the management are thinking "re-do?". Too late. All that being said, he still does have potential and should be given the chance to show excatly what he can do in this year of decisions for our young Outlaw. With Batum growing up right behind him, it makes people a little jumpy, but there is still the big picture to think about. Also, touching on the Batum thing a little, comes point number two. Don't let recent history (and especially a small saple size to work with) blind you to the point of only basing your judgement soley on such a run. Also, fiding out what we have in a player is a better option than trading a possible solution to the problems we are facing.

The last part is just a glimpse in the mirror. Hoestly, when I step back out of the moment I am able to laugh at people bashing the team. If you proclaim shortsighted things as a reaction to one or a few games, well, you state it pubicly on here. Really, over the long haul, hopefully these people will be fans for a long time, even if they are just getting on now. And you'll have the chance to review the comments that you made, when they really don't hold water anymore. You have two choices at that point. The first is to admit that you were wrong, appologize and admit that it was just a knee-jerk reaction and that you'll try and keep your peepers open and your mouth shut in those situations. The second is when you stick with those kind of comments because you stated them publicly and look for little holes to poke in the rock that has become situaion x. This leads to just overall negativity, personally and on the site. Neither of those are great options, but one is a learning experience. Along with that, riding all your hopes on one player could turn out very disappointing. In addition to this, insulting people when they make those ascertations doesn't make you any better or smarter. Riding the tide, countering misguided attempts at venting politely and reasonably, and letting people realize thier own mistakes saves both people a lot of anger. We're all in this together, and we all have a lot to learn about this team. Hopefully we can pick up a few things about ourselves too.

Looking to unload my tickets, and man, do I have a deal for you!

einman77 — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:42:34 -0000

Looking to get those stains out of your white shirts? Thought that your new white carpet was ruined from that whine stain? Well throw that old shirt out, put on on a Blazers jersey and get yourself out of house, away from that trashed floor and head on down to the Rose Garden. Don't have tickets? Well here's your shot!

I had 2 sets of season tickets, but now am down to about 1/2 a season. In order to stick to the rules of the site, I have divided what I have left into tiers, and you just pick two games from corresponding tiers. This is the last of what I got, and they aren't difficult to get rid of, but I thought that some real fans might want a shot at getting into some nice games at face value again.

Now the tier system I will use seemed to work pretty well before, so hopefully it goes well again here.So you would have to pick 2 pairs of tickets from inverse tiers. For example, if you pick from the top tier, or A, you have to pick from the bottom, or D. A pick from B would require a pick from C. First to pick a pair of tickets they want in the comments part, first serve. I'll email you about details about how we go about the transaction. Please leave your email address when you post. The tickets are in 334 row A and have a face value of $49 a ticket. They are really nice seats, behind the Blazers bench on the upper level.

But wait, there's more! It would hardly seem fair if I was able to get rid of a bunch of my regular season tickets and leave you guys out when the playoffs come around, right? While I can't give everyone a playoff ticket, I will give away one pair of tickets every round for face value. In order to get the playoff tickets, you first have to get a pair of games from me. Then, all you have to do to get the playoff tickets is tell me 1. How many games the Blazers will win this year, 2a. How many points Rudy will average per game, and 2b. How many rebounds GO will average. The closest WIN total will be the ultimate qualifier, so if you're one game away from the closest person in that, even if you're dead on with points and rebounds, that's a tough break. After that, the person who is closest to EITHER Rudy's point total or Oden's rebounds get the tickets. If there is still a tie at that point, then the person who is strongest in the last category will get the tickets. If you buy 4 pairs of tickets (two upper level and two lower level games), you get to make 2 predictions. If the Blazers make it to the 2nd round, the 2nd place person will get tickets to one of those games at face value. Please put your predictions in the comments part along with the games you want. Do not email them to me, I don't want to have to go rooting through 6 month old emails at the end of the season. Make sense? I'm kind of confused, so if you have any questions please ask.

Anyway, without further ado, here are the games I have left:

In 334 row A (behind the Blazers Bench! $49 a ticket, $196 for 2 tickets to 2 games)

Tier A

Phoenix 12/18, New Orleans Fri. 1/2, Phoenix 3/26, Utah 3/3, Dallas 3/11

Tier B

Philly 3/23, Denver 12/23, LA Clippers (Friday)12/12, Toronto 12/27 (Sat), GS sat. 1/10, LA Clippers 2/22,

Tier C

Minnesota 11/08, Wizards Sat. 1/24, Minnesota Sat. 3/07, Ind. 3/04, New York Sun. 2/08, Atlanta 2/20

Tier D

Charlotte 1/28, Memphis 2/18, Memphis Sat 3/28, New Jersey Fri. 3/13, OK city 4/13,

Well, have at it. I'll try and update it as much as possible if there is any updating that needs to be done, but I am in Japan which makes it tough sometimes. Here's the stadium map on the Blazers website, click on 334, row A-G for the 3d view.

I can't wait until I am able to use these tickets again, but right now my loss is your gain. Let me know if you have any questions.

Ambassador findings

einman77 — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 06:05:18 -0000

A few weeks ago, Dave said he would like people to be ambassadors for other teams. I volunteered to be the person who covered the Sixers, but since they didn't have a sister site I really couldn't do much. They recently started one (with a guy running it who is a sef-proclaimed cowgirls fan. That's like someone starting a lumberjacks blog in P-town and being a l*kers fan) and I sent them a welcome message and told them a little about me. I also found out something unbelievable...

They think that they are going to be the next great team in the NBA! Everyone knows about Iggy and Brand, but they also have a blooming point guard behind MIller. They have Thadeous Young, who you may or may not know, and they think he is poised for a breakout season. They are also fawning over this rookie, Speights. They are calling him Amare 2.0. Also, they think that THEY have the best GM in sports. I was absolutely shocked! Don't they know about KP and the Blazers? It got me thinking, what have other people found in thier searches reaching out across the SNB network?

I was also curious if there are teams that are covered and ones that aren't. I'm not sure if there was an official sign up post to clarify who was covering which teams, just the post where the idea was thrown out. To help clarify, it would be helpful to put the team you are covering in the title, or at least in bold somewhere in the body of this post. If you only want to put a title up to clarify which team you are coving, that's fine too. Maybe I'll follow it up with a post about which teams still need ambassadors at some point, but I really want to know if there are other sites that for some reason think the Blazers aren't the team of the future. Are there more?