SB Nation User Blog: torch

Tinker Streaming Ads

torch — Fri, 01 May 2009 15:07:38 -0000

These new ads that are appearing on every page - the streaming ones from Tinker (at least, that's who they seems to be) - are absolutely killing page load performance on the SB Nation web sites.

A page will load, but I will not be able to scroll up or down, or click through any links, etc unti after the Tinker streaming ad has received its streaming data from the its data source.

Can we get this fixed some how? I am willing to deal with ads on the sites, but not when they lock up my browser window.

Tweeting for Tickets

torch — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:22:25 -0000

Two Free Tickets!!!

Thought I would throw this out there for everyone - if anyone here is on Twitter, the team's has an account there - it is @NHLBlackhawks. They are giving away two tickets for Game 5 to a Twitter follower who comes up with the funniest prediction for Game 5 that will not come true on Saturday. Check out their Twitter feed for more info.

And if anyone cares (not expected) - @Torch02 is my username at Twitter

Sam Smith started it all?

torch — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 00:17:45 -0000

Sam Smith started it all?

Mark Cuban recently comments on his blog reaching its 5th anniversary. In this first post, Cuban outed our man Sam as the one sportwriter he doesn't like:

"The majority of reporters and columnists are good people. There are a couple, no make that 1 Sam Smith of the Chicago Tribune who I can’t stand."

Game Preview #72 - Detroit Pistons @ Chicago Bulls

torch — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 16:10:47 -0000

[Note by your friendly BullsBlogger, 03/24/09 2:00 PM CDT : Thanks to torch for today's game preview -ed.]

After last night's near loss to the Least of the East, it is hard to rustle up any optomism for our game tonight against the Pistons. However we can take solace in tow things: 1) A win is a win, and 2) the Pistons might be more beat up than Boston was a week ago.

Tonight begins Operation Toyota, our quest to pass Detroit and acquire the 7th seed in the playoffs. Hollinger currently has us in the 8th seed in the East, with the same record as Detroit (40-42). We currently sit two games behind them in the standings, having played two more games than they have. More importantly, we play them tonight and again in three weeks. The only tough game we have remaining on our schedule is against Miami this Thursday at home and we only have two road games left. Detroit has a home game against the Lakers on Thursday, while also traveling to both Cleveland and Miami later this season and they have seven games away from Auburn Hills remaining. If we take care of business tonight and on April 13th, we will be percentage points ahead of Detroit in the standings while holding the head-to-head tie breaker. From there, we only need to win one more game than they do over our remaining schedule. As far fetched as it may seem, this is reasonably within our reach

On to tonight's game: According to the Detroit Free Press, Rasheed Wallace and Allen Iverson are out for tonight, with Rip Hamilton being very doubtful. Besides the depth issues this poses Detroit, it also benefits us on the defensive end, as our guards won't have to chase Rip around and our bigs can stay closer to the paint, not having to guard Sheed at the time line. This makes tonight's extremely winnable, especially at home. Accuscore has us as a 3:1 favorite tonight. Let's prove the computers right!

Blogging with the Enemy:

Piston Powered
Pistons Nation Blog

Game time: 7:00 PM CDT
Coverage: TNT, ESPN Radio 1000

Game Preview #59 - Chicago Bulls at Washington Wizards

torch — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 21:03:38 -0000

[Thanks to torch for today's game preview. I was briefly invigorated after the trade deadline, but now I look to games with a bit of dread thinking of what VDN is going to do. He's benching Derrick Rose! -ed.]

With the tragedies of yesterday, it will be hard as a fan to focus on a simple game that's getting played tonight in our nation's capitol. But I think we can say with some certainty that both Johnny and Norm would want nothing more than the boys to play basketball tonight.

To the game - it's hard to predict how this game will turn out. We should beat a team like Washington, but expectations have been turned on their heads with wins against Denver and Orlando followed by losses to Indiana and New Jersey over the past week. The Wizards are currently fighting Oklahoma City for the second most ping pong balls in the lottery this summer.

Position by position we match up well - Rose/Deng/Noah easily out-class James/McGuire/Songaila. I'll give them PF with Jamison (their only consistent weapon) over Thomas. I'll leave it up to the reader to debate Bulter versus Gordon. When it comes to bench depth, we easily win the battle. The Washington bench has combined for only 60 points over their last three games. A lot of that has to do with injury (Arenas and Haywood out, Butler and Songaila missing time), but it is that injured team we are playing tonight.

We always seem to have rough battles with Washington, so this one will likely come down to who wants it more. Let's hope that the post-game discussion is talking about how we bounced back from those disappointing losses this week, rather than debating whether Vinny has gone crazy with his new toys. Accuscore has us as a 2:1 favorite. We may even get some support from the President on this one.

Blogging with the Enemy:
Bullets Forever
Washington Wizards Blog
Wizards Talk

Game time: 6:05 PM Central
Coverage: Comcast SportsNet, ESPN Radio 1000

Hopefully tonight will be the third time in a row that I've watched the Bulls win in the Verizon Center.
I'll be the guy in the 1984 red Jordan jersey just a few rows behind the Bulls bench. Enjoy the game!

Should the "Tim Thomas treatment" be retired?

torch — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 20:04:57 -0000

Should the "Tim Thomas treatment" be retired?

In a column talking about the likelihood that Starbury ends up in Boston, John Hollinger said "...He missed most of last season with ankle problems, and was Tinsleyed by the Knicks before he ever played a game this season."

Up until this season, that expression used to be "he was Tim Thomas'd," in reference to how Tim was treated by the Bulls in his last stint here. However, with his return and Vinny's willingness to actually play him, is the "Tim Thomas treatment" no longer an applicable description?

User Interface and Usability

torch — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 15:17:29 -0000

Hopefully this is an easy to fix suggestion. Every time I log into an SBNation site, I click the "Log In" button on the far right hand side of the screen, then have to click in the user name box on the far left hand side of the screen.

Could we get these buttons/boxes located on the same side of the screen. Or at least place the active cursor in the username box when someone clicks "Log In"?

It's just a minor thing, but I think it would go a long way for ease of use of the sites.

Ode to Stat

torch — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 21:51:41 -0000

When you die on the vine
'Cause Mike D said goodbye
That's Amare
Then when Shaq clogs the paint
And the man, you sure ain't
That's Amare
Shot clocks tick, roll-pop-pick, roll-pop-pick
Drive and kick, Phoenix Sun-y
Max deals ring, cha-cha-ching, cha-cha-ching
As you sing "Where's my money?"

When your defensive play
Is a bullfighter's "Ole!"
That's Amare
And your locker room cheer
Is so quick to "endear"
That's Amare
When Steve Kerr will discuss
Trading you as a must
That's Amare
Now at the All Star break
Will we trade for trade's sake?
That's Amare
That's Amare

Game Preview #20 - Washington Wizards @ Chicago Bulls

torch — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 16:59:14 -0000

[Thanks to torch for today's game preview -ed.]

Game time: 7:30 PM Central
Coverage: Comcast SportsNet, NBATV, ESPN Radio 1000

Ah, the Washington Wizards - one of my favorite rivals to hate. Some of that comes from living in the DC area and some of it from Gilbert Arenas escorting us out of the playoffs in recent years.

But tonight, I hope Washington is just what the doctor ordered. The Wizards are off to their worst start (3-14) since they played up in Baltimore back in the sixties. Most of this can be excused by the absence of Brendan Haywood and the oft-injured Gilbert Arenas. But Washington is on a bit of an uptick, going 2-4 since interim head coach Ed Tapscott took over just before Thanksgiving.

As for tonight's game, we should be able to score a ton on these guys. We're playing at the league's 4th highest pace against a team with the league's 3rd worst defensive efficiency. The Wizards have let their last two opponents shoot 50% and 48% from the field, so hopefully we can recover from our recent poor shooting nights this week. The United Center should also give us a boost, as we're playing much better as a home team (5-3) than they are as a road team (1-6)

Blogging with the Enemy:

Bullets Forever
Agent Zero (is this considered sideline reporting?)

Random subplots:

- Which former front office crony turned new head coach is better suited for stalking the sidelines?
- Many think we should try to pawn Hughes off to the Wizards, where he enjoyed his most productive years. However, what do they have that we'd want back? An undersized center with heart issues? A center who doesn't start when his team is healthy? The second coming of Darius? Those are the major pieces in any deal with Washington that doesn't give us back 2010 salary...
- Will the Wizards have Stevenson guard Gordon (who scores the most) or Rose (who creates the most)?

Our Bulls have a chance to go on a run (that should have started in Milwaukee) hosting Washington, New York, New Jersey while visiting Memphis and Charlotte over the next ten days. Tonight is the starting point on our trip back above .500

Pre-Circus Musings

torch — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 16:29:39 -0000

Some thoughts about last night's game and the first 12% of the season in general:

1) Wow. Derrick Rose.

2) Larry Hughes is still a chucker. I know he settled down as the game progressed, but that doesn't excuse his bricks early on. We really are stuck with him until June 2010, aren't we? And what's with the Under Armor, Larry?

3) When Noc plays like he did last night, you see why get got the contract he did. He seems to be the only one that realizes how Rose transforms this team/game, and how that means he needs to both defer to #1 and step up his game at the same time. I really like Noc along side Derrick.

4) Glad to see Deng get to the line 10 times in the first half - a sign that he's attacking the rim rather than plodding 20 feet out. Now if those kind of free throws could come in the second half as well...

5) VDN has got to figure out Rose's minutes. Rose went over 40 again last night, and it was a weird 40+. I understand that he needed to rest to start the 4th quarter, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who felt like the game almost slipped away because Vinny waited one clock stoppage too many before putting Rose back out there.

6) It seems that VDN has inhereited Skiles's doghouse. I know that Tyrus wasn't playing anywhere close to Youtube quality, but 5 minutes?!? Either there is something going on we don't know about, or we're screwed worse than we know with VDN.

7) Have I mentioned Rose lately?

8) We have got to trade Gooden. Not due to his performance, but rather because his value is not going to get any higher than it is right now. Also, I used to think we could survive with him playing center, but last night changed that. When you make Murphy and Nesterovic look like a formidable front-court, then something needs to change. By trading Gooden, we remove VDN's temptation to play him as the man in the middle.

9) If he plans on playing high (no pun intended), Noah needs to learn how to set a pick. I can't count how many times he came to the top of the key and did nothing more than his happy dance in an attempt to set Rose free from his defender..

10) Would someone remind Ben that we have Derrick Rose. This means that Gordon no longer needs to drive into triple coverage and get rejected while slipping on the marbles someone put under his feet.

11) A Cedric Simmons sighting!

12) We still have too many guards; someone's got to go. I thought the three guard lineup went the way of the dodo when Skiles and "he who shall not be named" split town. Can you imagine how much it would get used if Rose, Gordon, Hughes, and Hinrich were all healthy at the same time? By sticking to just two guards on the floor at any given time, we would solve many of our ills:

A- Better managing Rose's minutes
B- Keeping Larry Hughes's minutes down
C- Keeping Noc away from the 4, which
D- Keeps Gooden away from the 5.

Any one of these is good enough reason, let alone all of them combined.

13) Like I mentioned above, I like Noc on a D. Rose team, I just don't like Noc at the 4. Against a plodding team like Indiana, we can get away with it. But against any front-court that is considered athletic, we are going to get killed playing that kind of small. Success against Indiana does not a good strategy make.

.
.
.

23) Derrick effin Rose