they're from turkey too

Despite Shaq's complaints, NBA says new ball is better

By BRIAN MAHONEY, AP Basketball Writer
October 4, 2006

NEW YORK (AP) -- Some of the NBA's biggest stars say the new game ball is too sticky when dry, too slippery when wet, and too -- well, not the old one.

The league is convinced it's better, no matter what the likes of Shaquille O'Neal, Dwyane Wade or Steve Nash have to say about it.

"Sure, you hear some comments that aren't as positive as the overwhelming majority of people that we tested the ball with," Stu Jackson, executive vice president of basketball operations, said Tuesday. "That's going to happen. Everyone that handles the ball loves the grip and the feel of the ball."

Not Shaq, who said the ball "feels like one of those cheap balls that you buy at the toy store, indoor-outdoor balls."

The NBA's old leather balls are being replaced this season by a microfiber composite model, the league's first change in 35 years. O'Neal blasted the ball Monday, criticizing not only the product, but whoever was involved in the decision to use it.

Both O'Neal and Wade griped about the ball's slick grip when wet, and two-time reigning MVP Steve Nash said the ball has a tacky feel that makes shooting and certain types of passes tricky.

"I certainly won't have to lick my fingers. The ball sticks to your hand. It's a big transition. It's extremely sticky," Nash said Tuesday in a conference call from the Phoenix Suns' training camp in Italy.

The ball looks noticeably different, too: Manufactured by Spalding, it features only two interlocking panels -- sort of like a pair of hands with the fingers laced together -- rather than the eight panels found on traditional basketballs.

Nash said it will be a difficult transition, but sounded as though he expected players to figure out how to use it.

"We do have a month to get it going," he said. "Right now I would say that the basketball sticks to the floor, it sticks to the backboard. It is different."

Jackson said no matter what the players say, the new ball's grip is an improvement, even when wet.

"If you moisturize a leather ball, it also feels very slick," he said. "But this new ball has a better grip when it's wet than a leather ball."

Players have already had plenty of exposure to the new ball, which was sent to all teams after the All-Star break and to players during the summer.

Most players were probably exposed to it even before that. The ball was used in events at the last two All-Star games, which O'Neal played in, and was tested in summer league and D-League play. It is also used at the amateur levels, so most players grow up using it.

"It's a better ball," Jackson said. "But as a product matter, composite balls are used in every league throughout the world. And they've been used in every level of play over the last 10 years domestically in the NCAA and also in high school."

Jackson said O'Neal would not be fined for his outburst, in which he said that the person who decided to change the ball "needs his college degree revoked." But he did say that the change would not have been made if there were many similar complaints when the ball was tested.

"We would have pulled the ball," Jackson said.

Of seven Heat players interviewed about the new ball at the team's media day Monday and after practice Tuesday, not one preferred it to the old leather model. Certainly not Shaq, who took a spinning jump hook in the lane during practice, about six feet from the basket. But the ball slipped in his hand and went straight up in the air -- without moving toward the hoop at all.

It was one of three times Shaq lost the handle in a span of about 15 minutes.

"I'm right with him," Heat coach Pat Riley said. "I think it's horrible. ... It really does feel like an indoor-outdoor ball. We'll see how it works. Maybe they'll learn to love it, I don't know."

I'm looking for a good one to play and I figured someone on here could steer me in the right direction. I play Knight Online from time to time and its pretty good, but I dont know if I wanna go any farther in it. WoW is supposed to be the end all and be all but I've heard people hate it. Guild Wars is great according to a friend but I dont know about that yet. anyway what does everyone think? which direction should I go towards

A-Rod looks really pretty striking out with the bases loaded while wearing his designer sunglasses

Baseball is over but the pain still remains. Yet we must move on, and it is Basketball time! As fun as football is, it's once a week and even though most of you fucks barely check your teams I need something to kill my first 30 mins at work everyday and I have no more baseball league.

so join up! I set the for friday before the season starts. If thats an issue let me know. I would do it on monday the day before the season starts but I think last time we did that, we didnt get scoring for week 1. If no one cares that we miss a week, then let me know as well.

I used the same settings from last year.

Quote:League Settings

Setting Value
League ID#: 70365

League Name: CDIH Basketball

Password: fucko

Draft Type: Live Draft

Draft Time: Fri Oct 27 9:00pm EDT [ Add to My Calendar ]

Max Teams: 10

Scoring Type: Head-to-Head

Max Moves: No maximum

Max Trades: No maximum

Trade Reject Time: 2

Trade End Date: March 8, 2007

Waiver Time: 2 days

Can't Cut List Provider: Yahoo! Sports

Trade Review: League Votes

Post Draft Players: Follow Waiver Rules

Weekly Deadline: Daily - Tomorrow

Start Scoring on: Week 1


Roster Positions: PG, SG, G, SF, PF, F, C, C, Util, Util, BN, BN, BN, BN

Stat Categories: FG%, FT%, 3PTM, PTS, REB, AST, ST, BLK, TO

Guess who much money they have in their endowment. That doesn't even include their property. Just investments.

put every dime you have on the rangers winning the world series in 2007, they fired showalter.



Showalter fired as Rangers manager

By STEPHEN HAWKINS, AP Sports Writer
October 4, 2006

AP - Oct 4, 5:13 pm EDT
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ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- While Buck Showalter wasn't the only person to blame for the Texas Rangers missing the playoffs again, the manager got fired for it.

"There's a shared responsibility there, some of which is Buck's, some of which is mine, and a good deal to the players," general manager Jon Daniels said Wednesday. "This is an organizational goal to win. When we don't do it, it falls on all of us."

The ax fell on Showalter after his fourth season, an 80-82 mark that was the Rangers' sixth losing record in seven years since last making the playoffs in 1999 despite a roster with several young All-Stars.

Daniels, the 29-year-old GM who was the youngest ever in the major leagues when he was hired a year ago Wednesday, recommended Showalter's firing and reached a mutual decision with owner Tom Hicks before a planned dinner among the trio Tuesday night.

"This decision was not based exclusively on the '06 season and our lack of accomplishing our goals," Daniels said. "It's more about looking forward, and what gives us the chance to achieve those goals ... I'm very confident that we made the right decision."


Showalter was 319-329 with the Rangers, his third managerial job, and is owed $5.1 million for the three seasons left on his contract. Texas never finished above third place.

"You never heard me make an excuse all year, and I'm not going to start now. We just didn't get it done," Showalter told The Associated Press in a phone interview. "They want to go in a new direction with a new voice. With the shelf life of managers, I feel fortunate."

Daniels acknowledged that he would be looking for a different kind of communicator, but played down what impact any players' discontentment with Showalter and the manager's hands-on approach had with the decision.

"That was nothing that was ever communicated to me," Daniels said. "I didn't have any direct conversations with the players."

Showalter was the AL manager of the year only two years ago, when AL MVP Alex Rodriguez was traded in the spring and the Rangers went on to contend for a playoff spot until the final few games of the season.

The Rangers were 89-73 in 2004, the fourth-best record in team history and an 18-win improvement over 2003. They finished only three games back in the AL West, but still in third place behind the division-winning Angels and Oakland.

But the Rangers couldn't build off the momentum of that unexpected playoff chase. They backtracked last year with 79 victories, and were only one game better than that this season.

Hicks didn't attend the news conference announcing the decision, but said in a statement that he had "the utmost respect" for Showalter.

"He is extraordinarily committed to the game of baseball, and he has been an excellent representative of the Texas Rangers," Hicks said.


AP - Oct 4, 3:40 pm EDT
More Photos


Showalter is the fifth manager to lose his job since the end of the regular season, joining Joe Girardi (Florida), Dusty Baker (Chicago Cubs), Frank Robinson (Washington) and Felipe Alou (San Francisco).

Girardi, the potential NL manager of the year and a candidate to replace Baker in Chicago, could also be pursued by the Rangers. Current bench coach Don Wakamatsu and hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo could be candidates as well.

Daniels wouldn't discuss specific candidates or a timetable.

While several other teams are also looking for managers, Daniels said he would be thorough and "not rush into a decision that's too important."

The 50-year-old Showalter, whose contract was extended after the 2005 season, has an overall record is 882-833, including four seasons with the New York Yankees (1992-95) and three in Arizona (1998-00). He said he hasn't decided if he wants to pursue another managerial job.

The Yankees and Diamondbacks won the World Series the season after Showalter's tenure ended. The Arizona championship in 2001 ended the Yankees' run of three titles in four years.

"They're on an upswing," Showalter said of the Rangers.

Texas this season spent more than two months atop the AL West despite never being more than six games above .500, then were out of first place for good a week after the All-Star break. The Rangers had a losing record at home (39-42) for the first time since 1997.

Showalter's replacement will inherit a roster that includes three-time All-Star shortstop Michael Young, switch-hitting slugger and Gold Glove first baseman Mark Teixeira, two-time All-Star third baseman Hank Blalock, closer Akinori Otsuka and Kevin Millwood, the No. 1 starting pitcher with four years left on his contract.

"I had choices to make and chose Arlington. I would do the same thing over again," Showalter said. "These are good people. I had a heck of a seat the last four years, watching Mike Young and these guys play every day."

The Rangers also have nine potential free agents, including Carlos Lee, the two-time All-Star outfielder acquired from Milwaukee before the trade deadline in late July.

Other likely free agents include Gary Matthews Jr., the All-Star center fielder and leadoff hitter who had a breakout season, six-position starter Mark DeRosa, catcher Rod Barajas, and starting pitchers Vicente Padilla and Adam Eaton.

because he likes bending his pages over!

1. 2 Dodgers thrown out at home at 1 time may be the stupidest thing I've ever fucking seen. Dodgers=STUPID

2. Is there anything Joe Morgan doesn't fucking know. He may be the smartest person in the world in his own mind

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for those of you who have already seen this: suck it!

for those of you who haven't: enjoy!