Friday, July 28, 2006

The 50/50 Misconception

We've all heard it. The 50/50. It's a chance. But not just any chance. It's every chance. And that's where the 50/50 is confused with any other chance. The 50/50 is the simplest chance that anybody can take. You always have a 50/50.

The thing that amazes me about the 50/50 is when people use it in the dumbest ways. Like boxing matches. All boxing matches have commentary before any big game. One commentator says to another, "Who do you think is going to win?" and the other says, "Well boxer A has 3 inches on Boxer B and a longer arm reach but boxer B is quicker with a meaner jab. I'll give Boxer B a 50/50 chance." That's a no brainer. Of coarse Boxer B has a 50/50 chance. He's either going to win or he's going to lose. Simple. Both boxers have a 50/50 chance. It's so simple yet people use it like they're so dumb. Common sense people. Let's put it to work.

Here's where it gets confusing to some people. Let's say that your at work. Your boss just posted a position that you really want so you apply for it...And so do 19 other people. What are your chances of getting it? Most people without even thinking would say 5%. Why? Because there are 20 people. Your one person so therefore you only have a 5% chance of getting it. However, that answer is wrong. Some people will tell you in that situation that the chances are against them and that chances are that someone else would get that position in that situation. Yet, the truth is that everybody in that situation has a 50/50 chance of getting it. If your one person going up against 19 others it doesn't mean that you have a 5% chance of getting that job. It doesn't mean that chances are that someone else will get that job. That's where the misconception comes into play. You and the 19 people you are going up against all have the same chance of getting that position, therefore you all have a 50/50 chance of getting that job.

If you think about it the 50/50 is used in every part of life. You always have a 50/50 chance. You have a 50/50 chance of going to work today. Either you will or you won't. You may take a shower today, or you may not. It's a 50/50 chance. The 50/50 is used everywhere. Just think about it. So no matter what, you always have a 50/50 chance. Always.

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Out Of Control

There are literally hundreds of places that you can but a pipe. Grocery stores, tobacco shops, even convince stores carry some. Just about anywhere tobacco is sold, there's sure to be a pipe nearby. However there are many other pipes that you can buy, such as glass pipes, but only at specialty shops. If you want to see what I'm talking about click here. Not your ordinary pipe is it? We all know what these pipes are most likely going to be used for. Check out the title of the website. Grasscity.com. Grass. And what's grass? Weed. Of coarse. Did you see what else that web site offered? You can easily say that these pipes are going to be used for weed or whatever other drug can fit in there. They can be sold legally you can have them on your posession anytime, anywhere and the cops can't do anything about it UNLESS...! There's only one way that the cops can really bust you for having it and that's if it has resin from weed or any number of other drug in it. It doesn't matter how drug related it looks...no resin or drugs in it, you can't get busted. Plain and simple.

So why am I telling you this. Here's why. Hollywood, California. A heroin addicts paradise. Or anybody that used needles for that matter. That's right. There's a program in Hollywood called, "Clean Needles Now". What is Clean Needles Now? It's a program for drug users. Clean Needles Now is a program where needle users can bring in their old used needles in and exchange them for new "clean" needles. Not only do they get new needles, they also get alcohol swabs so that their arm can be clean when they stick themselves, and rubber straps so that they can make their veins pop out without the assistance of a belt.

What's this have to do with the pipes in the first paragraph? Simple. People that smoke weed or whatever can get busted for merely having resin of that drug in their pipe, but drug users in Hollywood can exchange their old needles, which have tons of resin in it, for new needles without the threat of being busted. That's right. That's why Hollywood is the heroins paradise. Free needles. Free supplies. What's better than that?

While you might find this hard to believe, it's 100% true. If you don't believe me, just ask the city itself. Hollywood not only sponsors the program, but pays for 50% of the costs to keep this program running. That's right. Sponsored and paid for by the city. How much better does it get? This is just one reason that the U.S. is out of control on it's drug policies and I mean Out of Control.

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

OKC Up For Grabs

When Hurricane Katrina nearly took New Orleans off the map the Hornets had to find a new place to play basketball. With many cities doing the bidding just for the chance to get a pro basketball team in their town Oklahoma City, Oklahoma came out with the victory and thus the Hornets were off to the Ford Center. The Hornets ended up playing almost the entire season in the Ford Center throughout the 2005-2006 season and will once again return to the Ford Center to play most of the 2006-2007 season there as well. So what happens after that?

It should be obvious to David Stern that OKC isn't going to let go of the Hornets without a fight. It was extremely exciting for OKC to get an NBA team even if it was for a short time but you can bet that OKC doesn't want them to leave and if they do then they want a team for themselves and why not. OKC proved that their basketball fans just as much as the next city. If OKC doesn't get to keep the Hornets you can bet that they'll be bidding for either an existing or an all together new NBA team. However, with that said they might be getting one sooner than later.

According to Marc Stein of espn.com, the Hornets might be trying to stay in OKC after all. Not only that, but Seattle might be looking into moving their precious Supersonics to OKC and why not? You can read that article here. They have the fan base and it's obvious that they want a team in their city. I think that if I was David Stern I would just go ahead and open up the NBA with a couple more teams and make everybody happy. That, to me, would be the smart move. The more basketball the better. After all, there's nothing that basketball fans want more than more basketball.

Sunday, July 16, 2006

Why Tim Why?

One of the strangest moves this off season to me is the movement of Tim Thomas from the Phoenix Suns to the L.A. Clippers. Although it was his choice to move, it's my personal opinion that he would have done better playing for the Phoenix Suns. It's not that he's a better player with them, but I think that he would have more of an impact there. The Suns are going to be an amazing team this year especially with the return of Amare Stoudemire. There's no doubt that Tim Thomas will make an impact in L.A., however I personally think that he was one major factor in Phoenix doing so good this coming season. I guess Phoenix won't be doing so good after all. Oh they'll do good, but they could have been great.

Sunday, July 09, 2006

How Much Is Too Much

With the NBA contract signings only days away, there has been recent debate over how much is too much for a player to be making. How much is too much money? This debate happens every year and in every sport. Sure, we can say that some players make too much money but the question becomes how much is to much is too much? Who sets these limits? When does it become too much? The truth is that no matter how much these players are being paid, it will always be too much. If the best player in the NBA only made $250,000 a year, you know that there is somebody out there saying that they make to much money. It will always be a debate that will never stop.

So where do these players salaries come from? You, the audience. If it wasn't for you there wouldn't be any basketball and players wouldn't make so much. The money comes from ticket sales, product sales, memorabilia, etc. Same thing goes for TV Stars. Their salaries come from you. How much does it cost to rent a movie? A couple of dollars if that. Now, how much does it cost to go see the same movie at a theatre? Probably triple what it costs to rent it. But we as a society are willing to pay it, so why are we complaining about how much they make? I've paid what most people would say was a lot for a Mavericks game but I didn't have any problems forking out the money because I love the game so much. I have no regrets for paying what I did and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

If you read my last two posts you might be thinking that I have a problem with how much money players make but let me clarify. It's not how much they make that bothers me. It's when it seems like the players are concerned more about money over the love of the game. I want players to be about heart and soul when they play. I don't like it when players demand more money or make the game all about money. That, to me, isn't cool. I tend to look down on players like that.

A few years back, Emmitt Smith, then on the Dallas Cowboys football team, refused to play football for them until he got at least a 5 million dollar a year raise. That's what I'm talking about. Emmitt was demanding that he be paid more or he wasn't going to play. If I was Jerry Jones, owner of the Cowboys, I would have cut him in a heartbeat, because I don't want players on my team that are all about money, but I'll take anybody who is all about the game no matter what their salary.

The bottom line is that most players are not greedy with their money. Most give back hundreds of thousands, even millions, to their community to help them out. Most players help out their families with the money that they make. Most players do a ton of good. Let's stop looking at all the negative and start looking at all the positive that these players are doing.

I guess that the real question should be...Would you turn down 16 million dollars a year, and what would you do with it?

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

All About The Benjamins

I was waiting and waiting to see if Ben Wallace, of the Detroit Pistons, was going to take an offer that was rumored to be coming from the Chicago Bulls. I finally saw a news conference, non-official, from outside his Detroit home, where Ben was explaining why he had chosen to take a deal with Chicago.

In the interview, Ben Wallace was saying how Chicago was a great team and how they could be a great contender for an NBA title. You know, all of the usual things that all players say when they try to explain why they upset their "true fans" by going else where. Especially the fans that are for sure that their player is going to stay another few years.

At the very end of the interview, Ben Wallace went on to say that, "In the end, Chicago just gave me an offer that I couldn't refuse." Right, and by that I'll assume that you mean money. After all 60 million for 4 years is one hell of a deal. I actually wonder if there was any other reason that Ben might have been willing to go to Chicago. Maybe the City offered to name a street corner after him. Or maybe they offered to name a shopping mall after him. Can you imagine shopping at the Ben Wallace Galleria? Maybe the Bulls offered to name a star after him. The Star Registery has become popular within the last few years. I mean what, if anything besides money, could pursued Big Ben to leave one of the best teams in the NBA. Ben already won 1 ring with Detroit and came within points during to '04-'05 season. They almost made it back to the Finals this year. Detroit is a great team. Why Ben would leave that team for a team that has a worst record is beyond me. Could it be...The MONEY?

Unlike my last Blog, this is the opposite of that, in that my personal opinion says that Big Ben chose to take a better offer, by that I mean money, from a worse team. It shows that there are people in the NBA that would rather take the money than play basketball. Now I'm not saying that Ben won't play because we all know that he will. What I mean is that he's not dedicated to the fans like Jason Terry is. Terry opted to stay in a city that loved him even though he knew he could get more money else where. Big Ben isn't willing to stay in a city that loves him because they're willing to pay him more money else where. That's the difference.

In the end this new deal made by Ben Wallace truly shows that it's not about the fans, the city, the team, the game, or even the ring. It just shows that it's all about the Benjamins.

Monday, July 03, 2006

True Dedication

Jason Terry has just agreed to sign a 6 year deal with the Dallas Mavericks. What's so amazing about that is that Terry passed up more money from other teams to stay with the Mavs. That in my opinion is just true dedication to the game of basketball. Terry is the ideal role model in the NBA. He's what I wish that all players were like. Unfortunately, it doesn't always go that way. We all know that most players will go to where the money is. We've all seen players promise to stay with teams that they are on and when it comes down to it and there offered more money, they go to where the money is. True Basketball should not be about the money. Jason Terry has proven that he's not concerned about money, that he just wants to play basketball in a city that has treated him with the upmost respect. Way to go Terry. Your a role model to us all.

Saturday, July 01, 2006

Let's Be Realistic

There are a million things in the sports world that drive me crazy. Everything from bad calls to poor playing. Whatever sport it is I just want to see good games. I mean, who doesn't want to see great games that don't have minimal calls and great quality of play? It all makes for a great game. However, with that said, let me explain what has me on the edge of going insane right now.

Like I said before, there are a million things that make drive me crazy in the sports world, but the latest one is all these "experts" and there analogy of who would win if the Mavs and Heat were to play again next year. If I've heard it once, I've heard it one to many. Evertime I turn on the TV or scour the internet for sports, it's that these "experts" say that the Heat would win. Really? Who are they fooling? Now, it's not that I'm a Mavs fan that I'm saying that. I swear it's not. I'm not saying that the Heat can't or won't repeat next year. I'm just saying that just because the Heat won this year doesn't mean that they'll repeat next year. It drives me crazy that these "experts" say that the Heat would win for one simple reason and that's because the Heat won this year. If Dallas had won you know that the experts would be saying that Dallas would repeat this year.

Think about it. With San Antonio being the World Champions last year, they were the favorites for a repeat this year and Detroit was a favorite for the year before that. No wonder that Miami is the favorite to repeat this year. Greg Anthony from ESPN, who I actually highly respect, said that the Heat would repeat for one reason and that was..."Dwyane Wade. Plain and simple." If Dallas had won he would be saying that it was because they had Dirk Nowitzki. Plain and simple.

Here's another thing that almost drives me to drink. The fact that all these "experts" are talking as if the Heat were so superior to the Mavs. Like they chewed up the Mavs and spit them back out. Why don't they really say it like it is? Why don't they say that the Heat barely escaped with their lives. After game 2, all of these "experts" were saying that Miami didn't have a chance in hell of winning the championship. Greg Anthony said after game 2 that Dallas was a "Nightmare matchup for Miami" and that "Miami didn't have any answers for what Dallas was throwing at them" Now your saying that the Mavericks lost because it was "Inexperience and not being able to handle the pressure." Come on. Let's be realistic here.

Dwyane Wade was a factor in the Heat winning but not as much as people have made it out to be. Like in game 5. Wade had 43 points and you might be thinking "Whoa" but the fact is that 21 of the 43 were from the free throw line. How one person gets all the foul calls is beyond me but...We can really say that he scored only 22 points without the free throws. It seemed to be that way in all the games. Three of the four games that Miami won were won by 3, 2, and 1 point(s) respectively. So for people to act as if Miami just plain dominated the series is the biggest bunch of crap that anybody has ever heard of. For once I would like an "expert" to say it like it really is. That's all we want as sports fans.

In my opinion, the Heat won't repeat this coming season. They could but I doubt it. The truth is that Miami did barely escaped with the victory this time. The west has too many good teams. Dallas will come back strong. San Antonio will come back strong as well. Phoenix is already strong and with the addition of Amare Stoudemire they are going to be a powerhouse contender. All 3 teams will make minor changes this off season so you can expect some great performances this season from all three teams. The east is anybodies guess. My personal opinion is that all of the east teams need improvement. Badly. It's anybodies guess who will win this year, but I could almost guarantee that it will be someone from the west and not the Heat.