Nitro

That's what I told the dean of my school, but he just shook his head and gave me an application for the Exxon down the road

Evidently my school didn't like that in the 5 classes I enrolled in, that I dropped one and failed three...who woulda thunk??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XF5W7hy1WvI Could be staged, it probably is. But I thought it was pretty funny nontheless...

Don't [expletive], at least you're still in school...I dropped out last week -_-

Yo, my bad for taking so long with this, it's been like 3 months Anyway, these are the Finals. I figured I would get this specific competition over with, then if you guys want we can start up a new tourney when this is finished. Anyway, I'll leave it to up to Fish to see who goes first, and hopefully by the weekend we'll be ready for voting. Here are the rules: Rules 1) 16 lines max. 2) At least one of those lines must be about your opponent's favorite sports team (basketball, football, etc). 3) One line has to end with your opponent's display name on OTR. You can exclude numbers. For example, "Fish" can be used in this battle. 4) Cussing will be censored if you decide to use it. Don't bypass the censor with asterisks or other symbols. 5) If you say Dick Vitale's first name, please censor it yourself by typing [expletive]. In the manner it would be used in this contest, it should be filtered out. NOBODY ELSE POST IN THIS TOPIC UNTIL THE SECOND RAP IS ADDED. After both competitors are finished, members can place their vote. Please explain your vote.

Then what could possibly be your reasoning, besides pure, misguided hate? It's not even like Griffin's playing with an elite PG, which was the knock on Amare earlier in his career.

Because he makes $9M per year, and with Chandler becoming a FA this summer, the need for a center and the whole Carmelo saga, it's not an area of immediate need.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjJCdfWkG1I

I have a feeling the Knicks are starting to burn out. At the pace they play, an 8 man rotation will only get you so far, especially since the team only has 1 star that is used to carrying that kind of load. They'll pick it up again at some point, but I'd expect a little lull going into the all-star break.

Griffin has 28pts and 7reb with 2min left in the first half...damn

I'm not saying it's all unconscious, and some refs do have vendetta's against certain players. But often times I think we, as fans, overreact to the whole ref situation in the NBA. I think these bias' are over-stated, and when you are a regular guy trying to make split-second decisions in games that are NBA speed, with you only have a certain angle on the play, it isn't as easy as it seems. Some of those fouls are flat-out missed (meaning the ref just didn't see the violation), some are unconsciously missed, some are consciously missed, and some can go either way. In a game where there's over a hundred possessions and so many calls to be made, a few missed calls should be expected.

Gold

Let me give you an analogy. I worked at a CVS for 2 years, and had all kind of customers; very nice ones, annoying but tolerable ones, complete [expletive]s, etc... In my mind, like you said, I was trying to just keep my job and do my best with each. However, when I had the ones who were complete [expletive]s, I might not take a coupon that expired one day ago, may not scan the $1 off coupon on a pack of cigarettes, etc... However, with nice, polite customers, I would do those kinds of things. The NBA is similar. Fouls are subjective, and even though there are general guidelines, each foul is based on a referee's judgement. Let's say you get the equivelant of an '[expletive] customer'...you think those refs are going to give him the benefit of the doubt? Probably not. There are so many layers to it, and so many different analogies I can make, but basically what I'm trying to say is that referee bias is not just conscious, it's unsconscious; meaning, you don't even know it's happening as you do it.

Rudy Gay...really? Griffin is averaging more points on better efficiency, more rebounds AND more assists than Rudy. As for Kevin Love, the only thing he has on Griffin is rebounding, and the Wolves have done worse than the Clippers and he won't bring as much excitement to the ASG as Blake will.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpqOWO6ctsg

With Rose, Wade would've been completely redundant...they have very, very similar play styles. As for LeBron, I understand why Rose wouldn't necessarily want him there, especially since he's still so young. But, if he never wins a championship in his career, he will probably look back on the decision to not actively reach out to LeBron (besides a text late in the process) as a mistake.

I wouldn't even classify the Clips as a bad team. In the last 13 games they've gone 9-4, with wins at Chicago, against the Suns, Nuggets, Heat and now the Lakers. They also beat the Spurs, Thunder and Hornets earlier this season. Since 11/20 they are a .500 team.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_S0CViLms5ys/THKkhx9D1SI/AAAAAAAAA2s/_Al3SvkcliU/s1600/Revis+Island.jpg

Griffin extended his double-double streak today against the Lakers, but his 20pt streak ended at 14 games with 18pts for the game.

Worst: Nets-Cavs Best: Heat-Celtics

It's not just about the conscious bias refs have, it's the unconscious bias as well. Even if you follow the code of conduct as ref, if you don't like someone it's human nature to not give that player the same benefit of the doubt you would another player, even if you go in thinking, "I'm going to give everyone the same treatment."

At the forward positions in the West, who? Durant and Dirk are the only ones I'd say are clearly more deserving. Melo will probably be in the East by the ASG, Gasol's really slowed down since his MVP-like start, Love's team is even worse than Griffin's and he hasn't been as good as Griffin, Randolph started the season off too slow, Milsap/Jefferson/Scola/West/Odom all haven't been as good, and Duncan hasn't been as good as Griffin, plays less minutes and will probably get in as a center. I'd buy taking Durant, Dirk, Melo (if he's still on the Nuggets) and maybe Gasol over Griffin, but any of those other players getting in ahead of him would be just wrong.

I think the Clippers would be an interesting suitor. They are looking to unload Kaman, who is the kind of big man the Wizards could use. Meanwhile, their salaries are both in the $9-11M range, so only a few minor adjustments would need to be made. The Lakers should definitely look into trading for him. They have a $5M TPE from the Sasha trade, and Caracter might be an enticing project for the Wizards to try out. A 3rd party might need to be involved to get everything to match up, but they desperately need a PG like Hinrich. The Heat would be a perfect fit, but I don't think that would work out. They'd have to give up Miller, Anthony and Arroyo for the salaries to match. If the Heat recalled Pittman from the D-League and he played well it'd be an awesome trade for the Heat, but I doubt it'd happen. I think the Hawks would be an ideal fit as well. Hinrich would be a clear upgrade over Bibby (who makes $5M the next two seasons), and the Hawks have a $3M TPE from the Childress deal, which would mean the salaries would matchup near perfectly. So, essentially the Hawks would upgrade at the PG position, and the Wizards would be cutting about $3M of salary.

Farmar was pulling his jersey on the drive to the rim, but that's about it. And it's just one play, so it certainly isn't something that 'clearly' shows the refs hate Kobe (which is probably true considering how much he viciously barks at the refs). I've always held the belief that while superstars, in general, get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to getting calls, the bigger factor is how often you attack the rim. If you attack the rim often and don't avoid contact (like Rose before this season), then you'll be more likely to get calls other players don't. I do think Kobe has been screwed over in the past on a number of occasions by the refs, but I do think his style of play has a lot to do with it. It's not really fair, but it just is what it is.