Oliver P

Hey Phenom wha's up man ? Nice to see another RST core guy here. Welcome to OTR man, hope you'll like it here.

That's not a good argument though. Many teams have traded very good players in the past. Like KJ for instance. The Cavs traded him to Phoenix yet we all know what kind of players he became as a Suns... The Warriors traded Richmond to Sac Town and Mitch became a multiple All Star there. The Warriors traded most of their best players anyhow, as they also traded Tim Bug (who had the best years of his career in Miami and was even, with Payton, the best PG in the league there at the time) to Miami, Chris Webber to Washington (yes Chris clearly stated that he did not want to remain a Warrior but still that's another star they let go...) or Joe Smith to Phila (he was not a superstar but he was still a very good player). We can also mention Boris Diaw who became a much better player in Phoenix than he was in Atlanta. Or Jermaine O'Neal, the Blazers traded him to Indiana and Jermaine became a multiple All Star and one of the very best big men in the league in Indiana. Or Ben Wallace he was first traded from Washington to Orlando then from Orlando to Detroit before becoming one of the best defensive player in the league. I could go on and on... The fact is that many teams have traded very good players and even future superstars in the past, this for different reasons, so the fact that Portland traded Rudy just doesn't prove anything at all. The reason why they traded him was because, as I already said, the Blazers are stacked with good SF/SG and they just can't keep everyone. One of them had to go. We can compare this situation with the Run TMC, they couldn't keep the three players together one of them had to go. But that doesn't mean that Mitch was not a good player and we saw in Sac Town how great he was. And of course the Blazers rather chose to trade Rudy because he never was comfortable in that team (even if he said he wanted to stay at the beginning of this season I doubt that he really wanted very much..), he was hated by many Blazers fans and they just accepted the fact that Rudy could just not stay any longer. Also I want to precise that I don't expect Rudy to become a superstar or a great leader, a first option, I do not think that he will in fact. But I think that he has all what he needs to become an NBA star. A la Ginobili if you wish. I think he definitely has the potential to become as good as Ginobili (not saying that he will for sure but that he has the potential to). By the way just want to precise that there is a major difference between the two international players you mentioned and Rudy. First Elonu only played two years in Europe so far and the least we can say is that he hasn't been terrific.. And is not even close to be one of the best players here. Then Sun has only played in the Chinese league so far and it's very important to know that this league is still very weak. Not even close to the level of the European leagues. While Rudy is a proven superstar in Europe. That's a major difference. But anyway yeah there's no need to speculate over and over about this, well just have to wait and see what he's gonna do in Dallas.

Yeah I can understand that some people did not like Shutter Island. It is not the usual mainstream movie and it is not easy for the average movie goer to undertand this movie. Just like a lot of other great movies, I heard people saying that movies like Lynch movies (especially Mulholland and Lost Highway), Jarmusch movies, some Kubrick movies like Eyes Wide Shut (I even heard once some friend of mine saying that Clockwork Orange was crap and that he preferred "Speed" and by far... It's his opinion, he's entitled to it, but still I was literally shocked at the time that and needless to say that I never had a movie discussion with him again after that lol), Terry Gilliam movies, etc, etc, etc... were "crap" as well. Hard for a lot of people to undertand movies like that but I personally love this kind of movies. Definitely pure masterpieces to me. But then again I am not the average movie goer and I have watched a freaking lot of movies, probably way more than everyone else on this forum (don't wanna brag lol but it's the truth). And I loved Shutter Island. As I already said it's definitely one of my favorite movies of the decade. And the best Scorsese I've seen since the 90's. So anyway I can understand that you do not like it, I'm perfectly fine with it, but you have no right to call it "crap" at the same time. It is not because you do not like a movie that it is crap. We just can't all have the same tastes, that's all. And ABL's list is not accurate by the way. The purpose of these threads that htown and I do every week is to post your five FAVORITE movies of an actor, not the five best ones... Which would not make any sense anyhow since there is no such thing as "best" in art. As I said many times a movie can be the best of All Time for some people and at the same time the worst ever for some others... It is purely a matter of taste. So ABL posted his five favorite movies. And apparently you have the same tastes as him, which is, once again, perfectly fine. I would also like to precise something that apparently many people have not understood yet, the purpose of this thread is not to comment or criticize other people's lists but to make a list of your own which so far only htown, ABL, fish and I have done.

Yeah I have seen This Boy's Life. It was quite some time ago though, more than ten years.... I really liked it. I thought about mentioning it in my list but I couldn't put it over the other ones... I need to rewatch it, quite a good movie indeed. And one of De Niro's most disturbing roles.

Yeah I hope this one will have more success than the Jack one as well lol... Well anyhow I ain't a big fan of Di Caprio fan, he's a good actor but not a great one IMO... But I'm still able to make a top 5 lol. Anyway here it goes : Catch Me if You Can http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Swy2dUL4MLo/TJH9Wdqh_2I/AAAAAAAAAB4/qXBtQz-hV9A/s1600/Cosplay-Femme-2.jpg Saw that one not so long ago but really loved it. One of the best movies of the decade and defintely my fav of Leo. There is no Leo in that scene but I have to post it in that thread nonetheless cause it's definitely my fav scene lol, best joke ever : What's Eating Gilbert Grape ? http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/83/Whats_eating_gilbert_grape_poster.jpg I've always loved this movie, besides Johnny Depp is one of my favorite actors... And Leo was great in it, in fact he didn't even have to act, he was REALLY himself in that movie as you can see for yourself : Shutter Island http://bd.casterman.com/docs/Contents/708/_photo.jpg One of my favorite movies of the decade and Di Caprio's best performance IMO. Definitely a masterpiece. Probably the funniest scene of the movie : The Departed http://perlbal.hi-pi.com/blog-images/107580/gd/1185359050/LES-INFILTRES-The-Departed.jpg Very good movie, Scorsese ain't what he used to be in the 70's/80's any longer (sadly) but he still makes great movies and this one sure is one of them. No Di Caprio in that scene again, but it's my fav of the movie so.. : The Basketball Diaries http://www.street-tease.com/uploads/blogs/14/3088/Basketbol-G%C3%BCnl%C3%BC%C4%9F%C3%BC-The-Basketball-Diaries.jpg One of the first movies I've seen with Di Caprio and definitely one of my favorite ones. Here's a scene that I post especially for AboveLegit, I know he's gonna LOVE it. Don't thank me BelowLegit and try to keep it in your pants : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0GAlBXxjIU&feature=related

Today I watched Tropic Thunder. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PjJx6XmdMSg/TJX3x8JRA9I/AAAAAAAABZ4/qrj1ZkVVFek/s1600/tropic-thunder-poster.jpg Very good movie, very funny, and a lot of great actors. They're all very good in it but my two favorite ones are definitely Jack Black and Tom Cruise who are just beyond hilarious. I give it a 8/10. Definitely my two favorite scenes : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1pKow9hdlY&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRwMqCNOLFw&feature=related

Always going to be based on what they can do here ? Alright you're entitled to your opinion but I sure HIGHLY disagree with you about that. Personally I give more weight to a player that succeeds in the NBA though. I think that it's pretty logical as the NBA is still, and BY FAR, the best league in the world. So if you do not succeed in the NBA it will be impossible to even compare you with the very best players of the big league. BUT by your logic what happens outside the NBA simply does not matter ? I'm sorry but that's an insult for all the talented players who played and play oversea... There is a margin between saying that the NBA is better and that the best players are the ones who succeed in that league and saying that overseas is irrelevant. Especially that, if the NBA is still definitely the best, Euroleague basketball is also definitely the second best league in the world and the level is still much better than most people in America think it is. So it DEFINITELY HAS TO BE TAKEN IN CONSIDERATION. And honestly saying things that some of those players play worse than OTR members and that Rudy is not better than Eddie House is totally asinine... Seriously don't you think that you're overreacting a bit ? You do not need to disrespect people to make your point, I think that you're a good enough poster to avoid sinking that low.. Now I agree with you that, judging him from what he's done in Portland, Rudy can be considered as a disappointment. You are right, he is so far. But as I said it's also unfair to judge him only for that. Just give him some more time... If he keeps playing that way in the next couple of years while playing with another team and so being in a more suitable situation for him, then I'll agree, but definitely not right now. Oh and personally I never saw Eddie House do things like this : Eddie House is just a shooter and nothing more. Rudy can do much better things on a court. And if we talk about his NBA days ONLY, well even if he didn't play to his potential so far he's already been a much, MUCH better player than House could dream of being. Rudy is much better than him in every single area. Everywhere. And by far. And even if you're talking about their shooting abilities only, Eddie is nothing more than a catch and shoot player. While, contrary to Eddie, Rudy can create his own shoot. The two players can't just even be compared. By the way I would like to precise something. Cause as I am a European and my favorite player is a European (Dirk) I am sure that many people think that I'm saying all of this because of that (not saying that it's your case, but I'm sure that some people do). So I just would like to precise that I am in no way a fan of European basketball. That my favorite players are almost all Americans and the NBA is by far my favorite league. And I have always found more than ludicrous that some people thought that Euroleague was as good as the NBA (yes I heard some people here say stupid things like that). Or when Sabonis arrived in the league and said that the only difference between the NBA and Europe was that there were a couple of stars more in the American league (I am a huge fan of Sabas but that was definitely more than ludicrous). And I ALWAYS root for Team USA. So this is all coming from a basketball fan who is and have always been first of all an AMERICAN BASKETBALL FAN. But I don't hate European basketball players (well sometimes maybe French players cause they're usually way overrated here, every time Mahinmi was on the court the French commentators were literally crazy in the last Finals and journalists didn't hesitate to call him a hero because he had a rebound and a hit a lucky shot at the end of the 3rd lol) at the same time, and I call a good European baskeball player when I see one. I do not judge players on their nationalities, but on the way they play. I want to be very clear about that.

First of all, I never said that he was a great defender. It's actually his main weakness. Although he has the potential to become a much better defender and is already not that bad actually... Still has to work and improve his defense. And you just can't judge him on what he's done in Portland so far. The fact that he's had some trouble in Portland, the fact that it's not the right place for him definitely explains why he wasn't at the best of his potential. In terms of pure talent Rudy is a fantastic player, again he's a very good shooter, passer, ball handler, slasher and dunker, I know that for a fact. And he hasn't shown all what he can do yet. And I definitely hope that he will in Dallas. I'm sure that he can at least. Second of all, I can't talk about the others, but the reason why I fell in love with his game was because, contrary to many people here and maybe even everyone, I already knew about Fernandez before he went to the NBA. And watched him many times in Europe. And here Rudy was definitely among the best players. In his first season with the Joventut Badalona (the only club he played with in Europe this for 5 seasons in a row) Joventut made the Finals in the Cupa del Rey (King's Cup in English) which is one of the major bball event in Spain. And, even if Joventut eventually did not win, Rudy was named MVP of the event, this at the age of 18 (!!). Youngest player to ever win a Copa del Rey MVP (was even younger than Gasol when he did). In 2006, at the age of 20, he made Joventut win the Eurochallenge, which is one of the three major basketball events in Europe. He was again named MVP. In 2006, again, he was named best young European basketball player of the year, thanks to the unbelievable performances he had in the Euroleague, in the FIBA World Cup with Spain and, as I said above, in the Eurochallenge. In 2007 he made his team win the Catalan Basketball Cup (which Rudy and Badalona already won in 2005) and Rudy was named MVP of the event. in 2008 he led Joventut to the Finals of the Copa del Rey again, and this time Joventut won the event and Rudy was once again MVP. Then he makes his team win in the ULEB Cup (one of the two best European basketball events), and is once again named MVP. Fernandez has also been one of the top key players of the Spanish national team since 2004, and is even the second best player of the team right behind Pau. In the last Olympics he was even the best player of the team for the last two games of the event, the semis and ESPECIALLY the Finals against the USA. His performance against Team USA was just unbelievable, he even was the best scorer of his team with 22 pts in ONLY 18 minutes (couldn't play more because of foul trouble). And, as well all know, he even destroyed Dwight Howard during the game. It's first thanks to him that Spain almost beat Team USA that year. So honestly it's hard to do better than that... Now Rudy has had some troubles and has clearly not played at the best he can do, not even close, in his NBA days yet. But it's just TOTALLY unfair to judge him only for that. And everyone who watched him play in Europe KNOW that he can do WAY better than that (even if, once again, he hasn't been that bad in Portland..). Now maybe he is not made to play in the NBA. Maybe he's only made to play in Europe. It already happened to many European players. But, even if it was true, it still would be totally asinine to consider him as an "average' player because of that, it's just impossible to bypass the success that he's had in Europe. Jasikevicius for example didn't have a great NBA career (although I'm not sure that things would have been the same if he arrived in the league earlier... and played with a different team...) but he's still a terrific, a FANTASTIC player. His palmares in Europe is unreal. And he even destroyed Team USA all by himself in 2004... And if his last shot against Team USA was good at the end of the semis in the 2000 he would have done it twice. Amazing player, I don't care if he didn't succeed in the NBA, Jasikevicius is an amazing player and this cannot even be argued. Just like players like Oscar, Papaloukas, Bodiroga, etc, etc, etc... who never played in the NBA HAVE definitely to be considered among the best players of all time. But anyway I am sure that Rudy can succeed in the NBA. He was just not in the right team, but he has everything a player wants to play in the NBA. Besides the reason why many Europeans usually do not succeed in the big league is because they are not athletic enough.. And it's not the case for Rudy. He's very athletic. Again I am sure that Rudy can succeed in this league, and now that he's in a team that fits his game more I expect him to have a great season. Rudy MIP next year ? It is definitely possible, don't be surprised if that happens... However if he doesn't succeed with Dallas, then I think that the best for him would be to get back to Spain in 2012... But I would be surprised personally... I can't wait to see what he's gonna do next year.

http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-peter-falk-obit,0,7288457.story Well I might be the only one who cares so I would not be surprised if no one else posted in this thread, but I had to start it anyway. Cause Peter Falk is one of my favorite actors ever. And Columbo is my favorite TV show ever ( and I usually don't watch a lot of TV shows). This TV show is just unique (even if, again, I would not be surprised if I was the only here to like it...). Contrary to a lot of other crime fictions we know who the murderer is right at the beginning of the episode (except for a couple). The interesting part is to see HOW the lieutenant is gonna resolve the crime and find the murderer. Besides that the point of the show is to show that rich people can be murderers too (as a matter of fact all the murderers in that show are wealthy, they are either doctors, movie stars, writers, musicians, etc, etc, etc...). And this show is a very interesting analysis of the human nature. And of course there was the presence of the lieutenant, with his cheap cigars, his very old French car, his dog and his unprepossessing appearance and apparent absentmindedness which was meant to "trap" the murderer and make him underestimate Columbo's GREAT intelligence. Peter Falk also played in many movies. My personal favorite of him are "Wings of Desire" (a pure masterpiece by Wim Wenders, which was one of Peter's best friends, definitely one of my 10 favorite movies ever) and "Husbands" (a very rare movie by John Cassavettes, who was also very good friend with Peter). And he made of course a lot of other great movies... I just mentioned those two cause they are my very favorites of him. I definitely advise everyone to watch those two jewels. I might watch one of them tonight or this week end as a tribute to this great actor. Here's a video of Peter Falk, as Columbo, at Dean Martin Roast in 1977. We can see in this video how AMAZING an actor he truly was, because he managed to improvise this great bit without dropping out of character, NOT EVEN FOR A SECOND. I was very impressed the first time I saw that, even if I already knew that he was a fantastic actor : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuevpFTS_po&feature=related Well anyway it's very sad news. I can't say that I'm very surprised as he was very ill but I have to admit that it still comes as a shock to me... So long Mr Falk. You'll always live in our hearts. http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2008/12/17/peter_falk_narrowweb__300x403,0.jpg

Which is why I'm surprised that you watch it.. :glasses: Lol I love that show, one of my favorite ever... I ain't embarrassed though. I know that many people think that it's a bit lame, I've already been told that it was, just like for other shows that I like like Saved By the Bell, or older shows like Bewitched, Starsky and Hutch, etc... But I don't care. And I'm certainly not embarrassed about it, not even one bit lol. I actually think that it's rather those people who should be embarrassed not to like them. ^_^ Besides those shows remind me of my youth, at a time I wasn't an enraged alcoholic yet... Oh wait I was. I guess I win then. Lol no jk I don't like that show at all, however I have to comfess that when I was in the army I watched the The Bold and The Beautiful (which is the exact same show). I had nothing to do the whole day, I spent my days in the armory and had nothing to do but watch TV... So I spent my time smoking, drinking and watching dumb shows like that one. And, at one point, I even surprisingly started to want to know what would happen in the next episode... I got even scared that I would became a fan of the show the day I would get out of the army lol... But I fortunately didn't and never watch an episode ever again. And yeah I'm truly embarrassed about that.

His situation in Portland was not easy for Rudy though. The Blazers are stacked in the wings so it was very hard to give him the minutes he wanted, and honestly deserved. Of course he can be blamed for his attitude but it's still understandable to some extent. So I'm happy for him that he's finally out of Portland. However I'm not sure that he's gonna be in a better situation in Dallas... I mean they have a lot of SG/SF too... Marion, Stevenson, Terry, Beaubois (he got the size of a 1 but is rather a 2, just like Terry) and Butler is gonna get back... Although I'm not too worried, cause overall, in terms of pure talent, Rudy is better than all those players. Except Butler but Caron never fitted really well in Dallas. Rudy has a true chance to become the starter in that team next year IMO. He's honestly one of the most talented players I ever seen and I know for sure that he can do better than what he's done in Portland so far (even though he has been quite alright there, he can be much, much better). Besides I think that the Mavs should just try to trade Butler. Honestly Caron never fitted very well in that team, first because he's not a chemistry player (he played in Washington for too long..), and the Mavs were just better overall without him. But if he stays, well I think they should try to rather use him as a bench player. He could be useful as the player who can come off the bench to score when the team needs it. A la Jason Terry... So right now it would be between Rudy and Stevenson for the starting spot. It's true that DeShawn has been surprisingly quite good this year with Dallas, and even hit some important shots during the playoffs and Finals but still overall Rudy is better than him everywhere. Except defensively maybe... He's a better shooter, passer, slasher, dunker, ball handler, etc... Everywhere. Besides, as good as he was this year, Stevenson wasn't as good a defender than he was supposed to be... So I would give his chance to Rudy as the starting 2. Especially that Dallas is exactly the kind of team in which he can play at his best, the Mavs style of play is perfect for him. So I'm confident for Rudy's future. And for the Mavs at the same time, they definitely can become even better with him in the team. And I hope that Rudy will finally play at the level he should play anyhow, as he's one of my favorite players, I can't wait to see him as a Mavs.

That's okay I thought you were a 12 years old gal. <_< Lol let's not exaggerate I followed the 90's and 2000's but I didn't follow the 60's or 70's, I'm not 60 lol, I'd rather say that it's because I'm a crazy bball fan and I watch (or rewatch) old games all the time haha. Now that the NBA is over you can be sure that I'm gonna watch old games all summer long. And maybe even all year long if there is a lock out... Which I obviously hope not.

Lol you sure you watched the right movie BelowLegit ? It wasn't a little girl but his wife, and he didn't want to rape her but to kill both her and their son... I think you watched the porn version.

Lol yeah, good question.. I'm the Dean Garrett of OTR haha. Or rather Arvydas Sabonis as he was European and.. a better player.

Good choice, I love that one. Well I'm a huge fan of Tim Burton so.. I thought about mentionning it in my top 5 but I eventually didn't cause we don't see enough of Jack in that one IMO... Well glad to see that someone else likes this movie haha. Great scene as well haha. Another scene that I love in that movie is that one : I love Jack's face when Chief talks LOL. Yes a good one as well, though we don't see Jack's enough in that one IMO. Besides I just prefer the movies I mentioned, which is why I didn't put it in my top 5. Yeah as I told you in the "Last Movie" thread I really like this one as well. Thought about putting it in my top 5 but I just think that his performances are better in the movies I mentioned, besides I just prefer the movies overall. But still it's a good thing that we don't all have the same tastes haha. LOL so you shit your pants when you watch The Shining ??!! I knew you were a bitch AL hahahahahaha. Gimme the cookies you bitch ! http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ZETfJZRqTaw/RdXe_zljpSI/AAAAAAAABcg/iXIg8DuKiPU/s400/TheShining-CookieMonster1.jpg

Today I watched Catch Me if You Can. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Swy2dUL4MLo/TJH9Wdqh_2I/AAAAAAAAAB4/qXBtQz-hV9A/s1600/Cosplay-Femme-2.jpg I'm not a huge fan of Di Caprio but this is definitely one of the best movies I've seen with him. Arguably even my favorite. Had a very good time, very good movie. Besides it's always great to see Christopher Walken, one of my very favorite actors ever, he's just perfect in all his roles. I also loved Tom Hanks' joke, one of the best jokes I ever heard for sure lol. Anyway I give it a very solid 9/10.

Yes it's now time to pick another actor for this and, as my username ain't htown11 I'm not one day late... http://www.kiwibeak.com/tuhi/images/smiley/grin.gif Lol anyhow this week I decided to pick the great Jack Nicholson. One of my favorite actors ever and one of the best of All Time for sure. Here are my top 5 Nicholson movies : The Shining http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_gTTAykWeLBY/TUo8CshjCwI/AAAAAAAAAAQ/Qhcqd9g5PEw/s1600/the-shining.jpeg I don't know if it's Nicholson's best movie, or my favorite one (always hard to tell for sure, one of his best without a doubt anyhow) but it's definitely IMO his best performance. As a matter of fact no one else could have played Jack Torrance this good. He's just unbelievable in that movie. On top of that it's important to know that Kubrick was always very hard with his actors. All the actors who played in his movies complained about how Stanley treated them. This because Stanley wanted his actors to be at THEIR BEST. He was a perfectionnist.. He was that way with all his actors, except one... Yes I'm of course talking about Jack Nicholson. It's simple, Jack is so great an actor that Kubrick just didn't need to do anything. An amazing actor indeed. And of course my favorite scene of the movie is definitely that one haha : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TVooUHN7j4 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest http://alexandredessine.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/one_flew_over_the_cuckoos_nest_ver1.jpeg Impossible not to mention that one, another great performance from Jack, and definitely one of the greatest movies ever. Sometimes the craziest people are not the ones we think they are... So many great scenes, it's hard to pick just one, but as a basketball fan I have to pick this one of course : Chinatown http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5rHHg1chFGo/THPd5lbKCVI/AAAAAAAAJkw/by-0MVkdGvA/s1600/Chinatown.jpg Outstanding, unforgettable... Polansky, Nicholson and Dunaway at their finest, it's definitely a must see. With a very unexpected ending. One of my very favorite movies. Here's what happens to "nosy" fellows : Batman http://magafan.fr/media/batman__073595900_1441_03012011.jpg For me this will always be the one and ONLY Batman movie. With Batman Returns, the other Burton's Batman... Honestly I know that many young people are very high on the recent Batmans but the fact is that I'm not. I have seen The Dark Knight once and I don't feel the need to rewatch it... I don't hate it but it's definitely not as great as people make it to be, in my opinion of course. Just alright... I prefer the two Burton's Batmans and BY FAR. Just like for me the real Joker will always be Jack Nicholson. Ledger is quite good too, don't get me wrong, but I honestly definitely believe that he's overrated because of his death. It's always like this, when Kurt Cobain died I don't know how many people suddenly decided to buy Nirvana's albums, same with Michael Jackson, etc, etc, etc... Anyhow the fact is that even if Ledger's alright in that movie his performance just can't compare to Nicholson, he just doesn't deserve to smell Nicholson's shit. That's my opinion at least. I have already been very criticized because of that on other forums so I expect the same thing to happen here.. But I won't change my mind anyhow. I have to precise that I have no problem if some people prefer the recent Batmans and prefer Ledger as the Joker though. As I said many times movies are first of all a matter of taste... So I don't expect people to change their mind about that. They're entitled to their opinion. Just like I'm entitled to mine. And mine is that Burton's Batmans were by far better and Nicholson was by far the best Joker ever. It's also, if I'm not mistaken, the first movie with Jack Nicholson I ever see, I saw it in theaters and was very young at the time (I was 11), so I have to mention this one here. "You wouldn't hit a guy with his glasses on, would you ?" LOL definitely my favorite line of the movie : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vBh2pT9KgQ&feature=related Easy Rider http://cache2.allpostersimages.com/p/LRG/21/2110/998ED00Z/affiches/easy-rider.jpg Nicholson didn't have the most important role in that movie but it's still his first major role in a movie ever. The role that allowed him to be discovered. And an amazing movie, by and with also the great Dennis Hopper, and of course with Peter Fonda, a must see for sure. "Here's the first of the day fellas !" Haha my fav scene for sure :

I'm probably the older one here as I'm 33... Funny thing is that I was probably already older than everyone is right now when I joined a forum for the first time, as I was 30 lol. Oh well.

Definitely. Mike was a great boxer, I was a big fan when I was younger (I woke up in the middle of the night to watch him live on TV) but I certainly don't think he's the greatest either. First because he definitely lacked of competition, I mean the greatest boxers of All Time, like the one you mentioned plus boxers like Rocky Marciano, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, etc... I'm sure he wouldn't have dominated like that in that time. Especially like, as you said, they were not "all about power" like Tyson. For me the greatest ever is and will always will be Cassius Clay AKA Muhammad Ali. No doubt about it. Although Mike is definitely ONE of the greatest, no boxer today is even close to what he was, and it's definitely well deserved. Some of his greatest knockouts :

I listen to the radio everyday. In fact the radio wakes me up. I only listen to the news though. I like to know what happened while I was asleep as soon as I wake up. But I never listen to music on radio... First I don't like the music that they play, second I want to pick my own music, I want to listen to the music I want to, I don't want to depend on someone else's selection. As simple as that.

Current : http://www.passionbasket.fr/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/nowitzki_drunk.jpg All Time : http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lg0tfzP1mB1qcmnsoo1_400.jpg

Yeah De Niro's performance was great in that movie. Although Sideshow Bob's performance was even better : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9_vQ-41nqw&feature=youtu.be http://www.kiwibeak.com/tuhi/images/smiley/grin.gif Well Casino is a very good movie indeed but it's my less favorite of the 8 De Niro-Scorsese movies at the same time.. I still like it a lot though, just not as much as the 7 other ones. By the way I hesitated a lot between Mean Streets, Goodfellas and New York, New York for the last two movies of my top 5. I eventually picked Mean Streets and Goodfellas but New York, New York is amazing as well. Definitely one of the very best musicals I ever seen. With one of the best theme songs ever (even if I slitghly prefer Sinatra's version) :

No I am not underrating Barkley and KG's dominance in reounds at all. Hell I am a huge Rodman fan so trust me I know how important rebounds and defense are for a team. But first as I said Dirk still proved that he was still a very good rebounder through his career, and even in this Finals (he wasn't great in that area in game 1, definitely agree but he definitely paid more attention about defensive rebounds from game 2 on). And that it is not his main role to take care of rebounds. His main role is to lead his team, to be the clutch player, the go to guy, to make his team win. Just like it was Barkley and KG's role at one point and, contrary to them, Dirk did not fail, he made his team win as the leader alright, while, again, having one of the most impressive performance that we ever seen. By the way JVG also said that the Heat would beat the Bulls 72 wins record this season so frankly I don't think that it's wise to listen to him... ^_^ But anyway more seriously what I mean is that, yes it's true that KG and Barkley were better rebounder, no doubt about that, and it would have been better if Dirk was a better rebounder than he is (again he's still a very good one), but no one's perfect... Even the greatest have flaws. And the fact is that Dirk is definitely better in the clutch, a better leader, than Barkley and KG ever were. And I think that it's definitely more important. Lol I never denied that he was a great scorer... he was indeed. But contrary to Nowitzki he wasn't a "natural" scorer. The difference between a natural scorer and an "unnatural" one is that a natural scorer is a player that has acquired this ability at birth. It is the case for Dirk. He's alway had this ability to score, it is NATURAL for him. While it's not the case for Malone who, like Ewing for example, was not a good scorer at first. As I said at the very beginning of his career he had no jump shot and was also horrible at the FT line. But he worked hard and became a very good scorer, as well as very good from the FT line. And developped a very reliable jump shot. Same for Ewing who was just a defender at first. But he developped a fantastic jump shot and even became the best shooter among the centers of All Time (with Sabonis). Which shows that you can accomplish anything with hard work. Also, another difference between Dirk and Malone, is that it's important not to forget that Karl played with the second best PG of All Time (some even consider him as the best... though I don't). Who was always here to give him the ball in the best conditions possible to score. Very important to consider that... And contrary to Malone, Dirk can score from absolutely everywhere on the court. Which is why that, even if Malone was a great scorer, I defintiely give the edge to Dirk. It still is not the same thing though. Of course you need other guys to make up for your weaknesses to win a ring (Hakeem and Duncan were not perfect by the way, they also had weaknesses and needed teammates to make up for their weaknesses...), no one is perfect. But it's still not the same thing. Dirk, and rather the Mavs needed Chandler because Dirk is not a true inside player, as I said his main strenght is the mid range game, he relies more on his shot than the usual inside player, and in fact most of his teammates are the same. Yet you need a well balanced team to win a ring, you cannot win if you have players who are all the same. Chandler allowed this team to add what they needed, a real strength inside. And thanks to him the team was now more balanced. In KG's case it's not the same thing at all. Cassell brought to that team things that KG himself should have done for them if he was a real leader... A leader is someone who's supposed to carry his team when it needs it the most. And Garnett was just unable to do that. That year it was very clear that KG would never be the leader that everyone expected him to be. Oh and by the way KG was a first round knock out before the arrival of Cassell, but certainly not Dirk... Beforet the arrival of Chandler he led his team to the semis four times, to the WCF once, and once to the Finals. Dallas had his big three, true, but it was a totally offensive big three, just like the entire team, there was no defense at all in Dallas during the Nellie era. Which is why many people expected the Wolves, who were more balanced and were better defensively, to beat them that year. Even I (Dallas was obviously already my second fav team) wasn't really confident that year... But Dallas just destroyed them. Now of course it would be unfair to blame KG just for that. Like people unfairly blamed Dirk last year. But it's not the same thing. Last year The Spurs beat Dallas but Dirk was, AND BY FAR, the best player of the entire series. I even heard Spurs fans saying how they were impressed by Dirk... Dirk outplayed Duncan last year. Clearly. So it's not the same and his teammates were clearly the ones to blame. While in the Mavs-Wolves series, Dirk definitely outplayed KG, he was clearly better than him, especially in the fourth. That's a big difference and KG has to take the blame for this pathetic performance (the Wolves didn't even win one game). Yes KG was fantastic this year, there is no doubt about it. He was very impressive. He was essential to his team, no doubt the C's couldn't have won without his fantastic defense. Don't get me wrong I am not trying to say that KG was not a great player, he definitely was (well is actually lol). But the fact remains that, as good as he was, he succeeded as the second option of the team, not the first option, not the leader... And that's not the same thing as making your team win as a leader. Pippen was very valuable to the Bulls as well, he was the defensive anchor of one of the best defense ever. Besides he was always the second rebounder, best passer, best stealer of the team, the Bulls would never have won without him as well. Can he be considered as the Bulls best player ? We all know the answer : no. Being essential to the success of your team and being the best player are two different things. And, if I don't deny the importance of the other players (even the role players for that matter, a lot of role players are among my fav players ever actually), I will always give more weight to the leader. And I'm not bias when I say that, because among my favorite players of All Time, only Ewing and Nowitzki are leaders, superstars. All the others are above average role players or basic stars (yep I'm a weird guy I know lol). I just know that the leader is more important, there's no way someone can deny that. Funny that you say that cause I am and have always been, first a fan a huge defense... The 90's Knicks are not my favorite teams ever for nothing... So I do not think that I am over valuing scoring in any way. No other big man ? Really ? Mmh... I don't know Duncan maybe ? Not only he's as good a defender as Garnett but he's a better scorer and leader... Or what about Dwight ? His presence alone could have been enough to make a difference. Or Camby ? He was at his best that year. Sure they ain't as versatile as KG but they were good enough defensively to have a positive impact on the C's. And if I ain't sure that the C's would have won with Camby, I'm sure that they definitely would have a pretty good chance with Dwight. And what if they had had an offensive player ? Like Dirk for instance ? Yes, as I said myself the C's wouldn't have had that huge D, but they would have been MUCH better offensively. Besides they would still have had a decent defense, not as impressive, but good enough to win a ring I'm sure. Well anyway I think that's it's a false debate. It's purely speculation. We just can't know what would have happened if the C's had had another player instead of KG, honestly... By the way I definitely think that you are underrating Pierce. Three of four players who could have done what he did ? Who could have been that good of a leader and get a Finals MVP ? Really ? Who ? LeBron ? If he played at the level he played this year I certainly don't think so... Who else ? VC ? Let's be serious... The fact is that there are not a lot of SFs who can play at the level Pierce played that year, in fact, to be honest, the only one would be LeBron but we clearly saw that year that he wasn't yet the leader that he's supposed to be (if he ever becomes that leader). Besides last year KG, despite the fact that he had quite a good season defensively, had the worst year of his career. His impact was definitely not the same as the one he had on his team in 2008. Yet the Celtics almost won a ring... And many think that they would have actually won with a healthy Perkins (considering the way they played in the playoffs this year I have to say that I tend to agree with that, even if I thought initially that Boston could win without him, I think I was just wrong). And I already talked about this versatility thing so I ain't gonna repeat myself. Yeah he won a DPOY, that's very good indeed. But the fact is still that he started to decrease that year... Was still very good, but started to decrease. While Dirk is clearly playing the best basketball of his career ! I agree that we'll have to wait and see but there's no sign whatsoever that he's gonna decrease soon, it would rather be the opposite... Besides he already has a bit better longevity no matter what. By the way I realized yesterday, after I turned off my computer, that I made a mistake (was too lazy to turn it back on to correct it). KG arrived in the league one year younger than Dirk, they didn't arrive at the same age... My bad. But still the point is still on though, one year is not that big of a difference... Besides we definitely have to remember that, contrary to KG, Dirk spent ALL OF HIS SUMMERS (at the exception of last year) playing with team Germany.. And let me add that he took those events very seriously, he gave all what he got with Team Germany and did things that no one thought that he was able to do... Like when he led Team Germany to the 3rd place of the World Cup in 2002, or the 2nd place at the 2005 Eurobasket... that was just beyond belief. Especially that those German teams are really, REALLY bad... And I ain't even kidding, Dirk has no help at all (even Kaman has been nothing but HORRIBLE with that team, I was quite excited to see him at first but was quickly very disappointed...). He averaged stats that seemed impossible to average in FIBA basketball (yeah in FIBA basketball it's way harder to average good stats). He played like Jordan. Well anyway it's very important to take all of this in consideration, and there is therefore no excuse for KG to decrease earlier than Dirk, it should actually definitely be the opposite. Massive differences ? You are definitely exaggerating man... I can agree with that term for the defense, but not for redounds and assits... Yes he's a better passer and rebounder but massive is way exaggerated... Well anyway it's there that we disagree and that we will never agree apparently... I will never agree with you that KG's defense and rebounds are more valuable than Dirk's clutch shooting and true leadership. I am as I said first of all a fan of huge defense but there is no doubt for me that offense is more valuable. The purpose of basketball is to put the ball into the rim. Let's take an example : on one side you have one of the greatest defenders ever, he's the best in the league currently and by far but he's terrible offensive.. He couldn't score even if he was alone by the rim. On the other side you have one of the best scorers and clutch shooters ever, he's the current best but he's terrible defensively... Let's say that these two players play against each other, who wins ? Obviously the offensive one, no doubt about it. Why ? Because as great as the defender is, he will never be able to stop the scorer. Some defenders did a good job on Jordan for example (like Balckman or Dumars) but none were able to stop him. A defender can at best "limit" a superstar, but a true superstar will never be stopped. While a player who's terrible offensively will not be able to score, even on a lousy defender and there we can conclude that the scorer would literally destroy the defender. And it is there that we see the difference between a great scorer and a great defender. Both are important, very important, but leadership and clutch scoring are definitely the most important thing in the game of baskeball. Which is why there is no doubt in my mind that Dirk is a better player than KG. Not by far, don't get me wrong, KG is still a fantastic player, no doubt about that. But the way Dirk literally DOMINATED THE FOURTH and carried his team to the win in this last playoffs is once again just unreal, very few players have been able to be that clutch, to be that good leaders, and this is why I believe that a very good case can be made for Dirk as the second best Power Forward of All Time.

But that is not his role to grab boards. Dirk plays in the perimeter, the main strenght of his game is his mid range jump shot, which he masters to perfection, so it's definitely normal that he does not take more rebounds... He has teammates who came on the team for that anyhow, like Chandler mainly, he does not need to focus on rebounds any more, that does mean that he does not rebound well.. In the past, when Dallas had no one inside, he definitely showed that he was a very good rebounder. Besides he was quite alright this year as well, in his last game for example, when he struggle for the most part of the game he decided to rather focus on rebounds and grabbed 11 ones.. He just did not grab more rebounds because he did not need to. So it's totally unfair to blame him for that. The fact is that Dirk played at a level in the fourth quarter during the playoffs, especially in the WCF and Finals, that was absolutely unbelievable, that's something that the other PFs never did. And that alone would be enough to put Dirk in the discussion for best PF ever (even if as I said I would rather put him at second-third personally). Minimal, maybe, I agree with that, but still the fact is that Dirk is a better scorer than Barkley was. And I definitely agree that Barkley is one of the best rebounders of All Time, definitely better than Dirk in that area, he wasn't called the Round Mound of Rebound for nothing, but that's actually the only thing that he did better than Dirk. In the other areas, either Dirk is better, either it's a draw between the two. And yes Barkley could be dominating and clutch, I never denied that, I actually have always considered Barkley as a very good leader, but all I'm saying is that Dirk is even more clutch and a better leader than him. I agree with all of these except for the scoring part... Malone was a very efficient scorer but the main difference between the two is that, contrary to Karl, Dirk is a NATURAL scorer. As a matter of fact Malone was not a very good scorer at the beginning of his career, he didn't have a very good jump shot. But he worked very hard and developped a very good and reliable jump shot. And became also a much better FT shooter (he was like Shaq in that area at the beginning of his career). While Dirk is a natural shooter and scorer. He's just a gifted shooter. That is why he is overall a better scorer. I never said that he had very good teammates, but he had better teammates than the ones you mentioned... I already talked about that in my post so I ain't gonna repeat myself. Dirk's teammates were better, never said the opposite, but not THAT better... The fact is that his teammates were still good enough, most of the time, to pass the first round of the playoffs. It's just impossible to blame his teammates for not making it to the second round for seven years in a row... It is very important to be aware that KG was SEVERALY criticized at the time for his lack of leadership and clutchness. That most people considered him as a player who only cared about his money and didn't care enough about winning... As I already said, in 2004 (the only year that KG's Wolves passed the first round so) the big difference in that team was Sam Cassell. Why ? Because he brought to that team something that they didn't have before, CLUTCHNESS AND LEADERSHIP. That's right, that year the real go to guy of the team, the one who had the ball in his hands when they were in trouble was Sam Cassell. That clearly shows what kind of player KG was at the time. By the way routinely face the Lakers ? They only faced them once... And it was in 2003, the year in which the Lakers were not even close to what they were the year before, that Kobe and Shaq hated them more than ever (they didn't like each other before but Jax could keep them under control... until that year), that Horry couldn't hit a shot (many people thought he was done... I was one of them, I was definitely wrong though lol), and the year they didn't succeed to get some good veterans the summer before for the first time (I even think that Jannero Pargo is the only new player they got that year..). This year that team was only Kobe, Shaq and the three superfriends... and George... So it was definitely the best year for Minnesota to face them. Speaking about that, that reminds me that the Mavs and Wolves faced each other once in the first round. And that year KG definitely had a good team, his teammates were Brandon (again once of the best PGs I ever seen, very underrated player), Joe Smith (again he had his best years and by far in Minnesota), Szczerbiak (who was at his best as well), Billups and good players like Peeler and Gary Trent (I liked this player at the time, not a star but he was a solid PF). And I clearly remember that many people thought that Wolves had a great chance to beat Dallas that year... Cause they had all what they needed to beat them, and they were quite good defensively contrary to Dallas... Well not only Dallas destroyed them but Dirk just ate KG alive. Literally. And I clearly remember how KG was criticized at the time... Even more than usual. And how everyone praised Dirk already for being a great leader. It was already very clear that Dirk was a better leader than KG. No I don't think could have done what KG done, obviously as he's not as good a defender... And now about today's Mavs, do you think that KG could have done what Dirk did ? That's a prime example of why I put so much value into clutchness and leadership... KG had a fantastic season that year, there is no doubt about that, but he was still the second option. Paul Pierce was the leader. In term of pure talent KG was certainly the best player, but pure talent is not enough... And overall, as he was the leader of the team, we definitely can consider Pierce as the best player of the team overall. Pierce won the Finals MVP. And many argued that this trophy could have gone to Ray Ray (it's true that Ray was fantastic and could have won it as well) while no one thinks that KG could have won it... That says much. I said it, I agree with you that he's the best passer. I just don't agree with the "by far"... That's all. You said it yourself, Dirk is a better passer than McHale, so if KG is BY FAR better a passer than Dirk what does that make McHale ? A terrible passer ? McHale was a less good passer than Dirk and KG, I agree with that, definitely, but he was not a bad passer, Kevin was a good passer nonetheless. So the "by far" is definitely exaggerated. But you're right KG is a better passer though, I agree with you. Well in fact Dirk was drafted at the same age as KG. Exactly. Actually Dirk was EXACTLY one month older than Garnett when he played his first game in the league, but they were both 20. So at the same age as Dirk now, KG had just played the exact same amount of seasons, 13 to be precised. So no the argument doesn stand here. But anyway I personally think that you give too much importance to versatility. It is not because you are better in more areas that you are necessarily the better player... Let's take Jordan's example for instance. Is he the most versatile player ever ? Definitely not. Pippen was better in most area, Pip was a better shooter, defender, rebounder, passer and stealer than Jordan. The only thing that Jordan did better than Pippen was scoring. So by this logic we would have to say that Pip was therefore a better player.. But the fact is that, and we all know that (I hope so at least) Jordan was the better player nonetheless. Why ? Because of his clutchness and leadership, two areas in which Jordan was BY FAR better than Pippen. And right here is the reason why I give such a great importance to clutchness and leadership. That's the difference between the captain and the Lieutenant. And in terms of clutchness and leadership, there is no doubt that Dirk has done something that none of the other PFs mentioned ever done, only Tim Duncan had such an unbelivable performance, in 2003 (he dominated as much as Shaq that year, that was very impressive) and that is why that in that case, Duncan's defense can be used to determine who's the better of the two. In the case of Malone for example, who was a better defender than Dirk as well, and also had longevity, well he could be argued as second but the fact remains that he never had such a great performance. And that is why in that case I still put Dirk ahead of him (it's definitely arguable though as I already said). While in Barkley's case, not only did he not have such an amazing performance (again very few players had) but he was not a better defender and didn't have longevity.. I think that's enough to put Dirk ahead of him. And now about KG, he was a better defender than Dirk, true, but he didn't have longevity, never had such an unbelievable performance as well and was definitely not the leader and clutch player that Dirk is. He never was. Which is why I put him at number 5, on that list.