To whom it may concern, I'm retiring. I have been in the league for many years, and I'm glad to finally be able to relax. I won't come back like Favre. Here's my resume. I've thrown for 40,000 yards, putting me at 11th all time. Everyone who is aove me is either a Hall of Famer or a future one (depedending on how you feel about Vinny Testaverde and Drew Bledsoe). I'm 9th in total completions and attempts. I was drafted to an expansion team and I've never had a hall of fame wide reciever to throw to. I've made the most out of tough situations and despite trouble on and off the field I've been nominated to 2 Pro Bowls. Please consider me.
Sincerely,
Kerry Collins
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Best shooting guard in the NBA
Player A: 25.3 Points per Game, 45% FG, 32% 3pt, 82% FT, 1.2 Steals Per Game, 0.15 Blocks Per Game.
Player B: 25.5 Points per Game, 50% FG, 30% 3pt, 75% FT, 1.4 Steals Per Game, 1.14 Blocks Per Game (the only SG to average more than 1.)
Of Course, as I’m sure you all figured out, Player B is Dwayne Wade who was put as 2nd team NBA. Player A? Kobe- 1st team NBA.
Now, I'm not an expert at judging the shooting guard position. Nor will I pretend that I'm even all that invested. Shooting guards are like wide recievers. They are generally cocky brash and hard to root for. Of course, they are often the most physically talented and the most skilled player on the court. I felt that Wade deserved 1st team NBA when I first read that Kobe got it. Looking at the relevant numbers, I'd say its a discussion worth having, but its not as ridiculous as Allen Iverson getting an all-star nod or Derek Jeter representing the American League in the all star game. In fact, depending on how relevant you find defense, it might be a landslide in Kobe's favor. I'd still vote Wade though.
Player B: 25.5 Points per Game, 50% FG, 30% 3pt, 75% FT, 1.4 Steals Per Game, 1.14 Blocks Per Game (the only SG to average more than 1.)
Of Course, as I’m sure you all figured out, Player B is Dwayne Wade who was put as 2nd team NBA. Player A? Kobe- 1st team NBA.
Now, I'm not an expert at judging the shooting guard position. Nor will I pretend that I'm even all that invested. Shooting guards are like wide recievers. They are generally cocky brash and hard to root for. Of course, they are often the most physically talented and the most skilled player on the court. I felt that Wade deserved 1st team NBA when I first read that Kobe got it. Looking at the relevant numbers, I'd say its a discussion worth having, but its not as ridiculous as Allen Iverson getting an all-star nod or Derek Jeter representing the American League in the all star game. In fact, depending on how relevant you find defense, it might be a landslide in Kobe's favor. I'd still vote Wade though.
Monday, July 11, 2011
NBA Player Dissection
Player A: 2nd team All-NBA, played in all 82 games, 4th in total assists, 3rd in total steals, 8th in PER, 4th in Total made free throws, Number 1 at his position in total rebounds and blocks
Player B: 1st in total turnovers, 44 % field Goal Percentage, 33 % 3 point shooter, ninth in the league in field goal attempts
I laugh when people say that Player A shouldn’t be a starter in the NBA. He’s the best player at his position in blocks and rebounds, and 3rd in steals. He’s second in points per game for his position. By the All-NBA voting, he is the second best player at his position. He also led the team to victory in a crucial game 5 overtime game in the playoffs, with a virtuoso 40 point performance. Unlike other point guards, didn’t take a lot of three point shots.
Player B on the other hand has some serious issues as a player. He coughs the ball up, he makes bad decisions often. He’s quick to drive but his scoring often depends on whether the referees call shooting fouls. He’s also not a great free throw shooter. He sometimes plays too fast for his own good. His field goal percentage is shaky and his 3 point percentage is worse.
Player A and Player B are Russell Westbrook
Player B: 1st in total turnovers, 44 % field Goal Percentage, 33 % 3 point shooter, ninth in the league in field goal attempts
I laugh when people say that Player A shouldn’t be a starter in the NBA. He’s the best player at his position in blocks and rebounds, and 3rd in steals. He’s second in points per game for his position. By the All-NBA voting, he is the second best player at his position. He also led the team to victory in a crucial game 5 overtime game in the playoffs, with a virtuoso 40 point performance. Unlike other point guards, didn’t take a lot of three point shots.
Player B on the other hand has some serious issues as a player. He coughs the ball up, he makes bad decisions often. He’s quick to drive but his scoring often depends on whether the referees call shooting fouls. He’s also not a great free throw shooter. He sometimes plays too fast for his own good. His field goal percentage is shaky and his 3 point percentage is worse.
Player A and Player B are Russell Westbrook
3 second violation
Cliffnotes: Mila Kunis agrees to go on a date after he asked her out via Youtube. Texas Rangers fan dies trying to catch a ball for his son. Guy who caught Derek Jeter's ball gave it back.
Mila Kunis
Mila Kunis might be my favorite person for this one. Apparently, a marine asked her out to go to a ball via a youtube video. Kunis accepted. On one hand, this has gotta be the luckiest marine in the world. He’s parlayed his military service into a date with a celebrity. On the other hand, expect lots of youtube videos. Is Sanaa Lathan single? Kerry Washington? Rosa Acosta?
Texas Rangers fan
I’m pretty numb to stories about tragedy. Not out of cold heatedness but more out of being exposed to it early and often during my formative years, and seeing lots of it in court. However, this story really touched me. A baseball fan in Texas died trying to get a ball for his son. Every kids dream is to get a baseball at a game. It’s one of the coolest things that can happen. Even at 22, I had my eye on every single foul ball, hoping I could catch one, and I’m sure as I get older, that feeling won’t change. This man was trying to get one for his 6 year old son who was there with him and overextended and fell over the rail leading to his death. This story really crushed me because of the way it affected the people around it.
Derek Jeter catches number 3,000
In other fan news, the person who caught Derek Jeter’s 3000th hit decided to return it to Derek Jeter, with no expectation of a reward even though he got a signed ball, a couple of bats and a bunch of other trinkets. I call them trinkets because the value of that ball would have easily surpassed $100,000. I'm a huge Derek Jeter fan, but I would probably have paid my way through law school if I caught that ball.
Mila Kunis
Mila Kunis might be my favorite person for this one. Apparently, a marine asked her out to go to a ball via a youtube video. Kunis accepted. On one hand, this has gotta be the luckiest marine in the world. He’s parlayed his military service into a date with a celebrity. On the other hand, expect lots of youtube videos. Is Sanaa Lathan single? Kerry Washington? Rosa Acosta?
Texas Rangers fan
I’m pretty numb to stories about tragedy. Not out of cold heatedness but more out of being exposed to it early and often during my formative years, and seeing lots of it in court. However, this story really touched me. A baseball fan in Texas died trying to get a ball for his son. Every kids dream is to get a baseball at a game. It’s one of the coolest things that can happen. Even at 22, I had my eye on every single foul ball, hoping I could catch one, and I’m sure as I get older, that feeling won’t change. This man was trying to get one for his 6 year old son who was there with him and overextended and fell over the rail leading to his death. This story really crushed me because of the way it affected the people around it.
Derek Jeter catches number 3,000
In other fan news, the person who caught Derek Jeter’s 3000th hit decided to return it to Derek Jeter, with no expectation of a reward even though he got a signed ball, a couple of bats and a bunch of other trinkets. I call them trinkets because the value of that ball would have easily surpassed $100,000. I'm a huge Derek Jeter fan, but I would probably have paid my way through law school if I caught that ball.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Why I (sometimes) like rap music.
"I hate to think that the dope game is my callin'
Cause it got us singing lullabies to our fallen" - Malice (Comedy Central)
One of my favorite aspects of music is when it is reflective. There is no sitation that is pure bravado or purely great. Anything that has benefits has some drawbacks. One of the reasons I like the Clipse and Jay-z is that they both acknowledge that the fast life has its own issues. However, their music isn't always down and depressiong and in the same verse, they may acknowledge both sides of the coin, often in subtle, slick ways.
In one of Jay-Z's song's he raps that often rappers make up the stories that they say and to be cautious of that. Immediately afterwards he says...
"Then actually, believe half of what you see
None of what you hear even if its spat by me
And with that said, I will kill n***** dead
Cut n***** short, give you wheels for legs
Im a K-I- double -L-E-R "
Even the title of the song "Ignorant S***" is meant to be ironic. The song is a criticism of critics who describe his music as being all cursw words and generally ignorant. In fact, the hook is actually just strings of curse words put together, which apparently is how he feels certain critics hear his music as being anyway, even when it's not.
What annoys me, is when rappers are too down on their lives or view their situations purely from a positive perspective. It shows no depth of understanding.
Cause it got us singing lullabies to our fallen" - Malice (Comedy Central)
One of my favorite aspects of music is when it is reflective. There is no sitation that is pure bravado or purely great. Anything that has benefits has some drawbacks. One of the reasons I like the Clipse and Jay-z is that they both acknowledge that the fast life has its own issues. However, their music isn't always down and depressiong and in the same verse, they may acknowledge both sides of the coin, often in subtle, slick ways.
In one of Jay-Z's song's he raps that often rappers make up the stories that they say and to be cautious of that. Immediately afterwards he says...
"Then actually, believe half of what you see
None of what you hear even if its spat by me
And with that said, I will kill n***** dead
Cut n***** short, give you wheels for legs
Im a K-I- double -L-E-R "
Even the title of the song "Ignorant S***" is meant to be ironic. The song is a criticism of critics who describe his music as being all cursw words and generally ignorant. In fact, the hook is actually just strings of curse words put together, which apparently is how he feels certain critics hear his music as being anyway, even when it's not.
What annoys me, is when rappers are too down on their lives or view their situations purely from a positive perspective. It shows no depth of understanding.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Why I'm going to law school, in Colorado
Cliffnotes: Leaving for University of Colorado Law School in about a month. Explanation on why I'm going and the steps that got me this far, and my plans for the near future.
My journey started in high school. When I was a sophomore at St. Francis Prep, I knew I was going to be a doctor. I wanted to study neurology and used my entire science background to do it. I was a part of the Science Research program there, a pretty prestigous program at the school. I decided to do research on the effects of violent video games on adolescents. It was fascinating to me as a person who equally loved video games and wasn't allowed to play Grand Theft Auto, because my mom felt that the game was too violent.
Anyway, I embraced this field of study and was prepared to spend the summer working with a professor at SUNY Geneseo doing further research on the topic. Everything was going well. I enjoyed the research and loved the topic of study and at the year end symposium, people who passed by my project loved the idea. As the year was ending I told my teacher that I would prove that violent video games didn't cause long term aggression in children and did so with pride. My teacher stopped me and said, "That's not what scientists do. Scientists don't prove things. They do experiments and report what happens." This disheartened me, and I knew that I had no interest in doing that. I wanted to prove things because I felt that I was right. I knew that I wouldn't be returning to the program in the fall, and that I no longer had interest in doing any of these experiments at all. I alson knew that due to suffering performance and an overall depression, I wouldn't be back. I was going to lose my scholarship and figured that I would have to leave St. Francis and go to another school ending my tenure with the program, anyway.
I did lose my scholarship but through various means I was still able to finish out my high school years at St. Francis Prep. I spent the next couple of years fumbling around trying to decide what was next for me. In my senior year, I took a Criminal Justice class, detailing all of the processes involved with the criminal justice system. I went on a day trip to Queens County Criminal Courthouse. I loved it there and was fascinated by the things that went on. I also applied to one college, John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
I decided that I wanted to become a lawyer before going for various reasons. I realized that my personality, and skill set lent itself to lawyering. Reasonable doubt and legal ideas surrounding the defense of the accused fascinated me and felt natural. I had no idea what it would take to get there, but I knew that this was what I wanted to do.
My first 2 years at John Jay was filled with great information and more support. While all of the school isn't the same way, in the Interdisciplinary Studies Program, I found myself surrounded with people with great ideas and interesting perspectives, something that I hadn't experienced before, at least not to the extent that it was offered in Interdisciplinary Studies. I didn't enjoy every class, but every class offered me something to enjoy.
During sophomore year of college, a couple of my professors suggested that I apply for the Ronald H. Brown Law School Prep program. I hadn't heard of it yet, and it didn't seem like something I was certain that I wanted to do. It required me to devote my summers to getting in to law school and required that I didn't go to work or take summer classes. I loved my job, and didn't want to risk losing it for this program. A couple of weeks after I decided that I didn't want to be a part of the program, I got a call from the professor that ran it. She sold it to me over the phone and I decided to just apply. At worse, I wouldn't get in anyway.
I got in. I spent the next two summers taking mock law school classes with law professors at St. John's University, doing LSAT preparation, learning the ins and outs of personal statement writing, doing an internship at the Queens Criminal Courthouse with the same judge that was doing arraignments during my high school trip, and another with the Legal Aid Society.
By the fall semester of my senior year, I had my plans set. I was going to apply to a couple of different law schools, reach for some and see where I could get in. I was dissatisfied with New York and decided that I wanted to leave the area unless I didn't get into any schools out of state. While I applied to a couple of local schools I realized that this would be my last opportunity to leave NY and try something new. Also, I had to deal with problems at home and in my inner circle.
As a result of the aforementioned issues I applied to schools later than I would have liked, likely costing me tons in scholarship money. Where my peers applied in November or december and were done with the process, I had yet to send out my first application until January. The first set of apps were the ones I wanted and could afford on limited means. 4 schools including Colorado.
I got in. No money offered where I recieved offers of much more to go. Even then Colorado is where I wanted to be. I didnt even have a particularly good reason to choose Colorado over other schools. Rank bore no importance to me and I got into other schools that were far from home. I suppose I didnt see myself living in California and didnt want to be 3 timezones over. Also, I figure that I wont have other opportunities in life to spend a lot of time in Colorado whereas California will always offer opportunities.
Once I visited the Boulder-Denver area, I was set. It was everything I wanted and everything just felt right, from the facilities to the people I encountered. The only thing it's missing is a white castle. Boulder's quiet enough and Denver is city enough. More importantly, crime is low enough so it does feel different from home. I wont have to worry about the question fireworks or gunshots as often as I do here. Diversity is low, but that's to be expected.
Last Week, the Supreme Court decided on a case involving a law banning the sale of violent video games. It was the case I would have loved to present, more than any other case in history I suppose. That's not an exaggeration in any way. Its the sort of thing that I want to be a lawyer to be a part of. A law was passed to make selling violent video games fineable. The law was misguided and was passed based on inaccuracies. Lawyers presented a case to invalidate that law, and they were successful in doing so. They had a point to prove and they proved it. What I noticed in reading the references after the opinion was a familiar piece of writing. There was a study titled "Looking at the world through Mortal Kombat colored glasses", the same study which I based my science research on over 6 years ago. Life coming full circle? Maybe. A sign? Probably not. But certainly ironic that the same things that were brought up and the questions that were asked all that time ago that caused me to want to practice law and get away from science were the same questions that popped up all this time later as I prepare to go to law school.
If you've gotten this far, comment on my facebook page, you get a cookie.
Friday, July 1, 2011
I'm going to miss the NBA
Top storylines from the 2010 NBA season. In no particular order.
1. Headline: The Unholy Experiment
The Miami Heat need no explanation on why they were the biggest storyline. How many teams are so hated and reviled that people sell out arenas just for the chance to boo them? How often are 3 of the top 15 players in the league on the same team? How often do first year experiments end in a Finals berth. This experiment gave the players more power over the fate of a league than had ever really happened before. They are a historically important team not because of their success, but because they were able to make noise immediately despite immense pressure.
Subplot A:The Melo Drama
Not an original headline by any means. Were it not for Lebron, Melo might be the most hated man in the NBA. Then again, were it not for Lebron, Melo wouldn't have rushed his way out of Denver. In 2003 I said Melo would be better than Lebron because of his versatility and college experience. That argument is over as of right now. Whats more imporant is whether Melo can make the Knicks better. And how long will it take Iman Shumpert to get traded since Melo clearly doesn't care that he exists.
Sublot B: Will DH12 and CP3 shift the balance of power further
Dwight Howard, the league's best center, and Chris Paul, arguably the best pure point guard are up to for free agency after the hypothetical 2011-2012 season. Where will they go and how long will it take for them to get there. Will they play out their contract like Bosh and Lebron, or will they force a trade like Melo. Or will they do as Wade and Nowitski did and sign with their team again.
2. Headline: 6 for 24
I like this headline because on one hand it describes Kobe (number 24's) quest for his sixth all important ring. Will having one more ring make him better than Jordan? No. Will it elevate him to the point where a serious discussion must be had? Yes. It also was his horrid statline in the all important last game of last years finals. Jordan never did that either.
Subplot A: The biggest collapse of the NBA playoffs
No, not the Heat. They at least won 2 games in the finals. How about the defending champions. How did they manage to play so badly against the Mavs. Yes, Dallas is good but what happened with the Lake show that they couldn't manage to beat the Mavericks at all.
Subplot B: Where did the old Guard go?
In what was supposed to be the last stand before the young bucks took over the league, the Celtics, Spurs and Lakers didn't make it past the conference semi-finals. Even the Dallas Cowboys made it to their conference... Wait they didn't.... Not even the playoffs... Never mind.
3. The Emergence of the Young Guns
Headline. 2010 was Rose's coming out party. He carried the Bulls despite injuries and ineffective play by Boozer, Korver and many other players. I worry about rose having to carry the team, because point guards who do all the work rarely win in this league. Think of the top 10 point guards since 1995. How many of them won championships as the best player on their team? Exactly.
Subplot A: "The Posterchild" Blake Griffin
Mozgov became a household name because of what Blake did to him. He's responsibile for 60 percent of the NBA's top dunks last year. He made the Clippers fun to watch. First time that's happened since...
Subplot B: Robin's Revenge
The Oklahoma City Thunder overachieved in making the Western Conference Finals. Russell Westbrook was unfairly criticized for doing what he always has done, shoot and shoot often. The Thunder are an offensively challenged team who needs Westbrook's scoring output to compensate for not having much else. Without westbrook, the Thunder are essentially the Bucks of the West. Hearing complaints, you'd swear that Durant got frozen out of the playoffs. He wasn't getting 28.6 ppg from offensive rebounds. Westbrook got him the ball enough. However, the pressure builds every time Westbrook shoots the ball. Hopefully Harden continues to improve and fill the offensive void left by Jeff Green. If he does, these complaints will become distant memories.
Link: http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/mavericks/post/_/id/4672777/nba-scoring-leader-hasnt-been-vs-mavs
Written in December 2010, it pointed out that the only western conference team that Durant didn't average more than 20 points against was Dallas.
4. Headline: The Front Office failure
The league has somehow managed to fudge up the best season in the last decade and manage to lose money. They needed to come to a solution for this problem before locking out their players which they have been for 17 hours now. I'm going to be mad if the only basktball related activity I get to do in Colorado is play NBA 2k12
Subplot A: Technically speaking
The fouls that were called this year were absolutely ridiculous. They need to increase the tech limit if this many technical fouls are going to be thrown around.
Subplot B: My Crew better work next year
Ok, I cheated a bit. I know that it isn't technically an NBA problem as much as it is a 2k sports problem. However, even though it is a better experience in most ways that 2k10 was, 2k11 felt like a series of failed opportunities. My Player was good this year when it worked, but the fact that My Crew rarely works is annoying. If the only experience I get it 2k12, then I'd better not see 8'5 players, disappearing players and basketballs, uncapped players (unless the cap is removed entirely), and pink shoes with green mohawks. Ok, maybe the pink shoes are fine but come on 2k.
1. Headline: The Unholy Experiment
The Miami Heat need no explanation on why they were the biggest storyline. How many teams are so hated and reviled that people sell out arenas just for the chance to boo them? How often are 3 of the top 15 players in the league on the same team? How often do first year experiments end in a Finals berth. This experiment gave the players more power over the fate of a league than had ever really happened before. They are a historically important team not because of their success, but because they were able to make noise immediately despite immense pressure.
Subplot A:The Melo Drama
Not an original headline by any means. Were it not for Lebron, Melo might be the most hated man in the NBA. Then again, were it not for Lebron, Melo wouldn't have rushed his way out of Denver. In 2003 I said Melo would be better than Lebron because of his versatility and college experience. That argument is over as of right now. Whats more imporant is whether Melo can make the Knicks better. And how long will it take Iman Shumpert to get traded since Melo clearly doesn't care that he exists.
Sublot B: Will DH12 and CP3 shift the balance of power further
Dwight Howard, the league's best center, and Chris Paul, arguably the best pure point guard are up to for free agency after the hypothetical 2011-2012 season. Where will they go and how long will it take for them to get there. Will they play out their contract like Bosh and Lebron, or will they force a trade like Melo. Or will they do as Wade and Nowitski did and sign with their team again.
2. Headline: 6 for 24
I like this headline because on one hand it describes Kobe (number 24's) quest for his sixth all important ring. Will having one more ring make him better than Jordan? No. Will it elevate him to the point where a serious discussion must be had? Yes. It also was his horrid statline in the all important last game of last years finals. Jordan never did that either.
Subplot A: The biggest collapse of the NBA playoffs
No, not the Heat. They at least won 2 games in the finals. How about the defending champions. How did they manage to play so badly against the Mavs. Yes, Dallas is good but what happened with the Lake show that they couldn't manage to beat the Mavericks at all.
Subplot B: Where did the old Guard go?
In what was supposed to be the last stand before the young bucks took over the league, the Celtics, Spurs and Lakers didn't make it past the conference semi-finals. Even the Dallas Cowboys made it to their conference... Wait they didn't.... Not even the playoffs... Never mind.
3. The Emergence of the Young Guns
Headline. 2010 was Rose's coming out party. He carried the Bulls despite injuries and ineffective play by Boozer, Korver and many other players. I worry about rose having to carry the team, because point guards who do all the work rarely win in this league. Think of the top 10 point guards since 1995. How many of them won championships as the best player on their team? Exactly.
Subplot A: "The Posterchild" Blake Griffin
Mozgov became a household name because of what Blake did to him. He's responsibile for 60 percent of the NBA's top dunks last year. He made the Clippers fun to watch. First time that's happened since...
Subplot B: Robin's Revenge
The Oklahoma City Thunder overachieved in making the Western Conference Finals. Russell Westbrook was unfairly criticized for doing what he always has done, shoot and shoot often. The Thunder are an offensively challenged team who needs Westbrook's scoring output to compensate for not having much else. Without westbrook, the Thunder are essentially the Bucks of the West. Hearing complaints, you'd swear that Durant got frozen out of the playoffs. He wasn't getting 28.6 ppg from offensive rebounds. Westbrook got him the ball enough. However, the pressure builds every time Westbrook shoots the ball. Hopefully Harden continues to improve and fill the offensive void left by Jeff Green. If he does, these complaints will become distant memories.
Link: http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/mavericks/post/_/id/4672777/nba-scoring-leader-hasnt-been-vs-mavs
Written in December 2010, it pointed out that the only western conference team that Durant didn't average more than 20 points against was Dallas.
4. Headline: The Front Office failure
The league has somehow managed to fudge up the best season in the last decade and manage to lose money. They needed to come to a solution for this problem before locking out their players which they have been for 17 hours now. I'm going to be mad if the only basktball related activity I get to do in Colorado is play NBA 2k12
Subplot A: Technically speaking
The fouls that were called this year were absolutely ridiculous. They need to increase the tech limit if this many technical fouls are going to be thrown around.
Subplot B: My Crew better work next year
Ok, I cheated a bit. I know that it isn't technically an NBA problem as much as it is a 2k sports problem. However, even though it is a better experience in most ways that 2k10 was, 2k11 felt like a series of failed opportunities. My Player was good this year when it worked, but the fact that My Crew rarely works is annoying. If the only experience I get it 2k12, then I'd better not see 8'5 players, disappearing players and basketballs, uncapped players (unless the cap is removed entirely), and pink shoes with green mohawks. Ok, maybe the pink shoes are fine but come on 2k.
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