Johann

Quote: I think he's extremely selfish and childish off the court. Barkley is no role model either. Nobody is perfect in this world - some are just more transparent with their imperfections. Every one of us is extremely selfish and childish - it's just that most of us can disguise it fairly effectively.

Tell me, BusBoy, did I overestimate Corey Brewer? Every time I saw Florida, it looked to me like he was the best player on the court.

There is no reason he shouldn't pick a spot on the 3-point circle, and learn to hit from there, ala Bowen. That is a weapon that can really make you useful, on both ends.

I think he's just a jerk. Sorry you feel that way, man. He is absolutely one of my favorite guys. Along with C-Bark. Lest I be type-cast, two others of my favorite guys are Don Sutton and Pete Van Wieren. To me, they are (were) the most talented team of baseball announcers since Dizzy Dean and PeeWee Reese. And believe me, believe me, that is saying something.

AHF you are a bit of an enigma to moi. Are you a Dawg? Who pulls for Ky on the hardcourt? That's got my head scratching. I grew up hating Ky in roundball, just like I hated Alabama on the gridiron (they similarly dominated the conference back then). Tubby was the first real ray of light for UGa hoops. I loved him, just like the rest of us (remember - they called Steg "the Tub"). I loved him so much that when he jilted us for Ky, I started pulling for Kentucky when they weren't playing Ga. Even now, now that the fickle Ky. fans have run him off (he can't recruit for some inexplicable reason), I find that I have simply lost my hate for Ky. Still can't stand Bama, though.

Quote: There ain't no real wrestling anymore either. It's all fake." Unlike others, I consider Sheed to be reliable authority. He is my favorite player. He's crazy, yeah, like Barkley, just crazy enough to see the absurdity of the way things are, but he still has that fireball passion, and just enough self control not to rush the crowd or choke the ref when he goes off. The game Sheed played as a Hawk was the best-played game by this franchise since Mookie, Smitty and Deke left. I know he doesn't play full tilt all the time, but he does put his heart into it when it counts, and he fires up his teammates. There aren't many like Rasheed and never will be. Nonethless, he's all wet with this quote, if it's accurate. There never was any real wrestling; everybody knows that.

Quote: Quote: So you are right, all 4 of our ending contracts have value - but their biggest value might be that they will allow us the flexibility to resign all of our key FAs without exceeding the salary cap. Agreed. This would be easier to know if we knew the ASG budget for the next few years, but if it is a limited budget keeping Josh Smith ranks higher than adding players other teams are looking to unload. While we are thinking scenarios, the initial trade we need to make is to trade Belk (through carrying through with the buy-out agreement) for a deep pocket partner, willing to invest some money to make a winner. Then, if we give up on Woody (which I personally am not quite ready to do), we need to put up the cash to entice Phil to come here. He seems ready to leave the Buss.

I'll give him some credit. Not a lot, but some. He protected our no. 1 pick top 4, the balls came up 3. He let Indy protect the trade pick top 10, they finished 11th worst, after a huge late season swoon. It's like a guy hanging in a hand to the end, hoping to fill an inside straight. Not good poker, but if he hits it, I still gonna clap.

Quote: Hilton got 14 rebounds, Horford 6. Pretty clear who won that battle. Ulp. That could spell a little trouble in Paradise.

Quote: I feel like we're in a good spot. I hope the decision makers don't f the whole thing up. Fortunately, the decision makers are stymied in courtroom gridlock until further notice. This could be bad at some point, but up until now I think the paralysis has been really good. Sort of like when Congress got stalemated for a few months a few years back, or when the doctors went on strike in Cal. some time ago (Note: the death rate plummeted, and they had to scurry back on duty).

Quote: I spend alot of time in Atlanta for work (I was able to go to the Hawks pre-season game against the Bobcats a couple weeks ago) so they're kind of a "second team" for me. I alternate between this board and the Bulls board. I don't really frequent any other teams boards - so you guys are stuck with me. You're welcome here, MF. You have insights, non-homer Hawks knowledge sans agenda. News on the Bulls here and there = good. Not a particular Chi fan, but gotta respect the way they're building their club. Hope to have rivalry with them.

Quote: Drafting Chillz over Deng, MW over PGs and Shelden over Roy have set us up for Acie and Horford. If we had any of those early 3 picks right, we would have at least 6 more wins and Pacers would have drafted 10th and Suns would have had our pick. All those blunders resulted in Horford and Acie. Amen. Very appropriate to put that in the form of a prayer. I think we were finally forgiven for keeping Babs so long.

Quote: You can hear the whole game for free in NBA radio who keep games in their archive for 48 hours. gracias, hermano

Thanks for the report, man. Hard to picture things on the radio, and I only heard the 4th quarter. Sounds good - we're making some progress where we need to. Don't know if Woody is the answer as a floor coach, but at least the guys are starting to develop nicely.

Quote: With Zaza injured, you'd think this would be a good time to look at Shelden and Lo and Solo at Center? Normally, you'd think so (and maybe this last game it will happen). But up to now, Woody has been coaching these games like they are the playoffs. And I'm not sure I disagree with him. I mentioned the 'Skins. They were pretty darn bad for years - worse than the Falcons, year in and year out. It took something radical (Vince Lombardi) to break that mindset and accustom that team and city to the mentality of winning. Woody is thinking that is the most important factor this pre-season, and he may be right. At the end of these close games, these guys are starting to expect to win it. If it does carry over, it's good strategy.

I'm with you on Shelden, as I've said before. Only, I'm not sure now is the time. I want to bring him along slowly, behind Al and ZaZa for now. Shelden will not do well until he's comfortable. Getting comfortable can't be forced. Some guys get comfortable by being thrown in the water, some by dangling their feet a while. Shelden shows signs of being slow to get his groove. I can relate - I'm the same way. With someone like that, you be patient. When it happens, with the slow to bloom, it can be something.

I listened to the 4th quarter. The 3 Josh hit was huge. Marvin is ice at the line. The Wizards announcer was almost whining when Marvin got fouled at the end of the game, with the Wizards down 2. Marv drained them both, after AJ had just clanked 2 off the rim. I dont mean nothing against AJ, but Marvin is money at the end of the game. Josh is a terror, and so is Childress. Al plays like a vet. These guys are on fire right now. It's true, they played against the Wizards' second team the 4th quarter. But these results have got to show these kids they can hang with good teams at the end of the game.

Pete, you are doing dam good. You are a poster with some control, man.

Quote: OK TP...how phooking hard is it to put in a "post move" ??? You drop yuor back foot and fake a shot...then (If you still have the dribble) you take it to the hoop. That depends on how tall you are. A short guy could do that perfectly on the first try. But tall guys have a lot of synapses between their brain and their feet - it takes years to groove that pathway.

It's hard to have a serious argument with a guy like you who is obviously just wasting a little time. Since you got some time to burn, I'll ask you a question. Did you get transplanted to the ATL from Boston? Are you still a Celtic fan? Who do you pull for when the Hawks play the C's? Not pulling your chain, just curious. I lived in DC for quite some time, and have similar issues re: the Redskins and the Falcons.

Hammies can be tricky. Depends on the circumstance. Several years ago Chipper Jones and JD Drew both tweaked their hamstrings in Braves' spring training. Chipper came back real quick, JD sat out several weeks. Well, Chipper ended up missing several months of the season, where Drew came back strong and had a great year.

Quote: Vermin, your bar is set pretty low. True. That is true.

Quote: Quote: I'm all for piling on Diesel, but all he's saying (on the surface at least) is that he's not going to let a good preseason showing convince him we're good to go. Why does anyone care if he feels that way? I kind of feel that way too, even though I'm relieved and somewhat excited that things are going well so far. Cautiously optimistic, right? He's not bashing the way we've been playing, and he's not bashing our potential for a good season. At least not that I've noticed. The guy is just negative and he gets into fights with everyone on the board except maybe Walter! The guy makes up stuff to be negative toward certain players and positive toward other. He constantly raves about other team's mediocre players and propose stupid trades for them in return for some our best players. I'm just so tired of all of his agendas. If he is going to evaluate the play of the team be fair about it as oppose to raining on the parade when the outcome contradicts his predictions. There have been several guys that have said harsh things about the team and individual players that have been man enough to say that they were wrong after noticing the team's progress but not this dude! It is just irritating to a fan to come to a fan board excited about the team you support only to get crapped on by supposedly another fan of the same team. Personally, I have my doubts about his so call fan loyalty to the Hawks! Diesel is one of the main reasons this board is addictive. Sure he is provocative. Deliberately. Nuts. Deliberately, a lot of times. And funny as hell to me. Plus, he has a microphone planted in the Hawks' war room, and every now and then he plays a tape. Can't be long now. And you really have to appreciate some of his posts. The other day, he accused his debating partner as having "incredible flaccidity." And don't tell me you won't acknowledge the creativity of his quote from today, in "Re: Another instance of Nut Hugging by Teabag Pete", as follows: "Not a wild accusation. An Accusation dripping in fact and admission." link The cat has some true talent.

shhh.

It wasn't a great draft. Who did we miss out on? Roy and Foye? They would probably just be pulling the 10 minutes that Joe sits, unless he gets hurt. Millsap? Would he play much with Smoove and Al on the team? I'm waiting for the long haul to gauge the Shelden pick. He's got the intangibles to be a good player.