TylerDurden

Witnessing and FEELING the NFL bend us over and make us grab our ankles in Super Bowl 50 in real-time… that was the turning point for me. I have not viewed the NFL, or pro sports for that matter, the same, ever since. Look at the NBA. You’re talking about astronomical odds for the #1 pick on the teams in the back-end of the lottery. The Mavericks mysteriously and inexplicably out of nowhere trade their franchise player - one of the biggest stars in the league, and an international superstar… and of all places, to the LA Lakers, with LeBron. They get back an oft-injured Anthony Davis. Their team, including Davis, end up getting injured to the point they barely have enough healthy players to play games as the year goes on. Their GM takes a ton of heat and never really offers a reasonable, nor plausible explanation as to why they did the trade in the first place. He also states that they never took any calls from any other teams, they never fielded any other offers for Luka, and they didn’t even take the offer elsewhere to see what other teams would offer. Absolutely no due diligence. Now ask yourself, why would a team do that? Not just in sports, why would any business do such a thing? Not maximizing your return? Not doing due diligence? Fast forward a couple months… the GM has been lambasted, ridiculed, and belittled the entire time since. The lottery comes around, and the Mavs, who were just in the NBA Finals the year before, barely miss the playoffs due to all of their injuries. Davis, Kyrie Irving, etc., all their best players were injured. They had the smallest mathematical chance at getting the #1 pick. Guess who got the #1 pick? The Mavericks. So this plays out like the NBA asked the Mavs to do them a solid. One of their blue-blood, prestigious, big market franchises needed a bump with LeBron getting older. LA throws together a garbage package, sending them an aging, injured star and some garbage picks for one of the biggest stars and historically one of the most incredible offensive players in NBA history, and the NBA ensures the Mavs will beat powerball odds and get the #1 pick, when it just so happens that Cooper Flagg, projected to be a generational talent, is coming out in the draft. You scratch our back, we’ll scratch yours. Also, who got the #2 pick? The Spurs. A year after obtaining the #1 pick in the lottery to acquire another touted generational talent in Wembanyama, after a 20+ year run as one of the most successful NBA dynasties in history. They suddenly have their first bad year, get the #1 pick ahead of us, the Hornets (after wallowing in mediocrity for decades), and get Wemby, and now get the #2 pick the following year. There was talk here earlier in the offseason about things lining up for us to go to the Super Bowl this year, and at the time, I half jokingly said I could see it, as the patsy for Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson’s redemption arc. Again, after all of the poo that happened in Super Bowl 50, then watching the refs stand by idly over the next two years while week after week our opponents took cheap shot after illegal cheap shot on our once-in-a-lifetime talent in Cam Newton… that poo took a lot of the heart out of it for me. I’ve said for years, if big money is involved, corruption is inherent. There’s no way around it. I’ve accepted that every professional sport is influenced by the money. And storylines bring big money. It has become purely entertainment with a small pinch of competition. At least the WWE tells you exactly what they are, and thus, you can enjoy it for what it is. The NFL and NBA specifically, specialize in crushing the hearts of fans who believe it’s still real and untainted. fug Goodell and Silver.

Yeah, the injuries are disappointing. And it’s crazy we’re already in year 6, but I feel like when he’s healthy, he’s a top-tier player. He is a star. That being said, if we could get a haul for him, I would consider it. I actually would be very interested if to see if we could get Jalen Green, as it’s rumored the Suns are looking to move him somewhere else. I also think that would solve PHX’s PG problem. But unless it’s something like that, I believe in Melo, he just has to stay healthy.

I’m not understanding this poo about them not wanting to play with Melo. He loves passing. To me, it says more about the lack of maturity, character, and winning mindset of the draft prospects refusing to play with him than it says anything about Melo. Melo is a damn good player. Unless I’m missing something, I suspect it’s because these guys want to be the alpha dog coming in and don’t want anyone else that they perceive would overshadow them. poo is weak.

Yeah, seeing a ton of talk that we’re listening to offers for him. Going back to LJ, Mourning, Kobe, Eddie Jones, Baron, and now Lamelo. It always follows the same playbook. Media hypes and pumps “potential blockbuster” deals with our star player to the big markets/media darling teams. the smoke machine keeps churning. Then it’s rumored we are entertaining said offers (even if there was never talks or substance to the rumors). Then finally, we make a shitty deal that realistically only benefits the big market/media darling, get poo on, then languish in continued mediocrity with the added insult of having no star player whatsoever. Wash, rinse, repeat.

Not a stretch because the league actually does use us to facilitate players to bigger markets. We’re the “just happy to be here” franchise.

I love Chubba. Been a fan since I heard about his story when he was at Ok St. and no doubt his production and progression is impressive, but this is my one nitpick - he was always touted for his speed, having come from a track background, so I am honestly surprised he doesn’t have more breakaway runs for TDs than what he has achieved thus far. But to be fair, it often feels like he is constantly having to break tackles, so when he breaks the last one where it would just be nothing between him and the end zone, that usually took long enough that a defender from the opposite side of the field got an angle to catch up. I really hope with the receiver additions, Bryce moving forward with confidence and proving that ending stretch last season wasn’t an aberration, and another year of synergy for the OL, Chubba is gonna have some wide open running this season. He is definitely special. Proud of him and happy he is getting rewarded for all his hard work…

Better than the time he gave me the same look he gave Anthony Bright before ending his career when I met him at the Fan Caravan in 2005.

Is he still unsigned? Big fan of him since college and I feel his dad was one of the most underrated players in NFL history. He’s a baller.

Then the cynical part of me just felt they’ll use us as a patsy for Lamar or Josh Allen to have their redemption arc. I fuging hate Goodell and the NFL. But I love the Panthers. *sad face

Whoever is running this simulation has a great sense of humor. and damn, J.Lo was still with Marc Anthony in 2014? That poo seemed like 10 years before. Oh well, who tf cares. I just want to win a Chip!

Idk man, maybe I’m in the minority, but Purdy is a damn good QB. He’s part of the solution for them. Not the problem. They would’ve already won a Super Bowl if they could’ve kept their team healthy. There are games where Purdy just gets in a zone and makes incredible play after play. I think he is elite, people just don’t want to give him credit for it because he doesn’t have the look or the pedigree.

This. And ultimately, what we can learn from perrineal contenders is that draft position doesn’t matter - it’s who you acquire and how you develop them. If Bryce is indeed for real, and if Morgan and the front office prove to be elite at talent acquisition and development like we hope, then it’s just plugging holes from here. It focus should be winning. Period. and funny enough, reading that excerpt, this is the first time in our entire history that I’ve ever seen us mentioned with one of the lowest strength of schedules. For as long as I can remember, we were always in the top 5 toughest and it felt like we never could catch a break when it came to that. Maybe things are finally going our way.

Yeah, I pull for Trav. He is an excellent human being. I remember reading somewhere last season that he was divvying up his NIL money to pay some of Colorado’s staff during the season as a token of appreciation. He is just a good dude and an incredible player. I’ll be pulling for him.

Damn I just made the same WWE/NBA comp then scrolled up and saw you beat me to it. but yeah, fug Silver and fug the NBA.

Was gonna post as well, they say it’s to ensure competitive integrity so a team doesn’t intentionally bomb for 82 games to ensure the #1 pick, but in actuality, that has nothing to do with why they use a lottery… they use the lottery so they can intentionally rig the top picks to who they want to have them and then throw their hands up like, “what??? Well, that’s just the way the ping pong balls landed.” This poo is literally like me going and winning a fuging scratch off for a million not once, not twice, but eight fuging times. They just keep throwing it in our faces over and over and over again. WWE is more real than the NBA is at this point.

I told everyone since the season was over, prepare for disappointment. Our franchise is cursed. How the Cavs get the #1 pick 3 years in a row after LeBron left? How did we have a historically bad season, clearly the worst team in the league, but New Orleans, just recently purchased by Benson after being owned by the league at the time and desperately searching for a star, ends up with the #1 pick, gets AD and we get effin MKG? How do the Spurs carry on one of the most successful franchises in the league for almost two decades straight, then when they suddenly age out of their dynasty window and struggle for the first time in decades, they just coincidentally back their way into the #1 pick and generational talent in Wemby? All that fuss about the Mavs trading away Luka, and did so admittedly without fielding any other offers from other teams - just one from the Lakers and they accept it? So the Lakers get to team one of the biggest stars in the league with LeBron for the final years of his career and the league does the Mavs a solid and gives them the #1 pick for scratching their back. The Mavs had one mediocre year and the league gives them this pick? We have sucked for so long, so consistently and haven’t gotten it one fuging time in the entire history of the franchise outside of Larry Johnson? And especially since getting a franchise back in Charlotte, we have to be the worst team in the league during that stretch… and the league continues to treat us like their whipping boy. I watched the least amount of sports ever in my life this past year, and poo like this is a huge reason why. You can’t tell me this isn’t rigged. They manufacture the drama. All the poo I listed above shows these statistical impossibilities miraculously happen regularly, and they happen coincidentally with the most beneficial outcome for the NBA’s preferred storylines. fuging bullshit. Idk how anyone can watch this poo and not laugh at how fuging brazen the league is with rigging this poo. It is unreal… and again, going back to the Donaghy scandal. I was somewhere around 18 when I bet a friend $25 on that SAC/LA series on Sac. Those were my guys. Even with Kobe and Shaq, I knew they couldn’t fug with Vlade, CWebb, Bobby, Peja, etc. and I was right. So the NBA stepped in and handed LA the series in a platter with fuging free throws. I’m so fuging sick of this poo. As much as I love watching LaMelo, fug the NBA.

Carr was a really, really good QB, imo. Saints Carr? Not so much. And I didn’t get to watch a ton of him once Care got injured, but from what I saw, Rattler looked damn good.

Same and true. But after wheat I’ve experienced in life, give me an Anna Nicole Smith when I’m about to kick the bucket. Idgaf if it isn’t love.

Hey we got Nate Salley redux!

Oh and btw, Go Heels! Idgaf about all that, just make us good again, Bill.

Escort or not, it is surprising how a man of Belichick’s background, prestige, and power has found himself in this position. Most of them, if they engage in such activities that would introduce them to an escort don’t end up showing them off to the world as their girlfriend. They know to hit it and quit it. But even beyond making her known publicly as his girlfriend, you also gave her extra exposure, visibility, and are openly appearing as whipped and controlled to allow further scrutiny. This isn’t commentary on societal gender roles or expectations or anything… just a direct observation of Belichick and guys do his ilk. The vast majority are egomaniacs. Egomaniacs tend to control situations. They also don’t generally attach to anyone, especially like this. To give up your power and image to an escort, after all he has accomplished and the image he has built of himself in the public - this indeed is wild.

Possible. But to counter that, I feel vets, even well regarded ones, reach a point where no matter how solid they remain, no team is making a trade for them, and I think Clowney reached that point.

Truth is, he’s never lived up to the hype of his potential. Closest he ver came was those first few years in Houston when they moved him around everywhere. That being said, he’s a really, really solid player and a great vet to have on the roster. Not sure why we make this move now?

I think the joke it ultimately became serves as a double entendre of sorts, but yeah, I will.

I believe in Dan Morgan.