Shouzer

Shot of the southern end of Manhattan from the boat to the Statue of Liberty.

Do you guys want me to continue doing this?  Or have I become that annoying person that makes you sit through a slideshow of his vacation?

This is one of two ice skating rinks in Central Park. It is the famous one that you see in all of the movies.  You can see the Plaza Hotel in the background behind the tree.  They were doing construction on it so there was scaffolding all over it.

We did go ice skating in this rink.

I’m having tons of fun here in New York.  So far, we’ve seen the Empire State Building, Times Square, Statue of Liberty, Letterman, Central Park, and much more.  The Letterman taping was a whole lot of fun.  The guests were crap, but the show was still really fun.  We’re going to see Conan tonight and hopefully a Broadway show some time soon.

Best thing we’ve seen so far:  Empire State Building.  We watched the sunset from the top, which was absolutely incredible.  That also meant we got to see it during the night and the day.

Best Place we’ve eaten:  Zen.  It was a vegetarian restaurant.  We walked in thinking it was just an Asian place and were a bit surprised when we saw the menu, but the food was incredible.  I had no idea vegetarian could actually be good.

More details and pictures to come.  I’m sitting in Starbucks now, and I feel like leaving to go do something more fun.

first off, im not linking to articles by marc stein and john hollinger on this subject because they require espn insider acces, and im not linking to the press release on the francis or the milicic trade because im lazy.

i say magicians when referring to the front office of the team because they did what other teams have recently lacked the testicular fortitude to do - admit they were rebuilding. let me break down each trade and show you what i mean.

Magic Outgoing: Kelvin Cato, 2007 first round pick (protected from 1-5 turning into unprotected in 2008)
Magic Incoming: Darko Milicic, Carlos Arroyo

This was the first sign that the rebuilding process was at “T minus 0″. First, look at what they got. Everyone knows what Darko is the whipping boy from the loaded 2003 draft that featured LBJ, Melo, and Flash. But the kid is barely 20 years old. His skills are raw, but there’s a reason that some GMs said they would have taken him before James. If he turns out to be even half the player that people thought he could be in 2003, then the deal is a steal right there. They also receive Carlos Arroyo, one of the best international players basketball can give you. While his game hasn’t yet taken off in the NBA, he is only around to provide insurance for budding star Jameer Nelson. So even if Arroyo doesn’t start, he’s one of the better backup PG’s around. What did the Magic give up? Cap relief in Cato’s expiring contract and a draft pick. But here’s the kicker - it’s for 2007, meaning they get to keep their pick this year. Giving up their present pick would have but a road bump in the rebuilding process, but holding on to it, especially considering how many ping pong balls they will have come lottery time, this pick should be top 5. Incredible.

Magic Outgoing: Steve Francis
Magic Incoming: Trevor Ariza, expiring contract of Penny Hardaway.

A lot of people are already thinking this is one of the worst trades in history, but they’re looking at it on face value. It’s like me giving you 200 dollars for a share of Google when it was only at 100, and then watching it climb to 400+ in a couple years. Sure, you ripped me off at time=zero, but at time=2, who’s the sucker? That’s what rebuilding is all about. A lot of teams just don’t understand that. But what is the actual value of this trade for the Magic, you ask? Why, I’ll tell you. First, they get rid of 3 things: Steve Francis’ 3-year overpriced contract, Steve Francis’ whining, and Steve Francis’ incessant need to hog the ball. Dwight Howard was never going to mature with him around - Charles Barkley actually said that last week. That’s addition by subtraction. What physical aspects did they get in return? Trevor Ariza, a good-looking rook last year who got parked on Larry Brown’s bench this year, and the contract of Penny Hardaway, which comes off the books this summer. Earlier in the week, Orlando shunned a deal which would have given them Jamal Crawford (a legit talent) in this trade also, smartly, because they just didn’t want the liability on their accountanting records. Now, with Grant Hill’s contract expiring in 2007, the Magic have, by far, the most amount of cap space to throw at free agents. No, they won’t be getting Lebron, Carmelo, or Wade, but they could make a run at Nowitzki, Pierce, or Carter. Or maybe two medium stars. Plus, they can resign their young guys for the long term, solidifying their stance in the future.

The Magic cleaned their slate this week of everything that they didn’t think had a big future. It just makes sense. I think they’re my favorite team.

the nba trading deadline! ok, ok, i know the majority of you probably weren’t aware of this exiting event, but i forgive you. wipe that tear from your cheek. there’s still time to buy into the hype; the deadline isn’t until thursday! i’ve been wanting to do sports related stories regularly here for quite the time, but i just never have. and i’ve wanted to break down the darko trade for days, but i’ve been waiting. i don’t believe the darko trade was isolated, and i don’t think it would be right to disect without first waiting on the second trade that orlando has up its sleeve. a certain stevie franchise should be on the move tomorrow or the next day, and then you’ll see my thoughts. but first, i wanted to remind you how much me and the other 6 nba fans in the world get gleeful this time of year. why, i even posted about it two years ago. it’s just a great time when teams actually let their fans know what direction they are headed. are we making a playoff push? or are we rebuilding? do we need one more piece? or can we get prospects for veterans? it’s just a fun time of anticipation and speculation. albert and i might even go up and see a bulls game next month. speaking of the bulls, i expect that tim thomas’ expiring contract will for sure get moved, with a chance of ben gordon heading out of town. ah, the nba. it’s FAN-tastic.

I had my first 2 finals today, and I’ve only got 1 more to go.  It’s tomorrow night at 6.  The 2 today were not bad at all.  Neither of them were true finals in that they were not cummulative.  Both were also open book and open notes, but that really didn’t help as much as you might think.  Still, for having 2 back-to-back finals today, I’m not as brain dead as I expected to be.

I just wanted to be the first to wish all you single guys a happy Valentine’s day.  This is the greatest day of the year to be single, and you should celebrate it.

So now there’s this strange noise coming from somewhere in the room. “Where?”, you might ask. I certainly feel that would be the most appropriate question. Unfortunately, I’m not equipped to answer that question at the moment. The answer eludes me. Everytime I stand up to seek out the oh-so-elusive noise, it goes away.

Literally just now, as I am typing this, I hear the noise… Hm, I turned my head and it was gone. It’s like it’s reading my thoughts. It’s like it’s in my head.

[Update:]  I went to sleep and it hasn’t come back this morning.  I’ll be sure to keep everybody informed of changes in the situation.

jared, when i was tellin’ you about where kbtoys was i was actually describing toysrus. my bad. got confused. dont know if there is a kb around us.

i want pictures of jared’s new camaro. cowboy up, jared.

So, I’ve moved into my new apartment. Don’t remember if I told you guys that I was moving, but yeah, I did. Or, rather, am in the process of moving.

It’s the apartment building right next door. I’m rooming with Mal and her friend Quetta. They were all living with Courtney, but since she graduated they needed a third roommate. And it works out well for me because it’s a lot cheaper when the rent is split between 3 people instead of paying it all on my own.

So yeah, I’ve moved in. And in Mal and Quetta’s roommate fashion, though minus Mal since she’s back in Herrin, I’m goin’ on my first Wild Country outing.

Wild Country is across the river. It’s a country line dancing club that is apparently a lot of fun according to Mal.

So yeah, that’s what’s going on with me right now.

On a side note, since Jared has been bringing up a lot of stuff in regards to politics lately, I wanted to know what you guys thought of Bush’s nominee to replace Justice O’Connor on the Supreme Court.

While I haven’t looked into this guy very much yet, I do know that’s he’s considered “right wing.” Personally, I think Bush should have chosen someone more in the middle to keep the court balanced…but then, that would be expecting to much from Bush. (Sorry in advance to those of you who like Bush).

Anyways, I gotta get ready for this Wild Co. adventure. Talk to ya all later.

P.S. I’ll actually be making it home this summer. August 5 my physics class ends and then I’m comin’ home on the following Monday. The 8th, I believe. So if you guys are still in town, I’d love to see ya guys since it’s been awhile.

Downing Street Memo. Read it. They underline the important parts. Read the paragraphs around those underlined parts. Seriously. This country’s going to shit.

Look at this. Focus on Article 11. But nowadays nobody cares. It’s sad.

Bill Nye the Science Guy. He was the shit. I remember watching him. That’s really beside the point, though.

Tomorrow I’m going to the St. Louis science museum with some visiting family. They’ve got two sons–a four year old and a six year old. Plus, I have a two year old sister, so they should all have a lot of fun.

I think the last time I’ve been there, though, was like 5th grade for my gifted class. And as far as I can remember, it was actually pretty fun. So hopefully it’ll be cool remembering different things and hanging out with some family.