Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[MANTIS01]

Don't forget a head of state or president is still going to cost the country big bucks. All the security and travel and official functions will still run into millions of pounds of taxpayer cash every year. Not only that but a head of state voted in only gets 4 years before making way for somebody else. That chopping and changing every few years isn't going to be sufficient time for a president to become greatly proficient in the job or to garner a stellar global reputation. By comparison the Queen has been mastering the job for 60 years. This not only gives her people a stability and a sense of themselves in what is a turbulent world but it also gives her a certain prestige and esteem amongst other world leaders which simply couldn't be replicated in a short presidential term.

You do realise we have that already ? The monarchy is on top of this.

Sandy

Countries have a PM and a head of state. Or are you saying scrap the monarchy and crown people like Gordon Brown or Ed Miliband our head of state? Err no thanks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_system_of_government#Presidential_systems_without_a_prime_minister

Sandy

No European countries using that system. But Iran and Afghanistan do. Long live the queen.

[JaffaCake]

So our friend Jeremy Lin was in action tonight, playing away for the New York Knicks at Toronto. The Knicks had one of their stars back - must be weird for them, since they've been out a week, the whole team has changed, won every game and this new guy Lin who earns 1/20th of their salary is the main man - and they started really badly.

They were 17 points behind early on and still 12 down going into the final quarter. I thought the Jeremy Lin story was drawing to a close, the oppo had obviously done some research on him, guarded him much tighter and hammered him with some really rough fouls. Then the final five minutes...

The Knicks upped their defensive intensity and Lin started to get the offence going and they edged closer point by point. With under a minute left the scores were tied. One of the big men missed his shot but grabbed the rebound and chucked it out to Lin. With under 24 seconds left now, he could hold for the final shot. The clock ticked down, inside 10 seconds, inside five, would he take the shot, look to set someone else up (the returning star man) or completely fk it up, remember he's never been in this position before.

With under two seconds left he dribbled forward then stepped back behind the three-point line and with 0.5 seconds left shot over the defender and swished the perfect shot to win the game for the Knicks. He ended up with 27 points and 11 assists I think, again massive numbers.

He's moved from sleeping on his brother's couch to an apartment on the 20th floor of Trump Towers....almost perfectly from outhouse to penthouse

Is "swished" a tecnical term in basketball?

Indeedy, taken from the noise the ball makes from a perfect shot passing through the net as oppose to boucing round the rim etc, indicates it was a perfect shot, expect nuthin less from jezza

[tikay]

So our friend Jeremy Lin was in action tonight, playing away for the New York Knicks at Toronto. The Knicks had one of their stars back - must be weird for them, since they've been out a week, the whole team has changed, won every game and this new guy Lin who earns 1/20th of their salary is the main man - and they started really badly.

They were 17 points behind early on and still 12 down going into the final quarter. I thought the Jeremy Lin story was drawing to a close, the oppo had obviously done some research on him, guarded him much tighter and hammered him with some really rough fouls. Then the final five minutes...

The Knicks upped their defensive intensity and Lin started to get the offence going and they edged closer point by point. With under a minute left the scores were tied. One of the big men missed his shot but grabbed the rebound and chucked it out to Lin. With under 24 seconds left now, he could hold for the final shot. The clock ticked down, inside 10 seconds, inside five, would he take the shot, look to set someone else up (the returning star man) or completely fk it up, remember he's never been in this position before.

With under two seconds left he dribbled forward then stepped back behind the three-point line and with 0.5 seconds left shot over the defender and swished the perfect shot to win the game for the Knicks. He ended up with 27 points and 11 assists I think, again massive numbers.

He's moved from sleeping on his brother's couch to an apartment on the 20th floor of Trump Towers....almost perfectly from outhouse to penthouse

Is "swished" a tecnical term in basketball?

Indeedy, taken from the noise the ball makes from a perfect shot passing through the net as oppose to boucing round the rim etc, indicates it was a perfect shot, expect nuthin less from jezza

Ooh, he is "jezza" now is he?

Must say Jeff, that overnight report was beautifully written. We could guess the ending, but he kept us in suspense wonderfully. Who wrote it?

When does jezza next play?

Would you like to be my official Basketball corry? Young Dave is doing a terrific job over at Yoof, he Posted a most interesting Queenie Post today, which has excited readers from wide & far, including such blonde luminaries as MANTIS, Regards, nirvana the retired troll, Sandy, Bobby, Herbie, Camel, & some ordinary people, too.  The only rule I insist upon is never nick 2 day old stuff from next door, that would be oh, so, low.

Swiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiisssshhhhhh

[bobby1]

It is now officially Linsanity.

[henrik777]

Don't forget a head of state or president is still going to cost the country big bucks. All the security and travel and official functions will still run into millions of pounds of taxpayer cash every year. Not only that but a head of state voted in only gets 4 years before making way for somebody else. That chopping and changing every few years isn't going to be sufficient time for a president to become greatly proficient in the job or to garner a stellar global reputation. By comparison the Queen has been mastering the job for 60 years. This not only gives her people a stability and a sense of themselves in what is a turbulent world but it also gives her a certain prestige and esteem amongst other world leaders which simply couldn't be replicated in a short presidential term.

You do realise we have that already ? The monarchy is on top of this.

Sandy

Countries have a PM and a head of state. Or are you saying scrap the monarchy and crown people like Gordon Brown or Ed Miliband our head of state? Err no thanks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_system_of_government#Presidential_systems_without_a_prime_minister

Sandy

No European countries using that system. But Iran and Afghanistan do. Long live the queen.

I think you're geography is a bit off.

Also Brasill is now a more powerful economy than UK. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16332115

Sandy

[Geo the Sarge]

It's always a great way of highlighting the north-south divide this question.

Personally as north leaning midlander, I don't think it's morally acceptable to a) have our rulers forced upon us based on who they are related to or b) spend receiving a small proportion of the revenue they have helped generate a large sum of money keeping a small number of people in unimaginable luxury akin to some movie/sport/pop star.

Rulers? really?

Other amendments made also

Geo

[tikay]

Switcharooney

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/world-of-sport/wayne-rooney-finally-names-racehorse-115619250.html

Better suggestions for the name of a horse owned by Wayne Rooney?

[tikay]

Thought you might like to peruse this:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00ncxkd

Thank you, Mum.

Must say, loving your work, & post quality, on blonde, your stuff is always worth a read, & I have you on my "must read every Post he makes" list.

[JaffaCake]

lol who wrote it, u old charmer, ofc I'd love to be official hoopies corry. I had to be up and out early today and was fearful of another reprimand from u so filed it and it was on your diary before any of the main sites had their match reports up at like 230am today.

Jeremy Lin's story is so ridic for those of us who watch a lot of basketball, I've turned off films for being less believable. Forgot to mention, a poker player I know contacted me on FB as the game started and said he'd had a 'six figure bet' on the unders (total score) in the New York v Toronto game....if Lin misses that shot, the game goes to overtime and instead of just winning he would have lost the bet...another linsanity convert.

PS yoof corry best buck his ideas up, the queen? That's not what the kids are down with surely

[JaffaCake]

Rob Yong will be Posting some time today, I think, as to the changes to the how DTD Tourneys are run.

Expect a hot thread, & some very surprising news. Don't miss it.

Curveballs ftw.

 

Did I miss this? Was there a final decision about chop or no chop (even tho it was said no chops before the vote!)

[tikay]

Rob Yong will be Posting some time today, I think, as to the changes to the how DTD Tourneys are run.

Expect a hot thread, & some very surprising news. Don't miss it.

Curveballs ftw.

 

Did I miss this? Was there a final decision about chop or no chop (even tho it was said no chops before the vote!)

Announcement delayed until early next week. I exchanged notes with Rob about it yesterday, as I wanted to do a "scoop" on last night's Show, but I had got ahead of myself, my bad totally.

Rob really does come up with some incredible ideas, & he's brave enough to blaze a trail.

[tikay]

lol who wrote it, u old charmer, ofc I'd love to be official hoopies corry. I had to be up and out early today and was fearful of another reprimand from u so filed it and it was on your diary before any of the main sites had their match reports up at like 230am today.

Jeremy Lin's story is so ridic for those of us who watch a lot of basketball, I've turned off films for being less believable. Forgot to mention, a poker player I know contacted me on FB as the game started and said he'd had a 'six figure bet' on the unders (total score) in the New York v Toronto game....if Lin misses that shot, the game goes to overtime and instead of just winning he would have lost the bet...another linsanity convert.

PS yoof corry best buck his ideas up, the queen? That's not what the kids are down with surely

Well if you wrote that, Jeff, you should pack up poker & go back to journalism, it was a beautifully balanced & paced little piece, well presented, very professional, & I mean that. The gift of writing well should not be underestimated.

This jezza story is just amazing, too.

I'm now trying to think who the poker player who had a 6 figure bet on the game was. I never knew Flushy or Dubai even followed basketball.

My Yoof Corry. Yeah, I was a bit surprised at his choice of topic, I may have to rein him in, it was a bit controversial, & off-brief. I was hoping he would do something less controversial, maybe "should we wear a vest in cold weather" sorta thing. But you gotta give the kids their head.

I still need to take issue with him over those daft watches that the balla poker players all wisely invested in.

I'm going easy on him though, he is off to LA tomorrow, to play some serious poker, & I have a financial interest in him, he is gonna make me rich. Thats what he told me, anyway.

[smashedagain]

Rob Yong will be Posting some time today, I think, as to the changes to the how DTD Tourneys are run.

Expect a hot thread, & some very surprising news. Don't miss it.

Curveballs ftw.

 

Did I miss this? Was there a final decision about chop or no chop (even tho it was said no chops before the vote!)

Announcement delayed until early next week. I exchanged notes with Rob about it yesterday, as I wanted to do a "scoop" on last night's Show, but I had got ahead of myself, my bad totally.

Rob really does come up with some incredible ideas, & he's brave enough to blaze a trail.

thx for letting us know. not been to bed for 48 hours

[TightEnd]

Linsanity! For those who don’t follow the NBA, or read the NY Post, or check Twitter during Knicks games, Jeremy Lin is a new point guard who has been churning out a series of incredible performances. Last week, he torched the Lakers for 38 points; last night, he hit a three pointer at the buzzer to beat the Raptors. What makes Lin’s story even more remarkable is that he has been repeatedly spurned by basketball professionals. Although Lin dreamt of attending UCLA or Stanford, neither college offered him a scholarship. He ended up at Harvard.

Although Lin excelled in the Ivy League and broke numerous basketball records, he wasn’t selected in the 2010 NBA draft.

    Eight teams had invited Lin to predraft workouts. Diepenbrock said that NBA tryouts do not play five on five. Lin acknowledged that the workouts were “one on one or two on two or three on three, and that’s not where I excel. I’ve never played basketball like that.”

Lin was eventually signed by the Warriors, but he was soon placed on the inactive list and repeatedly sent down to the D-League affiliate. Last December, Lin was waived by the Warriors, picked up and then waived by the Rockets, before finally being claimed by the Knicks as a backup point guard.

    New York considered releasing Lin before his contract became guaranteed on February 10 so they could sign a new player. However, after the Knicks squandered a fourth quarter lead in a February 3 loss to the Boston Celtics, coach Mike D’Antoni decided to give Lin a chance to play. “He got lucky because we were playing so bad,” said D’Antoni.[94] Lin had played only 55 minutes through the Knicks’ first 23 games.

By now, you probably see the theme: nobody thought Lin could make it in the NBA. He was too short and too weak, with a mediocre jump shot. And that’s why, if I were an NBA coach or scout or GM, his remarkable success would keep me up at night. Professional sports, after all, are supposed to be a pure meritocracy, in which those with the most talent are carefully vetted and tested. Those who make it in the NBA are supposed to be a pure distillate of athletic potential: the players are richly rewarded because they really are the very best.

But how effective is this meritocracy? Are there lots of Jeremy Lins out there? How many benchwarmers could hit game winners? Unfortunately for professional sports, the evidence suggests that there’s plenty of room for improvement: teams are terrible at identifying talent. Take the NFL. Although the stakes for these sports personnel decisions are huge – a failed draft pick will not only waste millions of dollars in salary but will also come with a high opportunity cost – teams remain tethered to useless metrics and measurements. My favorite example is the NFL scouting combine, which is like a big job fair for prospective players. (The combine includes everything from the 40 yard dash to a battery of psychological tests.) In recent years, the combine has become a major press event, and teams regularly cite combine results when justifying draft picks. But this is a mistake, as the combine turns out to be a big waste of time. Here’s the abstract of a recent analysis performed by the economists Frank Kuzmits and Arthur Adams:

    Combine measures examined in this study include 10-, 20-, and 40-yard dashes, bench press, vertical jump, broad jump, 20- and 60-yard shuttles, three-cone drill, and the Wonderlic Personnel Test. Performance criteria include 10 variables: draft order; 3 years each of salary received and games played; and position-specific data. Using correlation analysis, we find no consistent statistical relationship between combine tests and professional football performance, with the notable exception of sprint tests for running backs. From a practical standpoint, the results of the study should encourage NFL team personnel to reevaluate the usefulness of the combine’s physical tests and exercises as predictors of player performance. This study should encourage team personnel to consider the weighting and importance of various combine measures and the potential benefits of overhauling the combine process, with the goal of creating a more valid system for predicting player success.

But wait: it gets worse. Not only have NFL teams failed to find relevant variables for predicting future player performance, but they typically pretend otherwise. Instead of embracing their uncertainty – human talent remains mysterious, even with reams of college statistics – most NFL teams default into overconfidence, trading up for draft picks and bestowing massive contracts on these new recruits. A few years, Cade Massey and Richard Thaler came out with a paper that looked at the “return on value” from these early draft picks. In essence, they constructed a model in which all the players at a given position – quarterback, running back, linebacker, etc. – were ranked according to the order in which they were picked in the draft. Then, they compared any two of these players in consecutive order, so that a tight-end taken early in the first round might be pitted against a tight-end taken late in the third. The comparisons were based on a number of performance metrics, such as number of games started and yards per catch. As Thaler notes, if teams knew nothing, the player that went higher in the draft would outperform the lower ranked player 50 percent of the time. In other words, drafting talent would be roughly equivalent to a coin flip; all the scouting would be perfectly useless. In contrast, if teams knew what they were doing – if they could effectively identify the best college players – then the higher draft picks should outperform their competition close to 100 percent of the time. So what did Thaler find? Flipping a coin is the apt metaphor, as the higher picks proved better only 52 percent of the time. The teams beat randomness, but barely.

Jeremy Lin is a reminder that similar problems almost certainly apply to the NBA, which is why we shouldn’t be so surprised that a benchwarmer cut from multiple teams is quickly becoming a star. There is talent everywhere. We just don’t know how to find it.

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/02/what-jeremy-lin-teaches-us-about-talent/

[AndrewT]

Sounds like there could be a Moneyball film about Lin in the future.