The battle of wits between IBM and chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov is one of the biggest moments in the history of artificial intelligence. After conceding defeat, the Russian suggested that the IBM team had cheated their way to a victory, something that the company, to this day, refutes. A new film, from Nate Silver's FiveThirtyEight,
seeks to shed some light on the accusation and what prompted his
allegations. Directed by Hollywood uber-producer Frank Marshall, the
documentary examines the controversial 44th move and how a simple
computer error proved to be Kasparov's undoing.
According to the film, Deep Blue was trapped in a loop, and rather
than spin its wheels, IBM had programmed the computer to just make a
"safe legal move." Essentially, this means it just made a nothing move
that would force the onus back on Kasparov without losing a piece or
position. The grandmaster, however, had assumed that there was some
deeper logic at work, and was rattled.
[via email from Google+]
[This is sort of a shortened version of the documentary Game Over.]
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Madison Bumgarner
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Up stood Madison Bumgarner at 8:46 p.m. CT, lurking in the San Francisco Giants' bullpen like a mythical creature: the wingspan of a Cthulhu, the power of a Minotaur, the snarl of a Werewolf.
He entered Game 7 of the World Series 11 minutes later in the bottom of
the fifth inning, and the Giants' hopes for a third championship in
five years rode on the power of his left arm.
Over the next 85 minutes,
Bumgarner did what Bumgarner does, even in an unfamiliar relief-pitching
role: completely shut down teams, rob them of their will and skill, and
deliver gold-and-diamond rings to the modern dynasty by the Bay.
The Giants beat the Kansas City Royals
3-2 to win the World Series at Kauffman Stadium on Wednesday night in
an action-packed, tense, crackerjack of a ballgame that featured both
teams' managers using their top-end relief pitchers to turn a
back-and-forth early outing into a scoreboard replete with zeroes in the
late innings.
At the center of it all – at the
center of everything this postseason – stood Bumgarner, the 25-year-old
from North Carolina who in his five major league seasons already has
established himself as one of the great pitchers in postseason history.
His numbers this October defy belief – 1.03 ERA in 52 2/3 innings – and
Bumgarner saved his finest of his series MVP performance for a
five-inning lockdown in Game 7 that earned him a save and his Giants the
victory.
Working on just two days’ rest after throwing a four-hit shutout in Game
5, Bumgarner worked his way around a leadoff single to retire the
Royals on a swinging strikeout by Lorenzo Cain in his first inning. From
there, he cruised: a 1-2-3 frame in the sixth, another in the seventh,
and the eighth, and finally the ninth, when he yielded a two-out single
to Alex Gordon that center fielder Gregor Blanco compounded with a two-base error.
Thursday, October 23, 2014
the NBA GM survey
linked from a Kenneth Faried article
NBA Champion - San Antonio over Cleveland
MVP - Lebron over Durant
Franchise player - LeBron over Anthony Davis and Durant
Player which forces adjustments - LeBron over Durant
Breakout player - Anthony Davis over Bradley Beal
Best point guard - Chris Paul over Russell Westbrook (by far)
Best shooting guard - James Harden over Klay Thompson (by far, Kobe is third)
Best small forward - Lebron over MVP Durant (75% to 25%)
Best power forward - LeMarcus Aldridge tie with Blake Griffin, Anthony Davis not far behind
Best center - Dwight Howard over Marc Gasol and Joakim Noah (no mention of Cousins)
Rookie of the year - Jabari Parker over Wiggins
Best rookie in five years - Parker over Wiggins (barely)
Biggest steal in the draft - Rodney Hood over Doug McDermott
Best international player - Nowitzki over Tony Parker. Marc Gasol is third.
International breakout player - Valanciunas over Giannis Antetokounmpo
Best defensive player - Noah over Lebron. Howard and Ibaka tied for third
Best perimeter defender - Lebron over Kawhi Leonard and Tony Allen
Best interior defender - Noah over Ibaka and Howard
Best defensive team - Chicago over Indiana (by far)
Best head coach - Popovich (by far)
Best motivator - Popovich over Rivers
Best in-game adjuster - Popovich over Carlisle (barely)
Best runner of offense - Popovich over Carlisle (by far)
Best defensive schemes - Thibodeau over Popovich (by far)
Best assistant coach - Alvin Gentry over Adrian Griffin, Tyronn Lue, Ettore Messina, Mike Woodson
Player who will be best head coach - Chris Paul over Steve Blake (somehow Andre Miller and Rondo got votes)
Team most fun to watch - Golden State over the Clippers
Best home court advantage - San Antonio over Denver
Most athletic - LeBron over Blake Griffin and Russell Westbrook (by far, surprisingly)
Pure shooter - Curry over Korver
Fastest with ball - Wall and Westbrook tie
Best moving without the ball - Korver over Redick
Best getting his own shot - Durant over Carmelo (over LeBron and Kobe)
Best offensive rebounder - Drummond over Love (Reggie Evans is third)
Best passer - Chris Paul over LeBron (by far). Rondo and Rubio tied for third
Most dangerous in the open - LeBron
Best finisher - LeBron over Griffin (by far)
Toughest player - Tony Allen over Kobe Bryant and David West
Best leader - Duncan over Paul, LeBron, Garnett
Best role player - Diaw and Faried (tie)
Best basketball IQ - Chris Paul over LeBron, Duncan, Nash
Shot-taker with game on line - Durant over Kobe and LeBron (by far surprisingly)
NBA Champion - San Antonio over Cleveland
MVP - Lebron over Durant
Franchise player - LeBron over Anthony Davis and Durant
Player which forces adjustments - LeBron over Durant
Breakout player - Anthony Davis over Bradley Beal
Best point guard - Chris Paul over Russell Westbrook (by far)
Best shooting guard - James Harden over Klay Thompson (by far, Kobe is third)
Best small forward - Lebron over MVP Durant (75% to 25%)
Best power forward - LeMarcus Aldridge tie with Blake Griffin, Anthony Davis not far behind
Best center - Dwight Howard over Marc Gasol and Joakim Noah (no mention of Cousins)
Rookie of the year - Jabari Parker over Wiggins
Best rookie in five years - Parker over Wiggins (barely)
Biggest steal in the draft - Rodney Hood over Doug McDermott
Best international player - Nowitzki over Tony Parker. Marc Gasol is third.
International breakout player - Valanciunas over Giannis Antetokounmpo
Best defensive player - Noah over Lebron. Howard and Ibaka tied for third
Best perimeter defender - Lebron over Kawhi Leonard and Tony Allen
Best interior defender - Noah over Ibaka and Howard
Best defensive team - Chicago over Indiana (by far)
Best head coach - Popovich (by far)
Best motivator - Popovich over Rivers
Best in-game adjuster - Popovich over Carlisle (barely)
Best runner of offense - Popovich over Carlisle (by far)
Best defensive schemes - Thibodeau over Popovich (by far)
Best assistant coach - Alvin Gentry over Adrian Griffin, Tyronn Lue, Ettore Messina, Mike Woodson
Player who will be best head coach - Chris Paul over Steve Blake (somehow Andre Miller and Rondo got votes)
Team most fun to watch - Golden State over the Clippers
Best home court advantage - San Antonio over Denver
Most athletic - LeBron over Blake Griffin and Russell Westbrook (by far, surprisingly)
Pure shooter - Curry over Korver
Fastest with ball - Wall and Westbrook tie
Best moving without the ball - Korver over Redick
Best getting his own shot - Durant over Carmelo (over LeBron and Kobe)
Best offensive rebounder - Drummond over Love (Reggie Evans is third)
Best passer - Chris Paul over LeBron (by far). Rondo and Rubio tied for third
Most dangerous in the open - LeBron
Best finisher - LeBron over Griffin (by far)
Toughest player - Tony Allen over Kobe Bryant and David West
Best leader - Duncan over Paul, LeBron, Garnett
Best role player - Diaw and Faried (tie)
Best basketball IQ - Chris Paul over LeBron, Duncan, Nash
Shot-taker with game on line - Durant over Kobe and LeBron (by far surprisingly)
Friday, October 17, 2014
ESPN ranks the NBA players (2014)
500 of them (well, 465 and counting). The neat thing is that the player's twitter handle is also given. Nearly every player has a twitter handle. Well, not counting Andrew Bynum.
The big news is that Kobe Bryant is no. 40, but let's take a look.
500 - Shayne Whittingham. Free agent Indiana Pacers.
480 - Greg Oden, free agent. The face that he's not with Cleveland (since he played at Ohio State) might tell you something.
474 - Jason Collins
461 - Hasheem Thabeet
460 - Andrew Bynum, free agent.
448 - Jordan Clarkson. The fourth PG with the Lakers. Might stick around if Nash keeps getting injured.
421 - Cole Aldrich
415 - Nazr Mohammed
406 - Shannon Brown
402 - Antawn Jamison, free agent
400 - Jannero Pargo. Pargo is the Juwan Howard of guards
399 - Sebastian Telfair
398 - Joel Embiid
390 - Lou Amundson. Lou!
382 - Robert Sacre. Will he wind up as the Lakers starting center?
377 - Rodney Hood. Will he wind up the starting SG for Utah?
373 - Hedo Turkoglu. He's still playing?
369 - Kenyon Martin. He's still playing?
360 - Jimmer Fredette. Jimmer! Will he finally get some playing time?
352 - Charlie Villanueva. Still collecting his big paycheck?
348 - Drew Gooden. Still playing I guess.
345 - Jason Richardson. How much can he bounce back?
341 - Michael Beasley. Gone to China.
336 - Brendan Haywood. Can he win a championship?
334 - Ronnie Brewer. Surprised nobody signed him yet.
327 - Bojan Bogdanovic. Didn't he do good at the World Cup or something? Yeah,
322 - Cleanthony Early. Like his name. (Like Fab Melo.)
321 - Shabazz Muhammad. Will he get any playing time with Andrew Wiggins on board?
318 - Wesley Johnson. The starting SF for the Lakers is rated 318.
314 - Ben Gordon. Whatever happened to Ben Gordon?
313 - Kyle Anderson. Will Popovich give him playing time?
308 - Ray McCallum. The guy looks like he has some talent.
306 - Zach LaVine. This year's dunk contest winner?
303 - Kent Bazemore. Did well with D'Antoni's Lakers. Now?
300 - Austin Rivers. Has been disappointing in his progress.
298 - Bismack Biyombo. At least he's rated higher than Hasheem Thabeet.
294 - Alex Len. He was drafted fifth overall last season.
293 - Landry Fields. Former teammate of Jeremy Lin.
288 - Reggie Evans. Amazing this guy is sticking around. Still can rebound.
287 - Jason Terry. How he has fallen.
282 - Jermaine O'Neal. Still drawing a paycheck.
279 - Kendrick Perkins. I still say the Celtics should have kept him, for that season anyway.
275- Tayshaun Prince. Used to be pretty good.
272 - Emeka Okafor. I guess he still must have injury problems since nobody has signed him yet.
265 - Glen Rice Jr. Summer League MVP.
260 - Otto Porter. 3rd overall pick in the 2013 draft.
254 - Elfrid Payton. Chad Ford likes him.
246 - Steve Nash. Ranked 19 two years ago.
237 - Chris Kaman. Somehow always reminds me of Chris Elliott.
236 - Jordan Farmar. Takes the place of fellow UCLAer Darren Collison.
234 - Tyler Zeller. He's with the Celtics?
232 - Kendall Marshall. Another one who did well with the D'Antoni Lakers. This year?
231 - Kris Humphries. Had a couple good seasons with the Nets.
230 - Elton Brand. Used to be elite like 10 years ago.
229 - Gerald Wallace. Was really good like 5 years ago.
227 - Andrea Bargnani. Has a no. 1 contract.
225 - Danny Granger. Can he bounce back?
224 - Raymond Felton. Starting PG?
222 - CJ McCollum. Maybe I was confusing him with Ray McCallum.
220 - Evan Turner. Wasn't he supposed to be a star player?
215 - Derrick Williams. Drafted #2 behind Kyrie Irving.
212 - Marvin Williams. Drafted ahead of Deron Williams and Chris Paul.
209 - Anthony Bennett. Last season's first overall pick. Traded already. Heard about it?
208 - Ben McLemore. Drafted seventh last season.
203 - Cody Zeller. Drafted fouth last season.
196 - OJ Mayo. Will Jason Kidd help his game?
194 - Samuel Dalembert. Should get PT replacing Tyson Chandler
193 - Andre Miller. Still going at age 38
192 - Doug McDermott. This guy is supposed to be able to shoot.
190 - Amare Stoudemire. Can his knees continue to come back?
185 - Ed Davis. He's this high?
181 - J.J. Hickson. Now behind Kenneth Fareid.
178 - Mike Miller. He's this high? He was close to retirement a couple of years ago.
175 - Jameer Nelson. Who will start in Dallas?
174 - Kelly Olynyk. Figures to climb with more PT.
173 - Dante Exum. Rodney Hood may put him on the bench.
171 - Rodney Stuckey. He's supposed to replace Lance Stevenson.
170 - Jodie Meeks. Another who did well for the D'Antoni Lakers. But now?
168 - Andray Blatche. Did well statistically playing for the Phillipines. Headed to China.
165 - Jordan Hill. He's the starting center?
162 - Alec Burks. Or will Burks be the starter over Hood?
159 - John Henson. Better in fantasy than real life.
157 - Marcus Smart. Looks like this guy has talent.
154 - Enes Kanter. I think he should ranked higher.
150 - Nick Young. Can he do anything besides shoot?
149 - Julius Randle. Don't know how much he'll play behind Boozer. Can he play the 3?
148 - Darren Collison. Gets the start in Sacramento. Seems to do well playing behind CP3.
146 - Gerald Green. Pretty high for a guy who went to the D-League not long ago.
144 - Miles Plumlee. No, it was his brother who was on the World Cup roster
141 - JaVale McGee. Up this high on potential. He used to be highly thought of.
140 - Jared Sullinger. Already maxing his potential?
139 - Brandon Knight. Got PT last season.
138 - Shaun Livingston. Why is a backup this high?
137 - Carlos Boozer. Will he bounce back with the Lakers?
136 - Shawn Marion. Why is he this high since he will be a backup?
133 - Gorgui Dieng. On potential.
129 - Spencer Hawes. Now backing up Jordan and Griffin.
128 - Ray Allen. Will he even play?
126 - Tristan Thompson. How much PT will he get with Love on board?
124 - Jose Calderon. Will he fit in with the triangle?
123 - JR Smith. Ditto.
122 - Harrison Barnes. How much PT will get behind Iguodala?
121 - Vince Carter. Still hanging around at 37. Might get as much PT as Tony Allen and Tayshaun Prince.
118 - Trey Burke. Continued improvement? Only 21.
115 - Kevin Martin. Still getting good stats. Points anyway.
114 - Andrew Wiggins. Potential rookie of the year.
113 - Kevin Garnett. Can he stay healthy at 38? He couldn't at 37.
112 - Mason Plumlee. Hey, he made the national team.
110 - Eric Gordon. Wasn't he supposed to be an All-star?
108 - Brandon Jennings. Wasn't he supposed to be the next Allen Iverson?
107 - Reggie Jackson. Will he get to start?
104 - Markieff Morris. Will he stay the sixth/seventh man? Had a good stretch for a little while.
103 - Patrick Beverly. He's the unquestioned starter now.
102 - Nerlens Noel. Looked good in summer league. Another potential rookie of the year.
101 - Dion Waiters. Don't think he'll be handling the ball too much.
100 - Jeremy Lin. Needs the ball to be effective. So playing with the second worst team in the league for him. (The worst would be Houston.) Came to the Lakers one year too late.
99 - Danilo Gallinari. How much did his injury affect him?
98 - Tyreke Evans. Where you going to play him?
95 - Jabari Parker. The third candidate for rookie of the year.
93 - Larry Sanders. If he can stay healthy, should bounce up.
92 - Robin Lopez. I think he should be higher.
91 - Jonas Valanciunas. Can he continue to improve? I think he'll go higher.
90 - Derrick Favors. This guy should be higher on talent alone. What? He's entering his fifth season?
89- J.J. Redick. Averaged 2 rebounds and 2 assists.
88 - Giannis Antetokounmpo. Apparently talented. Averaged 7 points, 4 rebounds. Only 19.
85. Nikola Vucevic. Was a 14 and 11 guy.
84. Trevor Ariza. Replacing Chandler Parsons. Averaged 14 and 6. Thought he scored more and rebounded less.
82. Paul Pierce. Down from 48 last season. Averaged only 13.5 and 4.6. Less than Ariza, who he is replacing.
81. Victor Oladipo. A future all-star?
79. Michael Carter-Williams. The rookie of the year is this low? Averaged 17-6-6. But shot .406.
78. Thaddeus Young. Underrated.
76. Anderson Varejao. How will he fit in with LeBron and Love? They will take away each other's rebounds.
75. Josh Smith. Stan Van Gundy to the rescue. Or not.
74. Andrew Bogut. If he stays healthy, Golden State should be really good.
73. Ricky Rubio. Averaged 9 points, 9 assists and shot .381.
72. Kyle Korver. How is he this high? Averaged 12-4-3.
71. Omer Asik. Averaged 8 rebounds per game playing behind Dwight Howard.
69. David Lee. Better in fantasy. Averaged 18 and 9.
68. Jrue Holiday. Pretty good numbers. 14-4-8. But played in only 34 games.
67. Isaiah Thomas. Had a breakout year with 20 and 6. But how much is going to play this season behind Dragic and Bledsoe?
66. Nikola Pekovic. The other Nikola. Went 17 and 9. And could go higher with Love gone.
65. Taj Gibson. We'll see how he does as a starter with Boozer gone. Wait, now they got Pau. So his numbers actually might go down from his 13 and 7. So how is he ranked ahead of the Nikola's? Apparently better in real-life than in fantasy.
64. Jeff Teague. An average PG at 16.5 and 6.7. Maybe slightly better than average.
63. Nene. He's only 32? Thought he was much older than that.
62. Tyson Chandler. Same age as Nene.
61. Kemba Walker. Good rebounder for his size. 18-4-6.
and now on to the stars..
60. David West. Numbers are down from the CP3 days. 14 and 7.
59. Joe Johnson. 16-3-3. The most overpaid player in the league. Or is it Amare? These guys have Johnson at no. 4. Brandon Roy is no. 3 ($18 million and retired). Amare at no. 2. No. 1? Gilbert Arenas ($22 million and playing in China).
58. Luol Deng. No LeBron. Might improve on his 16-6-3 of last season.
57. Marcin Gortat. 13 and 10 with 1.5 blocks. Not bad.
56. Manu Ginobili. Maybe on playoff potential. Averaged only 12-3-4 in 23 minutes. He's 37.
55. Deron Williams. Last year #20. Looking to bounce back from a 14-3-6 season.
54. Greg Monroe. 15 and 9 with only 0.6 blocks.
53. Monta Ellis. 19-4-6. Surprisingly high assists as a 2 guard. I guess he played some point.
52. Nicolas Batum. Underrated. 13.0, 7.5, 5.1. Not bad.
51. Rudy Gay. 20-6-3.
50. Lance Stephenson. Led NBA with five triple-doubles. 14-7-5. Charlotte could be interesting this season.
49. Brook Lopez. Averaged 21 points but only 6 rebounds. Played only 17 games last season.
48. Bradley Beal. One half of the self-proclaimed best backcourt in the NBA. Averaged 17-4-3. Room for improvement at age 21.
47. Gordon Hayward. Now a rich man. Averaged 16-5-5 (one of five players to do that: LeBron, Durant, Westbrook, MCW).
46. Roy Hibbert. He's this high? He regressed to 10.8 and 6.6, but with 2.2 blocks.
45. Ty Lawson. He's this low? 17.6, 3.5, 8.8 in 62 games. One of four players to average 17 and 8 (the others were Chris Paul, Stephen Curry, John Wall).
44. Pau Gasol. Still putting up good numbers. 17 and 10 with 1.5 blocks. Chicago should be interesting if Derrick Rose comes back close to full strength.
43. Chandler Parsons. Another rich man. 16.6, 5.5, 4.0. Dallas could be another interesting team.
42. Kenneth Faried. The Manimal. Will he breakout after his breakout World Cup performance? His 14 and 9 with .545 FG% was already pretty decent.
41. Eric Bledsoe. 17.7, 4.7, 5.5 in 43 games. If he can stay healthy.
40. Kobe Bryant. See his comments above. But played only 6 games last season. That's why. Was ranked only #25 last season.
39. Andre Iguodala. Pretty high for a player who averaged 9 points a game. Did have 4.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists. And 6 years younger than Kobe.
38. Klay Thompson. He's this good? 18-3-2. Not really this high in fantasy.
37. Rajon Rondo. 11.7, 5.5, 9.8 in 30 games. Can he stay healthy? Will he be traded?
36. Dwyane Wade. 19.0, 4.7, 4.5. Still productive numbers - when he plays. Played 54 games. Can his body hold up?
35. DeMar DeRozan. Breakout year with 23-4-4. Those are close to Kobe numbers. His World Cup experience helps his status.
34. DeAndre Jordan. Averaged 10 points and shot .428 from the free throw line. But averaged 13.6 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, and shot .676 from the field. Ranks even higher in fantasy (my fantasy league anyway).
33. Zach Randolph. 17.4, 10.1, 2.5. He's still good, but I wouldn't rank him this high at age 33.
32. Paul Millsap. Had an All-Star season playing without Horford and Josh Smith. Went 17.9, 8.5 with 1.1 blocks. But I'd take Faried over him.
31. Mike Conley. He's OK at 17.2, 2.9, 6.0. But I'd rank him like 25 spots lower than this.
wow, this puts Andrew Wiggins in the top 30 (and ahead of Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade).
stay tuned...
well, while we're waiting, I should be able to name the top 30. though obviously not in order.. Let's see. 1 and 2 are easy. 3 is hard. Yahoo has Anthony Davis as no. 2.
30. Andrew Wiggins
29. Serge Ibaka
28. Goran Dragic
27. Damien Lillard
26. Paul George
25. Kawhi Leonard
24. Tony Parker
23. Tim Duncan
22. Al Horford
21. John Wall
20. Al Jefferson
19. Marc Gasol
18. Kyrie Irving
17. DeMarcus Cousins
16. Andre Drummond
15. Chris Bosh
14. Dirk Nowitzki
13. Derrick Rose
12. Joakim Noah
11. LaMarcus Aldridge
10. Blake Griffin
9. Carmelo Anthony
8. Dwight Howard
7. Kevin Love
6. Anthony Davis
5. James Harden
4. Stephen Curry
3. Chris Paul
2. Kevin Durant
1. LeBron James
OK, let's see how close I got.
30. Andre Drummond. 13 and 13 with 1.6 blocks and shot .623. But shoots free throws worse than DeAndre Jordan (.418 to .428).
29. Kyle Lowry. 18-5-7. Remember when he was regarded as a backup player? Wait. I don't see him in my top 30. Who did I miss? Ah. I see Wiggins is actually ranked 114 above.
28. Derrick Rose. Former MVP was ranked #9 last season. Seems to be close to full strength. Shot only .354 last season.
27. Goran Dragic. Has emerged after being the backup to Steve Nash. Broke out with a 20-3-6 season. Interesting. I see he and Lowry played together for the 2011-2012 Rockets, They were the backcourt along with Kevin Martin.
26. Al Horford. Played only 28 games last season.
25. Serge Ibaka. 15 and 9 with 3 blocks. Has led the league in blocked shots for four straight seasons. Better numbers than I thought.
24. Kawhi Leonard. 13-6-2. Not that impressive numbers for a guy ranked this high. I like Batum better.
23. Kyrie Irving. 21-4-6. Kind of like Chris Paul except for the assists and steals. And a better scorer. OK, not that much like Chris Paul.
22. Al Jefferson. 22 and 11. I'll take it.
21. Tim Duncan. Still ticking at age 38. I don't think I'd rank him above Al Jefferson. For fantasy anyway. Averaged 15 and 10 with 2 blocks in 29 minutes per game. Still pretty good.
20. Chris Bosh. Went only 16 and 7 last season. But they should improve without LeBron.
19. DeMarcus Cousins. 23 and 12. Might be the best center in the game. Fantasy-wise anyway. However only averaged 1.3 blocks.
18. John Wall. 19-4-9. Those are closer to Chris Paul numbers than Irving.
17. Dirk Nowitzki. Slipped to 22-6-3. Will he slip further at age 36?
16. Damian Lillard. 20.7, 3.5, 5.6 (see Kyrie Irving). Not very high assists and shot .424. I wouldn't rank him quite this high.
15. Tony Parker. 17-3-6. Ranked #76 in fantasy by Yahoo.
14. Marc Gasol. 15 & 7. Finally ranks ahead of his brother. Well, he ranked ahead of him last season too (#10 to #29).
13. LaMarcus Aldridge. 23 and 11. I would have thought he's be top 10. Well, I see I had him #11.
12. Joakim Noah. 13-11-5 with 1.5 blocks. Hmm. I should have took him in our fantasy draft. But I took Kobe instead.
11. Carmelo. 27-8-3. That's a career-high in rebounds. Entering his 12th season already, along with LeBron, Wade, Bosh..
10. Dwight Howard. 18 and 12 with 1.8 blocks. Entering his 11th season. That 18.3 scoring averages matches his career average.
9. James Harden. 25-5-6. I guess would rank higher if he played better defense.
8. Kevin Durant. 32.0, 7.4, 5.5. Not only was that a career high in assists. But also a career high in scoring. Last season's MVP. Would probably ranked #2 (or #1) if not for his injury. I wonder who's #2 now?
7. Kevin Love. 26.1, 12.5, 4.4. Like Durant, had his career high in assists and points.
Hey, where's Westbrook on my list? I missed him. I guess I missed him and Lowry in my top 30. So who did I have instead besides Wiggins? Paul George? I guess Paul George isn't even ranked in the top 500?
In the meantime, SI came out with their list of top 100 players. Let's see who hasn't been drafted yet in our league.
100. Boris Diaw
99. Kevin Martin
96. Danny Green
95. J.R. Smith
93. J.J. Redick
92. Jeff Teague (he's at the top of the list to be drafted next)
91. Ilyasova
90. Isaiah Thomas. How much playing time will he get with Phoenix? I guess 26-28 minutes, down from 34.
88. Jose Calderon
86. Jamal Crawford
85. Andrei Kirilenko. Will he even start? The guy averaged 5 ppg last season.
81. Arron Afflalo. Surprisingly not drafted yet after averaging 18 ppg.
78. Larry Sanders. Played 23 games last season.
76. Bradley Beal. One half of the league's best guard tandem? Averaged 17-4-3.
75. Taj Gibson. Still coming off the bench.
74. Kyle Korver. Ours is not a roto-league.
71. Amir Johnson. Averaged 10 and 7.
70. Tiago Splitter. 8 and 6.
65. Andrew Bogut. 7 and 10 with 1.8 blocks in 26 minutes. Played 67 games.
64. Omer Asik. Gets to start again.
63. Nene. 14 and 5.5 in 53 games.
62. Danilo Gallinari. Missed entire season last year.
52. Roy Hibbert. 11 and 7 with 2.2 blocks.
47. David West. 14-7-3. Another one near the top of the list.
41. Manu Ginobili. 12-3-4. 23 minutes, 68 games.
29. Andre Iguodala. 9-5-4. Might come off the bench behind Harrison Barnes this season.
And now back to ESPN...
6. Stephen Curry. 24.0-4.5-8.5. High assists for someone regarded primarily as a scorer. Ranked #3 by Yahoo.
The big news is that Kobe Bryant is no. 40, but let's take a look.
500 - Shayne Whittingham. Free agent Indiana Pacers.
480 - Greg Oden, free agent. The face that he's not with Cleveland (since he played at Ohio State) might tell you something.
474 - Jason Collins
461 - Hasheem Thabeet
460 - Andrew Bynum, free agent.
448 - Jordan Clarkson. The fourth PG with the Lakers. Might stick around if Nash keeps getting injured.
421 - Cole Aldrich
415 - Nazr Mohammed
406 - Shannon Brown
402 - Antawn Jamison, free agent
400 - Jannero Pargo. Pargo is the Juwan Howard of guards
399 - Sebastian Telfair
398 - Joel Embiid
390 - Lou Amundson. Lou!
382 - Robert Sacre. Will he wind up as the Lakers starting center?
377 - Rodney Hood. Will he wind up the starting SG for Utah?
373 - Hedo Turkoglu. He's still playing?
369 - Kenyon Martin. He's still playing?
360 - Jimmer Fredette. Jimmer! Will he finally get some playing time?
352 - Charlie Villanueva. Still collecting his big paycheck?
348 - Drew Gooden. Still playing I guess.
345 - Jason Richardson. How much can he bounce back?
341 - Michael Beasley. Gone to China.
336 - Brendan Haywood. Can he win a championship?
334 - Ronnie Brewer. Surprised nobody signed him yet.
327 - Bojan Bogdanovic. Didn't he do good at the World Cup or something? Yeah,
322 - Cleanthony Early. Like his name. (Like Fab Melo.)
321 - Shabazz Muhammad. Will he get any playing time with Andrew Wiggins on board?
318 - Wesley Johnson. The starting SF for the Lakers is rated 318.
314 - Ben Gordon. Whatever happened to Ben Gordon?
313 - Kyle Anderson. Will Popovich give him playing time?
308 - Ray McCallum. The guy looks like he has some talent.
306 - Zach LaVine. This year's dunk contest winner?
303 - Kent Bazemore. Did well with D'Antoni's Lakers. Now?
300 - Austin Rivers. Has been disappointing in his progress.
298 - Bismack Biyombo. At least he's rated higher than Hasheem Thabeet.
294 - Alex Len. He was drafted fifth overall last season.
293 - Landry Fields. Former teammate of Jeremy Lin.
288 - Reggie Evans. Amazing this guy is sticking around. Still can rebound.
287 - Jason Terry. How he has fallen.
282 - Jermaine O'Neal. Still drawing a paycheck.
279 - Kendrick Perkins. I still say the Celtics should have kept him, for that season anyway.
275- Tayshaun Prince. Used to be pretty good.
272 - Emeka Okafor. I guess he still must have injury problems since nobody has signed him yet.
265 - Glen Rice Jr. Summer League MVP.
260 - Otto Porter. 3rd overall pick in the 2013 draft.
254 - Elfrid Payton. Chad Ford likes him.
246 - Steve Nash. Ranked 19 two years ago.
237 - Chris Kaman. Somehow always reminds me of Chris Elliott.
236 - Jordan Farmar. Takes the place of fellow UCLAer Darren Collison.
234 - Tyler Zeller. He's with the Celtics?
232 - Kendall Marshall. Another one who did well with the D'Antoni Lakers. This year?
231 - Kris Humphries. Had a couple good seasons with the Nets.
230 - Elton Brand. Used to be elite like 10 years ago.
229 - Gerald Wallace. Was really good like 5 years ago.
227 - Andrea Bargnani. Has a no. 1 contract.
225 - Danny Granger. Can he bounce back?
224 - Raymond Felton. Starting PG?
222 - CJ McCollum. Maybe I was confusing him with Ray McCallum.
220 - Evan Turner. Wasn't he supposed to be a star player?
215 - Derrick Williams. Drafted #2 behind Kyrie Irving.
212 - Marvin Williams. Drafted ahead of Deron Williams and Chris Paul.
209 - Anthony Bennett. Last season's first overall pick. Traded already. Heard about it?
208 - Ben McLemore. Drafted seventh last season.
203 - Cody Zeller. Drafted fouth last season.
196 - OJ Mayo. Will Jason Kidd help his game?
194 - Samuel Dalembert. Should get PT replacing Tyson Chandler
193 - Andre Miller. Still going at age 38
192 - Doug McDermott. This guy is supposed to be able to shoot.
190 - Amare Stoudemire. Can his knees continue to come back?
185 - Ed Davis. He's this high?
181 - J.J. Hickson. Now behind Kenneth Fareid.
178 - Mike Miller. He's this high? He was close to retirement a couple of years ago.
175 - Jameer Nelson. Who will start in Dallas?
174 - Kelly Olynyk. Figures to climb with more PT.
173 - Dante Exum. Rodney Hood may put him on the bench.
171 - Rodney Stuckey. He's supposed to replace Lance Stevenson.
170 - Jodie Meeks. Another who did well for the D'Antoni Lakers. But now?
168 - Andray Blatche. Did well statistically playing for the Phillipines. Headed to China.
165 - Jordan Hill. He's the starting center?
162 - Alec Burks. Or will Burks be the starter over Hood?
159 - John Henson. Better in fantasy than real life.
157 - Marcus Smart. Looks like this guy has talent.
154 - Enes Kanter. I think he should ranked higher.
150 - Nick Young. Can he do anything besides shoot?
149 - Julius Randle. Don't know how much he'll play behind Boozer. Can he play the 3?
148 - Darren Collison. Gets the start in Sacramento. Seems to do well playing behind CP3.
146 - Gerald Green. Pretty high for a guy who went to the D-League not long ago.
144 - Miles Plumlee. No, it was his brother who was on the World Cup roster
141 - JaVale McGee. Up this high on potential. He used to be highly thought of.
140 - Jared Sullinger. Already maxing his potential?
139 - Brandon Knight. Got PT last season.
138 - Shaun Livingston. Why is a backup this high?
137 - Carlos Boozer. Will he bounce back with the Lakers?
136 - Shawn Marion. Why is he this high since he will be a backup?
133 - Gorgui Dieng. On potential.
129 - Spencer Hawes. Now backing up Jordan and Griffin.
128 - Ray Allen. Will he even play?
126 - Tristan Thompson. How much PT will he get with Love on board?
124 - Jose Calderon. Will he fit in with the triangle?
123 - JR Smith. Ditto.
122 - Harrison Barnes. How much PT will get behind Iguodala?
121 - Vince Carter. Still hanging around at 37. Might get as much PT as Tony Allen and Tayshaun Prince.
118 - Trey Burke. Continued improvement? Only 21.
115 - Kevin Martin. Still getting good stats. Points anyway.
114 - Andrew Wiggins. Potential rookie of the year.
113 - Kevin Garnett. Can he stay healthy at 38? He couldn't at 37.
112 - Mason Plumlee. Hey, he made the national team.
110 - Eric Gordon. Wasn't he supposed to be an All-star?
108 - Brandon Jennings. Wasn't he supposed to be the next Allen Iverson?
107 - Reggie Jackson. Will he get to start?
104 - Markieff Morris. Will he stay the sixth/seventh man? Had a good stretch for a little while.
103 - Patrick Beverly. He's the unquestioned starter now.
102 - Nerlens Noel. Looked good in summer league. Another potential rookie of the year.
101 - Dion Waiters. Don't think he'll be handling the ball too much.
100 - Jeremy Lin. Needs the ball to be effective. So playing with the second worst team in the league for him. (The worst would be Houston.) Came to the Lakers one year too late.
99 - Danilo Gallinari. How much did his injury affect him?
98 - Tyreke Evans. Where you going to play him?
95 - Jabari Parker. The third candidate for rookie of the year.
93 - Larry Sanders. If he can stay healthy, should bounce up.
92 - Robin Lopez. I think he should be higher.
91 - Jonas Valanciunas. Can he continue to improve? I think he'll go higher.
90 - Derrick Favors. This guy should be higher on talent alone. What? He's entering his fifth season?
89- J.J. Redick. Averaged 2 rebounds and 2 assists.
88 - Giannis Antetokounmpo. Apparently talented. Averaged 7 points, 4 rebounds. Only 19.
85. Nikola Vucevic. Was a 14 and 11 guy.
84. Trevor Ariza. Replacing Chandler Parsons. Averaged 14 and 6. Thought he scored more and rebounded less.
82. Paul Pierce. Down from 48 last season. Averaged only 13.5 and 4.6. Less than Ariza, who he is replacing.
81. Victor Oladipo. A future all-star?
79. Michael Carter-Williams. The rookie of the year is this low? Averaged 17-6-6. But shot .406.
78. Thaddeus Young. Underrated.
76. Anderson Varejao. How will he fit in with LeBron and Love? They will take away each other's rebounds.
75. Josh Smith. Stan Van Gundy to the rescue. Or not.
74. Andrew Bogut. If he stays healthy, Golden State should be really good.
73. Ricky Rubio. Averaged 9 points, 9 assists and shot .381.
72. Kyle Korver. How is he this high? Averaged 12-4-3.
71. Omer Asik. Averaged 8 rebounds per game playing behind Dwight Howard.
69. David Lee. Better in fantasy. Averaged 18 and 9.
68. Jrue Holiday. Pretty good numbers. 14-4-8. But played in only 34 games.
67. Isaiah Thomas. Had a breakout year with 20 and 6. But how much is going to play this season behind Dragic and Bledsoe?
66. Nikola Pekovic. The other Nikola. Went 17 and 9. And could go higher with Love gone.
65. Taj Gibson. We'll see how he does as a starter with Boozer gone. Wait, now they got Pau. So his numbers actually might go down from his 13 and 7. So how is he ranked ahead of the Nikola's? Apparently better in real-life than in fantasy.
64. Jeff Teague. An average PG at 16.5 and 6.7. Maybe slightly better than average.
63. Nene. He's only 32? Thought he was much older than that.
62. Tyson Chandler. Same age as Nene.
61. Kemba Walker. Good rebounder for his size. 18-4-6.
and now on to the stars..
60. David West. Numbers are down from the CP3 days. 14 and 7.
59. Joe Johnson. 16-3-3. The most overpaid player in the league. Or is it Amare? These guys have Johnson at no. 4. Brandon Roy is no. 3 ($18 million and retired). Amare at no. 2. No. 1? Gilbert Arenas ($22 million and playing in China).
58. Luol Deng. No LeBron. Might improve on his 16-6-3 of last season.
57. Marcin Gortat. 13 and 10 with 1.5 blocks. Not bad.
56. Manu Ginobili. Maybe on playoff potential. Averaged only 12-3-4 in 23 minutes. He's 37.
55. Deron Williams. Last year #20. Looking to bounce back from a 14-3-6 season.
54. Greg Monroe. 15 and 9 with only 0.6 blocks.
53. Monta Ellis. 19-4-6. Surprisingly high assists as a 2 guard. I guess he played some point.
52. Nicolas Batum. Underrated. 13.0, 7.5, 5.1. Not bad.
51. Rudy Gay. 20-6-3.
50. Lance Stephenson. Led NBA with five triple-doubles. 14-7-5. Charlotte could be interesting this season.
49. Brook Lopez. Averaged 21 points but only 6 rebounds. Played only 17 games last season.
48. Bradley Beal. One half of the self-proclaimed best backcourt in the NBA. Averaged 17-4-3. Room for improvement at age 21.
47. Gordon Hayward. Now a rich man. Averaged 16-5-5 (one of five players to do that: LeBron, Durant, Westbrook, MCW).
46. Roy Hibbert. He's this high? He regressed to 10.8 and 6.6, but with 2.2 blocks.
45. Ty Lawson. He's this low? 17.6, 3.5, 8.8 in 62 games. One of four players to average 17 and 8 (the others were Chris Paul, Stephen Curry, John Wall).
44. Pau Gasol. Still putting up good numbers. 17 and 10 with 1.5 blocks. Chicago should be interesting if Derrick Rose comes back close to full strength.
43. Chandler Parsons. Another rich man. 16.6, 5.5, 4.0. Dallas could be another interesting team.
42. Kenneth Faried. The Manimal. Will he breakout after his breakout World Cup performance? His 14 and 9 with .545 FG% was already pretty decent.
41. Eric Bledsoe. 17.7, 4.7, 5.5 in 43 games. If he can stay healthy.
40. Kobe Bryant. See his comments above. But played only 6 games last season. That's why. Was ranked only #25 last season.
39. Andre Iguodala. Pretty high for a player who averaged 9 points a game. Did have 4.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists. And 6 years younger than Kobe.
38. Klay Thompson. He's this good? 18-3-2. Not really this high in fantasy.
37. Rajon Rondo. 11.7, 5.5, 9.8 in 30 games. Can he stay healthy? Will he be traded?
36. Dwyane Wade. 19.0, 4.7, 4.5. Still productive numbers - when he plays. Played 54 games. Can his body hold up?
35. DeMar DeRozan. Breakout year with 23-4-4. Those are close to Kobe numbers. His World Cup experience helps his status.
34. DeAndre Jordan. Averaged 10 points and shot .428 from the free throw line. But averaged 13.6 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, and shot .676 from the field. Ranks even higher in fantasy (my fantasy league anyway).
33. Zach Randolph. 17.4, 10.1, 2.5. He's still good, but I wouldn't rank him this high at age 33.
32. Paul Millsap. Had an All-Star season playing without Horford and Josh Smith. Went 17.9, 8.5 with 1.1 blocks. But I'd take Faried over him.
31. Mike Conley. He's OK at 17.2, 2.9, 6.0. But I'd rank him like 25 spots lower than this.
wow, this puts Andrew Wiggins in the top 30 (and ahead of Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade).
stay tuned...
well, while we're waiting, I should be able to name the top 30. though obviously not in order.. Let's see. 1 and 2 are easy. 3 is hard. Yahoo has Anthony Davis as no. 2.
30. Andrew Wiggins
29. Serge Ibaka
28. Goran Dragic
27. Damien Lillard
26. Paul George
25. Kawhi Leonard
24. Tony Parker
23. Tim Duncan
22. Al Horford
21. John Wall
20. Al Jefferson
19. Marc Gasol
18. Kyrie Irving
17. DeMarcus Cousins
16. Andre Drummond
15. Chris Bosh
14. Dirk Nowitzki
13. Derrick Rose
12. Joakim Noah
11. LaMarcus Aldridge
10. Blake Griffin
9. Carmelo Anthony
8. Dwight Howard
7. Kevin Love
6. Anthony Davis
5. James Harden
4. Stephen Curry
3. Chris Paul
2. Kevin Durant
1. LeBron James
OK, let's see how close I got.
30. Andre Drummond. 13 and 13 with 1.6 blocks and shot .623. But shoots free throws worse than DeAndre Jordan (.418 to .428).
29. Kyle Lowry. 18-5-7. Remember when he was regarded as a backup player? Wait. I don't see him in my top 30. Who did I miss? Ah. I see Wiggins is actually ranked 114 above.
28. Derrick Rose. Former MVP was ranked #9 last season. Seems to be close to full strength. Shot only .354 last season.
27. Goran Dragic. Has emerged after being the backup to Steve Nash. Broke out with a 20-3-6 season. Interesting. I see he and Lowry played together for the 2011-2012 Rockets, They were the backcourt along with Kevin Martin.
26. Al Horford. Played only 28 games last season.
25. Serge Ibaka. 15 and 9 with 3 blocks. Has led the league in blocked shots for four straight seasons. Better numbers than I thought.
24. Kawhi Leonard. 13-6-2. Not that impressive numbers for a guy ranked this high. I like Batum better.
23. Kyrie Irving. 21-4-6. Kind of like Chris Paul except for the assists and steals. And a better scorer. OK, not that much like Chris Paul.
22. Al Jefferson. 22 and 11. I'll take it.
21. Tim Duncan. Still ticking at age 38. I don't think I'd rank him above Al Jefferson. For fantasy anyway. Averaged 15 and 10 with 2 blocks in 29 minutes per game. Still pretty good.
20. Chris Bosh. Went only 16 and 7 last season. But they should improve without LeBron.
19. DeMarcus Cousins. 23 and 12. Might be the best center in the game. Fantasy-wise anyway. However only averaged 1.3 blocks.
18. John Wall. 19-4-9. Those are closer to Chris Paul numbers than Irving.
17. Dirk Nowitzki. Slipped to 22-6-3. Will he slip further at age 36?
16. Damian Lillard. 20.7, 3.5, 5.6 (see Kyrie Irving). Not very high assists and shot .424. I wouldn't rank him quite this high.
15. Tony Parker. 17-3-6. Ranked #76 in fantasy by Yahoo.
14. Marc Gasol. 15 & 7. Finally ranks ahead of his brother. Well, he ranked ahead of him last season too (#10 to #29).
13. LaMarcus Aldridge. 23 and 11. I would have thought he's be top 10. Well, I see I had him #11.
12. Joakim Noah. 13-11-5 with 1.5 blocks. Hmm. I should have took him in our fantasy draft. But I took Kobe instead.
11. Carmelo. 27-8-3. That's a career-high in rebounds. Entering his 12th season already, along with LeBron, Wade, Bosh..
10. Dwight Howard. 18 and 12 with 1.8 blocks. Entering his 11th season. That 18.3 scoring averages matches his career average.
9. James Harden. 25-5-6. I guess would rank higher if he played better defense.
8. Kevin Durant. 32.0, 7.4, 5.5. Not only was that a career high in assists. But also a career high in scoring. Last season's MVP. Would probably ranked #2 (or #1) if not for his injury. I wonder who's #2 now?
7. Kevin Love. 26.1, 12.5, 4.4. Like Durant, had his career high in assists and points.
Hey, where's Westbrook on my list? I missed him. I guess I missed him and Lowry in my top 30. So who did I have instead besides Wiggins? Paul George? I guess Paul George isn't even ranked in the top 500?
In the meantime, SI came out with their list of top 100 players. Let's see who hasn't been drafted yet in our league.
100. Boris Diaw
99. Kevin Martin
96. Danny Green
95. J.R. Smith
93. J.J. Redick
92. Jeff Teague (he's at the top of the list to be drafted next)
91. Ilyasova
90. Isaiah Thomas. How much playing time will he get with Phoenix? I guess 26-28 minutes, down from 34.
88. Jose Calderon
86. Jamal Crawford
85. Andrei Kirilenko. Will he even start? The guy averaged 5 ppg last season.
81. Arron Afflalo. Surprisingly not drafted yet after averaging 18 ppg.
78. Larry Sanders. Played 23 games last season.
76. Bradley Beal. One half of the league's best guard tandem? Averaged 17-4-3.
75. Taj Gibson. Still coming off the bench.
74. Kyle Korver. Ours is not a roto-league.
71. Amir Johnson. Averaged 10 and 7.
70. Tiago Splitter. 8 and 6.
65. Andrew Bogut. 7 and 10 with 1.8 blocks in 26 minutes. Played 67 games.
64. Omer Asik. Gets to start again.
63. Nene. 14 and 5.5 in 53 games.
62. Danilo Gallinari. Missed entire season last year.
52. Roy Hibbert. 11 and 7 with 2.2 blocks.
47. David West. 14-7-3. Another one near the top of the list.
41. Manu Ginobili. 12-3-4. 23 minutes, 68 games.
29. Andre Iguodala. 9-5-4. Might come off the bench behind Harrison Barnes this season.
And now back to ESPN...
6. Stephen Curry. 24.0-4.5-8.5. High assists for someone regarded primarily as a scorer. Ranked #3 by Yahoo.
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
JWill still got it
http://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2014/10/14/6977877/jason-williams-orlando-pro-am-basketball-video
and in the day..
vs. John Stockton (9) and Gary Payton (1)
yeah, the guy was fun to watch
Ricky Rubio is fun to watch too.
and in the day..
vs. John Stockton (9) and Gary Payton (1)
yeah, the guy was fun to watch
Ricky Rubio is fun to watch too.
Gordon Hayward, the best in the game
My name is Gordon Hayward, spelled with a G. And I am the best player in the game today.
Go back and read that sentence again in case you think you misread it. You didn’t.
It may come as a shock to read me saying something like this because most of you see me as pretty humble. And 99.9% of the time, I am.
This is different.
I know this sounds like bragging. That’s because it is. I’m so confident in my abilities that I would put money on myself, hypothetically speaking.
One on one versus LeBron James? He would get crushed. We would all be witnesses to a straight up annihilation.
The reigning MVP, Kevin Durant? I’m LOLing. Go ahead and put him with Russell Westbrook. Throw Blake Griffin, Chris Paul and Dwight Howard in there, just for kicks. They’d still have no chance.
Honestly, take any five NBA players you want and put them on the same squad. It doesn’t really matter. I’d beat them all. It would be like playing a bunch of kindergartners.
I repeat: I’m the best in the game. And probably in all the other major sports, too.
No athlete on earth is as good at League of Legends as I am.
Go back and read that sentence again in case you think you misread it. You didn’t.
It may come as a shock to read me saying something like this because most of you see me as pretty humble. And 99.9% of the time, I am.
This is different.
I know this sounds like bragging. That’s because it is. I’m so confident in my abilities that I would put money on myself, hypothetically speaking.
One on one versus LeBron James? He would get crushed. We would all be witnesses to a straight up annihilation.
The reigning MVP, Kevin Durant? I’m LOLing. Go ahead and put him with Russell Westbrook. Throw Blake Griffin, Chris Paul and Dwight Howard in there, just for kicks. They’d still have no chance.
Honestly, take any five NBA players you want and put them on the same squad. It doesn’t really matter. I’d beat them all. It would be like playing a bunch of kindergartners.
I repeat: I’m the best in the game. And probably in all the other major sports, too.
No athlete on earth is as good at League of Legends as I am.
Wednesday, October 08, 2014
Polynesian Football Hall of Fame (class 2)
[10/8/14] Players who combined for ten Pro Bowl appearances and eight Super Bowl championships comprise the next class of the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame, which was announced today at a news conference at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel.
Luther Elliss, Russ Francis, Jesse Sapolu, Ray Schoenke, Mosi Tatupu and Mark Tuinei will be inducted in January. [Russ Francis is polynesian?]
The six were selected from a finalist list of 25 pared down by a selection committee chaired by former University of Hawaii coach Dick Tomey.
They join the initial class that included Kurt Gouveia, Olin Kreutz, Kevin Mawae, Junior Seau, Jack Thompson, Ken Niumatalolo and Herman Wedemeyer.
Inductees will be honored at the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Weekend, Jan. 23-24 on Oahu. Go to www.PolynesianFootballHOF.org for more information.
*** [1/28/15]
Like many of us, Linnea Garcia-Tatupu is conflicted about football.
The game allowed the men in her life to fulfill their dreams, to achieve at the highest level of a profession, starring in the NFL. Her husband, Mosi, made it to the Pro Bowl. Her son, Lofa, did so twice. They both won national championships at USC and both went to the Super Bowl as pros.
Last weekend, Mosi was enshrined in the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame.
But, now, it is becoming clearer that the game also took Mosi's life at age 54. When Linnea and I talked in 2010, there was still no official cause of death for Mosi, days after his passing. But we both strongly suspected concussions from playing football at least contributed to it.
On Saturday, she told me the cause of death is now officially listed as a heart attack. But a part of Mosi's brain was studied by a neurologist, who concluded chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) led to his decline in health and eventual death. CTE is the same disorder caused by concussions that has led to deaths of former football players, including Junior Seau and John Wilbur.
Linnea said Saturday that she is grateful every day that Lofa, 32, no longer plays football. She said she hopes her grandchildren never take up the game.
Despite conflicting emotions, she honored Mosi's career with grace and dignity in a speech Saturday. The most poignant moment was when she addressed the young, current players in the crowd specifically and told them to "have safe careers."
"It was very hard for me this weekend. I know Mosi would have been very honored and it is not my intention to tarnish his career," she said. "I don't know how this is going to play out because this is so raw. I'm just no longer going to sit here being quiet about something I know is silently killing people. I knew if Mosi thought there was something he could do to ease people's pain, he'd want it done."
She is "extremely grateful" that former Hula Bowl executive director Lenny Klompus plans to resurrect the Mosi Tatupu Award, which was given to college football's top special teams player from 1997 to 2006.
Inductees will be honored at the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Weekend, Jan. 23-24 on Oahu. Go to www.PolynesianFootballHOF.org for more information.
*** [1/28/15]
Like many of us, Linnea Garcia-Tatupu is conflicted about football.
The game allowed the men in her life to fulfill their dreams, to achieve at the highest level of a profession, starring in the NFL. Her husband, Mosi, made it to the Pro Bowl. Her son, Lofa, did so twice. They both won national championships at USC and both went to the Super Bowl as pros.
Last weekend, Mosi was enshrined in the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame.
But, now, it is becoming clearer that the game also took Mosi's life at age 54. When Linnea and I talked in 2010, there was still no official cause of death for Mosi, days after his passing. But we both strongly suspected concussions from playing football at least contributed to it.
On Saturday, she told me the cause of death is now officially listed as a heart attack. But a part of Mosi's brain was studied by a neurologist, who concluded chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) led to his decline in health and eventual death. CTE is the same disorder caused by concussions that has led to deaths of former football players, including Junior Seau and John Wilbur.
Linnea said Saturday that she is grateful every day that Lofa, 32, no longer plays football. She said she hopes her grandchildren never take up the game.
Despite conflicting emotions, she honored Mosi's career with grace and dignity in a speech Saturday. The most poignant moment was when she addressed the young, current players in the crowd specifically and told them to "have safe careers."
"It was very hard for me this weekend. I know Mosi would have been very honored and it is not my intention to tarnish his career," she said. "I don't know how this is going to play out because this is so raw. I'm just no longer going to sit here being quiet about something I know is silently killing people. I knew if Mosi thought there was something he could do to ease people's pain, he'd want it done."
She is "extremely grateful" that former Hula Bowl executive director Lenny Klompus plans to resurrect the Mosi Tatupu Award, which was given to college football's top special teams player from 1997 to 2006.
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