Man, the Lakers went down like a bunch of punks. I mean, except for the joy in seeing the Lakers get their asses kicked for five games, this series wasn't even interesting. What an ass-whipping!

Fooledagain1,

Let me be the first to congratulate you for picking the Pistons to win it all. Great job!!!

Excellent handicapping throughout the whole NBA playoffs.


take care, silver

The only surprise was the Lakers made it as far as they did. I wrote last July that "Old superstars at the end of their careers often bring hope, but rarely bring titles." It is an almost universal theme across all sports ... especially the NBA. Remember the Barkley, Hakeem, Drexler Rockets?

Payton should be cut (remember when some Laker fans were talking up the "superior" point guard play Payton brought the team? LOL), Malone & Phil should retire, and Kobe should go somewhere far from Shaq's shadow to show how good he can really be.

Oops ....



-Superman-

(Message edited by Superman on June 16, 2004)

Fooledagain1 goes off in NBA Finals, out-smarts all the experts, rides Detroit in every game and goes 5-0 against the spread, cashes 10-1 futures ticket, scores 66.1 units for the finals with a parlay on Arena bowl still working, Yea Now, i love this game !!!!!

Detroit game 5 -1 --- 8 units to win 5 units --- WIN 5 UNITS

Detroit under 169 1.1 units to win 1 unit --- LOST 1 UNIT

Detroit ML & under 2 team parlay --- LOST 1 UNIT

Detroit to win the title (10-1) --- 4 units to win 40 units --- WIN 40 UNITS

Detroit -1 --- 4.2 units to win 3 units --- WIN 3 UNITS, these 7.2 units will go over to Arena Bowl as a parlay in championship game, i didn`t want to play the parlay now because i want to see what the public does, i might get a better number.

Previous NBA Playoffs to date --- WON 53.65 UNITS

NBA Playoffs to date ---- WON 96.65 UNITS

Thanks Silver !!!

Kobe show how good he can be? And how good is THAT? SO he can be the 'next' Tracy McGrady? Ooh AAH.

Shaq`s the man, Kobe`s a nice player, in the finals Shaq shot 63.1 %, Detroit couldn`t stop him, the only area Detroit didn`t dominate, How`ed Kobe do ? 38.1%, and took 113 shots compared to 84 for Shaq, reverse that and the Lakers might of won a couple of games. Thru out the playoffs Shaq shot 59.3% and Kobe 41.3%. Did you ever see Kobe`s shooting percentage with Shaq out of the line-up ? Around 43%, a full 3.5 % less than Shaq in the line-up. Consider MJ was a carrer 50% shooter for majority of carrer without a legitimate 2cd scorer, Kobe WAS the 2cd scorer for the majority of his carrer and never came close to having 1 single season shooting what MJ averaged every year of his carrer. Enough said ?

Grady is looking to get out of Mickey town so could he be a Laker in the future?
This offseason will be very interesting.

By the way I nearly blew my savings account on the last game. I was gonna put down 200 for the Lakers to win on the money line but couldnt get ahold of Silver so I left the bet alone.
Am I lucky or what ?
That was gonna be my Mexicali money!!

Don't worry Milky, good ole stupid here thinks with his heart and not his brain, bet $220 to win $200 on Lakers +3. Once again proven stupid. At least I'm man enough to mention my losses.

Pecs

I wonder how Silver did ? I will just look at his bag of receipts

I should have laid some money down on the Pistons

fooldagain, you are the man.. i wish i would have dropped a few hundred on that 10-1 shot for detroit to win it all.. what were they before the season started? like 50-1?? .. about the comment that jordan didnt have a legitimate second scorer on the team, i think there was a guy named scottie pippen that helped out on the offensive side (as well as defensive side of the ball) dont forget they had horace grant, armstrong, etc...

Don't forget the string of great white shadows-- John Paxson , Stevie Kerr !! Human 3 point machines.

Lol, KM, if only they had had Luke Walton...

Latinalvr --- Detroit didn`t become a good team untill they picked up Rasheed, highly unlikely they win it without him, personally i wouldn`t of bet them without Rasheed.
Pipen was a decent 2cd scorer but only averaged over 20 pts 4 times in his carrer, never more than 22pts. My point being that when a team played Chicago their no.1 goal was MJ, when a team plays La they have to stop Shaq which opens things up for Kobe as evidenced by his field goal % dropping 3.5% with Shaq out of the line-up down to a pathetic 43%. MJ in his prime was a well over 50% shooter without a player like Shaq on his team and Kobe`s a 43% shooter, noooo comparison. When Chicago played the Piston who were regarded as having one of the best defenses ever in the 1989 & 1990 conference finals they triple teamed MJ and he still scored off triple teams sometimes making layups and dunks off triple teams, watch Kobe get double teamed and he forces a bad shot, he does score once in a while but also throws up a few airballs.

What a Ride !!!! A little sad to see all the playoff games come to a end. I quess that only means one thing, the NFL season is right around the corner.

2004 Playoffs to Date ----

NFL Playoffs --- WON 25.4 UNITS
NCAA Tourney (final four) --- WON 10 UNITS
NHL Playoffs --- WON 11.7 UNITS
Horses (Belmont) WON 2.4 UNITS
Tennis --- LOST 3.4 UNITS, Wimbledon final & US Open final coming
NBA Playoffs --- WON 96.65 UNITS
Arena Football Playoffs --- LOST .3 UNITS, Arena Bowl next sunday , should have the winner

2004 Playoffs Total Units to Date --- WON 142.45 UNITS, ($10 per unit wins $1424.50, $100 per unit wins $14,245, $1000 per unit wins $142,450)

Some highlights---
Best Bets (games of 10 units or more) --- 7-1 (only loss, LA winning series over SA)
7 different sports --- winning record in 5 of 7, with possible 7 of 7, as should win Arena Bowl and could win Wimbledon & US Open.
Rode the Piston to many wins, best i can tell made 19 individual bets on Detroit, (to win series, ML, point spreads & futures) and went --- 16-3

Fooledagain1`s proven playoff winner`s for 2005 will be available for ONLY $799, but sign up before Sept. 30th and get 50% off, that`s ONLY $398, sign up now !!!! HA, HA, Just kidding dudes, just kidding, but most likly did better than 90% of the sports services out there.

My comments that the Kobe rape accusation was nothing but a shakedown appears to carry some weight when it was announced that Kobe's accuser has filed a ( Surprise) civil lawsuit.

Apparently the prosecution and the "victims" lawyers see thier bad case getting worse and probably see their chance of winning have been given a snowballs chance in Hell.

Well DUH.

Even with the supposedly stacked Colorado rape laws(the victim sheild laws) that give several advantages to the prosecution, this case is on life support and everybody knows it.

Now the accusers lawyers have filed the civil suit, which is a death knell for the criminal case, and have already started making acussatory and defamatory comments (i.e., Kobe is a serial molester/rapist) to try and influence the small Colorado jury pool and make it appear that they will attempt to further smear Kobe with accusations of prior rapes/sexual advances for hopes of civil settlemet to avoid a apparently very public airing of dirty laundry. Hence the gag order by the judge on all parties in the crimianl case.

After the millions that Kobe has spent on lawyers, many speculate that a settlement of a million or two will be in the offing.

But I sincerly hope that Kobe doesn't bite that apple and fight the civil suit. Remember the rape shield doesn't apply in a civil suit and the acussers (and the accused) complete sexual past can be dredged up and used as evidence. The assuer want's to go after Kobe in a civil suit, claiming he is erial rapist. Kobe's lawyers should stoop down low too, and show everybody what a cheap slut she really is. Much information on her is not admissible in criminal; trial, would be in a civil trial, but the burden of proof is not "with a reasonable doubt" but a "preponderance of evidence."

I think this would be more derogatory to the acuuser rather than Kobe. Supposedly she is a real "monger".

The fact that Colorado caps pain and suffering and the way the case has been prejudiced for against her, a big settlement (i.e., over 5 million) seems really remote. Or she can file in California, probably in Orange County where Kobe has his primary residence...Yeah right!!

I do not thing she should get ONE single dime. I would probably even coutersue for defamatory comments. Yes, you can sue based on information given to the police if it is not true, and you know it. IANAL, however, so It's hard to tell what his lawyers will advise.

Although I guess when you've just signed a new contract with the Lakers for over 100 mill., I suppose you can afford a million or two to remove a bad indiscretion, or a blood sucking tick.


OG

I believe that the best this lady can hope for is to not be countersued by Kobe for making false accusations. At this point, she may be angling for a nuisance settlement.

The prosecuters want an indefinite postponment-- what a joke ! Their case is gone up in smoke and they know it. save the taxpayers a few bucks at least-- you got squat left after this bimbo bails.
Obviously this whore sees dollar signs. If Kobe spends 4 million on a diamond ring just to get his wife to forget about the whole thing - imagine what this slut thinks he will pay to avoid the spectacle of a civil trial. Every bitch he has ever talked to in a sweet voice will be paid to come to Denver and give her story of how Kobe tried to take advantage of her.
On the other hand - she is also fair game in a civil suit. I predict a settlement , but for a lot less than most people would guess. The amount will never be made public I'm sure.

well i see the charges were dropped today, but a civil suit is still pending. he could settle this one out of court, but i'm hoping he lets it go if she pursues. i'd like to see this lady get nothing. and no, i'm not advocating rape. i don't buy for one moment that it was rape. if i'm wrong, i hope she breaks the man.

I said from the beginning that this smelled like a shakedown. Nothing that has transpired in this case has changed that.

The fact that the case was dropped as the prosecution requested and was dismissed with prejudice (meaning it will never see the light of day again) and dropped also as the defendent would not testify, does not bode well for a civil suit.

The civil case looks very weak also as evidence from the criminal trial may/or may not be introduced into the civil case.

The attorney's in the civil case would also face a much larger workload as, unlike the O.J. case, there is no evidentiary exhibits handed down from the criminal case.

Although it would cost Kobe some more money to pursue a defense of the the civil case rather than settle, it seems like a grave miscarriage to settle the case that caused a tremndous amount of money AND lost income, not to mention lost of reputation to Kobe's career.

I am of the opinion he should pursue a defense so that the defendent and her attorneys would not recieve a single penny. It would discourage "targets of opportunity" for these types of shakedowns that celebrities and athletes must endure.

OG

yeah i would love to see him fight it. i really think he is innocent, and these allegations have damaged his reputation tremendously, as well as his earning ability.

I highly doubt he will fight anything unless she asks for ridiculous amounts and refuses to settle. He issued an apology to her today saying he realizes now he was wrong and acknowledges that he realizes she is sincere in her belief it was non-consensual sex while he still maintains it was consensual. He also apologized for all the emotional harm he caused her.

Sounds like the prelude dance to a pre-arranged settlement to me. Next an undisclosed cash payment and the bitch disappears as a rich woman .

Kobe has NOTHING to gain from a court battle that can only further damage his rep and take even more time away from his game. If it all blows away quietly now, perhaps the corporate sponsors will slowly come back in the near future.

Just heard on news that Colorado law limits non economic damages sought in civil suits to $733,000. Obviously what that means is this girl can get MORE in a settlement than she ever could by fighting in court and having her life ruined even more. Settlement almost certain I believe. What's a mill or even a couple of mil to Kobe at this point ?

The apology Kobie made was part of the agreement for her to drop the case, those were not Kobie`s words, the victim wanted that apology to save face, intersesting to see how it plays out from here, my quess would be Kobie does not settle out of court.

He will settle out of court. A fight and prolonged civil case could only hurt his reputation more if thats possible.
Look at MJ he settled a case out of court and the thing was nearly forgotten before someone made up a case agianst him. He is innocent as well and the DA for Santa Barbara will be forced out.

Quotes on local Texas news tonight had Shaq saying Kobe paid off multiple women in previous conflicts? Of course Shaq had to point out that HIS mama would never condone him messing around like that and that it 'shows what kind of person the other person is'. WTF? Why twist the knife? Save it for the WWF.

Shaq has always talked out of his ass. You cannot believe anything he says.

I'm sure this was not Kobe's first encounter, but I doubt he had to do all that much paying for silence. If he was all that experienced he would not have been the frozen target he was for the bumbling Eagle police. He would have just dropped a dime for his lawyer and shut up ,not rambled on for 2 hours giving the cops all they wanted.

This was the best fight i have ever seen in my life
Ron Artest is a tuff guy
Going after everyone !!! He clocked some wimpy monger that threw a drink on him.
I think the police did a horrible job as I didnt see one arrest happen. Detroit fans are to blame for this. This was an on court fight and some dumb gringo throws a drink and all; hell breaks loose !!!! All those fans got what they deserve!!!
A big loss and a few bumps and bruises
Did you see that big guy trying to cold cokc some PAcer player and missed him like 3 tiems from behind !!!!

Ron Artest is my new NBA hero !!!!

They were showing other angles and a fan ran onto the court and was coming after Artest and a coach and a cop interfeared and instead of arresting or telling the guy to get off the court he threatens one of the coash with pepper spray, what a horrible job by the Detroit police

Milkman.....you missed it by a long shot, right along withe John Saunders and the three stoogers after the game.

1. Under no circumstances should an NBA player go in the stands because a plastic cup was thrown on him....a plastic fucking cup.

2. Artest went after the wrong fucking guy.

3. Then Jackson comes in after one of the other fans at the same time and punches another fan without provocation and Artest had not even been punched by a fan yet.

4. After everything was settling down, a fan comes out on the court(about the same size as you Milky) and Artest clocks him. Then out of nowhere, Jermaine O'Neal clocks (possibly the same guy or another) a guy right in the jaw and drops him. No provocation whatsoever.

5. The only thing the fans did that I would consider cowardly is that there was one big guy who was punching Artest from behind AFTER Artest attacked the wrong guy and then another guy was giving a couple of slap punches and he was behind Artest as well.

And if this doesnt settle the argument...just look to the source...this is fuckin' Artest we are talking about...borderline insane.

Yes, I sawc he did go after ther wrong guy, poor fan seriously, he was just watching. It was the dokry loser in the white cap with Wallace written on the back.

The Fans started it period. Artest was assulated plain and simple. You don't kick a tiger and expect him to laugh it off do you ?

The fans on the floor got what they deserved, that one punch that layed out "Milky" had me screaming in my apartment. I was going insane over this. Players that fly into the stands are fair game and fans that that go onto the courts are fair game as well.

Last thing as a fan that I want to do is go after some players that are 4 feet taller than me. Also I would never throw or assault anyone but if assualted I will break faces open.

Blazers this was the best fight I have ever seen in my life and also the saddest. I love Ben Wallace but he did overreact and chocke/clocked Artest and what did Artest do ????
Nothing he sat at the scorers table like a man and rested it up while Benny Hill and the gang flew off the handle and started the whole fracas !!!!

If you do not want to be hit in the NBA, dont fuckin play. Hard fouls will always happen and it wasnt that hard. Ben Wallace is like 500 more pounds than Little Artest.

I am going out now and buying a Ron Artest jersey !!!
Blazers I think Wallace was taking out hisa frustration on the loss on Artest, dont you think?
Thanks for voicing your opinion

You gonna be at the next fiesta ?

hey milkman, how about that shot jermaine o'neil got off on that fan that was on the court. i think after artest came out of the stands and was on the court some fan came at him w/ closed fists. artest punches him in the face and the fan gets up to come at him again and jermaine o' neil just laid a right hand across the side of his grill. i think this was the most intense thing ive ever seen in any sport.

Hi
that is one of the clocks I was talking about. Whatta punch !~!!!
If some dorky goofy fan takes the floor to fight expect him to get knocked the fuck out. These guys are not here to play chess they play physical games and shit happens so when a fan wants to come onto the court, good luck !!

Sad thing is Blazers said the fan looked like me

You guys are insane......so you're basically saying that Artest and Jackson were justified in punching fans in the stand because Artest had a plastic cup thrown at him...wow. Says a lot about the evolution of this culture.

Milky...didnt say you looked like the guy, just that he was the same heigth as you.

they should be sued to the hilt and suspended indefinetely by the owner.

I'm with Blazers,and Don Marco.I say suspend them for the rest of the year,and let the law take care of the next couple of years.There is just no excuse for what they did.Especially that sucker punch O'Neal hit the fan with.The guy wasn't even looking at him even if he was trespassing.If anyone else on any other job assaulted one their customers like that they'd be fired no matter what that customer did.Why should they be treated any different.

Agree also - it was a flimsy plastic cup and some liguid. Beer vs cola - does not matter. You cannot call that an assault.He should have let security take care of the idiot in the stands and just got away from the crowd. NO excuse for tearing off and trying to wale on the first guy he could grab. Notice he picked the smallest meekest guy in the stands ??

Artest is psychotic and should be banned from the league.

The guy O'neal sucker punched was not the guy Artest tried to hit- again mostly missing. This dude was the friend of the guy Artest tried to hit and he got knocked down in the scuffle. He made the huge mistake of trying to get up off his ass. O'Neal was totally out of control. That kind of blind sucker punch delivered at full running speed could have killed the guy. I hope he gets criminmal charges brought against him.

Milkman
Would you have the same opinion if you were the guy in the stands that Artest randomly chose to attack, even though you had done nothing ?

Milkman
Would you have the same opinion if you were the guy in the stands that Artest randomly chose to attack, even though you had done nothing ?

Geez, where were all of you when abu ghraib went down.

NBA basketball is just a game, and some may say, just entertainment.

Blazers I know what you were saying about the guy, I was trying to be funny making him out to be me.

Again I know Artest went after the wrong guy, Poor kid looked frighted, if it was me you would have seen some serious blows going down.
Again any fan coming onto the floor deserves to get clocked !!!
Same with the players if they go in the stands they are fair game as well.

They will get hefty suspensions and huge fines.
I am not the Devil here guys just a crazy Fan who likes to see a little ruckus once in a while.

This fight blew away the one Don King put on last week

Have a great Thanksgiving guys !

Milkman

Don King has not put on a decent fight card in years. As you said -at least these guys threw some punches.

Bullitt

WTF does this have to do with Abu Ghraib ? I think most of us were outraged by that also, but none of us were in Iraq-- that I know of.

Are you saying that boys will be boys and this is all part of the game ? You have no problems with players going psycho and charging into the stands attacking random fans ?

btw, i thank everyone and anyone i wasn't in iraq, but the limited knowledge i have about iraq, i am glad i wasn't there or in abu ghraib. My point is more news comes out over the a game between the pacers and pistons, than abu ghraib or other stuff that matters to other people. but at the same time lets give a logical definition on people who go 'psycho'. We pass that one out easier than a hooker on the callejon. People, even millionaire basketball players, may have their reasons. agreed, you should just walk away, but the guy who got clocked reminds me too much of the president of this country who said, 'bring it on'. Sad state of affairs in this country, however you view it.

It's that time of year.

"Proffessional sports suck, and blow..."

Nice-- artest is gone for the year. Now for my 2nd item to come true-- the fans need to extract a hefty amount of cash from him.

Artest is a thug, and not in a good rap way, Artest was an "enforcer" and wasn't hired for his stylish basketball playing ability.

These are the type of players that have turned me off of NBA ball. Remember Kermit Washington of the Lakers.. few still do, but he was a short-tempered enforcer the Lakers brought on for his "defensive" skills. Until he broke Rudy Tomjanoviches jaw in a brutal punch that shocked everyone. Washington got, I think, an eleven game suspension, many including Jerry West wanted him to sit out even more, but that was such a rare event in that day (1977), that the league felt that the suspension fit the crime.

In this day he would have been suspended for months.

Artest had it coming and will get no sympathy from the league or the media and fans.

But what is sad is that, even though Artest will lose millions of dollars in lost wages, endorsements and even lawsuits, his notoriety will sell his dumb rap albums and most likely the Pacers or some other NBA team will rehire him and pay him millions more.

OG

D. Stern has allowed the NBA to become a corrupt league. The refereeing in the NBA is a joke. Complete kiss-ass to the star players, they can walk, double-dribble, etc. Witness the problems the U.S. players had facing disciplined athletes in the recent olympics. Our guys are just a bunch of spoiled brats.

And the fans that got involved need to get punished in some way. It's not enough to penalize the players. Those bozos that got on the court should be banned from all NBA games for at least a year.

Has anyone ever wondered how Wilt the Stilt could average 50 points a game, and 27 rebounds a game ?

Wilt bagged more than 20,000 chicks as well . I wonder more about how he kept up that average.

Taking a early look at the NBA playoffs;

Teams playing on a championship level;

1. Spurs - The overwelming favorites, could cruise to the title in dominating fashion

2. Heat - Should cruise to the finals

Possible surprise team;

Mavs - If they can turn their game up just a tad, could make the conference finals before losing to the Spurs, will depend on the seedings, they need Phoniex to get the number 1 seed, very possible they could pull the upset over Phoniex in 2cd round

The great unkown;

Phoniex - This team can shoot the lights out, they're outshooting their opponents by the largest amount i've ever seen, not likely they will mantain it throughout the remainder of the regular season, should begin to come back to reality sometime soon.
Their weakness is rebounding, only 2 teams have won the title as weak a reb team in the past 30 years.

The other teams;

Seattle - Getting out shot field goal %, they live at the 3 pt line, not the formula to win the title, slim chance to win title

Detroit - Getting out shot field goal %, not even close to playing like they did last season, at this point, slim chance to win title

Sac - The worst Sac team of last few years, 1 and done

NBA Playoffs: Miami to win the eastern conference (+110) --- 12 units to win 13.2 units

San Antonio to win the title (+185) --- 8 units to win 14.8 units

Miami to win the title ( +300) --- 5 units to win 15 units

There`s tremendous value on Miami to win the east, now`s the time to jump on board if you haven`t already. There are experts out there that think Detroit will turn on a switch and crank their game up come playoff time, not likely to happen, they don`t seem to have the same magic of last year.