From mad to horrible

I was reading an article on Business Insider and well it just seemed to end. I don’t know if it was supposed to have a second page that I couldn’t click on, or was supposed to be a two part story or what. I was reading along and came to a paragraph where the author was saying we went to the place and asked these questions..etc, then the story never answered the questions. It never addressed what the last paragraph said they had done. It just ended.

I read Business Insider semi regularly and even read the CEO’s occasional stories that he posts on Linked in,( now I only check Linkedin about once every two months so this is real occasional) so yes I kind of like the publication, but this was just a terrible way to end a story or news story. This is a pretty good pisser and especially since I attempt to write through this blog. I would hope that someone who gets paid to write would do a much better job than me.

Also, and I have commented about this before, and that is why do we let corporations pigeon hole us into behaving the way they want us to behave as customers. This is really infuriating. The example that got me going this time is that someone called me and I had no idea who. So I searched the number through Google and I have to pay to find out who called. Yes this has happened before, but I just can’t believe as the owner of the phone number and paying for it, why do I have to pay to find out who is calling me? The phone number is mine, not theirs or anyone else’s. Sure I use a phone service, but I am paying them for this privilege. Where do my rights as a consumer stop and begin in these situations? In my view, they should begin with me. I should have access to this info. Now, if in general the corporations want me to pay to look up a number, well I don’t like it, but maybe I am stuck with that. When someone calls me though that should be treated differently. Do we have to treat this like credit scores? If I get denied for credit I get a free look at my credit. Can we at least set it up, if someone calls me, I get a free look at who? I think at the very least, the consumer should be able to get this much for free. And I think this is very important in today’s world of identity theft, crazy things happening to people, stalkers or whatever, that consumers should come first, not the caller.

And for my usual political blurb,,, this is just another example of Congress being controlled by special interests and corporations instead of representing and protecting the people. We need to make sure our rights come first, not the corporations’ greed.

And lately I have been horrible at making sports predictions. Specifically I blew the big game. I said it wouldn’t be good, well it had plenty of drama with lead changes, comebacks, and end of game drama. I also predicted the Dallas Cowboys would go 5-11 for the season, well I missed that one big. I do have one saving grace and that is in my prediction post I did say if the offensive line gels that might have a chance at having a better season. I also predicted start of the previous season the Cowboys needed to have an offensive line to have a good season. Well 2013 they were 8-8 without the line, this year with probably the biggest improvement in a line this year they were tremendously better. They even got to the second round of the playoffs with an honest chance of winning the game even though they were in Green Bay. Oh well, not a good track record of late, but even so here are a few Mavericks thoughts.

I think the Mavs are still going to struggle with the good teams in the West for the rest of the year. And I think this for a few reasons. First I think all teams will struggle with each other in the West (yes master of the obvious here), some will have better match ups than others, but all games are going to be very competitive. Second Rondo’s injury puts the Mavericks back a few weeks in working out the kinks in developing offense with him being a major player. Of course improved shooting by him would help, but that doesn’t happen overnight. And with the addition of Amar’e Stoudemire things could get better, but it will take some time for him/Carlisle to find the right blend and minutes for the team. This will make this last third of the season a bit of a challenge.

The good news can be that if all gels they Mavs are in good shape for playoff series. There will be many games in the regular season and even in the playoffs where the Mavs lose by a good margin. The difference maker is Carlisle has much versatility in what he can do over a 7 game series that some of the other teams that might beat up the Mavs for one game won’t be able to do over a stretch.

Obviously I hope the Mavs win so yes my opinion is biased, but take a look at a couple of examples starting with Houston.

James Harden can pretty much beat the Mavs by himself occasionally he is that good. The difference is Houston can’t make the amount of adjustments the Mavs can in game and in between games. Dwight Howard is good, but if Stoudemire pans out then Houston is stuck playing Howard many minutes game after game to first battle the boards with Chandler then play defense against a Mavs pick and roll with Stoudemire. When Howard comes off the floor Dallas has control of the paint. And Mr. Harden will have his moments, but night after night of Rolando and Aminu constantly defending him and really making him work will wear on him. So over time Harden and Howard will start to find it more difficult game to game, they get tired end of the last three games etc and Mavs can use their bench and a rested Dirk and Monte to score and Houston maybe in trouble.

San Antonio still is a great team even though they are struggling through the regular season a bit. Pop is too good a coach to discount San Antonio in the playoffs. The difference this year for the Mavs is Rolando can do a much better job of guarding Parker than anyone the Mavs had last year. If you saw game 7 of last year’s series you know having someone to slow down Parker could make a big difference. Duncan is a better defender than Dirk and can score as well as Dirk, but San Antonio gets stretched defensively covering the Mavs big men since both Chandler and Stoudemire can finish pick and rolls well. With Dirk on the floor the defense gets thinned out in the middle which will allow the center position to add 20+ points a game along with Dirk getting 20. And this can be done game after game even with Pop’s ability to adjust in game etc…

Golden State is a monster. This is especially true since Curry is virtually unstoppable. This will be a difficult series for anyone that plays them. The key here is what happens over multiple games with the same team. Can the Warriors beat the same team four times by sheer offensive will? Yes they do have some defensive ability, but is their coach ready to make all the adjustments necessary to play out a series. What happens if a coach figures out how to control the Slash brothers? Golden State will find themselves in unchartered territory and if they can’t figure it out for a couple of games they could be in trouble. The Mavs hope is to throw Rolando and Aminu at Curry for 48 minutes a game and find a way to keep him in check. If they find success at this, Golden State could have a hard time adjusting to Dallas versatility across the board offensively. As long as G.S. can control the three pointers it will be hard to beat them, they lose that and there are some holes in their game. And these thoughts are being whispered around the league, this paragraph is not completely unique in view.

LA Clippers, for the Mavs a similar situation to Houston, control Paul with Rolando etc and overwhelm Clipper defense with strong pick and rolls at the center position, Dirk scoring 15-20 points a game. Monte can wear out the Clipper guards on defense.

There are more potential series than these examples, probably Memphis and possibly OKC and each scenario Carlisle’s ability to use his players efficiently, bench versatility, and in game adjustments gives the Mavs an honest shot at winning any series they are matched up.

So no predictions, but I will say if the Mavs can find themselves coming together in April they have a great chance of doing well in the playoffs. Trade deadline is coming so we will see what happens that might affect these scenarios, but right now the Mavs have many developing advantages for a series they do not have for one game in the regular season.

And as I type I am watching the Lady Longhorns play. Glad to see they are having a good season. They are up by fifteen with less than four minutes to go. There was a time they were a national powerhouse in women’s collegiate basketball. It was a shame they couldn’t keep it going after Coach Conradt. They are looking good tonight. And it is fun watching women’s basketball especially at the college level. Women’s teams aren’t always so dominated by superstars. Sure there are some, but overall the women’s game is a team game. Yes it helps to have talent, but coaching and team play are very important. This makes the overall game very enjoyable to watch. So go Horns and Lady Horns. March Madness is going to be fun because a few of my favorite colleges are doing well now and of course just because it is March Madness.

And finally I got to stop eating so horribly. Too much junk, fried food, and sugar for someone my age. Sure I still love stuffing myself with crap, but it is about time to think about all this. Especially if I want to enjoy eating, March Madness, and life for many years to come. So take care everyone, keep yourself healthy, life can be too good to short change.