This is a great perspective on why Black America (particularly "the Black Caucus") may not be ready for a Black President. Check out theroot.com more often for some great insight into culture, politics, and news.
By Jack White | TheRoot.com
Sure, Jesse is an old fool who doesn't know how to act. But his latest gaffe shows how none of us is really ready for this moment.
July 10, 2008--On one level, it is easy to dismiss the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr.'s crudely worded metaphorical threat to castrate Barack Obama for supposedly talking down to black people as the raving of an increasingly irrelevant, former big shot suffused with resentment at the rising star who pushed him off stage.
That, after all, is the sort of talk we'd expect from a lynch mob, not a civil rights leader who does not seem to realize that the times have passed him by. Even his son and namesake, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., agrees that his dad is doing more harm these days than good. Pronouncing himself outraged and disappointed by his father's ugly words about Obama, Jackson Jr. issued a statement that, in effect, ordered dear old dad to "keep hope alive" and shut up.
That's good advice, and one can only hope that Jackson Sr. accepts it. But in a deeper sense, his stunningly inappropriate comments symbolize the social, political and psychological vertigo that all of us, and especially black Americans, are experiencing because of Obama's success. We are all, including Obama, in a place we never really thought we would be, and it has knocked us off our feet. We don't know how to act. We don't have a plan. We're searching for our equilibrium. And until we regain our footing, we can expect all sorts of bizarre behavior from people who ought to know better. Hold on to your hat.
We haven't really been in a place this confusing since 1954, when the NAACP's crusade against segregation culminated in the Brown vs. Board decision and the walls came tumbling down. It's fair to say that we were so focused on winning that fight that we weren't prepared for the victory or its aftermath. We've spent nearly 60 years since then trying to figure out what kind of relationship we want to have with America and with each other. For the most part, we, like Jackson Sr., have seen ourselves as outsiders battling for justice and a seat at the table. Our default has been to protest. And while that mindset has served us well, it has, in a flash, been made damn near obsolete by the prospect, even the likelihood, that one of us may soon become the most powerful man in the world. If that happens, how can we seriously argue that we're being held back by anything but the limits we place on ourselves?
That, it seems to me, accounts in part for the frustration some of us are feeling by what we interpret as Obama's move to the center. We are simply not accustomed to one of our own playing real, power politics. Some of us see his call for an expansion of George Bush's half-hearted commitment to faith-based social programs as mere politics, what Jackson Sr. castigated as "talking down to black people." We explain Obama's support for the compromise Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and the Supreme Court's upholding of a citizen's right to bear arms as attempts to inoculate himself against Republican attacks.
And, of course, they are.
But they, like Obama's Father's Day speech urging black men to take more responsibility for their children, are more than political posturing. They represent the first stirrings of a new consensus that places more emphasis on a public discussion of personal responsibility than on protest, on publicly delving into our own shortcomings and dysfunctional behavior.
There's nothing new about this kind of self-examination, but in the past we've conducted it mainly in private, in barbershops and beauty parlors, and churches. We've bristled when whites in power like Daniel Patrick Moynihan, joined in the critique of, for example, our soaring rate of out-of-wedlock births. We've moaned about the negative consequences of washing dirty laundry in public. But such a self-protective mindset no longer makes sense because Obama is one of us, who has taken part in our private handwringing about the self-inflicted wounds that bedevil segments of the black community. He hasn't said anything most of us haven't heard or said at the dinner table. But now, because Obama is who he is, the whole world is listening in to the conversation.
The attention makes us uncomfortable and disoriented. So does the prospect that one of us might soon be in charge of trying to fix this mess instead of simply complaining about it.
We're not really ready for the day when The Man becomes a black man.
It's a dizzying idea that is going to take some getting used to. And until we do, we'll stumble about, like Jesse Jackson Sr., saying all kinds of crazy things as we slip and slide on the new paradigm.
Jack White is a former columnist with TIME magazine.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Beat Back Pain for Free
Highlight:
Go to doctor, then specialist, then get cortizone shot, and treatment right?
Orthopedic surgeon and back expert Mark Brown says not to do any of the above. Instead: Get a sound diagnosis and then take a walk.
From Dr. Brown's perspective, the best things you can do when you know what is causing back pain are to give up smoking, lose weight and walk, or participate in some kind of aerobic exercise, such as walking on a treadmill or swimming.
Go to doctor, then specialist, then get cortizone shot, and treatment right?
Orthopedic surgeon and back expert Mark Brown says not to do any of the above. Instead: Get a sound diagnosis and then take a walk.
From Dr. Brown's perspective, the best things you can do when you know what is causing back pain are to give up smoking, lose weight and walk, or participate in some kind of aerobic exercise, such as walking on a treadmill or swimming.
US foreclosure filings surge 53 percent in June
Highlights from article:
1) 252,363 homes received at least one foreclosure-related notice in June, up 53 percent from the same month last year, but down 3 percent from May
2) One in every 501 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing last month
3) In Nevada, one in every 122 households received a foreclosure-related notice last month, more than four times the national rate
4) Economists project 2.5 million homes nationwide will enter the foreclosure process this year, up from about 1.5 million in 2007
5) Bush administration announced Tuesday that it would be ready on Monday to implement an FHA expansion that lets borrowers who've fallen behind on their home payments -- because of mortgage rate resets or other economic hardships -- get more affordable loans
1) 252,363 homes received at least one foreclosure-related notice in June, up 53 percent from the same month last year, but down 3 percent from May
2) One in every 501 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing last month
3) In Nevada, one in every 122 households received a foreclosure-related notice last month, more than four times the national rate
4) Economists project 2.5 million homes nationwide will enter the foreclosure process this year, up from about 1.5 million in 2007
5) Bush administration announced Tuesday that it would be ready on Monday to implement an FHA expansion that lets borrowers who've fallen behind on their home payments -- because of mortgage rate resets or other economic hardships -- get more affordable loans
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Is the NBA One Year Rule in Question?
Lawyer says Arizona signee Jennings heading for Europe
Arizona signee Brandon Jennings has decided to make an unprecedented move to forgo playing in college and instead pursue a professional career in Europe next season before likely entering the 2009 NBA draft, Jenning's attorney, Jeff Valle, told ESPN.com on Tuesday night.
"Over the course of the last two months I have consulted a number of people in basketball before coming to this decision," Jennings said in a statement released through Valle. "I would like to thank the University of Arizona for their interest and support through this process."
Jennings, a Los Angeles native who played his final two high school seasons at Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., was rated as the nation's top point guard in the class of 2008, according to ESPN.com.
Valle said Jennings will not even wait for his third standardized test result to see if he got a qualifying score after his second test was questioned by the NCAA. The results from the third test are due later this week.
"That's a moot point now," Valle said. "He's not going to the University of Arizona. Brandon plans on going to Europe."
Valle said a number of European teams have expressed an interest in signing Jennings for next season. Valle declined to say which teams and in which countries.
Valle said that the family will consult with Sonny Vaccaro and likely sign with an agent to help facilitate a contract with a European professional team. Vaccaro is considered the godfather of grassroots basketball, having worked for all three major sneaker companies -- Nike, adidas and Reebok -- who sponsor high school summer basketball events.
Jennings was expected to be the starting point guard for Arizona after Jerryd Bayless left for the NBA draft. The Wildcats also return Chase Budinger after he withdrew from the draft as well as Hall of Fame coach Lute Olson after he took a leave of absence last season.
"We're disappointed in terms of Brandon's decision, but we want to wish him the best of luck," Olson said in a statement. "We hope that things turn out well for him in the future."
Under an NBA draft rule put in place two years ago, Jennings has to be out of high school at least one calendar year and be 19 years old before being eligible for the NBA draft.
NBA Free Agents: As of July 9
The Already Signed List
Gilbert "I Get Buckets" Arenas - Wizards - 6yrs $111 mill
Elton Brand - Philly - 5yrs $82 mill
Corey Maggette - Golden St - 5yrs $50 mill
Baron "Fear the Beard" Davis - 5yrs $65 mill
Beno Udrih (Yes, Beno Udrih) - 5yrs $33.5
Mickael Pietris - Multi year deal at mid level exception - $5.5 mill/yr
The Hot Short List
James "The New Horry" Posey
The Not Going Anywhere List
Andre Igoudala - With the signing of Brand, this team has a legitimate shot of making some noise in the playoffs. Not really, but they are a playoff team nonetheless. With the right draw and they are in the East, they can make it to the second round. The team still lacks outside shooting, cough, Kyle Korver.
Josh Smith - With the signing of Brand, all of the cap room for Smith just went out of the window. His bargaining chips now fall to the Clippers and some sign and trade options with Memphis and possibly the Bulls for Deng/Gordon.
Emeka Okafor - In the last year of his contract but is injury prone and still not an offensive threat. He is becoming his generations' Ben Wallace.
Monta Ellis - With Baron gone, it's his team to run and his time to shine. Can he prove that he is a point guard or will Stephen "Right Hook" Jackson play some point forward.
Gilbert "I Get Buckets" Arenas - Wizards - 6yrs $111 mill
Elton Brand - Philly - 5yrs $82 mill
Corey Maggette - Golden St - 5yrs $50 mill
Baron "Fear the Beard" Davis - 5yrs $65 mill
Beno Udrih (Yes, Beno Udrih) - 5yrs $33.5
Mickael Pietris - Multi year deal at mid level exception - $5.5 mill/yr
The Hot Short List
James "The New Horry" Posey
The Not Going Anywhere List
Andre Igoudala - With the signing of Brand, this team has a legitimate shot of making some noise in the playoffs. Not really, but they are a playoff team nonetheless. With the right draw and they are in the East, they can make it to the second round. The team still lacks outside shooting, cough, Kyle Korver.
Josh Smith - With the signing of Brand, all of the cap room for Smith just went out of the window. His bargaining chips now fall to the Clippers and some sign and trade options with Memphis and possibly the Bulls for Deng/Gordon.
Emeka Okafor - In the last year of his contract but is injury prone and still not an offensive threat. He is becoming his generations' Ben Wallace.
Monta Ellis - With Baron gone, it's his team to run and his time to shine. Can he prove that he is a point guard or will Stephen "Right Hook" Jackson play some point forward.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
How Much Does It Cost You in Wages if You “Sound Black?”
Fascinating new research by my University of Chicago colleague, Jeffrey Grogger, compares the wages of people who “sound black” when they talk to those who do not.
His main finding: blacks who “sound black” earn salaries that are 10 percent lower than blacks who do not “sound black,” even after controlling for measures of intelligence, experience in the work force, and other factors that influence how much people earn. (For what it is worth, whites who “sound black” earn 6 percent lower than other whites.)
How does Grogger know who “sounds black?” As part of a large longitudinal study called the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, follow-up validation interviews were conducted over the phone and recorded.
Grogger was able to take these phone interviews, purge them of any identifying information, and then ask people to try to identify the voices as to whether the speaker was black or white. The listeners were pretty good at distinguishing race through voices: 98 percent of the time they got the gender of the speaker right, 84 percent of white speakers were correctly identified as white, and 77 percent of black speakers were correctly identified as black.
Grogger asked multiple listeners to rate each voice and assigned the voice either to a distinctly white or black category (if the listeners all tended to agree on the race), or an indistinct category if there was disagreement.
Then he put this measure of whether a voice sounded black into a regression (the standard statistical tool that economists use for estimating things), and came up with the finding that blacks who “sound black” earn almost 10 percent less, even after taking into account other factors that could influence earnings. One piece of interesting good news is that blacks who do not “sound black” earn essentially the same as whites.
(It turns out you don’t want to sound southern, either. Although pretty imprecisely estimated, it is almost as bad for your wages to sound southern as it is to sound black, even controlling for whether you live in the south.)
So what does this all mean?
The first question to ask is whether the impact of speech on wages is a causal one. It is possible that there are many other characteristics that differ between blacks who do or do not “sound black” that Grogger cannot control for in his regressions. It does seem likely that the biases at work would make his estimate an upper bound. (Although it should also be noted that his estimates are for young people, and the importance of speech may become important with age, in which case his results might underestimate the long-run effects.)
If one believes Grogger’s effects are causal, then investing in the ability to not “sound black” looks to have a huge return — roughly of the same magnitude as getting one more year of schooling.
Of course, there is the issue of one’s identity. There may be personal costs associated with being black and not sounding black. But these costs would have to be pretty large. (When I have Asian Ph.D. students go on the job market in the United States, I tell them that I think there is rampant discrimination against non-English speakers and encourage them to adopt Americanized first names for the job market. Very few of my students choose to do so — either a testimony to the identity cost of pretending to be someone you aren’t, or possibly their lack of faith in my assessment of the amount of discrimination.)
I was talking with one of my colleagues about this study. He thinks it will be a very important and influential one.
My response, “Tru dat.”
His main finding: blacks who “sound black” earn salaries that are 10 percent lower than blacks who do not “sound black,” even after controlling for measures of intelligence, experience in the work force, and other factors that influence how much people earn. (For what it is worth, whites who “sound black” earn 6 percent lower than other whites.)
How does Grogger know who “sounds black?” As part of a large longitudinal study called the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, follow-up validation interviews were conducted over the phone and recorded.
Grogger was able to take these phone interviews, purge them of any identifying information, and then ask people to try to identify the voices as to whether the speaker was black or white. The listeners were pretty good at distinguishing race through voices: 98 percent of the time they got the gender of the speaker right, 84 percent of white speakers were correctly identified as white, and 77 percent of black speakers were correctly identified as black.
Grogger asked multiple listeners to rate each voice and assigned the voice either to a distinctly white or black category (if the listeners all tended to agree on the race), or an indistinct category if there was disagreement.
Then he put this measure of whether a voice sounded black into a regression (the standard statistical tool that economists use for estimating things), and came up with the finding that blacks who “sound black” earn almost 10 percent less, even after taking into account other factors that could influence earnings. One piece of interesting good news is that blacks who do not “sound black” earn essentially the same as whites.
(It turns out you don’t want to sound southern, either. Although pretty imprecisely estimated, it is almost as bad for your wages to sound southern as it is to sound black, even controlling for whether you live in the south.)
So what does this all mean?
The first question to ask is whether the impact of speech on wages is a causal one. It is possible that there are many other characteristics that differ between blacks who do or do not “sound black” that Grogger cannot control for in his regressions. It does seem likely that the biases at work would make his estimate an upper bound. (Although it should also be noted that his estimates are for young people, and the importance of speech may become important with age, in which case his results might underestimate the long-run effects.)
If one believes Grogger’s effects are causal, then investing in the ability to not “sound black” looks to have a huge return — roughly of the same magnitude as getting one more year of schooling.
Of course, there is the issue of one’s identity. There may be personal costs associated with being black and not sounding black. But these costs would have to be pretty large. (When I have Asian Ph.D. students go on the job market in the United States, I tell them that I think there is rampant discrimination against non-English speakers and encourage them to adopt Americanized first names for the job market. Very few of my students choose to do so — either a testimony to the identity cost of pretending to be someone you aren’t, or possibly their lack of faith in my assessment of the amount of discrimination.)
I was talking with one of my colleagues about this study. He thinks it will be a very important and influential one.
My response, “Tru dat.”
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
NBA Free Agents: As of July 1
Topping the list:
Gilbert "I Get Buckets" Arenas, Elton Brand, Corey Maggette, Baron "Fear the Beard" Davis, Beno Udrih (Yes, Beno Udrih), James "The New Horry" Posey, Andre Igoudala, Josh Smith, Emeka Okafor, Luol Deng, Ben Gordon, Monta Ellis
Ideally, Baron will be moved to create space to resign Monta and other young talent. How about sign-and-trade to Knicks for Starbury, take his contract hit, and dump him in offseason. That gives Monta time to develop at point while Starbury can play run and gun which he thrived in Phoenix (before Nash/Kidd).
Brand will probably get the best deal, he will slip and go to a good team like Detroit since he is coming off ACL surgery and teams might not be willing to dish out max money.
"I Get Buckets" will stay put. Having a "Small 3" like Butler, Jamison, and Agent Zero gives the Wizards a good core to compete in the East. Plus, the Wizards are the only team to beat the defending Champs 3-1 in the regular season this year and Agent Zero predicted it.
Posey to Heat. Why not have a starting five of Chalmers, Wade, Posey, Beasley, Haslem in the East? That is pretty nice if you ask me.
If Atlanta is stupid, they will let one of the best young talents slip through their hands for pennies on the dollar in Josh Smith.
Atlanta Hawks
Restricted: Josh Childress, Jeremy Richardson, Josh Smith, Salim Stoudamire, Mario West
Unrestricted: None
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Boston Celtics
Restricted: None
Unrestricted: Tony Allen, P.J. Brown, Sam Cassell, Eddie House, Scot Pollard, James Posey
Limited Salary Protection: Leon Powe (no salary protection if waived on or before 7/15/08, thereafter full)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Charlotte Bobcats
Restricted: Ryan Hollins, Emeka Okafor
Unrestricted: Derek Anderson, Earl Boykins, Othella Harrington
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chicago Bulls
Restricted: Luol Deng, Demetris Nichols, Ben Gordon
Unrestricted: Shannon Brown, Chris Duhon
Limited Salary Protection: JamesOn Curry (salary protection of $100,000 will increase to $250,000 if not waived on or before 7/31/08 and to full if not waived on or before 10/31/08)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cleveland Cavaliers
Restricted: Daniel Gibson, Delonte West
Unrestricted: Devin Brown, Dwayne Jones
Limited Salary Protection: Lance Allred (no salary protection), Billy Thomas (no salary protection)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dallas Mavericks
Restricted: Jose Juan Barea
Unrestricted: Malik Allen, Devean George, Juwan Howard, Tyronn Lue, Jamaal Magloire, Antoine Wright
Limited Salary Protection: Brandon Bass (no salary protection if waived on or before 10/1/08, thereafter full)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Denver Nuggets
Restricted: J.R. Smith
Unrestricted: Anthony Carter, Yakhouba Diawara, Eduardo Najera
Limited Salary Protection: Bobby Jones (no salary protection if waived on or before 8/15/08, therafter full), Taurean Green (no salary protection if waived on or before 8/1/08, thereafter full)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Detroit Pistons
Restricted: Alex Acker, Walter Herrmann
Unrestricted: Juan Dixon, Jarvis Hayes, Lindsey Hunter, Theo Ratliff
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Golden State Warriors
Restricted: Kelenna Azubuike, Andris Biedrins, Monta Ellis
Unrestricted: Matt Barnes, Austin Croshere, Baron Davis, Patrick O'Bryant, Mickael Pietrus
Limited Salary Protection: C.J. Watson (no salary protection if waived on or before 7/25/08, thereafter will increase to $100,000)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Houston Rockets
Restricted: Carl Landry
Unrestricted: Dikembe Mutombo
Limited Salary Protection: Mike Harris (no salary protection), Loren Woods (no salary protection, but will increase to $166,400 if not waived prior to 8/15/08 and to $312,800 if not waived on or before 8/31/08)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indiana Pacers
Restricted: David Harrison, Andre Owens
Unrestricted: Flip Murray, Kareem Rush
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Los Angeles Clippers
Restricted: Nick Fazekas, Marcus Williams
Unrestricted: Elton Brand, Paul Davis, Dan Dickau, Shaun Livingston, Corey Maggette, Smush Parker, Quinton Ross,
Limited Salary Protection: Josh Powell (no salary protection if waived prior to 7/31/08, thereafter full)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Los Angeles Lakers
Restricted: Ronny Turiaf, Sasha Vujacic
Unrestricted: DJ Mbenga, Ira Newble
Limited Salary Protection: Coby Karl (no salary protection, but will increase to $100,000 if not waived prior to the day before the first day of the 2008-09 season)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Memphis Grizzlies
Restricted: Juan Carlos Navarro
Unrestricted: Andre Brown, Kwame Brown, Casey Jacobsen
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Miami Heat
Restricted: Chris Quinn, Kasib Powell, Dorell Wright
Unrestricted: Blake Ahearn, Earl Barron, Ricky Davis, Alonzo Mourning, Jason Williams
Limited Salary Protection: Joel Anthony (no salary protection if waived on or before 7/25/08, thereafter full), Stephane Lasme (salary protection of $100,000 will increase to $300,000 if not waived on or before 7/22/08, to $400,000 if not waived on or before 9/16/08 and to full if not waived on or before 10/26/08)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Milwaukee Bucks
Restricted: Ersan Ilyasova, Awvee Storey (T)
Unrestricted: Royal Ivey, Michael Ruffin, Jake Voskuhl
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Minnesota Timberwolves
Restricted: Ryan Gomes, Craig Smith, Chris Richard
Unrestricted: Michael Doleac, Kirk Snyder, Sebastian Telfair
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Jersey Nets
Restricted: Nenad Krstic
Unrestricted: Darrell Armstrong, DeSagana Diop, Bostjan Nachbar
Limited Salary Protection: Keith Van Horn (no salary protection)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Orleans Hornets
Restricted: None
Unrestricted: Chris Andersen, Ryan Bowen, Jannero Pargo, Bonzi Wells
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New York Knicks
Restricted: Randolph Morris
Unrestricted: Fred Jones
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Orlando Magic
Restricted: James Augustine
Unrestricted: Carlos Arroyo, Keyon Dooling, Maurice Evans, Adonal Foyle, Pat Garrity
Limited Salary Protection: Marcin Gortat (salary protection for $177,879 will increase to full if not waived on or before 7/31/08)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Philadelphia 76ers
Restricted: Andre Iguodala, Louis Williams
Unrestricted: Louis Amundson, Herbert Hill, Kevin Ollie, Shavlik Randolph
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Phoenix Suns
Restricted: None
Unrestricted: Gordan Giricek, Linton Johnson, Sean Marks, Eric Piatkowski, Brian Skinner
Limited Salary Protection: D.J. Strawberry (no salary protection, but will increase to $200,000 if not waived on or before 10/31/08)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Portland Trail Blazers
Restricted: Von Wafer
Unrestricted: James Jones
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sacramento Kings
Restricted: None
Unrestricted: Beno Udrih, Anthony Johnson, Lorenzen Wright
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
San Antonio Spurs
Restricted: None
Unrestricted: Brent Barry, Michael Finley, Robert Horry, DerMarr Johnson, Damon Stoudamire, Kurt Thomas
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seattle SuperSonics
Restricted: Robert Swift
Unrestricted: Ronald Dupree, Francisco Elson, Mickael Gelabale
Limited Salary Protection: Adrian Griffin
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Toronto Raptors
Restricted: Jose Calderon, Carlos Delfino
Unrestricted: Primoz Brezec
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Utah Jazz
Restricted: C.J. Miles
Unrestricted: None
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Washington Wizards
Restricted: None
Unrestricted: Gilbert Arenas, Roger Mason
Limited Salary Protection: None
Gilbert "I Get Buckets" Arenas, Elton Brand, Corey Maggette, Baron "Fear the Beard" Davis, Beno Udrih (Yes, Beno Udrih), James "The New Horry" Posey, Andre Igoudala, Josh Smith, Emeka Okafor, Luol Deng, Ben Gordon, Monta Ellis
Ideally, Baron will be moved to create space to resign Monta and other young talent. How about sign-and-trade to Knicks for Starbury, take his contract hit, and dump him in offseason. That gives Monta time to develop at point while Starbury can play run and gun which he thrived in Phoenix (before Nash/Kidd).
Brand will probably get the best deal, he will slip and go to a good team like Detroit since he is coming off ACL surgery and teams might not be willing to dish out max money.
"I Get Buckets" will stay put. Having a "Small 3" like Butler, Jamison, and Agent Zero gives the Wizards a good core to compete in the East. Plus, the Wizards are the only team to beat the defending Champs 3-1 in the regular season this year and Agent Zero predicted it.
Posey to Heat. Why not have a starting five of Chalmers, Wade, Posey, Beasley, Haslem in the East? That is pretty nice if you ask me.
If Atlanta is stupid, they will let one of the best young talents slip through their hands for pennies on the dollar in Josh Smith.
Atlanta Hawks
Restricted: Josh Childress, Jeremy Richardson, Josh Smith, Salim Stoudamire, Mario West
Unrestricted: None
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Boston Celtics
Restricted: None
Unrestricted: Tony Allen, P.J. Brown, Sam Cassell, Eddie House, Scot Pollard, James Posey
Limited Salary Protection: Leon Powe (no salary protection if waived on or before 7/15/08, thereafter full)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Charlotte Bobcats
Restricted: Ryan Hollins, Emeka Okafor
Unrestricted: Derek Anderson, Earl Boykins, Othella Harrington
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chicago Bulls
Restricted: Luol Deng, Demetris Nichols, Ben Gordon
Unrestricted: Shannon Brown, Chris Duhon
Limited Salary Protection: JamesOn Curry (salary protection of $100,000 will increase to $250,000 if not waived on or before 7/31/08 and to full if not waived on or before 10/31/08)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cleveland Cavaliers
Restricted: Daniel Gibson, Delonte West
Unrestricted: Devin Brown, Dwayne Jones
Limited Salary Protection: Lance Allred (no salary protection), Billy Thomas (no salary protection)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dallas Mavericks
Restricted: Jose Juan Barea
Unrestricted: Malik Allen, Devean George, Juwan Howard, Tyronn Lue, Jamaal Magloire, Antoine Wright
Limited Salary Protection: Brandon Bass (no salary protection if waived on or before 10/1/08, thereafter full)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Denver Nuggets
Restricted: J.R. Smith
Unrestricted: Anthony Carter, Yakhouba Diawara, Eduardo Najera
Limited Salary Protection: Bobby Jones (no salary protection if waived on or before 8/15/08, therafter full), Taurean Green (no salary protection if waived on or before 8/1/08, thereafter full)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Detroit Pistons
Restricted: Alex Acker, Walter Herrmann
Unrestricted: Juan Dixon, Jarvis Hayes, Lindsey Hunter, Theo Ratliff
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Golden State Warriors
Restricted: Kelenna Azubuike, Andris Biedrins, Monta Ellis
Unrestricted: Matt Barnes, Austin Croshere, Baron Davis, Patrick O'Bryant, Mickael Pietrus
Limited Salary Protection: C.J. Watson (no salary protection if waived on or before 7/25/08, thereafter will increase to $100,000)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Houston Rockets
Restricted: Carl Landry
Unrestricted: Dikembe Mutombo
Limited Salary Protection: Mike Harris (no salary protection), Loren Woods (no salary protection, but will increase to $166,400 if not waived prior to 8/15/08 and to $312,800 if not waived on or before 8/31/08)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indiana Pacers
Restricted: David Harrison, Andre Owens
Unrestricted: Flip Murray, Kareem Rush
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Los Angeles Clippers
Restricted: Nick Fazekas, Marcus Williams
Unrestricted: Elton Brand, Paul Davis, Dan Dickau, Shaun Livingston, Corey Maggette, Smush Parker, Quinton Ross,
Limited Salary Protection: Josh Powell (no salary protection if waived prior to 7/31/08, thereafter full)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Los Angeles Lakers
Restricted: Ronny Turiaf, Sasha Vujacic
Unrestricted: DJ Mbenga, Ira Newble
Limited Salary Protection: Coby Karl (no salary protection, but will increase to $100,000 if not waived prior to the day before the first day of the 2008-09 season)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Memphis Grizzlies
Restricted: Juan Carlos Navarro
Unrestricted: Andre Brown, Kwame Brown, Casey Jacobsen
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Miami Heat
Restricted: Chris Quinn, Kasib Powell, Dorell Wright
Unrestricted: Blake Ahearn, Earl Barron, Ricky Davis, Alonzo Mourning, Jason Williams
Limited Salary Protection: Joel Anthony (no salary protection if waived on or before 7/25/08, thereafter full), Stephane Lasme (salary protection of $100,000 will increase to $300,000 if not waived on or before 7/22/08, to $400,000 if not waived on or before 9/16/08 and to full if not waived on or before 10/26/08)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Milwaukee Bucks
Restricted: Ersan Ilyasova, Awvee Storey (T)
Unrestricted: Royal Ivey, Michael Ruffin, Jake Voskuhl
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Minnesota Timberwolves
Restricted: Ryan Gomes, Craig Smith, Chris Richard
Unrestricted: Michael Doleac, Kirk Snyder, Sebastian Telfair
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Jersey Nets
Restricted: Nenad Krstic
Unrestricted: Darrell Armstrong, DeSagana Diop, Bostjan Nachbar
Limited Salary Protection: Keith Van Horn (no salary protection)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Orleans Hornets
Restricted: None
Unrestricted: Chris Andersen, Ryan Bowen, Jannero Pargo, Bonzi Wells
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New York Knicks
Restricted: Randolph Morris
Unrestricted: Fred Jones
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Orlando Magic
Restricted: James Augustine
Unrestricted: Carlos Arroyo, Keyon Dooling, Maurice Evans, Adonal Foyle, Pat Garrity
Limited Salary Protection: Marcin Gortat (salary protection for $177,879 will increase to full if not waived on or before 7/31/08)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Philadelphia 76ers
Restricted: Andre Iguodala, Louis Williams
Unrestricted: Louis Amundson, Herbert Hill, Kevin Ollie, Shavlik Randolph
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Phoenix Suns
Restricted: None
Unrestricted: Gordan Giricek, Linton Johnson, Sean Marks, Eric Piatkowski, Brian Skinner
Limited Salary Protection: D.J. Strawberry (no salary protection, but will increase to $200,000 if not waived on or before 10/31/08)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Portland Trail Blazers
Restricted: Von Wafer
Unrestricted: James Jones
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sacramento Kings
Restricted: None
Unrestricted: Beno Udrih, Anthony Johnson, Lorenzen Wright
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
San Antonio Spurs
Restricted: None
Unrestricted: Brent Barry, Michael Finley, Robert Horry, DerMarr Johnson, Damon Stoudamire, Kurt Thomas
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seattle SuperSonics
Restricted: Robert Swift
Unrestricted: Ronald Dupree, Francisco Elson, Mickael Gelabale
Limited Salary Protection: Adrian Griffin
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Toronto Raptors
Restricted: Jose Calderon, Carlos Delfino
Unrestricted: Primoz Brezec
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Utah Jazz
Restricted: C.J. Miles
Unrestricted: None
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Washington Wizards
Restricted: None
Unrestricted: Gilbert Arenas, Roger Mason
Limited Salary Protection: None
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Iphone Buyers Beware
Seven iPhone Disappointments
The Cost
Those crafty phone companies! Yes, at $199, the new iPhone is cheaper up-front than the original, which first went on sale starting at $499 last year. It is not, however, less expensive to own. Do the math and you find out the iPhone will cost $160 more over two years than the original iPhone because AT&T put together a pricier data plan for the phone to help it subsidize the up-front cost of the handset. The gadget fiends at Gizmodo called that "a small price to play," but Bits, the technology blog at The New York Times, called it "a step backwards for consumers."
No Flash
The iPhone is a surprisingly capable Web browser. Its wide, high-resolution screen and the ability to bop around the Web by tapping links with a fingertip has turned mobile Web surfing from a chore into a pleasure. The biggest hitch: the iPhone still doesn't support Adobe's Flash technology, which means many multimedia-rich sites remain off limits. While Adobe is working hard to make its technology iPhone-friendly, don't hold your breath.
No Replaceable Batteries
Hardcore road warriors don't have time to stop and recharge their phones. Instead they carry their batteries with them, clicking them into their BlackBerrys in the backs of cabs, or, if they're lucky, in a coffee shop. By contrast, there's no easy way to crack open the new iPhone's sleek case to pop in a battery, disappointing bloggers. And while kits are available for do-it-yourselfers, we wouldn't recommend trying it in between bites of your bagel.
Video Recording
Apple's computers come preloaded with iMovie, a slick little application that makes video editing easy and fun. Apple's iPods, with the exception of the Shuffle, have evolved into snappy little video viewing machines. But if you want to record video, you'd better talk to Sony. Despite its built-in two-megapixel camera, Apple isn't building the ability to take video into its new phone, a feature even many low-end so-called "feature phones" include.
No Cut-And-Paste
The inability to copy a chunk of text and paste it into another application has baffled geeks since the iPhone's introduction last year. It's a simple tool that would make blogging and zapping bits of text to friends via e-mail a breeze. And, yes, it can be done without screwing up the phone's interface.
No Multimedia Messaging Service
This might be the most interesting example of what makes the iPhone quirky: There are some things dirt-cheap phones cranked out by the tens of millions can do that the vaunted iPhone cannot. Forbes.com's David Ewalt sees the lack of support for Multimedia Messaging Service as one of the most maddening. Want to open an image sent to you via MMS by a friend from her (dirt-cheap) mobile phone? No dice.
Bonus: No Voice Dialing
No blogger we've seen has complained about this yet. Maybe that's because all the geeks who might whine about how tough it is to dial the iPhone died in fiery auto wrecks first, seeing as the iPhone doesn't have the voice-recognition smarts to let users dial verbally--the one feature makes the BlackBerry, with its nubby little plastic keyboard, usable on the road.
The Cost
Those crafty phone companies! Yes, at $199, the new iPhone is cheaper up-front than the original, which first went on sale starting at $499 last year. It is not, however, less expensive to own. Do the math and you find out the iPhone will cost $160 more over two years than the original iPhone because AT&T put together a pricier data plan for the phone to help it subsidize the up-front cost of the handset. The gadget fiends at Gizmodo called that "a small price to play," but Bits, the technology blog at The New York Times, called it "a step backwards for consumers."
No Flash
The iPhone is a surprisingly capable Web browser. Its wide, high-resolution screen and the ability to bop around the Web by tapping links with a fingertip has turned mobile Web surfing from a chore into a pleasure. The biggest hitch: the iPhone still doesn't support Adobe's Flash technology, which means many multimedia-rich sites remain off limits. While Adobe is working hard to make its technology iPhone-friendly, don't hold your breath.
No Replaceable Batteries
Hardcore road warriors don't have time to stop and recharge their phones. Instead they carry their batteries with them, clicking them into their BlackBerrys in the backs of cabs, or, if they're lucky, in a coffee shop. By contrast, there's no easy way to crack open the new iPhone's sleek case to pop in a battery, disappointing bloggers. And while kits are available for do-it-yourselfers, we wouldn't recommend trying it in between bites of your bagel.
Video Recording
Apple's computers come preloaded with iMovie, a slick little application that makes video editing easy and fun. Apple's iPods, with the exception of the Shuffle, have evolved into snappy little video viewing machines. But if you want to record video, you'd better talk to Sony. Despite its built-in two-megapixel camera, Apple isn't building the ability to take video into its new phone, a feature even many low-end so-called "feature phones" include.
No Cut-And-Paste
The inability to copy a chunk of text and paste it into another application has baffled geeks since the iPhone's introduction last year. It's a simple tool that would make blogging and zapping bits of text to friends via e-mail a breeze. And, yes, it can be done without screwing up the phone's interface.
No Multimedia Messaging Service
This might be the most interesting example of what makes the iPhone quirky: There are some things dirt-cheap phones cranked out by the tens of millions can do that the vaunted iPhone cannot. Forbes.com's David Ewalt sees the lack of support for Multimedia Messaging Service as one of the most maddening. Want to open an image sent to you via MMS by a friend from her (dirt-cheap) mobile phone? No dice.
Bonus: No Voice Dialing
No blogger we've seen has complained about this yet. Maybe that's because all the geeks who might whine about how tough it is to dial the iPhone died in fiery auto wrecks first, seeing as the iPhone doesn't have the voice-recognition smarts to let users dial verbally--the one feature makes the BlackBerry, with its nubby little plastic keyboard, usable on the road.
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