George Soros Wagers on Sports Betting With DraftKings Stake
Looking like slow speculation throughout the market is increasing for this company. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-11/george-soros-wagers-on-sports-betting-with-draftkings-stake “George Soros has a $66 million stake in DraftKings Inc., one of several big-name investors to receive shares in the sports-betting company through a deal that took it public last month. Quantum Partners, an investment vehicle run by Soros Fund Management, holds 2.7 million DraftKings Class A shares, according to a filing last week with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. A spokesman declined to comment on behalf of Soros Fund Management, which oversees investments on behalf of the 89-year-old philanthropist and his family.”
What do you guys think of investing in DraftKings? (DKNG)
Hey guys, What are your thoughts on Draftkings (DKNG)? They are an online-only gambling company based in the USA. A lot of high profile investors like George Soros, Shalom Meckenzie and Disney have large stakes in DKNG. DKNG's share price is also up 75% since their IPO. Personally, I am interested in buying DKNG's shares as I am interested in the emphasis they have on betting on eSports, as well as Fantasy Football and even the results of Television shows. It's pretty innovative compared to other gambling companies if you ask me. They also have a large market share in the American online gambling industry, along with FanDuel. I think that as more American states beegin to legalize online sports gambling, that can only be a good thing for DKNG. I think that this is further strengthened by what is happened with COVID-19, as more people will be thinking of staying inside rather than going to casinos. DKNG's revenues have almost doubled YoY, although they are yet to make a net profit as they are focusing on attaining customers at the moment. However, I'm not sure how much I should be concerned about this, as their revenues tell the tale that they are providing a good business model. Anyway, that's my amateur DD. What do you guys think about DraftKings? Thanks for reading and interested to hear your comments :)
Imagine if there was one desk that all stories could cross so that, at 4am, a media plan could be decided upon and disseminated where all news outlets coordinated to set the goalposts of debate and hyper focused on specific issues to drive a narrative to control how you vote and how you spend money; where Internet shills were given marching orders in tandem to what was shown on television, printed in newspapers and spread throughout articles on the World Wide Web. https://i.imgur.com/Elnci0M.png In the past, we had Operation Mockingbird, where the program was supremely confident that it could control stories around the world, even in instructions to cover up any story about a possible “Yeti” sighting, should it turn out they were real. https://i.imgur.com/121LXqy.png If, in 1959, the government was confident in its ability to control a story about a Yeti, then what is their level of confidence in controlling stories, today? https://i.imgur.com/jQFVYew.png https://i.imgur.com/ZKMYGJj.png In fact, we have a recent example of a situation similar to the Yeti. When Bill Clinton and Loretta Lynch met on the TARMAC to spike the Hillary email investigation, the FBI was so confident it wasn’t them, that their entire focus was finding the leaker, starting with searching within the local PD. We have documentation that demonstrates the state of mind of the confidence the upper levels of the FBI have when dealing with the media. https://i.imgur.com/IbjDOkI.png https://i.imgur.com/NH86ozU.png The marriage between mainstream media and government is a literal one and this arrangement is perfectly legal. https://i.imgur.com/OAd4vpf.png But, this problem extends far beyond politics; the private sector, the scientific community, even advice forums are shilled heavily. People are paid to cause anxiety, recommend people break up and otherwise sow depression and nervousness. This is due to a correlating force that employs “systems psychodynamics”, focusing on “tension centered” strategies to create “organizational paradoxes” by targeting people’s basic assumptions about the world around them to create division and provide distraction. https://i.imgur.com/6OEWYFN.png https://i.imgur.com/iG4sdD4.png https://i.imgur.com/e89Rx6B.png https://i.imgur.com/uotm9Cg.png https://i.imgur.com/74wt9tD.png In this day and age, it is even easier to manage these concepts and push a controlled narrative from a central figure than it has ever been. Allen & Co is a “boutique investment firm” that managed the merger between Disney and Fox and operates as an overseeing force for nearly all media and Internet shill armies, while having it’s fingers in sports, social media, video games, health insurance, etc. https://i.imgur.com/zlpBh3c.png https://i.imgur.com/e5ZvFFJ.png Former director of the CIA and Paul Brennan’s former superior George Tenet, holds the reigns of Allen & Co. The cast of characters involves a lot of the usual suspects. https://i.imgur.com/3OlrX7G.png
In 1973, Allen & Company bought a stake in Columbia Pictures. When the business was sold in 1982 to Coca-Cola, it netted a significant profit. Since then, Herbert Allen, Jr. has had a place on Coca-Cola's board of directors. Since its founding in 1982, the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference has regularly drawn high-profile attendees such as Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Rupert Murdoch, Barry Diller, Michael Eisner, Oprah Winfrey, Robert Johnson, Andy Grove, Richard Parsons, and Donald Keough. Allen & Co. was one of ten underwriters for the Google initial public offering in 2004. In 2007, Allen was sole advisor to Activision in its $18 billion merger with Vivendi Games. In 2011, the New York Mets hired Allen & Co. to sell a minority stake of the team. That deal later fell apart. In November 2013, Allen & Co. was one of seven underwriters on the initial public offering of Twitter. Allen & Co. was the adviser of Facebook in its $19 billion acquisition of WhatsApp in February 2014. In 2015, Allen & Co. was the advisor to Time Warner in its $80 billion 2015 merger with Charter Communications, AOL in its acquisition by Verizon, Centene Corporation in its $6.8 billion acquisition of Health Net, and eBay in its separation from PayPal. In 2016, Allen & Co was the lead advisor to Time Warner in its $108 billion acquisition by AT&T, LinkedIn for its merger talks with Microsoft, Walmart in its $3.3 billion purchase of Jet.com, and Verizon in its $4.8 billion acquisition of Yahoo!. In 2017, Allen & Co. was the advisor to Chewy.com in PetSmart’s $3.35 billion purchase of the online retailer.
Previous conference guests have included Bill and Melinda Gates, Warren and Susan Buffett, Tony Blair, Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Allen alumnus and former Philippine Senator Mar Roxas, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt, Quicken Loans Founder & Chairman Dan Gilbert, Yahoo! co-founder Jerry Yang, financier George Soros, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Media Mogul Rupert Murdoch, eBay CEO Meg Whitman, BET founder Robert Johnson, Time Warner Chairman Richard Parsons, Nike founder and chairman Phil Knight, Dell founder and CEO Michael Dell, NBA player LeBron James, Professor and Entrepreneur Sebastian Thrun, Governor Chris Christie, entertainer Dan Chandler, Katharine Graham of The Washington Post, Diane Sawyer, InterActiveCorp Chairman Barry Diller, Linkedin co-founder Reid Hoffman, entrepreneur Wences Casares, EXOR and FCA Chairman John Elkann, Sandro Salsano from Salsano Group, and Washington Post CEO Donald E. Graham, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, and Oprah Winfrey.
https://i.imgur.com/VZ0OtFa.png George Tenet, with the reigns of Allen & Co in his hands, is able to single-handedly steer the entire Mockingbird apparatus from cable television to video games to Internet shills from a singular location determining the spectrum of allowable debate. Not only are they able to target people’s conscious psychology, they can target people’s endocrine systems with food and pornography; where people are unaware, on a conscious level, of how their moods and behavior are being manipulated. https://i.imgur.com/mA3MzTB.png
"The problem with George Tenet is that he doesn't seem to care to get his facts straight. He is not meticulous. He is willing to make up stories that suit his purposes and to suppress information that does not." "Sadly but fittingly, 'At the Center of the Storm' is likely to remind us that sometimes what lies at the center of a storm is a deafening silence."
https://i.imgur.com/YHMJnnP.png Tenet joined President-elect Bill Clinton's national security transition team in November 1992. Clinton appointed Tenet Senior Director for Intelligence Programs at the National Security Council, where he served from 1993 to 1995. Tenet was appointed Deputy Director of Central Intelligence in July 1995. Tenet held the position as the DCI from July 1997 to July 2004. Citing "personal reasons," Tenet submitted his resignation to President Bush on June 3, 2004. Tenet said his resignation "was a personal decision and had only one basis—in fact, the well-being of my wonderful family—nothing more and nothing less. In February 2008, he became a managing director at investment bank Allen & Company. https://i.imgur.com/JnGHqOS.png We have the documentation that demonstrates what these people could possibly be doing with all of these tools of manipulation at their fingertips. The term for it is “covert political action” for which all media put before your eyes is used to serve as a veneer… a reality TV show facade of a darker modus operandum. https://i.imgur.com/vZC4D29.png https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/kent-csi/vol36no3/html/v36i3a05p_0001.htm
It is now clear that we are facing an implacable enemy whose avowed objective is world domination by whatever means and at whatever costs. There are no rules in such a game. Hitherto acceptable norms of human conduct do not apply. If the US is to survive, longstanding American concepts of "fair play" must be reconsidered. We must develop effective espionage and counterespionage services and must learn to subvert, sabotage and destroy our enemies by more clever, more sophisticated means than those used against us. It may become necessary that the American people be made acquainted with, understand and support this fundamentally repugnant philosophy.
Intelligence historian Jeffrey T. Richelson says the S.A. has covered a variety of missions. The group, which recently was reorganized, has had about 200 officers, divided among several groups: the Special Operations Group; the Foreign Training Group, which trains foreign police and intelligence officers; the Propaganda and Political Action Group, which handles disinformation; the Computer Operations Group, which handles information warfare; and the Proprietary Management Staff, which manages whatever companies the CIA sets up as covers for the S.A.
…Those operations we inaugurated in the years 1955-7 are still secret, but, for present purposes, I can say all that’s worth saying about them in a few sentences – after, that is, I offer these few words of wisdom. The ‘perfect’ political action operation is, by definition, uneventful. Nothing ‘happens’ in it. It is a continuing arrangement, neither a process nor a series of actions proceeding at a starting point and ending with a conclusion.
CIA FBI NSA Personnel Active in Scientology: https://i.imgur.com/acu2Eti.png When you consider the number of forces that can be contained within a single “political action group” in the form on a “boutique investment firm,” where all sides of political arguments are predetermined by a selected group of actors who have been planted, compromised or leveraged in some way in order to control the way they spin their message. https://i.imgur.com/tU4MD4S.png The evidence of this coordinated effort is overwhelming and the “consensus” that you see on TV, in sports, in Hollywood, in the news and on the Internet is fabricated.
Under the guise of a fake account a posting is made which looks legitimate and is towards the truth is made - but the critical point is that it has a VERY WEAK PREMISE without substantive proof to back the posting. Once this is done then under alternative fake accounts a very strong position in your favour is slowly introduced over the life of the posting. It is IMPERATIVE that both sides are initially presented, so the uninformed reader cannot determine which side is the truth. As postings and replies are made the stronger 'evidence' or disinformation in your favour is slowly 'seeded in.' Thus the uninformed reader will most likely develop the same position as you, and if their position is against you their opposition to your posting will be most likely dropped. However in some cases where the forum members are highly educated and can counter your disinformation with real facts and linked postings, you can then 'abort' the consensus cracking by initiating a 'forum slide.'
When you find yourself feeling like common sense and common courtesy aren’t as common as they ought to be, it is because there is a massive psychological operation controlled from the top down to ensure that as many people as possible are caught in a “tension based” mental loop that is inflicted on them by people acting with purpose to achieve goals that are not in the interest of the general population, but a method of operating in secret and corrupt manner without consequences. Notice that Jeffrey Katzenberg, of Disney, who is intertwined with Allen & Co funds the Young Turks. He is the perfect example of the relationship between media and politics.
Katzenberg has also been involved in politics. With his active support of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, he was called "one of Hollywood's premier political kingmakers and one of the Democratic Party's top national fundraisers."
Last week, former DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg’s new mobile entertainment company WndrCo was part of a $20 million funding round in TYT Network, which oversees 30 news and commentary shows covering politics, pop culture, sports and more. This includes the flagship “The Young Turks” program that streams live on YouTube every day. Other investors in the round included venture capital firms Greycroft Partners, E.ventures and 3L Capital, which led the round. This brings total funding for Young Turks to $24 million.
Hollywood activism long has been depicted as a club controlled by a handful of powerful white men: Katzenberg, Spielberg, Lear, David Geffen, Haim Saban and Bob Iger are the names most often mentioned. But a new generation of power brokers is ascendant, including J.J. Abrams and his wife, Katie McGrath, cited for their personal donations and bundling skills; Shonda Rhimes, who held a get-out-the-vote rally at USC's Galen Center on Sept. 28 that drew 10,000 people; CAA's Darnell Strom, who has hosted events for Nevada congresswoman Jacky Rosen and Arizona congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema; and former Spotify executive Troy Carter, who held three fundraisers for Maryland gubernatorial candidate Ben Jealous (Carter also was a fundraiser for President Obama).
Viacom, after splitting off from Les Moonves Les Moonves ' CBS , still holds Paramount Pictures, and that movie studio in December agreed to acquire DreamWorks SKG, the creative shop founded by the Hollywood triumvirate of Steven Spielberg, David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg (a former exec at The Walt Disney Co.). DreamWorks Animation had been spun off into a separate company. Now it's time for Freston to make back some money--and who better to do a little business with than George Soros? The billionaire financier leads a consortium of Soros Strategic Partners LP and Dune Entertainment II LLC, which together are buying the DreamWorks library--a collection of 59 flicks, including Saving Private Ryan, Gladiator, and American Beauty.
[10 years too late Effort Post] Pinpointing exactly how hard David Stern and the league screwed the 2007 Suns in the WCSF. (x-post from /r/suns)
Original post on /suns We all know the story. Horry hipchecks Nash. STAT and Diaw get up. Horry, STAT, Diaw get suspended. We lose. Here's how we got fucking screwed. (Shout out to perhizzle for the sources)
TL; DR: The rules are strict, except when they're not, conveniently. Stern's a baby back bitch. Read the damn post.
TD: I write in the book that there's no doubt I feel the Phoenix Suns were the best team in in the league in 2007. And that whole series was officiated poorly, and I give the reasons in the book as to why I feel it was officiated poorly. And one of the reasons is that Tommy Nunez was the supervisor of officials in that series. And he had a dislike for the (Suns) owner Robert Sarver, and he enjoyed the lifestyle in San Antonio, and liked to get back in the next round of the playoffs and continue to go to San Antonio. So it was a situation that he was steering the series to San Antonio in tape sessions. People don't realize that at that time we weren't even betting any more because the guy who was involved in the scheme ended up going into rehab, so we were done betting at that time for about a month. So that was just a poorly officiated series from game one all the way until the last game.
The official ruling and the resulting comments show that the league handled the suspension completely poorly, but toed the line on the rules. To note:
But NBA executive vice president of basketball operations Stu Jackson told reporters in a conference call after announcing the suspensions that the league's longstanding policy of invoking its leave-the-bench rule without considering additional factors made the Suns' suspensions automatic. "A precedent wasn't necessary here," Jackson said. "The rule with respect to leaving the bench area during an altercation is very clear." "Historically, if you break it, you will get suspended, regardless of what the circumstances are." Jackson added that Stoudemire and Diaw, in the league's estimation, were "about 20 to 25 feet away from their seats" and headed "towards the altercation" before Suns assistant coaches scrambled them back to the bench. Jackson said the league would consider re-evaluating the policy for next season "if a change is warranted" but insisted that "right now that line is very clear." "The rule is the rule," Jackson said. "It's not a matter of fairness. It's a matter of correctness."
Here we see that the rules are black and white for an altercation. Simple. You step off the bench in the event of an altercation, you get suspended. Okay. Except, the Suns saw a way that they could not get screwed by this.
The Suns countered by saying that Duncan and Bruce Bowen were guilty of a similar leaving-the-bench offense in Game 4's first half when San Antonio's Francisco Elson fell on the Suns' James Jones after a dunk. That play was also reviewed, but Jackson -- while conceding that Duncan "should not have been on the playing court" -- said that the league determined there was "no cause for the suspension rule" to be applied because the Elson-Jones tangle was not deemed to be an altercation.
So the way to strongly shift the series in favor of the Spurs is to pin and decide which is an altercation and which isn't, and the Spurs get to do whatever they want.
That will likely only fuel Phoenix's series-long contention that the Spurs have been receiving favorable treatment from the league. Bowen was accused of intentionally kicking Stoudemire in Game 2 and intentionally kneeing Nash in the groin in Game 3. Apart from the foul on Nash being upgraded to a flagrant foul, Bowen went unpunished in both instances.
Yes it will, yes it will. I put this particular snippet here because I wanted to document exactly how many times the Spurs were getting away with unfair treatment.
While it's no crime for players, coaches, GMs or owners to hit the poker tables in the high-stakes VIP rooms of Las Vegas, refs are forbidden from frequenting casinos or engaging in any gambling, even if it's legal. The six refs' infractions in no way came close to resembling the crimes Donaghy committed, sources said. "Nobody's getting suspended," said a source. "They were reprimanded and punished, but nobody lost their job." The NBA was not specific about the infractions or the punishments.
So it's clear that the rules are black-and-white when it harms the Suns, but they are grey as fuck when it comes to dealing with your own men. Think what you think about Tim Donaghy, about him being a criminal and trying to strike back at the league and creating lies to do that. Whatever you may think of him, the fact of the matter is, he's the only person with a voice who has ties to the inner workings of the NBA. He may be a criminal but I don't think he's lying at all because so much of what he says checks out (Referees controlling games with calls; Dick Bavetta controlling 2002 Lakers-Kings series in game 6, Scott Foster consistently calling superstar deciding calls). Our owner, who while unpopular, had a few important thoughts about this whole ordeal (ESPN article):
Speaking specifically about the Horry-Nash incident, Suns owner Robert Sarver told reporters in Phoenix on Tuesday night: "The way this worked out for us, it was, I believe, extremely unfair. . . . The team that plays dirty should not be rewarded and the team that plays fair should not be penalized."
THE TEAM THAT PLAYS DIRTY SHOULD NOT BE REWARDED AND THE TEAM THAT PLAYS FAIR SHOULD NOT BE PENALIZED. Finally, here we can confirm that David Stern was indeed a baby back bitch:
Sarver also said that NBA commissioner David Stern has canceled a schedule appearance in Phoenix for Wednesday night's Game 5.
Why would Stern cancel his appearance in Phoenix after a controversial ruling? Probably because he would have to face the fact that he was screwing an entire franchise and their fanbase over, and he wasn't man enough to look any of those heartbroken fans in the eyes.
TL; DR: The rules are strict, except when they're not, conveniently. Stern's a baby back bitch. Read the damn post.
The lack of a suspension will outrage many, after the 2007 fracas over Robert Horry's hip check of Suns guard Steve Nash resulted in suspensions for Amar'e Stoudemire and Boris Diaw for standing up casually and moseying towards the altercation without engaging. So now George is clear for Game 7 and we have a better interpretation of the sprit of the rule. The rule is designed to punish players for leaving "the immediate vicinity of the bench" in the event of altercations. It's meant to prevent players from rushing off the bench to fight. George didn't do that, neither did Stoudemire or Diaw in 2007. This isn't about changing the rule; it's about how it's interpreted in this instance.
So the question begs: Did Adam Silver's interpretation of the rule become more realistic, or was it just beneficial for an even game 7? Going back to a Tim Donaghy interview, we can see that in the event of a game 7, nobody would have been suspended because it would have acted in the league's interests to have both teams at full strength:
TD: Certainly that was mishandled with the subjectivity of the league office as to whether to suspend somebody for doing what they did. Look at what happened with the Miami-Dallas game. Do you think they would have suspended all those players for a game 7? Had there been a game 7, with all those players leaving the bench area the way they did. The rule clearly states you can't leave the bench area to get involved in an altercation, whether the time out exists or not. In all reality, I doubt they would have suspended all of those players for a game 7. and I don't think it was handled properly with Phoenix in 2007.
Preview of the Risen Star; Rachel Alexandra Stakes' and more
Buckle your seat belts and make sure your tray tables are in an upright position because between this Saturday and Monday, (President’s Day) we will be looking at least 10 races. Between the two days, any number of those races could be our highlighted “Race of the Week”. But first things first as this Saturday our highlighted “Race of the Week” is the Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds Race Course and Slots. The 8 ½ furlong, Grade: 2 contest for three year olds drew a full field of 14 plus one AE is led by War of Will. Two other races on Saturday’s card at Fair Grounds include the Rachel Alexandra Stakes, also a Grade: 2 event run at 8 ½ furlongs, but for three year old fillies, as well as the Mineshaft Stakes for four year olds and up. The complexion of the Risen Star and Rachel Alexandra changed dramatically mid week when, after seeing both American Pharoah’s little sister, Chasing Yesterday and Kingly, a full brother to $2.2 million Mohaymen**,** both draw horrible posts, trainer Bob Baffert decided to “keep them both home”. Other races we will examine include the Royal Delta Stakes, a Grade: 3 contest for four year olds and up and fillies and mares going a mile at Gulfstream Park, a pair of sprints, one for each gender, at Laurel Park in the General George and Barbara Fritchie Stakes and perhaps THE most competitive race of the weekend, the Santa Monica Stakes at Santa Anita. The seven furlong race drew as strong and as deep of a race you’ll ever find. Saturday February 16, 2019 Laurel Race Course Race: 8 (4:00 PM EST Post) General George Stakes Home Run Maker comes into this razor sharp off three straight wins vs. lesser. This son of Into Mischief, who hails from the unconscious (26-63= 41%) “Miah” barn, loves this surface (3 for 4 over it, yet 1 for 8 everywhere else) and that Feb 6th work (4F- :47.2) tells me he is holding form…..spring a mild upset in a race that is ridiculously difficult to figure…………………..Still Having Fun was just 3 for 11 in 2018 but it must be noted he was running against the likes of Promises Fulfilled, Patternrecognition, Audible and, most recently, third behind McKenzie in the Grade:1 Malibu last time out at 47-1. Colt by Old Fashioned, who sold for $12,000 but has earned over a half million bucks so far, will meet no such rivals in this spot and will probably be your post time favorite…………………….Uncontested ran a hole in the wind in his Laurel debut shortly before Christmas. This one time Kentucky Derby hopeful beat mid level optionals by five lengths while zipping six furlongs in 1:08 flat. A repeat of that effort would make him tough to beat here………………………Honorable mentionsLaki is another surface love”horse for the course” type. This eight year old gelding is 7 for 11 on this oval and 0 for 5 everywhere else. His last four races/speed figures suggest he’s a contender in this spot as well……………..I’m not sure what Something Awesome was doing in the Pegasus World Cup in his last. I suppose Stronach had one last spot to fill. Anyway, this veteran son of Awesome Again is still another who fancies this surface (4 for 6) as he’s run some of the best races of his life over it and he drops to a more reasonable spot in this race…………………..It’s Good to Be Us is a $650,000 son of Tapit who has won three of his first four starts at Parx including being 2 for 2 at this distance. Steps up but could be equal to the task. (My Play: .50 Trifect box using the top 5. Cost: $30) Race: 9 (4:30 PM EST Post) Barbara Fritchie Stakes Spiced Perfection has methodically improved while winning three of her last four, topped off by springing a mild (5-1) upset in the Grade: 1 La Brea Stakes at Santa Anita last time out. Filly by Smiling Tiger, who has gotten off to a good start at stud, makes her debut for new trainer Peter Miller and, if she can handle Grade: 1 runners, logically she should be able to handle this Grade: 3 field…………………Late Night Pow Wow has very impressive stats. This obscurely bred filly is 10 for 11 lifetime including being 2 for 2 on this oval and 4 for 4 at this distance. She also came home the last furlong in a very strong :11.4 while winning by 6+ in her last. Monster work on Feb 6 tells me she is probably sitting on yet another big effort but she will be swimming in deeper waters than what she’s used to………………………Dawn the Destroyer comes into this sharp as a tack while winning her last two in NY including the $100,000 Interborough at 7/5 last time out. Mare by Speightstown holds a double Brisnet speed figure advantage (her last “two” speed figures are better than anyone else’s last two) as well…….figures close………………..Honorable Mentions: Ms Locust Point beat an allowance field at Parx on New Year’s Day, signaling a possible return to the form she showed in late 2017/early 2018. Filly by Dialed In is 7 for 13 lifetime and 5-4-1-0 at this racetrack……………………Timeless Curls has improved steadily since the summer while winning five of her last six and stepping up in class each and every time. Filly by Curlin draws a good post for her running style and shows a bullet work (5F- :59.4) in preparation for this last week. (My Play: $1 triple box using all 5. Cost $60) Fair Grounds Race: 9 (4:25 PM EST Post) Mineshaft Handicap Although Lone Sailor was 1 for 10 in 2018 and just 2 for 15 in his career, he totally outran his 91-1 odds in the Breeders’ Cup Classic last time out. This bay colt was last and almost 20 lengths out of it early, but catapulted past eight horses, and made up some 14 lengths, to finish sixth behind the streaking City of Light. He’ll be making his first start since (3 ½ months) but the bullet (best of 61) 5F work of :59.3 last week states he might be ready…………………….Quip was on a lot of people’s Kentucky Derby list last year and he might be the most talented runner in this field. Although he’s been working well at Payson Park recently, has run well off of layoffs before, and this is his best distance, he’ll have to overcome an almost nine month layoff here and the dreaded #13 post position. Those factors might be asking juuuust a little too much from this son of Distorted Humor…………………….Flameaway is another who was Kentucky Derby material last year after very good second place finishes in the Tampa Bay Derby and Bluegrass Stakes. After running only one good race (second in the Jim Dandy) in four tries from that point, he was put away for the year. Although he might “need one” here, this $400,000 son of Scat Daddy is versatile and clearly has ability……………………Honorable Mentions: Harlan Punch has won two of his last three vs. lesser but does have a fitness edge over the top three. Third start off the layoff angle fits here too..........After a ridiculously wide trip, Silver Dust finished right behind Harlan Punch last time out. This $510,000 son of Tapit had won his two prior races to that and he appears to be slowly improving…..upset chance here. (My Play: $1 Triple box using all. Cost: $60) Race: 11 (5:29 PM EST Post) Rachel Alexandra Stakes Needs Supervision has won three of her first four career starts, highlighted by winning the Silverbulletday on this oval in her 2019 debut last time out. Bay filly by Paynter has improved in each subsequent start and should only be “tighter” for her second start of the year in this spot……………………………… Positive Spirit is another who has improved through each of her first four starts, culminating in winning the Grade: 2 Demoiselle Stake at Aqueduct by a colossal margin. Good looking filly by Pioneerof the Nile poses a big threat here …………………Serengeti Empress showed little at 4-1 in the Breeders’ Cup Filly race in her last after winning her two prior races by a combined 33 lengths. Filly by Alternation drops back into a more reasonable spot for her 2019 debut but judging from her works and trainers comments: "I expect her to make a good showing, but at the same time, this is our first race back and it's not our end all race. It's important to understand that she'll improve off this race. Goal (Kentucky Oaks) is a couple of months down the road" trainer Thomas Amoss said, she may not be fully cranked up for this………Honorable Mentions: Oxy Lady finished less than three lengths behind Chasing Yesterday who would be a solid favorite in this race should she have run. No worries about her handling the track as she’s been training extremely well since arriving here right around the beginning of the year….could better this rating……………..Bell’s the One is unbeaten in three career starts and her speed figures say she could be a contender here. Filly by the speedy Majesticperfection will be stepping up in class big time here and will have to go 2 ½ lengths further than she’s ever gone before but from what I’ve seen in her first three races, she might be able to handle both. (My Play: .50 triple box using all 5. Cost $30) Race: 12 (7:02 PM EST Post) Risen Star Stakes After running well in all four turf starts to begin his career, trainer Mark Casse switched surfaces with War of Will last November and this colt, who is bred to run to the South Pole and back without stopping, broke his maiden by five lengths. Casse then gave him two months off and this son of War Front came back to pulverize the LeComte Stakes field on Jan 19. He won by four but it must be noted this good looking bay was very wide on both turns so he could possibly have won by more…….......................In taking War of Will, Country House is pretty scary. This Lookin’ at Lucky colt, from the loaded for the Kentucky Derby Bill Mott barn, completely missed the break in his last but launched a very impressive, three wide run leaving the three eighths pole and left his foes in his wake down the lane. Yes, it was a field of maidens and yes, it was on that conveyor belt they call Gulfstream Park but still, it was visually impressive to watch. I am shocked at the 20-1 morning line odds………thought maybe he’d open at 6 or 8 to 1….............. Limonite is about 2 ½ lengths away from coming in this race unbeaten. Although it was 2 ½ months ago, I loved his Kentucky Jockey Club effort, where he came from last (of 14), circled the field four wide and was still charging hard, late in deep stretch to only be beaten by two lengths to (at this point in the season) upper echelon three year old Signalman…threat with a fast pace and repeat of that effort……………….Honorable Mentions**: Plus Que Parfait** had a nightmare trip in the LeComte (stumbled at the start, bumped hard shortly thereafter and six wide on the turn) but was only 6+ length behind my top pick....should be closer with a better trip this time………… I wouldn’t be so quick to throw out Henley’s Joy just because he’s making his first dirt start here. He is a two time Stakes winner and his works suggest he’ll handle the change in surface just fine………….. Couple of side notes: I’m not completely giving up on Roiland, who has gone off at high odds in his last three races, just yet. This horse packs a solid stretch run and could surprise a few people in this spot with the right pace scenario……………...Hog Street Hustle has run well in four of five tries including finishing second to my top pick in the LeComte last time out at 12-1. (My Play: $20 win on War of Will, $5 exacta box top 3, .50 triple box using the top 5. Cost: $80) Gulfstream Park Race: 11 (5:12 PM EST Post) Royal Delta Stakes Jala Jala has been a win machine in Mexico (13 for 23 lifetime) but has also duplicated that form at Gulfstream….twice. Chestnut mare by Point Determined was visually impressive kicking away from males at the six furlong marker while winning her last in hand by almost 5 lengths……narrowest of margins over Blamed, who clearly is a huge threat here. Filly by, you guessed it, Blame probably didn’t care for the sloppy track and probably needed that last race (fifth, beaten by 10+) as she was coming off a two month layoff as well. Irad Ortiz Jr. taking the leg up on this filly, who is 9-6-2-0 lifetime, won’t hurt her chances either……………………...I’m not sure if Tequilita is just getting better or the wet tracks in her last two helped her out. Regardless, this well bred (by Union Rags out of Grade: 2 winner Sangrita), Grade: 3 last time out winner merits a look in this spot……………….Honorable Mentions: Although Another Broad will be making her first start in more than two months, she is giving me every indication she could run well in this spot. New trainer Todd Pletcher has been working her fast and often at Palm Beach Downs and “JCC” will be in the irons……………Coming off a sloppy tracked, restricted Stakes win at Tampa Bay Downs in her last, Silver Bay looks the best of the rest. (My Play: $1 triple box using all 5. Cost $60) Santa Anita Park Race: 9 (7 PM EST Post) Santa Monica Stakes Trainer Bob Baffert entered a formidable 1-2 punch in this race in Dream Tree and Eclipse Award finalist for Champion Female Sprinter Marley’s Freedom…..Dream Tree rattled off five straight impressive wins before inexplicably mailing it in last time out. I’m going to give this $750,000 daughter of Uncle Mo a “mulligan” for that race and come right back with her here………….Marley’s Freedom was a multiple Graded Stakes winner on both Coasts last year, winning at distances from 6 furlongs to one mile. I loved her Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint effort (fourth, beaten by just a half length) and that race was sandwiched by five other wins. Monster work last week (5F- :58.4) signals she is ready to pick up where she left off in 2018………………………Selcourt is a speedy, $800,000 mare by Tiz Wonderful who won this race last year and sports a 7-4-2-1 record on this oval. I expect her to come out running and she may prove difficult to catch in this spot even though she is showing a slight down tick in form………………………..Honorable Mentions: Escape Clause boasts a 19 for 28 career record with most of that beating up on far lesser foes at small time tracks. That said, this $3,800 mare, who has earned almost $425,000 in her career, proved she belongs here with her tour de force win of the Grade: 3 La Canada last time out…..could conceivably better this rating………………I wonder which Paradise Woods will show up on Saturday for new trainer John Shirreffs? The one who has won two Grade: 1’s in blow out fashion or the one who shows brief speed and retreats after the first half mile? It’s really, really difficult to get a read on this temperamental mare. (My play: pass...not seeing much value) By: Gerard Apadula Director of Equine Operations and Development Knights of the Round Stable Thoroughbred Racing Team [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) 2019- Record: 10-26 = 38% (My Plays: -$452.36) 2018- Record: 107-261= 41% 2017- Record: 92-235 = 39% 2016- Record: 91-229 = 40% 2015- Record: 67-180 = 37% 2014- Record: 29-73 = 40% 2013- Record: 20-59= 34% 2012 -Record: 24-73= 33% 2011 –Record: N/A 2010- Record: 24-74= 33% Little Bets N' Pieces **** Kentucky Wildcat, who made an eye catching move around the far turn to finish second in Saturday's Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs, was pulled up and vanned off the racetrack after the finish. Evidently, the colt suffered a “non life threatening injury to his right foreleg.” He is expected to undergo surgery to repair the condylar fracture in Ocala in the next several days, but is no longer on the Kentucky Derby trail. **** Australian super mare Winx will be going after her 30th consecutive victory in Saturday's Group: 2 Apollo Stakes at Royal Randwick. The Chris Waller trained daughter of Street Cry is expected to make four more starts before her retirement, culminating in the Group: 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes in April. **** When NYRA releases it stakes schedule for Saratoga and the Belmont Park fall meet, they will include the unveiling of two new turf stakes for 3 year olds and two new Turf Stakes for 3 year old fillies that will join the Belmont Derby and Belmont Oaks in becoming the "Turf Trinity" for males and "Turf Tiara" for fillies. For males the "Turf Trinity" will be made up of three $1 million races at the same distances as the dirt Triple Crown for 3 year olds of the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes. Following the $1 million Belmont Derby at 1 1/4 miles July 6 at Belmont, the $1 million Saratoga Derby will be contested Sunday, Aug. 4 at 1 3/16 miles at Saratoga. The series will conclude with the $1 million Jockey Club Derby at Belmont Park Saturday, Sept. 7 at 1 1/2 miles. "The Turf Trinity is designed to emulate the American dirt classics," said Martin Panza, NYRA's Senior Vice President of Racing Operations, in a statement. "The three race, $3,000,000 series complements the schedule with no overlap of the American Triple Crown races while also providing international runners an opportunity to race against 3 year olds later into the summer." For fillies, the "Triple Tiara" starts with the $750,000 Belmont Oaks July 6 at Belmont at 1 1/4 miles, then the $750,000 Saratoga Oaks Friday, Aug. 2 at 1 3/16 miles, and the $750,000 Jockey Club Oaks Sept. 7 at a 1 3/8 miles at Belmont. "The Turf Tiara, a three race $2,250,000 series, will shadow the colt division, providing a well defined pattern of races highlighting future turf stars while serving as a test of their speed, versatility and endurance," Panza said.
Opening up old wounds: pinpointing exactly how hard David Stern and the League fucked us in the 2007 Western Conference Semifinals
We all know the story. Horry hipchecks Nash. STAT and Diaw get up. Horry, STAT, Diaw get suspended. We lose. Here's how we got fucking screwed. (Shout out to perhizzle for the sources)
TL; DR: The rules are strict, except when they're not, conveniently. Stern's a baby back bitch. Read the damn post.
TD: I write in the book that there's no doubt I feel the Phoenix Suns were the best team in in the league in 2007. And that whole series was officiated poorly, and I give the reasons in the book as to why I feel it was officiated poorly. And one of the reasons is that Tommy Nunez was the supervisor of officials in that series. And he had a dislike for the (Suns) owner Robert Sarver, and he enjoyed the lifestyle in San Antonio, and liked to get back in the next round of the playoffs and continue to go to San Antonio. So it was a situation that he was steering the series to San Antonio in tape sessions. People don't realize that at that time we weren't even betting any more because the guy who was involved in the scheme ended up going into rehab, so we were done betting at that time for about a month. So that was just a poorly officiated series from game one all the way until the last game.
The official ruling and the resulting comments show that the league handled the suspension completely poorly, but toed the line on the rules. To note:
But NBA executive vice president of basketball operations Stu Jackson told reporters in a conference call after announcing the suspensions that the league's longstanding policy of invoking its leave-the-bench rule without considering additional factors made the Suns' suspensions automatic. "A precedent wasn't necessary here," Jackson said. "The rule with respect to leaving the bench area during an altercation is very clear." "Historically, if you break it, you will get suspended, regardless of what the circumstances are." Jackson added that Stoudemire and Diaw, in the league's estimation, were "about 20 to 25 feet away from their seats" and headed "towards the altercation" before Suns assistant coaches scrambled them back to the bench. Jackson said the league would consider re-evaluating the policy for next season "if a change is warranted" but insisted that "right now that line is very clear." "The rule is the rule," Jackson said. "It's not a matter of fairness. It's a matter of correctness."
Here we see that the rules are black and white for an altercation. Simple. You step off the bench in the event of an altercation, you get suspended. Okay. Except, the Suns saw a way that they could not get screwed by this.
The Suns countered by saying that Duncan and Bruce Bowen were guilty of a similar leaving-the-bench offense in Game 4's first half when San Antonio's Francisco Elson fell on the Suns' James Jones after a dunk. That play was also reviewed, but Jackson -- while conceding that Duncan "should not have been on the playing court" -- said that the league determined there was "no cause for the suspension rule" to be applied because the Elson-Jones tangle was not deemed to be an altercation.
So the way to strongly shift the series in favor of the Spurs is to pin and decide which is an altercation and which isn't, and the Spurs get to do whatever they want.
That will likely only fuel Phoenix's series-long contention that the Spurs have been receiving favorable treatment from the league. Bowen was accused of intentionally kicking Stoudemire in Game 2 and intentionally kneeing Nash in the groin in Game 3. Apart from the foul on Nash being upgraded to a flagrant foul, Bowen went unpunished in both instances.
Yes it will, yes it will. I put this particular snippet here because I wanted to document exactly how many times the Spurs were getting away with unfair treatment.
While it's no crime for players, coaches, GMs or owners to hit the poker tables in the high-stakes VIP rooms of Las Vegas, refs are forbidden from frequenting casinos or engaging in any gambling, even if it's legal. The six refs' infractions in no way came close to resembling the crimes Donaghy committed, sources said. "Nobody's getting suspended," said a source. "They were reprimanded and punished, but nobody lost their job." The NBA was not specific about the infractions or the punishments.
So it's clear that the rules are black-and-white when it harms the Suns, but they are grey as fuck when it comes to dealing with your own men. Think what you think about Tim Donaghy, about him being a criminal and trying to strike back at the league and creating lies to do that. Whatever you may think of him, the fact of the matter is, he's the only person with a voice who has ties to the inner workings of the NBA. He may be a criminal but I don't think he's lying at all because so much of what he says checks out (Referees controlling games with calls; Dick Bavetta controlling 2002 Lakers-Kings series in game 6, Scott Foster consistently calling superstar deciding calls). Our owner, who while unpopular, had a few important thoughts about this whole ordeal (ESPN article):
Speaking specifically about the Horry-Nash incident, Suns owner Robert Sarver told reporters in Phoenix on Tuesday night: "The way this worked out for us, it was, I believe, extremely unfair. . . . The team that plays dirty should not be rewarded and the team that plays fair should not be penalized."
THE TEAM THAT PLAYS DIRTY SHOULD NOT BE REWARDED AND THE TEAM THAT PLAYS FAIR SHOULD NOT BE PENALIZED. Finally, here we can confirm that David Stern was indeed a baby back bitch:
Sarver also said that NBA commissioner David Stern has canceled a schedule appearance in Phoenix for Wednesday night's Game 5.
Why would Stern cancel his appearance in Phoenix after a controversial ruling? Probably because he would have to face the fact that he was screwing an entire franchise and their fanbase over, and he wasn't man enough to look any of those heartbroken fans in the eyes.
TL; DR: The rules are strict, except when they're not, conveniently. Stern's a baby back bitch. Read the damn post.
The lack of a suspension will outrage many, after the 2007 fracas over Robert Horry's hip check of Suns guard Steve Nash resulted in suspensions for Amar'e Stoudemire and Boris Diaw for standing up casually and moseying towards the altercation without engaging. So now George is clear for Game 7 and we have a better interpretation of the sprit of the rule. The rule is designed to punish players for leaving "the immediate vicinity of the bench" in the event of altercations. It's meant to prevent players from rushing off the bench to fight. George didn't do that, neither did Stoudemire or Diaw in 2007. This isn't about changing the rule; it's about how it's interpreted in this instance.
So the question begs: Did Adam Silver's interpretation of the rule become more realistic, or was it just beneficial for an even game 7? Going back to a Tim Donaghy interview, we can see that in the event of a game 7, nobody would have been suspended because it would have acted in the league's interests to have both teams at full strength:
TD: Certainly that was mishandled with the subjectivity of the league office as to whether to suspend somebody for doing what they did. Look at what happened with the Miami-Dallas game. Do you think they would have suspended all those players for a game 7? Had there been a game 7, with all those players leaving the bench area the way they did. The rule clearly states you can't leave the bench area to get involved in an altercation, whether the time out exists or not. In all reality, I doubt they would have suspended all of those players for a game 7. and I don't think it was handled properly with Phoenix in 2007.
I wrote a longer writeup on why I think people are being a little too stingy with the Kevin Love fiasco. There's probably some information surrounding the whole saga that you probably didn't know/haven't considered in here
In the past 4 months, I don’t think there’s been a player who has been discussed more on /NBA in trades than Kevin Love. While the LeBron and Melo news have largely drowned out the discussion in the past week, yesterday’s hypotheticals sent this subreddit into a frenzy of Love trades, and almost all threads had the same several points and ideas that I and other Timberwolves fans have been seeing for the past year. Because I can guarantee you that nobody has seen as many hypothetical trades or had as many discussions about Love and what we should be mindful of in trades as Timberwolves fans, I just want to make this post to talk about some of the more prevalent ideas that are constantly repeated in this subreddit and why there is more to them than meets the eyes. Real quick, I just want this isn’t my first rodeo. I know this game and I know this situation, I’ve written long write-ups involving Love here, and the Wolves scrimmage in general here. I play D3 hoops in Minnesota, and so while I don’t know everything obviously, I think it’s fair to say I’m not a scrub when it comes to basketball. Just so there’s no deception, I am arguing that a great deal of the opinions that are thrown around haphazardly in this subreddit are wrong, and yes, I am trying to change your mind. Am I biased? Probably, but who isn’t? However, I think that there is a lot of reason to these points. Also, the only way a trade happens in 90% of the scenarios I’ve seen is that if Love agrees to re-sign. So, unless we’re talking about gambling on Love to sway LeBron at the last moment to come to Cleveland, I’m assuming that Love agrees or strongly indicates he’ll re-sign as a condition all these scenarios.
IDEA NUMBER 1: “THE TIMBERWOLVES HAVE NO LEVERAGE”
I will be the first to admit it, the situation in Minnesota is not the ideal for somebody like Love. We tried to surround him with a cast that would work, but several problems have emerged. Outside of Gorgui Dieng’s late season flourish, we have almost no rim protection. Due to a lack of a sharpshooting 1 or 3, we our floor spacing is cramped. We don’t really have anybody who can create there own high quality shot (including Love, and even Pek), and our only shoot creator for others is Rubio or the occasional Kevin Love outlet pass. We have decent pieces, but they don’t really fit together. We haven’t made the playoffs in a decade, and that’s really starting to wear on everybody who is involved in the organization. Then, add in off the court issues (crappy weather, not a big market, no winning tradition, etc.) and you’ve got a place that most people want to escape, especially if you’re a 25 year old superstar who is used to living on the west coast. Factor in that Love has made it clear that he wants out, and there’s not a lot of leverage there However, the leverage that Wolves have doesn’t come from their situation. It’s funny, in the past 2 months I have seen 8 teams truly court Love (Cavs, Golden State, Celtics, Bulls, Suns, Nuggets, Kings and Lakers), and the majority of those teams have actually made documented trade offers. The offers were pretty poor, usually between 30¢-40¢ on the hypothetical $1 that is Kevin Love. Now, I don’t expect an even return on Love, I’m not an idiot. But, the trades offered are insanely one-sided. The rationale offered is always the same too: “The Wolves have no leverage here!” and “If he leaves, you’ll get nothing!” That’s that I’ve heard from 8 different fan bases. That’s over 1/4th of the remaining teams in the league. Every single time, and maybe this is due to a classic internet short attention span, everybody acts like this is the only offer on the table. We’re not dumb, we want to get something for him instead of letting him walk for nothing. We’re not pitting your offer against our ability to resign him; we’re pitting all your pursuits against each other. This is a textbook example of the prisoner’s dilemma. Yes, if you all manage to hold firm, we’ll probably take the best offer at whatever artificial deadline our front office has set. But, if you all stay firm and refuse to sweeten your deals, and all deals are so similar that it’s all a matter of preference, assuming that there’s more than 3 deals (which I’d be shocked if there isn’t), the odds are your team’s offer is not going to be chosen. If there’s one thing that the Wolves know, it’s how fragile and finicky a contender’s window is. They’re meticulously planned, you’ve usually only got one shot at contending over roughly a decade or so, and they can be destroyed by the formation of a megateam in a heartbeat. In 2004, we were in the Western Conference Finals with homecourt advantage and the reigning MVP. In 2005, Sam Cassel’s was limited to 59 games, the team was off all year for some reason, we missed the playoffs and then Sprewell decided he couldn’t “feed his children” on $30 million. We haven’t been back since. So, here your franchises are with the chance to add Love and in all-likelihood become instant contenders except for maybe the Nuggets and possibly the Suns. Chicago, Golden State and Cleveland would contend instantly, while the Lakers and Celtics would need to add another top-tier free agent if they get Love, but they would have probably little to no problems doing just that. Hell, even the Kings would go from the lottery to contending. Quick reminder here that Love averaged 26/12.5/4.5 last year on TS% of 59.1 and is the best spacing 4 in the game, only possibly second to Dirk. Yeah, he’s amazing at offense but super crappy on defense. There’s only one do-it-all player who doesn’t have a hole in his game in the league these days, and he’s won 4 MVP’s and 2 rings. So, who’s beating the Curry-Love duo? What about Kyrie-Love, or even the godly Kyrie-LeBron-Love? What about Kobe-Melo-Love? These teams are dynasties waiting to happen, and sure-fire instant contenders, especially if your team is in the East. Now, being that everybody knows this, you think that the other franchises bidding for Love aren’t going to up their ante? Are you going to let them outbid you when realistically the next 5 championships could easily be on the line? You don’t want to have to rebuild after this hypothetical dynasty? Are you sure that the other 6 teams bidding on Love aren’t willing to sacrifice that either? You don’t want to give up your best young asset for Love? Is this a uniform view among all the parties? Are you willing to bet your entire contending window that’s been 5 years in the making on this? Did somebody drop out of contention? How do you know they’re telling the truth? One of these teams is going to blink/panic and mortgage the farm for Love. And the other teams have a strong chance of being left out in the cold, regardless of their assets. And if by some miracle Love doesn’t get traded and is a free agent next summer…
IDEA NUMBER 2: YOU’RE NOT GOING TO SIGN HIM IN THE SUMMER (UNLESS YOU’RE THE LAKERS)
It’s the worst kept secret in all of sports that Kevin Love would prefer to be a Laker above all else. His dad played for the Lakers, he’s a west coast kid, he went to college at UCLA and loved it, and he’s always spoken incredibly glowingly and played well against the Lake Show. Also, the Lakers will undoubtedly have the money available to sign him to the max if he is a free agent, even if they sign Melo to the max this summer. They have Nash’s almost $10 million coming off the books, and the Lakers are known for their readiness to move salary around to find the cap space for top-tier free agents, especially one’s they know will have interest years in advance. “But what if Love demands to come to my franchise because of the talent?” Well, the problem with that is it’s a huge catch-22. If your franchise has that much talent, they’re going to want to contend/will be contending. It would be asinine to wait an entire year with a max-sized hole in your cap to make sure you have enough room to sign Love, and good luck filling $20 million+ in cap with 1 year contracts of players who can help you win, because there’s no chance that any player who could serve as a legitimate 3rd gun would ever sign a one year deal. Also, say some other team makes a huge splash and steals his fancy, similar to a Miami in 2010 situation with Bosh before LeBron came (obviously they colluded, but you can imagine it without the collusion and catch my drift). Basically, you’d be wasting a year of your contending window at best and blowing it at worse. “What if Love demands to go to my franchise via sign-and-trade, it benefits everybody! Flip would be crazy not to do it!” This leads into my next point…
IDEA NUMBER 3: FLIP DOES NOT HAVE TO PLAY THIS CONSERVATIVELY
This is another manifestation of the leverage in the idea that Flip can’t risk getting no return for Love. This is one example, but it could easily be superimposed into the present instad of the future 1st point: Flip and owner Glen Taylor work with each other on the Love situation. Not trade would happen without Taylor’s blessing. The fact that no trade has occurred yet gives hindrance to the idea that both Flip and Taylor are not satisfied with the offers. This is important because… 2nd point: Nobody has a bigger clot of influence in the NBA within their franchise as Flip except for Popovich. Ok, so, we’re back to the sign and trade vein. Love has decided which team he wants to go to, but they can’t afford a max, so Love demands a sign and trade. He reasons with Flip that getting something for him is better than nothing, so it’s in his and the Wolves’ best interest to take whatever scraps are tossed this way. So, an unnamed GM offers him an aging veteran and a bad contract for Love. Flip has to accept, right? Wrong. Who holds more leverage in this situation? The GM who knows that his entire job is vindictive on winning, and that ownership wants rings over young talent and that not getting Love because he was stingy could cost him his career? Or head coach, president of basketball operating, head coach, and part-owner Flip Saunders? Hell, Flip and Glen are country club buddies! So, Flip says “no,” then what? Who budgets? Love is stuck, this GM could easily start feeling some heat, and Flip couldn’t care less. What, is his friend Glen going to fire him, with his head coaching job and ownership stake, over a plan that Glen has already been given his blessing over? At the end of the day, Flip is going to get what he wants from that opposing GM, because if Love walks and goes to a different team, and that GM’s team doesn’t win a title, he’ll forever be known as “the GM who didn’t trade assets for rings.” Good luck getting a job with that tag.
IDEA NUMBER 4: LOVE IS WORTH MORE THAN ALMOST ANY YOUNG GUY IN THE LEAGUE
If I had a legitimate 1st option who didn’t play power forward in place, there are 2 guys that I wouldn’t trade straight up for Love right now, and 1 “maybe,” who are who can still be considered “young assets.” Anthony Davis, and Paul George are no doubters, and Andre Drummond is a maybe (rim protection and rebound, but the combination of not much scoring and a terrible free throw shooter means it’s tough to play/involve him in the offense late in close games). Outside of that, you’re trading somebody who is unproven for somebody who is at least a top 10 player, and in many people’s opinions a top 5 playebest power forward in the game. This even applies to number 1 overall picks. In the past 20 years, only 3 number 1 overall picks have a higher career WS/48 than Love (LeBron, Yao, Duncan). This means that using the past 20 years as a baseline, you have a 15% chance that a number 1 overall pick is going to be better than Love. Basically, as one user on here said yesterday, if you’re taking any draft pick over Love, you’re taking the mystery box over the boat TL;DR: The Wolves are in a better spot than anybody thinks with Love, there’s much more going on here than one would think on the surface
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