- J.R. Smith is an unapologetic gunner. Arguably the biggest
black hole in the NBA by a wide margin and a man so shot-happy that he’s likely
to fire up a 45-footer rather than pass the ball to a wide-open teammate alone
under the basket for a dunk, he’s also the person most likely to hate the
implementation of a system predicated on ball movement and smart sharing of the
rock. Enter new New York Knicks coach
Derek Fisher and president Phil Jackson, who came to Manhattan this offseason
with their triangle offense in tow and a team-first concept that might as well
have been written in Mandarin for Smith to read. Sure enough, the regular
season hasn’t even started and Smith is already lamenting how much of “a
struggle” it has been to adjust to the new look of his old team. "Yeah,
absolutely," Smith said. "I mean, believe it or not, being the type
of player I've been, it's a struggle. I'm not going to lie. Trying to think
about the rest of the team over myself or my scoring is something that I never
really had to do before.” How beautiful is that? Having to think of teammates
ahead of yourself is a totally new concept to the point where you’re fighting
to do it. "I've always been in a situation to score, [now I'm] in position
to take my time and let the game come and let my teammates succeed more than
myself, I think that's the ultimate win,” Smith added. Uh huh, sure. It’s the
ultimate win until your destined-for-mediocrity squad is losing four straight
and you’re getting six shots a night and find yourself buried on the bench
because you refuse to pass and cut rather than step back and bomb. In the preseason,
Smith is averaging 8.5 points and shooting 39 percent from the field in six
games. His coach admitted the process could take a while and from the looks of
it, the real win will be anyone who enjoys seeing a tortured gunner stumbling
under the weight of a new system he neither grasps nor likes………
- Riot Watch! Riot Watch! Rome is a popular destination any
time of year, but it just became a must-visit locale for hundreds of thousands
of enraged protestors who have been packing the streets of the historic city to
voice their
anger at labor market reforms, one of the main building blocks of the
government of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s policy. Up to 1 million people
flooded the streets of the Italian capital on Saturday, according to protest
organizers, with as many as 300,000 additional participants were set to arrive
in Rome throughout the weekend. This isn't exactly a humble, grassroots
movement built on the bare-knuckled rage of the common man, as those coming in
to participate arrived via means that included a boat and two chartered planes
from Sardinia. Still, an uprising is an uprising and this one is spearheaded by
CGIL, Italy’s biggest labor union. The union organized the march and rally in
Piazza St. Giovanni, with protestors toting red balloons and waving red union
banners. They are upset that Renzi wants to change employee protection rules.
It’s the ages-old, cross-cultural dynamic of lazy workers being protected no
matter how incompetent they are by unions that fight to the death for five
coffee breaks a day and workers’ right to remain employed as long as they don’t
actually murder someone while on the clock. In September, Renzi’s plan was
approved by his party, but critics argue the amendments would result in companies
not hiring enough staff and creating the risks of chronic economic weakness. "We want work for everyone, and work
with rights. This is a demonstration for those without work, without rights,
those who suffer, who have no certainties for the future," Susanna
Camusso, head of the CGIL, told protestors. The union also opposes European
Union austerity measures being implemented as Italy endures increasing public
spending cuts to cope with the EU budget restrictions. Maybe a chartered plane to Brussels to rage against an even bigger
machine is next……..
- That ended abruptly. Liam Gallagher’s latest band that’s
not nearly as important as he thinks it is has gone the way of the dinosaurs
after just three years, but this time the split is noticeably more amicable than
his last band breakup. Gallagher and his brother Noel were the driving forces
in the split of Oasis back in 2009 and haven't stopped blasting each other
publicly since, even if most stopped paying attention to their sniping long
ago. After the dissolution of Oasis, Liam Gallagher and the other non-Noel
members of the band formed Beady Eye, which quickly cranked out a mediocre
first album titled “Different Gear, Still Speeding.” They chased that with
their second album, “BE,” in June and that second album will also be their
latst after both Gallagher and guitarist Andy Bell confirmed on Twitter that
Beady Eye was finished. Gallagher tweeted that the band are "no longer" and
thanked fans for their support. “Beady Eye are no longer.
Thanks for all your support. LGx,” Gallagher wrote. During their short run,
Beady Eye were a fairly middling lot as a band and the more interesting aspect
of Gallagher’s life has been his contentious split with both the band’s manager
and his former girlfriend, Ghorbani. Ghorbani, a journalist for publications
including Elle and The Wall Street Journal, had a brief relationship with Gallagher
after she interviewed him for the New York Times in 2010 and subsequently gave
birth to a daughter, Gemma, in January 2013. At the time of the girl’s birth,
Gallagher was living with wife Nicole Appleton, the mother of his 12-year-old
son Gene. Ghorbani’s lawsuit and child support payment negotiations have been
intense and maybe Gallagher can use his newfound free time to focus on his
legal matters before he decides what his next endeavor will be. For a man who
loves him some him, a solo career might be the best option and a nice way to
avoid ever having to announce that his latest musical outfit has ceased to
exist……..
- Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter is not
well-liked by a big chunk of his constituents. That’s a given for most every
elected official and it’s why voters have a chance to elect someone new every
two, four or six years. It’s also why politicians do goofy stunts in the name
of buying good will and support, er, of supporting wonderful causes that they
are happy to lend their political support to. Nutter knows the drill and that’s
why he spared a few minutes of his time to ride the elevator up to the 31st
floor of the One Logan Square building and scale the remaining distance to the
roof, a total of 418 feet above street level. Once on the roof, the mayor
joined a group of 130 people who hooked into safety harnesses, grabbed hold of
a sturdy rope and rappelled down the side of the building. “Tremendous trust in
the organization. You have to trust your gear, and, you have to trust
yourself,” Nutter said upon reaching the ground and sounding very much like the
hybrid of a cheesy office motivational poster and a grandstanding politician
who knows he just pulled off a quality photo op like nobody’s business. The
event was in support of scholarships for Philadelphia Outward Bound School
programs and the executive director of the organization’s Philadelphia chapter
was also among those who climbed down the side of the building. “It’s a
personal growth experience. I know I was talking to myself up there,” said
Katie Newsom Pastuszek. “Our students learn that nothing is insurmountable in
life.” Yes, nothing inspires quite like adrenaline junkie badasses going
into the great, wild beyond that is downtown Philadelphia and traversing the
tricky surface of a big office building………
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