Tags: Basketball, Sports, warriors, Work
Hmm.
Monday, July 26th, 2010ESPN Insider Silliness
Thursday, June 10th, 2010Around NBA Draft time, that’s when I’m like a cocaine addict (actually, I wouldn’t know). I have to read every tidbit of news about what the Warriors are going to do- I am an endless optimist, at least on certain topics.
At this time of year, I also start considering ESPN Insider. A lot.
So there I was tempted to subscribe to see Chad Ford’s newest mock draft, hoping it would suggest the Warriors getting Evan Turner.
Looking at the 2 year subscription, $59.95, ah I guess that’s ok. But then when I saw the other option:
Do Your Part – Give Up Your Hardcopy & Go Green!
ESPN Insider/ESPN Magazine Digital Version – Biennial – $59.95
First of all, I didn’t even know biennial is what you call 2 years. Secondly, I am all down for helping the environment, but it’s the exact same price as the paper version.
As Jimmy would say, “Do MY part? Why don’t you go do YOUR part?” You want me to save you money with less printing and you’re charging me the same. You could also least contribute $10 of that amount to environmental causes, instead of trying to guilt-trip people.
In addition, before this, I saw Insider’s special offer. 1 Year Membership + 2010 World Cup for the 360 for 59.95. That seemed good. Of course, they’re smart and hide the prices of all the other packages so you can’t immediately compare. Which of course I did. And ultimately, I’m there for the Insider subscription, not to be upsold on the game. The 1 year with game is the same cost as the 2 year. And while I’m not going to argue that overall, the 1 year is a good value, it turns me off because the 1 year is the same price as the 2 year, and there is no option to go 1 year without the “great value” package.
WTF ESPN Insider.
Well, I still haven’t subscribed. Additionally, I can’t read the paper version of the magazine since I live in Vietnam.
You almost had me ESPN. But then you threw it all away. Shame, I actually was half-excited to think I would get 2010 World Cup too. I would like to see the conversion numbers though, maybe I’m one of the few who didn’t go for it.
Tags: Basketball, draft, espn, evan turner, jimmy, nba, Sports, warriorsRelated posts
Where to Download Basketball Games
Tuesday, February 16th, 2010
Image by laffy4k via Flickr
I’ve referred to these links through various posts, but I figured I might as well compile them and make a post with an SEO friendly title (yes, I want to see if this results in more PV for the site)
(I know there are private torrent sites that specialize in sports, but I always have issues with them. I always share enough, but I have difficulty getting tracked properly. The sites below all are public/don’t need any special work to access)
Let’s go!
- bt.davka.info is the best site I know of for basketball torrents. I probably need to step and donate one of these days.
- Davka also has a forum where you can find useful links to other sites for direct downloads: http://bt.davka.info/forum/viewforum.php?id=5
- For direct downloads, ballers.ru is fanastic. I notice people in Vietnam like direct download sites more than torrents (you can buy rapishare accounts here as well)
- You can also find some games through the Large Clips Section at Mixmakers.net: http://www.mixmakers.net/forums/large-clips/
- Lastly, I just found this user who has uploaded some Cal Bears NCAA Mens Basketball torrents.
- Alright, I’ll throw in one more, but this is for football (soccer), more specifically, Manchester United matches: http://unitedzone.info/forum/current-campaign-full-matches/
Btw, if you need help with torrents, see My Torrent Guide.
Enjoy and let me know of your own favorite sources!
Edit: Feb 21, found a great resource on Mixmakers, “NBA Game Data Base – Version 1.0 Release“- it’s a list of games available coupled with download link.s
Tags: Basketball, cal, download, football, manchester united, Sports, torrentRelated posts
Bay Area Tales
Wednesday, January 6th, 2010
Image via Wikipedia
I’m in the Taipei airport right now, waiting to board my flight back to Vietnam. A recap of my two and half weeks of California, USA fun:
- Adventures:
- Six Flags Magic Mountain on New Years Eve – X2 is still a fantastic ride, even if only for the first 15 seconds, but Batman and Goliath were closed
- 49ers vs Lions, lower deck seats – 49ers win!
- Warriors vs Suns – Warriors win!
- Warriors vs Celics – Warriors win!
- Sherlock Homes – might enjoy it more if I saw it again as I fell asleep towards the end (that only happens when I see movies soon after my returns from Vietnam, gave it 6/10)
- Up in the Air – a movie that reminds me why I have to continue working; I can’t let someone fire me (gave it 8/10)
- Star Trek Exhibit at the Tech Museum in San Jose – interesting, but way overpriced
- Saw UFC 108 at M Cafe with Kyle, Tay, Midland, and Mike – great setup, a ton of TVs
- Food:
- KFC – The new grilled chicken is pretty good; it definitely has that picnic chicken taste to it. Great to have biscuits again…yummy, biscuits
- Albertsons/Lucky’s Fried Chicken – traditionally my favorite fried chicken for taste and value, it didn’t hold up this time around.
- SmokeEaters – formerly Cluck-u near Santa Clara University, had good wings and fries one of my first nights back meeting up with Andrew
- Fiesta Del Mar – Mexican food! bBurrito during lunch with Kyle
- Fenton’s Creamery & Restaurant - this is the famous ice cream place mentioned in Pixar’s movie Up. Had my favorite, cookies n’ cream in a cone.
- McDonalds – McChicken, fries
- In-N-Out – cheeseburger and fries, and then a double double with fries. Both times were subpar for me. I’m a bit worried about their quality, and maybe it’s just in my head, but after reading In-N-Out Burger: A Behind-the-Counter Look at the Fast-Food Chain That Breaks All the Rules by Stacy Perlman, I am very, very concerned about their future.
- El Pollo Loco – chicken and CHURROS! (best ever)
- Costco – chicken warp (not as good as some would have me believe) and churro (not as good as El Pollo)
- Harris Ranch – ordered ribs after heading home on I-5 with Mike on the Magic Mountain trip. Fries and Ribs were good, as they should have been for a $30 meal.
- Mountain Mike’s – had pizza there while watching Cal lose their bowl game. Substandard, a bit dry, maybe a bit hurried. Wasn’t cheap either, I think it was near $20 for a medium.
- Thai Pepper – my pad thai wasn’t so great, but maybe other items are better there.
- Other:
- Tried out Redbox to rent movies – $1/night’s a great value and very convenient. Probably not coincidentally, Blockbuster is closing a ton of brick and mortar stores, including one in downtown San Jose. How can they compete with Netflix and Redbox?
- Used Yelp to research places to eat and go – my sister remarked, it feels like it’s early success came from Asian popularity, where you can feel that much of the writing comes from Asians
- Tried out dad’s GPS tracker on the Magic Mountain trip. GPS is brilliant! Almost makes me want to move back to the US just to go on trips and have GPS lead the way.
- Did some work. Poop.
- Had light basketball workouts 7 times over the 2.5 weeks. Hopefully, I’ll be better for the mean courts of Vietnam (no joke, it’s tough out there)
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49ers vs Lions at Candlestick (Bay Area Tales)
Sunday, January 3rd, 2010
Last weekend, I went to the 49ers vs Lions game in San Francisco at Candlestick. (Dad and I on the left) The 49ers got eliminated from the playoffs the previous weekend, but I was looking forward to it because it was the first 49er game I’d go to, and I had $71 lower deck seats for which I paid $55. What’s also great about being back in the US is that there’s no football in Vietnam, unless that football is actually soccer. So I can’t watch any games, I just read stuff.
Good thing, the 49ers won, which they should have- they were playing at home against the worst team in football. Unfortunately, while the defense looked solid, the offense did not. I was really surprised at Alex Smith’s final stats, they looked much better than his actual play.
Notes:
- Great weather for the game, but things started getting cold at 3:30, with the sun coming down in the afternoon and the wind kicking in.
- There was supposed to be Fan Appreciation Day, in which you get scratch cards when you enter. We did not get anything.
- Alex Smith didn’t do much. The 49er has 6 turnovers, excellent field position a ton of times, and still only scored 20 points.
- Though people can be against Alex, I’m still for him. But maybe that’s because truly, who else? Yeah, you could draft someone else, but the odds of a good QB coming in are crap, even in the first round. Go ahead and draft another QB if you like someone, but might as well stick with Alex for a full year, and let him repeat with the same offense coordinator for the first time in his career. I don’t necessarily think Alex will ever be a superstar quarterback, but maybe he can be top 12- consistent, solid playmaker. Add that to Frank Gore, good offensive line, and great defense, and that is a real contender.
- Offensively, the 49ers looked like a confused mashup. As my sister says, the 49ers can run when they only run and the 49ers can pass when they only pass- they can’t seem to do both in a game. I think Frank Gore has the be the #1 option, and then let Alex push the offense beyond that.
- I think the 49ers are two really good players away from being a legit contender, one and offense and the other on defense. On offense, maybe that’s a lineman because I think all the other pieces are there. Crabtree has played really well for a rookie, and the other receivers are young and improving. It’s just about Alex Smith, and that’s where a Pro Bowl level lineman can make things easier for him as well as Frank. On defensive, the 49ers need a pass rusher or just another high level player. The 49ers are 18th in yardage allowed, but only 6th in points, though some of that has to be due to their weak division.
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Christmas Cheer!
Wednesday, November 4th, 2009As I get older, more busy with work, it’s harder and harder to put time in the blog. I do love this blog though, posts just come in spurts. I am able to keep up my Twitter account active though, but I’m still waiting for a magic Twitter-like service with (cheap or free) SMS access in Vietnam.
Anyway, it’s nearing Christmas time (what, 2 months to go is plenty close enough for wish lists!) and this also means I’ll be returning to the US for my yearly vacation.
What I really mean is that it’s time to buy stuff! I’m mostly focused on getting some books, but here’s what I have planned for the credit card:
For sure:
UFC: Ultimate 100 Greatest Fights (DVD)
 |
In-N-Out Burger: A Behind-the-Counter Look at the Fast-Food Chain That Breaks All the Rules |
 |
The Book of Basketball: The NBA According to The Sports Guy |
Giro Indicator Sport Bike Helmet
Maybe:
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The Art of a Beautiful Game: The Thinking Fan’s Tour of the NBA (Sports Illustrated) |
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When the Game Was Ours |
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The Full Tilt Poker Strategy Guide: Tournament Edition |
Baseball – A Film By Ken Burns (1994)
Already Purchased:
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The Bald Truth |
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Arcade Mania: The Turbo-charged World of Japan’s Game Centers |
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Singapore and F1 in Photos: Race Night
Monday, October 12th, 2009
Singapore and F1 in Photos: Qualifying and Pre-Race Sunday
Sunday, October 11th, 2009
Singapore and F1 in Photos: The City
Saturday, October 10th, 2009
F1 Singapore!
Wednesday, August 19th, 2009
Going to Singapore for the F1 late next month!
For a few years, I’d been wanting to go to F1 Malaysia, but it’s been an issue of timing and money. I liked Michael Shumacher (greatest F1 driver ever) a lot, and when he announced he would come out of retirement for the rest of the year, I had to make sure I got tickets take advantage of this last opportunity to see him.
Unfortunately, last week, he said he couldn’t make it out of retirement after all (http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/racing/f1/news/story?id=4390787).
But it’s ok. I haven’t been to Singapore in a while, and a short trip would be good for me, and I want to check out some things there anyway.
I’m no F1 superfan- I mainly read about it on ESPN rather than watch it, but I do like car racing, and I used to be a huge Indycar fan when I was a kid when Michael Andretti was still racing (he failed his one year in F1 though). Now, I’ll be rooting for Lewis Hamilton.
I’m going alone, which kind of sucks at first thought, but I’m ok with it- it’s been a long time since I went on a trip alone, and I was quite fine before. I tend to get too dependant on other people, and being alone helps me focus on what I want to do and feel more natural doing it because I’m less self-conscious. I’m also staying at a hostel for the first time- this ones looks super nice and is in an ideal location. Hotels are at least $110 USD (and are rising) per night, but I decided to go with a hostel to try something new and saving money is never a bad thing.
Mapping out the trip:
(Check out Flair Candy for a pretty good article on her trip last year: http://www.flaircandy.com/2009/03/watching-the-singapore-formula-1-grand-prix-on-a-budget/- it helped me plan out what I wanted to do)
- F1 3 Day Walkabout Tickets $135 USD – this is expensive, but also the cheapest option by far.
- Singapore Flyer: http://www.singaporeflyer.com/ – I guess this is the London Eye of Singapore
- Night Safari: http://www.nightsafari.com.sg/ – Wanted to do this a few years ago, but it ended up raining when I was there
- Random Shopping: I don’t think I will actually buy anything (I am sure I will spend enough money at the actual race on random stuff and food) but will probably go look for jerseys (Peninsula Shopping Center) and second hand stuff in my spare time, mainly out of curiosity.
I was going to go see Beyonce for the recently announced F1 Rocks concert, but tickets are a ridiculously expensive $125 USD (not even for seats!) to go see her and Black Eyed Peas on the Saturday of the F1 weekend.
Formula 1 sessions schedule:
The race itself sounds like a lot of fun. I’ve never been to a car race before, and this will be a night race in the city, the only one in F1. I don’t think I will make the Friday session, but I plan to do most of Saturday, and of course Sunday.
- Friday 25th September
- Free practice 1: 19:00-20:30
- Free practice 2: 21:30-23:00
- Saturday 26th September
- Free practice 3: 19:00-20:00
- Qualifying: 22:00-23:00
- Sunday 27th September
- Race: 20:00
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