Another Long National Nightmare OVUH!!

I have to admit, I don't really watch the NBA much, save the Atlanta Hawks. I'll turn on the finals every now and then, even if it's the Celtics/Lakers (yawn). But I am fascinated by they hype that the league generates. For what seems like six years now, Carmelo Anthony of the Denver Nuggets has been waiting to be traded. He's had his own by-line on ESPN's "bottom line" ticker since the start of the season. I'm not sure we gave this much attention to Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez.

Lucky for us, it's all over. He was traded to the Knicks in a 3-team deal. I think this is how it shakes out:

Knicks get: Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Shelden Williams, Anthony Carter, Renaldo Balkman, Kurt Rambis, Kermit Washington, Spud Webb, an assistant coach to be named later, a trainer, two extra posse members for Amare Stoudemire, a Pepsi Center ticket taker, three parking lot attendants, a director of Sales/Marketing, and a lower level popcorn vendor with a meth problem.

Nuggets get: Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari, Timofey Mozgov, Corey Brewer, $3 miilion in cash, Steve Kerr, Chris Webber, Marv Albert's stilettos from the "biting incident", a 2014 first round draft pick, two 2014 second round picks, a 2021 second round draft pick, reminders in 2013 and 2020 that they have those picks, a security guard fresh out of Alcoholics Anonymous, an A/V nerd, four cheerleaders, two pictures of Bill Bradley in tight shorts, a book containing Isiah Thomas' greatest pick up lines, and a concession stand training DVD ("Beer Doesn't Pour Itself").

Timberwolves get: Anthony Randolph, Eddie Curry, and a book titled, "How To Pick Up And Move On When You've Been Screwed In An NBA Trade"

I've only been watching Sportscenter for 15 minutes this morning and I'm already sick of it. Sports Media is SO in love with this deal. Why? Because it might make the Knicks relevant again. And nothing is so important in this world as to have the teams in New York and Los Angeles be relevant. God forbid other teams be the center of attention for one entire season.

The NBA really sucks.

Killing time while being unemployed

At some point in time, being unemployed means running out of things to do. If you're a handyman, you've probably got an endless list of projects you can work on. But if you're not (and I fall in to that category), then you have to look for things to do to avoid becoming a couch potato. Sure, you can stumble on the internet, but it becomes as mindless as watching TV. And you really don't want to be "that guy" who constantly sends links to people you know to the point that when your name is mentioned in conversation, it's in the realm of "did he send you that web site link that had a picture of a chimpanzee dancing to 'Moon River'? That was atrocious."

Anyway, last week I began volunteering at my daughter's school. The week before I ate lunch with her and noticed that some of the teachers had "lunchroom duty". Which consists of, among other things, listening to complaints, opening ketchup packs, and wiping down the tables. I don't even know when they get to eat. Never the less, I figured I can wipe tables and open ketchup packets.

Now, I know a lot of these kids since I've coached some of them in softball and soccer. I can handle those kids. But if they don't know me as 'Coach' or 'Olivia's dad', then there's going to be a period of feeling me out. I must admit, they look at me like I'm a new guard in maximum security prison. They're curious to know if I'm going to rat them out for shanking another 2nd grader. Luckily, the other teachers know which ones REALLY have to go to the bathroom and which ones are just wanting to get out into the hallway so they can slip into the laundry room and carve up a soap bar into a zip gun.

I always thought I respected teachers for their dedication and passion. My wife is a 1st grade teacher so I KNOW. Working for an hour and a half in there each day, my admiration has grown even more. Teachers are paid so low because their salaries come from public funds. I will never, EVER complain about taxes anymore - knowing that teachers must truly believe in what they're doing but we're just low-balling them.

Day.......yeah, I'm not keeping count

Well, Mark Richt and the Dawgs certainly had a better month than I did. In HR, we call it attracting talent. In college football, it's called "getting 17 and 18 year olds to commit to you, even though you went 6-7 last year". And since I doubt he's paying those kids, he certainly deserves a huge kudos for pulling in that haul of players. The only downside is watching running back Washaun Ealey implode from within. I'm not sure what's wrong with him, but he hasn't exactly displayed a very good grasp on 'think first/act second'. Regardless, I'm not really worried about him. Because this is what Richt excels at. I'm just certain that Jesus called coach up one day and said, "...and I especially want you to pay attention to those kids who are right on the edge, who are in desperate need of guidance, OK?" We all have a right to second guess Richt for kicking a field goal from the 2 yard line against Central Florida last year, but we've also admitted that HE'S THE GUY that we want in charge of our kids. So, if Ealey can be saved, then by golly the man that new Georgia RB Isaiah Crowell dubbed "a God-fearing dude" can do it. If not, he'll go the way of Zach Mettenberger, Michael Lemon, and a host of others that he tried to help out.

As for me, still looking for work. I've learned several things. First, no matter how many channels of TV you have, it still ain't enough. Even the interwebs has its limits. After a while, "fail" web sites don't make you laugh, even at others. So my advice to you is, if you're going to be out of work, make sure it's in the summertime.